People who know me also know I consume a lot of meat products, and less carbs, to balance my protein needs and reduce refined sugar intake.

However, many don’t know that at certain points of my life, I regularly ate vegetarian food.

Such as in my first job, vegetarian food for lunch was more often the norm as a colleague was vegetarian. We explored the various vegetarian eateries within quick walking distance (our lunch time was pared down just 30 minutes), and my favourite was the wanton noodles with crispy wanton, or herbal soup noodles.

In my third job, I had colleagues who were vegetarian too. We would also try different vegetarian outlets, with our default being Greendot (my love for herbal soups and noodles still held strong).

With my husband on an 8 week full blown vegetarian diet, I try to follow him most of the time.

Sometimes I cook herbal soups (yes again) with assorted vegetables and mushrooms. We pair with rice and other dishes such as air fried mock meat or stir fried vegetables, soybean strips, taukwa and mushrooms.

We cook vegetarian steamboats, simple noodle soups, or buy from nearby vegetarian eateries that we find on HappyCow, an amazing app for vegetarian food.

Besides vegetarian wholesalers for affordable frozen and dried food or sauces, and supermarkets for its vegetarian selection, I enjoy going to outlets like Jing Si cafe at Tzu Chi Humanistic Youth Centre (books, noodles, tea, dessert) and O’bean (porridge, soya milk, desserts, snacks).

Soya beancurd and sesame paste with multigrain powder are easily made at home with premixed powders.

Eating less meat, I think, makes me less angry (though I’ve had fluctuating emotions lately due to a combination of grief hangover and PMS), and feel a sense of lightness.

I’m slightly calmer (together with more study into Buddhism, meditation and mindfulness) and changing my lifestyle bit by bit.

I try to pay more attention to the present, such as eating in quietness, washing the dishes, watching the sunrise, sitting surrounded by white noise, showering without being distracted by work, helping my boy with his last minute art and craft chainwatch, drinking tea, doing my work tasks without multitasking it possible, and recycling.

Today, I practised a bit of walking meditation, sitting meditation, and later lying down meditation to acknowledge my organs and send love to them.

Goodnight