perjantai 16. joulukuuta 2011

Grocery shopping at Kannelmäki

My parents left for a holiday trip and left me with a car for Christmas (and my dog although he's nice and cosy at my grandsparents' at the moment) so after dropping them at the airport hotel I decided to use this gained feedom of travelling and went to check out my old hoods at Kannelmäki. Actually it was for buying some more windshield washing liquid for the car but any case, I ended up visiting Kannelmäen Prisma, a HUMANGOUS supermarket they have built there in last couple of years. It was now twice the size it was when I lived next to it (it's now the biggest supermarket in the metropolitan area) and to be honest, I find it ridiculous (it has 41 checkout counters for christ's sake). I can't imagine someone would actually enjoy shopping there. I do understand the strategy in trade perspective as people get hungry by the time they even reach the food section...
Anyhow, being there I recalled someone had mentioned they had some speciality considering the organic food stuff so I decided to check it out. It turned out to be (when I found it after walking a mile from the car section) a shop-in-a-shop for Eat&Joy Maatilatori, a succesful local/organic foodstore business which just had opened an organic megastore in the restored mall of Kluuvi. So my expectation where quite high at that point. I checked out the stall and I was pleased by the variety of organic meat (although freezed) and the flour section. On the other hand, I have to admit I was quite disappointed for the fact everything had been put for display like in a tourist shop. I mean, when I go grocery shopping, I really don't care if my jar of jam has a bow tied around it or not. It's cute, sure, but the fact is, I don't really want to buy organic local stuff for the fact the packaging looks crafty, I buy it for ethical reasons. It pisses me off so much how local food is so often marketed in this cutesy way as it's just food after all. It's never gonna be the everyday choice for people if you always have to pay extra for the time put in to making the products look extra pretty. It's of course good for products which are meant to be given as presents but I would love not to see it when it comes to regular foodstuff.
All in all, I think it's good they have the stall at Prisma, yet it's really not a reason for me to go there ever again. :D I hate supermarkets (although I have to admit I kinda had some strange love-hate relationship with Colruyt next to VUB in Brussels... Must have been the free coffee).

keskiviikko 14. joulukuuta 2011

Finland, the country of snowy winters

Not. It's almost Christmas and this is what you can see from our balcony. Just wanted to share this as it's ridiculous.


tiistai 22. marraskuuta 2011

Long time, no blogging

Lately I've been incredibly busy as I started a new job at Elisa (one of the major mobile phone and internet operators in Finland). Working every day with phones I've realised how fast the industry goes: I thought I was relatively good with technology but in the matter of fact, I'm quite clueless from time to time. So it's time for me to get modern: this is my first mobile update ever. Although even this is a bit of a cheat as I'm not on the go but at home. Anyhow, I'm really excited with my new phone I got from work (htc desire z or something) and I can't wait to start blogging more random stuff on the go.

perjantai 14. lokakuuta 2011

Stress releaving meditation

I'm a huge stresser myself. Actually, I'm the queen of "I should". There is no better way of making me feel all stressed out than my own thoughts going aroung, telling me what I ought to do: "I should wash the dishes" "I should clean up" "I should be studying" "I should already have studied so much more, the test is coming next week". So basically, I should do this and I should do that instead of whatever I'm doing (which normally is "nothing at all"). I end up being so stressed up I finally manage to do nothing at all. I know it's just the way of my head going and talking to my friends, I'm obviously not the only one suffering from this. But there's a cure for this cancer!

Meditation. I'm not a huge fan of following different "schools" when it comes to these kinds of mental things. I know a lot of people find their peace while doing yoga, cleaning up the house or going to the church. I think part of the traditional "holy experience" is just the fact when going to church, you slow down and just let your mind set. There's some much information and courses about so-called "mindfullness" around at the moment and there are so many methods taught (sometimes with a hefty pricetag on them). But I think basically anything will do to get the same effect, as long as it's something simple enough and something you have to focus on. For me the normal tricks are, well, clearing the fridge (yeah, it's tad strange, I admit) and going to pick mushrooms.

Here's the result from this friday morning's "mindfullness". 2,5kg in total, I'm never going to finish these...

Instead of telling everyone to go to pick some mushrooms (which I do recommend though), I want to share some easy methods of relaxing which I regularly use.

Pick the room for this exercise where the temperature is warm enough so you don't feel like freezing while staying still. If the floor is cold, feel free to put some kind of matt, a towel or a yoga matt underneath you (but nothing too comfy though, the point is not to feel like lying on a bed). If you feel chilly, you can use a blanket to cover you. Make sure the clothes you wear are somewhat comfortable on you.

Lay down on the floor, facing up. Close your eyes. Take a deep breath once and after that, just inhale an exhale normally.

Now there are a couple of options how to make your body and mind settle.

1. Think that you're breathing through your whole body. Every part in it takes part in the breathing. You can start it from the toes up by imagining how every time you inhale and exhale, the toes are doing it too. You can also try to intentionally relax your toes every time you exhale. Then, moving up from the toes, go through your whole body ending up on the top of your head. When getting there, you can imagine the whole body at once, inhaling and exhaling and every time you inhale, the top of your head moved further away from the tips of your toes.

2. A variation of the previous, which can be done also after it. Start with imagining the head moving away from the toes while inhaling. Do the same imagination with the tailbone and head. Then move on to thinking how your limbs are spread out in a shape of a giant starfish (or a star, if you find starfish gross :D). Every time you inhale, think of all your limbs moving away from the middle where you're lungs are and relaxing again towards the centre with exhaling. Like a pulsating star. If this feels hard to do at once, you may also start with just the legs or the arms separately first.

3. Another trick to relax your body is to think about the floor you're lying on. Feel the points of your body that are touching the ground. Let all you weight fall on these points and let the floor bear you. You can go even further and imagine the ground underneath the floor and eventually, imagine the whole Earth supporting you instead of your mussels doing it.

4. If you have trouble to let your mind go and you still have all the thoughs in your head flying in circles, I recommend imagining them actually flying. Let go yf them and think of them outside of your body (you will have all the time in the world after relaxing to think about them again). Every time a thought pops up in your head, you can think of it as a balloon you release from your lap to the skyes to fly. Or the thoughts being clouds, just hoovering around in the sky above you. The point is, don't get stuck on any thought, just BE there. Doing all the previous exercises helps you to think of the present instead of the "actual" thoughts.

You can do these exercise just to wind up after stressful day (or in the middle of it) or use them as a "warm up" for some deep streching or light yoga. I do have to warn you that they might work too well: I've found myself more than once sleeping on the floor... Talking about power nap there! I always feel superrelaxed after doing this and also more happy with myself, my life and the world in general. It kinda puts your stress into the right perspective.

tiistai 27. syyskuuta 2011

Toxins in clothing etc

 Here's an interesting German documentary how toxic substancies end up in Europe eventhough they are banned here:




 http://areena.yle.fi/ohjelma/1674023

Unfortuantely this can only be viewed in Finland... But still, very interesting documentary, made at least me think about my consumption choices.

tiistai 20. syyskuuta 2011

Organic chicken

Good news for everyone who's been wishing to be able to buy organic chicken. After 10 years without domestic organic production of chicken in Finland, we are finally getting a producer willing to take the chance.



According to Yle Morning news Studio, we are getting some organic chicken in the market this autumn. Unfortunately first it's only available around Tampere, but I'm hoping the demand is big enough for the producers are able to broaden the coverage.

Here's a piece of news on Aamulehti some time ago about the production: http://www.aamulehti.fi/Pirkanmaa/1194692491401/artikkeli/suomen+ensimmainen+luomubroileri+kasvaa+pirkanmaalla.html


More information about organic chicken and the possible salmonella threat: http://yle.fi/uutiset/kotimaa/2011/09/luomubroilerin_tautiriskit_hirvittavat_tehotuottajia_2859679.html

torstai 15. syyskuuta 2011

Best of both worlds

I remember in Belgium I used to miss a lot of little things back in Finland e.g. certain foods, shops and especially my uni and how easy sorting things out here is (so many things can be done online, it's so much easier!) The funny thing is, every once in a while I feel the tables have turned. It's so strange finding myself thinking about buying something from the store and then realising it's not even available here. Screw you Finland for being such an isolated country! I kinda regret not doing all the things in Belgium I'm not able to do here in Helsinki but ot be honest, the way of thinking is a but different when living in another country than just being there on a vacation. After a couple of months one just can't think everything is somehow special. In a way, being there I didn't realise I will actually move back to Finland. I somehow thought I would come here for some kind of a holiday and then get back to Belgium lol. :D 

But speaking of things I liked in Brussels:



 This must be one of the cutest candy/bisquit shops ion the whole world! I highly recommend visiting this, all you gourmands and everyone else too! It's just off the Grand Place so should be too hard to find. Just follow the huge crowds of tourist moving out of the place (not the ones going to Manneken Pis though!) and pay attention to the shops on your righthand side. The staff is so nice and you can have some tasters too!


And at least some things in both cities, Brussels and Helsinki, have similarities:


Subway is called Metro and it's orange! :D But of course the one in Helsinki doesn't have the awesome music played on the stations...

tiistai 13. syyskuuta 2011

Mieli&terveys

Hurjan mielenkiintoinen ja inspiroiva dokumentti siitä, miten mieli vaikuttaa terveyteen. Odotan innolla kahta seuraavaa osaa!

http://areena.yle.fi/video/1315511829091

tiistai 9. elokuuta 2011

Fishy business

I've been allergic to fish all my life. A couple of months ago I discovered I'm actually able to eat fish (although eating a lot of it still provokes the rash). I've been so happy to try out the new stuff but to be honest, I'm running out of ideas. All my life I've always skipped all the fish recipes on cookbooks and -shows, so I have no idea what to do with it. I still managed to make some salmon in the oven (and salmon pasta out of the leftovers) and it turned out delish. But I still have my work cut out for me. I take this as a positive challenge!

Anyhow, the yoghurt sauce I had with salmon was awesome and oh-so-easy. Just mix up:

Natural yoghurt
Fresh dill, chopped
Fresh chives, chopped
Sea salt
Sugar

If using normal, natural yoghurt, I recommend drying it up a bit first. Just take a paper coffee filter or line a sieve with a cotton fabric, pour in the yoghurt and let the water drip for a while. It makes it thicker which, at least for me, works better in a sauce.

sunnuntai 7. elokuuta 2011

Green&Pink

I saw this flower, Himalayan Balsam, growing near my house. I don't know from who's garden it has fled from, but now there's a whole hillside filled with these fragrant blossoms. I just had to pick up a couple as the smell always reminds me of childhood. These used to be my favourite flowers on our yard, not the least because of the popping seed pods. I was a proper seed pod destroyer!
Talking of plants, I have another newcomer on my windowsill herbgarden
 He was too shy for the photo, hiding there behind the basil and the wildly sprouting chives: the dill. I love it with slices of cucumber (toss in some vinegar, salt and sugar too, shut the container, shake well for a while, and voilà, there's your "beaten up-cucumbers" as I used to call them as a kid. :D)

lauantai 6. elokuuta 2011

Home sweet home

Back in Finland! It's been a busy couple of weeks, being homeless and crashing at friends' places, I finally got my own flat/room on Sunday.

I love summer and all the fresh veggies and fruit available now! 

Halloumi-strawberry salad I had with a friend the other day OMNOM, the best thing ever!

Since I have lectures only in the afternoon, most of the days my breakfast is more like light lunch with coffee. This is what I had this morning: Avocado, tomato, tuna, a little mayo and some chopped chives.

And then something I got for my new flat:
I LOVE MY NEW CHANDELIER. And I got it half price so it's even better. 8) Finally I have a decent light fixture! Okay, I admit it's slightly fancy for a student flat but.... one has to have some luxury in everyday life, right.  ;)

Later I'll still post some more stuff about Brussels too but at the moment I'm just way too busy.

torstai 30. kesäkuuta 2011

Little treats

I just finished my last exam for this semester, so I'm officially on holiday for next two weeks. After that it's time to return to Finland (and study a bit more). 

So, for my last couple of weeks here, I'll try to do as much fun things possible with my very limited amount of money. Today I joined some of my friends as they wanted to go to Leonidas outlet to buy some discount Belgian chocolate. And it was a chocolate heaven! You could try all the chocolates they had for sale there, YUM YUM YUM! A complete chocolate overdose. Here's a taster of a speciality they had there:


I'm a bit afraid to try that one though... I don't really think chocolate and gin would make the perfect combination, to be honest. :D But maybe I'll give it to a friend who loves gin, maybe he'll appreciate it.

Another "local" treat I got from an ex-flatmate. A group of Spanish people left couple of days ago and they said we can take any of their leftover stuff (groceries etc.) So I immediately spotted this:

Speculoos. It's like Nutella, but tastes like cookies. Like cookies in a paste form. Crazy, eh? Speculoos is actually originally a brand of cookies. I know normally people would put it on top of a toast but I've have to admit eating it straight from the jar... But I love it!

tiistai 21. kesäkuuta 2011

Toute personne a droit au respect de sa vie privée

"Jokaisella on oikeus siihen, että hänen yksityiselämäänsä kunnioitetaan" [Euroopan Unionin perusoikeuskirja, ote 7 artiklasta].

I decided to respect my private life by starting to use this little black notebook here I got from the European Parliament. Lately I've been trying to stop worrying and planning so much ahead and instead enjoy the moments as they are. In my efforts to do so, there is still a little problem: I've always very good at deliberately forgetting what I was meant to do. It's very relieving from time to time not to have these thoughts buzzing in your head, yet the momentary relief I get from not thinking about what I should do, normally comes back with a price of remembering what I should have already done. And that is way more displeasing than the pleasure I get from getting these things out of my head for a while. So, after losing tons of post-its and little pieces of notepaper, I decided to put everything here from now on, the daily upcoming stuff starting from the front, and the not-so-recently upcoming things starting from the back. Let's see how long this little bit of organization manages to keep on going with my lifestyle!

And to end up this probably rather boring entry, I'll share some customer knowledge. Normally all the blogs tell you what to buy, I'll tell you what NOT to buy:

These.
They are some kind of inner soles for shoes you normally use without socks (ballerinas etc). And they promise to keep the unwanted smells away and your feet fresh ad a flower. I don't know about the smell, but if you're planning to walk in the shoes, I don't recommend putting these in there. They roll, slip and break after just a couple of days of using. At least with my couple of days using. :D And I just ended up with blisters!

maanantai 20. kesäkuuta 2011

I've been slightly unmotivated with poledancing lately due to the fact my teacher didn't have any classes for a couple of weeks and I've been busy doing other things, so I've been also slacking on my condition training...

Anyhow, here's a video I still always find inspirational. Maybe (a strong emphasis on maybe!) someday I'll be able to do tricks as well as she does!

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sunnuntai 19. kesäkuuta 2011

Sugar : The bitter truth

The other night, browsing through the blogosphere as usual, I came a cross this video:


It's an interesting lecture about sugar and it's effects on liver and body in general. I generally avoid taking any sides on this dialogue about carbs or fat being damaging for you, but this was an interesting new insight I hadn't heard of. Personally, I'm pro natural diet, not eliminating any specific nutritional groups but keeping diet balanced, varied and natural and listening to your own body. I can't say that I would live by my own rules though, but I'm trying. And to be honest, I have no scientific information to back up my own health believes, just some random stuff I've read online through years. Nevertheless, this lecture seemed scientific enough to convince me to cut down the sugar intake a bit. Couldn't hurt anyway, I don't believe that sugary drinks are part of the "natural" diet of human beings after all.

And talking of these healthy diets, I've been wondering the concept of PH/alkaline diets. These are the diets that are based on the idea of human body (with the modern diet) being too acidic so eating more alkaline foods would make it function better. And of course we are talking about acidity after digestion, so mainly the diet rules I've seen just suggest eating more vegetables and fruit (although avoiding some, like plums), so I was wondering if the results people get are due to increase in intake of fibre and vitamines. I would love to know if there is any scientific reserch done on this field since this sounds so strange to me.

tiistai 14. kesäkuuta 2011

C'est l'angoisse du temps qui passe qui nous fait tant parler du temps qu'il fait

Last week it was the first time I ate a crème brûlée, macarons, had champagne on Seine, walked through Les Galleries Lafayette, saw the Eiffel tower. It was my first time to Paris. And it was love at first sight.
For once, I've been to a city where I immediately can feel like I could more into, at least for some time.
Not that i wouldn't like Belgium, but Brussels is getting a bit too much and too little for me. Paris had it all:
It's a big and posh city with a vibrancy in it but it's not too polished. It has rough edges and real feeling of life yet plenty of places where you can escape the reality. I really want to go back.


Here is the last cup of café I had in Paris. Ah, I loved the macarons!

Okay, now I feel like watching Amélie, just to get the Paris feeling again! And I'll think I'll do just that.

maanantai 6. kesäkuuta 2011

"The hardest thing is to take less when you can get more." ~ Kin Hubbard


I had a friend from Finland over for the weekend and eventually after walking around the stores for a while I couldn't resist anymore. But aren't there earpieces just the cutest ever?

tiistai 31. toukokuuta 2011

There must be a reason why some people can afford to live well. They must have worked for it. I only feel angry when I see waste. When I see people throwing away things we could use. ~Mother Teresa

I've have a problem of throwing food and leftovers away. So all the time I try to figure out to do with them. The best one I've managed to do being here in Brussels is this soup last week:


Only thing I had to buy was cauliflower, everything else was leftovers from weekend, including brie cheese, milk, white wine and bread. I have to say self-made crutons must be the best way to use up old bread! Highly recommended.

Next challenge is to eat rest of the dried kikpeas in my pantry within 6 weeks. I bet that will be a lot of hummus!