Hi everyone, and welcome to this month's newsletter, we are delighted that you have signed up to receive our monthly offerings.

May it remind you to find joy in the little things in life, and guide you to wholeness and heart-centred living. 

With Love & Blessings, 

Arzu xo

 This month we want to encourage you to bring back some creativity in your life. Whilst we are in the middle of winter here in Australia, (where we are writing to you from) we feel it's always a good time to revisit your creative juices and start something new, where you can stay cozy indoors and let your mind drift into whatever your heart desires to bring back that joy and creative spark.

Here at Vitalityandmore our vision is to remind you that you CAN be joyful, be child-like and find new ways to 'play' or do things.

Creativity when practiced frequently, fully and wholeheartedly, can help you find things that you are passionate about and may even sometimes lead to changes in career paths.

More importantly there are many health benefits that can also be directly felt when you become creative.

• Creativity boosts your immune system by boosting your mental and physical health at so many levels
• Creativity helps reduce stress and promotes relaxation and good endorphins
• Creativity can help reduce anxiety 
• Creativity improves our mood and self-expression

We believe that frequent creativity or play - as we like to call it - gives our minds a much-needed break from the demands of everyday life. When you are feeling in the true flow of creativity, you are allowing yourself to be focused on something that is fun and enjoyable. 

Creativity is like 'mindfulness' for the mind-body-spirit, and everyone is capable of doing it in whatever form they can.

Like meditation, creativity triggers the release of good 'chemicals' such as dopamine, serotonin, oxytocin and endorphins, all of which are linked to promoting happiness and eliminating stress.

Here's some of our favorite ways to get creative and find JOY:

• Cooking, Baking & Food Play

• Art: Painting, Drawing, Pottery, Play

• Sewing, Knitting, Crochet Play

• Gardening; Playing with plants

• Writing; Journaling - Poetry

• Dancing; Singing - Music Play

• Make Jewelry, Candles or DIY Skincare

The list can go on and on, as always do what makes you happy and what brings you joy, not what everyone else is doing or telling you to do.  Remember to have fun and focus on the present moment, so you can fully appreciate and feel that JOY!

And if you want to check out an article on how to find your JOY, then we think you will enjoy reading this one.

https://www.calm.com/blog/how-to-be-happy-again

Now to some FOOD & RECIPE sharing.

Our Recipe of the Month is a great and super hearty dish for the winter months.

It's a vegan Shepard's Pie made with yummy lentils, greens from the farm and sweet potato - which is our preference since it's low in GI and not as starchy as regular potatoes. We hope you will give it a try...

Sweet Potato & Lentil Shepards Pie

Recipe by Arzu Dogan - Vitalityandmore

Here's what you will need:
2 Leeks washed and chopped finely
2 medium carrots peeled & chopped
1 bunch rainbow chard or silver beet or chard
1 can cooked brown lentils rinsed or cook yourself need 400 grams
1 tbsp tomato paste
1 cup vegetable stock
Salt & pepper to season
Olive oil to sauté everything in as much as you think it needs (as I use a fair bit)
Herbs - rosemary, paprika, saffron
Topping:
2-3 large, sweet potatoes (pre-cooked & mashed with a little olive oil and seasoned with salt & pepper)
2 tbsp polenta

Method:
Basically, sauté the leek first then adding the chard, carrot, lentils, tomato paste and stock last, add herbs and season. Assemble in baking pan and then add sweet potato top with rosemary & polenta. Bake in the oven on 200 degrees for about 30 min until top browns as pictured.

Enjoy - Bon appetite  

Mantra of the MONTH

If you haven't read my book yet, then here's a link for you to get a copy and if you have read it then please drop us a review, we would love to hear your thoughts and how it has helped you...

https://www.amazon.com.au/Follow-Your-Heart-Live-Eat/dp/1982292164