I was a vegetarian until the age of 13. A few years of boarding school and then the hotel school really exposed me to many foods. There was not much variety offered in terms of vegetarian food. I tried many different kinds of food from various countries. After backpacking and traveling to more than thirty countries, I am convinced that every country has offered something unique to cuisine.  In this series, I will talk to vegetarians and vegans from all over the world. Abdourahamane Ly is from Africa, has a British wife, and lives in China. I talk to him about his path to becoming vegan.

Fulanivegan, welcome to my series on vegans, please tell me a little about you?

I am from Guinea Conakry in West Africa. I left at the age of 19 and moved to China. I have spent the last 13 years living in Shanghai. I have recently come to Rwanda for work. I studied International Trade and Economics at the University in Shanghai and now operate an import/export business.

How did you become a vegan and what are the advantages of being a vegan?

My wife was a vegetarian and made me read Peter Singer’s book “Animal Liberation”. I initially converted to vegetarianism but once we learned more about the horrors of the dairy and egg industry we both became vegan. There are so many benefits to being a vegan, starting with the fact that you no longer have blood on your hands and can look an animal in the eye. After adopting a completely plant-based diet, my energy levels improved and I developed more stamina at the Gym. My digestion also improved greatly.

Talk to me about where you live, the culture, food, vegan restaurants, and why we should visit?

While I am currently in Rwanda, my China is my home in the long-term. China has some of the most delicious and diverse cuisines in the world. The food can be made vegan as there are so many plant-based dishes. My favorite are vegan Jiaozi (dumplings) and Suan la tu dou si (shredded hot and sour potatoes). Vegan restaurants are popular in Shanghai due to the Buddhist population. I highly recommend you visit them!

From your IG pics, it looks like you like traveling and culture. talk to me about that aspect of your life?

I love to travel. Leaving my native country at an early age taught me the importance of embracing different cultures and learning new languages. It is important to try and understand different viewpoints and be tolerant. Despite growing up a Muslim in Africa, I have been exposed to all sorts of ideas across the globe – it really makes you a better person. My wife is British and we like to travel together and are constantly learning new things.

Talk to me about your favorite and least favorite vegetables?

I love courgette, recently I seem to include it in most of my cooking! I am really not a fan of white eggplant; they use it a lot in Rwanda.

Indian food is known to have a huge variety of food for vegans. What other food has that kind of variety?

 I love Indian food, but Chinese food has a better variety of vegan dishes! Follow @vegansofshanghai on Instagram for some amazing vegan Chinese recipes.

Do you only eat organic or also GMO plants?

I eat GMO plants.  I prefer to eat organic most of the time, however, in China, this is very difficult. Even things labeled ‘organic’ are not necessarily organic.

If someone wants to transition into becoming vegan what would you say to them?

If you are thinking about transitioning to become a vegan, I recommend you do your research before. Explore the ethical reasons for being vegan. This will make you less likely to quit when you know the consequences for the victims of the animal agriculture industry. Follow some vegan bloggers on Instagram – they will give you great ideas for recipes and nutrition and help you remain excited about the transition. Also, buy B12 vitamins!

Vegans are sexy… please comment?

There is nothing sexier than compassion

The post Vegan in China appeared first on Four Columns of a Balanced Life.

Suzana Serravalle talks about essential oils.

Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and entrepreneurs are the foundation and essence of the Canadian economy. Women entrepreneurs continue to face barriers in the ecosystem like gender bias, systematic discrimination, and access to mentors, support, services, and financing.

Suzana Serravalle is an Independent Wellness Consultant with doTERRA International which deals in essential oils. Suzana has shown ingenuity, tenacity, and resilience and continues to grow her business through all the challenges.

Sue, please tell me a little about you?

My name is Suzana Serravalle. I’m a McMaster University graduate with a Bachelor’s Degree in Kinesiology.  I have been married to a wonderful man and business partner for 17 years.  Together we have a daughter and son ages 14 and 12.  We live in Burlington Ontario and just love this city and the people in it.  My husband and I are Entrepreneurs.  For the past 10 years, we have run our own Electrical Contracting Company together.  We started this business from the ground up and are proud of how well we have done.  For 16 years I also worked as a Registered Massage Therapist.  I loved being fully self-employed as it afforded me the opportunity to work from home and take care of my family.

About 4 years ago I embarked on a new venture that fit my true passion in life, natural health care.  I am an Independent Wellness Consultant with doTERRA International.  It is my absolute pleasure to educate people about the quality and effectiveness of doTerra’s essential oils and other natural products and how people can incorporate these into their lifestyles to improve their overall health and wellness.  In short, I’m a mom, a wife, and an entrepreneur with a great passion for natural health care and essential oils!

Wow! So, you quit massage therapy to pursue your dream of owning a business. Tell me about the process and how does it make you feel like a successful person? 

As much as I loved being a Massage Therapist and helping people with their various muscle, and tissue concerns, relieving stress, and other physical conditions, I felt that there was always something more I could do.  Half of my clients were on anti-depressants, all of them were under extreme stress and people were sick all the time.  My role with doTERRA has allowed me to educate and empower others to make healthier and proactive choices regarding their health.   I’m successful when I’ve helped just one person, and to date, I’ve helped over a thousand with essential oils. That’s true Success!

How important it is for you to feed your kids healthy food?

This is so important.  Now, I’m not perfect by any means.  Being self-employed and working from home allows me to schedule a time to buy groceries and make homemade meals on a daily basis.  I love knowing what is in the food, I’m feeding my family.  It’s not just important for kids but for us all.  Our gut is the key to good health.  When our digestive system is messed up, it affects every part of our body including our mood, emotions, and mental health.  Along with healthy food I make sure we all take extra vitamins with our food to ensure enough nutrient extraction and absorption and to make sure our bodies receive a solid foundation of health.

How have essential oils made a difference in your life and the family?

It has made the biggest impact on our overall health and wellness as well as provided me with a career that I love!  First, we have completely detoxified our home and only use healthy and natural products.  You won’t find any chemicals that are harmful to our home.  This includes all our toiletries, cleaning products, and solutions for any and all health concerns in our family.  We’ve improved our internal health with doTerra’s vitamins and other natural supplements and addressed emotions and moods with essential oils. We are healthier than ever before and have a natural solution for everything.  As a family, we are better educated and make better choices.  Being a doTERRA Wellness Educator has afforded me the work lifestyle I want and opened the door to endless earning potential!  The sky’s the limit and I’m in the driver’s seat with essential oils!

Essential oils make a difference in our moods and our health please explain?

With essential oils, we have the ability to direct our own emotional traffic.  Each aroma introduced to the brain conveys information that determines the brain’s response.  Imagine having the power to change your mood using natural chemical responses.  Making sure you are using pure and tested therapeutic-grade essential oils from a science-based company can give you endless possibilities.  Overall, the essential oils give our bodies what they need to work at their optimal level!  It’s as simple as that!

How do you balance food, faith, family, and finance in the 21st century?

To be honest…. I don’t personally believe that you can achieve true balance.  The scales will usually be tipped one way or another as life is unpredictable and stuff always happens.  But we can most certainly try and that’s what I do.  I believe being an Entrepreneur allows me the opportunity to choose my destiny, to choose what is important to me, and make that happen.  I guess I started with the basics of eating good quality food and making good choices as to what we put in and on our bodies.  Faith, to me, is being good to one another and serving others.  I am blessed to do this with my family, friends, and a thousand customers that I have.  Family is what I live for and therefore they are my number one priority each day.  And as far as finance goes, I’m so glad you listed it last because when all of the first three actions are taken, finance is just a bonus.  Far too often people just focus on the finance piece and don’t realize how important it is to take care of ourselves, love one another and serve others.

The post How Essential Oils Changed My Life appeared first on Four Columns of a Balanced Life.