My name is Anna and I live in the beautiful region of Hawke’s Bay in New Zealand. I work full time as an entomologist and have created Five Elements to have a platform for sharing my recipes.
While most of the recipes are plant-based, I am not promoting a plant-based or vegan lifestyle. I made the decision to follow a (mostly) vegetarian diet but before that I did eat meat and dairy for 23 years of my life. I am definitely not here to judge and I try to stay away from using the words “vegan’ or ‘plant based’. My aim is to inspire people to step out of their comfort zones and encourage them to try new recipes in the kitchen whether they are vegetarian, pescatarian, paleo, vegan or follow an I-see-food-and-I-eat-it diet.
Why Five Elements?
I chose the name Five Elements because I believe that to thrive and live a happy, healthy, and fulfilling life there are five key elements that we need to focus on each day.
1. Hydrating often
Many people now talk about the importance of keeping hydrated. It wasn’t until my 20s that I started to pay attention how much water I drank during the day. My mindset shifted since then and now I carry a drink bottle everywhere I go. Never underestimate the importance of hydration!
2. Eating well
Food has always been a huge part of my life.My parents are both great cooks and they continue to inspire me in the kitchen. I have been raised on Hungarian meals for majority of my life and that has definitely inspired some of the recipes I share here.
3. Sleeping often
This might not be the case every night I do love going to bed early most of the time. My parents have always raised me to have a set bedtime and somehow a night-time routine has stuck with me in adulthood. I know that not everyone will relate to this but whether you’re a morning person or a night owl, at the end of the day we all need sleep. Plus there are so many resources that explain the importance of sleep and discuss methods for improving sleep.
4. Moving daily
Daily movement is something I’ve incorporated into my life once I’ve finished studying at uni and I couldn’t recommend it enough. These days I try to exercise everyday, even if it’s 5-10 minutes just to get my body moving. Daily movement doesn’t have to involve the gym, you can incorporate yoga, swimming, running, walking or even stretching.
5. Growth
As William S Burroughs said “If you don’t grow, you are dying”. This is something I remind myself of every day. Every day is an opportunity to better yourself mentally, physically or emotionally. Part of why I’ve decided to create Five Elements is to grow by sparking my creativity, getting me get out of my comfort zone and to connecting to people all over the world to grow as an individual.
