Swayer Spotlight – @sensibleliving

What do you like to do for fun?

I really enjoy cooking. It gives me a chance to be creative in the kitchen and indulge in some ‘play’ time. Food brings people together, and I love creating new and delicious vegan recipes to share with my loved ones.

Also, I’m very fortunate to be living by the lake, so taking long walks in nature can be both relaxing and fun after a busy day. On the weekends, my fiancé and I love exploring new places to eat, especially when it involves tasting the cuisine of countries and cultures we’re unfamiliar with.

Most evenings though we just love to lay back, grab a glass of wine, talk about our day, or watch a movie/documentary.

Why did you start @sensibleliving?

Going vegan inspired me to get really creative in the kitchen, so after a year or so, I decided to start an account where I could share my journey towards a healthier and more compassionate life with anyone interested.

Through my Instagram account, I was able to connect with many people from all over the world that are in a similar journey like mine.

I had this strong drive to share a message I felt very passionate about, and to be able to create a community of people with similar values and interests was more than I could have asked for.

What can people do to adopt a more sustainable lifestyle?

Use what you have! I am very happy that more and more people are jumping on the sustainability and low waste wagon, however, sometimes we get carried away by a trend and miss the point behind it all.

I see many people (and I am guilty of this too sometimes), that will try to get all the newest eco-friendly products on the market. While I do believe that we should opt for products that are better for the environment, we should first use what we already have on hand.

What are your thoughts on the effect of the health, wellness, and sustainability movement after the pandemic?

While it’s too early to project the long term impacts of COVID-19, we are already feeling its effects in all aspects of life. I will start by saying that the lockdown has led to some positive effects on the ecosystem.

We all have seen reports of air pollution going down considerably since the start of the pandemic. However, the spread of COVID-19 has had many of us revert back to single-use material in an effort to slow the spread of the virus. Also, the pandemic has required many sustainability and waste-reduction initiatives to be put on hold.

One of the biggest impacts has been on people’s health and wellbeing. This Pandemic put us all on an unprecedented reality and no one was prepared to cope with it for such a long period of time.

The three-month-long lockdown affected people physically, psychologically, and socially and the consequences are expected to be long-lasting. I was happy to see so many people in the health and wellness movement giving great recommendations on how to take care of our physical and more importantly mental health during the lockdown.

However, lack of physical activity had its own impact on all of us. That, together with the confusion, fear, and uncertainty around the pandemic have had a bad impact on our overall wellbeing.

Also, the tip we all have heard many, many times: ditch plastic. Unfortunately, only 9% of plastic is recycled. That means that a whopping 91% of our plastic waste ends up in landfills or oceans.

I am a firm believer of “every step counts” so even the small changes like bringing your own reusable bags to the grocery store, always carrying your own reusable cup/bottle, saying no plastic straws or single-use plates/cutlery, can have a huge impact when done by the vast majority of people.

How did you build the following community you have now?

I had a strong drive to share a message I felt very passionate about, and to be able to create a community of people with similar values and interests was more than I could have asked for. I poured all my free time and growing knowledge around food and nutrition into creating content that would provide value to those following me.

What type of content generates the most engagement with your followers?

People seem to love vegan recipes. I usually opt for very easy, but healthy and delicious recipes as I understand most people do not have the time, nor the resources to cook very complicatedly time-consuming meals.

Also, I always get a good response when I decide to show my raw and vulnerable side and talk about things we all think and feel, but don’t feel comfortable sharing.