FAQ

Where are you from?
I work, study and live in the outer suburbs of Melbourne, Australia.  I love my city.

How old are you?
I was born September 19, 1986, making me the ripe old age of 27 as I type these words.

Who is M?
M is my fiancee (who I will marry in 2015!) who I live with and has been my best friend since 2001.  He is not vegetarian or really into health food, so it's an interesting challenge getting him to eat all the foods I love to cook.

What's your background?
I finished High School and jumped straight into a double degree of Multimedia and Ecommerce, which, sadly, I only completed 6 units of before become too ill with CFS/ME to continue (read my CFS/ME story here).  At age 23 I recovered enough to work again and jumped into a full time job in customer service.  After a year I got bored and moved to supply chain for a while which I actually really enjoyed.  My love for nutrition eventually took over and I went back to uni to study nutrition... but 6 months later I found it was more a hobby than a career passion.  I now work as a supply chain manager and fill a lot of my spare time with food related hobbies.

Why do you blog?
I just love it, I really can't explain it.  Food, cooking, health - talking about it and living it is just a huge part of my life.  Cooking is insanely relaxing to me.  I'm a super passionate person and it's actually a flaw of mine that I totally throw my entire being into everything I do.  I have a lot of passions and blogging is just one of them that you get to see.  I also love marketing, reading, writing, painting, dancing, working out.. the list goes on.  When I decided to study nutrition it was actually just the front runner when I was also considering studying marketing, international trade or journalism.

Why 'Lemon Living'?
It all started with another blog about fashion and my life, but as I got a mortgage, had less money to spend on 'things' and started to value them less, I slowly realised that my true passion lies in food, health and wellbeing.  Of course you will see some other parts of my life here too!  But food, health and wellbeing plays a much bigger roll than shopping and posing in new outfits ever will!

Where did you learn to cook?
I grew up around cooking and watching Mum cook, so I always saw it and liked it - my ability is just an extension of that.  The healthy cooking passion came not only out of a determination to stay well, but I love the challenge of making something healthy taste amazing.  I also think there's no better feeling than serving someone something you cooked, them telling you it tastes amazing, and then you getting to tell them to go for it because it's healthy!

Being vegetarian, do you believe that's the healthiest way to live?
I believe the healthiest way to live is to learn to listen to your body and then follow whatever it tells you, whether that involves eating chicken or not.  I happen to eat seafood at the moment, so I am not really a vegetarian at all.  

What camera do you use?
My little point n shoot is a Canon IXUS 220 HS.  She's perfect for what I do and I think the Canon IXUS camera's are super easy to use.  The rest comes from my ability to use Adobe Photoshop or my Samsung Galaxy 4 phone.

What advice would you give to others wanting to study nutrition?
If you're in high school, take all the sciences.  If you're not, start brushing up on them!  It's science, and it's pretty hard science if you're not familiar with science, so prepare to be challenged and don't expect to just learn how to give advice and what vitamins are in what foods.  Also, be prepared to study hard if you want to get into dietetics; I've been told repeatedly it's very competitive.  

Do you accept advertising on your blog?
See the 'Contact Natalie' page.