Columnists

Sabrina Ghayour - yes please to doughnuts in January!

I cannot believe it is 2024, where has the time flown? It has really prompted me to think about life, the passing of time and the things I have achieved as well as the things I have not yet managed to accomplish. While I am happy in life – as much as you can be in a world gone mad – and certainly grateful for everything in my life, I do worry about the fact that in the pursuit of achievement and life in general, I have overlooked one rather important element… myself. I have neglected my body and mind and often ignored when either one or both have been crying out for respite because we all have to work, run, juggle and do whatever we have to do in order to pay the bills and keep our heads above water. But I do sometimes ask myself: ‘To what end?’ I sometimes feel that a lot of my income ends up going on things like medical bills and osteopathy sessions, so how can I strike a balance? I am really thinking hard about where I can make the changes. If we really are going to do this whole New Year thing, you know, the health kicks, dry January, meat-free month, detox, whatever the heck you are going to throw yourself into, perhaps its worth investing in smaller, less invasive changes that will benefit us long term. But where to start? Well, I’m as baffled as you, if I’m honest. Much like you, I already know what I should be doing, like exercise and eating better, regulating my meal times and eating less crap… we know this but beyond that, sometimes its not enough. The one thing that I’ve noticed a huge increase in since I’ve glided into my later forties is increased anxiety; I worry about everything! Every. Little. Thing! Most of the times, things that don’t even need to be worried about and a few that I can definitely say still merit some concern but how can we soften this? Reduce our stress levels? Live a better life without spending money we don’t have to improve things and just manage life in a way that actually feels manageable, affordable and realistic for each of us? Alas I am no expert, no life guru, not a yogi, nor spiritual but I have learned a few things and I want to share them with you. Firstly, life is too darn short – so eat the doughnut, act like a teenager and make more time to laugh until you cry. Secondly, if you don’t look after your body and mind to a certain extent, you will end up spending more money than you make trying to claw back your ill health and improve your mental state. Lastly, if you want something to get better in life, SABRINA GHAYOUR Happily planted in Yorkshire, Sabrina shares the food love PHOTO: KRIS KIRKHAM RECIPE Taken from Feasts by Sabrina Ghayour published by Mitchell Beazley, £25. octopusbooks.co.uk Doughnut fritters with cinnamon-orange sugar you need to make time to improve your life. I am guilty of ignoring the latter so much and I still struggle with it every single day but this year, I am going to put my all into making time for the things that improve my life while being brutal about cutting out the things (and people) that don’t. Change can often be brutal but you need to be brave enough to make decisions that are right for you and there is no time like the present. Now if you thought I would palm you off with some healthy salad recipe for the New Year, you clearly don’t know me very well. Now more than ever, spoil yourself a little and then begin looking at what you can do to improve your mind and body. So here it is, full force, unapologetically… I leave you with doughnut fritters because a good dessert may just give you the clarity you need to tackle the year ahead and somehow make it wonderfu