TBH, while I have managed to upgrade myself from amateur to intermediate and pro in most aspects of running a household, there’s one that’s been quietly stealing my time and energy every single day.

 What should I eat for breakfast?

For the longest time, I was convinced that variety for breakfast, lunch, and dinner was non-negotiable. I mean, the conventional household wisdom always said change it up and keep things interesting. So I’d rotate between cereals, avocado toast, eggs, smoothie bowls, and poha.

Sounds ideal, right? Except it wasn’t. Every morning, I’d stand in front of my kitchen while my cook would look at me with a death stare as I mentally cycled through options and lost a solid 10-15 minutes to what should have been a simple decision.

Then came the day I discovered the viral tiramisu oats recipe. I made it on a whim; it looked beautiful for starters. I was so excited that I woke up in the middle of my sleep to go up to my fridge and see if it was done just yet.  

The morning I had it, I had an almost god-sent revelation.

I felt like a kid in Candyland, okay? I could eat dessert for BREAKFAST!!!

I ate it again the next day. And the next. By day seven, I realized something peculiar.

I could have this…every day…and I know I still won’t get bored of it. 

By day 30, I was certain. And may I tell you, this is the first time in my entire life when I hadn’t experienced a hint of boredom. It’s like Tiramisu Oats were made for my nervous system. 

It was delicious, nutritious, and I wouldn’t have to hide it from my gym trainer. It was liberating because none of my brain cells were fighting; it just felt consistent and reliable, leaving me feeling satiated. And everybody deserves to feel like that.

Allow me to share my recipe with you.

The Elite Breakfast Recipe

It is so ridiculously simple, and just like me, you’ll look forward to it any time of the day.  It takes me five minutes. And with protein intake being the most pertinent goal of my life, this meal keeps me satiated for a good 2-3 hours. 

Here’s how I made it:

1. The base: Mix 3 tablespoons of rolled oats with your choice of chocolate-flavored or coffee-flavored protein powder. You could honestly mix coffee with milk and pour it too
2. I prefer low-fat milk and stir it until it is combined
3. Pour into a container and refrigerate overnight
4. Finishing touches: Top with a generous layer of plain yogurt
5. Dust generously with cocoa powder to give it that authentic tiramisu vibe. [I kid you not, it looks like it was parcelled all the way from Italy, lol]
6. The ritual: Serve in a pretty bowl. Trust me when I say this: the vessel matters

Do Overnight Oats Taste Like Chewing Wet Cardboard?

Okay, so when you keep it stored in the fridge for a minimum of 14 hours, it transforms into this creamy, indulgent paste. Like, it doesn’t feel like oatmeal anymore. And when you add the cocoa powder on top, that hint of sweetness hits differently. 

The coffee flavor from the protein powder and the slight sweetness of that cocoa powder just make it feel like you’re eating a yummy homemade Tiramisu. Now, I used the term ‘homemade’, so clearly it won’t taste like an exact Tiramisu because a real one has Mascarpone cheese. 

But here’s where it gets interesting. When I added the yogurt layer, it didn’t taste sour at all. You know we have this preconceived notion that yogurt will add sourness, but it doesn’t. And honestly, it’s such a good replacement for mascarpone cheese. The texture alone does half the job and wins half the game right there.

If I had to rate it, I’d give it a solid 6 out of 10 compared to an actual tiramisu. And let me tell you why. The yogurt mimics the creaminess of Mascarpone so perfectly that the texture in itself carries the experience. The thing is, it will never taste exactly like a tiramisu, but I would say it comes pretty close. I’d say it’s about 70% there, which honestly is wild for something that costs a fraction of the price and takes five minutes to make.

Tiramisu’s Fit AF Cousin

I love Tiramisu with the bottom of my heart, and I really wish God gave me the kind of body where I could eat it for all three meals, but alas, the reality of this world is different. 

Living alone taught me that aesthetics aren’t frivolous. It adds the rizz, the vibes, and they’re basically how we experience our meals. And speaking from my own experience, every morning when I’d take out my favorite ceramic bowl or a pretty glass container, something would shift.

The breakfast became an event, not just a task. I’d take a moment to appreciate the gradient of brown from the cocoa powder, the creamy texture visible through the glass, the way the spoon would cut through it.

It sounds small; it honestly is. But these small rituals accumulate. 

They’re the difference between eating mechanically and eating mindfully. I guess this is why I didn’t get bored.

30 Days Later

After a month of eating the same breakfast, I realised that the real insight is: limitations can be liberating. 

When you remove the decision, you gain clarity. 

When you embrace repetition, you free up mental space for things that actually matter.

The tiramisu oats didn’t just satisfy my hunger or my macro goals (though they did both excellently). They taught me that often simplicity and monotony in something as simple as breakfast don’t have to be boring. It can be your own sweet ritual, a comfort, and a daily moment of intentional eating.

Would I do it again? Absolutely. 

Will I eat this every day? Probably not. 

But I’ve learned that I don’t need variety to avoid boredom. I need consistency, and honestly, a pretty bowl. My macros eventually just fall into place.

The post This Is the Most Banging Breakfast I Had Every Day This Past Month appeared first on Voicey World.

I have just got home from a party, and I am a few drinks past being really sensible. I mean, for all I know, I could be banging my head to the wash basin and be fast asleep on my bathroom floor. But my face was wearing a ‘fit of its own: concealer, blush, bronzer, lipstick, lip gloss, a layer of blurring powder, and a waterproof fixing spray that was never going to leave without a fight.

I know what I am supposed to do at that hour, even when I am drunk on a scale of 25/10. I play by the rules; I double-cleanse and then do my full three-step routine, with the calm of a woman who has her life together.

But you know me, I didn’t.
Heck, even you wouldn’t when you are that drunk. 

On nights like these, I kiss my Laneige Waterbank Gentle Gel Cleanser to sleep [lowkey, literally] because it just gets me so well. 

I pumped a single pump of face wash into my palms, washed my face, and crashed into bed. This was my introduction to this gel cleanser, and when I woke up, I was ready to brace myself for the punishment I deserve for, well… not playing by the rules.

That tight, stretchy feeling and my mind shouting back at me: what-did-I-do-to-myself that most cleansers had given me for years. But it did not happen. For the first time, it did not feel stretched. My skin felt normal, which, for me, is practically a miracle.

The Laneige Waterbank Gentle Gel Cleanser has quietly watched me through breakouts, bad weeks, and late nights. I have dry, sensitive skin, which in my case means red patches around my nose and forehead that flake now and then, as if my face is slowly shedding. 

I also record a lot of videos, and I genuinely love putting on make-up. A normal day, whether at work or recording in front of the camera, means concealer, blush, bronzer, lipstick, lip gloss, and a blurring powder to set it all. When I need it to last, I finish with a waterproof, sweatproof fixing spray. All of that has to come off by the end of the day, and every cleanser I’ve tried before this one left my skin feeling tight afterwards, as though my face had been laminated.

However, my routine is simple. After washing my face, I use a niacinamide serum, a moisturiser and sunscreen, and on some days I swap the niacinamide for a hyaluronic acid serum just to mix things up.

I wash my face once a day, and that is it. So the face wash has one job because everything else in my routine sits on top of it.

I have tried a lot of face washes, and most of them have disappointed me. The one that hurt the most was the Innisfree Gentle Foam Cleanser, the volcanic one. It has a lovely reputation, and I wanted it to love me back. Sadly, it made my skin dry, and it stung my eyes every single time. 

Washing my face became a squinting, one-eye-open ordeal, and I started to dread it. Because I would have to spend another five minutes calming down my eyes so that I could see the world.

Photograph: Instagram

Over the years, I have come to this theory about why dry, sensitive skin people struggle so much with cleansers. It is genuinely hard to find one that will not bring your skin down. A lot of face washes are packed with artificial colours and synthetic ingredients, and they

give you that squeaky-clean feeling that everyone seems to love. I did too, but squeaky doesn’t necessarily mean clean. From my humble experience, squeaky is your skin asking you to stop. It feels satisfying in the moment, and in the long run it quietly does harm.

I did not know any of that when I started. I only knew that my face felt tight, my nose was red, and I was tired of feeling like that. So when the Laneige Water Bank Gentle Gel Cleanser entered the chat, I wasn’t aware of how hard its game was. 

Laneige Water Bank Gentle Gel Cleanser

Because it has a gel consistency, it is gentle and has no scent at all, which I appreciated immediately. When you rub it between your palms, it foams up softly and without any fuss.

The moment I used it, I felt the difference in one go. I know, I know, that is a tall claim to make, but there was really no tightness or stinging. And here is the best part: I can wash my face with my eyes open.

After the Innisfree years, this felt like a luxury. I could finally rinse my face like a normal person, instead of blindly feeling my way towards the towel.

The packaging helps too. It comes in a pump bottle, which makes it extremely easy to use, and the 250 ml size is easy to find online on Nykaa or Tira.  TBH, the pump does sometimes come off, but overall it makes my routine effortless, and anything effortless is a win at the end of a long day.

So, a 250 ml bottle costs ₹1,800. That was the full price, with no sale or discount. I wash my face once a day, and one pump is more than enough every time. That single bottle lasted me eight months. And when you do the math, eight months is roughly 240 days, which works out to about ₹7.50 a wash, or around a millilitre of face wash a day. I have paid more for a shitty cup of coffee. But for a face wash that treats me well, I genuinely consider it a banger of a deal.

A cheap bottle is only interesting if it works, but here is what really happened. So I will start with the awkward bit. I broke out for the first four months. I am confident that it had nothing to do with the face wash. It was stress, and an unreasonable amount of whey protein. The breakouts reduced on their own, and the face wash was never the culprit. 

Once that cleared up, the real changes became easy to see. The flaking on my forehead reduced, slowly at first and then noticeably within three months. The redness around my nose calmed down too. So in eight months, I never had a single irritation from it.

But the last change is my favourite, and it is entirely my own observation. 

My skin looks slightly less pigmented. My theory is that this face wash does not strip my skin of its natural oils, so those oils stay put and keep my skin protected, moisturised, and hydrated. I am not a dermatologist; I am simply a person who looks at her face in very good lighting a lot. 

Photograph: Instagram

And of course, the real test for any face wash in my life is make-up. So I tested this one on myself, on purpose and very regularly, for eight months.

It takes everything off because not once in eight months have I found any residue or leftover makeup after using it. What I get instead is a clean, soft, smooth face.

There have been plenty of late nights and parties where I got home with no energy to do anything. On those nights, the full routine of double cleansing and three steps of skincare felt like going on a trek. I would wash my face once; it would take off every speck of make-up and dirt, and I would wake up the next day without any dry, stretchy feeling.

But, as perfect as I make this cleanser sound, it really isn’t. First, it cannot remove waterproof mascara. If you wear it, you will need to deal with your eyes separately, so do not expect this one product to do everything. Second, the pump sometimes comes off, and it annoys me every time it happens. But the formula is so good that I could not stop using it, and I never replaced the bottle. 

Now, about all my 3 am ordeals, I do not recommend it just because it worked out for me, but please do not copy me. I truly believe that everyone should double cleanse, whether you wear make-up or not.

When your face is properly clean, your products seep into your skin better. Skip that step, and you are paying for serums and moisturisers that your skin never gets to use properly. So while I have been lazy on some late nights, I would never recommend it as a habit.

What a gentle cleanser like this does is make the whole process painless. It is kind enough that cleansing never feels like punishment, and it gives you a safety net on the nights when you are drained, tipsy, or both.

After eight months, I can say this: If you have dry, sensitive skin and you are tired of feeling tight, stung, and squeaky, this is the one I would put in your hands. If you need one product to melt off waterproof mascara on its own, skip it, or keep a separate eye makeup remover nearby.

Would I buy it again? In eight months, with every cleanser in the world available to me, I never reached for another one. That is the real answer, and I believe that explains a lot. 

The post This Cleanser Lived on My Shelf for Eight Months to Tell You Its Lore appeared first on Voicey World.

First Try: The Whole Truth Whey Protein Powder In Cold Coffee Flavour 

The Whole Truth Whey Protein Isolate+Concentrate

I kid you not when I say this, but falling in love with a protein powder at first sip was not on my bingo card; but then, of course, life is life, and my body betrayed me. 

The coffee flavour was the best part, and having that in a protein powder had me in a chokehold. I used it for a month, and then my skin broke out. 

And I am not talking li’l pimples here and there; I had a full flare-up. 

Turns out, whey just does not suit me because whey is made out of milk, and it’s really heavy for my stomach, and The Whole Truth only makes whey protein powders. 

So, if whey suits you, completely go for it, but it didn’t work for my face, and that is a hill I refuse to die on. 

So, the verdict is: I loved the taste, but my skin did not. 

Now, upon further research on Instagram and Reddit, I walked into the plant protein world with one strong belief: it’s chalky.

Turns out, that’s true for most of it. Not all of them, and I got to learn that the hard way.

Allow me to introduce you to the contestants.

Second Try: Cosmix No-Nonsense Plant Protein in Chikamaglur Mocha

Cosmix No-Nonsense Plant Protein in Chikmagalur Mocha

It was hard f*cking no; the moment I took a sip, I just couldn’t gulp it down and had to spit it out.  I wanted something I could just mix with water and drink, and this was nowhere near that.

But being the delusional person I am, hoping every single thing in the world is going to work out for me, I had already bought the ½ kg packet, and I couldn’t waste it. I also couldn’t sneak it into my roti or my sabzi (don’t ask). 

So I had to drink it with milk, which made it slightly easier to gulp down. Slightly. 

Verdict: Never again.

Third Try: Mille Plant Protein Powder in Unflavoured & Coffee Hazelnut Protein

Mille Plant Protein Powder in Unflavoured & Coffee Hazelnut Protein Trial Pack

At the cost of not repeating my mistakes, I got trial sachets in both unflavored and coffee hazelnut flavour. 

Now, the unflavored one claims to be unflavored, but it still had some amount of flavor. You know the sawdust texture and feeling I keep talking about, but it disappeared when I added it to my cold coffee. 

That’s the only solution I could find, because if I mixed it with anything else, it added a weird, industrial taste, like I was drinking something out of a giant factory pipe. 

And I did not enjoy it one bit. So my verdict was, even ‘unflavored’ wasn’t safe. Moreover, when I worked out in the evenings, there is no way I could drink cold coffee because I knew I’d be hosting my own mata ka jagrata with the kind of energy and jittery feeling I’d have after drinking coffee post 7 pm.

Fourth Try: Func Lab Plant Protein in Chocolate

The Func. Lab Plant Protein – Assorted Flavour Travel Packs

Now comes Func Lab. And I came to this thanks to Instagram. I was influenced to buy it, and I still had my doubts. But, *deep breaths* because I still was delusional to trust Lord Instagram and I bought a trial pack which contained six sachets. 

My feed started showing me recipes made with Func Lab’s chocolate plant protein powder. Brownie bites, chocolate ice cream with 28 grams of protein. It was like my childhood dreams had collided with my adult goals. Because you’re telling me I can have brownies every single day with 28g of protein?!

May just say, I was completely enamored. 

The six sachets contained three flavours. Namely, vanilla, chocolate, and coffee. 

Of course, I jumped to the coffee one first, hoping that I’d save the best [chocolate] and the worst [vanilla] for last. 

 I tried all three, obviously, and Vanilla was not it for me. Personally, I only enjoy that flavour in the form of an ice cream, and that too with chocolate. 

So that one’s on me, not them. 

And the coffee flavour, I liked it and would rate it a solid 7/10, but it didn’t slap as coffee does, and of course, I compared it to my toxic love, The Whole Truth Whey Protein Powder. Nothing really beat it until I drank the chocolate variant. 

It stopped me in my tracks. I remember when I took the first sip; at the cost of sounding dramatic, I shrieked in joy and shouted at the top of my lungs, ‘Eureka!!!’

And you know why it won, because I did not need milk. I could just mix it with water and drink it, which was literally the dream from the very beginning.

 It was so light, and I didn’t feel bloated. Neither did I feel gassy.

 It just felt so good; I was already excited to go to the gym and come back home to drink it. 

After all that chalk, it was a shock. 

And it was a lovely alternative whenever my sweet tooth came knocking, which is basically always. 

A protein shake that works like dessert? I did not know that was allowed in the intimidating world of fitness. 

The coffee heartbreak I still haven’t healed from, and The Whole Truth coffee whey is still the best I have ever had, and I could never find an alternative to it. They don’t make plant protein like that, but the Func Lab’s chocolate variant can’t be treated as a back-up; it really has now become my main man and The One for me. 

And while the search for a good coffee flavour continues, the Func Lab one travels with me everywhere. 

The size is SO good. It comes in these small single-serve sachets. Whenever I’m traveling, I pop one into my bag. If I’m at a cafe, having a meal, or just finishing my meetings, I take it out, mix it with cold water, and drink it right there. 

I don’t need a tub or a scoop. 28 grams of protein goes into my booty, my triceps, and biceps. I am just a really happy girl. And honestly, that’s what finally made my original plan work. I could easily replace one meal with a protein shake. 

And recently, I bought the dark chocolate variant, and somehow it’s even better. It has only 5 ingredients, and it’s sweetened with monk fruit. 

Why do I care about the sweetener? Because stevia tastes weird. It has that same industrial taste I keep complaining about, and I just can’t. 

Monk fruit doesn’t have that at all, so the whole drink tastes cleaner, and it enhances my experience every single time. 

And you know what this experience of drinking a lot of chalk taught me? Plant protein doesn’t HAVE to be chalky. 

But you might need to kiss a few frogs to find your prince. If your skin breaks out on whey, talk to your dermat before giving up on protein altogether. Also, flavored doesn’t always mean tasty, and unflavored doesn’t always mean neutral. 

Even the sweetener can change the whole experience. And yes, a protein shake can replace a meal on a busy day and take the stress out of planning, which is exactly where this whole journey started. 

If you’re about to start your own search, start with trial packs or single sachets, and do not order a ½ kg packet like my dumbass. 

 Try it with water before milk, because that’s the real test. 

Check the ingredient list and the sweetener, since a smaller list is easier to trust. And if you’re counting calories with a sweet tooth, pick a flavor that feels like a treat. 

And give it a few tries before deciding, because the first sip is never the full story.

And if you know a good plant-based coffee flavor? Help a girl out because I’m still looking for one.

The post I Drank a Lot of Chalk to Find ‘The One’ appeared first on Voicey World.