They See my Baggage

I went to my school gym one of those mornings. You know second semester, New-year resolution work out powwow. Anyway I found my weapon of choice, got on, made the necessary adjustments and began my 30 minutes workout. My eyes wandered because I had to keep my mind off the grueling exercise. So I looked around to see what could capture my interest or distract from my ordeal even for a short time.

Then I saw her. She was running on the track. She was bigger than me, dark skinned going at her pace but maintaining it. Her eyes shot straight forward, she wasn't distracted, she had a goal and she looked dead set on achieving it. Of course, I didn't think all these things at the time. On the contrary, I thought ‘Wow that girl is fatter than me’. And I’ll admit, the thought made me feel good.  I'm not proud of it, but rather than see the effort she was making at achieving her clear goal, I saw her weight; even though I had mine. I relished in it, daring to think that I was better than her, because I hadn't allowed myself get that big!

I'm extremely self-conscious, did I ever tell you? Matter of fact, starting this blog was a huge leap for me because I felt I would be putting myself out there and that was a scary thought. But I digress.    My self-consciousness is one of the reasons I hate going to the gym, when I did I stayed on the elliptical and it wasn't without reason. I felt awkward at the gym, I didn't think I looked good working out. I didn't look like those women in Nike ads with abs and good hair, still don’t to be honest. I was flabby, huge and I had terrible gym clothes. The elliptical was easy enough; I wouldn't look as awkward on it as with other exercise machines.

For most people trying to lose weight, there is a natural amount of self-consciousness. If you're Nigerian, it's especially true. Nigerians have no chill. We spew out whatever comes to mind with little sensitivity. Political correctness? Please what is that one? If you're offered food and you decline, "Oh you're watching your height?" If you eat junk food, "hmm as big as you are?" or "You don't like yourself" Everyone's an expert on how you should live your life. Maybe we judge others based on insecurities, deciding to see in what ways we may appear better than the next person so we feel good about ourselves. There are many reasons people try to lose weight. For me, it was because I felt I would be more attractive, I’d fit into clothes better and. While I cannot discount the boost of confidence a trimmer figure gives, I must say you remain essentially the same person bigger or smaller maintaining the same insecurities.

In dealing with my insecurities, I found one who saw the entire picture and that person wasn’t even me. I read HIS letters of love to me, and I began to see what HE saw. Yes I could improve on aspects of me. But I was not insignificant, I am not ugly, I am pretty amazing “… A prized jewel” and above all I was and am worth dying for. I know because someone already did. I was formed and called good by my maker. So were you, so was everyone and our insecurities only blind us from a very obvious truth. I can do anything, I’ll achieve every goal all I need to do is believe.

I would love a society with less vocally opinionated people. Skinny does not always mean Healthy and it’s time people stopped fat shaming. Yeah I said it. Believe me when I say, most people that are overweight are well aware. In fact a lot of us have tried or are trying to lose the weight. Some have resorted to unhealthy measures. The snide comments we make, helps nobody. I have always said, the goal here isn’t simply to lose weight. It’s to live and maintain a healthy well rounded life and believe me the weight will come off. A healthy life is for everyone, fat, skinny or in-between. 

Having said all that, we as individuals must realize that we cannot control what others think or say. We are only ever responsible for our actions. So wherever you are on this journey, it’s ok when they see your baggage. It’s part of your story, and whatever they say matters little. Buy some killa work out clothes. Pack your hair in a pretty practical way so you can ditch the bonnet when you work out. Carry yourself with confidence, you deserve to be there. Eat that piece of cake(in moderation) As long as you know who you are and most especially whose you are, you’re gold! 

BODY CREAM REGIME

NINAS’ SKINCARE ROUTINE

Welcome back my darlings : -} I will like to begin by apologizing for the late post. My handsome brother graduated with honors in Industrial Engineering (not marketing him oh!).  But I am back now to give you guys wonderful tips to leave your skin naturally sun kissed.

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT YOUR BODY CREAM

LETS DIVE IN :)

In my previous posts, I explained how to cure blackheads and generally care for your face. Today, however we are moving on to;

“How to cater for your body” (and I mean from your neck to the sole of your feet)

The body cream you use is as important as the way you carry yourself! (Excuse me Anita? Why so rude)

I say this because you cannot go into a board meeting or an interview looking like a dried cashew nut.  It is “very important” you apply lotion to your skin before leaving your house.  If you are in Nigeria where you cannot predict NEPA, (shout out to Mrs. Diezani and co) you can apply a small portion.

But buying a cream and just applying it sometimes doesn’t give the desired result. Don’t worry though, I got you;

You can add certain oils and other ingredients to your cream that will boost it.

BODY CREAM

Different bodies different types!  When buying your body cream there are certain criteria you should consider;

Questions you should ask yourself

·      Do I sweat a lot?

·      Is my skin dry or oily?

·      Is my skin sensitive?

·      Do I want to lighten up a little or extreme?

After asking these questions and answering them, you are ready to purchase one.

ADD-ON FOR YOUR LOTION

Below is a list of good ingredients you can mix in your cream that will give you excellent results.

·      Coconut oil

·      Lavender oil

·      Shea Butter

                                          WHAT DO I USE?

For moisturizer- I love my body butter (I can never shout!)  So you will always catch me with body butter. Then I mix it with other components.

I do not want to be specific with what brand of lotion I use because, my blog friends our skin varies. 

Add-ons- I mix my body butter with exactly what I highlighted above. But I will explain the importance of the each add- on

Coconut oil – This is one of my best oils. Especially because I live in Nigeria and it is HOT!  Coconut oil absorbs into the skin within seconds without leaving your skin dry.  But I advise not to use the whole bottle just a few drops in your lotion will do the magic.

Lavender oil- Ah! Beautiful scent that can turn any man’s head (hehe if it doesn’t work don’t blame me!). It can be used alone for wounds, burns and improves eczema.

 You can mix it with your lotion as it restores skin complexion and is best for reducing skin acne.

Shea Butter- Hmmm! (Disclaimer: do not use this product on your face!)  If you reside anywhere raw shea butter is sold, count yourself lucky.  You only need a teaspoon of shea butter in your cream.  It is also used as a remedy for dry skin, to help protect the skin’s natural oils.

EXTRA INFORMATION

 When mixing your cream with any of these products, you do not need to empty the add-ons into your cream. Just a few drops will do.

P.S:- Please  you do not have to use the exact products I display in my posts, you can buy a close substitute if you cannot find the product displayed on the blog.

Better still you are always welcome to email me what product you want to substitute and I will be glad to help.

My email address – anitaakuvue2@gmail.com

Plantain boat & Fish?

Hello Beautiful People!
Have I got a treat for y'all. So who doesn't like plantains? Show of hands please, we can't see you, in the back? anybody?
Oh That's right, everybody loves plantains!!
I don't know if you can tell but I was in a bit of a bind coming up with a name for this dish. Well since it's not the name we're eating, feel free to call it whatever you like.

Here we go...

Roasted Plantain

Ingredients:

Plantain (That't it. Go figure...)

Oil-less Vegetable stew (Efo Riri)

Shout out to 9jafoodie for this lovely recipe.
Link: http://www.9jafoodie.com/oil-free-nigerian-soup-efo-vegetable/

However, there are variations I made to the recipe
Ingredients:
Vegetable leaves (Ugwu, Spinach, Green)
Chilli Peppers -10
Bell Pepper -1
Onions - 1 large
Iru(Locust Beans) - 1/2 cup
Meat stock(I didn't use meat because of the fish) - 1/2 cup
Salt - to taste
Cray fish - 1 Tb
Bouillon Cube - 2 cubes

Fish:
1 whole fish (I used Pangasius but it is quite oily so I'd recommend Tilapia)
Chilli Pepper - 3
dried bay leaf, shallots and nutmeg -1 Tb
Ginger & Garlic paste- 1 Tb
Lemon juice - 1 Tb
Onions - 1/2 large or 1 Small
Bell pepper - 1/2
Bouillon Cube- 1 Cube
Salt - to taste

Direction
Preheat oven at 400 degrees.
Peel Plantain skin off and divide it vertical to two equal halves. rub a little bit of vegetable oil on the plantain so it does not stick to the grill. Use a knife to cut marks across the plantain but don't cut all the way through. Arrange plantain on a Grill and put it in the oven. Set at 350 degrees and leave for 30 minutes.

Blend Chilli pepper, onions, bell pepper and crayfish. Ensure that you maintain a coarse texture so don't blend finely. Drain out excess water and pour in the mixture to the pot.

Let it simmer for 10-15 minutes. Add in Iru, Bouillon cubes meat stock and salt. leave for 5-8 minutes. Add chopped washed vegetable leaves, stir well. Cook for 3 minutes.

Cut and clean fish. Blend chilli pepper, onions and bell pepper. mix in 2 Tb spoons of the blend to the fish. Add ginger & garlic paste, dried bay leaves, nutmeg and shallots, bouillon cube and salt. Mix it all with the fish. Add lemon juice. Leave fish to marinate, while you preheat oven.

Oil oven pan. Arrange fish on the pan.
Place pan in preheated oven for 15-20 minutes at 350 degrees.








Serve all components

Healthy Life Loopholes- Food

Everyone knows just how important food is to a living organism. It’s a lot more important to a Healthy Human. So for this post, we will be dealing with food. LOL How to manage our eating habits so we can get the most from a meal. Here’s part two Healthy Life Loopholes!

1.       It’s all in the plating: In primary/elementary school, we’re taught the various classes of food.
      I’m sure you remember Carbohydrates (Carbs) Proteins, Fats &Oil, etc. As well as what functions they perform in the body. We need each class of food. However, we need them in varying proportions. Nigerians eat a very carb based diet. Rice, yam, eba, amala… 

      with a side of meat (one or two pieces)
      sometimes vegetables, every time literal oil.
      I just wanna say, that is a very poor
      interpretation of a balanced diet. An
      ideal meal should have its protein and
      vegetables as the main focus with a side of
      carbs. I made a pie chart illustrating what
      a healthy plate should look like.

 Eat your veggies first: This is not a rule, but if you’re not such a fan of greens it helps if you get rid of them first. You know, save the best for last; you can also eat them with your carbs but ensure the veggies are finished first. Truth is when you really get into  eating healthy, you’ll start loving your veggies. Plus there are great ways to prepare them so they taste amazing on their own.

Chew your food: The digestive process for some classes of food begin in the mouth. Chewing your food properly does two things. One it hastens digestion; chewing food increases the surface area of the food particles for the enzymes to work on. Two when you take time to chew  your food, you’re less likely to overeat.

Drinks: We haven’t really talked about it, but soda(soft drinks), sparkle juices, malt drinks etc are a huge no no. (We will get into more detail in a future post) However, sometimes we just want to drink something sweet that isn’t water. You can infuse fruits in your regular water. Cut up a couple of your fave fruits into a bottle of water and leave it in the fridge for a few hours.  It makes for a nice healthy flavored drink. 

Something else you can try is homemade flavored iced tea. Basically, place two tea bags in a small cup of hot water, ensuring that the water is completely infused with the tea. Pour tea into a clean blender  add fruit and ice and blend. Use a small sieve to get rid of fruit particles and enjoy your iced tea.  

Healthy Life Loopholes - Hunger Pangs...

Hey beautiful people, this week’s posts are a bit different from the last two weeks. For starters, there are no “journey” posts. Don’t worry though, more of those will come later. (I like telling stories) This week however we will start a new thread. It’s called “Healthy Life Loopholes” not to be confused with our blog name. LOL.

Let’s get right to it then.

According to NHS (National Health Service) an adult male should ingest no more than 2500 calories a day, while an adult female should consume 2000. What that translates to is three meals of no more than 500 calories a day and snacks totaling 500 calories.(at least for women) If we start taking account of just how much we consume daily, it may shock us how far above the daily limit we ingest.

Like many of you, I wondered how I would cope with eating less, but I realized after I’d battled inner demons(I kid, I kid) that there are a couple of loopholes(Hacks) to take advantage of. 

So here they are:

 Never go grocery shopping on an empty stomach: You know how you get in the grocery store and you haven't had anything to eat. There are all these delicious food items(not on your grocery list) that you absolutely have to get. Bag of chips, ice cream, fresh popcorn and meat pie from the hot food section. Why? Cause everything looks and smells so darn delicious.

Umm well “You’re not yourself when you’re hungry” but don’t eat a chocolate bar. ;-)
Truth is you’re hungry. Your brain's telling your stomach your body needs food and your senses are telling your brain that food is near. Seeing as we naturally crave unhealthy food, you’d be more susceptible to purchase and consume the wrong food items. So make sure you are not hungry when you go any kind of shopping.

 Stay ahead of your hunger: Don’t wait till you’re really hungry before you eat. Eat your food and snacks at the right time. That way you’re not tempted to gobble up more than you should.

Drink Water: Water fills you up and it has zero fat, calories, sugar etc. When you’re really hungry and you feel you can eat a horse, calm down, drink a glass of water before your meal. You won’t over eat.

Tell yourself you don’t need it: Take charge of your body. When next you’re staring unhealthy food in the face (and it’s not cheat day) tell yourself “I don’t need it” it really works. You have more power than you know.

When a person is really hungry, they tend to eat much more than they need. It's always good to have a healthy snack handy to better curtail hunger; And boy have we got you covered. Check out the "Healthy Snacks" post for great ideas. 

That’s all for now guys. Be sure to comment any questions and feel free to share these tips with friend and foes.

My next post on this thread will be : HLL- food! 

Some Healthy Food to Snack on!

Hey guys, so if you read our "Journey" post, you'd see that I wrote a lot about snacking right. I decided it would be a good idea to list some healthy foods we can snack on, as well as portion control.

Starting us off... You guessed it.
Carrots: I love me some carrots. They are delicious and contain no cholesterol. They are also a good source of vitamins. A large carrot contains on 30 calories, so feel free to stuff your face on these.

Mixed Nuts: Pour in the cashew nut, walnut, pistachios and peanuts and let's go nuts! Mixed nuts are low in carbs and sodium. While they are rich in fiber, magnesium, zinc, unsaturated fats and Calories! So you may want to take it easy with this one. I recommend 1 cup serving size.

Bananas: Bananas are huge source of potassium, fiber and vitamin C. They are also a good source of carbohydrates and protein that's why they are very filling. They are great for curbing hunger. One serving size (1 medium banana) contains about 110 calories and has zero fat, cholesterol and sodium.

Dark Chocolate: Dark chocolate is very nutritious, it contains antioxidants. It's also rich in minerals like iron and magnesium. Quality dark chocolate is rich in fiber. It is important to consume dark chocolate in moderation however, as it contains sugar and fat. One square of this wonderful snack is a perfect serving size, or two if you feel you wanna live a little.
Note: Look out for chocolates with high amounts of cocoa.

Apple and Peanut Butter: Ooh I love this snack. Apples are an amazing fruit high in fiber and vitamins, low calories, no fat. Need I say more? They are great by themselves but if you want to spice up your snack, add a table spoon of almond or peanut butter and it will feel as though you're spoiling yourself. But we know better ;-)

Photo cred: (Apple and peanut butter) Artondra Hall https://www.flickr.com/photos/projectart69/8556667699

Hard Boiled Eggs: "But eggs are fatty?" Calm yourself. Hard boiled eggs contain unsaturated fat which is good fat. They are high in protein and vitamins. They are also good for your bones and eyes. One large egg contains 80 calories; feel free to add a dash of black pepper if it tastes too bland for you.

Multi grain cereal: Fiber, low carbs, unsaturated fat all packed up in one bowl of awesomeness. A serving size which is one cup contains between 110-150 calories. You can snack on these dry or add a cup of low-fat milk and make a meal out of it. Good cereal brands to try include Kellogg's Bran flakes, multi grain Cheerios, special K, fruit and fiber is good too but it contains more sugar than the others.

Fruits: Don't you just love a bowl of fresh fruit salad. They're sweet, colorful you can take 'em whole, you can blend them (Smoothies) mix 'em up. They are also super healthy. Oranges are great for cleansing the system they are also a great source of fiber, vitamin C and antioxidants. Water melons are also a great fruit to snack on and they are filling. Papaya, Pineapple, mango, blueberries the list goes on. Some of the tropical fruits like mango and pineapple have a higher caloric count. Don't sweat it though, they're not that much, Pineapple has 50 calories for a serving size (100g) and mango has 60 calories for a serving size. Happy Snacking!!

Frozen Grapes: Grapes are great for snacking as they are, however when you freeze them, they become reborn. Frozen grapes have a chewy texture because grapes never completely freeze over, so they give a candy feel, though they are perfectly healthy. They are high in vitamin B and minerals, low in fat. They are also high in sugar, so I recommend you take a cup of these beauties.

 Photo credit: Frozen Grapes; https://www.flickr.com/photos/chefcooke/9637782114/in/photolist-fFE9R9-fA7WnL-fFE97h-eNrePv-73upnu-9FuaRL-57ACvT-fpqUou-8t3nJQ-dhYz8C-9jZXeC-gb1jQi-a7anjr-FxdT6b-b2pA1n-nz7oRT-j5odFp-djWsdT-oxQD4p-nJv2Vo-dVs3eN-fFBiyg-fgHMCv-afFNQV-q81D6K-aVChPp-9Hk4DC-5XYUon-d1n4S1-eGk3aF-oK1SbA-d93f3q-dc99H3-avj2KV-5DsfuK-qReZhj-eeviU4-4q8Zks-8HmtQL-rZkTTF-gckmwS-4fqXXb-v7uvM7-opvQsA-fQfvpw-wakXLa-v1Xjw5-6D8J4-byZzq4-j7rxK

That's all for now guys. If you have any questions or concerns, leave them in the comment section and I'll be pleased to answer. Live Healthy and have a great week!