Fun Snacks: Homemade Hummus

I know I haven't posted anything in a while. I've been traveling and enjoying life. Since the last year or so I have made it an effort to change my diet, be more physically active and find ways to deal with stress. I decided to cook more and eat out less often. I also joined the Lose To Win Challenge on losetowin.net. I have decided to give up shopping for things I don't need and stopped eating out for 30 days. This is good for me because it forces me to eat home cooked meals. So far it's going great and  I've been perfecting my recipes. I'll be posting about my journey throughout the month and post some of my favorite recipes as well. 

Today I decided to make my own hummus dip. Usually I buy the permade kind for about $5-$6 each. They have various flavors and brands to chose from at the grocery store. I have decided to only eat organic and gluten-free meals so it's more expensive and may not taste the way I want. In this recipe I do not measure because I feel like home cooking should be eyeballed and can always be adjusted along the way. These are the essential ingredients you will need:

Chick peas (garbanzo beans) 

Tahini ( roasted ground sesame seeds)

Olive oil 

Garlic

Water 

Lemon Juice

Choice of veggies and spices

First begin by cooking the chick peas. Since they will take a while, I usually soak them in warm water for a couple of hours. Once you have done this put them into a pot for a couple of hours or until the are soft inside and out. 

Once they are cooked I put them into a blender with a little bit of water in the pot. I have a regular blender so it take a while to completely blend the beans so I usually add more water as needed. 

After they have began to liquefy I gradually add the tahini a spoonful at a time depending on how I want it to taste. I then add more olive oil spoonfuls at a time. 

After it has been blended to a good consistency I place it into a container that I can store it in. 

I usually mix a paste of garlic, ginger, olive oil, lemon juice and a little water and blend it until it is a liquid. I use this for both of the containers as a staple mix. 

After that I can basically have fun and mix in whatever I want into the hummus. In one  container I decided to keep mix in herbs such as: dill, and rosemary. I also added in spices like: tumeric, oregano, and cinnamon. 

On the second container I wanted to make a southwest tasting hummus. I added red onions, tomatoes, cilantro and  jalapeños. 

 

And this is the finished product. 

People usually like to eat it with pita bread, but I decided to use blue corn chips. The reason I chose these veggies and spices is because of their nutritional value and I don't have to compromise for taste. I store them in the refrigerator and they will last for about a week and my guest and I can enjoy at enjoy time. 

HOT YOGA

                                                                       

                                                               HOT YOGA! 

Ever since starting this practice, I was so mad at myself for not discovering it earlier. I love to do yoga but I felt as if it wasn't challenging me enough. I heard about hot yoga by doing some research on the internet. It's benefits are great with only has one downside; I'll give a brief history and talk about what I have gained since starting it.

Known as Bikram yoga it was founded by Bikram Choudhury. It became popular in the 1970's and it uses traditional hatha yoga techniques. It is usually practiced in a heated room of 105 degrees Farhenheit (40.6 Celcius).

Before you decide to take a Bikram class, do your research by looking at the rating for the places that you have considered going to. Membership is also important so before you decide to join, try getting a day pass to make sure that you like the place. Do no be discouraged to join because it is for all ages, sizes and level of knowledge in the practice. Yoga is definitely beneficial for everyone who practices it. The point is to be comfortable with your body and to take it at your own pace.

CLOTHING, is very important because you want to make sure that what you wear will be comfortable and stretchy. I always just resort to a pair of yoga shorts and a sports bra, or tank top. The room is very, very hot so you want your body to be able to breathe and sweat without bothering you.

THE HEAT, being in a heated room is basically like sitting in a sauna. It helps to increase your blood flow, boost your metabolism. It is also beneficial to your internal organs and digestive system.

WEIGHT LOSS, although I did not join intending to lose weight I did lose 5 pounds. One should be careful when doing this practice because you lose a lot of water weight. I find it more beneficial to practice Bikram in the morning because it is a good way to wake up my body and get my mind ready for the rest of my day. It is also a good way to stretch before my morning run and workout (which I will address on another post later on this week).

MEDITATION, is one of the reasons why I practice yoga. It is a good way to have your mindset focused on positive feelings. Our everyday lives can get very busy and people do not usually have time to meditate. It also encourages me to listen to my body and believe in myself in order to perfect a certain posture.

HYDRATION! HYDRATION! HYDRATION! I would say that is is the only negative thing about Bikram yoga. Before you begin a class for the first time I would advise that you hydrate ALOT the day BEFORE you take the class. Your body will get ride of the toxins in the form of sweat and you should be constantly be hydrating yourself. We all know how it feels to be dehydrated and I don't think anyone  willingly wants to go through symptoms.

I have been practicing Bikram yoga for a month now and my experience has been great. I would highly recommend it for every to at least try it, if your health permits you to do so.

Good Hair! My Curly Journey

I've always found it difficult to talk about this topic, not because it is hard but because of its complexities in society. I am not going to address the problems of black hair or get anywhere political because that is no fun. Rather I will talk about my hair journey and the routine I use today. 

Ever since I was a child hair has ALWAYS been an issue. I had strong beautiful, full, thick, coarse hair and because of that I had to keep it braided. Ever since I started school I could not imagine myself having a bad hair day. I was trained to keep my hair neat and clean. This type of mental training began to torment me as a child. I had a mother that could not braid- crazy right! I had to accept that fact that I would have to be able to braid my own hair if my mother couldn't find anyone else to braid it. So everyday I would braid my barbies hair, whether they were blonde, brunette or even the Brandy one, ALL of them had their hair braided. 

Circa: 1998

Braids, Braids, Braids

As I grew into my teenage years I got better at braiding my own hair. Whenever I couldn't find anyone to braid my hair I relied on myself. My senior year of high school is when I really broke out of my hair weave shell. I wore my hair without weave for the first time and it felt liberating. I thought about why I didn't do it in the first place because it wasn't hard to do. Now this wasn't a simple let your hair hang loose type situation, there were challenges. My hair had been relaxed maybe three times, I had new growth at the scalp and it was difficult to style or even manage. I could not handle the maintenance of my hair so I decided to just go back to my protective style by wearing a weave or braids. 

Circa:2008

This is my hair, two year growth with relaxers. 

Once college came around I decided to go completely natural. I didn't really know what I was getting myself into. At first i didn't think it was going to be difficult because black people wear their hair natural all the time. I did research on hair growth, types of hair, and what products were good for my hair. I came up with five steps that I now use as a ritual whenever I cut my hair or go natural.

1.) Forget about the misconception that "in order to have good hair it has to be straight and relaxed". 

I think this was my biggest problem because I grew up in a predominantly Caucasian city. We were one of the first black immigrant families to move to Faribault, Minnesota. My conception of what beauty is was based off what was around me. Although it is not a problem to have Britney Spears as a role model, I began to think that all girls wanted to look like her. One of my favorite black role models was Brandy, because she was someone that I could relate to. Once I got older I accepted the fact that not everyone wanted to have blonde hair and blue eyes. Even with this notion I still struggled with my hair. Until I finally did my research.

2.) Do your RESEARCH!

Even though we have had this hair for as long as we can remember, there is still a lot of information that can be helpful. I went online and came across a website that I call "My Holy Grail of Hair 101." I came across this website from a girlfriend who had lost her hair to a relaxer and she was in the process of growing it back. The website is called http://www.healthyhairjourney.com. Not only did this website provide information about hair growth, they also have products to help protect your hair. There also other healthy hair forums and blogs for example: Alikaynaturals.com, curlynikki.com to name a few. I have also found ways to make my own hair products and conditioners. If you decide to go natural then make an effort to use natural products. There are things you can use that are located in your kitchen to help maintain your hair.

3.) Figure out your: CURL PATTERN

When I first came across this word I was real confused because I simply thought that my hair was just curly. I went on this website(http://www.naturallycurly.com/pages/hairtypes/type4) to find out what my curl pattern is. I found that my curl pattern is 4C. The type of products you can use will depend on the type of curl that you have. The smaller the curl the more frequent you need to deep condition and maintain it.

4C curl Pattern

4.) Be Healthy

Healthy hair comes from the individual living a healthy lifestyle. It doesn't matter what type of hair you have but if you do not take care of yourself mentally and physically, your hair will show it. Exercising is very very good for hair growth because it stimulates blood flow, which stimulates hair growth. Be sure to eat healthy foods that have plenty of vitamins. During my college days, buying foods that were rich in vitamins was beginning to get expensive so I took a different route and bought vitamins. the best vitamins for hair growth and strength are: Biotin (helps grow hair, skin, and nails), B-vitamins (help with hair, skin, nails, metabolism and often contain Biotin), and MSM (help with the maintaining the length of a hair strand). This website also has great vitamins specifically for hair growth: hairfinity.com. Now, vitamins should not be used in place of food, you should try to maintain a well balanced diet as often as possible. There is no substitute for the nutrients that raw food gives you. 

5.) Lastly: LOVE YOUR HAIR!!!!

No matter how, curly, coil, or zig-zaggy it looks, love the fact that it makes you, YOU! Over the years I have gone through a lot of challenges with my hair but it has allowed me to explore and educate myself. I still get braids, and have weaves as a protective style but I now appreciate my hair the way it is. We still have things to worry about, but our hair should not hold us down. It should be the least of our problems. Don't let it define you. 

LOVE YOURSELF 

AND EMBRACE IT!