Keto Lunch (Spiced diced chicken and cabbage)

Recipe

Chicken breast 2
Fresh Ginger
Garlic
Fresh pepper
Curry powder
Seasoning cube
Salt
Keto compliant oil (Olive or coconut oil)
Cabbage

Method

Wash and dice your chicken breast and drain. Pound or crush all the spices together and mix with the diced chicken. Keep in the fridge to marinate after adding your seasoning cube and salt. Set your pan on a medium heat stove, add three table spoons of oil, turn your chicken that has marinated into it. Stir and cover the pan. I like mine soft and succulent, so I lower the heat and let it simmer. Serve with the cabbage salad.

Keto Foods

I first heard of Keto about two years ago when someone added me to a group on social media. I read a lot of testimonies and saw loads of pictures which confirmed such testimonies. At first, I was sceptical, then when I became convinced I started counting the cost. Finally, somewhere in May of last year I decided to give it a try.

After the first three weeks there were remarkable changes which I'll share in due course. However, before I made move I did a load of research. My premise was the health implications of the ketogenic lifestyle; the affordability of foods and ; the availability of such foods. I'm domiciled somewhere in Africa right now, so my considerations have to be based on whether I could get some of the core food items easily. For those in United Kingdom, Tesco, Sainsbury, Morrison's to mention a few, could be of help, while the wharlmarts of USA could come to the aid of those living there. Meanwhile, if you live in Semi urban areas where I live, things might not come so easy.

All in all I gave Keto a try and I will be sharing some information as well as experiences with you on this page. Cheers!

The Sugarcane Exposé

Hello there, it's being a little while. Today I want to help us understand a little bit of how a man feels in the murky waters of you (his wife) versus others. My childhood friend got married to the love of her life not too long ago, but before the marriage they had been through some really turbulent times. The turbulence, however, is not what I want to talk to you about.

The story is that my friend's boo had a way of cutting her sugarcanes specially. I can't tell you just how special he did them because I never took note.  The point here is, one day, boo's brother came calling and bought them some sugarcane. My friend then told boo to make them for her in the special way he used to, he probably gave a flimsy excuse or just snorted away. My friend wasn't too happy with that, after all boo knows she's pregnant. Could he not have been more considerate?

The truth of the mater, especially to an African man, is that he does not want to be seen, called or imagined as a weakling who is always at the beck and call of his woman. He wants to be in charge, to be RESPECTED by his woman. To my friend, doing what she wanted would have been a simple show of affection, but to boo, it would be belittling him before his brother. There is the third party, other persons' creation of conflicts in our relationships that we as women find difficult to understand. In our bedroom, my husband and I argue extensively over issues we are passionate about. However, when we are with other people, he would rather I don't argue too much. Does this make sense to you? Think deep and tell me.

Blood is Thicker 2

Here I go... Imagine mother in law visited, and for dinner, you spent time in the kitchen to prepare a sumptuous meal. However, on presentation at the dinner table you hear "I don't usually eat this...son you remember now". Your poor husband placed on a spot apologises to her and turns to you with that look only the two of you understand. "Mum, I'm sorry. I'll just go make some wheat meal for you. Would you like that?" She doesn't as much as turn to answer you. You get to the kitchen to do it anyway... Now while in the kitchen, I want you to note some things;
1. She's not going to be there forever.
2. Your husband knows what is going on and he is on your side.
3. Your kindness is only going to frustrate her plans.
4. Most importantly, he is your husband now, not Mama's baby.
So, hang in there, set your eyes on the big picture,  after all as I wrote earlier in What is the Colour of Love there is enough love to go round. Ponder on this.

Blood is Thicker 2

Here I go... Imagine mother in law visited, and for dinner, you spent time in the kitchen to prepare a sumptuous meal. However, on presentation at the dinner table you hear "I don't usually eat this...son you remember now". Your poor husband placed on a spot apologises to her and turns to you with that look only the two of you understand. "Mum, I'm sorry. I'll just go make some wheat meal for you. Would you like that?" She doesn't as much as turn to answer you. You get to the kitchen to do it anyway... Now while in the kitchen, I want you to note some things;
1. She's not going to be there forever.
2. Your husband knows what is going on and he is on your side.
3. Your kindness is only going to frustrate her plans.
4. Most importantly, he is your husband now, not Mama's baby.
So, hang in there, set your eyes on the big picture,  after all as I wrote earlier in What is the Colour of Love there is enough love to go round. Ponder on this.

Blood is thicker than quoi?

Sometimes, I can't really help pondering on the intricacies of relationships. A young lady, with the intent of marrying, visits her brother's matrimonial home and immediately begins to analyse her sister in law's actions. She suddenly wants to protect her sibling from this female 'other', and does it very well without mercy.

Sometimes it could even be with the blessings of parents (mothers, most often), to frustrate the bride and make her understand that this home is not hers. However, I have learnt over time that "what goes around, comes around", if you refuse to do as you would be done bye KARMA awaits you where you are going as a bride. Did I hear you say "blood is thicker than water"? Well who is blood and who is water? Blood don't cook his food and meet his needs now, water does. So, give her some breathing space and go build yourself a home.

Knowing When to Stop (repeat)

I love travelling, but I find it more convenient to go 'public' because, that way I get to observe a lot of things. I observe how people eat, sleep, talk, even how people keep to themselves. Its fun to travel and see the world when you're not driving.

I'll be talking about how people eat today, I have to because of an experience I had last week. Celebrations are unavoidable, when good things happen in Africa we celebrate. This is when we display our new shoes, dresses, and different kinds of dishes are cooked and displayed for your sense of sight, smell and taste. For those of us that are of Nigerian descent you know you cannot mix some types of food. For example, you cannot have moimoi ( beans pudding, the best way to describe it) and pounded yam on the same plate. However, you cannot explain this to a foreigner, you might end up not eating because of the time you will spend explaining.

The preceding is just w preamble. I boarded the same bus the other day, with a woman who was coming from a party. It was a burial, but that doesn't kill the appetite. She had different kinds of food packed in a bag. After settling into her seat, she brought out the pack of pounded yam, she was telling her companion of just how delicious the food was. I watched her with keen interest as she leaked up everything, she was a good eater. She washed her hands and I thought it was over. Alas, the pack of rice came out too , then I began to wonder "which stomach is that going into?".

In life, we ought to know when to say stop to our appetites. Whatever the appetite might be for...food, sex, wine etc. Until we can rule them they might ruin us. The woman in question was obese to say the least, had issues with her knees because of her weight, yet she didn't know when to say 'stop'. No matter the diet or fitness regime we must learn when we have had enough for our body weights. Think about this, before you take the next bite.