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.

What is the Colour of Love

Love, love, love. This word is so deep that some languages have more than one word for it. In Greek the word love is divided into Eros, Filio and Agape. The Eros is the kind of love a man or woman has for a lover/ spouse, while the Filio is the love for family members. The Agape on its own part is the unconditional love that comes by grace.

My question then is, if love is so different why do people struggle to keep it all? A young man gets married, then his mother or family begin to feel threatened that she is taking away his love for them. They simply do not know that it is possible to love his wife to the moon and back, and also love his family. The English language and many other languages have made the colour of love just one single shade, but it's not. There are different shades for  every one, you don't need to crave for the other person's shade in your special person's life. You mustn't ruin your family because you feel your special person love's the other more.

Are you in a mixed family and you feel your spouse loves his children more than he does you? That is simply not true, he has a hundred percent of Eros for you and the same amount of Filios for his children. Enjoy your relationship in the light of the Grecian definition of love, and don't  constrain yourself to a conservative definition. Go on and enjoy yourself! Cheers

My Mama Made for Me

There are days I just find myself longing for some particular food my Mama used to cook while I was a kid. You know, like most children, I thought my Mama was going to live forever. I never took time to learn any particular dish, because I felt anytime I wanted I could just go to her and voila!

My advice to us all is, don't take Mama's kitchen for granted, one day Mama would be gone and I want to assure you that following the recipe would never give the exact taste you are craving for. While they are with us let's make the effort of asking questions and knowing exact ingredients, quantities and time for those special dishes. Mama's kitchen rocks!

Fast food vs nutritious food

Fast food, junk food, sweets, you name them, are ever so tempting giving us immediate satisfaction. On the long run, however, they are dangerous to our health.

In the same vein, those things inimical to our marriages, are ever so tempting. The other woman/man are the junk food destroying the body of your marriage. Just like its not so easy to get over this kind of food, its also not so easy to get over illicit affairs. They are unhealthy options, alternatives to ailing relationships, and just like the junk food option gives you temporary satisfaction but long term problems (obesity, diabetes, cholesterol) so would your life be troubled.

Your marriage is not just about you, marriage, like salad, is a blend of different people brought together by this mysterious bond. So, before you go for the junk, alternative, option that is not so healthy, think of the partner you are hurting, the children you are disappointing and the parents you are disgracing. Its not all about you, its about options beneficial to everyone involved.

He Designed This Blog

"Mummy, you can do it" my son said to me, I've never been so good with technology. I make a lot of spelling mistakes not to talk of grammatical errors, yet he insisted I could do something with the blog.

I haven't done much because I was still doubting myself, but tonight celebrating a 'believer in mummy' is setting the pace for great things ahead. Thank you 'my Baba'

Mercy's Kitchen: Potatoes and fish mashed together

Mercy's Kitchen: Potatoes and fish mashed together

Mashed Potatoes and fish

While my eldest son was being weaned, we needed to think of something healthy and digestible for him. So we came up with the idea of adding mashed potatoes and fish (porridge) to his meal. That is adding deboned fish to potato porridge.

The first one we made was not too much of a success because we noticed that he did not digest the potatoes. He, however, loved the food. So we decided to cook the porridge until very soft before adding the fish and cooking together. After this, we mashed everything together, not with a masher but a spoon, so it would look somehow like soup.

My baby loved this dish, and I can assure you that he was a very healthy baby. I'll share the recipe with you some other time. However, if you are in a hurry to try it out, take out all bones or use a boneless fish. Abiento

Noodles Enriched 2

Noodles and Veggies

"Never say never" when it comes to creating or being imaginative about foods. Cut your carrots into little bits, cut your cabbage, chop your onions, then for variety's sake you could pound your pepper. Set your pan on the fire with a tablespoonful of oil, add your onions and stir for a bit.

Your pepper comes in next. Now, make sure that the pepper is just enough for a child's taste buds. Add your carrots then your cabbage. Give your fries some taste with some seasonings.

The last thing you do is boil your noodles with some seasoning and drain. You could either mix the fries and the noodles together or set the fries at the side of your plate of noodles. Garnish with some sliced tomatoes. Voilà!

Ingredients

Noodles
Onions
Carrots
Cabbage
Pepper
Oil
Seasoning
Tomatoes

Noodles Enriched

Noodles, originally an Asian meal, has traversed the length and breadth of the global village. Almost every Nigerian child takes a variant of noodles to school, otherwise the eat it for breakfast.

On its own the noodles contain little or no nutrient, but parents can enrich it making it more nutritious by adding some protein, vitamins, fats and oils. Here we go.

Noodles and Eggs

Put some water in your sauce pan, place it on the fire to let it boil. Place a pack of your favourite noodles in the water for just a minute. Drain the noodles then set your frying pan on the fire, Put in a spoon of healthy oil (olive oil preferably), add your diced onions, chopped pepper and tomatoes. Let it fry a bit then add your seasoning (make sure its healthy), pour in your whisked eggs and stir. The noodles come in last, cover up your pan for two minutes then bring down, your nutritious noodles are ready to eat. Garnish with some grated carrots and sliced cucumber.

Ingredients

Noodles
Eggs
Onions
Pepper
Tomatoes
Oil
Seasoning
Carrots
Cucumber

Disclaimer:

We do not own some of the images posted on this blog, if they are yours and you wish for them to be removed, then send us a message on hitadus12@gmail.com

Fruit Salad

Rice at its best

Coconut Rice and Jollof Rice

Fried Peppered Chicken

Some Nigerian Dishes

Grilled Peppered Chicken

Boli(Roasted plantain) with Roasted Fish

Turkey

Peppered Beef and Jolof Rice

QUANTITY

We have talked about time and quality, the next thing is quantity. A lot of people, even I, say things like “I have gotten rid of a lot of junk yet I am not losing enough weight”. We always forget that no matter how right that food is for your body too much of it can do more harm than good. One thing I did not add in my previous story is that Khadija was given a measure from the hospital, she had to measure out every meal she took. It was painful and slow but she said she started seeing results in a month. I have done a lot of harmful and unguided dieting like skipping breakfast and dinner and fruit fast, but the fact was that I gave in to my bodily demands by eating as much as I wanted. The more you eat the more calories counting against you. Let’s be wise!