Tuesday, September 13, 2016

Vegetable Stir-Fry with Sticky Rice


*in Kevin Hart voice* I promise you boo boo, you're going to LOVE this recipe. It's just as good or even better than the Chinese restaurants.

Vegetables (click each ingredient to see examples)
Note: When using white cabbage, only use the white leaves. Peel and discard the green cabbage leaves until the white leaves are exposed.

Rice
  •   3 cups sweet rice; the brand I used was Hakubai but I believe any brand will do
Seasonings
  • 3 tbsp. soy sauce; I used the Kikkoman brand
  • Salt (to taste)
  • 1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper
  • 8 tbsp. olive oil
  • 6 tbsp. water mixed with 1 tbsp. flour
Tools
  • Skillet
  • 2 Mixing bowls
  • Cutting board
  • Kinfe
  • Food Processor (or just use the knife if you don't have one)
  • Cheese grater (if you aren't using a food processor)
  • Measuring spoons
  • Medium sized pot
  • Tap water
  • 7 cups drinking water
Part 1:
  1. Add rice to one of the mixing bowls. Add 4 cups (bottled) water to the rice until the water is about 1 inch above the rice. Let soak for at least 30 minutes.
  2. After 30 minutes, pour water off of the rice. Add the same amount of tap water to the rice and gently wash the rice with your hand by moving your hand through the rice in circles. Pour the water off of the rice and repeat this process until the water in the bowl is clear.
  3. Place the pot on a stove top on high heat.
  4. Add the rice to the pot, add 3 cups of water to the rice, then close the lid. Do not stir the rice during the cooking process.
  5. After about 5 - 10 minutes, when the rice is boiling, change to medium heat and leave the lid open a little so the water won't overflow.
  6. When you can no longer see the water, lower the heat to low and let it steam for about 10 minutes. Remove from stove top and prepare to cook vegetables.
Note: Do not add salt to the rice until after you cook the vegetables. Adding salt to the rice before tasting how much salt is in the vegetables can cause the dish to become too salty once the dish is mixed together. You may find that you do not need to add salt to the rice once you add the vegetables to it.

Part 2:
  1. Place the peeled garlic and ginger into the food processor (FP). Pulse until the ingredients become fine pieces. If you are using a knife (K), mince the garlic and ginger.
  2. Remove the garlic and ginger mix from the FP and place in one of the mixing bowls.
  3. Shred the carrots, either by hand or in the food processor. At this point you are done with the FP and the carrots can be left in the FP bowl.
  4. Using your cutting board, cut the remaining vegetables as described under the Vegetable section above.
  5. Place a skillet on the stove on medium high heat, add 2 tbsp. olive oil to the pan and let it heat up. To test if your pan is hot enough, add a small piece of garlic. You should hear a light sizzle, this means your pan is ready.
  6. Add the garlic and ginger mix to the pan along with the crushed red pepper. Stir and leave in pan for about 30 seconds. Scoop out the mix and set them aside in the mixing bowl.
  7. Repeat step 5 and add the sliced onions and scallions. Cook for 1 minute. Place in mixing bowl with garlic and ginger mix.
  8. Repeat step 5 and add the zucchini and yellow squash. Cook for 30 seconds. Place in mixing bowl.
  9. Repeat step 5 and add the carrots. Cook for 1 minute. Place in mixing bowl. 
  10. Without adding any additional oil to the pan, add the sliced cabbage. Cook for 2 minutes. Place in mixing bowl with other vegetables. Place the pan on low heat
  11. In a small cup mix the flour and water until smooth.
  12. Add the soy sauce and flour mixture into the pan and whisk until smooth. Turn the stovetop on to medium high heat again. Let sauce simmer until it starts to gently bubble (not boil).
  13. Add the vegetables back into the pan and mix until coated with the sauce.
  14. Taste and add salt or more soy sauce if necessary. Mix and let simmer for 30 seconds. Place vegetables into a serving bowl. Serve hot. Enjoy!

Monday, July 25, 2016

How Many Likes Are You Worth?



Art by Naeemah Zaakirah
Social media (SM) is an online communication network that has taken the world by storm; it seems like it happened over night. In the world of SM, your value is determined by how many followers, likes, retweets, comments or shares you get. The more the merrier. This need to be liked on SM tends to spill over into the real world and alters many peoples reality. Unfortunately, the result has ended many relationships, including the one we have with ourselves. If any of this sounds familiar to you, you know what I'm talking about:

*posts what you think is a really good IG photo*

then you wait...
Fig. 1: Bing search
*checks phone; no likes*

maybe you'll just give it a little more time

*checks phone again; no likes*
Fig. 2: Bing search
At this point, many people will either delete the post all together or delete the post and then repost it at another time, and go through the same process all over again. But why? Why don't we just leave the post up? We liked it when we posted it, so shouldn't that be good enough? In the world of SM, it's not. When that happens, some may get all bent out of shape, start questioning life, and others go to the extreme and are willing to do anything for the likes, such as revealing their body. It's become a disease from some people and a sickness for others.


The same thing goes for those who have a business on SM. Just because people aren't liking or sharing your product doesn't mean that it doesn't have any value. The world does not begin and end on SM. Take your product to the people and sell your product. Do what you love. Support yourself and do everything you want everyone else to do and more. Tweet and retweet your own product, share your idea with the world, believe in yourself and most importantly believe in God.

It is unhealthy to allow people to take our power and control us in such a way that it get's us out of character. We should never place our value and the value of what we do in the hands of others, because we'll never find it. We should love ourselves and what God has blessed us with. God is not going to play you. He will support you and give you everything you need. He wouldn't give you a gift and just opt not to give you an instruction manual and the right tools. Just be patient and have faith in Him. Don't allow SM to take your eyes off of the One whose likes really matter, God. Follow Him and you will be 1000% okay with liking yourself.

"Whenever you feel disappointment, that is the time you must reach for The Creator to give you balance. We can never gain balance without striving for it. Struggle for balance and finally God may allow us to achieve it. [1,2]"


Photo sources:
[1] http://www.reactiongifs.us/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/cookie_monster_waiting.gif

[2] https://www.bing.com/images/search?q=Waiting+gif&view=detailv2&&id=E62406BDE456CD71150BA951073837E8459F5EFD&selectedIndex=104&ccid=RfsxNeR6&simid=608038375151830109&thid=OIP.M45fb3135e47a8cf3e7e7a68ad7f7cc52o0&ajaxhist=0

Literature sources:
[1] https://twitter.com/LouisFarrakhan/status/356240536685916163

[2] https://twitter.com/LouisFarrakhan/status/150227083484872705

Wednesday, July 20, 2016

Cauli-tatoes Recipe


Cauli-tatoes are a great and delicious substitute for mashed potatoes!
  • 1 large head of cauliflower
  • natural spring or distilled water
  • 3 tablespoons of natural or organic butter
  • 1 teaspoon of salt
  • 1 - 2cloves of garlic or 1 teaspoon of garlic powder
  • 1/4 - 1/2 tsp. of cayenne pepper (optional)
  • parsley
Instructions
  1. Begin by cutting up the head of cauliflower. Remove as much of the stems from the florets as possible.
  2. Then rough-chop the florets to be pea-size or smaller. You could also pulse them a few times in a food processor, but chopping them does the trick and gives you fewer dishes to wash later.
  3. Next, steam or boil the cauliflower.
      1. To steam, place the cauliflower use a steamer pot. Place about 2 cups of water into the bottom portion of the pot then place the cauliflower florets into the steamer insert. Place on medium-high heat.
      2. To boil, place the cauliflower florets into a pot with 1 cup of water on medium-high heat. Cover the pot and let cook for about 10 minutes.
  4. Steam or boil the cauliflower for 10 to 12 minutes, stirring twice during steaming. The cauliflower pieces should be just fork tender, but not mushy at all.
  5. Transfer the steamed cauliflower to a blender or food processor and add butter, salt, garlic or garlic powder, and pepper. Pulse a couple of times to get the blender going, then blend on low speed for 20 to 30 seconds, until smooth. Don’t over-blend or the cauli-tatoes will be too runny.
      1. If you want to add fresh garlic, start with 1 clove of garlic, blend the ingredients together then taste. If there isn't enough garlic flavor for you, add another and repeat the process. If 2 isn't enough repeat this process until you are satisfied with the taste. 
  6. Taste the cauli-tatoes and make any adjustments to the flavor you want, such as a little more salt (1/2 - 1 extra teaspoon). Do NOT make these salty that defeats the purpose, but they don't need to be bland either.
  7. Once you are satisfied with the flavor, serve hot and enjoy!

Recipe and picture source

[1] http://gnowfglins.com/2015/12/09/how-to-make-no-fail-cauli-tatoes/


Would You Kill Someone You Love?

Art by: Naeemah Zaakirah
What do the actions of someone with a great amount of love in their heart look like? When you love someone, you want to do right by them and you want to see them at their best. Using this definition, can we honestly say that we love ourselves? Are we doing right by ourselves? Are we helping ourselves to be the best?

Fig. 1 Food Banks Take On a Contributor to Diabetes: Themselves
The article Food Banks Take On a Contributor to Diabetes: Themselves, describes a study that determined the effects of improving the diet of diabetics in poor areas. Many of their participants saw significant improvement in their health, but some did not. Those who didn't, like Mr. Cook (Fig. 1,) were found not applying the knowledge they had gained. Even though Mr. Cook knew what foods would help him improve his health, he still chose to eat whatever he desired, even if it was killing him. Would you kill someone you love?

Fig. 2: Self Love by Rhonda Gray
If you were to travel from coast to coast and ask everyone if they love themselves, most of them would say yes. Many people think that doing whatever they want to do means that they love themselves, but this is not entirely true because some times what we want is not good for us. We may want to super size our meals, but is it good for us? We may want to eat a bag of Doritos, but if we did can we say we love ourselves?

Fig. 3
The sum total of the choices we make determines whether or not we love ourselves. We should choose to eat the best foods so that we may live long healthy lives. Eating the best foods does not equate to eating the most expensive foods. According to Jayson L. Lusk and F. Bailey Norwood, the inclusion of meat products in one's diet, increases the overall food costs. They also noted that there are other studies that support their conclusion; "...using consumption data from a sample of French consumers, Drewnowski, Darmon, and Briend (2004) showed that increasing the number of meat products in a person’s diet was associated with significantly higher diet costs (Lusk and Norwood 2009) [1]."



Fig. 4: Family Eating Healthy
It is expensive to pay hundreds, thousands and even millions of dollars on medication; it is expensive to pay for the doctor/hospital visits; it is expensive to pay for a funeral; it is expensive to see our families hurting because of the choices we made. Our lives cannot be prolonged if we are not careful of what we eat. We cannot say that we love ourselves when we knowingly eat what is not good for us. With every bite we choose to take we are committing suicide; every plate we serve to our children, significant other, etc. is homicide.

Today's Life Changing Challenge (LCC) is, eliminate once unhealthy food item each week and replace it with a healthy choice. For example, if you find yourself constantly opening up a bag of cookies, trade in those cookies for a sweet succulent peach or your favorite fruit (if you have one). Another example is instead of buying potatoes, choose cauliflower instead. So when you are in the mood for some mashed potatoes, try making cauliflower mashed potatoes (click here for recipe).


At the end of each post there will be a Life Changing Challenge (LCC). These challenges are meant to guide you step by step in the right direction. If you choose to try it please feel free to leave a comment or send me an email (located in the "About" section) and let me know how everything went. I'd love to hear about your experiences and I hope this post was helpful!

"Eating the proper food...changes us in many ways. Not only does it give us good health, but it gives us a better way of thinking, as food and our mental power work in the same way. Whatever affects one, affects the other. Eating the proper food also brings about a better surface appearance. Our features are beautified by the health that the body now enjoys from the eating of proper food...Bad food takes away even the beauty appearance of a person.[2]"


Photo Sources:

[1] Figure 1: http://mobile.nytimes.com/2016/06/21/health/diabetes-food-banks.html?referer=https://t.co/GFjJzDKy5e

[2] Figure 2: https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRNwUOBWOHU9dlR_M3Gvu-Nqaohp99dnj1R95l-HLgXnJMVGBgI2bhXnJMW0jRwAyaAtzn5AxJ-YEjG5fdGWSjwCzvBma-MWy5GX7JHzpLPhDNPlQXOhNasV-nT9bOUDtDVPs0ok6m7ZQ/s1600/self-love.jpg

[3] Figure 3: http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q3/Misselaineous10/Random%20Stuff/burger.jpg

[4] Figure 4: http://thyblackman.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/foodblackfamily.jpg

Literature sources

[1] Lusk, Jayson L. and Norwood Bailey F. Some Economic Benefits and Costs of Vegetarianism. Agricultural and Applied Economics Association. 2009. pg. 109-124.

[2] Muhammad, Elijah. How To Eat To Live. 1967. pg. 32

Tuesday, June 28, 2016

Is It Really Food?



Waaaaait! Before you eat that bag of chips, ask yourself this, is it really food?
I mean, the Doritos taste good, when you look at the ingredients it has corn, vegetable oil, malto-something, saltcheese, mono-something, something else, and some other stuff, but corn, VEGETABLE oil, salt, and cheese are good things to eat so you're good right?

[1] Photo source: Bing Search
On its own, yes, those ingredients are good to eat (except corn but that'll be covered in another article). But once those ingredients are modified and processed, they are no longer considered natural foods. If you don't believe me just ask the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). According to the FDA, "it is difficult to define a food product that is 'natural' because the food has probably been processed and is no longer the product of the earth. That said, FDA has not developed a definition for use of the term natural or its derivatives. However, the agency has not objected to the use of the term if the food does not contain added color, artificial flavors, or synthetic substances [1]."
[2] Photo source: McDonalds website

[3] Photo source: Bing search
 Before we go any further, let's see what Merriam-Webster has to say about what is natural. Natural means, "existing in nature and not made or caused by people; not having any extra substances or chemicals added : not containing anything artificial [2]." So if the processed food we eat, processed meaning the opposite of natural, is no longer a product of the Earth, what is it? Can we even call it food?

[4] Photo source: Bing search
According to Dr. Herbert Shelton, "...to be a true food the substance eaten must not contain useless or harmful ingredients [3]." For example, the bun that is used on McDonald's sandwiches contains (hold on to your seats): "Enriched Unbleached Flour (Wheat Flour, Malted Barley Flour, Niacin, Reduced Iron, Thiamin Mononitrate, Riboflavin, Folic Acid), Water, High Fructose Corn Syrup, Yeast, Soybean Oil, Contains 2% or Less: Salt, Wheat Gluten, Sesame Seeds, Leavening (Calcium Sulfate, Ammonium Sulfate), May Contain One or More Dough Conditioners (Sodium Stearoyl Lactylate, DATEM, Ascorbic Acid, Mono and Diglycerides, Monocalcium Phosphate, Enzymes, Calcium Peroxide), Calcium Propionate (Preservative) [4]."

Because of all of the useless ingredients, the McDonald's bun, is not food. So instead of calling it food, we'll call it foodstuff.

[5] Photo source: Bing search
Now let's look at what ingredients are in home cooked bread: flour, sugar, salt, water, yeast and butter. That's it! That's really all there is to it (smile).

[6] Photo source: Bing search
So why is all of this important? Because the things we consume directly affects how well we function on a day to day basis. The food we eat should compliment our bodies, not fight against it and cause illness/disease. Just because something tastes good and fills you up for the moment (until you're hungry again 30 minutes later) does not mean it is food/nutritious. 

In the next article, I will go into detail about the types of foods that are good for us to eat. Until then, try this Life Changing Challenge (LCC), the next time you go to the store, look at the ingredients, and if you don't know what it is don't eat it. Try to choose foods that contain simple ingredients. For example, if you want some chips, instead of buying Doritos (or chips like it), buy the Classic Lays potato chips. It only contains potatoes, vegetable oil and salt. However, since not everything on the shelf contains 3 ingredients, you can also purchase the foods that contain the least amount of "useless" ingredients. So instead of buying "Classic White Wonder Bread", try 100% Whole Wheat Bread, it will still have some additives in it, but it is a whole lot better than white bread.

At the end of each post there will be a Life Changing Challenge (LCC). These challenges are meant to guide you step by step into the right direction. If you choose to try it please feel free to leave a comment or send me an email (located in the "About" section) and let me know how everything went. I'd love to hear about your experiences and I hope this post was helpful!

"The foods you consume can heal you faster and more profoundly than the most expensive prescription drugs...with only positive side effects [5]."

Literature sources:
[1] U.S. Food and Drug Administration. What is the meaning of 'natural' on the label of food. 2016.

[2] Merriam-Webster Dictionary. Online. 2016.

[3] Shelton, Herbert. Food Combining Made Easy. Page 10. 1951

[4] McDonalds. Big Mac Nutrition and Ingredients. 2016

[5] T. Collin Campbell. Whole: Rethinking the Science of Nutrition. Page 6-7. 2013

Photograph sources:
[1] http://d75822.medialib.glogster.com/danielnancy2013/media/10/10abca77d383acf7eb33be0b01a3796eece56d70/chips-doritos-food-fritos-hot-cheetos-lays-favim-com-70962.jpg

[2] http://www.mcdonalds.com/content/us/en/food.html

[3] http://editorial.designtaxi.com/news-macs011012/6.jpg

[4] https://www.diabetes.org.uk/upload/MyLife/Young%20People/Vegetables.jpg

[5] https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8DhLue4A5VA4YYVLJqPMiaYBM2WxYCdyC5Q3h75c1Atx8lYu_QBiQcM1adOT6knM20H5LXqOmmXg1grFYjCFMj3-oPsPPE12SGWPK57n0pxokGrYOHTTcZiyF2d4eBrB2J8dyNscL2yY/s1600/IMG_1007.JPG

[6] http://lindawagner.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/MG_5040.jpg