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

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