AH! BREAD! HMMMMMMMM

 Olla peeps, Best of the season to you and yours 😃😃💃💃💃 2014 is almost out the door and in comes 2015. It is all down to Gods abundant Grace and Mercy that we are still here and as my hubby always says Lets make it count! Find your purpose in God and nothing else and everything else will be added unto you! Gbabe!

So I have this on going battle with bread and cake( I'm sure I've mentioned this a zillion times). I think the bread making process is tooo loooooooong so I haven't been tempted to try it out yet. 

So every once in a while I give in and have some bread but I try to pair it with loads of healthy stuff.

Breakfast today was a cheese croissant and a small bagguet with veggies and egg. I was going to make mayonnaise but for some reason I can't comprehend it went south😩.

This was easy. Ingredients were;

Lettuce

Cabbage

Carrots

Spring onions

Hard boiled eggs

Sharp cheddar cheese

Unsalted butter

A few 50%less sugar dried cranberries 

I thinly sliced all ingredients except eggs, spring onions and cranberries with a Mandalay , buttered the sliced breads, piled on all ingredients and voila!

Easy peasy😃😃😃

Have a fantastic new year and remember all you have to do is love like God loves you. That can't be to hard now can it?😃😃😃.

See Ya in 2015.

HAIR AND BODY NUTRITION

Olla beautiful people and the best of the season to you and yours. May we always remember that Jesus is the reason for the season and show that love to our neighbors. 

So this morning I decided a smoothie for hair and body was the best thing to do and so off I went to my kitchen and started preparing my wonderful concoctions😃 

The more mature we get(old means expired urghhh) the harder it seem to get for a lot of us to eat healthier until our bodies give us a jolt and then we start to fret. Don't get me wrong I have a tree budding everyday in my eye so I'm not looking for the speck in yours just saying we all need to make it a lifestyle to eat healthier and pass it on to our children now and not when they are mature.

So on to the Koko of the matter 😃

Body Nutrition smoothie

2 cold bananas 

3/4 of a cold mango

About a 3/4cup of G's Allfresh GREEK yogurt 

2 tablespoons coconut oil 

1 tablespoon Ólaa Naturale raw honey

2 tablespoons ground flaxseed

Grated nutmeg

A dash of cinnamon 

A dash of tumeric 

A dash of ground yellow pepper

About 2 tablespoons of fresh aloe gel

A handful of raw almonds and groundnuts 

A good whiz in the blender and voila! Smoothee done. It was absolutely yummilicious.

Hair Nutrition smoothie tee hee

1 banana 

1/4 of a mango

A few drops of tea tree essential oil

Argan oil

Coconut oil

Fresh aloe gel

Ólaa Naturale Honey

A quick blitz with an immersion blender and hair is beautifully deep conditioning. 

I wet my hair first with cold water, shook off the excess and applied the hair smoothie then wrapped in 3 layers of cling film and a towel. 

I pray to stay focused on good food this season and not go off like I usually do 🙈😃😃.

Let's all go into the New Year with Kingdom focus and remember Jesus is our centre. 

See (write 😃)y'all soon

Smoothies Smoothies Smothies

Olla peeps

Trust you and yours are doing fantastically great😁.

It's amazing how one can be so full of joy with the right focus. Thank God for Jesus in my life. 

#movingon as my sister says 😁. Seems fruits are in abundance this season and they all look so luscious and tempting too! Take it from me that's a good way to be tempted.

So I went for an appointment that didn't hold and ended up buying fruits to take home and of course for me the fastest thing to do with fruits is a smoothie. 

I got bananas, lemons, ginger, apples, pineapples(the mallams or barrow people as natural Nigerian calls them make buying fruits so hassle free with their cleaning and preparation, more than half the work done for me😁😁😁), oranges, mangoes( oh wow are they humungous these mangoes) and cocoyams which you know is not a fruit right? 😜

So in the cup for the immersion blender i i put 100ml GREEK yoghurt( G'S Allfresh yoghurt 08098442633) 2 tablespoons honey( Olaa Naturale 08020924020), 2 tablespoons of coconut oil (Clove limited 08026008553), grated nutmeg, cinnamon, a dash of dry yellow pepper  and a handful of groundnuts.

In goes the immersion blender and voila smoothie is ready. 

I had also done a variation earlier on in the week, pictures will be included with the ingredients I used. 

Enjoy a fruitful weekend😘

SMOOTHIE

2tbsp of coconut oil 

1 tbsp of honey 

Juice of half a lemon

Nutmeg

Cinnamon 

Dry yellow pepper 

3 cold bananas 

Half an avocado

Ground flaxseed 

Handful of groundnuts 

About 4 tbsp of Greek yoghurt 

Had this with a kale salad; 

kale massaged with coconut oil,

Toasted Brazil nuts, 

toasted sesame seeds, 

50%less sugar cranberries

Some smoked catfish

A drizzle of honey

A dash of dry yellow pepper

So posting the picture I see broccoli 🙈.

Bamboo steamed broccoli florets

2 hard boiled eggs

Mushrooms 

4 cloves garlic

Half an inch fresh ginger

Spring onions

Toasted almonds

Pine nuts

A drizzle of honey 

A dash of dry yellow pepper 

The mushrooms, ginger and garlic were sautéed in butter and coconut oil the all the ingredients were tossed together and salad done.

The Juice was 

2 small beets

6 green apples

1 lemon

1/2 an inch of ginger

😁😁😁😁😁😁

I found KALE!!! 💃💃💃💃💃

So I discovered the wonders of Kale in dubai a while back and if one can overdose on something for me it was Kale! I had it with and in anything you can imagine or not😁

Did I say Olla peeps? Forgive my manners. I trust you're all doing splendid 😁. 

Now on with my story, so I went veggie shopping in Victoria Island today and tried not to overdo it but hey! What can I tell you😁

I got Kale, lemons(sour and sweet), broccoli(hubby looooves), beetroot, spring onions, okro, garlic, ginger, strawberries, mushrooms and as I still had change I stopped by my friendly neighbourhood side street fruit guy and got bananas, apples and groundnuts. 

I have decided I will eat everything in moderation ( that's still a battle with the cakes but I have overcome! Hear! Hear!)

So for dinner I decided to make a salad  as I'd had 1 moin moin for breakfast and wheat with okro for lunch. With plenty of water all through the day of course😁

About 10 long leaves of kale

A handful each of walnuts and raw almonds

A small portion of raisins 

8 small mushrooms

An inch of fresh ginger finely chopped

3 cloves of garlic finely chopped

A dash of pink Himalayan salt

A dash of ground dry yellow pepper

A squeeze of fresh lemon juice 

A drizzle of honey

I massaged the kale for a couple minutes on its own then added a bit of  coconut oil and massaged for another couple minutes. 

Toasted the nuts in a hot pan for roughly 2 minutes, tossed with the massaged kale. In the same pan I added a knob of unsalted butter and tossed the ginger, garlic,mushrooms, salt and pepper for about 2 minutes or until mushrooms are done.

Once this was done I added it to the kale and nuts and mixed with a spatula. 

Plated up and added a squeeze or two of lemon juice and a drizzle of honey.

Now how can you not want to try that😁😁😁. 

Enjoy a fruitful sunday y'all😘

Why the silence abi?

So more often than not once I'm quiet it means I'm up to no good😁😁😁 or have fallen off the wagon🙈🙈🙈🙈. Thank God for Jesus if not I no know where I for dey o! Hian! 

Ok #movingon😁

Food glorious food my 2nd or 3rd best Favourite past time depending on how you look at it. I manage to maintain a fairly healthy lifestyle even when I fall of the wagon. In these instances which happen quite a bit I must confess I eat more of my Favourite pleasures cake than I do food and what makes it worse is that I don't make them a myself. 

Today I tell you about 2 chicken based meals. I buy and eat quite a bit of chicken and I love love love love it because it's pretty quick to cook. 

3 pieces boneless chicken breasts

I large red onion

4-6 cloves garlic 

About an inch of fresh ginger

2-3 red scotch bonnets/ata rodo 

Zest of half a lemon

Juice of half a lemon

1-2 tablespoons of honey

Sea salt

I has some boneless chicken breast which I marinaded/marinated in onions, ginger, garlic, red scotch bonnet/ata rodo peppers, lemon zest, lemon juice, honey and sea salt. Left that in the fridge for about 24hrs(i was actually going to cook immediately but time grew wings and flew so I left it till the next day)

I put a pan on the gas and let it heat up until it was smoking then I added a bit of butter and coconut oil, placed my chicken breast which i'd sliced thinly and allowed to sauté in its on juices first on high heat for a couple minutes and then I turned down the heat and poured in all the juices and chopped marinated garnishes and allowed to cook for a further 5-7minutes. I turned them a couple times to allow for even cooking through. Voila first meal ready and I ate this with a few slices of a multi cereal bread I came across. Yum yum yum

5-6 pieces chicken drumsticks 

A large handful of ugwu leaves

1/2-1cup local ofada rice

I large red onion

4-6 cloves of garlic

2-3 red scotch bonnet/ata rodo

About an inch of fresh ginger

Pink Himalayan salt

A splash of water to get the chicken going

My 2nd chicken dish had all of 3 major ingredients and was my fastest way of cooking 😁 one pot😂😂. 

Local ofada rice, fresh UGWU leaves from my mums garden and chicken drumsticks. 

I boiled the drumsticks in their own juices with onions, garlic, ginger, pink Himalayan salt and red scotch bonnet. Once this was almost done, I had washed my rice and washed and chopped my ugwu leaves and I just added water to the pot of almost done chicken, poured in the rice and left to cook for 15minutes after which I added the ugwu stirred with a wooden spoon turned off the gas, covered the pot and 5minutes later lunch was ready. 

SALADS SMOOTHIES AND JUICES

Olla my fellow heathy lifestyle loving people and even if you're not and are just starting your journey welcome😁.

So today I'm talking(or writing as the case may be😁) salads, smoothies and juices. This post will have a bit more pictures in it as we have a bit more to write about.

Aha on with our story! I can't quantify how much I looooooooooove salads and most if the time without dressings too! 

It's amazing how once one takes the step of faith everything falls into place by His Divine Grace.

I try as much as possible to have vegetables in my fridge regularly(truth be told sometimes I go weeks without 1 single veggie or fruit in the fridge🙈 shameful I know but I'm getting better).

My staples for fruit, herb and veg are lettuce, sometimes cabbage, spring onions, parsley, bak Choy, lemons, spinach, leeks, basil, ginger, garlic, onions, lemons, oranges, apples, pears, beets, pineapples, bananas and carrots.

So to the salad that I made, ingredients were;

Green pepper 

Green apple

Lettuce

Spring onions

Cheddar cheese

Eggs

Carrot

Almonds

Cranberries 

Sunflower seeds

Pumpkin seeds 

I either shred by hand the ingredients that are shredable or use a pair of kitchen scissors makes the job faster😁😁. That said I do enjoy slicing or chopping as i have a Mandalay for even thin slices and sharp knives for chopping.

I don't do precise quantities with my salads I just go with the flow and make sure it looks pretty and I would enjoy it. I have a pretty good idea what all these elements would taste like combined and I haven't been disappointed yet😁.

Most of these items are available locally and I'm ecstatic that the market has truly opened up to new tastes and palettes. 

Salad done and dusted💃💃💃

JUICE

My juices go the same route as my salads, no precise measurements or portions just go with the flow. I think it helps to know what each food item tastes like on it's own and that would help to inform your decision on what to put together to make what. I always add ginger to what ever I cook or juice though for me that's a standard staple.

For the juices I had;

Beets

Carrots

Apples

Pineapple

Grapefruit

Oranges

Lemon

Lime

Ginger

Celery

Washed, prepped and ready for the juicer. The juicer I have takes whole fruits so I don't have to chop up and I just take the peels off the oranges, grapefruit a, pineapples, limes and sometimes I leave the skin on the lemon but as I had celery I didn't do that this time.

This juice was absolutely yum yum yum. The celery was a bit strong but asides that I was quite happy with it. The colour was absolutely divine too thanks to the beets😁😁😁

SMOOTHIE

I had mentioned that the only way so far that I can seem to eat avocado is by putting it in a smoothie. I don't particularly like the taste but as it's good for me I shall be eating it more regularly in some way or the other.

The ingredients I had for the smoothie are;

3 frozen bananas

6 strawberries

Half an avocado 

Juice of 1 orange

1/3 cup Greek yoghurt

1 heaped tablespoon of ground flaxseed

1 teaspoon turmeric 

Honey

Coconut oil about a tablespoon each

Pumpkin seeds

Sunflower seeds about a tablespoon each

Cranberries 

What better way to get in all ones fruits and seeds and so forth😁😁😁.

All ingredients sourced locally without any hassle and no breaking my pocket either.

Healthy clean eating isn't any more  expensive than eating all the regular/normal foods we've been used too. Yes it does take a mind shift but I tell you it is so so so so worth it and your body will thank you for it.

Let me know what you tried and like or not. Feedback in the blog would be highly appreciated.

Till my next food adventure which should be sooner than you think, be at peace.

😘😘😘

CHICKEN CHICKEN CHICKEN

Olla peeps, 

Trust y'all are doing fantastic😁. So my mum sent us frozen chicken and quite a bit if it and IKEDC(our electric power supplier) hasn't been nice of recent. I also don't like storing food in the fridge or freezer as I have found I totally prefer fresh food. Thank goodness I love to cook eh😁

Oh and by us I mean my sisters and I. So I started off thinking why don't I just boil the chicken and bag it in portions and stick in the freezer awaiting sisters pick up abi? Hmmmmm then my cooking mode kicked in and I thought naaaa I'll make a broth kinda something sauce😁.

I had about 24 pieces of chicken

2 huge onions

12 cloves of garlic

Just under 2"of fresh ginger 

Sea salt

Black pepper

Dry yellow pepper

1 heaped teaspoon of turmeric 

Juice of 1 orange

Honey 

Spring onions

Parsley 

Light and dark soy sauces

Grated nutmeg just under half a seed

Cornstarch to thicken

In a huge stock pot I placed all the chicken pieces, added the chopped onions, garlic, ginger, salt, peppers, orange juice, nutmeg and left to boil until just done. Note I don't add any water to my meats or chicken when boiling. I allow the juices from produce boil the produce instead. Gives a richer stock and that's how my mama taught me too😁😁😁

At that point I added turmeric, soy sauces and honey and left to boil for about 10 minutes covered.

Mix your cornstarch with cold water in small batches so you see building up the thickness of your sauce little by little.

Add the mixed cornstarch to the boiling stick and stir to achieve your desired consistency.

Turn off you gas or burner add the chopped spring onions and parsley and serve with couscous, rice, quinoa, yam, potatoes, plantain. 

The frozen chicken has quite a lot of fat, I had earlier trimmed off as much as I could before boiling and them also drained out as much as I could after cooking

I had the first taste on it's on and the 2nd with ofada rice. Yum yum yum

Enjoy a fruitful rest of the week😘