nkechi86

[nkechi86]

I tried the max hydration method on my hair. I’m getting my hair braided in a few days but when they come out I’m going to do the method for the full 7 days

[nkechi86]

Homemade chicken fried rice recipe:

Hey guys! It’s been a tradition in my family to cook and eat a homemade meal every Sunday and I’ve kept up that tradition since moving out and living on my own. I literally threw this meal together last minute and it came out delicious!

Ingredients: About 1- 1.5 lbs of cooked boneless chicken breasts or thighs (I used thigh) Cooked brown or white rice (I used brown) 2 cups broccoli frozen but thawed 1 cup chopped bell peppers ½ cup chopped green onions ½ cup chopped purple sweet onion Soy and/ or teriyaki sauce Small handful of shredded raw carrots Sesame oil Steps: Most recipes say to slow cook the chicken for four hours but I didn’t have time for that so I just fried the chicken pieces in a cast iron skillet then chopped it up.

Next I added olive oil (I will use sesame oil next time) to a sauté pan, then added chopped onions and bell peppers, cooked until onions were translucent then added the rice, broccoli, and chicken. I then added a few dashes of soy sauce for flavor.

Keep in mind most recipes call for scrambling eggs and adding that but I am allergic to eggs so I obviously couldn’t add it to the rice :( you can also add corn as well but I didn’t have any at the time.

I cooked the mixture for about 15 minutes on medium or low heat and kept stirring every few minutes. And voila!! My fiancé ate it all up! Enjoy!

[nkechi86]

The sh*t no one is talking about. WHY is it that with the $500 Million dollars raised by the American Red Cross has not benefitted the people of Haiti. Red Cross was supposed to build a health clinic and several homes for the poverty stricken, earthquaked ridden country. Where did the money go??? STOP giving your money to the Red Cross. They probably used the money to line their own pockets and give themselves a raise. I believe that karma will hit them hard. They will never again see a red cent of mine. This is why I’m usually hesitant to give money to huge corporations that are supposedly doing good for people like Susan G Comen; which actually makes profit off of products that contain carcinogens..yea those little cancer causing agents!! Watch the documentary called Pink Ribbons, Inc. It should be on youtube. It exposes truths about the profitable company that claims to research a cure for breats cancer. I urge people to research these organizations and read up on what they really do with their money. Theses reports or documents are usually made public. I’m still waiting for the Red Cross or should I now call them the red skull and bones to come up with a made up explanation about what really happenedto half a billion dollars. SMH. 

[nkechi86]

CKLS Cleanse Day 1-4

Hi all! It’s been a while since I’ve blogged and I think it’s time to get back at it! I wanna share my experiences trying the CKLS cleanse. CKLS stands for Colon, Kidney, Liver Spleen and it comes in a supplement form. The brand I bought was by New Body Products ( http://www.newbodyproducts.net/index.php?option=com_virtuemart&page=shop.product_details&flypage=flypage-ask.tpl&product_id=433&Itemid=53&vmcchk=1&Itemid=53) 

Just to give a little background, I have been taking the supplement for about a year now and I usually just take one per week to kind of cleanse my body a bit. Some people actually take two per day on a normal basis but I’m not about that life..until now! So like its name says CKLS acts a cleanser and purifier for the aforementioned organs. Every time I take the supplement I feel lighter and less bloated after it does its job. I’m not gonna lie, this thing cleans you out but in a totally non harsh way so it doesn’t feel like you just took a laxative or anything but you do visit the toilet 🚽 😆. I usually have issues with digestion and I tend to bloat after eating pretty much anything and can’t quite figure out why. I am lactose intolerant so I stay away from milk products although cheese and yogurt don’t bother me. 

What you need for the cleanse: -A bottle of CKLS -about ten to twelve lemons -fresh fruits and veggies to last one week -water -a 16oz bottle of cold pressed, unrefined olive oil The cleanse:

So anyways I decided that since I’m on summer vacation I might as well do a nice 7 day cleanse to clear my body of toxins, waste, buildup, parasites etc. Several sites suggest going about the cleanse different ways but I’ll share what I did. As previously mentioned, the day before the cleanse it is suggested that you go raw, meaning you eat a plant based diet eliminating salt, sugar, caffeine, alcohol, smoking, processed foods, fried foods, flour products, meat and dairy products. Whew! Just reading the list made my tummy growl. Just so you know, I am not a vegetarian by any means but I do eat limited dairy and I mainly eat turkey meat and chicken instead of red meat. For the remainder of the cleanse you are to keep avoiding eating the foods listed above as well. The night before the actual cleanse you have to go vegan and avoid eating the foods mentioned above, and also take 5 CKLS capsules (I took 3), wait one hour and then drink 8 oz of pure unrefined, cold pressed olive oil (If you weight less than 130 pounds) and take 16 oz if you weigh over 130 pounds. On the first day they also suggest not eating any food the whole day and avoid laying down because the olive oil may come back up. Articles say that you should have several rapid bowel movements 5-6 hours after ingesting the olive oil. The cleanse also calls for you to take 2-3 capsules for the rest of the 7 days and keep up with the vegan diet.

My experiences

Day 1: Sooo before I started the cleanse I kind of cheated (I didn’t go vegan the night before). On day 1 you are supposed to take an additional 5 CKLS. I took 4.  I downed 8 oz olive oil followed by fresh squeezed lemon juice to help me swallow the oil. It actually wasn’t that bad!..until I threw up the olive oil and capsules! 😲😲. Sooo after that I was perplexed about what I should do next. I actually ran out of olive oil so I decided to just ride it out and see if I had any movement in the bowels before I had my fiancé run to the store to buy more oil. I figured that I didn’t throw up all 8 oz. That day I went without food until about 8pm then I ate some vegetable broth and boiled potatoes. I was starving! I went to bed and prepared for the next day of cleansing.

Day 2: I woke up in the morning and took two CKLS capsules and throughout the day I ate a diet consisting of a grapefruit and a green smoothie (will post recipe later), salad and veggie broth. I’m not gonna lie I felt cranky and a little weak and tired. I think it was from detoxing from sugar, meat and caffeine mainly (I drink coffee daily usually). It’s crazy to think that most people are addicted to sugar and it’t actually more addictive than drugs, cigs and alcohol!

Day 3: So far so good! I took another 2 capsules and ate homemade black eyed peas and brown rice, green smoothie, a salad, strawberries and grapefruit. I also made some homemade guacamole and cheated by adding a pinch of seasoned salt ;) I was able to go about my normal routine a little easier today, including going to the gym in the morning to do weight training. I took it easy because I know my body is in transition and my blood sugar is probably low so I used lighter weights. 

Day 4: I feel good! Minus the nightmares which I went in to more detail below. I went to the gym and felt amazing! I had a sugar free grain cereal from Kellog and almond milk, a grapefruit, strawberries and a vegan bowl from Chipotle. Tonight for dinner I made sautéed broccoli and ate leftover beans and rice.

Psychological Detox: while on this cleanse I have had nightmares almost every night. I first thought it was because I was going to bed a little hungrier than usual. I so far have had nightmares consisting of me getting into fist fights with former classmates, 2 consisting of escaping some kind of apocalyptic scene where houses were on fire. I even had a dream that a piece of burning building fell on my face and disfigured me as my arm caught fire. Scary. I researched it and Detox nightmares are actually quite common due to an emotional detox/physical detox occurring. Physically the body is purging itself of toxins and thus presenting itself as nightmares. Also, I may be emotionally detoxing, forcing myself to “confront” subconscious issues in my life via my dreams. 

Pros thus far: I feel less anxious and cranky overall which was unfortunately starting to become a normal feeling for me living in such a crowded place such as Los Angeles where people suck at driving and there is traffic all the time. I also feel lighter and less bloated, with less stomach pain.

Cons: Initial headaches, tiredness and nightmares from the body detoxing itself

I will keep you posted about the remaining days of the cleanse but if I don’t make it for the rest of the week at least you will know why I experienced in case you wanna try it! Happy cleansing!! 

[nkechi86]

So powerful yet so simple. #stopkillingus #stopkillingblackpeople #blacklivesmatter

[nkechi86]

Union Square, New York, April 29

[nkechi86]

Can you say..chocolate overload!!!! Baked by yours truly

[nkechi86]

It’s so interesting how that works. When a woman of color wears a certain hairstyle it’s usually judged or criticized, like when Zendaya chose to wear beautiful faux locs to the Oscars on Sunday. However when a European American woman decides to wear her hair in the exact same fashion (like Kylie Jenner did), it’s considered trendy, edgy and fashion forward. Why is that? The fact that this”fashion police” member whatever the hell her praying mantis looking ass name is said that looks like Zendaya smells of oil and weed is offensive, ignorant and not to mention, it’s perpetuating blatant stereotypes of those who choose to wear locs, which are obviously more consistently men and women of color. So her statement speaks to not only one person’s choice to wear a hairdo, but rather more largely about an entire group of people. Of course the previous question is hypothetical because the question is already answered. The answer is found somewhere among the underlying issues involving the sickening way in which the United States has consistently downgraded and undermined and often objectified the beauty of African/African American women since we first came to this country. Let’s not forget that the public display African women with large behinds was once a form of sport and amusement. These women were dehumanized, tortured and humiliated. Now women with big booties are an it thing. So let’s see how neat white women try to wear locs now..something Black women have been doing since forever. Remember black folks, you are regal, you are beautiful, you are trend setters.

[nkechi86]

[nkechi86]

Easy as that.

[nkechi86]

Hey leave my trash can size luggage, I mean purse alone!! Lol 😂😂😂👜👜👜

[nkechi86]

Coming soon.... ;)

[nkechi86]

Wow targetstyle so diverse 😒😒😒

[nkechi86]

The “Holy” OCM (Oil Cleansing Method)

Well..where do I begin? I got introduced to OCM by a good friend who randomly texted me about how clear her skin has become since using oils to wash her face. To be honest I was like WTF?? How is oil going to help cleanse my skin and get rid of acne. I wasn’t buying it. I’ve struggled with acne pretty much since I was a teenager and even now as an adult, so the idea of adding more oil to my face sounded ridic. UNTIL….another friend posted something about it on her Facebook and for whatever reason at that moment I decided to give it a shot. I already had a mixture of essential oils in a small container that I was using to add oils to my natural hair #teamnatural :) so I simply tried it one night and wow was I amazed!! I added a quarter dollar size amount of oils into my hand, and applied the oil to my face using circular motions. I had a face full of makeup on and I saw the makeup start to pretty much lift its way out of my face and to the surface of my skin, ready to be washed away. I then wiped the oil off with warm water and a washcloth and voila! My face appeared so much clearer and was def smoother than ever!, my pores even looked smaller. I’ve been using this method for about 2 weeks and i’m hooked! I have now noticed less pimples as well as fading dark spots. Yesssss!!! I used to use Neutrogena Oil Free Acne Wash as my staple face wash and it has been for about ten years but I would always have residual makeup left in my pores and often had to wash twice (perhaps this was my fault though for not always using a makeup remover before washing my face) and since using OCM I have only used my face wash to wash my face in the morning sometimes. Washing with oils has allowed me to remove my makeup and cleanse my face in one easy step! Okay so here are the oils I’ve used and the mixture of them: Side note, I just bought one of those small travel sizes bottles to add the oil in. I added one part castor oil, one part grape seed oil, one part extra virgin olive oil and one drop of tea tree oil. As you can see from the picture above, I purchased 3/4 of my oils from Trader Joe’s and the Castor oil is from Vitamin Shoppe. I urge everyone to try this method. 

Below is a link that I used to get more information about this method. I recommend checking it out to see what oils will work best with your skin type. Happy cleansing!! 

http://www.theoilcleansingmethod.com

[nkechi86]

It's little things like this that make me not loathe my job as a TA 😘

[nkechi86]

Channeling my inner #publichealthnerd. This book highlights the racial/social implications regarding the connection between water sanitation and improved health outcomes for African Americans during the Jim Crow era in the southern United States. Thanks #esowonbooks!!