My go to shampoos and conditioners

As a person with natural hair, that’s coarse, tightly coiled and misunderstood, I have had to do a lot to research to find what works for my hair and what doesn’t. A lot of people make the mistake of using and following exactly what others are doing to care for their hair. Get to know what type of hair you have, Example: 4C, coarse and tightly coiled. Know the porosity of your hair (high, medium, low. I have low porosity hair, which means my hair doesn’t absorb product properly. I use a steamer to help with product penetration. I cleanse my hair often to avoid product build up and also use natural oils ( I will do another blog post of the hair oils/products). Avoiding heavy products and silicones is very important.

Since this post is about shampoos and conditioners, I use the Tea Tree Tangle shampoo and conditioner from Trader Joe’s. I love the tingly sensation it gives me and it’s very cheap. For those that don’t have access to Trader Joe’s, Amazon has it, but it’s more expensive. My other go to shampoo and conditioner is from Luseta. So far I like the Jamaican black castor oil.

With love, from a 4C hair lady 🙂

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Cauliflower rice with Salmon in creamy sauce

What you need for the cauliflower rice:

• Cauliflower rice
• stir fry vegetables
• 1/4 white onion
• avocado oil
• garlic
• herbs
• salt

How to make it:

In one pot, put the cauliflower rice to dry out the water. In a separate pot, sauté the diced onions and garlic with a little avocado oil, the add the stir fry vegetables, add the herbs and salt. cook till till the cauliflower is soft.

What you need for the fish and creamy sauce:

• Atlantic Salmon
• olive oil
• salt
• black pepper
• thyme
• bouillon
• garlic
• parsley
• whole milk
• cream fresh
• green peppers
• small sweet peppers
• onions
• mushrooms
• Lemon

How to make it:

For the creamy sauce: Grind the garlic, parsley and black pepper together. In a bowl mix milk and cream fresh together, add some of the mixture you gridded, add thyme, add the bouillon and olive oil and whip to mix.

In a pan sauter diced onions, green peppers, sweet peppers and mushrooms together, then add the whipped mixture. Put the heat on low to allow the creamy sauce to not turn into oil.

For the fish: rub some of the mixture you grinded on the fish with some olive oil and lemon juice, and bake at 445F for 15 mins.

When the fish is done you can decide to pour the creamy sauce on the fish or lay it out like in the picture above.

Enjoy!

Branzino with oranges

Most of the time lemons are used when it comes to fish. Have you tried oranges instead?

Here is a recipe that involves adding freshly squeezed orange juice to my marinade.

what you need:

• branzino fish
• small sweet peppers
• garlic
• parsley
• black pepper
• thyme
• an orange
• olive oil
• white vinegar
• salt
• mustard

How to make it:

Grind parsley, garlic, black pepper together, then add mustard, a tea spoon of white vinegar, salt,thyme, juice from the orange and bouillion (optional).

Cut up your sweet peppers and mix them to the mixture above.

Marinate your fish and put all the sweet peppers inside the fish. The outside should also be marinated. Cut up slices of the orange and cover the fish with them.

Bake the fish for 15 mins at 445F.

Enjoy!

What does your bedding smell like?

Most of the time we just wash our bedding and maybe use scented soap or scented dryer sheets.

I personaly don’t use scented soap because I have eczema, so does my daughter and I don’t use dryer sheet either. However, I love my bedding to smell nice and fresh. Not that it wouldn’t smell nice with just being washed. I want that special scent, weather it be lavender, camomile etc…

I like the Forette pillow mists because not only do they smell good, they also help me sleep.

I also like the commonwealth soap Egyptian cotton spray (lavender scent) for my sheets.

I also use these to spray my bedrooms sometimes.

I get these at Homegoods .

Roasted vegetables

Eat healthy, eat healthy, that’s what we keep hearing and seeing people do. Let’s not lie to ourselves, it’s not easy to eat healthy and if we are going to eat healthy, might as well make it something yummy. Here is my receipe of yummy roasted vegetables.

Things you need:

• Vegetables (any kind)
• Avocado oil
• Thyme
• Salt
• Bouillon (optional)

How to make them:

Pre heat the oven at 450 F, place vegetables on a tray and add avocado oil, thyme, salt and bouillon. Bake for 15 mins or until your vegetables are ready. The vegetables I used are (squash, Brussels sprouts, carrots, eggplant, sweet peppers).

Before the oven

After the Oven

Enjoy !

Staying sane during quarantine.

Since we have been in quarantine, there have been stories of people ready to divorce each other. Domestic violence is rising, depression is rising, people are anxious and there are even memes of men being very unhappy to stay home and around their wives 24/7.

Being around the same people in the same space can become overwhelming at certain times. We all need our own space once in a while.

Here are some of the things we do as a family to stay said and in a good space:

• When I cook, Mohamed puts the dishes in the washer and cleans the kitchen (yes men, you need to help around the household)
• When things get overwhelming, I go spend some alone time in my room, Mohamed does the same.
• When Iman is acting really wild because she’s tired of being indoors, we go for a walk and remember to keep 6 feet away if we meet people.
• Let your partner talk on the phone/zoom without being upset, they need to talk to someone else other than you.
• I love to read books, so I get absorbed into them and time passes without me realizing it.
• I love to dance (even if I can’t dance), and entertain my family.
• We both have different workout times, Mohamed wakes up before me and works out, and feeds Iman. I workout later.

These are some of the things we are doing, I hope they are helpful. Stay safe and healthy.

What’s in my Avocado mask

If this isn’t your fist time reading my blog post, then you know I have 4c hair and it stays thirsty. I always have to keep it moisturized to avoid breakage. Avocado mask is one of the masks that nourishes my hair and makes it soft, and moisturized.

Below is what’s in my mask:

• A medium sized avocado
• 1 table spoon mayonnaise of your choice
• 1 table spoon avocado oil
• 1 table spoon coconut oil
• 1 table spoon Manuka honey (you can use any other honey)
• 1 table spoon melted shea butter
• 1 tea spoon castor oil
• Mix everything into a paste. Make sure your avocado is ripe, that way you will be able to mix it easily. Make sure your paste is smooth too or you will have bits of avocado in your hair even after you wash it.

Have a happy hair day!

How I deal with breakouts

Breakouts, pimples, acne or whatever you call them can be very annoying, stressful and make us feel less beautiful. There are so many reasons why we get breakouts, but the main reason is having our pores clogged with oil and dead skin cells. I usually get them when Mother Nature visits, when I travel or when I’m stressed. Here are some tips on how I keep my face breakout free.

1. A clean face: washing your face is very important. avoid harsh soaps or cleansers. In the morning I usually just wash my face with the same soap I wash my body with. Black soap is my favorite. I purchase mine at Whole Foods market but you can find it here: Allafia black soap. At night I cleanse my face with caudalie instant foaming cleanser. I also change my sheets every week and I wash my pillow as well(as needed). If you have a pillow that can’t be washed, try changing it as often as possible. Use clean face towels as well.
2. Minimize your makeup use: NEVER go to bed with makeup, it clogs your pores. I know a-lot of people use makeup to hide breakouts, but that will make it worse, let your face breath.
3. Use a clay mask, it drys up the pimples. one of my favorites when I have major breakouts is Aztec clay mask. This mask is amazinggggg.
4. Exfoliate, exfoliate, exfoliate. I loveeee the Ocean sea salt scrub from Lush. Since this post is about breakouts, which means most of the people reading it will have oily skin, so this scrub should do wonders for you(at least that’s what I think).
5. Stop eating too much meat and oily foods. My Malian people won’t be too thrilled about this, because meat and oily foods are part of the Malian diet.
6. Exercise, you need to sweat, even if it’s just for 30 mins.
7. Drink lots of water. I put lemon in my water, which helps me drink more.
8. Last but not least, stop touching your face and picking at your pimples.

How to use the clay mask:

• Put some clay into a plastic bowl,
• Add some apple cider vinegar, enough to make a paste.
• Mix well with a plastic spoon.

Smile, you are beautiful.

Salmon and Sweet potatoes

Ingredients:

• Atlantic salmon
• Japanese sweet potatoes
• Olive oil
• white vinegar
• Salt
• Bouillion (preference)
• Herb de province
• Dijon mustard
• Black pepper
• Parsley
• Garlic
• Lemon

Sweet Potatoes:

• Pre-heat oven at 450F
• Put holes in the sweet potatoes and wrap them with aluminum foil
• Bake until soft (this may take about 1h 1/2)
• When ready cool and peel the skin off

Fish:

• Mix the garlic, parsley, black pepper, salt, bouillion, a little vinegar, olive oil, herb de province, and dijon mustard into a paste.
• Marinate the salmon and cut the lemon and place the pieces on the salmon. 
• Bake for 15 mins at 415F

Enjoy and don’t forget to be kind.

 

An alternative to french fries.

French fries, one of the yummiest things to eat, especially when they are warm. However, they are not the healthiest thing out there. Here is an alternative I found.

What you need:

• potatoes, salt, thyme, bouillon powder (preference), butter, or coconut oil parchment paper, and an oven sheet.
  • preheat your oven to 440F
  • Pill the potatoes and cut them into small pieces
  • Mix the potatoes with the salt, thyme, bouillon, and butter (liquid), or coconut oil
  • Place the mixture on the parchment paper
  • Bake until the potatoes are soft and brown

Enjoy, and don’t forget to share 🙂