LITTLE MIRACLES & ALMOND CHOCOLATE CUPS

I hope your week has been going as great as mine. Have you started crossing off the to-dos on your list? Taken time to appreciate the little miracles that are easy to overlook? like, waking up in the morning, breathing, having water to bathe, watching your children get on the school bus, hearing 'I love you' from those who care? I have been consciously living in the now and I tell you that is is the best way to live.

Happiness is realizing and accepting that "I Am", not "I was" or "I will be"--Bernice Angoh

Oh, I forgot to tell you I took up running and yes, I'm addicted. I run most mornings and I wonder how I used to survive without it in the past; apart from the fact that you're filling your lungs with fresh air and improving your circulation, there is a feeling of accomplishment each time you break your own record. I still remember the very first time I was able to run for four miles and still felt like I had more in me to go on. I have actually fallen in love with this cute running store not far from where I live, it is my haven, I want everything from that store. I already got fitted for my running shoes and can't wait to get their super sports bras and skorts. They also have races every Thursday, guess who is signing up for that? I also plan to enter next month's 22 mile race (pray for me), will be sure to take some pictures of me especially before and after the race so I can show you my what-was-I-thinking face, lol.

Guess who turned 2 this weekend? my little man! Can't believe it's only yesterday we were at the hospital waiting for his arrival....Anyway, HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY BOO

I think he is so beautiful :-)

We were in church talking about godmothers and I mentioned i couldn't wait to be someone's godmother and someone's bride's maid and my daughter, Nina, 9, turns and holds my hands, looks me deep in the eye and said "Mama, you can be my godmother, I want you to be my godmother. Now you have one less thing to worry about," as I started to respond she goes "And while we're on the subject, I would like you to be my bride's maid when I get married mama. see, now you don't have to worry about any of that." yeah, it brought tears to my eyes, my sweet baby...those are my little miracles and they make life worth living. I hope you see the little miracles that surround you everyday...

Here's what I read recently; Steve Harvey is funny and the book is an easy read. Very interesting read and mostly accurate. I have some things that turned me off about the book though but i will keep those to myself, if you're interested grab a copy and you may get some valuable advice from it. I give the book 4 stars.


CHOCOLATE ALMOND CUPS:

Raw-vegan delicious hmmmm

Ingredients for crust:

1 cup almond flour
6-8 mejdhool dates
pinch of salt

Place all ingredients into a food processor with an 'S' blade and blend until it starts to be doughy and sticky. Place mixture into a muffin cups and press into cups and set aside.

Ingredients for Chocolate filling:

1/2 cup melted coconut oil
1/2 cup cacao powder
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
3 tbsp organic maple syrup
1 tbsp chopped hazelnuts

Place all ingredients into a food processor with an 'S' blade and blend until smooth. Pour chocolate filling into almond cups and place in the fridge for about 2-4 minutes until filling is firm or hard. Enjoy!

ALWAYS STRIVE TO BE HAPPY!

REMEMBER TO EAT AND DRINK TO YOUR HEALTH, YOU'LL THANK ME LATER!

HOW DO YOU MEND A BROKEN HEART?

It is  awesome that FYR is a body, mind and spirit program; all have to be in harmony for us to attain the best life we can ever have. That said, today's topic is very valid, how do you mend a broken heart? How do you let go of that pain that keeps nagging at your heart strings. It wasn't long ago when you vowed you'd never love again and no sooner had you said it than you went and did it again! By God! you went and did it again! will you ever learn? These are the questions we ask ourselves when we are grieving the death of a relationship. Before I list a few steps on how to soothe your broken heart, please never give up on love, I promise there is always a BETTER LOVE (might sound untrue based on my poem below but deep in my heart I believe this to be true)

1) CRY. It is okay to cry, do not ration your tears, they are there to wash and renew your soul and make it shinny again.

2) LAUGH. Get on the comedy band wagon, not into comedies? just try it. Laugh, find a way and a reason to laugh, even if you have to laugh at yourself, laugh then cry and then laugh and then cry again but please laugh. Laughter is the magic dust that reminds us that we are alive and we can feel some amount of joy or happiness even if it's just for a few minutes.

3)  PRAY. Find solace in the words of the ultimate lover, the One whose words never fail, whose arms are around you even though you can't feel them, whose lips just kissed your cheeks even though you can't feel it, just pray, don't want to pray or feel like praying? ask someone to pray for you or with you.

4) FACE IT. Never sweep  it under the rug or go around it, you walk through it, walk through the fire and get purged, you will come out stronger than before.

5) FILL THE EMPTINESS PROPERLY. Only you can make yourself happy, not food, not someone, nothing but beautiful you. Affirm it daily "Only I can make myself happy, this job is all mine and no one else's" If you leave that job to someone else you will ALWAYS be disappointed, always, do not expect, expectation is a self-inflicted pain.

6) REALIZE YOUR STRENGTHS. Know thyself. Find a pen and paper and write down all that you know is true and beautiful about yourself and be content and proud to be who and what you are (that is, if you're truly a good person, yup, not some parasite or snob)

7) IMMERSE YOURSELF INTO YOUR PASSION. What are those things that make you feel good when you do them? List them all and start tackling them one after the other.

8) REACH OUT. Call a friend, your mom, your sister or brother, reach out to someone and let them help ease your pain by comforting and supporting you.

9) WORK IT OUT. Exercise has always been it for me especially now since I've taken up running. When I used to do Taebo, I would visualize myself kicking and punching 'that person' in the face and it felt great. What kind of exercise do you like, find something that can release those endorphins and help pump out that 'feel good' hormone.

10) HELP SOMEONE ELSE. Sometimes helping someone else who is going through what you're going through or a similar situation, it helps forget your own pain for a while and it feels great being able to help someone else.

11) BECOME YOUR OWN GENIE. Yes, you can become your own genie, what do you want? what do you wish for, a new world? new faces? go for it, create it and enjoy it.

12) LOVE AGAIN. I have never been the kind to give up on love, it is not in my nature because the very nature of me and you is LOVE, we were created by Love (GOD), we are love, so running from it is like running from yourself and you can't run from yourself can you? Hope, always hope that you will get the love you deserve, never let the stupidity of one person or the failure of one relationship keep you from finding a true, long and lasting love and when you love, love deeply with all your heart.

FRAGILE
by Bernice Angoh

Some hearts are too fragile to be loved that even a kiss
may cause them to crumble.
Some hearts are too near perfect to behold
that mortal man with all his good intentions still falls short.
Some  hearts can only be loved by God, those hearts that
never seem to find a place in the world.
Some hearts are already broken at birth, and through time wider and
wider their gaps grow. Those are the hearts capable of unfathomable love
for they are wide open to give and wide open to receive.
Some hearts  were meant to stand alone for they have no true match
Some hearts were meant to walk by their lonesome
and true love may never be their ransom.

Copyright (c)  2012 Bernice Angoh

ALWAYS STRIVE TO BE HAPPY

MISSED TAKES

Everything that comes our way in life was decided long before the events ever occur. He who said hindsight is 20/20 was accurate. There are some things that we unconsciously paved the path for ever since we were little children, it may have been a thought, some choice words, an action, a prayer, a whisper, a wish, a joke and yet the universe has ears and is always listening. So if you you find yourself at an undesirable place in your life then you have a hand in it and if you find yourself in a desirable place in life don't credit it to luck, you were the author or co-author.

But one thing I know for sure, if your heart is in the right place you will always find your way back home, that no matter how far we deviate from the chosen path, somehow our great and loving God redirects our steps. Mistakes are never there as a punishment, sometimes they are there to teach us a lesson, to humble us, or build our strength. They are just Mis (ssed) takes, doesn't mean you should give up it means those are the takes you missed so you are free to get up and try one more time or many more times if you need to.

My dear friends, life is beautiful, too beautiful to cry over missed opportunities or broken hearts, too wonderful to cut yourself from the world and wallow in the dark when there is an abundance of sunlight to bask in. You must guard your mind, your spirit, your heart and your soul from unrest; unrest, I believe, is just a sign that you are leaning closer to the dark side than you should. I am fortunate to be very intuitive, though sometimes it may create doubt but in the end I believe our intuition or gut feeling is the spirit of God within and too often there is so much 'noise' or chaos around that we don't hear or are unable to listen carefully.

I share what I know to be true, my experiences and missed takes, my joys and my bliss, my food and my nuisances, sometimes I may even share my ignorance (please forgive me). The one gift that I value more than anything is knowing myself, because I know myself and do what I do wholeheartedly, I've freed myself from many regrets. I simply brush it away as a missed take and I move forward even when the hurt lingers. I hope you are like me who visualizes a bright and beautiful life full of abundance, a promise that I know is true because He promised.

Has all that chatter made you hungry yet? well, expect so many new recipes, news and updates as the year rushes by. Sharing pieces of me made of love and happiness, here, catch ~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~

COMING SOON...

Always strive to be Happy

Another FYR Testimony: Suzie

Hello beautiful people, I hope you all have been sailing through life's tricks. Anyway, been away for a little while sorting things out but I always remember that I have my readers who are waiting to see what else I have up my sleeve. One of my favorite things is receiving testimonials and before and after photos from people who have taken the FYR detox challenge, that fulfills me more than anything else, that my little dream that started almost 5 years ago is affecting the lives of others. I am humbled and happy. They inspire me much more than I inspire them. Thanks for your submissions. Here is Suzie in her own words, she is a mother of two beautiful girls.

“Before you enter my house, wipe your feet on your excuses and leave them at the door.”--Bernice Angoh

One thing I decided to do was wipe my feet on my excuses and leaves them at the door before I get into my own house. I wanted to get down to business with the weight I acquired during pregnancy and after child birth.

The most difficult phase of my 90 detox program by author & creator Bernice Angoh was to decide on when to start as in her E-books she has already taken the pains to explain, set goals and break down the stages of what amount of weight loss one can achieve.

I took another initiative to look for a mentor, someone who believes I have the determination and will power to achieve my weight loss, to encourage me through my challenge and so on.

Suzie's first daughter Ezrahrose

Suzie's second daughter, Ava-Lisa

I had checked and made sure I had no health issues as described in the program. Wrote a few words of encouragement I had gathered from the program literature to act as a reminder of why I chose to do the 90 days detox program. Words such as "I love me more than anyone can ever do!", "I need to be healthy inside out and stay young forever."

A week into the program I felt as though I had to quit but I believe because I planned and had things in place such my little reminders it felt much easier. After seeing myself through the 30days, I felt alive like never before and all I can say is I sailed through the next 60 days without a thought of quitting.

I was a UK size 16 when I embarked on the detox program and I am a beautiful size 12 and now a dream come true for me. I lost an amazing two stones. I am glad I took charge of my destiny."--Suzie

CHECK OUT WHAT YOU CAN ACHIEVE WITH THE FYR LIFE STYLE PROGRAM BY BERNICE ANGOH. I BOUGHT THE E-BOOKS AND NOW I AIN'T 
TRIPPING! 11 MONTHS AFTER GIVING BIRTH, SO 
GLAD I GAVE IT A GO.

VEGAN CONDENSED MILK

Ingredients:

3 cups of soy milk
1/2 cup sugar
3/4 cup of water
6 Tbsp Vegan earth balance butter

Method:

• On medium heat, melt vegan vegetable spread and then add sugar and stir until all the sugar is dissolved
• In a separate put bring soy milk and water to boil and then slowly pour into mixture of butter and sugar
• Keep stirring and medium heat until mixture starts to brown and thicken or reduces to half the volume
• Cool and enjoy

This is a long process but I wanted my vegan condensed milk at all cost. I then used it to make the dessert below. Basically just ground my choice of nuts, seeds and dried fruits and layered it with the condensed milk in a glass. It was so rich I had just 3 tablespoons the first day. Saved the rest and ate it throughout the course of several days. YUMMY!!!! I read somewhere that you could also replace the soy milk with coconut milk and yes I tried that too, it was good but I prefer the condensed milk with the soy milk.

Nina pouring the yummy vegan condensed milk

Look at that thickness :-)

Sinful...it was

Want some?

Here, open your mouth, here it comes

Taste good

YUMMY

ALWAYS  STRIVE TO BE HAPPY

REMEMBER TO EAT AND DRINK TO YOUR HEALTH, YOU'LL THANK ME LATER

SPICY PEANUT TOFU

SPICY PEANUT TOFU

It was YUMMYYYYYYY

Tofu getting marinated

My delicious plate

Persian brown rice

Spinach

Ingredients:

1 pack firm tofu, cut in cubes
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp spicy curry powder
1 tsp dried parsley flakes
Dash of salt
Dash of cayenne pepper
2 Tbsp olive oil
1/3 cup of bottled Thai peanut sauce

Mix all ingredients in a bowl and let sit for about 30 minutes to an hour. Place in a baking pan and put into 350 degree oven and bake for 30-45 minutes or until tofu is golden brown. I ate mine with a side of spinach and some Persian brown rice (In the rice was cashews, cloves orange zest and raisins)

Mama 53 years old, mother of 5

Me, 33 years old, mother of 2.  Not wearing makeup has really been good for my skin

You may be wondering why I put these two pictures side by side, I am telling you, my mom inspires me, I only hope I look half as good as her when I'm that age. So I have been away eating and enjoying all of mom's delicious foods and I swear I have gained at least 10 pounds (kinda' not complaining though, the food was out of this world) but it is time for some DETOX, I can feel my body grumbling and I know I need a break from stuffing my face with mama's cooking. So here's the deal I am doing a 40-Day 'Green Stuff' Detox thingy and want to invite you to join me. I will be doing just green smoothies, juicing, salads etc but you don't have to go crazy like me, my challenge is for you to do one or more or all of the 10 things listed below:

1) Add a green smoothie to your diet everyday
2) If you have to drink juice make it fresh with your juicer
3) A fresh salad as one of your meals or part of one of your meals
4) Avoid any type of dairy, absolutely no dairy unless you do soy or almond milk
5) Drink lots of water throughout the day starting with a 16 ounce glass of water first thing in the morning
6) No sugar or 'white' foods (flour, rice, spaghetti etc)
7) Drink a warm cup of tea before bed (I do green tea)
8) No eating after 7 pm (hmm, kinda hard if you're nocturnal but worth trying)
9) Laugh more, do things that make you happy
10) Sleep more ( 7-8 hours rest at night is ideal)

Not too bad huh? Well, did anyone notice I didn't say no meat? okay here's the deal, if you want to go crazy like me stay away from any type of animal flesh. But if you must eat some type of animal flesh try some fish once or twice a week or some lean chicken breast (grilled, steamed, baked etc) and if you must eat animal flesh eat it with a side of veggies or a salad.

ALWAYS STRIVE TO BE HAPPY

ARE YOU READY????

REMEMBER TO EAT & DRINK TO YOUR HEALTH, YOU'LL THANK ME LATER!

STUFFED NAAN POCKETS

This is one of Nina's favorite things to eat for lunch.

Still in the process of slicing

Guacamole...yummy

Ingredients:

1 Naan bread, lightly warmed in oven for about 2 minutes at 350 degrees

Guacamole:

1/2 red onion, chopped finely
2-3 tomatoes, chopped
2 Haas avocados, chopped  *In Cameroon we call them 'pears' instead of 'avocados'*
1/2 red bell peppers, chopped
3 Tbsp fresh parsley, chopped
Juice of 1 lemon
Dash of black pepper
Dash of salt
1 Tbsp Olive oil

Mix all ingredients in a bowl and stuff into warm naan bread.

Ninashka, my little assistant

This is the black and white version of her year book picture I took. BTW, she makes all her earrings including the one in this photo :)

Remember to EAT & DRINK TO YOUR HEALTH, YOU'LL THANK ME LATER!

The Dirty Dozen

No, we are not talking about a movie here, we are talking about food. Did you know there is a list of foods that are considered 'The dirty dozen'? These are the 12 foods with the most pesticide residue on them, here is the list:

1. Apples
2. Celery
3. Strawberries
4. Peaches
5. Spinach
6. Nectarines
7. Grapes
8. Bell Peppers
9. Potatoes
10. Blueberries
11. Lettuce
12. Kale and Collard Greens

The only way you can save yourself from all these harmful chemicals is to buy them organic. Whole foods stores can be a bit pricey but if you look for farmer's markets around your area you will be amazed at what great deals you can find. Sometimes the difference between buying inorganic and organic at a local farmer's market is just a few cents. I know times are hard and money is tight, believe me I know but I try to buy Organic whenever I can. Shopping at my local farmer's market allows me to support the local farmers who keep bringing us good organic/clean produce.


RASPBERRY SMOOTHIE

Baby Ricky loves his breakfast smoothies

Ingredients:

2 ripe bananas
2 cups frozen raspberries
1 cup soy milk (vanilla flavored)
2 Tbsp flax meal
1 tsp coconut oil (optional)

Blend all ingredients in a high speed blender until smooth and enjoy.



CUCUMBER SLIDERS

Ingredients:

1 - 2 cucumbers, sliced thinly

Pesto:

1/2 cup walnuts
1/3 cup pine nuts
2 garlic cloves, chopped
2 cups fresh basil leaves
Pinch of salt or salt to taste
1/4 cup olive oil

Place all ingredients into a food processor with an 'S' blade and blend till smooth.

ALWAYS STRIVE TO BE HAPPY

In everything ALWAYS STRIVE TO BE HAPPY and remember to EAT AND DRINK TO YOUR HEALTH, YOU'LL THANK ME LATER!