My sunday afternon meal.

Hi
im about to show you a scary plate that contains my starter, main course and dessert. It looks alarmingly full. If you look closely however, you'd notice that its mostly veggies and small cubes of chicken in stock. My rice has not a single drop of oil! Its boiled with a bit of salt, green peas, sweet corn and tumeric for colour.
i'd also like to add that i did not eat breakfast before going to church.

my starter is my veggie salad,
my main course rice and chicken in stock
my dessert, grilled plantain a.k.a Boli (but mine is sliced like dodo and that's half of a med sized plantain)

have a lovely sunday!

hugs

Olubunmi

update on Plantain fufu recipe.

Hi people,
I tried the recipe myself, i had plated it nicely and all, then my grilling stand fell over and my camera flew into my plate. i had to salvage it mid flight. lol
so manage it the way it is please, i tried now?
my soup is efo riro. It has in it dried prawns, dried stock fish and grilled chicken strips. i used a bit of palm oil,( 3 tablespoons for my pot. My portion is about a quarter or less of what is in the pot) and lots of ground fresh pepper. I also added a medium piece of croaker fish.

Enjoy! lol
Till next time,
stay beeyoutiful
hugs
Olubunmi

Beauty can get you in but character will keep you there!

I'm a Christian, unashamedly so. And in my line of work I've seen many beaautiful women. But this doesn't move me much until I see one with an equally beautiful heart and character. In the Bible, if you read the book of Esther, Vashti who was King Xerxes' wife was so beautiful, her husband and King wanted to show off her beauty. But what did she do? She disdained him. She probably thought she was the only beautiful babe in town like a lot of us think. I'm sure you know the end of her story (if you don't,  Please pick up a Bible and read through the book of Esther).
A beauty pageant was called,  all the "babes" had to fall in cause the King was looking for another wife.
I read, I hope you saw it too, that Esther was fair and beautiful,  check 1: it's not bad to be a babe.
She was said to have found favour in the sight of Hegai who was in charge of the babes. Do you think it was her beauty that made this happen? Check 2
Mordechai, her uncle reported an incident that happened at the gate to her and told her to tell the king. If she didn't have a good character, do you think she would still be in touch to the level of obeying her uncle?  After all  she was now the Queen and wouldn't want to be associated with an uncle who sits with the gate men. Check 3
When she was to go in to the King, she called a fast for her maidens and her and the whole of Israel.  When she got in, she bowed low. She could have just assumed all she needed to do was take a bath, wear the nicest clothes and makeup (which I'm sure she did), but she went further to actually pray, seek God and then courtesy herself before the King.
So out went Vashti,  in came Haddassah A. K.A Esther.
Beauty got them both into the palace, but character sustained Esther.

By all means be beautiful,  look good but please be decent,  kind, compassionate, polite, and above all, seek God in all you do.

Till next time,
Stay Beeyoutiful!
Hugs,
Olubunmi

Plantain fufu recipe

Hello people, so i got a lot of responses on my last post, Nigerian weight loss meal plan. A lot of people have requested for recipes and quantity. so today my post is a link to the plantain fufu recipe.
I'd like to say first of all that
whatever you are cooking, try to avoid using a lot of oil, especially palm oil.
You need to know your personal daily caloric needs, then deduct about 500 calories for weight loss. 500 calories deficient daily for a week give about half a kilogram weight loss, when combined with aerobic and anaerobic exercises, you will be able to achieve your weight loss goals in record time.
Now to the story of the day.
I came across this blog when i was searching for healthy Nigerian meals recipes. Its even got calories breakdown.

click and enjoy

http://www.9jafoodie.com/2013/11/fresh-plantain-fufu/



till next time,
stay beeyoutiful!

PS
id appreciate if you posted your comments in the box below rather than as personal mails so that others can benefit from responses too.
also please share your fufu pictures with us when you do make them.

weight loss food plan with Nigerian foods.

Hello I was at a program recently hosted by Pastor Tolu Aladesanmi of Global harvest church. Mrs Bunmi Banwo, a fitness and nutrition trainer from the United kingdom was there to speak to women about how to get back in shape after childbirth.
Interestingly, Bunmi is a childhood friend of mine, we grew up in the same city, attended the same high school, have the same name and now we do similar stuff except shes not into beauty (yet!lol)
Ok back to the event.
She talked about 8 steps to getting your grove back, unfortunately i didn't take notes because it was recorded and i made a mental note to buy a dvd.
But in summary,
have smart goals
 work on your mindset, its been done by others, it can be done by you,
get information about food, the good, the bad and the ugly
exercise
be disciplined
be consistent
be prayerful

Some one asked a question about how possible it is to eat rice only twice a week and what would someone eat on a diet in Nigeria. Hence, i have decided to share this meal plan i created for a client of mine recently.
it can be modified to suit your taste and caloric needs.
If you need to know your daily caloric requirements for weight loss, recipes or cooking lessons on any of the meals please let me know.
I'd also like to add that the best weight loss plans start with a detox to rid your digestive system of toxins and will work only if you are absolutely committed to it and make it a lifestyle

till next time,
stay beeyoutiful!
luv,
Olubunmi

http://www.blogsdb.com

Healthy mom tips

Take your children on short walks, they will be happy, sleep early and you will be fit.

teach your children to eat healthy. Make fruits and vegetables a part of meal time daily.

Teach them to drink lots of water (you should too), drop sweet grapes, berries citrus fruits in water to encourage them if they aren't too keen on it.

Skip the sugar for cereals, instead use fresh and dried fruits as sweeteners, healthy nut (almonds, groundnuts, walnuts) also give an irresistible crunchiness to cereals.

Teach your child self confidence: never talk down on them, never compare them with siblings, friends or neighbors, 

teach them respect, it never goes out of fashion

teach them kindness and compassion
always point out what is good in them. reward good behaviour, discipline them when needed but always let them know what they did wrong before and after the disciplinary action.

lastly, live by example!

PTee

I recently had the opportunity of working on an annointed but absolutely simple woman of God, Pastor Tolulope Aladesanmi. She needed some pictures for upcoming events and projects and i was just too glad to oblidge.
here are some of the pictures taken by me at my studio.
Enjoy

Like what you see? You can book your own session too. Just give me a call on 07031609253.

stay beeyoutiful!

xx

Olubunmi

Proper posture and weightloss

Good posture is important for fitness and weight loss. Standing and sitting straight and tall and instantly slims your torso. When we slouch we let our guts hang out and we look heavier than we really are. When we stand up using proper alignment it forces us to pull everything up and in and we look thinner.
Another advantage of good posture is strength building. When you consciously pull yourself up constantly, you sick in your stomach and consequently build your gut and back muscles.
Conscious efforts at good posture require some energy. You therefore burn some calories, however minute, in the process.
Breathing better is another advantage of good posture.
How to achieve good posture:
Make sure you are standing firmly on both feet. Gently feel your weight going into the ground while your body is growing taller. This should cause you to be straight and you should feel your abdomen gently pulling in as a result. Your shoulders should not be hunched forward or pulled too far back. They should rest easy on top of your body. The head should lift up from the spine but not pull. The neck should feel free. Make sure your knees are not locked and your joints are free.
When sitting, make sure your back is straight and your feet are firmly placed on the ground. Your hips should be as far back in the chair as possible and your weight should be equally distributed between both of your hips.
Do not spend all day slouched in front of your desk or computer. Take standing breaks every couple of hours. When working on your computer or any other screen, sit straight up, your eyes should be on the same level as the middle of the screen to avoid back and neck pain.
If you are just beginning to improve your posture, allow time for your muscles to adjust to the change. It may seem uncomfortable at first, but you will soon notice the benefits of standing and sitting properly.

Mental wellness for women

Recently, i felt really sad and down about a few issues. I usually would bottle up my feelings or talk to my husband who is a man (of course. lol) and doesn't understand much about the psychology of women and he would just dismiss the feelings and tell me to move on as everything will be fine.
i had to summon up courage, pick up my phone and chatted with a "trusted" friend. Though she did not give the solution to my problems, she listened, empathized and encouraged me to hold on and not give up on my dreams.
where am i going with this? As women, we tend to bottle up emotions and this in turn leads to stress, depression, over eating, and even in severe cases suicidal tendencies, we therefore need to cultivate healthy relationships with people we can trust and lean on in times of need.
till next time,
stay beeyoutiful
xoxo
Olubunmi