HOT! Vegan Bean and Pea Soups for the Colder Months (Part 1)

Now these recipes are homemade and created by yours truly. These soups are thick, creamy and sure to ignite the heat in order for you to stay warm and comfy during cold weather or warm weather, they are that  good, and healthy too!

Black Bean Soup

Ingredients: Black Beans (not canned. 1 bag)
             Mushrooms (Baby Portabella. 1/2 a pack or 1 1/2 cup)
             Collard Greens (4 large leaves)
             Garlic Cloves (3 cloves)

        Matouk's Pepper sauce (2 tablespoons)or Cayenne                  Pepper (a couple of dashes)

             Sea Salt (add to your preference)

Soak beans for a few hours or a couple of days in a container. This process helps to remove the gas from the beans. Strain the beans then rinse with cool water.

Fill a pot with cool water set to boil. You can add the beans to the cool water before boiling. This helps to soften the beans. Let the beans cook, when they start to soften I like to take the mixing spoon and smash some of the beans to start the thickening process. This is when you can also begin to salt the beans.

Once the beans begin to thicken start chopping the garlic cloves into tiny pieces. Add the garlic to the soup.

Next you can slice the mushrooms and add to the simmering pot so that they can begin to cook and absorb all that goodness.

Then I would add my pepper sauce, a little goes a long way. It is very flavorful. The pepper sauce or cayenne brings out the savoriness in the soup.

Now once the soup looks soupy (lol)cut the fire off and add rinsed, stemmed, and chopped collards to the pot.I like the greens as green as possible so cutting the fire off allows the collards to keep their nutrients and fresh green color. The collards then absorb all of the spices in the soup.

This soup takes about 45 minutes to an hour to be fully done. 4 servings. Soup may become even thicker once it sits. Just add water. Enjoy my loves!!!!!

Crystal Magic!

Considering that I am all about spirituality, growth, and health, I've invested my money and time into some tools that help me along my spiritual journey. One of these tools happen to be crystals or gemstones. Crystals come in all shapes, sizes, and colors. These crystals have so many healing properties that there is no life issue that it wont be able to assist the individual with. Crystals can be used during meditation, to make elixirs, during therapy, in baths, and even at bedtime to assist with sleeping and/or dreaming. My favorite crystal happens to be the Amethyst, which is also my birth stone. Crystals can be worn as jewelry for women, men and children alike.
Some properties of Amethyst are: Helps with insomnia
                                                    Guard against psychic attack
                                                    Blood Cleansing
                                                    Helps with headaches
                                                    Protects against negativity spiritually and physically
Note: A good book that I own for the in depth approach to understanding crystals: The Crystal Bible by Judy Hall.

The Crystal Bible

Inspirational Reading

I will admit that at times I believe my life is pressed on slow motion. The goals that I am after seems far off and unattainable. But I have started to learn to reverse the negative conditioning that my mind can acquire especially when I'm idle. I've picked up some light reading and I just completed The Power of Concentration by Theron Q. Dumont. I recommend this book to anyone who seems to lose focus and become easily distracted. This book can assist with all aspects of life.

                                                            The Power of Concentration

How Greens Can Ease Your Period Pain

Before the menstruation cycle even begins you can feel it coming. You start the journey of overeating, indulging in too many sweets, and being overcome with sudden fatigue. Once the cycle begins you are irritable, in pain rolling around in the bed, taking heavy amounts of prescribed medication or over the counter drugs. Then you put up with large amounts of hemorrhaging that causes heavy bleeding. A solution that I have found to be very helpful is the increase in the amount of raw dark green veggies that I consume at the first sign of swollen breast and a change in mood. Decreasing the amounts of starches I eat such as bread, potatoes, and rice are also great routes to take. Any dark greens will do, you should eat or juice in abundance. Liquid chlorophyll is also excellent. I use a tablespoon of the liquid chlorophyll and add it to water or fresh juice. You can also add a spotted banana to the mix when it comes to healthy alternatives to period pains.

Easy Breezy Beauties!

                                                         Reblogged from livelaughlovelocs

                                                                     heroineheroine

                                                                            lovedivika

 diosasalnatuheyfranhey

The Wonders of Coconut Oil

I use coconut oil for my OCM, 25% castor oil and 75% coconut oil. Coconut oil has been my skin's saviour, keeping me virtually breakout free and smooth. I wish I had started using this years ago. I also use it for my nails to get them strong and healthy because they have been weak and brittle lately. Last but not least I use the coconut oil for whiter teeth and for a quick detox by using the Oil Pulling Method. Coconut oil has many, many uses and you can find most of them at the website Wellness Mama.

Source

Morning Tonic

For a burst of energy and detoxing effects it is best to start off light in the morning. After sleep, it is important to start off by hydrating the body, I take a clove of garlic, juice of one lime, a little cayenne pepper, a teaspoon of olive oil and mix it all in a glass of water. This tonic even cuts the cravings for heavy food and sugar in the morning.

Working On Me

"Repression is to live a life that you were not meant to live. Repression is to do things that you never wanted to do. Repression is to be the fellow that you are not, repression is a way to destroy yourself. Repression is suicide - very slow of course, but a very certain, slow poisoning." -Osho from Emotions

Source

Loosies

Stretch me, shrink me, but don't you dare shun me!

                                                                   naturalhairdoescare

Maeling Tapp

                                                                     curvesincolor

                                                                 nowyouknowalicia:

                                                    My hair after three years of growth.

                                                   I’m starting to get bored/annoyes with it.

                                                   I think I might shave it off and start over.

                                                                          staysuckafree

                     Blake Von D

                                                                   fuckyeahdarkgirls

Be Healthy All Over

I believe in the the concept of eating to live, but that concept can also be enjoyable. Eating healthy benefits the whole body, so I do find it funny that a healthy food would be recommended for something singular like hair growth, glowing skin, and in particular any other physical benefits. It's nice to want beauty benefits from raw fruits, vegetables, and herbs but their should be an acknowledgment of how these things benefit the body as a whole, especially if you don't get the beauty results that you are looking for right away. Once the inside of your body is working well from the healthy foods, over time the outside will reflect the beauty and the care you have taken internally. So make sure when you're getting into the next trendy health product you research and make it a part of your lifestyle if it is beneficial to you. Consistency is key, and I even have to remind myself of this every day. Now that's food for thought!

                                source

My Greens Are Your Greens

My favorite salad to eat is a simple and easy kale salad that is a spinoff from my boyfriends version. Here is what you will need:

1. One head of kale
2. 2-3 garlic cloves
3. Olive oil
4. Sea salt
5. Half a lime

Strip leaves off the stalk of the kale, tear and wash well. Squeeze out as much excess water as you can. You will notice how the kale shrinks. Now is the time to chop the garlic cloves into minced pieces. Add the kale to a large bowl then add the garlic on top. Next you should add olive oil as much as you like, I am generous with the oil! Then you can add in a sprinkling of the sea salt, whatever amount is your preference, but with sea salt a little goes a long way. With clean hands, mix all ingredients together. The kale should be even more bite sized now. Finally take the half a lime and squeeze the juice onto the kale. Your outcome should be a delicious garlicky, tangy, green salad. Enjoy!

vitamedica

Peach Oat Smoothie

                                                                      vegnews
Check out the recipe for this tasty and energizing drink here!

Raw Honey Benefits!

As a child I did consume raw honey, but growing older I would just pick up any old honey since the supermarkets in my neighborhood did not carry raw honey. Thanks to www.heyfranhey.com I have revisited the raw honey. Franchesca has a youtube video about the 'honey cleansing method' which gently cleans and is great for acne prone skin. I use the raw honey as a mask mixed with the juice of half a lime and leave on my face for 30 minutes. This is great for cleansing and removing and marks you may have because of its great brightening properties. You should be able to purchase raw honey from health food stores, Whole Foods, Trader Joe's, or just any speciality fruit and vegetable stand. Visit this website (world's healthiest foods) to get the complete list of raw honey benefits.

www.beautyatskindeep.com

I LOVE LOCS

                                                      www.andrewthomasclifton.com

                                                                        uknaturals

Tao

Everyone wants to find their life purpose. Being into wholistic health, there is nothing more important than the controlling of your mind and thoughts. I am a person who tends to absorb energy and allow it to alter my mood, which is a known trait of Pisces individuals. Though I have become better at this absorption and learning to detach from the the negative energy coming my way, I'm still in training when it comes to strictly positive thoughts and realizing that I have power over my emotions. A book that I'm into at the moment is 

"The Tao of Health, Sex, & Longevity" by Daniel P. Reid. This book focuses on the Chinese culture of Taoism, "Taoism is concerned primarily with life on earth and suggest that only a strong, healthy body can house a strong, healthy spirit, which is why Tao focuses so strongly on health and longevity."

Amazon

Find What's Buggin YOU!

In this world many people find it difficult to not compare themselves to others. Coming from the health perspective I had to realize that my body would be affected in a different way from someone else's and it was my job to find out my problem and solve it. Take skin for instance I started to break out from junior high school, my father used to break out as a teen so everyone thought it was just genetic. Becoming a woman and realizing that so called "genetics" are not the end all and be all, I discovered what was really buggin me, it was and still is my digestive system. As I look back I realize that many of my family members actually have this problem it just wouldn't show up in their skin per say but it would show up in diseases such as diabetes, high blood pressure, asthma, etc.
 Like the famous Queen Afua and many other wise teachers say, the problems start in the colon. At 25 I am a vegan and have been for a while now, it has tremendously improved my skin but I am still detoxing from years of toxic eating and stress. To attack the problem at the root the answer is efficient detoxing. I plan on getting my first colonic in a few months to clean out and have the ideal health that I seek. Juicing is also a quick fix for cleansing the colon and the blood. It is a quick fix for blemished skin, but consistency is key, and a great juicer doesn't hurt. So for anyone seeking a transformation into a wholistic lifestyle I say go forth, cleanse, and find what works for you!!!!

                                                           

source

The Sound Of Music

You know when you get ahold of that oldie but definitely goody because you listen to mostly oldies anyway (lol) well I am now playing the fabulous Anita Baker - "Whatever It Takes" from her album Compositions. To me this sounds like the strength of true love and romance. If your not addicted to an oldie at the moment find one or two and just let the mind drift.

Slow Wine: Grapeseed Oil Uses

So I am on winter vacation before my last semester of Undergrad which starts at the end of January (hype), and I've been working, doing as much overtime as I can, so I've been very low maintenance with my hair. I've had some two strand twists in for about three weeks. I washed with some Trader Joe's conditioner and I've been using my trusty NOW brand Grapeseed Oil. Without using a Shea butter based cream which I am used to, right after the wash I added grapeseed oil to my hair. It not only seals but it moisturizes, leaving my hair silky and smooth. It's also safe to use on my oily, acne prone skin, its the only oil that does not allow breakouts, while feeling comfortable and light on the skin.

Grapeseed Oil is perfect for sensitive skin types
Protects against premature aging
Does not cause breakouts because it does not clog pores
Odorless with mild astringent and emollient benefits
Essential fatty acids such as Oliec, Stearic, Palmitic, Mysteric, Linoleic
Excellent hair conditioner or add as a base for skin lotions or hair creams

Find at amazon or your local health food store

The Random Thought

I never felt the same when people said "Life is Short", life is yours, its all you have, no matter the age that it ends. Life is not only on earth, it doesn't only belong to humans, it is universal, the rule of life and death, opening and closing, rebirth into a new dimension, the feeling of being new and unfamiliar with other life forces in that time and space. Recognizing that how you spend that time is what really matters because you'll always get the chance to live again, bigger and better.

The Sun Always Shines