Author: Monica

Monica

A Healthier Dessert Alternative

I was hungry a few days ago and craving sweets; but I was tired of my homemade cinnamon rolls and cookies.  I wanted something a bit lighter and it had to be easy.  So, I took a walk through the grocery store and as I was browsing, I saw strawberry yogurt.  But I thought to myself, “Get real…..that would only curb my appetite for about a minute and just make me angry.” And most people wouldn’t like me when I’m angry.

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So I kept moving through the isles at the store until I received a revelation of what I could make that would use less refined sugar and maybe even be healthier for me and my family.  I saw these wonderful whole wheat cookies that reminded me of shortbread cookies.  So I decided to combine the strawberry yogurt, the whole wheat cookies and a simple yellow cake with a little strawberry glaze to make a quick and easy dessert that looks like it took a lot of effort.  It will have less sugar and less fat and tastes great.  Trust me, your family and friends will love you for it!

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What you will need for my Easy Strawberry Yogurt Cookie Cake:

My Yellow Cake:  2 eggs, 3/4 cup of milk (non-animal source preferred like coconut, almond), 1/4 cup of water, 1& 1/4 cup of sugar, 3 teaspoons of oil (sunflower but definitely not canola), 1 tablespoon of baking powder, 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract, 1 cup of white flour & 1/2 cup whole wheat flour (or 1&1/2 cups white flour if whole wheat flour is not available), a pinch of salt, 3 tablespoons of butter optional (saves on calories and fat if not included), fresh strawberries are great if in season.

You need 2-3 cups of strawberry yogurt, your choice of about 300 grams of whole wheat cookies (store bought is fine), and about 12 teaspoons of strawberry glaze or jam.

Combine eggs, sugar, oil and softened butter (optional) and mix well.  Add milk and stir until mixture is consistent, add baking powder, vanilla and salt.  Mix well.  Add flour and mix well.  Batter will be thick like a pound cake batter.  Add about 1/4 cups of water.  Bake at 350 degrees F/175 degrees C for about 30-35 minutes in a 9 x 13 inch pan (ovens may vary so test with a toothpick in the center and if dry when it comes out, your cake’s ready)!

In the meantime, blend the cookies until they are crumbs.  Usually you would add butter with other recipes for richness and flavor, but remember, this is a healthier alternative.  DO NOT ADD BUTTER even though tempting!!!

Once the cake is out, let it cool to room temperature.  Take 1/4 of the yogurt and spread it all over the cake. Combine the other 3/4 of the yogurt with 1/2 of the cookies and spread this as the next layer onto the cake.  Top the cake last with the remaining cookie crumbs. Add a teaspoon of strawberry glaze or strawberry jam as pictured above.  This cake yields 12 servings.  If you were fortunate to get fresh strawberries, place them on top of the glaze of each piece.

Refrigerate for at least an hour, serve and enjoy! 20170225_161415

Reply back if you tried this recipe or if you have a healthy recipe that you think viewers will want to try.  Would love to hear from you!

Monica

Perception

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When you look at the picture, what do you see?  

Am I smiling, sad, or just wearing a pleasant expression that tells the world a summary of what I want to portray?  And how do you know what’s reality; is it just all for display?  If you had to summarize me, what would you say?

How can our perception of things be so very wrong? 

Sometimes it’s like judging a book by it’s cover as we so often quote.  Other times, it’s like the famous idiom, seeing your glass half empty instead of half full, a wise person wrote.  Like after reading this, what will be your perception of this anecdote?

See here is the thing, how we see others and a given situation can depend on our own state of mind.  What is truly reality can get tangled up and unfortunately intertwined and combined with our own experiences.  You may be thinking….so what!  But before you brush it all off as no big deal, think about how this affects the people who could have been in your life but you dismissed them as not “for real”; the reason why the world has become so cold and some of us can no longer feel…that empathy for one another.

Man, perception is a mutha!

Oh, and by the way, in that pic……I was smiling, it was a good day!

So next time you think negatively of your sister or brother, have a bit more compassion and don’t let negative perception prevent a relationship from going further.

Monica

Do You Love Me?

Starting something new in 2017!  A short poem from yours truly illustrating how in my imagination the Father may define LOVE as it pertains to His relationship with us. Do you love me enough toR…

Source: Do You #Love Me?”

Monica

Oh Honey, How Sweet!

 

Since first posting this article about honey, I have used it a lot more to get through the Winter.  It has been amazing for colds, flu and allergy symptoms for my family as well as a sweetener to cut our use of refined sugar!  Hope you will incorporate it into your diet on a regular basis in order to be more healthy.

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Honey is such an amazing food.  It has some very unexpected health benefits and because it tastes so good, we don’t mind using it.  Here are just a few things that you can benefit from by using honey:

Think about it as a natural way to give yourself a boost of ENERGY.

We all have experienced that run down feeling at some point in time if we are over doing it and have not gotten enough rest.  Honey is a wonderful source of carbs and an important component of our energy source for our bodies.  If you take honey, it will give you an immediate boost in your ability to get the task at hand done and hold on until you can get something that is even more sustaining into your body.  It decreases muscle fatigue for athletes and because of its natural sugars, you can use it as you exercise.

Here is how it works….two important properties of honey are that it contains glucose, which breaks down very quickly to give us immediate energy, and fructose, which breaks down over a slower period of time to help us to sustain the energy.  Honey is also known to stabilize blood sugar more as compared to other things we use to sweeten our food.

  • Take it in the morning as an energy booster in your tea or as a cleaning tonic on an empty stomach with the juice of half a lemon, a bit of warm water and a teaspoon of honey (see recipe below).

It not only works to cleanse your body as it works as an antimicrobial and antifungal, it also helps to boost your immune system, hopefully preventing illnesses.  It has very powerful antioxidant properties that give want to be diseases a PUNCH!!!

  • Honey has been said to help fight cancer.  See below references for more on this.
  • One of my favorite uses:  a natural cure for treating wounds due to its antiseptic properties.  Next time you or your little ones have an OWIE, try a bit of honey on it.  It also is known to work to help heal minor burns.  There is a brand that has been shown to be good for this in the link below called UMF Manuka.
  • If you have a sore throat or cough, try a drink of honey with warm water and lemon as mentioned above.
  • Got insomnia, try honey and warm milk before turning in.  This is an old remedy that has been proven to work by many grandmothers.  You can even use the honey in tea such as chamomile.  My favorite is green tea and honey.  It seems to have such a soothing effect.
  • Honey and vinegar have been reported by many to decrease their pain from arthritis and work as a home detox.
  • Honey and lemon are said to be good for weight loss

Overall, you can’t beat a food that has so many HUGE benefits and tastes so SWEET!

So next time you are low on energy, instead of reaching for that candy bar or granola bar, give honey a try.

Check out this recipe below:

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Mix one tsp of raw honey with the juice of about 2 tsp of lime or lemon in a glass of warm water.  Make sure not to use boiling water and definitely not tap water.  Try to use distilled or at least a good quality bottled water such as FUJI.  The pH of Fuji bottled water is reported to have a pH slightly above 8 which is healthier for us.  Use this drink in the mornings before eating anything. It is effective in detoxing the body and as a digestive aid after a particularly oily meal.  This along with exercise and a healthy diet will hopefully help you to shed the pounds naturally and make it a part of your lifestyle change.

References:

http://www.benefits-of-honey.com/honey-and-lemon.html

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/264667.php#the_possible_health_benefits_of_honey

http://www.medicaldaily.com/liquid-gold-7-health-benefits-honey-could-heal-your-whole-body-325932

Now, why not share this article with someone you love!!!  Click below & drop some knowledgeimages!

Monica

Did You Know? Celebrating African American History!

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As African Americans, most of us take great pride in teaching our children and youth about our history all year round.  In America, February has been chosen as the height of this celebration of the rich contribution that we have made to not only America, but the entire world.  However, there is a sadness that grabs me when I think about even the above title….African-American History Month.  Why not simply African History?  We have a rich history before the Americas as well.  A history of being educators, agricultural experts and inventors of things made to aid our journey into outer space as well as much needed health inventions and procedures.

We know about many great contributors and have taught our children about greats such as George Washington Carver, Frederick Douglas, Martin Luther King, Jr., Marcus Garvey, Harriet Tubman, and so many others that would fill pages and pages.  Being that I come from a discipline in healthcare, I want to take you on a journey with me to educate about some unsung heroes in the healthcare industry who have made a huge impact on our lives.

dr-patricia-era-bath-e1476281303884Dr. Patricia Bath          (Photo credit: Scholastic, Teacher’s Activity Guide)          

Did You Know…..Dr. Bath was born in Harlem, New York in 1942 and earned her medical degree from Harvard University followed by a fellowship in Opthalmology at Columbia University.  She had an interest in science from an early age.  In 1981, she invented the Laserphaco Probe which made her famous.  She patented the device in 1988 after years spent perfecting it.  She was the first African American female to physician to secure a medical patent.  This device was used for cataract correction during eye surgery and was less invasive, more precise and had less risk associated with it than other devices.  It has been used world-wide.  Bath also co-founded the American Institute for the prevention of blindness and the first woman to chair an ophthalmology residency program in the US.  She is an example of what it is to work tirelessly for improvement of health for all.

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                (Photo credit:  Celebrating Black History Month, Triocountysentry)

Otis Boykin

Did You Know…..Otis Boykin is best known in the medical field for improving the pacemaker.  In addition to this, he made devices that we use on a daily more effecient and affordable, such as the television and computers.  Boykin was born in Dallas, Texas and attended Fisk College in Nashville, Tennessee.  He went on to the Illinois Institute of Technology in Chicago to further his education.

Boykin began to study electronics and learned about resistors.  He found that resistors allow a safe amount of currency to flow through a device because you can slow the electrical flow.  He patented a “wire precision resistor” in 1959 which allowed specific amounts of electrical currents to flow for a specific purpose.  If that wasn’t magnificent enough, he came back with an improved version that could withstand   shifts in temperature and air pressure.  This breakthrough allowed devices to be made even cheaper and more reliable than what had ever been seen before.  His resistors were even used in military missiles.  His invention for the control unit for the pacemaker, which was a device that was implanted in the body to help the heart beat normally, was a great invention that allowed the pacemaker to be regulated more precisely.  He is a true legend.

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(Photo credit:  google photos)

Garrett Morgan

Did You Know…….Garrett Morgan was born in 1877 in Paris and passed in 1963.  He is most known for  inventing an early version of the gas mask and a new form of the traffic signal.  If that was not amazing enough, he also invented the “safety hood” in 1914, which made polluted air safer to breath.  It was used in World War I to protect soldiers from poisonous gases.  In 1916 in Ohio, during the drilling of a tunnel being drilled under Lake Erie that tragically collapsed, 32 workers were trapped and while firemen could not rescue the men due to gases and fumes, Morgan and other men used his safety hood to reach the trapped men and rescue others also.

Oh, but wait, there is more!  What we are all probably more familiar with is his invention and patent for the traffic signal in 1923.  His traffic signal was the first to use 3 instead of 2 commands which made traffic flow more efficiently.  He sold the patent rights for a whopping $40K to G.E., which was more like a cool $1/2 million now.

To these 2 heroes and heroin as well as many others that gave of their time, sweat and hard work and made this world a better place to live.  Here is also to the up and coming Baths, Boykins, and Morgans of our day and time.  Keep pushing forward, breaking open doors and leaving them open for others to come after you.   Thank you for your contributions.

 

Monica

“Violence” Poem by Gabby Y

A poem by a very talented friend of mine, Gabby Y.  Pray to see more of her beautiful work soon!

violence

Bloodshed, in reality and on that square we call TV
Nothing but immoral wickedness is all we see
Insanity filling into the brains of youth
Everyone on the same path, so never knowing the truth
ink-303244_1280The world frying it into our minds
Leaving a permanent scare for generations to find
Continuing on what The Man’s goal was
To keep our people against one another
Because of The Man who would kill his own mother
Violence is a sin against the Father
One must stand up and follow the path of his forefathersink-303244_1280
Not the path of this devil
Who enjoys killing, hurting and scheming, yeah that’s his revel
So the people of Judah, wake up NOW!
Stop killing and betraying and take one big bow
Before the Father and pray for forgiveness
That we may all repent from our sins and be sinless
The Father has no intentions of allowing us to inherit
The Land of Milk and Honey with and evil state of mind
We must get rid of that Babalioness, and let’s combine
ink-303244_1280Our knowledge, talents and numbers
So that we may do the Father’s will and this time stay in our Mother!

 

 

Aside Monica

What to Do with Your Bread Heels

banana bread pudding

Wait! Don’t throw away your bread heels!

I have a great bread pudding recipe that will bring a smile to your family’s faces.  It’s easy, quick and since it uses ingredients you usually end up with more than what you need, it’s relatively cheap.

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In a large bowl, shred bread heels into about 1 inch pieces with your hands.  Don’t use the outside crust.  Add raisins.

In a small bowl, mash up the banana, then add the egg, sugars, vanilla, salt, cinnamon and melted butter.  Stir the mixture until consistent.

Add the water and the milk to the wet mixture.  Pour the wet mixture over the bread and raisins in the large bowl.

Stir the mixture with a large spoon and also begin to chop the pieces of bread to make them a bit smaller.  Stir and chop until you get a consistent mixture.  If you desire a more wet mixture just add a bit more milk.

Transfer into a baking pan and bake at about 350 degrees F or about 180 degrees Celsius for about 20-25 minutes.  Cooking times may vary with ovens and depending on how wet your pudding is.  When you see the edges are light brown, your pudding is done!

Serve warm with ice cream and enjoy!  If you like this recipe, please share it!

 

 

Monica

Boost Your Immunity with Ginger and Lemon Tea

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As we continue to fight off colds and other viruses in the thick of the Winter, I have found one thing that seems to speed up me and my family’s recovery time.  For a long time, we have used ginger and lemon as a tea, but I had always been thinking how I could make it even more potent.

It suddenly occurred to me that so many recipes that I have used in the past that call for lemons as the ingredient specifically require the use of the lemon rind.  Just in the small amount of the rind, we know that we get a powerful amount of flavor.  Well it’s not just the benefit of the added flavor from this small amount of the rind ingredient, we also gain:

  • 5-10 times more vitamins and minerals in the rind than in the juice of the lemon
  • Cancer fighting protection from a phytonutrient called salvestrol Q40 as well as limonene.
  • Flavenoids also found in the rind help to slow down the division of cancer cells
  • Due to the amount of calcium and vitamin C, lemon rinds are excellent for promoting bone health and all sorts of joint conditions, such as rheumatoid arthritis and inflammatory polyarthritis.  It even helps with osteoporosis
  • Decrease in cholesterol (LDL in particular).  This is the cholesterol that is not healthy for us.  This in turn will lead to better circulation and heart health.

So, I thought to myself, why not use the entire lemon in a tea with my usual ginger, but instead of using in the form of chunks, blend it  ALL up.  Here is what you will need:

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  • About enough ginger root to fit into the palm of your hand or about the size of a medium sized lemon. Peel it and rinse it with water.
  • About 1/4 cup of brown sugar (and 1/2 cup of white sugar , or use all brown sugar if you please)
  • 4 tea bags of whatever type of tea you would like (optional)
  • About a tablespoon of honey
  • 1&1/2 liters of boiled water (filtered or good quality bottled water, not tap)
  • A medium or large lemon, washed with soap and water
  1. Once you gathered your ingredients, chop the washed lemon and the peeled ginger root into chunks as seen above.
  2. Place the chunks of ginger, chunks of lemon, honey, sugars and about 1/3 of the boiled water into your blender.  Blend the ingredients for about a minute.
  3. Meanwhile, put the tea bags (optional) and the rest of your boiled water into a medium sized pot and pour the blended contents into this pot and stir a few times (above uppermost right picture).
  4. Let the ingredients steep by covering the pot with a top for about 5-10 minutes.
  5. After steeping, strain all at one time or one serving at a time as seen above.
  6. Save the strained ingredients in a tupperware and use it once more if you desire but within 1-2 days.  Store in the fridge.
  7. Enjoy your Immune System Boost and hopefully a quicker recovery!images

Leave a comment and share your experience if you tried the recipe.

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Monica

Do You Love Me?”

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Starting something new in 2017!  A short poem from yours truly illustrating how in my imagination the Father may define LOVE as it pertains to His relationship with us.

Do you love me enough to……

Not put anything or anyone before me?

Put away your idols for your soul to be free, living to work so you can pay the bills and afford that Audi?

Not to create things with your hands to put before your eyes as a mighty one;

Realize that I am He that brings forth life and can send death when it’s all said and done.

Not to play with My name and utter it as such a small thing;

or mix it with foul words as you think it’s clever when cussing.

Not to forget the day that I ceased to work, but remember to set it apart;

it’s not for gettin’ in your over-time, clubbing or fillin’ your grocery cart.

Not to forget whatever your circumstance, that your earthly Mother or Father,

or whomever I gave to raise you, never make them feel like a burden or a bother.

Not to plot to take the life of anyone for this you know is wrong;

going against the 1st command, be fruitful, multiply, sing praises to Me all the day long.

Not to lay with another man’s wife, no matter how much your flesh yearns;

Use reason over emotion and from her gaze and grasp you must turn.

Not to take from one another, without permission what isn’t yours,

with the intention not to return it; go get your own from your pick of stores.

Not to hide the truth from or about your neighbor, spreading lies and even slander;

not stand for behavior of those that devise and deceive, don’t be a by-stander.

Not to wish or thirst for anything that is owned by any other person;

their spouse, car, job, wealth, for this also to Me is a strong aversion.

If you truly love Me my child, just start with these 10 SIMPLE THINGS.

Stand up to the entire world, be different and see what righteousness brings.

by Monica Terry, AKA Taptutor

Please share your thoughts about this poem or one of your own.  Would be happy to share it with other tapin2life blog followers.  Remember to share this poem by clicking below.point-24974_640