Final week, final blog

I remember the first day of class as if it were yesterday, it was nerve wrecking  and I didn't have the slightest idea what I was getting myself into;being the only Science Major made me freak out but now that its the last stretch of the semester, I feel very empowered and confident as I write this final blog. I have learned a great deal of self confidence in my writing  and am thankful to my classmates who made it a great experience. I would also like to thank Mr Lemmon being an awesome.

My final post is to give you  a sweet recipe that I love to make.You can get more recipes from
http://www.celtnet.org.uk/recipes   search for Kenyan food.

Green Banana or Plantain Chips

Ingredients
They can be an appetizer or a snack (the chips here are a version of American fries). Traditionally they're made from plantains but green bananas work equally well and are quite delicious.
5 small plantains (or unripe bananas)
oil for deep frying
sea salt to taste
Method of Preparation
Peel the plantains (or bananas) with a knife (not as easy as it sounds!) then cut into long thin wedges. Basically you're cutting them into chips (fries).
Heat the oil in a deep-fat fryer or a large wok to about 190°C . Add the plantain pieces in batches to the oil and fry until golden brown (about 6 or 7 minutes). Drain on kitchen paper, season liberally with salt and serve hot.

My hate/love relationship with December

Don’t you just love the holidays?

It must have been a week ago, when I was walking around the stores of the Battlefield Mall and noticed a young boy around the age of nine years on the floor, crying his poor heart out. His parents were right beside him patting him to get up. I could clearly see their frustration, but they were too helpless about the situation and all the curious eyes around. Which leads to the question; What do you think about this phenomenon known as the holidays? Should I tell my child to believe in Santa? Should I raise his expectations with bigger gifts each year? Should I stop emptying my pockets at the stores that make me accumulate more debt?  Too bad we can’t avoid that headache.

We spend so much time looking for the perfect gift, looking for sales thinking that we are getting bargains, but in reality we may be paying the same price without a sale; and after all that, we either get a gift that we don’t like, or better yet we give a gift that someone else hates.

 I personally hate December. I can’t stand all the congestion in the stores, it drives me nuts looking for a parking, I hate it that we remember the poor and homeless for two weeks, and after that we forget about them until the next December. And don’t forget the crying children in the mall that want their parents to buy them gifts for Christmas.

 I usually blame it on culture shock, but it’s really very simple, I didn’t grow up with a tree or the countless gifts. I grew up knowing Christmas was when our family came together with our extended clan for a good meal and lots of laughter and fun. And when they left, you’d say, “That was fun I can’t wait for next year”.  Therefore, I find the expectations that are imposed on me very overwhelming.

While Decembers make me sick, Christmas is the one day that I love; the birth of Jesus Christ is what every Christian loves to celebrate. I just love the emotions brought about on this day and enjoy the simplicity of the moment. Christmas day signifies that January is right around the corner, hence more sun than gloom. 

 

Just ranting

Maybe I might be the only one who focuses a lot on the health links on every magazine but in reality, I am probably sick and tired of reading the same thing everyday. I am overwhelmed at all the information out there that has been put out proclaiming that their health diets work, that certain shoes will make you work out, that I need to be counting my calorie intake, and so on and so forth. To me this is just too much. Some of this information works and others just don’t. You never know until you try, right?

As much as we digest this information, we should keep in mind that we choose what we eat. It is a personal choice between good and bad information provided by the media.

The other problem I noticed is that fact that if we don’t solve the problems about our health, we are faced with the impossible task of fixing that problem. Therefore avoid leaving things until the last minute because trying to solve an overloaded problem can become quite impossible.

I think its great that we are recognizing our eating habits. Taking control of the situation is better than avoiding it. I greatly love the idea that it has become a business model for many to use food as a tool for hope.

Anyway I hope you get my drift.

Healthy Hair

We all love our hair, we spend time washing, rinsing and styling it to get a certain look  but in reality, how much time do we spend taking care of it? shampoo and conditioner  help to provide some nutrients to the hair and scalp,  but  really; our diet is the most important thing for healthy strong hair.
The most important vitamins for your hair and scalp include, vitaminA, B, iron, zinc and omega 3  fatty acids. you can get this through eating foods such as carrots, spinach, kidney beans,  salmon, eggs and whole grains. Variety is always the best way to go when eating, because you must be able to get the three basic classes of foods.(proteins, carbohydrates and fats)
There needs to be a balance in everything for the body to work properly so keep track of what you eat and as usual, don't always depend on cosmetics;Try some of the basic home made recipes and mix it up.
Read some more on Nurture hair to health

Amazing facts about our body

I always talk about health and how to do this and that but in reallity the key thing to remember is that we do it to maintain the human body. Our body is the most facinating machine that functions without  us knowing; so this weeks post is to inform you about that machine.

Interesting facts about our body;

• The sound you hear when you crack your knuckles is actually the sound of a bursting air bubble in the joints.
• The human heart creates enough pressure while pumping to squirt blood 30 feet.
• You get a new stomach lining every 3 to 4 days due to strong digestive acids that corrode the lining in the stomach.
• The largest organ of the body is the skin, it covers around 1.6-1.9 square meters and accounts for 12% of our body weight.
• The roar we hear when we place a shell next to our ear is not the ocean, but rather the sound of blood surging through the veins of the ear.
• A baby has more bones than an adult because some of the bones fuse together  to form stronger bones, thus instead of 300 we are left with 206 bones.
• The muscle that lets your eye blink is the fastest muscle in your body. It allows you to blink 5 times a second.
• Every person has a unique tongue print
• Unless food is mixed with saliva you cannot taste it.
• Our eyes are always the same size from birth.
  
  

 This are just a few facts that I found interesting, you can check out more on the two links below.

See: Fast facts about your body  
See: Yes i can see you
 

Are we moving forward or backward?

I recently was perusing through the New York Times magazine and came up short of breath when I read an article written by Katie Thomas titled, Running shorts, Singlet. Shoes? which talked about barefoot running. I was surprised to read all the different experiences that people shared on how running barefoot was working for them. While it worked for other, majority of the people in the article confirmed the shortcomings which included fractures and injuries and most commonly blisters.
Well, from my perception of the whole craze about barefoot running, it would be right to say that we are now starting to follow the good old days when people went barefoot, not because they wanted to, but because they had no choice. Our ancestor’s adaptation to running barefoot was because their roads were bare earth which cushions the feet, unlike the paved roads that increase friction on the soles. Secondly, people walked barefoot because they couldn’t afford it, shoes were a luxury; consequently with time they adapted to walking and running barefoot.
 Before running barefoot, keep in mind that your feet will be unsanitary, unsafe and cold. But if you really insist, i would opt for the Nike Free shoes or the Vibram Five Fingers that are becoming increasingly popular and use them as a first base so that the muscles can adapt.
Remember, walking barefoot is not the same as running barefoot so pick your poison wisely, because it might end up costing you more than just a work-out.

Painful muscle cramping

Am I just the only one who thought that fall break went by so fast?  I hope you all had a great fall break.  I didn’t do much but had a chance to take one of my friends to pick up his car at Lebanon which was just one hour away and on my way back I experienced the worst muscle cramp ever. I wanted to stop but couldn’t because I was trying to keep up with him on the highway, since there was a 50/50 chance that the car would stall on him. 

So, what would you do if you got a muscle pull on the road? 

 I decided to put my car on cruise and massaged my foot while driving. I know it’s not the right thing to do but it worked. However because my muscles were tensed up, I ended up cruising all the way.

When I arrived home, I went online to check on what to do to fix a muscle cramp, funny enough, there wasn’t a fix, however according to Khara Kanika, muscle cramps can be eliminated by regular stretching, staying hydrated and training gradually especially for people that are starting a workout routine. 

I think next time, I might just stop and stretch.