Do you all recall my first run-in with the banana conditioner? If you don't, here's a quick recap: My hair felt GREAT - really moisturized after - and when I went to style it, I found pieces of banana all "up in there" *in my best DMX voice*
I did a banana conditioner this weekend and used the same exact recipe, which I got from BGLH.
1 banana, pureed
1/2 cup milk
2 tbsp honey
2 tbsp ACV
This time, I used a strainer again to filter out the large-solid banana particles. When I did this - I poured the 1/2 cup of milk into the strainer while the pureed banana was in there and mixed it w/ a spoon in the strainer. I think this mixing really allowed the small banana particles to move through the strainer easily. In the end, I have great moisture and no more banana left in my hair!
I sealed my hair w/ Olive Oil *my other favorite blog, The Natural Haven, said that research only proves that Olive Oil and Coconut Oil penetrate the hair, thus I'm using OO instead of Castor oil* My hair has GREAT shine. I let my hair dry over night in some "play-play" bantu knots and 2-strand twisted it the next day. I think my hair looks fab! I'll post pics later.
PS - I'm on the road again this week, so no cooking :(. I'm in Houston, TX training for work. I should be back with some new fierce styles soon...I've been brainstorming :)
Friendly Big Chop
So, my sorority sister/co-initiate from college came to visit last week for Philly's Greek Weekend. She hadn't gotten a perm for 7 months and wanted me to give her a big chop. I asked her the ENTIRE weekend if she was sure about it and she was. We bought some shears and I cut off all her relaxed hair. I just wanted to add a post about it.
Jasmine before the cut with a roller set - we did a curly mohawk style:
Jasmine after her big chop:
I'm so happy I have another natural soror! :)
Jasmine before the cut with a roller set - we did a curly mohawk style:
Jasmine after her big chop:
I'm so happy I have another natural soror! :)
Updates, Updates, Updates
Hello Blogosphere! JIC I have any followers, know that I was away at a conference for work all week and this was the final look I went with for my professional conference:
I just did a twist out and pulled my hair back with a cute lil' scunci headband that I got from Rite Aid. So, before that I tried the Kinky Curly product that lots of natural girls rave about. I swore it wouldn't work for my 4b hair, but needed to try it to prove it. This is what my hair looked like right after my co-wash w/ the Kinky Curly product in it.
The KC product is supposed to LENGTHEN curls and DEFINE curls. I think this product is ideal for women with CURLY hair (4a/3b/3a) b/c this is what my hair looked like afterwards:
*Excuse my facial expression...I was not ready for the pic, and I was on a Philly Duck Ride bus.* So, CLEARLY I feel like my hair looks 1,000,000 times better with the twist out. I didn't like the product for my hair. It looks a lot shorter in this style and felt VERY dry. So that's my shpiel on Kinky Curly.
Not to back track...but I used banana for a deep conditioner for my twist-out look (last week). Remember I said I LOVED the feel of my hair after the wash - but didn't like the actual leftover banana in my hair. So this time I bought a strainer and pureed the banana and put it through the strainer, leaving the large banana parts in the strainer. I still had some banana left in my hair but MUCH LESS! I'm going to deep condition w/ banana tonight, trying a different technique with the strainer - I'll let you know how this works!
I just did a twist out and pulled my hair back with a cute lil' scunci headband that I got from Rite Aid. So, before that I tried the Kinky Curly product that lots of natural girls rave about. I swore it wouldn't work for my 4b hair, but needed to try it to prove it. This is what my hair looked like right after my co-wash w/ the Kinky Curly product in it.
The KC product is supposed to LENGTHEN curls and DEFINE curls. I think this product is ideal for women with CURLY hair (4a/3b/3a) b/c this is what my hair looked like afterwards:
*Excuse my facial expression...I was not ready for the pic, and I was on a Philly Duck Ride bus.* So, CLEARLY I feel like my hair looks 1,000,000 times better with the twist out. I didn't like the product for my hair. It looks a lot shorter in this style and felt VERY dry. So that's my shpiel on Kinky Curly.
Not to back track...but I used banana for a deep conditioner for my twist-out look (last week). Remember I said I LOVED the feel of my hair after the wash - but didn't like the actual leftover banana in my hair. So this time I bought a strainer and pureed the banana and put it through the strainer, leaving the large banana parts in the strainer. I still had some banana left in my hair but MUCH LESS! I'm going to deep condition w/ banana tonight, trying a different technique with the strainer - I'll let you know how this works!
Blow Out Style & Mini Running Update
I cornrowed half of my hair in the front and did a cute little twist over to give it a little extra flavor. I also have continued to twist the rest of my blowout and came to the conclusion that: w/ the way I blow dry my hair, I may as well do a big tight twist out, b/c it will give me the same length and look if I let my hair fully dry in the twists. Here's a pic of the final product.
As far as training for my half-marathon goes...I have been running at least 3 times/week for at least 2 miles a day. I don't see any real improvement in my timing, but I noticed that my endurance must be getting better b/c I'm not nearly as tired at the end of my runs.
Yesterday, a couple of guys asked me if I was a "runner." Let me say I was so geeked b/c I feel that runners look good...so yeh, I assumed that meant I looked good, lol. They invited me to go running w/ a group of ppl that are training for the Broad Street run in September. Only thing is they run at 7:30 AM on Saturdays. Slay me now! I'm going to try to run with them tomorrow...I'll let you know how it goes :)
As far as training for my half-marathon goes...I have been running at least 3 times/week for at least 2 miles a day. I don't see any real improvement in my timing, but I noticed that my endurance must be getting better b/c I'm not nearly as tired at the end of my runs.
Yesterday, a couple of guys asked me if I was a "runner." Let me say I was so geeked b/c I feel that runners look good...so yeh, I assumed that meant I looked good, lol. They invited me to go running w/ a group of ppl that are training for the Broad Street run in September. Only thing is they run at 7:30 AM on Saturdays. Slay me now! I'm going to try to run with them tomorrow...I'll let you know how it goes :)
Hair Trial: Blow Out
On Sunday I borrowed my cousin's EXPENSIVE FHI blow dryer and Aveda brush *b/c I don't have anything* and planned to deep condition and co-wash my hair. I wanted to use banana again and try to puree it, but I had no bananas. So, I just used a conditioner from Earthly Delight for a deep conditioner and used my usual Aubrey Organics conditioner for the wash after. I was coming out a twist out, and for a minute I thought I may have 4a hair *I was excited*
To my disapointment (ok, honestly I was SUPER GEEKED about the coils I saw in this deep condition), after I washed it out and combed through it, my hair went back to its usual 4b self.
*Excuse my sopping wetness LOL!* But clearly there's a SIGNIFICANT difference in length and curl pattern here. Oh well, after the co-wash I put on my Aubrey Organics leave-in conditoner and sealed w/ Castor oil. I also used some FHI hot sauce that is a heat protectant and went to work on my hair.
Let me say that I have some THICK HAIR! I separated my hair into about 14 sections and dryed it section-by-section. I still don't know if I can do a blow out myself b/c my hair drying technique is NOT on point even with sectioning! Basically...my head was hurting afterwards, lol and it was not even straight LOL, AGAIN! Despite the pain *thought pain + hair was finished when I went natural* the final product was FIERCE YA'LL!!!! I loved it!
I LOVED the volume and length...I felt that my hair looked so long! However, my hair felt SO DRY - moisture is a serious challenge for me. I made a homemade spritzer out of spring water, castor oil and a drop of conditioner. This mixture was not good for me - I think the conditioner is to viscous for the spritzer's spout, so basically I get no spritz out, lol. I got the idea from various blogs, but IDK how most ppl use this mixture as oil & water never mix - they're an EMULSION...I negated my technical learning and made it anyway but I won't do it again.
Note that these pictures were all taken Sunday. I twisted my hair for the night and the next day it was VERY DIFFICULT to get this look back. I'll admit I reached for the comb *on my DRY HAIR, I know that's a no-no* and just worked my wide-tooth comb through the partially straight part - not combing through the kinks at the very ends of my hair. I also used my fingers to comb through it. I wore my hair blown out today too but my ends are just absolutely kinky and I'm CONSTANTLY touching/picking/pulling at my hair. I'm going to braid/twist it today b/c I'm a no-stress kinda gal when it comes to hair and clearly blow-out styles are not conducive to my hair length goals.
However, the ultimate purpose of me blowing my hair out was to try a cute professional pin-up style. I'll let you know what I come up with tonight b/c I have an important conference to attend for work and I plan to be NATURAL and FIERCE, but I want to do something different. I'll update to let you know how it works out.
To my disapointment (ok, honestly I was SUPER GEEKED about the coils I saw in this deep condition), after I washed it out and combed through it, my hair went back to its usual 4b self.
Let me say that I have some THICK HAIR! I separated my hair into about 14 sections and dryed it section-by-section. I still don't know if I can do a blow out myself b/c my hair drying technique is NOT on point even with sectioning! Basically...my head was hurting afterwards, lol and it was not even straight LOL, AGAIN! Despite the pain *thought pain + hair was finished when I went natural* the final product was FIERCE YA'LL!!!! I loved it!
I LOVED the volume and length...I felt that my hair looked so long! However, my hair felt SO DRY - moisture is a serious challenge for me. I made a homemade spritzer out of spring water, castor oil and a drop of conditioner. This mixture was not good for me - I think the conditioner is to viscous for the spritzer's spout, so basically I get no spritz out, lol. I got the idea from various blogs, but IDK how most ppl use this mixture as oil & water never mix - they're an EMULSION...I negated my technical learning and made it anyway but I won't do it again.
Note that these pictures were all taken Sunday. I twisted my hair for the night and the next day it was VERY DIFFICULT to get this look back. I'll admit I reached for the comb *on my DRY HAIR, I know that's a no-no* and just worked my wide-tooth comb through the partially straight part - not combing through the kinks at the very ends of my hair. I also used my fingers to comb through it. I wore my hair blown out today too but my ends are just absolutely kinky and I'm CONSTANTLY touching/picking/pulling at my hair. I'm going to braid/twist it today b/c I'm a no-stress kinda gal when it comes to hair and clearly blow-out styles are not conducive to my hair length goals.
However, the ultimate purpose of me blowing my hair out was to try a cute professional pin-up style. I'll let you know what I come up with tonight b/c I have an important conference to attend for work and I plan to be NATURAL and FIERCE, but I want to do something different. I'll update to let you know how it works out.
Whole Wheat Pancakes w/ Strawberry Sauce
What's up ya'll! So, I had a great time celebrating Independence Day with family & friends in the city where Independence was born! I did my hair in this 50's do that I got from a blogger named Cherry Lola. It came out fab - but I'll stop rambling about that and address the title.
I LOVE breakfast, there's not a day that goes by where I don't eat breakfast. Typically on weekends I like to do more than my usual Kashi's Cinna Raisin cereal. Today I took a recipe from one of my favorite health-conscious chefs, Ellie Krieger and made Whole-Wheat Pancakes with Strawberry Sauce. I got the recipe from her cookbook, The Food You Crave.
Pancakes
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cup whole-grain pastry flour or whole-wheat flour *I used whole-wheat
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
1 cup lowfat buttermilk
3/4 cup nonfat milk
1 tablespoon honey *I think this ingredient is the secret to these sweet & yummy cakes
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
Cooking Spray
Strawberry Sauce
2 pints (16 oz) fresh strawberris, hulled or 4 cups frozen unsweetened & thawed
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons pure maple syrup
Email me if you want directions, but know that these pancakes were healthy & delicious! I even had my b/f taste them and he also said they were good - he couldn't believe they partially had whole-wheat flour in them! Plus we all know that strawberries are packed with Vitamin C and fiber...a great way to start my day!
BTW - I took my twists out so I can test out a professional blow out style for an event next week. I never seem to really like how my hair looks when I take it out, but I'll post later about how it all turns out.
I LOVE breakfast, there's not a day that goes by where I don't eat breakfast. Typically on weekends I like to do more than my usual Kashi's Cinna Raisin cereal. Today I took a recipe from one of my favorite health-conscious chefs, Ellie Krieger and made Whole-Wheat Pancakes with Strawberry Sauce. I got the recipe from her cookbook, The Food You Crave.
Pancakes
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cup whole-grain pastry flour or whole-wheat flour *I used whole-wheat
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
1 cup lowfat buttermilk
3/4 cup nonfat milk
1 tablespoon honey *I think this ingredient is the secret to these sweet & yummy cakes
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
Cooking Spray
Strawberry Sauce
2 pints (16 oz) fresh strawberris, hulled or 4 cups frozen unsweetened & thawed
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons pure maple syrup
Email me if you want directions, but know that these pancakes were healthy & delicious! I even had my b/f taste them and he also said they were good - he couldn't believe they partially had whole-wheat flour in them! Plus we all know that strawberries are packed with Vitamin C and fiber...a great way to start my day!
BTW - I took my twists out so I can test out a professional blow out style for an event next week. I never seem to really like how my hair looks when I take it out, but I'll post later about how it all turns out.
Spanish Meatballs & Yellow Rice
Let me start my first cooking review by explaining that the first time I cook something, I FOLLOW THE RECIPE, unless it takes longer than I suspected. So, last night I cooked some Albondigas y Arroz de Adorno aka Meatballs and Yellow Rice w/ Peas. It's from a Spanish cookbook my cuz got for me called 1080 Recipes by Simone and Ines Ortega.
The Good: The recipe didn't call for many ingredients - I already had most of the stuff in my kitchen. It's definitely budget-friendly. If you let it marinate in the sauce and cook slowly, the flavors of the saffron, onions and tomatoes really comes to life - it's quite tasty!
The Bad: It took me AT LEAST 2 hours to cook it, AND I took some shortcuts.
Here's a pic of the final dish.
Here's the recipe for the meatballs:
1 lb 2 oz ground beef *I always get the ground beef w/ the least amount of fat
1 sprig fresh parsley, chopped
1 clove garlic, very finely chopped
1 egg, lightly beaten
4 tablespoons bread crumbs *I just used an of a whole wheat bread loaf - HOLLA!
3 tablespoons white wine
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/4 cups sunflower oil
Salt
Sauce:
4 tablespoons olive oil
1/3 cup chopped onion
2 ripe tomatoes, chopped
small pinch of saffron threads *Can be found in the spices section, you press/grind it, pour some water in it and it turns yellow :)
Salt
The rice called for long grain rice, a small pinch of saffron, 3 tbsps butter and 1 cup of peas. I would type out all of the dreadful details to cook this, but I doubt most people may want to replicate. So email me if you want a copy of the recipe. All-in-all, I will only cook this again on a weekend.
The Good: The recipe didn't call for many ingredients - I already had most of the stuff in my kitchen. It's definitely budget-friendly. If you let it marinate in the sauce and cook slowly, the flavors of the saffron, onions and tomatoes really comes to life - it's quite tasty!
The Bad: It took me AT LEAST 2 hours to cook it, AND I took some shortcuts.
Here's a pic of the final dish.
Here's the recipe for the meatballs:
1 lb 2 oz ground beef *I always get the ground beef w/ the least amount of fat
1 sprig fresh parsley, chopped
1 clove garlic, very finely chopped
1 egg, lightly beaten
4 tablespoons bread crumbs *I just used an of a whole wheat bread loaf - HOLLA!
3 tablespoons white wine
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/4 cups sunflower oil
Salt
Sauce:
4 tablespoons olive oil
1/3 cup chopped onion
2 ripe tomatoes, chopped
small pinch of saffron threads *Can be found in the spices section, you press/grind it, pour some water in it and it turns yellow :)
Salt
The rice called for long grain rice, a small pinch of saffron, 3 tbsps butter and 1 cup of peas. I would type out all of the dreadful details to cook this, but I doubt most people may want to replicate. So email me if you want a copy of the recipe. All-in-all, I will only cook this again on a weekend.
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