It's February!!!

You guys know I am crazy about two months, February & June. June because my birthday is in that month. February because it contains 3 key interests of mine.

Now this year, I am going to be a little busy towards the beginning of this month. But I promise to give you posts on time.

Yes, I'm sappy! I celebrate Valentine's Day! I've heard talks of afternoon plans with a pal. Nothing major, just hanging out.

But if I don't, I still have church services to attend and a God & a me to love on. Days before, I will release a post for everyone to learn to love. Yes, that is the hint. Oh, I figured out which Healthier Dessert (You have read that  POST, right?) I will be making my loved ones. I will be making the Healthy Lemony Yogurt Loaf Cake.

February 14 will be on a Sunday. Most Sunday's my aunts stop by to visit with my grandmother after their church services let out. They are a little spoiled because I provide something for them to snack on while I'm cooking dinner for my household. Lemon is one of the only agreed upon flavors in my family. Plus, that's more people to eat the cake and less leftover for us.

The only Black History Month story I will be telling be telling this year, is my own. While, an actress of the same culture as I, who thinks that the observance, award shows that celebrate mostly black cultures and BET (and channels like it) where strangely the majority of the movies she is in are shown, should be banned, I will tell you how Black History Month help me decide to start living my authentic self everywhere I go.
You will be surprised the people that never got to experience all of  Outspoken_Diva the Churchy Blerd of the past. I was so "good" at only living parts of me places, that my real identity confuses them now. Then, there are the people who never knew I struggle when I was younger. So, until I write my full memoir, I'll give you a peak in. Can't tell someone else's story and refuse to tell your own.

And now let me get on my soap box. I'm only going to get on it once this month on the blog. We know February is American Heart Month. We know to get "Get Your Blood Pressure Under Control". We know "Quit Smoking". We know "Reduce Your Sodium Intake".

Yet, 1 in 4 deaths are heart disease related, Heart disease is the leading cause of death for both men and women. More than half of the deaths due to heart disease in 2009 were in men. And before age 50, African-Americans' heart failure rate is 20 times higher than that of whites.

I've gone to that One funeral. That funeral was of a black man who didn't make it to 40. He was one of my best friends. Oh and his funeral was not in February. It was in May of 2014. I never want to look in the casket of a person I know because of this again. I don't want to get that kind of news anymore. I have clients that wonder why many of the recipes I suggest are salt-free or reduced in salt. I simply tell them, I don't know how to cook with salt. And I don't. I try sometimes. When I was learning to cook, we learned my grandmother had high blood pressure & pains in her heart muscle called angina. When the doctor told her to cut out salt. She was cooking 95% of our meals so, that is what we did. She's still living. She's in her early 90's. I don't credit a reduced salt diet to all of that but I know it helps. And she is just one of the heart health stories in my family. I don't wear the Red Dress pin and say "Go Red" just for her and other women. I wear it because I know the effects of not living as heart healthy as one can be. I wear the pin because it was cuter than grief. Grief is not cute to wear. Not living a more heart healthy life leads to somebody to grieve. Not living a more heart healthy life is not cute. Don't we all want to be cute.

Alright, I'm through preaching for now. If you follow me on other forms of social media, you know I'm going to start back up as soon as I see something to share. all year long. It's more than just my job & stuff I do for my family, it's in my heart. Well, I'm in tears now, So, I will stop here.

As Always, Talking to You in Adult Terms

This February 2015

It baffles me that February is Heart Month and we cheering Go Red all the while will celebrate Black History Month with Soul Food spreads & luncheons at work, church, etc. Shouldn't while we are celebrating the accomplishments & achievements of history makers in our culture, we might educate our future about healthier ways of cooking the food black enslaved ancestors? The information is out there. Many of us cook soul food dishes based on r recipes at home.

I remember a few years ago a church I know was celebrating its Go Red Sunday. The ladies had on pretty red dresses, suits, hats & other accessories. Many of the gentlemen had red ties & pocket squares commemorate the day. The Nurses Guild was set up to give free blood pressure readings and pass out heart-healthy pamphlets after service. Also after service, the church partook in a family-style meal cooked by all the families. I saw what was being served and wanted to scream.. Beans with ham hock, greens & cabbage with fatback swimming in it with cornbread that almost looked like pound cake were served with fried chicken & pork chops. Then I overheard one lady ask the lady who made the beans,
      "I thought you didn't cook with ham hock anymore".
     "I don't cook with it at my house. I use smoked turkey wings. But you know these folks ain't trying to eat nothing like that", the bean maker said.
I want to cuss at that point. Did she poll everyone in the church and they said no to the healthier recipes? No, she didn't poll anybody. She didn't want to go out on a limb and help the congregation's heart, blood pressure & waistline with a lighter fare. She would rather serve this

and not rock the boat by bringing this.

I bet the Nurse's Guild saw some very high BP readings that Sunday. 

Well, readers, I am rocking the boat. As a nutritional consultant, I am tired of being perplexed by this occurrence. What food people put in their bodies is my business. So this February, I am posting healthier Soul Food recipes on this blog. All recipes will be foods I know how to make personally provided from sources I trust. I will even have meatless & dessert posts also. I'm not saying Soul Food is bad. It's not but we need to learn to cook it in lighter ways. Black people are not slaves anymore. Black people or anyone for that matter, don't have to eat like slaves anymore either.

As Always, Talking to You in Adult Terms

It’s February

Growing up, the youth of my foundation (childhood) church use to present Black History Facts every Sunday in the month of February. We called it “Who am I”. Me being me well I grew tired of hearing about the same folks. So whenever I was chose to do “Who am I”I would find someone or something that was rarely talk about. The last time I did a “Who am I” I did, T. B. Boyd III (Now go look him up.). I was a sophomore in high school. Wow, I am old.  So this month I will talk about a few people that are rarely talked about in Black History. Here are some hints.

1. What is the oldest black Secular organization in the United States of America?
2. Name someone that died in the 1986 Challenger Explosion
3. Who is the 2^nd female Surgeon General?
4. What happened to the Buffalo Soldiers?

2 and 3 should be easy. I know some members of 1 that will scoff at the idea of someone not knowing that one. LoL Now 4 you have heard of them especially if you live here in Texas, you just don’t realize it.

Also this month I will tell you something sappy “I like…” and sadly I will have to rant about something. I would tell you the subject but since you don’t know the words you’ll read it when I do it.

The pictures in the blog are of me showing off my Little Red Dress Pin. The pin is the show awareness for American Heart Month. Heart Disease is the Number 1 killer of women in the United States. It has affected my family and friends and many of yours also. I wear my pin every chance I get during the month February.

February 7^th is the day set aside to show awareness in the fight of heart disease in women. For more information or to get a lapel pin like mine or other awareness apparel, educational books and cookbooks go to https://www.goredforwomen.org/.

 

As Always, Talking to You in Adult Terms