Child, That Ring Has to be a...

This picture has gone viral this week. Can you guys gather your opinions quietly for a moment? I need to talk to my Future Husband.

Dear Future Husband,
I can't thank the Lord enough for providing me with a great steward of our finances. He has really blessed me. You knew it was a better use of our money to buy me cubic zirconia than to buy a diamond that is the size of fingernail dirt. You didn't buy a diamond just for the sake of buying a diamond.

Heck, the "upgrade" to my fake public band looks bigger than the ring in this viral post. Truthfully, I don't know why that ring exists. CZ may be a fake diamond. But which needs to be real, the symbol of Love or the Love? That's what truly matters.
I Love You!

Ok, I am back. I had to talk to my love. But to finish the title of this post... Child, That Ring has to be Test. I will not attempt to guess his hypothesis or hope for a conclusion.

But I refuse to believe a man who truly loves anyone would genuinely buy that ring. He is testing how bad does she want to be married. He is testing her patience to his foolishness. He is testing her love. I just hope for a mature conclusion.

And hopefully, this meme is doctored to test how we think. I probably failed to some. I would hate to know about a case like this is really happening.

As Always Talking to You in Adult Terms!

Settling These BBQ/Cookout Side Debates

I am probably the person at the cookout or BBQ with mostly meat or very little on her plate. I don't eat many of the most common side dishes served at cookouts. But this post topic was reader-submitted (Thank you Ms. Chris), so I will only rank the ones I like to eat. Plus, I want to keep some positivity on this post. So, don't be shocked if your fave is not on my list.

10. Potato Salad
I am Black & Southern, so I don't eat any & every potato salad. Most potato salads are too sweet or don't have enough salad in them. If you want me to eat your potato salad it needs to come close to this one HERE.

9. Pasta Salad
Unless you put tofu in it, I can eat most pasta salads. But like its potato cousin, a lot of recipes don't have enough salad in them either.

8. Garden Salad

7. Cold Fruit Salad
Not a fan of grilled fruit.

6. Grilled Zucchini & Squash

5. Grilled Cabbage/Brussel Sprouts

4. Veggie Kabobs
But if you put tofu on them, I will deem you as a person that hates food

3 Antipasta Salad

2. Israeli Salad
The mint makes it so refreshing.

1. Grilled/Roasted Corn on the Cob
It is so simple & perfect. And little butter on it goes a long way with me. Shocker that it is the first picture seen on the post.

So, what side dish makes your preferred list? Of course, leave them in the comments below. Oh and eat what is to be cold, cold and vice versa for the hot items. I care about you guys too much for you to suffer from a nasty bout of Food poisoning. That's never on anyone's debate list.

As Always Talking to You in Adult Terms!

But I Don't Want to Sign the Petition

Professionally, Weight Watchers is the only commercial weight loss plan that I have never ragged on. Other than the counting points (calories), it is seems to be an effective & realistic plan. Well, recently they launched an app for kids called Kurbo. Kurbo is intended to document their eating, physical activity, and weight loss in kids as young as 8. And sone parents, nutritionists, & dietitian are upset. Read about it HERE. And other than signing the petition, I can't disagree with the protest.

WW is marketed as a weight loss plan. And even though everyone should eat healthy meals, No one suggests a non-fat person to follow diet plan advice. So, Kurbo will more than likely downloaded to the husky & pretty plus young ones. The first commercial diet I tried was Slim Fast when I was 12 years old.

You know that sensible dinner that is said to eat, well because I knew children are cruel, I ate a sensible lunch. I didn't want the stares, questions, jokes, & teasing that would come with bringing a weight loss shake to school. That was the 90s, can you imagine how that would go over now?

It is not messaging we should teach children. But it is a conversation we, adults need to catapult us in teaching healthy eating lifestyles to our children. It should fuel us to find non-commercial food apps to aid us. We can cancel Kurbo, but what are we bringing on board?

As Always Talking to You in Adult Terms

Believe It or Not (Answering Questions)

You guys have questions, I think I have answers.

Q: You were very quiet on the Antione Fuqua/Lela Rochon/Nicole Murphy scandal. Did you not have an opinion?

A: Antoine Fuqua is/was wrong! Unless the Fuquas have an open relationship, He's a cheater. Anybody that said that first, said my feelings. My only viewpoint that was not said is

"I'm Glad I Have Been Fat All My Life". Lela Rochon's weight gain being blamed for her husband infidelity did not shock me. "Being Fat" is still allowed to be a punchline & a scapegoat. But when you guys want to have that conversation, Call Me! Antoine Fuqua is/was wrong!

Q: I just had a horrible first date. How to avoid this?

A: This question was asked in offline land and the asker suggested I bring my answer here.  Well, unless you count being stood up, I have never had a bad first date. I credit one thing. I never go out with a guy without having at least a 30-minute phone call with them. I am an observer, so I watch for key things. Is he willing to have a conversation? Can he hold a conversation? Does he mumble? And the major key, What does he talk about? If I have to pull basic information out of him because all he wants to talk about sex or how these "females" act(That was rough to type. Trying not to correct that), I am not going out with that guy. We are already expecting their representative, no use wasting time on a spokesperson for a product I know is not marketed for me.

And before anyone asks, my worst date ever was when his friend tagged along after basketball practice. The friend stiffed the air around my sandwich and my date cracked up laughing. Then on the way to dropping the friend off, Rom-Com called. I didn't answer it of course, but the friend blurted out who was calling me. I finally told the friend to grow up. And all my date said "Yeah". Oh, who was the date?!?Barracuda Stumps, the worst boyfriend, ever.

Q: Are you offended by being called a snack? It's something about it that seems too small to be a compliment.

A: I rarely hear Snack these days. The term doesn't offend me. Actually the closest to me catcalling men was me calling good looking ones, Peanut. I got that from my sister's male friend, Jackson. He used to use it a lot. But I do understand the smallness of Snacks. I think of myself as Whole Foods Groceries. LoL You know Quality, Not So Cheap, & a Little Effort is Needed to be Enjoyed. (Now, I see why I'm single) As soon as type this answer, I will change that to be my Twitter handle. Wonder who will get it.

Thank you for the questions. You know I can't answer them without you guys. And if you ever have questions you would like for me to answer, send them to C.OUT.SPOKEN.DIVA@gmail.com. And I will answer them.

As Always Talking to You in Adult Terms!

Remembering the Melody

I couldn't wait to get near my bookshelf, today. I read that Nobel Prize-Winning Laureate, Toni Morrison passed away at age 88 and I craved touching the place where my physical books were. Why? Because that is where my first & favorite work by Ms. Morrison is housed. I cropped this picture for privacy matters, but it still has my name written on the pages. My aunt teases me about writing my name on my old book. But hey, I went to school when folks would steal a book.

Most of the day, I remembered when I first read Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison. I was 17 and a Senior in high school. It was probably the most modern book a teacher had ever assigned to be read. I remembered quite a few scenes from the book. Like when the main character, Milkman walked against the crowd and when his oldest sister finally told him off. And who can forget when the family's inheritance was revealed. Then I thought about all the symbolism & life lesson in this tale. Self-worth is one of them.

I even remembered one of the assignments we did with the ending. Spoiler Alert! Song of Solomon ended in a cliff hanger. Our teacher had us write a "final" ending with up to 10 profane words in it. I put 10 cuss words in my ending and the teacher noticed. LoL A few years later when Morrison's Beloved was made into a movie. I was a little upset. I've read several of her works, but I had only cast Song of Solomon. Darius McCrary was to be Milkman & C.C.H. Pounder was his aunt, Pilate. I don't know who would be the characters now. Maybe Oprah could get behind this tale, someday.

Toni Morrison will be deeply missed. Her works were profound & magical. And their tones will linger on and on, and on. Rest Well, Beloved Laureate, Rest Well!

As Always Talking to You in Adult Terms!

Oh Diet Culture, Where is Your Sting?

I bet I should wait to see if another story will come out but I'm going to go with these two stories as the shoes that have dropped. So, Macy's & Forever 21 are in the news for none other than for possible "body-shaming" it's customers. Not one of the stores who carry an abnormal amount of floral print A-line dresses in only one section. *insert shocked face* And not a store who doesn't even have a true plus-size section in each of its stores.

Macy's just removed a line of plates that had messaging that could've been seen a tongue in cheek or damaging. I who think society laughs at its pain a lot think the plates were both. The plates measured food on them with trendy messages like Skinny jeans, Mom jeans, and Food coma. And even though, I personally think American dinner plates are too large, these plates aren't any different than photo-shopping bodies on the magazines. It's passive-aggressive marketing.

They say it's an oversight and all sizes randomly got an Atkins weight loss bar. Many plus-size customers took to Twitter to complain about the sample in their Forever 21 online orders. I saw the news after Forever 21 released a PR statement, so I decided to sift through the complaints and finally found one from a non-plus size customer. It's common for companies to put samples in orders. I remember Just My Size(plus size underwear, shapewear, & comfort wear) would put Lanacane Anti-Chafing Gel samples in their online orders. But a company should pay attention to who they get in bed with. That rapport can affect their bottom lines.

Everything Has a Meaning! I think when people understand that they would watch how they present their statements. Say what you mean to say, but remember somebody is listening.

As Always Talking to You in Adult Terms!

Let's Talk Cabbage(OUTSPOKEN_Diva's Favorite Recipes)

This is probably a boring title, but all others are possibly stereotypical or culturally ignorant. So, Boring it will be.

I love how cabbage is prepared in Caribbean restaurants. Though being a Southern American, I never liked leafy vegetables boiled with pork products. It decreases it of its benefits.

• Low in fat
• Low in carbohydrates
• Contain an abundance of vitamin c
• Lowers blood pressure
• Packed with vitamin K
• Helps to lower cholesterol levels
• Improves digestion

Sauteeing & Steaming does keep more of the benefits. So, my discerning palate (don't like coconut oil) & dietary needs made the recipe suitable for me.

Caribbean Style Cabbage

Ingredients

• 2 tbsp of canola oil
• 3 garlic cloves, chopped
• 1 small onion, sliced
• 3 sprigs of thyme
• 1 cup frozen mixed vegetables (carrots, peas, corn)
• 1/2 a head of cabbage, sliced
• 1/2 scotch bonnet, minced (or use 1/4 tsp of chili powder)
• 1/4 cup vegetable stock or water
• 1 tbsp of butter
• 1 tsp  black pepper
• 1 tsp allspice

Directions

1. Heat the oil on medium heat then proceed to saute the onion, garlic along with the sprigs of thyme until soft and tender.
2. Add the cabbage, mixed vegetables, and scotch bonnet, fold, and stir. The pan may seem overcrowded but the cabbage will reduce as it heats through.
3. Continue to stir and fold until the cabbage reduces in volume, this should take up to 5 minutes.
4. Once reduced, lower the heat and add the water, ready for steaming.
5. Cover the skillet with a lid and steam for 15 minutes (10 minutes or less if you want crunchy cabbage).
6. Remove the lid and season with the allspice, black pepper, butter, and salt to taste and stir.
7. Serve accordingly.

Now, I want some cabbage, a beef patty, and a Ting. There is a nice cookshop in my path on my way home. I may pick up a plate. This is why I usually eat before blogging about food. LoL

As Always Talking to You in Adult Terms!