Segilola Salami's Blog, page 10
January 19, 2021
Lunchtime recipe for Valentine’s day 2021
As Valentine’s day 2021 is fast approaching, are you looking for a simple lunchtime recipe to make for your loved ones? Then this blog post with my Lunchtime recipe for Valentine’s day 2021 is just for you.
When I was a teenager, I associated Valentine’s day as a day you take out to pamper and especially dedicate to the people you love. It’s a day you use to remind your parents that even though you don’t say it often, that you do value, cherish and love them. That was the day my sister and I made cards for our parents to remind them that we loved them. So for me, Valentine’s day has never been a day reserved for romantic love alone.
As a mother, a sister, a daughter, a partner, I have so many people in my life that mean a lot to me and I know that I don’t always tell them how much they mean to me. If you are like me, making lunch on Valentine’s day, especially during a global pandemic, is a good opportunity to make lunch for your household. So without much ado, here’s my Roast Fish With Baba’s All-purpose FujiFuji Sauce.
About Baba’s All-purpose FujiFuji SauceThe FujiFuji name is coined from a genre of music in Nigeria called ‘Fuji’. This music is synonymous with celebration. The sauce is a combination of various spices and herbs but the uniqueness of this sauce is how it has been combined. This sets it apart from what you can get off the shelves anywhere. The combination of the sweetness and the spiciness of the sauce is unmissable.
Things I considered for my Lunchtime recipe for Valentine’s day 2021
For my lunchtime recipe, I used the ALL-PURPOSE FUJIFUJI SAUCE ORIGINAL 250ML I was gifted. My daughter and I are meat eaters, my partner is vegetarian. Thus, I especially like that this sauce is both vegan-friendly and works well as a marinade and as a dipping sauce. So I could use the sauce to marinade the fish for my daughter and I and my partner could use it as a dipping sauce. This reduces the amount of cooking I have to do to meet everyone’s needs.
When I opened the bottle of Original FujiFuji sauce, which is meant to have medium heat, I was hit with a strong whiff of pepper. This made me hesitate for a bit. I read the ingredients list and saw that it had some of my go-to spices including cinnamon and nutmeg. So I wasn’t sure if I should add extra or use the sauce as is. My daughter also doesn’t like a lot of pepper in her food, whereas I prefer my food to be spicy. Phewww my household sure has lots of different needs right?
Ingredients
I decided to use fish for this recipe because I find that fish absorbs the heat from pepper and you can barely taste the pepper used. I decided that I couldn’t go wrong by adding a dash of cinnamon, nutmeg, turmeric, ground ginger, curry powder and some salt before adding about the sauce to the fish.
As a Nigerian, my mother didn’t teach me to use fixed measurements when cooking. You simply add and stop when your ancestors whisper to you that you have added enough. OK that’s a joke.
I originally wanted to use Grey Mullet for this recipe but for whatever reason, I’m going to blame Brexit and COVID-19, none of the fish mongers I went to had any in stock. So I opted for both red bream and tilapia.
Preparation time
At least 1 hour 5 mins
You will need at least 5 minutes to ‘wash’ the fish and add your spices and the marinade. I find it best to let the fish marinade in the sauce for several hours in a fridge. However, one hour is a sufficient minimum time to let the fish marinade.
Cooking time
About 45 minutes. The exact time is dependent on the type of cooker you are using.
I have a fan assisted gas oven, so I roasted the fish at oven mark 6 for 30 minutes on one side then 15 minutes on the other side. I don’t like my fish to get too dry, so this works out perfect for me. If you prefer, you can roast the fish a little bit longer.
The taste
My daughter is always eager to eat whatever I cook immediately it is ready and this was no exception.
The roast fish was accompanied by a plate of coconut rice and a side salad.
Even though the medium heat does pack a punch, after roasting the fish, I couldn’t taste any pepper in it. This was perfection for my daughter.
With coconut rice, I hate adding any sauces to the rice, even as a side as I feel it takes away from the coconut flavour. My partner did add the Original FujiFuji Sauce to the side of his plate and he found the heat to be just perfect.
Whenever, I roast fish, I prefer to eat the fish a few hours later. I find that the flavour has had time to settle properly. So I had mine the following day. There was zero pepper taste in the fish and the fish did not taste fishy at all. It was a lovely mild taste. I can definitely see myself using the sauce as a dipping sauce for my fish to give me the heat that I need.
Maybe next time, I will order the Extra Hot FujiFuji sauce.
What should you wash down lunch with?
My partner is vegetarian and I don’t drink alcohol myself. So finding something that we both can share does take a bit of thinking. So when I was gifted a bottle of NOUGHTY ALCOHOL-FREE SPARKLING CHARDONNAY by THOMSON & SCOTT, I knew it was a match made in heaven and would be a great accompaniment to our Valentine’s day lunch. Not only is it alcohol free, it is Certified organic, vegan and halal. It is a 100% organic Chardonnay and is great for aperitif and party nibbles, as well as with all manner of cuisine for those who choose not to drink alcohol.
Dessert
Please click here to check out my favourite ice cream recipe.
Do you have a special menu and great pairing for lunch on Valentine’s day 2021? Please leave a comment below. I would also like to know what you think about my Lunchtime recipe for Valentine’s day 2021.
If you have found this blog post useful, you can subscribe to Segilola Salami's blog via email by visiting http://www.segilolasalami.co.uk/blog/. You can also follow Segilola Salami on Twitter https://twitter.com/iyayetunde1The post Lunchtime recipe for Valentine’s day 2021 appeared first on Segilola Salami. Segilola Salami teaches a course on grief resolution https://www.segilolasalami.co.uk/memb...
January 16, 2021
How to divorce amicably with Lissa Collier
Are you going through a divorce or about to get divorced? Are you wondering how to divorce amicably? Then, today’s Sunday Snippet is just for you. It’s an excerpt from Chapter 1 of the Relationships, self-help, marriage book: Big Girl Pants by Lissa Collier.
Name of book: Big Girl PantsTarget audience age range: 18+Does your book contain any explicit content:Swear Words
Publication details of Big Girl Pants by Lissa CollierIt is currently available as a Kindle ebook (ASIN : B08QJC3KHJ, date published- 14 December 2020) and a Paperback (ASIN : B08QJC3KHJ, date published 14 December 2020). It was published by the author on Amazon’s Kindle Direct Publishing and is available for sale on Amazon.
If you or someone you care about is faced with the prospect of divorce, or already struggling through the process of it, Big Girl Pants is for you. This book takes you on Lissa Collier’s two-year journey, from her husband’s shock decision to get divorced right through to her brand-new life – with every bumpy step along the way.
It has a simple aim: to help you overcome common stumbling blocks to getting through divorce amicably. Big Girl Pants will help you through it with your head held high, and put you firmly in control of your future.
So if you want to divorce amicably, read on!
What this book is:A true story about one woman’s divorce journeyA collection of authentic diary entries and blog posts combined with down-to-earth, no-nonsense, slightly sweary practical advice including five guiding rules to keep you on trackAn open, honest real life perspective of all the highs and lows that come with divorceInspiration to know that you can do this and do it wellWhat this book isn’t:An in-depth ‘how to’ book on the legalities of divorceA miracle cureFree of F-bombsName of chapter: Phase 1: The DecisionMessage: Divorce diary – a few weeks before
The decision to divorce:
I can see that the writing is on the wall. Every single thing he is saying and doing screams that he wants to leave this marriage. I feel as though I am increasingly desperate and needy, the sad little person trying to cling on to this relationship when I should just let go. But then I also feel like I’m this tiger woman, fighting for our marriage, doing the right thing, trying to salvage something that is inherently good. I have an overwhelming sense of confusion. What is the right thing to do?
The more I allow myself to think it’s over, the more it seems it is. But in the blink of an eye it seems too surreal to believe it is over. And then there is my simmering rage that I am working very hard to release. How dare he do this to us? Why can’t he fight for us? How can he be so selfish? What the fuck is he searching for or hoping for outside of our marriage? Surely most marriages are like this — friendly, comfortable, full of love rather than in love. Am I the idiot here who hasn’t realised there should be more?
Weeks later:
He confirmed that he wants to split up. He hasn’t figured out if that means divorce or separation. But just like that, my marriage of 16 years and relationship of 19 is over. I feel numb. I am angry. The amount of tedious, hurtful work we now have to go through to separate our lives is daunting. Telling the boys makes me feel physically sick. How did we get here? I feel so, so sad.
I wrote those latter words the night my world changed. They haven’t been edited. They are exactly what I tapped out on to my iPad in the small hours as I battled to sleep. Writing has always been my way of trying to make sense of things but nothing made sense that day.
Perhaps you’re feeling similar things right now. Or perhaps you’re the one who wants the marriage to be over. I’m not sure which is harder – being the person ending the marriage or having your marriage ended by someone else. With the former you have the control but also the burden of guilt. With the latter you have no control but a sense of righteousness. They’re both potentially poisonous.
Every person’s decision to get divorced is different. Some divorces come as a complete shock, unexpected and brutal. Others are a gradual dawning that things aren’t right. A good comparison is when someone you love dies. When it’s unexpected – like in a car accident – it’s almost impossible to believe it to be true, the shock of it breath-taking, the pain almost unbearable. Your grief is raw, intense and debilitating. In contrast, if you’ve witnessed someone with an illness that gradually erases the person they once were, the end can seem like a blessed relief. And yet once they’re gone, the reality of them no longer being there is still heart-breaking.
For me, the symptoms of our failing marriage had been obvious for years; I just didn’t notice them at first, or take them seriously once they became apparent. Like him saying he was considering divorce just five years after we got married. Or him working away all the time. The increasing lack of sex. A card peppered with kisses, allegedly from his personal trainer who he’d failed to ever mention to me. A full-blown affair with a work colleague – which I agreed to forgive because I believe people can make mistakes – and a consequent investment in therapy to ‘fix’ us. My own feelings of resentment about being left to do all the heavy lifting of parenting and then having to accept this affair. My increasing desire to do things alone, rather than as a couple.
Those symptoms became more pronounced after a conversation in which he said that he felt we were just living like flatmates or siblings rather than husband and wife. I took that as a cue to order some sexy lingerie in an attempt to reinvigorate things in the bedroom department. But that didn’t work. Throughout the year he gradually withdrew. He communicated less. He touched me less frequently. He never said anything loving or complimentary. When I raised it and asked if there was someone else, he said no, but that he just didn’t feel the same anymore. The symptoms were no longer subtle. A good doctor at this point might have suggested an intense course of therapy or couples counselling. But I didn’t believe it to be serious. Surely it was just a phase? Surely if it had reached such a dire place he would suggest we fix it? Maybe I just didn’t want to see the truth.
That summer, we went to Thailand as a family. It was a fractious holiday in which the weight of his words about not feeling the same anymore hung heavily on me. I attempted to remedy things, to find the cure, to stop the rot. I suggested walks along a beautiful beach together, hikes to waterfalls, visits to temples, dancing at a beach bar. But every suggestion was rebuffed or only accepted reluctantly. On those occasions, despite being together, we felt a million miles apart.
On our second to last night, there was a full moon and it was a glorious, balmy evening full of possibility. I suggested we take a bottle of wine and go sit on the private beach, listen to the waves and simply be together. He said he didn’t want to get sticky or sandy. He lay in our air-conditioned room and played a game on his ipad, not looking at me.
That was probably the moment I knew. There were other moments that followed, each a slow realisation of what was happening. But that was a turning point. I took the wine and sat alone and wrote this:
The air is warm. I hear the waves gently lapping against the shore. The moon is full and the sky lit with stars. It’s a night that feels like it should never end. The kind of night that with a group of friends would last until the small hours. And yet I am frustrated. We left an idyllic beach bar with live music to come back to air conditioning and screens. At the beach bar, all I wanted was to have my husband grab me by the hand and dance, to spin, twirl and just let go. To feel that moment of magic in a place so magical. To have that deep sense that this is what life is for, moments like these, moments in which nothing is complicated, just happy, just alive. But he won’t dance. It’s his idea of hell.
How is it that I am so very different to the person I share my life with? I feel continuously out of sync. Is this just a phase? Or is this my life? How do I embrace it? How do I accept what is rather than yearning for what I wish it was? Am I my own biggest obstacle to my happiness? Should I now, instead of hankering to lie and look at the stars while listening to the waves or wanting to dance to a beach band, be inside snuggling up with my husband? Except I know that it will take him 30 seconds to fall asleep while I lie awake looking at a ceiling instead of a night sky.
***
This excerpt from Chapter 1 of the Relationships, self-help, marriage book: Big Girl Pants by Lissa Collier was submitted by the Author for publication on this blog. If you enjoyed reading this excerpt, the book is available for sale on Amazon. Please support the author and buy your own copy of the book.
What do you think about Chapter 1: Big Girl Pants by Lissa Collier? Do you think it gives insight on how to divorce amicably? Please leave a comment below.
If you have found this blog post useful, you can subscribe to Segilola Salami's blog via email by visiting http://www.segilolasalami.co.uk/blog/. You can also follow Segilola Salami on Twitter https://twitter.com/iyayetunde1The post How to divorce amicably with Lissa Collier appeared first on Segilola Salami. Segilola Salami teaches a course on grief resolution https://www.segilolasalami.co.uk/memb...
January 13, 2021
How to promote your podcast for free in 2021
As the host of The Segilola Salami Show podcast, I thought I should share, based on my personal experience, some ways on how to promote your podcast for free in 2021.
What do you think about this post on How to promote your podcast for free in 2021? Please leave a comment below
If you have found this blog post useful, you can subscribe to Segilola Salami's blog via email by visiting http://www.segilolasalami.co.uk/blog/. You can also follow Segilola Salami on Twitter https://twitter.com/iyayetunde1The post How to promote your podcast for free in 2021 appeared first on Segilola Salami. Segilola Salami teaches a course on grief resolution https://www.segilolasalami.co.uk/memb...
January 6, 2021
Easy Nutrition Tips During Quarantine
The UK has recently been put in its third lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic. I know from experience that it can be hard to motivate ourselves to eat healthily and exercise under the circumstances. This is especially so if you have to work from home or have children that you need to support with their home learning. Thus, to help you out, this guest post on Easy Nutrition Tips During Quarantine by Dominick Uguccioni is just what you need.
Easy Nutrition Tips During Quarantine and a pandemic:
During uncertain the uncertain times of the COVID19 pandemic, attending to our health, well being, and nutrition is more challenging than ever. Thankfully, there are quick and easy tips to choose the most healthy, shelf stable food, regardless of availability and supply chain. Read on to learn the top 3 ingredients in food to avoid, and how to tell if they are in the food you are about to buy or eat.
Challenges of Nutrition During Quarantine
Lets face it, grocery shopping and day to day life are different during 2020, all over the world. In addition to risk, fear, and social distancing measures needing to be followed, the global supply chain has been interrupted and foods/goods which were in abundant supply may be more scarce. Out of concern for the supply chain, some of us may try to stock up on goods and shelf stable food. But, shelf stable food is generally highly processed, and not ideal for health and well being. Right? Not necessarily.
It is possible to find foods that are both healthy/nutrient dense, and shelf stable. The general wisdom is that fresh, whole foods are best for you, and packaged food is usually highly processed. Typically, this is a helpful guideline to follow, however we are not living in typical times. Read on to find out how you can avoid the top three harmful processed ingredients, and make healthy, shelf stable food choices.
The Top 3 Unhealthy Ingredients, and How to Tell If They Are in Your Food
The top 3 unhealthy categories of ingredients in packaged food are:
1. Refined Sugar
2. Refined Oil
3. Refined Grains
In addition to being the most problematic, these are the most commonly found ingredients in processed food. Why? They are cheap to manufacture, they taste good (so we keep buying them) and they are shelf stable. The problem with all of these foods is that they have been altered from their natural state, and have adverse impacts on our blood sugar, insulin response, digestion, inflammation levels, and generally they are manufacture to taste good and are easy to over eat.
The problem is, these ingredients do not appear on a nutrition label the way I just listed them above. Here is how you can be a detective and track them down:
Any food in a box, bag, or package needs to have a nutrition label. Start there are look by category:
1. Refined Sugar: Commonly listed as High Fructose Corn Syrup, Sucrose, Maltose, Dextrose, Brown Rice Syrup, Sugar, Brown Sugar, Lactose. If you see anything with key words “sugar”, “syrup”, or ending in letters “ose” it is a refined, added sugar.
Think of eating an apple. An apple has natural sugar called fructose in it. An apple also has water content, and dietary fiber you need to chew and process. High fructose corn syrup can be added to food and drinks, and can be consumed in much higher amounts. What is easier/more likely to happen…to eat 5 apples, or drink a 20 ounce bottle of soda?
2. Refined Oils: There are three main methods to process plant/vegetable oils. They are Cold Pressed, Expeller Pressed, Solvent Extracted. Cold Pressed is the least processed method, and does not use high heat to extract more oil. Expeller Pressed uses the same mechanism as a Cold Press, however high heat is used to extract more oil (can denature the nature structure/composition of the oil). Solvent extraction involves using a chemical like Hexane to pull oil out of Soy Beans for example. This is used because it has very high yield, and therefor can be cheaply produced.
The problem with tracking these particular ingredients down, at least in the United States, is that solvent extracted oil does not have to be labeled as such. In the US, if any oil is listed on the ingredients list (Soy Bean Oil) it can be assumed that it is solvent extracted unless clearly listed as Cold Pressed or Expeller Pressed. Basically, in oil you see listed in chips, cookies, crackers, snacks that you buy in the store is likely to be solvent extracted, and is good to stay away from.
3. Refined Grains: Refined Grains are problematic because the manufacturing process alters the natural state of the grain and removes most of the dietary fiber. Key words to look for in packaged food are “unbleached flour”, “enriched or fortified flour”, “corn flour”, “rice flour” and other variations.
This eliminates a lot of store bough breads, cereals, chips, cookies, crackers, snacks. If you look at some of the above, you will likely notice they have all 3 (refined sugar, refined oil, refined grains).
Eat This, Not That
So, what are some better choices to make when shopping for more shelf stable foods during this pandemic? Here are some good choices by category. Please make sure you read the label of everything, these ingredients can be sneaky!
1. Fruit and Vegetables: If fresh produce is not available, here are some possible options for fruit and veggies: pickles, sauerkraut, canned beans, canned vegetables, flash frozen fruits or vegetable, salsa, guacamole, humus. With all of the above, read the ingredients, refined sugar is sneaky and can make it in to a lot of the options listed. Canned fruit can be tricky, as it is usually packed in a syrup with extra sugar.
2. Meat and Fish: If fresh is not available. Sardines, canned Salmon, canned Fish, Beef Jerky and other dried meat sneaks (carefully reading the label for sugar). Frozen meats are a stable option as well. Always try to buy meats and fish on their own and prepare/season yourself. If you buy meat or fish as part of a prepared meal (you will see these other ingredients creep in)
3. Grains: Whole Oatmeal, Whole Grain Rice (without added seasoning/flavor packets, season yourself so you know what is going in), Ancient Grains, Whole Corn, Barley, Quinoa. With any grains, you want to buy the grains in their whole state and cook with them/use them on your own. Make your own bread, crackers, side dishes, and snacks from whole grains rather than buying a packaged grain product.
4. Dairy: Basically, any milk, yogurt, cheese, eggs in their natural state will not include any of these ingredients. Beware of processed cheese, flavored milk and yogurt products. Any dairy product by nature is not shelf stable, however it is still important to be on guard for mystery ingredients.
Not a Fad Diet
The approach above is applicable regardless of the dietary plan you are following. I use the term “fad diet” not to poke fun at any particular method of eating, but to demonstrate that the science is settled on the processed ingredients I mentioned above. For example, if you ask:
– A Vegan
– Someone on Keto Diet
– Someone on Paleo Diet
– A Nutritionist
– A Vegetarian
“If I remove refined sugar, refined oil, and processed grains from my diet, is that a healthy choice?” All of the above will have different ideas on what you should eat and how you should be eating, but they will say “yes” to that question. If someone ever answers “no” to that question, ask them how science has shown that eating refined sugar, oil, and grain specifically improves our health.
The simple fact is the our genetics have not changed very much in the last 2,000 years, whereas food processing and manufacturing has dramatically changed in the last 100 years. The modern processing methods are very helpful for mass production, shelf stability, and making a tasty product, however out bodies are simply not designed to digest them and use them as fuel
CONCLUSION on Easy Nutrition Tips During Quarantine
Try this method the next time you are shopping, you will be surprised to find how many packaged foods include all three of these problematic ingredients. You will also be surprised at how many shelf stable foods do not have these ingredients, and how easy it is to stock up for these uncertain times. Thank you, and be well everyone!
About Dominick Uguccioni
I am a Health and Fitness Blogger, Husband, Father, and Higher Education Professional living in Massachusetts, USA. Please click here to visit my website to find out more about what I do.
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If you enjoyed reading this guest post on Easy Nutrition Tips During Quarantine by Dominick Uguccioni, please leave a comment below with your thoughts and share the post with everyone in your network. I would also like to know of any Easy Nutrition Tips During Quarantine you have.
If you have found this blog post useful, you can subscribe to Segilola Salami's blog via email by visiting http://www.segilolasalami.co.uk/blog/. You can also follow Segilola Salami on Twitter https://twitter.com/iyayetunde1
The post Easy Nutrition Tips During Quarantine appeared first on Segilola Salami. Segilola Salami teaches a course on grief resolution https://www.segilolasalami.co.uk/memb...
December 30, 2020
How to Stop Anxiety the Natural Way
Do you suffer with anxiety? Have you found that it’s been affecting your life negatively or that you are unable to function to the best of your ability? Well, today’s guest post on How to Stop Anxiety the Natural Way by Loretta Breuning may very well be just what you need.
Understanding anxiety
Fear Is natural, but you can be super-natural. You can redirect your natural fear impulse if you understand it.
Anxiety is common because fear is a natural impulse. If you follow others, fear will fill your life. You can free yourself from fear by trusting your own judgment instead of following others. This is hard for so many reasons:
Anxiety trigger #1: We naturally mirror the anxiety of others
We reproduce the emotions of those around us. Animals run when their herd mates run, and they get eaten if they don’t. Natural selection built a brain good at panicking when others panic. It’s hard to see that you’re doing it, and you are powerless over this impulse if you can’t see it. If you make a habit of noticing it, you find your power to redirect it.
source: Google Images
Anxiety trigger #2: We bond around threatened feelings
Animals stick with the herd when a predator lurks, and spread out when things look safe. Humans also stick together when there’s a common enemy. Leaders often keep their groups together by alarming them with talk of common enemies. It’s hard to feel safe when your herd is always in a state of alarm. In fact, if you don’t share their sense of alarm, they may consider you a traitor. It’s tempting to share their sense of threat because solidarity feels good. It’s hard to stop anxiety if you yield to this natural bonding impulse.
Anxiety trigger #3: We’re aware of our own mortality
Much of your brain is focused on survival, but the future-oriented part of your brain knows that you will fail to survive someday. We terrorize ourselves with this knowledge. You don’t know what will kill you, so you’re alert for every possible threat. We have inherited a brain designed to scan constantly for potential threats and to respond with a life-or-death sense of urgency. So as soon as you relieve one threat, your brain finds another. You could spend your whole life feeling like your survival is threatened unless you learn to notice this thought loop and redirect it. You can learn to trust your own survival skills instead of feeling overwhelmed by every whiff of threat.
Anxiety trigger #4: We trust the alarm signals of others
Animals run when their herd mates run. If they didn’t, they’d soon be eliminated by predators. Natural selection built a brain that’s alert to the alarm signals of others.
We are not born knowing what to fear. Children need the fears of others to avoid getting run over or electrocuted. You may object to the fears you grew up with, but your brain relies on the neural pathways it has built.
We are born with billions of neurons but almost no connections between them. We build connections from lived experience. The connections you build in childhood become the superhighways of your brain in adulthood. We absorb the fears of those around us, and they of course have absorbed the fears of their childhood. You repeat those old fears unless you build new neural pathways to have a different response.
Anxiety trigger #5: Isolation feels like an immediate survival threat
An animal gets eaten if it’s separated from the herd. We have inherited a brain that sees isolation as a survival threat. This is why you follow the herd, as much as you’d rather not. You may reject one herd, but you follow another. You do not consciously fear being eaten alive, but your brain can make it feel that way by turning on the cortisol.
Anxiety trigger #6: Cortisol creates a full-body sense of alarm.
Your brain releases cortisol when it sees a pattern similar to a past threat. Cortisol makes an animal run when it smells a predator. It alerts the animal to look for details so it knows which way to run. You look for details once your cortisol turns on. You are good at finding details when you look, which leads to more cortisol and more threat scanning. You can end up in a cortisol spiral, and you take it as proof of real danger. Cortisol works by making you feel so bad that you do what it takes to make it stop. This is why tiny reminders of past threats can trigger a full-body sense of alarm without your conscious intent.
You have a lot of reasons to follow the herd. It’s hard to feel safe when everyone around you feels threatened. It’s hard to trust your own judgment and easy to presume they know better. But you will spend your whole life in fear if you do that.
Fortunately, you have a choice. You are always choosing where you invest your energy. You are free to focus on rewards instead of threats. That stimulates your happy chemicals instead of your threat chemicals.
That seems risky, of course. What if there’s a real threat and you miss it? What if others call you a traitor when you fail to share their pain?
These are real risks, but you can weigh them against the risk of wasting your life in fear.
You may think it’s hard to stop fear once you try. It’s easier when you know that much of fear is learned. You can learn to feel safe with practice, like any other skill.
Learning to feel safe is like learning a foreign language. It’s hard, yet people do it every day. Repetition is what it takes. Repetition is how you learned your native language, and it’s also how you learned your fear patterns. With repetition, you can wire yourself to feel safe just like you can wire in a foreign language.
HOW TO STOP ANXIETY
Step one is to target the safe thoughts you want to have and reward yourself for repeating them. Soon, safe thoughts will feel as natural as threatened thoughts. Now you have a choice.
Does this seem fake? That could be because your old pathways are telling you that negative thoughts are more real. A positive lens is not necessarily a bias — it can be a correction for your negative bias.
Does this seem selfish? Bonding with others around shared threats is a shortcut; you can create new ways to bond.
Does this seem dangerous? You may think you cannot feel safe until the world is perfect. But animals live in a world of predators, and they must go out to avoid starving.
CONCLUSION: Your ancestors lived in a dangerous world, but went out and met their needs. Today, your belly is probably full, so you could spend your life hiding from predators. But you can go out and enjoy the world as it is instead.
More on this in my books, Tame Your Anxiety: Rewiring Your Brain for Happiness and The Science of Positivity: Stop Negative Thought Patterns By Changing Your Brain Chemistry.
About Loretta Breuning
Loretta G. Breuning, PhD, is Founder of the Inner Mammal Institute and Professor Emerita of Management at California State University, East Bay. She is the author of many personal development books, including Habits of a Happy Brain: Retrain Your Brain to Boost Your Serotonin, Dopamine, Oxytocin and Endorphin Levels. As a teacher and a parent, she was not convinced by prevailing theories of human motivation. Then she learned about the brain chemistry we share with earlier mammals and everything made sense. She began creating resources that have helped thousands of people make peace with their inner mammal. Dr. Breuning’s work has been translated into eight languages and is cited in major media. She is a graduate of Cornell University and Tufts. Before teaching, she worked for the United Nations in Africa. The Inner Mammal Institute offers videos, podcasts, books, blogs, multimedia, a training program, and a free five-day happy-chemical jumpstart. Details at InnerMammalInstitute.org.
If you have found this blog post useful, you can subscribe to Segilola Salami's blog via email by visiting http://www.segilolasalami.co.uk/blog/. You can also follow Segilola Salami on Twitter https://twitter.com/iyayetunde1
The post How to Stop Anxiety the Natural Way appeared first on Segilola Salami. Segilola Salami teaches a course on grief resolution https://www.segilolasalami.co.uk/memb...
December 28, 2020
How to remove wax from your child’s ear at home
In this blog post, I’m going to share with you how to remove wax from your child’s ear at home. This is based on my experience as a mother.
https://www.segilolasalami.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/20201229_0857431.mp4
I was lying in bed at stupid o’clock and thinking about the rollercoaster of a year we’ve had when I decided to write this post. My daughter was sleeping soundly next to me and I smiled to myself. I felt grateful that all the health problems we had from 2018 seem to be a distant memory now.
A couple of times this year, my daughter told me that she couldn’t hear me when I called her. I always wondered if she simply pretended she couldn’t hear me because she was engrossed in what she was doing or if there was something else going on.
To be on the safe side, the first thing I did was go to my local pharmacy to see what ear drops they had in stock to remove wax from a child’s ear. I wanted an ear drop that had the least amount of chemicals in it and wouldn’t break the bank either. After going through what they had and speaking with a member of staff, I bought an olive oil ear drop.
That night, whilst my daughter was in bed, a put a few drops of the ear drop in one of her ears. The following morning, I used a cotton bud to remove wax that had softened in that ear. I repeated the process with the other ear that night.
If after removing wax from your child’s ear your child’s hearing does not improve, do speak with your child’s doctor.
This post on how to remove wax from your child’s ear at home is supported by Auris Ear Care, an ear cleaning clinic in London.
If you have found this blog post useful, you can subscribe to Segilola Salami's blog via email by visiting http://www.segilolasalami.co.uk/blog/. You can also follow Segilola Salami on Twitter https://twitter.com/iyayetunde1
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May 16, 2020
How to choose the right plant for each room of your house
Have you ever wondered about how to choose the right plant for each room of your house? Then today’s guest post by Sophie Attwood will answer all your questions.
We all know that a little bit of greenery can transform a space—and not only can it breathe new life into a room but it can help with your productivity and your overall mental health and sense of wellbeing. It’s one of the easiest ways to update your house without having to spend a fortune on new furniture or overpriced décor accents. But not all houseplants are created the same—and that means they all won’t thrive in any place around the home.
Choosing a houseplant
To choose a plant for a specific spot in your home, you’ll want to keep two things in mind: plant care and the feel that you want to create in each room. Certain houseplants have different needs when it comes to sun exposure and humidity levels, so you won’t want to put a plant that needs full sun in a windowless bathroom, or an air plant in your sun-drenched living room, when it prefers indirect light. Additionally, you don’t want a plant to stick out like a sore thumb and ruin a whole room’s décor style. A cactus in a serene bedroom doesn’t quite illustrate peace and tranquility.
The Living Room
Make a statement in a space that gets a lot of foot traffic but is also a destination point within the home. The living room is your respite from the outside, as well as your cozy collaboration space with friends and family. Show off your elegant side with a bird of paradise or rubber tree plant in a metallic dipped vase (£34.99 from Husoe Home www.husoehome.com).
Or, show off your colourful and fun side with philodendrons, begonias, or cacti and succulents in a copper planter, (£49.95 at www.husoehome.com).
Sun exposure in the living room
Choose plants based on what kind of sun exposure your living room gets. For general reference, there are four kinds of exposure: bright, direct light (full sun); bright, indirect light (partial shade); medium, indirect light; and low, indirect light.
The Kitchen
The kitchen is not only a busy space but a source of water and, although it’s not as humid as the bathroom, it’s more humid than the rest of the house. Counter space is also often limited so potted herbs on your windowsill are a beautiful yet useful addition. They require full sun and regular watering so they sit well within the kitchen.
The bedroom
Your bedroom needs to be a restful sanctuary and greenery can provide a lovely, peaceful atmosphere at the end of a busy day. Plants have been scientifically proven to boost mood, decrease stress and anxiety as well as filter harmful toxins from the body. Ideally I would recommend varieties of plant that can improve your indoor air quality. But don’t go overboard with your selections—an uncluttered space is a calmer space and that is paramount in this room. Try adding a spider plant, which needs moderate, indirect light and watering weekly, in a large, dipped planter (£20.95 from Husoe Home).
About Sophie Attwood
Sophie Attwood is a leading PR consultant and journalist within the beauty and wellness industry. She also owns home interiors brand, Husoe Home.
To find out more about Sophie Attwood, please visit her website www.sophieattwood.co.uk
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April 27, 2020
Gavin Routledge: The relief AND prevention of lower back pain + GIVEAWAY Closing date: 27 May 2020 23:59
Gavin Routledge is today’s guest on The Segilola Salami Show podcast. Gavin shares with us his top tips for The relief AND prevention of lower back pain. I assure you, you need to click play now to listen to this most intriguing conversation with Gavin Routledge.
Gavin is giving away some lovely prizes to listeners of the show, so scroll down for more information.
If you enjoy listening to this podcast, please consider supporting it
About Gavin Routledge
Gold Medallist Osteopath, Masters Degree in Pain Management, Author, Podcast Host, Lower Back Pain and Sciatica specialist, Sought-after Public Speaker on the topics of Pain, Health and Physical Activity.
WHAT is your Unique Selling Point?:
I can help them achieve a long-term solution to their lower back pain and sciatica. Not just relief, but prevention too. Click here to read a chapter from Gavin’s book for free.
LinkedIn URL: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gavinroutledge/
Twitter handle: @activexbacks
Facebook PAGE handle NOT profile: @activexbacks
Gavin Routledge’s tips for The relief AND prevention of lower back pain
Have a great plan AND stick to it. The Cliff of PainTM
Have support from experts and peers
Full understanding
Avoid triggers and risk factors
Boost relievers and preventers
Here’s the link to Gavin Routledge’s free webinar sign-up page Webinar link
And here’s the link to the LinkedIn article Gavin mentioned on the show:
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/why-does-my-back-hurt-when-i-sit-computer-surprising-truth-routledge/
Gavin Routledge’s Giveaway
As a thank you for taking the time to listen to him on this episode of The Segilola Salami Show podcast, Gavin Routledge is giving away a couple of prizes.
1st Prize: TENS machine (the AUVON Dual Channel TENS Machine for Pain Relief, TENS Unit Muscle Stimulator with 20 Modes, 2″ and 2″x4″ TENS Pads Replacement) worth £30.
2nd Prize: A signed ring bound paperback copy of his book Active X Backs – an effective long-term solution to lower back pain worth £30.
Closing date: 27 May 2020 23:59
Segilola Salami. Segilola Salami teaches a course on grief resolution https://www.segilolasalami.co.uk/memb...
How to pray to Orisa Aje
Recently, I’ve been receiving emails asking me for more content on Aje. So this blog post is on how to pray to Orisa Aje, goddess of wealth and prosperity.
Before I proceed, I’m going to share with you the similarity between the more popular religions and the Yoruba traditional belief system.
Modern religions v Yoruba traditional belief
In the history of Christianity, according to the Bible, God sent down disciples to teach His word. This is the same for Islam and their prophet.
In Yoruba land, we believe that the almighty God, Olodumare aka Olorun, sent down the Orisas to carry out different duties on earth.
However, due to both the Arab slave trade and colonisation, the Yoruba traditional belief was tagged as being evil.
Are the Orisas evil?
I’m a firm believer that a tool on its own is neither good nor evil. Its label is dependent on how the wielder uses. For instance if you use a stool to simply sit down, it is not evil. If you use a stool to hit everyone you come across, you could tag the stool as being evil.
I’ll share another example. Growing up in Nigeria, we were blessed to have a maid and driver. When we had to go out, we would ask the driver to take us out, not our parents. When we needed a snack we would ask the maid. Is there any sense in going to our parents to ask for food when all the provision had been made? There was also no sense in asking our parents to drive us when they had made the provision. All we had to do was tell our parents thank you for their provisions.
So also, the Orisas on their own are neither good nor evil. When we use them for the purpose that they were sent to the world for, we simply need to give our Creator Olodumare our thanks.
What does Orisa Aje do?
Orisa Aje is the goddess of wealth and prosperity. You don’t go to her to give you money like magic, out of thin air. You ask for business opportunities. It is for this reason that Monday is called Ojo Aje.
Basis of a good prayer
I once read a book called Prayer that MOVES Mountains by Gordon Lindsay where the author wrote that prayer begins with praise and worship. Anything you ask from God should be mingled with praise and thanksgiving.
Prayer is not a tool to gratify selfish desires nor a tool for wickedness. For instance, your should not pray for something bad to happen to someone else.
God does not bless a prayer that is motivated by greed.
Where should you pray?
As prayer is a solemn act, it should be done the right way. It is important that you seclude yourself so that you are free from interruption.
Whilst we know that our God is everywhere, when you are focusing on communicating with your Creator Olodumare, you should do so without interruption.
For instance, when you are having a conversation with someone, if there is a lot of noise and distraction, how focused are you on the conversation you are trying to have?
If you know that you can easily be distracted by external factors when having a conversation with someone, then it is even more important to seclude yourself when praying so that you can focus on your prayer.
What to pray for
As this post is about Aje, I’ll focus on the money aspect of prayer. Do NOT pray for money and do NOT pray to money. Rather ask Aje for business opportunities to help you fulfil your own destiny.
Your prayer should include how you intend to use the opportunities when given to you eg “… so that I can help those around me who do not have”
If you are praying for prosperity to harm someone, it is very likely that your prayer will not be answered.
Is praying for Business opportunities alone enough?
Praying alone is not sufficient to bring about prosperity.
How you behave should not destroy the opportunities given to you.
For instance, if your prayers are answered and opportunities are presented to you, you should imbibe good business behaviour to not destroy the opportunities by not being rude to your customers.
That’s why it is also important to ask for wisdom, knowledge, understanding and patience.
In addition to prayer, you should work on developing yourself to offer value.
source: Google images
Finally, here’s how to pray for prosperity
1) You do not have to have a consecrated shrine. Just stay somewhere cool and free from interruption so you can focus on your prayer
2) Do this after you have had your shower and brushed your teeth. Remember, cleanliness is next to Godliness
3) Give thanks to Olodumare for all the blessings you have had in the past, give thanks for the blessings you have today and give thanks for the blessings you will receive in the future
4) Offer your prayer asking Olodumare to send Aje to your life to give you opportunities to prosper that would help you fulfil Olodumare’s will in your life. Also ask for wisdom, knowledge, understanding and patience so that you can make best use of the opportunities that come your way
5) Make a promise to Olodumare that as long as He answers your prayer and doesn’t allow you to suffer in poverty, you will support yourself and your family and those people around you who are in need of support and help
6) You may repeat this prayer every Monday
7) To show your commitment to the promise you make to Olodumare, you should start now by doing something to help someone else today. Don’t accept any reward for the help you offer.
I pray you can benefit from this blog post on How to pray to Orisa Aje. May Olodumare be with you.
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April 22, 2020
5 Ways Thermoforming Technology Helps the Environment
Today’s blog post is a guest post on 5 Ways Thermoforming Technology Helps the Environment by Donna Lee.
Mother Nature
Mother Nature is quite generous to all the living things on earth. In fact, we have all the freedom to witness her beauty and at the same time enjoy the advanced technologies.
However, we sometimes tend to forget that she also needs maintenance to sustain her beauty. Maintaining and taking care of Mother Nature means giving life to present and future generations of all the living things.
Recycling through thermoforming plastic
Several modern technologies, machinery, and even our way of life have been increasingly demanding and that is affecting Mother Nature. How? Well, the more we enjoy these advances and comforts in life, the more we expose Mother Nature to toxics. And the more she is intoxicated, the more our lives will be at stake.
One way we can protect Mother Nature, as well as all the living things on Earth, is waste management. One of the most reliable and trusted ways of waste management is the use of thermoforming technology practiced by several thermoforming companies worldwide.
Sustainability is not just a word for environmentally-friendly, natural, green, recycling, or organic. It is what we can do to survive as long as we can, and keep our environment clean.
HOW DOES THERMOFORMING TECHNOLOGY HELP MOTHER NATURE?
There are several ways that thermoforming companies help Mother Nature as much as they can through thermoforming technology. However, we will focus on five cases in this article to extract the main and important points.
SUSTAINABLE MATERIALS
Several Thermoforming Companies are successful in replacing current packaging materials with renewable, sustainable, biodegradable and recycled/post-consumer plastics. They are providing more recyclable alternatives for sterile barrier systems used by medical device and pharmaceutical manufacturers such as TEQpropylene consisting of polypropylene. Most consumers appreciate the drastic cost-saving, performance, zero silicone, and recyclability of this material provided by major Thermoforming Companies.
HAZARDOUS WASTE/EMISSIONS
The replacement of most hazardous materials with FDA grade chemicals is one of Thermoforming Companies’ major goals. To maintain the environmentally-friendly atmosphere, Thermoforming Companies’ discontinue the use of Propylene Glycol and making sure that air emissions are negligible as calculated by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
RECYCLING PROGRAMS
Together with some of the States EPA and other EPAs around the globe, there are recycling programs being implemented such as all household plastic and bottle waste will undergo biodegradation. A Bio-chemical process that refers to the degradation and assimilation of polymers by living microorganisms, to produce degradation products that thermoforming companies can use again.
WATER AND ENERGY USAGE
New and Leading thermoforming companies start to use electric servo power machines instead of hydraulic or pneumatic machines. They also implement variable speed screw air compressors and designing a closed environment with positive airflow to cool down /heat up adjacent areas and develop high-efficiency HVAC systems.
UTILIZING LOCAL BUSINESSES
Instead of importing and exporting goods, thermoforming companies encourage people to purchase pallets from local suppliers. In this way, air, land, sea transportations for long-distance shipments are being minimized.
Thermoforming companies are ensuring that a majority of raw material suppliers are located within a 180 mile radius. Establishing partnerships with local companies is one of the efficient and effective ways for flexible packaging, printing and contract packaging.
CONCLUSION
There you are, thermoforming technology may sound huge, associated with chemical, creepy, busy, and polluting and nature destroyer. However, this method of waste management is way too helpful as well as it contributes to Mother Nature as much as it can. We can prevent thermoforming companies from producing plastics, only if we stop using important components of plastic- which is, by the way close to impossibility. This may create a huge impact on the world.
About Donna Lee
Donna Lee is the operations manager and resident writer at Plastiform, a thermoforming plastics company. She developed her passion for plastics working in her uncle’s plastics vacuum forming factory. She made her way to Plastiform where she’s been working for 3 decades passionately serving customers. In her spare time, she writes about the wonders of plastics and the power of sustainable packaging.
Link to author website: http://plastiform-dallas.com/http://plastiform-dallas.com/
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