Every winter when the blistering cold starts nipping at my nose, I start to crave warm comforting bowls of beans. This year my love and curiosity of one of the most nutritious foods out there, has inspired me to try new ways to eat them. Beans are not only little bites of deliciousness, but also very nutritious. A low-fat excellent source of protein, beans provide the body with much needed amino acids for fighting infections and maintaining healthy bones and tissues. Beans contain complex carbohydrates which keep you full longer and have a low glycemic index which makes them a healthy food for those with sugar digestion problems. As if it couldn’t get any better, beans are also rich in dietary fiber which aides in digestion, and when added to your diet can prevent cardiovascular disease.

Over the weekend I tried a recipe for Spicy Black Bean Stuffed Peppers off the blog www.canyoustayfordinner.com. They were AMAZING!! Despite me making a double batch, I nearly ate them all.

These are simple and easy to make for a quick vegetarian meal or appetizer. Here is the recipe:

Spicy Black Bean Stuffed Peppers

2 Med Long Red Sweet Peppers OR Miniatures Sweet Bells Peppers (you can use any peppers you like)

1/2 Medium Onion Diced

2 Cloves of Garlic (adjust as needed I personally LOVE it)

1 15 oz Can of Black Beans (OR cook you’re own ahead)

1 TBSP of Olive Oil

¼ Cup of Water

½ Cup sweet corn

½ Cup of shredded Cheese (Colbyjack of Chihuahua)

½ Cup of diced Jalapenos

Top with optional Cilantro, Sour Cream and Salsa

Seasoning

2 tsp Cumin

2 tsp Chili Powder

½ tsp Smoked Paprika

½ tsp of Salt (or less)

½ tsp of cayenne optional

Preheat oven to 400 F. Cut peppers lengthwise and place on cookie sheet. Cook peppers for 15 to 20 minutes until slightly tender. If using large peppers it may take longer.

Saute onions on medium heat in oil until tender and slightly translucent. Add garlic, stir and cook for 3 mins. If using canned beans rinse beans in cold water. Add beans, water, jalapenos and seasoning to pot. Stir, reduce heat and simmer for 15 to 30 mins. Stir in corn, and cook an additional 3 minutes.

Remove peppers and stuff with bean mixture. Top with cheese and place back in oven until cheese is browned. Remove from the oven and top with sour cream and cilantro.

You have finally decided to go“Natural”. While this may have seemed like the hardest part to your decision, getting to know your hair can be a full-time job where you research methods and products until you finally resign yourself to the pushed back fro. Don’t fall into this rut!! All natural hair is different. Embrace your true self by getting to know “YOUR” hair.

Getting to know the natural YOU

Oily or Dry?

Unlike chemically treated hair, natural hair tends to be drier. This means taking extra care to insure your hair is MOISTURIZED AT ALL TIMES! For those of us that find our hair to be crunchy and look dry you will need to add moisture to your hair daily. I spray my hair with a mix of vegetable glycerin (available at whole foods or organic markets), coconut oil, olive oil, jojoba oil, avocado oil, Its a 10 leave in conditioner, and any other liquid leave in condition I have laying around, and most importantly….WATER!!

VEGETABLE GLYCERIN RECIPE

(PLEASE BE AWARE YOU WILL NEED TO ALTER YOUR MIXTURE DEPENDING ON WHAT YOU HAIR NEEDS. EXPERIMENT WITH ESSENTIAL OILS YOU LOVE SUCH AS LEMON OR MINT)

Into a spray bottle add:

Equal parts vegetable glycerin and water

1 part Its a 10 Miracle Spray (I like the way this smells so add until well scented)

½ part oil mixture

Curl Pattern

Find a loose strand and take a look. What type of pattern does your hair follicle have? Loose curl, tight curl, kinky curl, or wavy. You may have more than one type. Everyone’s hair is different. What works for your hair type, may not work for someone else.

Maintenance

Shampooing

Frequency of shampooing will become apparent as you gauge how often your hair builds up from product and how often your scalp itches. Resist the urge to frequently wash your hair because you like the way it looks when wet. If you find that your hair is frequently dry, increase the time between shampoos or rinse your hair instead.

Instead of using shampoo, I co-wash my hair bi-monthly with a my favorite conditioner mix. A Co-wash is method of washing your hair with conditioner instead of shampoo. Like shampoos, conditioners are full of surfactants, the actual “soap” molecules that cleanse hair. It cleans the hair without stripping it of all its oils while providing a detangling and conditioning. As a final step, I add heated homemade oil to my hair while the conditioner is still in my hair. I continue to comb thru, sit under a dry for at least 15 minutes and then rinse out.

For in between shampoos I rinse my hair or use Mizani’s Cleansing Cream.

Co-Wash Recipe

Wet hair with water. Add conditioner mix comb thru. Rinse out.

I use a combination of

It’s A 10 Conditioner

Sally’s Silk Essentials

Its A 10 Hair Mask

Conditioning

No matter if you are shampooing, Co-Washing, or just rinsing always Condition the hair in some way. One way is by adding a conditioner (leave in or the rinse out kind). But when time is short use a conditioning cream of preference.

I usually follow my water rinse with leave in conditioner, vegetable glycerin spray, and oils. You will need to find a conditioner that leaves your hair feeling silky and shiny. Finding the right product for you is up to you. Ask someone who also has the same type of hair curl pattern as you for a suggestion. I have found these to be good for me

1. Its A 10 conditioner (CVS, Walgreens, Hair Cuttery)
2. Its a 10 Hair Mask (Same as Above)
3. Silk Essentials (SALLYS)
4. Hot Oil Treatments (Homemade from oils I LOVE)*

*I have found saturating my hair with natural oils increases my hair’s shine, moisture levels, and prevents detangling. I usually combine the conditioner with the hot oil treatment. Comb thru thoroughly and leave on for 15 minutes or sit under the dryer for 10. Rinse. Hair will retain some of the oil leaving a great shine and nice curl pattern. If hair still has buildup after the co-wash, you will need to repeat co-wash to remove excess build up before adding oil.

After Shampooing

Once your hair dries from shampooing you may find your hair to be dry, or perfect! If hair is dry, immediately moisture hair. I find that I have to spray my hair down for a few days to get my hair balanced. Do this when styling or before preparing hair for bed.

While You Were Sleeping

Tie down hair while sleeping by twisting, braiding, or pinning hair. This will make hair easy to manage in the morning and prevent tangling.

Long Term Maintenance

Trimming

Split ends are your enemy!! They cause breakage and prevent your hair from getting longer. Get hair trimmed every six to eight weeks to keep ends from knotting up. If you keep your hair trimmed you will find it easier to comb thru and style. You can get hair trimmed in its kinky state or after a blow dry. I prefer the later method because it unrolls my curls and every curl is trimmed uniformly. However, using a blow dryer too much can cause damage and may affect the curl pattern if abused. I do not worry about this because I only blow dry my hair for trims : )

Scalp Care

How many days can you go without adding lotion to your legs, hands, or arms? Like all the skin on our body our scalps need moisturizing. I add oil to my entire scalp at least twice per week. More frequently in the winter months.

STYLING

Here is where the fun begins. As you develop your new hair care routine you will have go to styles depending on how much time you have to create them. The type of styles you can do when you hair is either dry or wet differ. Play around with you hair to find styles you like to wear.

HAIR IS WET

After Washing

Hair has just been stripped of most of the oils it has built up. Your hair will need to be built back up to a healthy shine. Realize it may take a few days for your hair to be exactly the way you want it. After a wash hair will be soft and shiny while wet, but can become dry. At this point, you can choose to create a quick style that can be worn while hair is wet. I.e ponytails, large french braids, or an afro. If you have extra time part a section at the crown of the head and create large two strand twists. Pin twist down, or wear the rest of the hair loose. If time is not a concern, I create a full head of medium sized two strand twists, updos using braids or flat twists

Braid or twist hair after adding oil, crème, or leave in conditioner. Leave free or pin ends down and wrap with scarf. If your hair is short enough you can allow hair to dry naturally.

Dry Hair

Use Vegetable Glycerin spray to refresh hair and style.

Professional

Getting your hair twisted into braids, two stranded twists, or an up do. This will allow your hair to be protected and give you a break from styling. I provide natural hair styling including twists, braids, and up dos. Please contact me to schedule an appointment.

Hair DONTS

-Don’t comb thru hair without adding water or conditioner.

-Don’t dye hair more than once. This will lead to breakage.

-Don’t wash hair without conditioning.

-Don’t sleep with hair not wrapped up or braided/twisted down.

-Don’t believe the hype, not all products natural or synthetic work for everyone. FIND WHAT WORKS FOR YOU!!

Please let me know if you have any additional Questions!

Naturally Yours,

Nina

Love@Bumchic.Com