15 Ways To "Prep & Eat" Foods Differently Than You Currently Do
I've got one friend who says she does her deepest thinking while she vacuums. Another, while she washes dishes. Me? I process a whole lot while I'm cooking. That's why, whenever I come up on a cooking hack, try it and it works, I get hyped like some of y'all get about a new pair of shoes (no joke). And since cooking is something that, at least most of us do, I thought I'd put you on to some hacks that have made food prep and eating a helluva lot easier and even fun. Ready?
1. Cut Salad Ingredients Differently
Let's start with salad prep. When it comes to your actual greens, stop cutting them up with a knife because all that does is bruise them. Instead, tear the leaves off with your hands; they'll remain fresher and last longer that way. As far as your other veggies go, be intentional about cutting them into small pieces. A lot of us miss the fact that a perfect salad consists of being able to get as much of what we put into the salad into every bite. Oh, and if you're prepping your salad for another time, leave the high-water veggies (like tomatoes and cucumbers out) until you're about to eat the salad. Watery foods will make your salad all mushy 'n stuff if you put them into your salad too soon. Yuck.
2. Also, Put Dressing on Your Salad Bowl—ONLY
While talking to one of my clients (I'm a doula), I teased her when she told me that she loved eating salad. On the surface, that's great, but I knew to dig a little deeper. See, salad is really only good for you when you're not piling on a ton of dressing, meat and Lord knows what else to drown out the freshness of the greens and other veggies.
If you can't imagine eating one with only a little bit of olive oil, salt and pepper, a cool hack is to pour the dressing into the bowl before putting your salad into it. That way, you'll typically end up with less dressing and your greens and veggies will get "equal" dressing love—instead of big clumps of dressing here and there—too.
3. Open Bananas from the Bottom Up
I don't know about y'all, but I'm a bit of a banana snob. It's got to be perfectly ripe (dry, not slimy with no bruises on it) for me to even consider eating one. And even then, it annoys me that those stringy things seem to always get in the way. The solution? Open your bananas from the bottom up. That way, the strings will come off along with the peel and you can enjoy your banana without all of the extra drama.
4. Put Ice Cream in a Plastic Bag
I'm thinking that this might be the kind of hack that some of you are already pretty familiar with, but for those who might've never heard of this before—if you want to keep your ice cream fresh and also avoid that nasty freezer burn that sometimes is on the top of it, all you've got to do is wrap the container up in a plastic bag (you know, like the bags you get from the grocery store). I've been doing this for years and I can definitely tell the difference from when I do vs. when I don't.
5. Apply Clothespins and Hangers Differently
My relationship with chopsticks is a bit of a hot and cold one. Sometimes, I'm able to master them perfectly; other times, it's nothing but mayhem. If you can totally relate, one way to put your chopsticks on training wheels is to pull apart one of your clothespins. The silver part? Wrap it in between the two sticks so that it serves as an anchor as you try and pick up your food. It will help the sticks to open up just enough without them flying all over the place. Pretty cool, huh?
As far as hangers go, if they're the kind that are plastic and have the clip attached, break off the clip. Why? Well, that way, you can use it to keep your potato chips and cookies closed. It's the cheapest way to keep bags of food fresh. Can you dig it?
6. Place Bread into Your Cookie Containers
If you adore homemade cookies but you don't want to eat the entire batch in one setting (good for you, girl), you can keep them nice and moist by putting a piece of bread into whatever container you're keeping your cookies in. Finally, a purpose for the ends of your bread, huh?
7. Cut Small Produce with Plastic Lids
This is definitely one of my favorite food prep hacks. When you've got tiny veggies (like cherry tomatoes) that you want to cut without them sliding all over the place or you running the risk of nicking one of your fingers, just anchor them in between two plastic lids that are the same size. Then take your knife and slice everything horizontally in between the lids. After a couple of tries, you'll wonder where this hack has been all of your life.
8. Reheat Pizza in a Skillet
There's not enough time or space today to get into why it's best to cook with an oven/stove instead of a microwave (Wellness Mama has a pretty good read on this very topic here). One of the main reasons why I tossed mine is because, when I used to try and reheat food in there, I didn't like how hard everything got if I didn't eat my food in five minutes or less; especially foods like pizza. If, like me, you want to be able to thoroughly enjoy the crust the next day (or day after that), put a little oil in a cast iron skillet and heat up your pizza that way. It will make your pizza taste so much better than any microwave oven can do.
9. Use Mason Jars for Meal Prep
If you don't want a billion plastic containers in your kitchen cabinets, one way to store your salad and grain food prep ingredients is to put them in a couple of mason jars. Speaking of mason jars, if you're sick of your asparagus and celery turning all rubbery and droopy, if you pour about three inches of water into a mason jar and stick those stalks in there, they will remain fresher and last longer than if you didn't.
10. Store Your Pancake (or Cake) Batter in an Old Ketchup Bottle
Know what gets on my very last nerve? Trying to make pancakes but the bowl makes it hard to get the cakes as round as I'd like. A good solution is to store your batter in a big, old, empty ketchup bottle. That makes the batter easier to pour and, it's a much easier way to store any batter that might be leftover. By the way, this is a cool way to utilize your cake batter too.
11. Wrap Hard Tacos with Lettuce
Tacos are great. There is something that annoys TF outta me when it comes to them, though. It's the fact that it's hard to bite into a hard one without it falling apart and the filling falling all over the place. A way to avoid that is to wrap your tacos up into a leaf of romaine lettuce so that it catches all of what's inside of your taco for you. Or, if you're someone who struggles with even getting your taco off of your plate, all you've gotta do is put the sides of the shell into a couple of teeth of your fork and lift it up that way. Voila.
12. Put Your Popsicles in a Foil Cupcake Liner
Listen, I enjoy a good popsicle as much as any kid does. But when it starts to melt and get all sticky, that is more than just a little irritating. The solution? Ram your popsicle stick through a foil cupcake liner. That way, any of the drippings will fall into it rather than onto your hands. (Parents, you're welcome.)
Speaking of cupcake liners, if you cut a slit into non-foil ones, turn them upside down and put a straw through the slit, you now can enjoy your drinks while you're sitting outside because the glasses will be covered and you won't have to worry about flies or debris getting into them.
13. Turn Your Tongs into a Juicer
Money is tight out in these streets. If you want a juicer for convenience's sake, but it's just not in the budget right now, slice open your fruits, put each slice in between a pair of tongs and squeeze the juice out that way. You'll be able to get a good amount of freshly-squeezed juice without creating a mess in the process.
14. Cut Your Burgers with a Glass
Are you someone who likes to make fancy burgers? Like maybe one that has an egg in the middle of it, but the problem is you can never get raw meat to cooperate with you? If you want to make the circles perfectly round, here's an idea. Take one of your glasses, turn it upside down and cut through the middle of your burgers that way.
Speaking of meat, if you need to defrost some and you don't want it to take for-e-ver, try washing it off and then wrapping it up in some aluminum foil. Foil naturally draws heat to it, so it can help your meat become room temperature in a fraction of the time that it would take if you didn't wrap it up at all.
15. Have Fun with Your Ice Cubes
I've got on more and some might say that I saved the best for last. Even if you've got an ice maker on your fridge, still make sure to keep a couple of ice cube trays around. Use one tray to put leftover sauces (like pasta sauce) in. That way, they will last longer than being in the fridge and you'll be able to save more space in your freezer. Another cool ice cube hack is to pour your coffee into them. If you're a big fan of iced coffee, this will help you to enjoy it without it getting all watered down 'n stuff. Just put a couple of cubes into a glass, add some more freshly-brewed coffee and you're all set. A final hack is to mix some of your favorite milk (or milk alternative) with some crumbled-up cookies (like Oreos). Put the combo in your ice trays and set them in the freezer. Once everything is frozen, put a couple of cubes into your milk (or milk alternative) and you'll literally be drinking a tall glass of milk and cookies! Dope. Dope. DOPE.
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Different puzzle pieces are creating bigger pictures these days. 2024 will mark a milestone on a few different levels, including the release of my third book next June (yay!).
I am also a Professional Certified Coach. My main mission for attaining that particular goal is to use my formal credentials to help people navigate through the sometimes tumultuous waters, both on and offline, when it comes to information about marriage, sex and relationships that is oftentimes misinformation (because "coach" is a word that gets thrown around a lot, oftentimes quite poorly).
I am also still super devoted to helping to bring life into this world as a doula, marriage life coaching will always be my first love (next to writing, of course), a platform that advocates for good Black men is currently in the works and my keystrokes continue to be devoted to HEALTHY over HAPPY in the areas of holistic intimacy, spiritual evolution, purpose manifestation and self-love...because maturity teaches that it's impossible to be happy all of the time when it comes to reaching goals yet healthy is a choice that can be made on a daily basis (amen?).
If you have any PERSONAL QUESTIONS (please do not contact me with any story pitches; that is an *editorial* need), feel free to reach out at missnosipho@gmail.com. A sistah will certainly do what she can. ;)
ItGirl 100 Honors Black Women Who Create Culture & Put On For Their Cities
As they say, create the change you want to see in this world, besties. That’s why xoNecole linked up with Hyundai for the inaugural ItGirl 100 List, a celebration of 100 Genzennial women who aren’t afraid to pull up their own seats to the table. Across regions and industries, these women embody the essence of discovering self-value through purpose, honey! They're fierce, they’re ultra-creative, and we know they make their cities proud.
VIEW THE FULL ITGIRL 100 LIST HERE.
Don’t forget to also check out the ItGirl Directory, featuring 50 Black-woman-owned marketing and branding agencies, photographers and videographers, publicists, and more.
THE ITGIRL MEMO
I. An ItGirl puts on for her city and masters her self-worth through purpose.
II. An ItGirl celebrates all the things that make her unique.
III. An ItGirl empowers others to become the best versions of themselves.
IV. An ItGirl leads by example, inspiring others through her actions and integrity.
V. An ItGirl paves the way for authenticity and diversity in all aspects of life.
VI. An ItGirl uses the power of her voice to advocate for positive change in the world.
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These 11 Married Couples Share Their Keys To Long-Term Marital Success
The late actor Audrey Hepburn once said something that I think a lot of married couples who have at least 10 years under their belt will agree with: “If I get married, I want to be very married.” In my mind, this means very committed, very complementary, and very willing to go the distance — otherwise, what’s the point?
Really, what’s the point?
Thing is, with the divorce rate still being higher than it ever should be (for the record, a husband is not a boyfriend, and a wife is not a girlfriend; a marriage is serious business, y’all) and acting married being praised (or at least acknowledged) more than actually being married seems to be — folks who 1) are married and are looking for some hacks that will help with relational longevity or 2) want to be married someday and want insight on how to make their future marriage last are constantly seeking truly beneficial material.
Can you Google articles with random bullet points? Sure. And I’m not discouraging it. Every little bit of wisdom that you can pull, I fully support. However, the reason why I like to do articles like this one from time to time is there is something to be said from hearing real talk from multiple sources on the same topic who have some solid wisdom and knowledge on a particular topic.
Today? 11 married couples who were willing to talk about how they’ve been able to make it to several wedding anniversaries with a smile on their face and no regrets for choosing who they chose. Let’s all sit at their feet for just a moment.
*Middle names are always used in my content that’s like this so that people can speak freely*
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1. Kyle and Adrienne. Married 12 Years.
Kyle: “Some of your readers aren’t going to want to hear this but it’s worked for my marriage: people need to lower their expectations sometimes; I mean, men and women. We go into marriage with stuff that movies told us, social media told us, friends who are always single told us about what we should expect from someone, and then want to fault the person when they’re not what we made up in our head. Everyone should have standards but if you’re expecting your spouse to be some living version of a fairy tale character, you’re going to be disappointed almost every day of your life. Drop those expectations some and watch your relationship be a lot less stressful.”
Adrienne: “Talk to people who respect your man about your marriage. I’ve never believed that you shouldn’t ever go to anyone when you need some support. Even the Bible says that there is safety in wise counsel [Proverbs 11:4]. Too many women talk to women who don’t respect men, in general, let alone their husbands, and so that’s where things go left. Sometimes, you need an ‘outside in’ perspective. But if that woman is always taking shots at men, doesn’t respect marriage, or isn’t someone who holds your man in high regard, don’t ask her for advice. Really, you should ask yourself why you’re friends with her at all.”
Shellie here: I’m big on engaged and married couples having a “village” of sorts for their relationship, too. Check out “Why Every Engaged Couple Needs A 'Marriage Registry'” to get a good idea of what I mean.
2. Levi and Paulette. Married for 15 Years.
Levi: “Some of you have probably heard of the 7-7-7 rule. It’s where couples go on a date every seven days, have a weekend getaway every seven weeks, and go on a romantic trip of some sort every seven months. My wife and I do the 2-2-2 rule instead because sometimes our schedule and budget make ‘7’ difficult. It has gotten easier since Shellie told us about the sex jar. Bottom line, if you’re waiting for time to just open up to be with your spouse, that ain’t gonna happen. Schedule intimacy, including sex. Prioritizing it is better than saying you’re gonna be spontaneous and…never are.”
Paulette: “Initiate sex, dammit. When Shellie told us that men initiate sex most of the time, and then I thought about how often I used to push my husband away whenever he did it — I never really thought about how that made him feel until I put myself in his shoes. We’ve got to stop having all of this understanding for why women cheat when it comes to them not feeling desired or not getting attention when we’re the same way to our husbands. Your marriage isn’t ‘Young and the Restless’, where you’re just supposed to wait for your man to make the move. If you want to feel wanted, do the same thing for him.”
Shellie here: What’s a sex jar, you ask? You can read more about it via “5 Reasons Why Every Married Couple Needs A Sex Jar.”
3. Matthew and Gaia. Married for 17 Years.
Matthew: “Reenact some of your favorite times together. My wife and I do that semi-often. We’ll go back to where we had our first date, or we’ll go back to the hotel where we had some of the best sex before. Bringing back memories of when you felt the best together can give you the motivation to stay together to create some new memories to ‘play out’ later on.”
Gaia: “If you want to ‘mom your husband,’ you need to have kids — or at least get a dog! I didn’t realize how bossy I was until I got married. It’s because I saw my mom be that way with my dad. In my eyes, I thought that’s what love looked like until I watched how my in-laws were. They don’t try to change each other, and they definitely don’t make any demands. They’re very polite. I think a lot of married people are rude to their partner. Don’t be that.”
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4. Joseph and Carletta. Married for 10 Years.
Joseph: “Go to therapy for your childhood. I’m dead serious. No one is going to show you yourself like your wife will, and I realized that a lot of my hang-ups came from unhealed childhood stuff. It’s hard to be an adult in your marriage when you’re still emotionally a kid in a lot of ways. If you’re at the point where you think therapy is needed, go alone and deal with your childhood first. It did miracles for me and mine.”
"No one is going to show you yourself like your wife will, and I realized that a lot of my hang-ups came from unhealed childhood stuff. It’s hard to be an adult in your marriage when you’re still emotionally a kid in a lot of ways."
Carletta: “Meditate together once a day. Even if it’s just for 5-10 minutes, you need to carve out a moment to be mindful, focus on each other, and slow the world down. [Joseph and I] have been doing it for a couple of years now; it’s totally changed the way we communicate. Meditation reminds us to put each other first; that if we’re focused on each other, we can take on…whatever.”
5. Zeke and Rachelle. Married for 12 Years.
Zeke: “An argument is not a fight and a debate is not an argument. Learn that and you’re home-free. That’s all I got.”
Rachelle: “That advice that you just got? That sums up what it’s like to live with my husband. He’s very cut-and-dry, direct, and not wordy. That used to bug the hell out of me until I realized how wordy I was and then accepted that I wouldn’t want ‘two of me’ in the house [LOL]. He’s right. You can have a difference of opinion, and it be a debate. You can not find a middle ground on something and it turns into an argument. Neither of those is a red flag. It just comes with being with someone who is as much of an individual as you are.”
6. Taurus and Madison. Married for 22 Years.
Taurus: “Be prepared for your partner to change — not a couple of times, quite a bit. And when they change, that alters the relationship because now it’s not the person you stood with on your wedding day; it’s someone else. People get divorced so much because they are inflexible; they expect their spouse to never switch up and that’s just not how life is. If you’re rigid, controlling, or don’t know how to adjust, you don’t need to marry anybody. You’re gonna be miserable, and so will they.”
Madison: “Pray before sex. Before my husband and I got married, we had quite a bit of sexual history that caused us to do some comparing, and that led to resentment. In marriage, we had to adjust to how it’s more than just what we’re getting from another person. Married sex comes with so much more spirituality and responsibility. Prayer before sex reminds us to see it from a spiritual lens — and that makes the experience more intense and sacred. It might sound weird at first. Just try it. I don’t think you’ll regret it at all.”
"Married sex comes with so much more spirituality and responsibility. Prayer before sex reminds us to see it from a spiritual lens — and that makes the experience more intense and sacred."
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7. Karl and LaTasha. Married for 9 Years.
Karl: “Check in with your partner twice a day. In the morning before leaving the house and at night before going to sleep. If you work outside of the home, a lot can happen during the course of one day, so you shouldn’t assume that the person you left in the morning is who you are coming home to. I don’t mean sharing each other’s schedules or to-do lists. I mean, asking your spouse, ‘How are you doing? How are you really doing?’. It’s a smart way to take note of their mood and needs so that you are never blindsided.”
LaTasha: “Give each other some privacy. I have never been the kind of woman to go through a man’s phone, and I won’t start. If you think that you have to be a detective in your relationship, why are you in it in the first place? I know that Karl would give me codes and passwords if I wanted them because we’ve talked about it all before. Knowing that he would is enough for me. Marriage is an institution, but damn, it shouldn’t feel like jail.”
8. Thomas and Wynter. Married for 15 Years.
Thomas: “Ask your partner what their sexual needs are. Never assume that they haven’t changed because if we all agree that we are constantly growing and evolving as people, why would sex be exempt? Don’t personalize what they say about it either. All of us have sexual fantasies and interests that we keep to ourselves because we don’t know what our partner will think or ‘cause we think that they will create stories in their head about what made us think that way. I’ve learned that intimacy is feeling okay with sharing the deep stuff. The more comfortable a man, especially, is with doing that, the better the sex will be for everyone because talking about stuff like that is like taking down some walls.”
Wynter: “It’s okay to take one vacation a year with your girls and one by yourself. Just don’t go with people who don’t have the same standards as you, and as far as your solo venture, it doesn’t need to be longer than a long weekend. One thing that they don’t tell you about marriage is how there are times when you will feel like it is monotonous because of the routine of everything. A girls’ trip reminds you to get back to you outside of being someone’s wife or mom, and the trip alone is when you can sit around and do whatever you have to negotiate most of them. And yes, your man should be given the same courtesy.”
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9. Allen and Yvette. Married for 11 Years.
Allen: “STOP. BRINGING. UP. OLD. SH-T. SH-T. Nothing creates walls in a marriage more than you telling someone that you forgave them, and then the minute something else happens, here you go with the rap sheet of wrongs. Forgiving someone means that you are pardoning them, and that’s not what you’re doing if you’re constantly holding stuff over their head. One thing that marriage will show you is how bad of a forgiver you are. Most people suck at it, if we’re gonna be real about it.”
Yvette: “I already know that some women are going to assume that my man must’ve done something to say all of that (LOL). He’s a much better forgiver than I am, believe it or not. The real plot twist is, what gets on his nerves more than anything, is when I bring up stuff that he’s forgiven me for. Allen is the kind of man [who] hates to live in the past. I’ve grown a lot because of that. I think my advice would be to stay focused on solutions and tomorrow instead of problems and yesterday.”
Allen: “Sh- t, that’s bars, babe!”
Shellie here: INDEED.
10. Brennton and Danyelle. Married for 16 Years.
Brennton: “Why anyone who is trash at forgiving would get married is beyond me. It’s delusional to the nth degree to think that you are worthy of forgiveness and others aren’t — or that what you do isn’t ‘as bad,’ and that’s why you deserve forgiveness and others don’t. My wife and I have a lot of time under our belts. I’m here to tell you that there will be something, daily, that you will need to forgive your partner for on some level. If you can’t see yourself being open to that, marriage simply isn’t for you.”
Danyelle: “I don’t know who taught so many of us that being passive-aggressive will get us what we want, but it’s a damn lie. If something is wrong, stop saying ‘nothing’ when your man asks you what’s up because, if you’ve got a man like mine, he’s gonna say ‘Okay’ and go on about his day. Brennton often says that my refusing to speak isn’t his responsibility, it’s mine. That used to piss me off because, deep down, I knew that he was right. Oh, and chill on the grudge-holding too. With guys, that’s not going to get you anywhere either.”
11. Christopher and Yvonne. Married for 26 Years.
Christopher: “Have more loyalty for your spouse than you do your closest friend. Too many people don’t think like that. If you’ve got a friend since college, you’ve been through some things and you’ve learned to forgive and move past it. If you can’t see your wife or husband in this way, why did you get married? You should never have more grace for someone who you didn’t take vows with; that’s ludicrous. Before anyone else, I’m going to prioritize reconciling with my wife. It’s because I value her more than anyone. That’s what marriage is.”
"Before anyone else, I'm going to prioritize reconciling with my wife. It's because I value her more than anyone. That's what marriage is."
Yvonne: “Even if you’re not about ‘traditional gender roles,’ discuss what the expectations are for the home. People don’t divorce over cheating as much as getting sick of beard clippings in the bathroom sink or cars that look like pocketbooks. When you sign up for marriage, you are doing daily life with another person. Articulate your expectations. Listen to theirs. Be flexible until you both can make it work. Do that, and you’ll look up, and it’s been 20 years already.”
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Gems. Pure gems, y’all.
You know, popular consultant Barbara De Angelis once said, “Marriage is not a noun; it’s a verb. It isn’t something you get. It’s something you do. It’s the way you love your partner every day.” And love? Love is a choice.
And so, whether you’re married, engaged, or simply desire marriage in the future, hopefully, these tips will help you to choose how you love your spouse (or future spouse)…better.
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