Green Afro Diva ™

Mr.Massagi August 1, 2009

For good measure, here’s another assignment that I turned into my teacher for Business Management 110. This time, it got an A+! 

Mr. Massagi

“Rub on, Rub off”

     Tired of sore, achy muscles from a long workout? Swollen feet from standing all day at work? Or how about wanting a good back rub, but can’t afford massage therapy? The answer to all these questions comes from Mr. Massagi, a head to toe massaging body suit. People complain all the time about sore muscles from a long workout and standing on their feet all day at work. Over a period of time, this can lead to problems such as muscle weakness and heel spurs. Many do not like to apply creams and salves because of the strong odor and are too messy to apply. Others are not able to take over the counter medications and even those take a while to take effect. Massage therapy is great, but it would be nice to go everyday and not pay so much money. Don’t you just want to come home and get a full body massage and feel relaxed and at ease?

      That need that I see is Mr Massagi. Mr. Massagi is a body suit covering the body from head to toe that massages using tiny, pulsating “fingers” interwoven in the fabric. The fabric is made with high quality Gore-tex material to wick away moisture and a natural mineral that warms and massages the body. The mineral, Charcoalium, is found in the subtropics of Africa and is mined underground in the same manner as diamonds. The mineral is activated by body heat and makes a pulsating sensation against any part of the body. There are four pieces to the suit to whatever part of the body you want massaged and can be worn separately. It is not recommended that you sleep in the suit; however, the whole suit can be worn at two hour intervals and any separate parts at four hour intervals. Mr. Massagi comes in three sizes, S, M, and L for women and men. The mens’ tend to have slightly more charcoalium than the womens’ due to physiology. It includes cap, long sleeve shirt, pants, and socks. We have a variety of styles to chose from deep tissue massage, to shiatsu, to the traditional swedish massage. How that works is we have added the mineral in certain patterns and amounts to reflect a real massage as if an actual person was giving it. They also include essential oils like lavender to calm the body and soul and grapefruit to awaken the senses. Mr. Massagi lasts about 5 years and can be washed and reworn.

      Mr. Massagi targets anyone who have active lives, jobs where standing is required, or anyone looking for alternative ways to relaxation. Men and women who are in their 30’s and 40’s especially benefit because of the level of activity around this age group tends to be larger than in other age groups according to our own study. It is recommended that those with health concerns such as heart or liver problems to consult with a doctor first. The suit should never be worn by those taking MAOI’s and other antidepressants because of the chemical reaction to the  charcoalium may cause other health problems. There are no serious side effects, other than a tingling sensation. If the tingling sensation is prolonged even after the body suit is removed, please consult a doctor. The suit is also not recommended for those with restless leg syndrome.  Pregnant women should consult with a doctor first before using because of the use of essential oils. Children under the age of 18 should consult with their parents and/or doctors first before wearing any kind of suit containing charcoalium and essential oils.

 The body suit can be found in any drugstore such as Rite Aid, CVS, Walgreens, Target and Walmart. Our prices are consistent and will not change. They sell for $39.99 and includes a free gift, Mr. Massagi gloves, for those who type and suffer from arthritis and carpal tunnel  syndrome. The suit is also sold separately for $9.99. We will perform a marketing blitz of infomercials, TV and radio ads, and internet. Our ads can be found in the major sports and fitness magazines like Sports Illustrated and Oxygen. They can also be found in news and business magazines like Newsweek and Time and in the natural living ones like Yoga and Natural Living. Our infomericials will only air in the early morning hours and late evening hours. That way, people can watch them as they get ready for work and right after they get off. It will include the product, how it works, and testimony of unscripted non-actors about why they love the product. We will sell not only the bodysuit but if customers call within 30 minutes, they will get the gloves, Mr. Massagi boots to wear at work, and meditative candles and incense sticks. All for $49.99. Tv and radio ads will debut on all radio stations as our products cross all genres, genders and races. Again, they will be played during the morning and evening rush hours. 

     At our company, we put customers first and listen to their issues and concerns. That’s why we at Mr. Massagi has set up a hotline with real customer service that is not outsourced to a computer for any questions or issues. We also have a website full of information about all of our products and easy to navigate pages in full detail. People can even sign up for a free newsletter sent to them every week about some of our upcoming events, medical news, or new product on the market. We also have our own blog updated everyday, and we are now on Facebook, Myspace, and Twitter. We are all about maintaining positive relationships with our clients and we like to keep them informed about what we are doing and how our business affects them. As Mr. Massagi would say, “Rub on, Rub off”.

July 26, 2009

Net Surfin’ July 25, 2009

So lately, I’ve been hitting up different blogs and websites and checking them out just to see what they offer and I didn’t realize that there was a plethora of websites dedicated to crafts, soapmakers, and other artisans. I’ve blogged on to maybe two more sites dedicated to their works and how the business is treating them. I’ve checked a few websites, some of them are gorgeous, others..not so much. I can tell the cheesy looking designs a mile away. Many of the photographs looked like a professional could have taken those, but it’s easy to set up one in your own home! Just by the angles and the lighting shows that a lot of work was put into making sure that the product gave it’s best impression. I just feel like I’ve found the right place for me amongst artisans because it’s something that I’ve been into since I was a little girl. Arts and Crafts has alsways been my thing, especially drawing. I don’t draw much anymore, but I still like to be creative by making my own handmade products scented with oils I love or crocheting things for my daughter like her raspberry pink and black blanket. I’m also trying to find out about many of the craft shows in the area, but alot of them are closed to me because the application process is done, or I need P & L insurance, or the pics need to be juried and it could take time. Perhaps I might be jumping in too soon. Maybe I should just wait it out and attend the craft shows in Catonsville or Pigtown just to see who’s doing what and what I can do to make my situation better.  I certainly don’t go to the shows and festivals or websites to copy what someone else is doing, but I do get inpsired by others’ passion for their craft and it makes me think about mine. My brand is about freshness, funkyness, and fierceness. I believe that I stand out from the crowd because I take a different approach to natural living and I do it through art, language, food, and style. I say we’re a green company because one of our main goals is educating the public, especially black folks, about the enviroment, their impact through blogging, and our products reflect this. I am all about quality and outstanding customer service. So there’s my brand all in one. I don’t believe that natural living has to mean boring and bland food, wearing birkenstocks, smelling like patchouli, and unshaved legs(saw that on tuesday eeewwww). Natural product labels do not have to contain that lone green leaf or sold only at health food stores that black people rarely go to.

Ok, enough about me, back to the topic. I found a blog and website, DC Craft mafia. They are hosting a Holiday craft festival in Vienna in November ( guess who won’t be going to that one) But I will add them to my blogroll because they are a local group and I like their blog. I’m really tired as I am writing this so I think I should be headed to bed now.

Great News! July 21, 2009

Hey folks, I know I’ve been a little busy, but I promise I will be back on here once the semester is over. But now on to other news. Green Afro Diva is proud to annouce that we are selling our fragrances at Stylistics Inc. Salon in Washington DC. Located at 501 Florida Ave NW, just around the corner from Howard U, our Diva Candy and Tropical Crush fragrances have been selling out like Michael Steele hot cakes. We are so excited about this opportunity and creating so much buzz. I just signed up with Etsy.com which is a website dedicated to crafters like me where we can sell our products to the masses. I am also a official Indie Beauty Network member where we get advice on formulating our business, marketing tips, and get to meet others in the business. I’ll move up to platinum status soon where I’ll be able to upload pictures or my products. My address at Etsy is www.greenafrodiva.etsy.com  

Yesterday I had the(dis)pleasure of attending Artscape here in Baltimore MD. Ok here’s the thing, it was my daughter’s birthday and I was gonna go to the Zoo, but I decided on Artscape since it was free and literally up the street from me. The streets were too overcrowded to move around and I heard a report that it was an estimated 500,000 people there. WTF? The area was too small and they should have extended it.  The food places were packed and barely got something to eat in the intense heat. And my daughter showed her behind when we got there. Hey, it’s terrible 2 time. But other than that, I got to check out some neat displays of art, sculpture, photography, fashions, and DIY crafts. I stayed in the crafts section to check out the handmade soaps and I bought a bar of soap by Biggs and Featherbelle. It was a moisturizing soap with cocoa butter and tea tree oils. I remember seeing this company at Whole Foods where they sell their scrubs and decided to check them. Another one was Bunny Butt Apothecary. I thought the name was cute so I had to check them out. I didn’t get to buy anything from their stand but I loved their fragrances and they even use fractionated coconut oils as carriers(I might try that) Oliba was another I like and even tried out their Japanese Yuzu spray that has a silky finish. They don’t have a website up yet, but they’re on etsy and based out in Virginia. And Bumble Bee( I think that’s what they’re called) had the most beautiful display of lavender flowers and glass bottles of their products to give an old vintage feel. I tried their body butter, but I noticed that it ontained Beeswax. I’m not too big of a fan of beeswax because I find that it’s heavy and sticky, but theirs wasn’t too bad. I go to take home some great ideas with me about how I can mak my company grow and become better.

On a sad note, I missed the Robin Thicke concert at the end. I was dead tired, and Cori was just waking up. Itwas just time to go home:(

Following a Black Owned Business June 25, 2009

This is the assigment that I turned in for business class. I got a 35/50 only because of spelling and grammar. Hey, it’s been a minute since I took English and haven’t written a paper in years. but she got the overall idea. Some material has been edited.

During these economic times, more and more people are looking to opening their own business and providing a service to their communities. Same is true for African Americans looking to thrive as well. There have been debates about whether or not African Americans should buy solely from “black owned” businesses. Black owned businesses offer a way to not only provide a service to the community, but it offers a way to acquire and build wealth, creating a legacy. According to the US Census Bureau in April 2006, revenues for black owned businesses neared $89 billion, between 1997 and 2002. Black businesses in general are up 45 percent. And there are about 1.2 million black owned businesses in the US.  From barbershops and beauty salons to being  CEO of a major company, African Americans are making their mark in the world of business.

     We’ll take a look at one such business, Stylistics Inc run by Shawn Harris and located in Washington DC. The salon offers services such as hair styling, makeup, manicures, pedicures, and even boasts a tattoo artist. She services clients of all backgrounds but in particular, those who like to stay stylish. Her vision for her business is to grow and open more businesses in and around the DC area and to include broader services such as a day spa. When I talked to Shawn, she showed me her business plan. She feels that anyone who is serious about running their own business should have a business plan. In hers, it states her vision for her business and why it should exist.  One of the most important parts of a business plan is your marketing plan. It should state who your target audience is and ways you would reach them. In her marketing plan, she wanted to reach women, ages 18-49, African American, who were looking to look stylish. She created fliers to hand out, and helped generate a buzz through word of mouth. In her overall plan, she included the services she was employing, the number of people who would be on her team and her financial data. In her financial data, it included overhead costs, electric, water, and other fees. Her business plan was about 10 pages long but while I was reading, I noticed the language of the plan. Using buzz words and phrases like, “ creating a luxurious experience” was key in determining what kind of business it was going to be. It lets the consumer believe that they are getting superior service and it draws attention to the business. So after reading all this, I asked her what sets her apart from other businesses like hers? What was she doing different from her competition? She’s offering superior customer service and competitive rates. She sees beauty in all of her clientele and believes that anyone can be beautiful and glamorous.

     Shawn’s dream was to become an entrepreneur and run her own business. She has been doing what she loves for over 20yrs; but for other people. She’s a firm believer in in entreprenuership especially in African American women. One of the benefits to entrepreneurship is that you’re your own boss. You don’t have anyone telling you how many hours you’re allowed to work and certainly no one can tell you how much money you can make. There is a sense of ownership when running you own business. Also, entreprenuers are responsible for all cost incurred like supplies and other finances. That can also be a downfall to entrepreneurship as well. They are responsible for paying their own taxes, meeting payroll (if they have employees) and for and other debts. Shawn said that the only real downfall for her was that she has to pay for everything herself and that it’s a lot of hard work that you must put in but it really depends on how you’re willing to work at it.

     So after she wrote her business plan, Shawn needed the backing of a financial institution to help her open her shop. They look for not only a business plan, but also credit history and at times a down payment. They want to make sure that your business is viable and will survive the test of time. Before she opened her shop, she picked  an ideal location in the heart of DC’s Howard University neighborhood. She picked a location in a up and coming area where there is a lot of traffic, and the demographic tends to be young, mostly college and grad sutdents, but also young professionals. The salon sits on a corner where it is highly visible. Before she opened, she also neded a business licence and permits from the DC Government. The was one of the most stressful times because she had a deadline to meet and if any paperwork was not in order, it could tie up the process. She even went past her deadline.

     Many people run their business as either a sole proprietor, partnership, or they chose to incorporate it as a S-corp or C-corp. Shawn chose to incorporate her business and her employeess pay what is called booth rent to help with the operating costs and they are responsible for paying their own taxes. The advantages of sole proprietorship is that your profits are taxed as personal income. You are responsible for paying your taxes and any debts that you owe.  The same is true for partnerships except that 2 or more parties are responsible for any taxes and debts incurred.  If Shawn decides to sell her business later on, she will still have a say in it depending on the amount of shares that she owns in to company.

     The Internet has become a major tool in business today. Ther internet not only provides a way to sell goods online, but is also a great way to get you name out through social networking. There are a number of sites such as Facebook, Myspace, Youtube, and Black Planet that provides an opportunity to meet new people. Blogs are also a way to give information to explain what your business is all about. Shawn is in the process of setting up her website, but he does unitlize networking sites like Facebook and Myspace. She also uses the internet to keep track of her clients and reach out to new ones.

      Creating a brand is extremely important when running a business. It’s how your business stands out from the rest and what makes it unique.  It’s also how you’re able to compete with other businesses in your field. It can include a slogan, a logo, colors, different services, offering a company product, or how it treats it’s customers. Shawn offers a variety of services from hairstyling, waxing, nail care, and free consulting services. She prides herself on treating their clients respectfully while engaging them on their interests, creating a personal  and relaxed enviroment. Green Afro Diva is about being  fresh, funky and fierce all while being natural and green.

     It was great to hear her recently talk about her salon and the ups and downs of owing a business. Of course she noted the drawbacks like paying overhead cost and operating costs, but other than that, the good outweighed the negatives. I forgot to ask  if she would be interested in joining any organizations such as the Minority Business Owners Association or the National Association for Women Business Owners. They help small business owners by providing advice and incentives for getting their business going. There are even grants provided but only for technological development. She gave me some good advice about my own small young company, Green Afro Diva. Always have a business plan and have a vision for where you want you business to go. Save money and pay you bills on time to help clean up bad credit. It took her years to save up money and clean up her credit. She’s still paying off debts, but now that her salon is open, she is almost debt free. And finally to stay strong and focused. There were challenges and it seemed like things were either going too slow or they could never go right. At the end of the day, this is what she wanted to do and stressed persistence. She could not see herself working for someone else so she stayed in and now her work is paying off. If she was to do it all over again, she would have started much earlier in her life and not incurred so much debt.

Green Afro Baby June 18, 2009

Daughter will be 2 yrs old soon and so far, she is still not potty trained. Not that I haven’t been trying, I started back in December right before Christmas when my mom got me a potty seat the last Christmas. I ven have a picture of her sitting on it as my screensaver. So we got the actual potty from my mom christmas 08 along with some pull-ups. I have put her on a potty schedule: potty in the morning and right before she goes to sleep with nothing to drink at night. But during the daytime, it’s a little trickier than that. Tony works at night but sleeps during the daytime and sometimes don’t put her on the potty much. I can tell because her pull-ups are always full. Then sometimes when I take cori out for a walk, we’re out all day and i don’t feel comfortable using the public restrooms. They’re gross. Pull-ups are getting way too expensive and it seems like we’re buying them every week. Plus, she doesn’t tell me when she has to go pee. It’s more like, she’ll go on herself and clap after the fact.

So I came up with a solution. I bought regular underwear from walmart(yeah, I know) and the pull-ups will be for the evening when she goes to sleep. Of course sh’ll soil herself which is what every parent looks forward to(snark), but at least she’ll finally be able to tell me when she has to got potty. And it will get the ball rolling. I just relaized that pull-ups are nothing but diapers glued together at the sides. They make it seem like it’ll be that simple to train your kid using those, but really, they’re just sitting in their own piss and sh*t happy(or mad) as ever. I know every child is different, and what may work for one parent may not work for the other, but I’m not alone in my sentiment. Plus, pull-ups or diapers(whatever) just create more waste. Most on the market are not biodegradeable so who knows what happens to them once they end up at the landfill.

So I’ll stick with the cloth underwear for right now like my parents did back in the day.

Sorry guys…. June 8, 2009

Sorry guys, I ‘ve been away for a minute but I’m taking business management 110 and macroeconmics 201. Just trying to finish up my degree. I have a screaming baby in the background whom I must bathe and put her to bed soon. And I must begin one of my assignments and chat in one of my class conferences, and do this all while i work part time(which seems more like full time these days) and start a business. Can women have it all? Well, that depends on who you talk to. I think more successful women and stake this claim than someone struggling like me. It’s pretty hard to juggle, but I look at it like this, i know i won’t be in school forever, I know i won’t work at Home Depot forever, Cori’s growing up right before my very eyes and my business will blossom before i know it. Taking everything into stride and staying focused is the game.

Grill Wars: GAS vs Charcoal May 25, 2009

It’s memorial day weekend and it’s time to fire up that grill baby! We all love our smoky ribs, juicy steaks(medium done please!) and corn on the cob dripping with buttery goodness. But what is the best type of grill, gass or charcoal? I’d bet you’d get a million different answers. One things for certain, does one mae the food taste better than the other? And how do both impact our enviroment?

Well, in case you’re wondering, my all time favorite is charcoal. Yes, I know it seems contradictory given where I stand, but charcoal with some hickory chips gives meat and vegetables a wonderful flavor and aroma. The key here is again, moderation. I live in an apartment with no balcony, but when I lived in ahouse, grilling was for those rare occasions where evryone would come to your house, drink all your beer, and let the kids run aound the backyard. We all know this as the traditional cookout. There was a dominoes table, spades table, the uncle that flirted with the young girls and talked smack witht he fellas and the lady of the house who would urge everyone to take a plate home with them. Those were good times.

  So, back to the topic. First, we’ll start with charcoal. charcoal, according to www.wisegeek.com ,is a black substance that resembles coal and is used as a source of fuel. Charcoal is generally made from wood that has been burnt, or charred, while being deprived of oxygen so that what’s left is an impure carbon residue. While charcoal is used in the manufacture of various objects from crayons to filters, its most common use is as a fuel. The heat from charcoal is much hotter and wood and burns cleaner than wood. Charcoal has been around for centuries but Henry Ford is actually credited to mass producing charcoal for the backyard bbq. Charcoal is simply much easier to use. You don’t have to worry about measuing the right amount of propane and certainly don’t have to worry about storage. There are two types, the synthetic charcoal that most people use that’s cheaper and comes from glue and wood ash and there’s the other more natural charcoal made from hardwood. Either one can have an effect on how food tastes, but that’s according to personal preference. On the downside,  it could take a while to build up heat for the charcoal, cleanup is messy or even the grill itself could catch fire.

Gas grills are those types of grills one would see on the food networks, Boy meets Grill with Bobby Flay. They are made of stainless steel with a sleek design and can hold more food. You get to measure the right temperature like you would with a gas or electric stove. The food gets to cook evenly and you don’t have to constanly watch the food like you would with a charcoal grill. cleanup is a lot easier too since you don’t have to mess with charcoal ash. The downside to having a gas grill is that if you’re an apartment dweller lik eme, than having this behemoth serves no purpose and maybe too large for your balcony or small patio. Also, gas grill doesn’t give you that smoky flavor like charcoal and hardwood does. You can’t carry it around like you would a small grill if you want to go out to the park. And dealing with propane is a pain the the a$$ for those who are not used to it.

So as far as the enviromental impact is concerned, gas grills win it everytime burning cleaner fuel than charcoal. Dallasnews.com ran an article a couple of weeks ago bout grilling the green way. Since i’m a charcoal devotee, they urge that folks like me use natural charcoal like harwood over synthetics cheaper versions laced with coal and other chemicals. Never use lighter fluid, since it will simply cause a fire and create a lot of smoke. A chimney starter should do the trick. And of course, it’s still about being healthy, grilling more vegetables as well as fruits and less meat.(i know, what’s a cookout with less meat?)

So have fun this holiday weekend and be safe. And of course, Happy Grilling!!!

The Carbon Footprint May 11, 2009

First and foremost, I want to give a shoutout to all the mothers, grandmas, big mommas and all the moms-to-be and wish them all a Happy Mother’s Day. You all are strong beautiful sistas holding down careers, families, and all the while staying true to yourselves. It is the hardest job in the world, the most underappreaciated, but we make it work through our determination, sacrifice, and our drive to nurture the future generation of leaders. I just became a mother not too long ago, so i’m still getting used to this wonderful world of mommydom myself, but I do want to say that here at Green Afro Diva, we appreciate everything you’ve done and your contributions to the community.

The Carbon Footprint..What is a carbon footprint? It’s not the new sneaker store opening in PG plaza or Mondawmin. A carbon footprint is a measure of greenhouse gases that you emit during your daily activites that affect the planet. Things like how much you drive your car, or how much electricity you use have an effect on our enviroment and contributes to global warming. If you go to www.carbonfootprint.com , you can actually take a test to measure what you carbon footprint is and even has steps to lessen it. I scored a 5.39 tons of CO2 per year which is really low(and quite good), but it can be better. Most of this comes from the fact that I use electricity in my home instead of gas, and I drive to work instead of catching the bus(this is mostly for safety reasons; it’s b-more people). And it also measures other things like how much organic food you eat and how much packaging is in the things you buy. I eat my fair share of organic food, but we are in a recession and I had to buy the generic stuf(but still healthy) stuf. I didn’t realize this but packaging also has a direct effect on our carbon footprint. The more packaging a product has, the more waste we create, thereby filling up landfills will more waste. And most packaging is non biodegradable so that means that it has no way of breaking down and becoming a renewable source. These things(mostly plastics) end up in our rivers, oceans, and forests and can have devastating effects on our wildlife. I shop a lot too, but most of the things I buy like clothes and shoes are usually given away to the thrifts stores or other charitable organizations. I know that the point is to buy less to create less waste and only buy things that you need. I’ll stretch a little on the last point to say that it’s ok to splurge every now and then, but do know what you’re buying, what ingredients are used, and if the packaging is recycled and biodegradable. The average carbon footprint in the US is 20.40 tons per person. On the webiste, it looks like Shaq’s shoe size compared to mine. But that’s huge and it’s very worrisome. Average industrial nations use about 11 tons or CO2 per year and the world as a whole uses 4 tons. The world target to combat climate change is at 2 tons per year. Do I think that the average American is willing to make sacrifices for the greater good our planet to make this achieveable? Maybe, but honestly I doubt it. But think about it like this..we already know how to cut back on energy so that it doesn’t make a huge dent in our wallets by keeping the lights off when we’re not using them or not using the heat/ac when it get’s hot or cold. Most of us who don’t own a car already catch the bus or subway. And since being broke is ‘in’ these days, not too many of us are buying a lot of stuf. So why does it seem like I’m so pessimistic?

Because next to money and sex, people who have cars love them to death and even give them names like stacy, and lucille and would not walk to the corner store even if it means it will save them gas. I know people who go joyriding just to get out of the house. Last year when gas was almost $5/gal I knew of someone who was set in their ways that they had to just go out for a ride because this person was bored. Nevermind the fact that this person went out during the daytime where you burn up more gas anyway and where there’s more traffic. I’m pessimistic because as obesity grows and become smore and more out of control, more and more people are becoming lazy. I work for a retail store and I promise you that everyday that I’m up there, there are customers, (who could sure use the excercise) don’t want to walk from point a of the store to point b because they think it’s too far. So they sit and complain because the store is ‘too big’ and some even walk out without paying/returning their purchase. When I was pregnant, I took the bus/rail to work and had to walk over a mile to work from the bus stop up until I was 7 months pregnant. Of course, it doesn’t help when on every corner you go to, there’s a fried chicken joint, a liquor store, and SAVE A LOT that doesn’t offer healthier options. Oh and btw(by the way for some) good luck on the 50 million pound challenge that sheila dixon is trying to get the city into because I’m really curious at how she’s gonna accomplish that. And I’m more pessimistic because(and this is especially for us) I feel that we in the community feel empowered when we have material things, especially things we don’t neccessarily need. As I’ve said before, buying things, a lot of things, especially things we don’t need, this creates too much waste and attracts vermin. Sure the city or county officials can step up their game a bit on trash pick up, but has anyone really asked us was we can do? And are we really that serious?

All of this has a major impact on our carbon footprint and our contribution to climate change. The key word here is SACRFICE. What are we willing to sacrifice so that our next generation can live on a sustanible planet. This is about our survival as a species and if we continue to go about business as usual, then it can have devastating affects on not just our planet but our livelihood. Basic ways to lessen out carbon footprint would be to drive less, carpool(it’s hard, I know) and recycle. But also, buy in season produce, organic produce, local food, buying new clothes when you need them, and to try to get less items with less packaging.

Organic black health May 2, 2009

I had my daughter in July of 2007 and am just starting to lose the weight. So far, from a high of 220, I lost over 30lbs. I got 30 more to go. Now you may be wondering,  “How’d you do it?” and here it is. No FPS-fried, processed, sugar. If one can remember these three things, then it shouldn’t be hard at all to lose weight. I had to learn that no matter how much excerise you do, it’s what you eat that counts. So for that year when I wasn’t losing any weight, I excerised, but still ate what I wanted. And it showed up on my booty, hips, and gut. So I had to get serious about my weight quick. Didn’t want to be the mom talking about how much ‘babyfat’ I had and my baby’s only 2. So that’s when I cut out the FPS. Fried and processed foods were easy since I buy a lot of organic stuff anyway, but sugar was another problem. I have an insane sweet tooth, like being a crack addict. I knew it was going to be tough, and I didn’t want to deprive myself, so I started one day at a time. In order to quench my thirst for ‘teh’ sugar, I’d chew gum or suck a lollipop. Then on the weekends, I’d reward myself with a slice of cake. With each meal I ate, I had a piece of fruit or some fruit juice to substitute my sweet craving. And the weight started to come off.

Now I shared my story of weight loss because there are just a few things that bother about our community when it comes to this issue. First, let me give you a couple of statistics from the CDC:  20  years and older who are overweight-%72 men %80 women; 20 years and older with hypertension %39 men %43 women. These numbers are scary and they are attributed to poor diet and lack of excerise. Why do we insist on eating foods that will raise our blood pressure, put us on 10 different medications and eventually kill us? It’s not that we don’t know or don’t have resources but rather, we CHOOSE to ignore the warnings and do whatever makes us feel good. I can’t count how many fried chcken joints, liquor stores, and McDonalds there are in just my neighborhood alone. Here’s some degrees of separation for you:FPSS(extra S for salt)= high blood pressure+diabetes+high cholestrol=liptor+digoxin+ aspirin, etc…=making you sicker + more $$$ for drug and insurance companies= you paying more+more stress=certain death from the combination of more drugs and more stress. Nevermind the fact that all you really needed to do was to change your diet in the first place and now in this scenario, you wouldn’t be able to afford buying fresh produce and organic food because your money is going to the drug and insurance companies to help keep you alive. Another peeve of mine stems from the fact that not to many black folk like to try anything new and different. One of my favorite shows comes on the travel channel called BIZARRE FOODS with Andrew Zimmerman. He eats different and exotic foods from around the world, from bug grubs in Asia, to fermented shark in Iceland and bull’s balls in Spain. Ok, sure one doesn’t have to go that far, but trying something different can open you up to a whole new world of cultures and experiences different from your own. It pains me when black folks always want their steak ‘very well done’ or cringe when they see rare roast beef even though it’s supposed to be served that way to enhance flavor. I do notice that more of us are eating sushi than before and other Japanese foods like edamame and teriyaki. And at least I’m not the only black person to shop at Whole Foods and Trader Joes anymore. Being a foodie has opened me up to try other flavors that I’ve never experienced. And a lot of the food is much healthier and lighter than typical American food. Food that is organic simply mean that it has been treated with pesticides, herbicides, insectides, no artifical flavors, no preservatives, are not genetically modified, and the FDA has administered the USDA organic grade. That’s it. Food does not have to be bland tasting just because it doesn’t have the additives and the chemicals to make you think you’re getting good food. So you can use organic collard greens when making that pot of greens and just eliminate the ham hock and add turkey instead and it’ll still taste great. I’ve never heard of ‘organic’ meat, but you can get fresh free range chicken, beef and pork. Free range just ,means that the chickens are not in closed quarters and are free to run around. They are less likely to eat their own feces, have no steriods, and less likely to make each other sick.  Same with beef and pork. Cows should be feed grass and pigs a natural feed and not other animal parts.

The point is that it’s what’s in the food that counts towards weight loss and healthier living. Everything you eat is connected to your health, appearance and emotional well being. If you want to lose weight, cut back or get rid of FPS completely. I know we’re in a recession and one could not buy groceries from Whole Foods or Trader Joes on a regular basis, but other chains like Safeway and Giant carry an aisle specifically for organic foods. Super Fresh Just added a new line of organic cereal called Green Way along with their other natural and organiz food lines like Cascadian farms, Kashi, and Healthy Foods. If you’re worried about the food being bland and having no taste, that’s the processed side of you talking. Try eating natural and organic food for at least 2 weeks straight and feel the difference in you body. Your stomach should feel lighter, you’ll have more energy, and you’ll breathe easier.