Healthy eating made me look like this.....

What do you guys think of healthy living and healthy eating?

For anyone who knows me or has encountered me will know that I'm all about the healthy life! Now for some of you reading you may feel that healthy eating is boring and so bland and it costs too much money but why not look at healthy eating as a way to invest into yourself and your wellbeing?

I'm currently at Uni but I still make sure that my diet consists of fresh fruits and vegetables. I don't really crave chocolate, sweets or junk food! Once in a while if I do crave something else other than what my diet is accustomed to I decide to give myself a treat and order a chinese takeaway! LOL...

My favorite is dish from a chinese restaurant or takeaway place would be King prawn fried rice with sweet and sour King prawn (Hong Kong style) with some Seaweed on the side :) p.s That's an easy way to my heart! I'm such a foodie :)

Truth is because my stomach is so used to clean eating if I do happen to have a slice of chocolate or a sweet my belly will start to rumble reminding me - "Zoe what do you think you are putting inside of yourself"?

I'm definitely not suggesting or insinuating that healthy eating is automatic and can be learnt in one day. I can definitely assure you that it takes consistency and dedication because the results are so worth it. For as long as I can remember I have maintained a healthy size 8 and have never been bigger or smaller.  :)

Many people have asked me how I'm so skinny and if I exercise?

Truth is no I don't exercise... The last time I visited the gym was about 2 and a half years ago!

"How do you maintain your figure?"

"You eat so much and yet still remain the same size"....

I'm a massive fan of juicing and if you scroll through some of my earlier posts you can see that I juice every single morning. Juicing is such an easy way to get nutrients required straight to your blood without having to chow down masses of fruit. If you are always on the go or have a busy lifestyle set your alarm an hour early, and put some time aside to juice and then package it in a portable flask. As you are driving, on the bus, on the train, on the plane... Or maybe not on the plane as customs may not allow you to take liquid with you on the plane but at least you can drink it whilst going through the checks at the airport ;)

What I'm trying to say is that you can juice and take your time and drink it! Its super healthy and there are uncountable health benefits associated with juicing.

 I also make sure that I drink 2-4 litres of water a day! Sometimes this exceeds 4 litres and goes into the 6th mark :O! I know crazy right!!!

I've been called a camel, a river, and some of my friends have even laughed at me in the bathroom when we go out hearing the sound of me peeing "Sounds something familiar to the Niagara falls' .

I just love water!! Its so refreshing and has so many overlooked and undermined health benefits.

• Water can help control calories. Sometimes we think that we are hungry it is actually thirst, I have discovered this multiple times
• Water helps your skin maintain a youthful and fresh look 
• Flushes out toxins
• Drink a glass of water in the mornings you are sure to notice an immediate effect on your bowel movement! 

I recently discovered a product titled Baobab. The name is very unique and I tell you the benefits are even better. Baobab is packed with Vitamin C, it is a rich source of Fibre and it is high in antioxidants. I mix a tablespoon full each morning in water and I drink it  2-3 times daily. 

I have noticed more energy, glowing skin and the maintenance of a great digestive system. I used to purchase it in store from any Holland & Barrett branch however I recently also discovered that I can purchase it straight from here. It doesn't take long at all for you to receive your order and kindly they include a mini brochure that provides an explanation of the particular sample they include within your delivery. 

I think they have very unique packaging across all their products. All of the products stand out visually making it eye catching. The packaging has such a colourful identity to it that it draws your attention to it and makes you want to buy it. Aduna is the brand name and they have many other products which can be viewed with a click of the link I have put in the previous paragraph. Aduna is an African inspired health and beauty brand and social business. I think it is an amazing thing that Aduna are building awareness of Baobab and other under utilised ingredients and bringing to life the vibrancy of Africa across the globe into the daily lives of people everywhere. I am happy to be of African descent and to share in this vibrancy. Best of all Aduna means "life" and Zoe which is my name also means "life". So instantly we share a connection!

I really recommend for you all to try it out! Once you do let me know what you think. Have a browse below of a healthy dish I have recently discovered through trial and error and being lazy about cooking. It's quick, easy and very delicious

Ingredients:

• Sweet potato 
• Mackerel fish 
• A handful of spinach 
• Sweet peppers (Red) Cut up 
• Some Peri Peri sauce sprinkled on top of it.

  

            

New juicing recipe.

Required:

• Sweet potatoes x4 or x5 peeled and rinsed 
• Oranges peeled x3 
• Pink Lady Apples x 3 
• Ginger piece 
• 7 carrots 

Maybe you have some juicing recipes for me or some healthy dishes you feel I may benefit from please feel free to suggest. 

Healthy eating is definitely good for maintaining a good weight and good figure! 

It has been proved as through these pics I have maintained the same look over the years.....

I hope you say a big yes after this post! You can start now :)

x x x 

Everyone's path is so different and you don't have to follow a specific formula....

Everybody's path is indeed so different and you don't have to follow a specific formula to get where you desire to be however you should certainly find out what is unique about you- Errol Barnett. 

Firstly, I'd like to ask if you guys have heard of the amazing new app called Periscope?

If you haven't heard of periscope this is what it is: Periscope is an app that enables anyone to capture or watch live video broadcasts, which was acquired by Twitter in 2015. The app was founded by Kayvon Beykpour See more here. I would instinctively say that this app is my number one favourite app of all time. I only recently discovered periscope about 5 weeks ago through word of mouth and people talking about it over my Twitter timeline. I decided to take the chance and download it to see what the fuss was all about and I can tell you I have never regretted downloading it. For Iphone users it has been available via the app store for about 2 months and for android users the app has now became available to download since yesterday.

People may be thinking to themselves what's the big deal, it is just another boring app to distract you from getting on with your day. Truth is within the past 3 weeks I have learnt a lot more than I could ever imagine I would do as a result of being able to connect with people in the Journalism industry every morning in the comfort of my own bed before getting on with my daily tasks. 

If you have read my previous blog posts or my introduction on my blog you would see that I have indicated my desire to get into the Journalism industry and I'm currently taking active steps in pursuit of this dream. 

I wake up every morning to the sweet notification which sounds like a birds chirp, notifying me that my favorite anchors are online and are about to broadcast :)

I hurriedly drop everything I may be doing and quickly get connected and then start interacting.  

I now even get shoutouts and recognitions from my favorite CNN anchors Rosemary Church and Errol Barnett. 

This I tell you always brings a smile to my face!  

As an aspiring Journalist wanting to break into the industry, I am quite keen to get as much knowledge as possible about the industry and what it takes to make it.

Maybe you're like me and you're at University plowing your way through the academic year hoping and praying for the semesters to come and go so you can get into the real world and start making money. Or maybe you belong to the category of the opposite and feel very comfortable at Uni enjoying the party life and making numerous friends, trying to blank out the fact that at some point you will be thrown into the deep end and will have to swim. Meaning at some point you and I will be faced with the stage in our lives where we will have to put all that we have learnt over these years being institutionalised to test and try and make it within our chosen career paths. 

Yesterday's periscope session involved another one of my favorite anchors Zain Asher who took it upon herself to stay an extra 15 mins. After throwing hints by typing "please do a career advice session this will be useful" This was adhered to and an hour later a notification popped up on my phone ''Live on #periscope: Before she heads home @ZainAsher wants to offer some career advice. Any Qs? I was so happy, very expectant about what will be revealed.

I would also like to share these tips with you. Even though it seems specific to this particular industry I'm sure you will be able to find at least 3 that could be applied in your life :) 

Here are some of the key tips from Zain and Errol Barnett which I would like to share with you.

1. The TV industry is a very competitive industry.
2. It is imperative that you have something advantageous that puts you ahead of everyone else to offer .
3. Develop your skills. Do you see yourself as a sports reporter, Business reporter or a political reporter? e.t.c.
4. What is your competitive advantage
5. Everyone wants to break into the reputable news stations BBC, ITV, Sky one news, CNN UK.  In the case of America CNN, ABC, CBS. BUT very few people have a skill. 
6. Find your passion and get developed in that 
7. Have you considered grad school? - Grad school is a school that awards advanced academic degrees (i.e. master's and doctoral degrees) with the general requirement that students must have earned a previous undergraduate (bachelor's) degree.
Grad school can open numerous doors as it did for Zain Asher. It provided her with useful contacts as she was able to network with a lot of people. Many of the teachers she had back then at Grad school worked at various TV stations.
Graduating and having an instant network of people is great. GET CONTACTS! MAKE CONTACTS!! You have to develop relationships with people within the industry you want to break into. 
8. It is not as competitive when you have a skill to offer
9. Go for something that very few people can do.
10. Find your niche- Internships are a great way to break into a niche. It will speed up your career a great deal.
11. Don't be afraid to take risks and show versatility
12. It is also useful to prove that you can write news articles. 

Zain told us over periscope that when she applied for her current job at CNN as an anchor CNN could see that she could write articles and so that demonstrated to them her versatility.It therefore gave her an edge over other applicants. 

13. Make sure you develop, develop and develop your skills! Can't emphasise this enough!

Errol Barnett who is also an anchor kindly gave his own advice and recommended that knowing how to code is important. He strongly recommended knowing how to put a website together and being creative technically as technology and the world of social media is continuously expanding. 
Once 'coding’ was only done by software programmers. But as most parts of the world have become integrated with digital technology, the opportunity to exploit the power of code is available to people in almost any career.

From football and engineering to fashion and art, most industries now have a strong digital component. It is expedient that you learn how to code in order for you to get noticed in your chosen industry.

You don't necessarily have to major in Journalism or go to Journalism grad school to be successful but it is helpful and helps to give you a deeper knowledge and understanding. 

I found it very useful and I am really grateful to Zain for doing this career advice session.  

I would like to share with you also some pictures from the periscope sessions that have taken place over the past few days:

Lastly here are some of the news anchors I look up to:

Errol Barnett- Anchor for CNN International based in Atlanta. He anchors during the overnight simulcasts and famous for his news reporting with the award winning 'Inside Africa' cultural affairs programme on CNN. 
Mon-Th 11p-1a in LA | 2-4a NYC | 6-8a GMT | 2-4p in HK | Trekked 22 African nations in 2yrs 

Zain Asher- British news anchor at CNN International based in Atlanta. She currently co-anchors CNN Newsroom, weekdays from 12-2am on CNN International, and at 1am ET on CNN America

Rosemary Church-  is a CNN International news anchor. Based at the network's world headquarters in Atlanta, she anchors the 2-4 a.m. ET edition of CNN Newsroom along with John Vause.

Max Foster-  is an Anchor and London Correspondent for CNN International, based in London

Hope you guys were inspired by this post and are now eager to join periscope :) It's fun and worth it! 

Speak to you guys soon 

xoxoxo

Zoe 

OOTD Catch up!

Hello everyone :)

It's been about two weeks since we last caught up. Not much has been happening except exam season and study study study! How are you all? And what have you all been up to?

My Uni is different in the sense that we don't get a long vacation like the rest of you will be getting who are currently at Uni. For those wondering which University I'm at its called The University of Buckingham and it's a 2 year degree (accelerated). I'm studying Media with Communications and Journalism.

I haven't shown you my outfits for the past two weeks so I'd like to share it with you all now...

Last week sunday this was what I wore :

Purchased from Asos A little secret :) This outfit has been worn a couple of times. However what I do is I make sure I don't wear it frequently and give gaps so then it will look like a new outfit! Ha I probably won't be able to do that now :( I purchased it last year so can't remember how much and whereabouts it can be found on the Asos website, I'm also unsure as to whether if this outfit can still be found. Shoes- Black heels from Italy (Napoli)

                                                                                             

Outfit Worn on Sunday to church. I have been eyeing this dress for a long while now and I have really wanted it for a while. This dress is from missguided However they only have the Navy colour left =[ Check it out! I randomly decided to tweet this outfit choice to Rocsi Diaz who used to present 106&Park on BET and she replied and said Yaaay to my outfit. I was really happy!

YayyyyyRT @xxZoebillionxx: @rocsidiaz yay or nay rocsi?? pic.twitter.com/Q9jStek7Z1

— ⓇⓄⒸⓈⒾ (@rocsidiaz) May 25, 2015

I've recently really been in love with these kind of outfits too. They are comfortable, easy to wear and they really bring out your figure. I purchased two from Boohoo.com 2 weeks ago! They were doing a deal which I think has stopped. I got two of these for £10! Bargain or what? :) 

The love to the right signifies the love I have for all of you reading this post...

My next post is on its way to you sooner than you think.

Stay tuned :) x x x 

OOTD OR OOTM? (outfit of the day or outfits of the month?) Let me know which was your fav!

Hello loves,

Who knew 2 months could fly by just like that? It's been almost two whole months since I wrote my last blog post. I should smack myself on the hand right??????

I honestly want to and should be writing a new blog post every day however sometimes I get so caught up with Uni life that the days and hours fly by so quickly I don't even get a chance to do all that I have set out to do.

To make up for it I will be doing a summary of things that have happened in the past weeks!

Hope you enjoy  :)

I had the privilege of hosting a TED talk that was held here in Buckingham. It was an amazing experience being able to host as well as hearing all the inspirational talks.

Black Jacket- Zara

Dress- Asos

Shoes- Miss selfridge

I co-hosted a fashion event we held here at the Univeristy. (I'm the one in blue)
Dress from BooHoo.com Boutique Clare Lace High Neck Bodycon Midi Dress £25 size 8
Shoes - Kurt Geiger £80.00

                             

Lace top from selfridges.

Skirt was customised and made by a designer called 'Soclear designs'. Follow her instagram page @socleardesigns.This is a closer view of the Skirt I wore on the night of the fashion show.

A few weeks ago I attended my friends premiere here in the UK at the lighthouse centre in Camberwell. The name of the movie is titled Champagne. My friend Alexx Ekubo features in the movie with Majid Michel and some other actors too. Was a really fun night despite waiting forever for the stars to arrive!

The dress is from Virgos Lounge (Ivana dress Neon pink) £150.00 reduced to £75

shoes- Kurt geiger (Gold Miss KG) It was around £80.00.

Myself and my friend Alexx Ekubo. Also the main star of the movie 

The make up for that night was done by myself! Hope I did a good job

Outfit of the day:) - Today's church outfit 

Shoes- Miss Selfridge £39.00 was on sale got it last year

Outfit- Handmade by tailor :)

Makeup- Natural look :)

That's a little summary of the few weeks that have flown by. Let me know by commenting which look was your favorite. 

See you soon 

x x x x 

Zoe