Summer Plans

On the 10th of June, we (Khulood and Ahlaam) shall go to England, where we will stay for two weeks.Then we will travel to Roy, New Mexico, where we have a farm (or ranch) that is 51 acres large. We will stay there with another family until 20th of August.

Books

Nowadays, we are reading many new books. These include The Breadwinner, A Girl Named Disaster, The travels of Ibn Battuta, Sugar Blues, Rules, Dude, That’s Rude!, and How to Take the Grrrrrrrr out of Anger.

 

Here are a few pictures.

Sorry that I couldn’t find the pictures for the three other books.

Strategies to improve Wellness

To improve your physical wellness, you can take a walk every day and eat healthily. It is important not to eat too many sugary snacks and drinks that contain a lot of sugar. If you do have something sugary, then brush your teeth immediately to prevent cavities and plaque. Rather than eating sugary food or junk, try healthy alternatives, such as muffins, healthy cookies, even fruit if you want something refreshing and sweet. It is better to filter your water to make it cleaner and safer for you to drink. It is also important to exercise, so maybe you could play basketball, soccer, or try cycling and roller blading.

To improve your emotional wellness, control your anger and keep your temper. This will help you a lot, hopefully. Try to be happy all the time. It is very important to be optimistic and chipper. When you are upset, try to feel grateful for the stresses of life. Remember that everything happens for a reason, and you are going through this for some purpose. Look at people who are going through something worse than you, this may help you feel grateful.

Improving your social wellness is important. Be outgoing and friendly. To make friends, you must be a friend. You have have to reach out to people who you want to be your friends. Always choose good friends. Be careful about who you choose to be your friend. Friends can influence you as much as you can influence them. Friends are fun, and should share your sorrows as well as your joys. A good friend will stick with you all the time, not leave you when you are made fun of or taunted by others.

Abha

I think that the best place to go to for a vacation in Saudi Arabia is Abha. Abha is not like the rest of Saudi Arabia. Most of Saudi Arabia is humid and hot, but Abha is rainy and cool. Abha is located high up in the mountains, and is the capital of Asir. Abha often has rain and has even seen a few flash floods. Not much of Saudi has snow in the winter, but Abha is an exception. Abha hardly ever sees the temperature go above 35 C.

Every Tuesday, there is a market in the centre of Abha. The market has produce, spices, and clothes. Rijaal Almaa is a 40 minute drive down the mountains to the west of Abha. It has six storey traditional houses 600 years old that are built from local stone and quartz. One of the houses has been made into a museum and it has examples of traditional women's and men's clothes, ornaments, farm implements, and utensils.  It costs 10 Saudi riyals to go inside, which is very inexpensive. There are two ways of getting to Rijaal Almaa, to go straight down the Asir mountains through Sawdah or going around the hills. Going straight down the mountains is very steep, so you should be very careful.

Millet Pudding

Millet Pudding, Sugarless, Gluten Free

Author Diana Herrington

This is a simple and very nourishing alkaline pudding.

Ingredients:

2 cup cooked millet (see how to cook millet)
2/3 C sultanas
2 cup almond Milk
1/3 cup almonds, chopped
1/2 cup shredded coconut (unsweetened)
2 Tbsp. coconut oil
2/3 tsp. light liquid Stevia
2 tsp. cinnamon
Dash of nutmeg
Dash of cardamom
Pinch of salt

Directions:

1. Mix all above ingredients except for the almonds.
2. Pat in baking dish.
3. Sprinkle almonds on top of mixture.
4. Bake at 350 for 50 min – 1 hour

yum

Red Velvet Cake

I love cooking, mainly baking sweet things, so I thought I would put up a recipe on how to make a red velvet cake.
This is in no way meant to be a healthy dessert but is absolutely lovely when you're feeling a bit naughty (actually quite naughty) LOL.
I could go on for ages but you just probably want the recipe so here it is:

Cake Batter

Ingredients

2 1/2 cups flour, sifted
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp vinegar
2 tbsp cocoa powder
1 cup buttermilk
2 tbsp red food colouring
1/2 cup butter
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 eggs

Mix the salt and cocoa powder into the flour, set aside.
Add the food colouring to the buttermilk and set that aside also.
Cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
Add eggs, one at a time.
Alternate by adding a third of the flour and half of the buttermilk.
Mix the baking soda with the vinegar then quickly add it to the batter and mix it in.
Bake for 25-30 mins 350f

Cream Cheese Frosting

227g cream cheese
1 cup confectionary sugar
1 1/4 cup whipping cream

Beat cheese and sugar until smooth.
Add cream slowly until spreading consistency.
Frost the cake then put it in the fridge.

Enjoy!

Healthy carrot cupcakes

Asalamualaikum Wa Rahmatu Allahi Wa Barakatuhu

Today, there was a plan to have the book club at someones house. I made some healthy cupcakes for everyone. However, everyone was quite busy. So i had them all to myself!!

Here is the recipe:

Carrot Cake,

2 cups flour

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp ginger

1/2 tsp ground cloves

3/4 tsp baking soda

3/4 tsp salt

1 cup grated carrot

3/4 cup Date Syrup

2/3 cup applesauce or crushed pineapple

1/2 cup canola oil

2 eggs, lightly beaten

1 tsp real vanilla

Optional – 1/2 cup raisins and 1/2 cup walnuts

Mix dry ingredients and wet ingredients in separate bowls and then combine well. Pour into a greased 9-in cake pan and bake at 350 degrees for 45-50 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out dry.

**Frosting note** – This is delicious of course, with the typical cream cheese, powdered sugar and milk combo. 

If you want a healthier option, try this:

-8 ounces cream cheese at room temperature

-5 TB Date Syrup

-3 packages of Stevia powder

Mix well in blender and spread on cooled cake.

I got this recipe on a website where they sell date syrup, they had many recipes on the website, which looked sooooooooooooo delicious!!

Here's the link: 

https://www.ilovedatelady.com/carrot-cake/

I took some pictures, so that everyone can see the cupcakes!