Sunday 29 June 2014

Welcome Ramadan- Have a date or two?

Asalam walykum,



It feels like only a few months ago that the last Ramadan was with us. Here we are again, in full swing, with the first day of Ramadan upon us. I hope you are all having a good start to the Month and that you are all prepared.
Unlike the years before, this Ramadan came around quite quickly. This year I made sure I kept up with my monthly fasts and even weekly fasts, doing the Sunnah of Monday and Thursday. Alhamdulillah, today is familiar, and welcomed and has come with ease. I find that if you do not fast throughout the year the first few days or weeks are a struggle. 

Well, after that long intro, I just wanted to share some of the mistakes I made from last year in regards to eating habits, or should I say bad habits. Each year is the same, I promise to eat healthy and fresh and in small portions, but that quickly fades away and I am back to eating in an unhealthy manner, it comes with being Arab. We Arabs eat with our eyes... and Ramadan is no exception. The sunnah is forgotten about eating Fresh, Eating Wholesome food and eating the right amount.

One way I have planned to overcome this is to plan my meals a week in advance, and stick to the plan. No matter what is offered to me I will be sure to remain stead fast and keep to the plan. If you think about it, after you break your fast with a date and water/milk you already feel nourished and satisfied. Therefore, there really is no need to go over board.... or so she says. 

Things I want to avoid at all costs are fried foods and sugary foods. Yes, no Samosas, Cakes, and sweets. These things end up creeping on the table somehow and onto my plate before the fruit and veg. 
Instead I have opted to have a fresh Green Juice or Fruit smoothie after praying Maghreb, followed by a light salad with a small portion of fresh cooked meat/Qurn/fish/Chicken that is baked and not fried. 
And just to change things up a bit, have a small bowl of Moroccan soup or veg soup 3 times a week. 



And for snacks, only nuts and dried fruit. For suhoor I plan on having a bowl of rolled oats with chopped nuts and dried cranberries and raisins or fresh banana, with Soya milk/Free from milk.


I do love my bread, a bit too much, so to curb that craving I will be making and eating Moroccan flat bread, Mafrouk which is made from Semolina. i posted a recipe 2 years ago, here is the link HERE!!. It is much healthier then normal bread and contains minimal amount of flour and gluten, all things I am to avoid.

Even as I am writing this I am thinking this is hardly any food. Really it is, we need a lot less then what we may think. It is better to prepare less and add, then to overfill and make too much and ruin your health. 

Always remember the Sunnah, "the stomach should be filled 1/3 by food, a 1/3 by water and a 1/3 from air", and you wont go wrong. Just incorporate the essential food groups and have a healthy balance. If you find most of the food on your plate are pastries, and fried food then you need to wake up and stop choosing to remain ignorant to what you put into your body.

Jazaka Alla khier for reading, the next post will be about incorporating the Sunnah and Nafl Salaht in Ramadan:- "Pray,Pray,Pray until you can pray no more"

Wasalam -x- 

Monday 23 June 2014

***Epic Giveaway Summer 2014***

Asalam Waliykum, 

A HUGE Epic Giveaway on Instagram. Open Internationally, so all you worldwide sisters are welcome to enter!!

Myself and 7 other sisters are doing a Huge Giveaway on Instagram with lots of handmade, Unique and Couture items. 


Here are my products that you will be able to win. 




A beautiful Handmade A5 size Card with Arabic/Mosaic Detail. High Quality Card Stock and Tim Holtz distress Inks. "Your so Special". Wanted to keep the Phrase simple and universal, so that this card can be given to anyone for almost any occasion. It would make a great Ramadan/Eid Card too. 




This is just a sample of the bookmark the winner will get. I put my Initial on it, but the winners initial will be on the bookmark. Extra Thick bookmark and fits in standard A4/A5 books.
Made using Kraft Card, and Stampin up Card stock, Letter cut out by hand, Tim Holtz inks and Paper Punch.

Anyone can Enter, if you are under 16 years old please ask permission from your parents/Guardians as we will need to know your address so we can send you the prizes. 





The Giveaway is run by 8 sisters on Instagram. So if you are not following me on Insta already please do, Link is on the panel to the right, name is muslimah-in_solace.
All the prizes are hand made and are a variety of items made with different mediums.

The rules of the Giveaway:

1)  You MUST follow me, and the other sisters listed below. 
Once you follow, you need to share the Epic Giveaway Image on your Instagram page, you have to tag 4 people in your contacts that are active users.

2) Hash Tag #epicgiveawayforyou

3) Comment "Done" below my poster for the giveaway on my profile on Instagram, when you have finished.

4) The sisters you need to follow are:

- @islamicdeco
- @henna4humanity
- @shop_thePetite_nunu
- @ muslimah_in_solace
- @ pomegranate_toys
- @amilahboutique
- @jemhandmade
- @jen_rayan_designs


If you miss any of the above steps you wont be entered into the giveaway. There will be 2 winners!
The winner will be announced on my Instagram and the other sisters pages. The winner will be announced on 14th July on Instagram and my Facebook page. We will contact the 2 winners directly via private message on Instagram, with details on how to claim the prizes/Postage etc.

I will be posting the other Items that have been made by the sisters above, on my blog, instagram and Facebook soon, So keep your eyes pealed.
Please check out the sisters listed above and follow us all, and support sisters who are trying to start a business.

Please make dua for us all, and support us in any way you can, simply sharing this post and Instagram would be a big help. 

Jazaka Allah khier. Any questions feel free to contact me in the comments section, or insta/Facebook or google plus. My email address is Muslimahinsolace@live.com.

Wasalam -x-