Hello to all you out there trying to find a way to lose the weight, maintain the weight, be healthy, feel healthy, listen to what the doctor said, change the attitude, change the mentality, change the way you eat and find a new way to help with all these new and numerous issues! If any of these fits your current mindset, welcome! I am Tanese, mother of 2 beautiful male felines and a mental healthcare worker.

Truthfully, I am a procrastinator extraordinaire with “no ragrats,” I hope you got that! If not, I am too lazy to explain the spelling error! I love food, and I have no culinary degree or desire to get one. I am a student of my family’s ways and teachings when it comes to being in the kitchen.

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When I was a child, my job was washing the dishes, which to this very day I loathe. So how did I get out of that position? I volunteered to learn and watch as my great grandmother taught me a few tricks here and there during meal preparation times. I was horrible and even now, I get nervous trying to outdo myself every time I make a dish. Over the years, I have learned a lot from my mother and aunt who are masters in my eyes. They do not measure or write things down; they add a little of this and a bit of this and just a pinch of that. Meanwhile a pinch looks a lot like a shovel. Hey, it is their mastery and they have yet to fail in making wonderful mind-blowing meals and spreads for any occasion.

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In my Jamaican family, cooking an act of love. It is coming together, talking about the day, arguing about that thing, it is how we communicate  and express all our emotions. You cook for every occasion and never ever go the short cut route. Make it all the way or it is not love. If you are not able to do it yourself, go to that uncle’s farm and get it all fresh or get it from the friend’s bakery where you know that every ingredient is good and clean. Food from a can? Is there a hurricane coming? If not, do it yourself. Make it yourself. This is where I come from.

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With all that, cooking is a healthy release for me. It is my therapy especially when I know that work is going to pull me down several notches. I love the work I do regardless of the high stress level; however, I must make it a priority to take care of myself. Cooking and eating good meals is a very big part of maintaining my balance.

 

As I said before, I am not a chef. I love variety and being committed to this way of eating should not hinder me in anyway and compromise great meals and flavors. So if you follow me on Instagram you will see that most of my meals are regular foods that I want to have and I’ve found a way to make it either keto-friendly or low carb. Why do I do this? Well, I want to eat this way for as long as I can. This is not a fad to me; this is my health and my lifestyle to minimize my doctor visits and hospital needs in the future. I need to be as self-sufficient as possible the older I get if I am given the gift of long life.

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I am so happy that you have stopped by to get some recipes, but I hope that this is not the end of it. I want to share the love and community that I enjoy with you when it comes to food. Let us set our goals together and work together using food as the cure. Let us experiment, cook, create and share our finds. 

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