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Wednesday, 22 January 2014

PHOTOSTORY: Naked man holds his girlfriend hostage with a meat cleaver for five hours 'because his in-laws refused to let them get married'!


Terrifying: The man, who later stripped naked, was surrounded by armed police in Sanya, China
Terrifying: The man, who later stripped naked, was surrounded by armed police in Sanya, China


Siege: Identified in reports only as Lin, the man took off his shirt in the five-hour standoff with police
Siege: Identified in reports only as Lin, the man took off his shirt in the five-hour standoff with police

Man who held his girlfriend hostage on a rooftop in China Man who held his girlfriend hostage on a rooftop in China
Knife: The man waved the meat cleaver around as shocked onlookers called police. He reportedly took his girlfriend onto the roof after her parents refused to give their blessing to the couple's marriage


Naked: The man then stripped to his underwear and forced his terrified girlfriend to do the same, reportedly to shame her in front of their neighbours. Some reports said he had suspected her of having affairs
Naked: The man then stripped to his underwear and forced his terrified girlfriend to do the same, reportedly to shame her in front of their neighbours. Some reports said he had suspected her of having affairs
A woman is taken hostage by a half-naked man wielding a meat cleaver in China A woman is taken hostage by a half-naked man wielding a meat cleaver in China
Bizarre: At one point during the rooftop siege the man took off all his clothes, right, before being tackled
A woman is taken hostage by a half-naked man wielding a meat cleaver in China A woman is taken hostage by a half-naked man wielding a meat cleaver in China
As the man came down into the square, still holding his girlfriend, he was chased by police and the army
Showdown: Law enforcement officers make their first contact with the man, who finally lets go of his hostage
Showdown: Law enforcement officers make their first contact with the man, who finally lets go of his hostage


Saved: The man's girlfriend appears hysterical as he rounds the corner and is thrown roughly to the ground
Saved: The man's girlfriend appears hysterical as he rounds the corner and is thrown roughly to the ground
Arrest: The man's girlfriend watched as he was detained, still not wearing a shirt, after the five-hour siege
Arrest: The man's girlfriend watched as he was detained, still not wearing a shirt, after the five-hour siege

Grim spectacle: Hundreds of onlookers had gathered in the square as the standoff reached its finale 
Grim spectacle: Hundreds of onlookers had gathered in the square as the standoff reached its finale

The man has reportedly announced that he planned to kill his girlfriend. He now faces a lengthy prison term
The man has reportedly announced that he planned to kill his girlfriend. He now faces a lengthy prison term

Caught: Passers-by look on as the construction worker, still topless, is led away in handcuffs
Caught: Passers-by look on as the construction worker, still topless, is led away in handcuffs. The man now faces a lengthy jail term - and according to reports, not even his own parents had approved the marriage in the first place.




#dailymail.co.uk

Tuesday, 21 January 2014

'I was playing outside when my mother told me I would marry. My life was ruined'.....Touching story of an Ethiopian former child bride, forced into marriage at 10, pregnant at 13 and widowed by 14

'She said "you're going to marry". I was surprised and I cried but I didn't say anything to them [her parents].' Her wedding, to a boy of 16, took place just two months later.
Shocking though it might seem, her experience is by no means unique. According to World Health Organisation figures, 14.2 million girls under the age of 15 are forced into marriage each year.


The end of childhood: A child bride is pictured in Tanzania. Alemtsayhe Gebrekidan has told of how she suffered a similar fate when she married age 10
The end of childhood: A child bride is pictured in Tanzania. Alemtsayhe Gebrekidan has told of how she suffered a similar fate when she married age 10

Problem: Early marriage, such as this one taking place in Malawi, are the fate 14.2 million girls every year
Problem: Early marriage, such as this one taking place in Malawi, are the fate 14.2 million girls every year

New life: Alemtsahye Gebrekidan was married off at the age of 10 but now lives in London
New life: Alemtsahye Gebrekidan was married off at the age of 10 but now lives in London

Most come from India, the Middle East, and like Alemtsahye herself, from sub-Saharan Africa - Niger, Chad, the Central African Republic and Ethiopia among them.
The consequences are appalling. Along with an education and childhood cut short, girls suffer a traumatic initiation into sexual relationships, are put at risk of domestic violence and STI's, and have the chance of a career or better life taken away.

Worse, many also die in childbirth or from pregnancy-related complications - the leading cause of death for girls aged between 15 and 19 years old in developing countries, according to UN figures.
'Child marriage is an appalling violation of human rights and robs girls of their education, health and long-term prospects,' comments Babatunde Osotimehin, executive director of UNFPA.
'A girl who is married as a child is one whose potential will not be fulfilled.'
It's a view with which Alemtsahye agrees. Now 38 and living in London, she says she still feels angry with her parents at times and says her life was 'ruined' by her early marriage.
'My parents and his parents decided [on the marriage],' she adds. 'I didn't choose.'
Before the subject of marriage was raised, Alemtsahye remembers a happy childhood in Ethiopia's northern Tigris province.

Work: After her marriage, Alemtsahye left school and spent her time on chores such fetching water instead
Work: After her marriage, Alemtsahye left school and spent her time on chores such fetching water instead


CHILD MARRIAGE: THE FACTS

  • One third of the world’s girls are married before the age of 18
  • One in nine are married before the age of 15.
  • If present trends continue, 142 million girls will be married before their 18th birthday over the next decade. That’s an average of 14.2 million girls each year
  • Girls living in poor households are almost twice as likely to marry before 18 than girls in higher income households. 
  • Girls younger than 15 are five times more likely to die in childbirth than women in their 20s.
  • Pregnancy is the leading cause of death worldwide for girls ages 15 to 19. 
  • Child brides face a higher risk of contracting HIV because they often marry an older man with more sexual experience.
  • Girls aged between 15 and19 are two to six times more likely to contract HIV than boys of the same age in sub-Saharan Africa.
Source: International Centre for Research on Women

'I was in school,' she remembers, 'although I stopped the school when I was married. I do have happy memories of childhood - it was just eat and play.'
All that ended when it was decided she would marry a boy, who until the day of their wedding, she had never met.
'I didn't know him,' she says. 'I was OK when I saw him - he was a child like me. He was upset as well, the same like me... he was 16 years old.'
As Alemtsahye's story reveals, girls aren't the only victims of forced marriages, although as Jacqui Hunt, London Director of campaigning charity Equality Now makes clear, their experience is often far more traumatic.
'Boys do get married young and that is an issue that needs to be addressed,' she explains. 'But the majority of child marriages involve girls.
'Also, boys tend to marry girls same age or younger while girls marry much older men. Boys also aren't taken out of education while girls run the risk of early childbirth and all the complications that brings.'
While Alemtsahye was, at least, given a husband closer to her own age, the wedding meant leaving home, leaving school and beginning life as a traditional Ethiopian wife.
'I was collecting water, wood and cooking for my husband and the days were like that,' she remembers.
'The water was far away and not near to our house. We would go far, then come back and I would cook for my husband.'
By the time she was 13, Alemtsahye, although still a child herself, had a baby son, Tefsalen, now 25, to care for as well.
She remembers the pregnancy and birth as a traumatic time, made worse by the fact that her immature body couldn't cope with the physical demands of carrying a baby.
'When I was pregnant, it was painful and I cried,' she recalls. 'And also when the baby was delivered it was so painful because I was a child.'
But if pregnancy was difficult, motherhood was even tougher and made worse by the fact that in 1989, Ethiopia was in the throes of a vicious civil war.
The conflict, which raged intermittently from 1974 until 1991, eventually left more than 1.4 million dead, among them, Alemtsahye's young husband who was just 19 when he was killed fighting with rebel forces to overthrow Ethiopia's barbarous Marxist dictator, Mengistu Haile Mariam.
The 20 countries where child weddings are most common and the percentage of girls involved
The 20 countries where child weddings are most common and the percentage of girls involved

Difficult: Like this child bride, photographed in Uganda's Katakwi district, Alemtsahye had her son at 13
Difficult: Like this child bride, photographed in Uganda's Katakwi district, Alemtsahye had her son at 13

CHILD BRIDE HOTSPOTS: COUNTRIES WITH WORST RECORD OF FORCING EARLY MARRIAGE

1. Niger
2. Chad
3. Central African Republic
4. Bangladesh
5. Guinea
6. Mozambique
7. Mali
8. Burkina Faso
9. South Sudan
10. Malawi
11. Madagascar
12. Eritrea
13. India
14. Somalia
15. Sierra Leone
16. Zambia
17. Dominican Republic
18. Ethiopia
19. Nepal
20. Nicaragua
Source: UNICEF
'After the baby was born, there was a very bad war, and my husband, they took him, and he was 19 years old and he was dead in the war,' she says, her English slightly halting as she remembers.
'I was a widow at 13 and when [my husband] left me, he left me with a one-year-old baby. It was very hard. Very difficult for me left behind with a baby and still a baby myself.'
And although she hadn't wanted to marry her husband, Alemtsahye says she still feels sad when she thinks of his short life and how little enjoyment he had.
'I feel sorry for him because he did not enjoy his life,' she says. 'He married young and finished in a war that ended his life. When I see his son, I sometimes cry.'
Left alone with only her son, Alemtsahye was left vulnerable and soon fell into the hands of traffickers, tempted by promises of a better life abroad.
Leaving her son with her mother, she travelled to Egypt where she worked as an unpaid domestic servant.
But just two months after arriving, more traffickers appeared - this time promising her a new life in the UK.
'I was smuggled to London by Arab people,' she explains. 'They said: "you are working with us and we will take you to London". They brought me and then they left me here.'
Still just 16-years-old, the former child bride was now an asylum seeker, initially placed with a foster family because of her youth but swiftly moved to a tiny flat of her own.
She went back to school and learned English and now helps to run a charity called Girls Not Brides which aims to help former child brides from Ethiopia.
Her son, now 25, lives in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa, and grew up with his grandparents, only seeing his mother during her occasional visits home.
'It was so hard, very difficult,' she says frankly. 'I was thinking how to bring him to live with me [in London] but I can't bring him now because he's in his 20s. I tried last year and they said no.'
Did she ever worry that her parents might try to marry him off at a young age as well? If they had, says Alemtsahye, she would have found a way to stop the wedding.
Children: Alemtsahye says parents should allow their daughters to have a childhood and be educated
Children: Alemtsahye says parents should allow their daughters to have a childhood and be educated

Global problem: India is the country with the highest number of child brides, this little girl among them
Global problem: India is the country with the highest number of child brides, this little girl among them


 

'I told him: "Never ever think to marry young! I wanted him to get educated so I said to him: "look at me, I am your mother, look at everything that messed up my life!"'
'He is a carpenter,' she adds. 'I am very proud of him now!'
Although Alemtsahye's story has a happy ending, she's aware that the problem of child marriage shows no signs of going away and, if WHO estimates prove correct, could become increasingly widespread over the next five years.
'I would say to girls, don't marry. Enjoy your childhood and go to school - learn. For me, I feel my childhood was robbed. I missed my education - I ended up empty - with nothing! I learned everything in London.'
And for the parents of those girls, her message is stronger still. 'Why do you damage his or her life?' she asks.
'Send them to school to study. Do you know the problems that come with marrying off a child so young? They will miss their childhood.'


For more information on child brides and Alemtsahye's efforts to help them, see girlsnotbrides.org


#dailymail.co.uk

Happy 64th Birthday, Billy Ocean!

'I treat every day like a new start, focusing on the present,' said Billy OceanBilly Oceanuser posted image




Exactly 64 years today, Billy Ocean was born in Trinidad. Billy Ocean is a British recording artist who had a string of R&B international pop hits in the 1970s and 1980s. He was the most popular British R&B singer-songwriter of the early to mid-1980s.


Originally, he was named Leslie Sebastian Charles, but he changed his name to Billy Ocean probably because he really liked goats and the ocean.....


As a child, Billy's father moved the family to London where Billy worked as a tailor for Bugle Boy pants. Billy Ocean soon became a singer and then achieved unprecedented chart success. Most people agree that out of Billy Ocean's 23 chart-toppers, his best song is "Caribbean Queen."


 

VIDEO: Ejigbo Pepper Sodomy & Murder Case : Perpetrators Arrested At Oba Moruf's Palace In Lagos

http://bit.ly/1jiu9nP



All the perpetrators of a bestial torture and sodomy of three women in Ejigbo which happened February last year, have been arrested according to Sahara reporters.

The arrest of the sodomy gang happened at the palace of Oba Moruf Adisa Ojoola of Ejigbo earlier today.

The arrest was possible due to immense pressure on Oba Moruf himself, he reportedly got all the men assembled at his palace around 11pm Saturday night. The gathering of the gang by Oba Moruf followed a closure of the market yesterday, which prevented the market men and women from carrying out their trading activities until the perpetrators were identified and brought to book.

The gang’s torture and sodomizing of a lady by thrusting of a bottle of ground pepper and sticks in her genital had resulted in her death, two months after. She was later identified as “Juliana” by her father, a palm wine tapper, who revealed that he also lost a toddler in the incidence as his wife, mother of the baby while being tortured by the gang was not allowed to attend to the baby.

In addition to torture, the gang also destroyed the palm wine tapper’s house and banished him from the community, after he was made to pay N50,000 as fine to secure the release of his wife and two daughters.

On Thursday, last week, Oba Moruf was invited by the Lagos Assembly Committee regarding the investigation into the crime. A source familiar with the meeting of the Oba with the committee told our correspondent that the Oba’s demeanor at the meeting was cooperative, and he did not spend much time. The previous day, Wednesday, the Iyaloja (Ejigbo Market women leader) also visited the committee on invitation. She was accompanied by her husband, who pledged support toward the investigation.

The Babaloja, who allegedly received a fine from the palm wine tapper and also supervised his banishment, did not honor an invitation by the committee. He gave the excuse that he had injury on his leg. But sources in the market said the Babaloja may have had the injury when he scaled a fence to escape arrest by a police team that visited the market for investigation last week.

At a public hearing upon constitution of the Lagos Assembly committee, the police, the local government chairman, market women and other members of the Ejigbo community had denied knowledge of the crime, even as sources from the community insisted the crime happened in the public glare.

As efforts progressed into finding the perpetrators, the police, through its DPO in Ejigbo, CSP Oliver Abbey had clearly shown complicity and laxity by claiming it doubted the event happened at all, evidently by doing nothing about it. CSP Abbey was later deployed out of the area after his compromised position became clear to his superiors.

It is expected that the arrested gang would be tried for the crime of murder, and the illegal sum collected from Mr. Freeman, the palm wine tapper to secure his wife and daughters recovered.

Mr. Freeman’s family is also expected to be rehabilitated.




#saharareporters

Monday, 20 January 2014

Hayley Cropper's death: Tributes and reactions pour in after Corrie's traumatic scenes



 


Coronation Street character Hayley Cropper took her own life tonight in one of the long-running soap's most controversial storylines.

The two emotional episodes had much of the country glued to the screen - and led to reactions and tributes flooding social media sites.

The much-loved character, played by actress Julie Hesmondhalgh , took her own life and ended her battle with pancreatic cancer.

The 43-year-old actress quit the ITV soap after 15 years as cafe owner Roy’s transsexual wife.

ITV bosses announced in January last year that the actress would leave the series by ending her own life.
ITV Coronation Street
The tragic scenes
 

Before the episodes aired, actress Julia tweeted to say she wouldn't be online as her character's emotional exit was aired.
The actress  admitted she wept ­uncontrollably while watching her Corrie character Hayley Cropper take her own life  rather than continue a losing battle with cancer.
And she wasn't the only one.
Co-star Catherine Tyldesley tweeted her support for the actress, before admitting she was heartbroken watching her exit.
"master class in acting from @ juliehes and David ...just amazing... corrie" she tweeted.
 

 


Jennie McAlpine, who plays Fiz, was also keen to show her support.

She tweeted an on-set picture of the pair filming Hayley and Roy's wedding.

Sally Dynevor, who plays Sally Webster, said: “One of the great iconic soap moments. Stunning @juliehes #DavidNeilson.”
ITV Coronation Street
Hayley takes the dreaded cocktail
 

Antony Cotton (Sean Tully) took the opportunity to plug his co-star’s bid to win at the National Television Awards, posting a picture of an award on twitter.

TV presenter Jenni Falconer spoke of her emotions during the show when she wrote: “What incredible acting and emotional scenes. I know it’s a soap but my heart is aching for Roy. #GoodbyeHayley.”

Broadcaster Richard Bacon said simply: “Nice one Corrie” while Tory MP Nadine Dorries could not resist a political rant.

She wrote: “Not everyone has a loving Roy. For many people the NoK (next of kin) is a hospital, care home or a similar budget constrained autonomous body #scary.

“A reason why assisted suicide is unlikely to ever be fully legal. The law is there to protect the vulnerable from prey.

“For many disabled people, the prospect of legalised assisted suicide is abhorrent. The state is often someone’s carer #strappedforcash.”

Dignity in Dying, the organisation that campaigns for people to have the choice of an assisted death, tweeted: “Hayley was protecting Roy before she ends her life. Many dying people who want control at the end do similar. Very sad #Corrie.”

#goodbyehayley was the number one trending topic, with 8,000 tweets per minute being posted during the show.


What are your views about this traumatic story line? Comments below....


#mirror.co.uk

PHOTOS: Smiling serial killer Joanna Dennehy poses for chilling pictures hours before stabbing two more victims






Smiling serial killer Joanna Dennehy poses for a series of chilling photographs just hours before stabbing two more victims.

Grinning for the camera in her final moments on the run, Dennehy appears to be having the time of her life in the images - revealed at Cambridge crown court today.

On the day the shots were taken Dennehy allegedly moaned "I want my fun" as she and her alleged accomplice Gary Stretch hunted down innocent dog walkers to kill at random.

And jurors were told she boasted of wanting to end her killing spree like notorious American criminals Bonnie and Clyde.

In one chilling shot, Dennehy, 31, wields a large knife - not the murder weapon used to kill three men and injured two others. In another she happily flashes her bra before her 7ft 3ins tall pal Stretch, 47, strikes the same pose.

Shortly after these pictures were taken, Dennehy leapt out of the Vauxhall Astra driven by Stretch and brutally stabbed two men, Robin Bereza and John Rogers, the court was told.

They were lucky to survive the vicious attacks in Hereford on April 2 last year.

The pictures were revealed as witness Mark Lloyd, who appears in two of the snaps, gave evidence yesterday.

He recalls meeting Dennehy at a flat belonging to a pal in Kingstone near Hereford on April 2. It was here where several of the pictures were taken.

When she greeted him, Dennehy proudly told Mr Lloyd: "Hello Mark, I'm a killer.

"I've killed three people, Gary helped dispose of them and I want to do some more."

She then went on to say: "I want some fun. You have had your fun Gary, I want some fun now."

Mr Lloyd says he was "terrified" as Dennehy brandished a knife, which was covered in blood, but then began flirting with him.

"She was caressing my backside and running her hand down my neck," he said.

"It was like being touched by a rattlesnake."

He was forced to join Dennehy and Stretch in their Vauxhall Astra to Hereford. On the way, Dennehy made Stretch pull over, saying: "I want a photo."

She asked Stretch and Mr Lloyd to pose near some houses because she thought Hereford was an attractive place.

In the car, Dennehy took a picture of Mr Lloyd making an offensive hand gesture, although Mr Lloyd told the jury he cannot recall this being taken.

She then begged Stretch to find her some "fun".

Stretch spotted Mr Bereza, 64, walking his pet dog shortly after this and suggested: "Will he do?", it is claimed.

Mr Lloyd says Dennehy jumped out of the car and began attacking the retired firefighter.

Describing the attack, Mr Lloyd said: "She was holding the knife like the film Psycho."

Mr Bereza was left fighting for his life and had to be airlifted to hospital.

Mr Lloyd added: "She gets in the car, she's happy as Larry, big smile on her face.

"She kissed Gary on the cheek and said 'thanks'."

Following this, Stretch drive the group just a few minutes away and pulled over close to where Mr Rogers was walking his dog.

Mr Lloyd described this attack as even more brutal than the first.

He said: "It was frenzied. She just went absolutely mad on the fella.

"Gary was just mumbling away."

Dennehy left Mr Rogers, 56, bleeding on the ground and stole his pet lurcher.

On returning to the car she said: "Look at my best mate. He's so cute."

Mr Lloyd said: "This dog was terrified. He was shaking in her lap."

After this Mr Lloyd said Dennehy was desperate to take the dog for a walk but shortly after, they were arrested by police.

Earlier the court heard witness Georgina Page also told how Dennehy boasted she wanted to end her killing spree like Bonnie and Clyde - who died in a gun fight with cops in 1934 after killing nine people.

Miss Page said Dennehy warned Stretch: "You know we're going to get caught and go to jail for a long time. I want to be caught like Bonnie and Clyde."

In a further grim revelation, Dennehy tucked into a ham sandwich while looking at the bloody corpse of one victim.

The jury heard Stretch, 47, remarked there was "lots of claret (blood) on the floor" while Dennehy munched on her snack.

According to Miss Page, Stretch said he couldn't kill anyone, describing himself as a "professional burglar".

Speaking about Dennehy eating a ham sandwich while in the same room as a bleeding body, Miss Page said: "You are mad Jo, why did you do that?"

In response, she replied: "They shouldn't have p***** me off, they shouldn't have flirted with me."

An "ecstatic" Dennehy jumped for joy when she saw news reports about her crime spree. However she complained the picture police used in their appeal to trace her was "horrible".

Miss Page, who Dennehy visited with Stretch on April 1 following the three murders, said her friend insisted on showing her a news report on TV Ceefax.

She recalled it describing Stretch as "Britain's tallest murder suspect", adding: "She was jumping all about. She was proud."

Miss Page also revealed disturbing details about Dennehy's past. She told how her pal showed her scars on her stomach and arms, which were from self-harming, and confessed she would sometimes self-harm during sex.

Dennehy has admitted stabbing John Chapman, 56, Lukasz Slaboszewski, 31, and her landlord Kevin Lee, 49, in the heart and dumping their bodies in ditches in Cambridgeshire in March last year.

Stretch, of Orton Goldhay, Peterborough, has denied three counts of preventing the lawful and decent burial of a body and two of attempted murder.

Layton, of Orton Goldhay, Peterborough, denies two counts of preventing the lawful and decent burial of a body and one of perverting the course of justice.

The trial continues.







#mirror.co.uk

PHOTOS/VIDEO: Barack Obama and his family honor Martin Luther King Jr.'s legacy of service by helping a soup kitchen prepare its daily meals

 
Obama celebrates MLK holiday, visits soup kitchen
 
 
Obama celebrates MLK holiday, visits soup kitchen
 
 

 
 
 CLICK BELOW TO WATCH VIDEO:
 




President Barack Obama honored Martin Luther King Jr.'s legacy of service Monday by helping a soup kitchen prepare its daily meals and a host of administration figures fanned out across the capital to appear at holiday events.

Obama took his wife, Michelle, and daughters Malia and Sasha to DC Central Kitchen, which is a few minutes away from the White House by presidential motorcade. They joined an assembly line that was churning out burritos. Asked what the burritos were being stuffed with, Obama said it looked like lamb. It actually was beef in a sauce, along with unidentified vegetables and cheese.

Obama said he came to help the facility mark its 25th anniversary on Monday. Among those joining him there was senior adviser Valerie Jarrett.

DC Central Kitchen prepares thousands of meals every day for distribution to local shelters.

Vice President Joe Biden appeared at the National Action Network's annual Martin Luther King Jr. breakfast, and later joined the Catholic Volunteer Network in serving a hot lunch to guests at SOME — So Others Might Eat.

Several of Obama's Cabinet officers, including Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew, Education Secretary Arne Duncan, Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker and Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki, as well as White House chief of staff Denis McDonough, also took part in various holiday-related events.

15 Foods To Keep Your Waist Tamed Forever







Salad:
Use a high-nutrient spinach as the base of a salad and top with cherry tomatoes, beans and nuts. Transform this side dish into a meal by adding grilled chicken breast, cooked shrimp or any of your faves!



Whole Wheat Pita Pocket Or Tortilla:
These are associated with a variety of health benefits including weight control. You can pack the pita or wrap with all of your healthy faves and eat it on the go. Everything that you like on your salad–wrap it up!



Dairy products:
The options here can be yogurt or cottage cheese which provide both calcium and protein. Dairy products are also great for snacks or used within meals. These products stretch and can keep you healthy for multiple meals and multiple days.



Prepared Pesto Made With Olive Oil:
Olive oil has antioxidants and anti-inflammatory properties and this pesto is a great way to work it into your diet. But don’t just stop at pesto; use on snacks or main dishes too!



Almond butter:
Almond butter is considered a “smart fat,” which helps in lowering cholesterol and enhances the immune system. While almond butter has many great properties, make sure you follow the portion size, as it’s still high in fat, even though it is the healthy kind. You can use this yummy treat as a snack or you can get creative with it in your main dishes.


Hummus:
Hummus is an easy protein-rich snack that fights hunger and balances blood sugar levels. Yummy on it’s own, with your fave veggies or on a pita, hummus is a savory snack worth keeping in your fridge.


Salsa:
Salsa actually low in calories, when you skip the tortilla chips. Use the healthy snack on brown rice, flax or sesame seed crackers instead of the chips and you’ll find yourself snacking without the guilt. In the morning try it on your eggs or put it on your salads at lunch or dinner. It’s a great condiment no matter what time of day it is!



Eggs:
Some believe that while dieting, eating only the egg whites is best, but it’s not; you to leave out all the protein, which is found in the yolk. The yolk protein helps stimulate the release of glucagon, which aids in fat-burning specially belly fat.



Chia seeds:
Chia seeds are rich in omega-3 fatty acids, calcium and iron, all which are great for weight loss. You can put these in smoothies, on your salad or use them to bread your chicken or thicken your soup.



Quinoa:
This is a gluten-free grain, which can be savory or sweet, depending on what it is mixed with. As a complete protein source, quinoa is packed with amino acids and vitamin B. Hello health! Cook this up as a side or add some texture to your salad, either way, you’re packing in a lot of benefits with one little ingredient.



Lean Protein:
Having lean protein in your fridge is important because it helps keep you full. Excellent sources of this include skinless poultry, edamame, crab, fish fillets and pork tenderloin.



Bananas:
Bananas are packed with potassium and fiber and can be added to other nutritious foods that aid in dieting, like oatmeal and almond butter. This is one of the best snacks to always have on-hand.



Mushrooms:
Mushrooms are is often overlooked when dieting, but these “fun guys” help to tide you over in between meals. They also can act as a side or even the full meal, especially if you like portobello mushrooms.



Blueberries:
Blueberries are on the top of the list for the fruits with the most health benefits. They have 40% more antioxidant capacity than strawberries, are high in vitamin C and strengthen the immune system! Keep these around to put in your yogurt, on your salad or just to have as a snack.



Bell Pepper:
Red, yellow or green, bell peppers help in improving the looks of hair and skin, as well as eases aches and pains. Also, due to the high water content, this low-calorie food assists in weight loss. Keep these around for snacks, or cook them up in your meals.








#hellobeautiful