Garium Sulphate (Saturday Special)

Garri (or gari) is a popular West African meal, popular in especially in Nigeria. There is almost no family in Nigeria that doesn’t offer garri to members and guests. And honestly, Garri is one of the only things all Nigerian cultures now have in common. It’s a filling meal and it is carbohydrate rich ideal for making people plumper and fatter (as in many Nigerian cultures looking robust is a sign of wealth.) Personal experience with garri has taught me about its ability to save lives. I know of Sunday afternoons in school when you’re about to drop from hunger, only to remember that plastic bag of garri you have stashed somewhere in your closet. Nigerian youths and undergrads have nicknamed garri garium sulphate. It may be consumed with milk, sugar, suya, groundnut, kulikuli, coconut, fried meat, fish (raw, cooked or fried) and the list is endless. Some take it as a form of snack, others have it as real food. It may also be “transformed” and consumed as ‘Eba’, that is when it is prepared with hot water and eaten with soup. Garri has numerous benefits as it increases vitality in consumers.

Garri might also have some negative eye effects. There is cyanide in garri that causes a decrease in eyesight. But this can be reduced with proper processing.

For all of you that don’t know…
WHAT IS GARRI?
Basically, garri is dried and fried cassava powder. Cassava is peeled, grated and soaked. The water is then pressed out of it and dried leaving a fine powder that can then be fried with palm oil (or without). After frying garri with palm oil it becomes yellow this is the magic behind what we all call yellow garri; it’s still the same cassava. The white garri is simply not fried with palm oil.

WHERE IS GARRI FROM?
Garri’s name actually originates from the Hausa tribe of northern Nigeria. Garri meaning powdery foodstuff. The availability of garri as a travel-ready meal made it a necessity for powder storage among travelers at that time. Yoruba people call it eba and Igbos call it utara although now the Igbo name is no longer as popular as it must have been in the past. Because I haven’t heard any Igbo person near me use it.

SO… HOW DO WE EAT THIS POWDER?
Well, it depends on you. I already stated in the first paragraph what you can eat with garri. But if you want to make the standard garri meal you have to add boiling hot water and turn the mixture until it hardens. Ideally then you can eat with any soup of your choice. Or even stew as some Yoruba people do.
Another common way people eat it is to just get cold water, sugar and peanuts and add it to the powder and enjoy yeself.

S.T.Y.L.E!- FikisArchive.

Well we all have an idea of what style is, we see it every day and in everything around us. But in the fashion world, there's so much more about style that we don't know of. Sometimes we try styles we think works for us probably because another person tried it and you see it on tagged ‘slay’ on Instagram. Style is personal, it's being fashionable in not only how we dress but how we do things.  

I know you all want to look good at that wedding or party or board meeting or any kind of event. For the ladies, they want guys looking "that way👉 " and whispers of envy from fellow ladies and the guys want to be classier than Jidenna!  

Do you find yourself in constant rejection and isolation when you put an outfit together for any function? Or find yourself feeling very uncomfortable? Or people never say they like your outfit or shoes? …Wanna know your sense of style and what works best for you? I've got your back! 😉  

So, first things first; UNDERSTAND YOUR BODY. Your body carries your style, it’s the canvas and you paint on it with your dresses, accessories and shoes! You need to understand your body shape and size plus your skin color. Once you get this sorted you can easily get clothes that work for your and that you're comfortable in. If you're big you shouldn't get shirts sized small to avoid wearing tight clothes and looking like the Michelin logo😅! Buy shoes your size and shaped well for your feet. Slim feet for skin and pointed shoes while larger feet for rounded shaped shoes so you don’t have slabs of skin jotting out (unless you get something that fits like a glove).

HAVE ESSENTIALS, BUY WHAT FITS (👓⌚👞💄👝👒👕👖👚). After knowing what suits your kind of body, go through your clothes and select those that you need, do away with the ones that don’t. You must have the essentials for your style. Dresses for simple looks, parties, work and others. All kinds of shoes, accessories too are important! When buying clothes, buy what fits you. Buy what you can look good wearing and comfortable in. Don't get something because your friend or a celeb got it. It might not work for you how it does for them. It is possible to stick to a particular pattern of dressing and adopt it as a ‘style’.

CRITICALLY FOLLOW TRENDS AND BASIC RULES. Following trends is an easy way to always look stylish. That way your outfits never go wrong...it shouldn't if you follow 'em well. Also, the basic fashion rules are guidelines that every novice should follow before becoming independently stylish. The rules will make you know which colors to match and not to, what can be paired and what shouldn't be. 

UNDERSTAND COLORS. Colors don't only beautify an outfit, they play deeper roles in style. Colors have to do with personality and can tell your mood(😊😞) to your audience. It also carries emotions and can alter how you feel. So, when planning an outfit consider the colors and the event plus, your skin color too. The color wheel comes in handy for this. 

USE THE SOCIAL MEDIA, TAKE PICTURES. These are two very common ways to becoming stylish. In fact, these are the two ways I became stylish. I would always go on Instagram, blogs and other social. Platforms just to see what's trending, how guys are dressing and I'd just copy and I discovered what works for me😁. Taking pictures of yourself in outfits you slain in and screenshots of others can also help (being photographed while being stylish is the ultimate). So, don't just stay online chatting and watching unnecessary videos and start finding stylish people to follow. You'll also be needing a FASHION IDOL(S), yeah, your father, mother, celebrities could be your role model, but they're not enough you need fashion role models, stylists, designers, even models.  

       Hop to this and you'll get hands clapping👏 and jaws dropping in awe😲!