Banana Cake is one of my favourite cakes because believe me or not, my grandma bakes the most delicious and fluffy banana cake ever!

Today, she decided to bake one and I want to share her recipe with you guys. No long intro today. Let's start baking!

How To Bake A Very Fluffy Banana Cake By Yourself

Ingredients

Bananas

Flour

Eggs




Groundnut oil

Sugar

Salt

Bicarbonate

Measurements

Most of our cooking in Cameroon is based on estimations. We hardly measure. But for this cake, we used the brown cup you see in the pictures to measure the flour and groundnut oil. One of this cup is equal to one and a half glasses.


For the flour, we used two of brown cups which is equal to three glasses of flour. The groundnut oil was almost a cup full which is equal to one and a quarter glasses of groundnut oil.

We used two eggs, four medium-sized bananas and ten cubes of sugar melted in half a cup of water.

The bicarbonate used was one eating spoon and the salt was less than a quarter eating spoon.

I hope the measurements make sense, lol. Let's bake it!

Preparation

Put a pot on the fire (we used a wood fire) and put three stones in the pot. Cover it and allow it to heat up while you mix the cake.


Sieve the flour, bicarbonate and salt in a bowl.




Peel and mash the bananas.




Put sugar in some water to melt.


Add the mashed bananas to the flour. Add groundnut oil and sugar solution. Mix well.






If the mixture is still too thick, add a little water and mix.







Break and beat the eggs then add to the mixture. Mix well till smooth.






Rub some oil in the baking pan and pour in the mixture.





Put the baking pan on the stones in the pot and cover it. Make sure that you use a pot with a lid that covers well. Constantly make the fire under the pot to burn well.


Bake for at least 45 minutes before opening the pot to check if it's ready.

When ready, allow it to cool then slice and serve.

Today, I woke up at 5am. I wasn't done sleeping but my almost six-month-old was up already and was demanding my attention. That is my sleepiest moment because I sleep late or I simply don't want to wake up yet. I don't sleep very early because I've got to get stuff done when she goes to bed. Stuff that can only be done when she goes to bed. Oh boy, I hope no one is thinking dirty now, lol. I'm working to complete a project so the best moment for me to work on that is when she is asleep.

Motherhood is great. In between feeding, washing, bathing, and playing with or changing her diapers which take most of my day, I only can squeeze out some time for myself. I try not to lose myself by taking care of myself too (self-care).

Related: Selfcare Ideas For New Moms

Self-care to me is a reminder that I too exist and need attention. That's why it's very important. The most common ways I do self-care is skincare where I do a facial, an exfoliation or a shave. I also do hair care which is often a hair wash or hair treatment. Some other times I focus on my mind and listen to some music using earphones so that I don't disturb anyone and I can enjoy my woofer moment by myself.

What I wanted to do today was just to wash my hair and do a simple treatment with aloe vera and olive oil. Then continue with my honey and turmeric mask treatment which I am on the fourth day already. I hope to share with you guys the results of this mask. Remember when my face broke out with acne some weeks ago?

But when I woke up this morning, just thinking about my face and hair care together with baby runs got me tired already as I lay in bed at 5 am. I almost gave up my self-care but I knew I will keep postponing it every day if I don't do it today because the routine every day is almost the same. There always seems to be a lot to do and no time to take care of me. I then made up my mind to do it while taking care of her.

Self-care Struggles of a New Mom - Lessons I've learned

What To Do

The most important is to organize. For my facial, I applied it right after she slept in the morning. The plan was to leave it on for one hour but it finally stayed on for more than two hours because I had to bath, dress, feed, breastfeed, wash and dry her clothes.
My hair was washed during my bath time and the combing and treatment process was interrupted by feeding, breastfeeding, etc.

What I learned from doing all these today was that no one will ever give you the time. You have to take it or find time to do things for yourself as you do for others. Some things will definitely adjust as you begin to care for yourself more.

Another lesson is doing self-care at your own pace. Don't compare yourself to other women who have a lot of help and more time for self-care. Just do what you can today and leave the rest for tomorrow. If you planned to do a facial and pedicure but you managed to do just the pedicure then leave the facial for the next day. Don't beat yourself to it.

Also, it's ok to do things with breaks. You can take several breaks while doing your hair to attend to your kids or something else. As long as you get your hai done eventually. Self-care doesn't mean you must block a particularly long time and pay attention to only you. It is creating time for you which can come in bits or halves because other people's (your kids) lives depend on you. Make sure that your self-care doesn't have a negative impact on those you care for or you may feel so selfish instead of worthy.


It might have taken almost the whole day to do a simple self-care routine today but I feel even more satisfied not neglecting mom duties as well. I oiled, combed and cut my hair into small sections before braiding it to ease the application of the treatment and to sleep without worries about my hair entangling.

I finally applied the aloe vera to my hair by 5pm and everything seems great. What I did was mash the aloe vera leaves between my fingers till the transparent gel came out and I applied the gel to my hair.

Feeling all good after taking care of myself. This post is to encourage you moms like me to keep your self-care game up no matter what.

Bloggers are content creators who make the internet very useful to everyone. Every article you've read or that has helped you one way or the other was written and posted by a blogger or a content creator whose aim was to help those in need of that information.

I started blogging out of passion and I also realized that my blog helps others make better decisions about a product they want to purchase, treat a skin problem or solve a life situation which they find difficult to handle by themselves. This information is often given for free to our readers and we get satisfaction from the feedback we get. 

Despite the passion we feel for blogging, we can get discouraged at times and lose the inspiration to write. The lack of motivation may be a result of little or no feedback or the lack of resources to keep on blogging. A blogger could also be going through 'life' as we usually say. We are human too and one life situation could cause us to become discouraged or not think of blogging.

If you've ever wondered how to support your favourite blogger or encourage them to keep doing what they do, then here are a few ways you can do so. These methods are free and don't take anything from you other than your time.

Isn't that obvious? Reading the blog posts of your favourite blogger(s) is a way of supporting and encouraging them. Bloggers need views! They love it when their blogs are being read. That's why they put out the blog post - for it to be read. So please read the blog posts of the blogger(s) you love and care about. Thanks for reading this post by the way!

Do click on the advertisement (Ads) you see on our blogs. Especially if you need the product or are just curious about it. Yes, bloggers make money from the Ads you click on (if they are Google Adsense Ads) and yes, bloggers do need money too. They want to make money from their passion just like all other artists or creators out there are making some money from their passion. 

If you love a blogger or their work, then you shouldn't ignore the ads that you see on their sidebars and within their blog posts. Clicking on an ad is free! It takes nothing from your wallet. 

When you see any ads that are relevant to you and you feel curious, click to find out more. This helps you satisfy your curiosity and also helps your favourite blogger(s) make some money.

And please be nice in your comments. I'm not saying that you shouldn't say your mind sometimes but just put it in the nicest way possible. We are humans too and can seriously be hurt by your words. Let your criticism be constructive and stay polite while you do it.

Comments make bloggers feel extra happy because they know that their blog really made an impact on the person commenting. If you enjoyed the post or have another perspective then share your thoughts in the comment section of the blog. This will really encourage your favourite blogger(s). 

Another reason we love comments is that we really want to know our readers and what they will like to read on our blogs. So when you leave a comment, we get to know you (better) and write blog posts with you in mind.

You can write a cool message or mail to encourage the blogger(s) you like. Especially when they stay for a while without posting new content. They may be going through a 'life' and a simple message will really be nice. Just say 'Hi' and tell them you miss them posting new blogs or that you read their blog always. Also telling them how their blog has inspired you to do something is a very good thing to say to your favourite blogger(s).

A shout-out to your favourite blogger(s) with a sweet message will be nice. It will help them to be discovered by more people and increase their blog visits or followers on social media.

Please never hesitate to recommend good blogs to those your friends and family. Sharing is caring oh. Please share our blogs with those people who may need the information we share on our blogs.

Those are the six ways that you can support and encourage your favourite blogs. And they are all free! 

Please share this blog with your friends. I hope you enjoyed reading it as well. Thanks for supporting me by reading this blog post until the end. I'm grateful! 

I also want to thank all those who have been visiting, reading and commenting on my blogs. You guys rock! Thank you! I hope you keep on supporting me and I hope to keep writing interesting posts for you guys.

I don't use all the products in my beauty bag. Some products are my favs and I use them every day. While some are also my favs but let's say some are more favs than others.

Today I am sharing with you the beauty products I use almost every day!

The Skin Care Products I Use The Most In My Beauty Bag

I have three main brands in my beauty bag. These brands include Yves Rocher, Clarins and KLM. KLM is a Dutch Airway and these products were given to me by my aunt who travelled using their airline.



Generally, my basic skincare products are my body lotion, bath gel, hand cream, face cream and lip balm.

Here are the most used skincare products. 

For my hands, I use the Yves Rocher 2 in 1 Pflegende creme Hände & Nägel 

I only started using this hand cream recently though I've had it for a while now. I didn't use hand creams while pregnant because I couldn't stand scents and perfumes. So I kept away most of my beauty products and that's why it's only now that I'm using this hand cream. What I love about it is its soft and delicate scent.

For my body, I use Yves Rocher's Quelques Notes d'Amour Body Lotion and Bath Gel

I totally love the scents of these two. These products make me look forward to bath time because of their fantastic scents.

For my face, I use KLM and Clarin's Paris moisturizing and hydrating creams

I don't know if it is the right thing but I alternate between these two. They are quite hydrating and moisturizing.

For my lips, I use Clarin's Paris and KLM lip balms

Both lip balms are amazing! I had the driest and most hard lips during and after pregnancy. But when I started using these two lip balms, it changed my lips. The KLM softens the lips and the Clarins Paris lip balm repairs and keeps your lips moisturized.

These are the most used beauty products in my beauty bag and you now know why I use them every day. I use them almost every day.

I saw a post on Pinterest that reminded me of a conversation I once had with a friend. During our conversation, I told him that I don't want to work for someone else because I don't want to leave my child in the care of another person. My baby had just turned four months old. The thought of leaving her to go out and work was unbearable. I have never gone a day without her since she was born. I wasn't ready to experience that either.

In this post, I want to share with you guys my point of view on: Why I prefer owning my own business to being an employee and also why I will consider being an employee though all I want is to be my own boss.

1) Why I prefer owning my own business

It is flexible

It's fulfilling

It's promising

2) Why do I also consider working for someone else

The income is secured

There's less to stress about as an employee