'In the midst of all the glamour I hope you find God.'

Mar 27, 2012

How To Eat Healthy

My philosophy on eating healthy is simple: 

1. Don't deprive yourself
2. Use portion control
3. Eat every 3 hours
4. Shop smart
5. Don't count calories

Step 1: Dont deprive yourself: I love, love, love, having something on the side when I eat sandwiches. A great alternative to regular unhealthy chips are Special K cracker chips that taste amazing. At only 110 calories for 27 chips, it's a win, win. 

Step 2: Use portion control: I LOVE dried fruits/trail mix and I could sit and finish bags in one sitting. In order to exercise portion control, I've started to make snack baggies ready to grab and go. Store bought trail mixes never have the right combo of things that I like, so I made my own.
I bought the things that I like: dates, plums, assorted dried fruit mix, almonds and cashews in bulk from Sam's club. I put two cups of each product in a big bowl and mix it. (The 2 cups of plums and dates were measured prior to cutting them up). Then I put one handful of the mix in a ziploc bag. This made 11 bags and is a great snack paired with a cup of yogurt drizzled with honey.

Step 3: Eat every 3 hours: Breakfast, snack, lunch, snack, dinner. This method gives you 5 'meals' a day which is great for staying full and eating only when you need to. Once you get this pattern down, your body will know when to expect food. This helps maintain a good controlled eating schedule. 

Step 4: Shop smart: Buy healthy, eat healthy. Don't buy things you will regret eating. I always buy veggies and fruits knowing I will force myself to incorporate them in meals so they don't go to waste. Yesterday, I had half a red and orange bell pepper, cilantro, avocado and mushrooms that were going to go bad soon. I incorporated them into my usual 2 eggs sandwich.
The more veggies you add, the more good food you're eating.
I did the same for dinner tonight, I saute'd mushrooms and spinach to put on my burger. I love my George Foreman grill, it's the only way I'll eat a burger!

Step 5: Don't count calories: There is nothing I hate more than this! It's not about the amount of calories you take in, but rather what you do take in. It's okay to be calorie conscious, but don't count every little thing. The only time I consider calories is when I'm grocery shopping and its in my face. I buy the 100 calorie labeled wheat breads and chips because I think to myself, "why not?". These small things help but you don't need to be on the watch 24/7. 


A few common rules to my health philosophy: 

-I only drink water (no juice or soda)
-I eat rice sparingly/if at all
-No fast/fried food


I hope this helps you start thinking of ways to clean up your eating habits. Remember this is a lifestyle change, not just a temporary thing! What are some tips you have?

-Hulu



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Mar 26, 2012

Color Me Denim

One of my favorite things to wear is Colored Bottoms!! Denim, pants, anything! You can see a great post by my good friend/sister blogger Riham here: Hijabie Style

This week I wore some new coral jeans I got but I forgot to take a picture! So here are some pics of other colored bottoms I've worn in the past. I have a lot of coroal/orange/red bottoms and I've recently bought some green bottoms from forever21. They have a great selection of colors for only around $15. 

Believe it or not, these 3 pants are all different colors. The first one is coral, the second one is orange and the third is red. 

The key to bright colored bottoms is to keep the rest of the outfit neutral. I LOVE wearing black so I usually end up doing that.. but white would work great too. In the middle I'm wearing a black and white sweater with a blazer on top. There are many ways to mix and match colored bottoms!

Any of these styles can easily be worn with hijab!





Please feel free to send in any pictures you have of your colored bottomed outfits so I can include it in a post! Lets see all the ways you all wear colored bottoms! Send to: hkhosh3@gmail.com
-Hani



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My Week In Food

This past week has consisted of a lot of eating and a little exercising. The doc has told me to relax a bit since I sprained something in my knee. Instead, I've spent a lot of time cooking/baking and eating out with friends.

Joe Squared pizza. Highly recommend the veggie pizza. 
Fiber One pancakes with honey and peanut butter, bananas and peaches.
My first attempt at making indian food! Butter chicken and rice. I rarely eat rice, but this dish is the best with rice. 
Just discovered this amazingness.. Greek yogurt with honey. Simply amazing and good for you!
Strawberries, craisins, feta, spinach, cucumbers, pecans and strawberry salad dressing. 
Yogurt, granola, flax, almond, strawberries, bananas and honey. 
And a cheat dish, mini apple pies. If you plan on baking sweets, I highly suggest you do it when you're going to share with others to prevent from eating them all yourself. If you have self control, lucky you, otherwise bake guilty pleasures when you can share with others! Thats my secret ;) 
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Mar 24, 2012

My Top 5 Beauty Necessities


1. MAC Pro Longwear Concealer: For under eye and natural coverage this is the best concealer. It has a light feel but covers like a full on foundation. This is my number 1 item for a reason!

2. MAC Blush: Blush is like the icing on the cake. This shade is 'blushbaby' which is more of my winter color. I use a brighter pink for spring/summer. 

3. Eyelash Curler: I curl before mascara and sometimes even after applying mascara and letting it dry. Curler helps lifts lashes which opens up the eyes. 

4. Mascara: I'm always on the hunt for a new mascara. The current one I use is Maybelline classic volume express. No matter the brand, mascara is a daily must. 

5. Eyebrow Powder: Since I have light eyebrows, I fill them in using an angled brush. I bought the powder from the stand in the mall where I get my eyebrows threaded.

The natural finished look. 

What are some things you can't go without using? Your top 5 will probably be right on your bathroom counter like mine were!

-Hani
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Mar 19, 2012

Maxi Dress = Maxi Use

Dress: Express

The key to getting maximum use out of your maxi dress is to switch up how you wear it. Here I wore the same dress 3 different ways. In the first picture I wore a long sleeve basic tee on top and rolled it up to the length that I desired and I put on a belt to create a 'clean finish'. This makes the dress look like a high waisted skirt. In the middle picture I wore a blazer on top for a work cruise, and the last picture I wore a long sleeve tee underneath for a night out with friends. A cardigan would also work perfectly.

Here is a picture from back in 2008 when Zainab and I stumbled upon a picture of models in the same dresses as us. Just a good visual of how to hijabify a maxi dress!

Enjoy the beautiful weather, and get your maxi on! 

-Hulu


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Mar 17, 2012

Girls Day Out

It's been a long time since Zainab and I were able to get together and have a girls day.. heels and all. We're both really tall naturally Masha'Allah (God has willed it) so we like to plan when we wear heels so we can both be extra tall together.

Outfit of the Day:
Zainab's top is from Forever 21. My top is listed in my previous post and my jeans are Cult of Individuality. I got them at Marshall's for only $30. My Michael Kors bag is also from Marshalls for $150 compared to the original $300+. I wear this bag everywhere so the price was worth the amount of usage I get out of it. Marshalls is my go to shop for fairly priced designer finds. You just have to dig! Most Marshalls have a new section called "the cube" which has nice designer brands. Most of my Seven brand jeans are from Marshalls for $30 each. You can search for Marshalls locations with the cube by clicking here: Marshalls Locations

Both our heels are from: Bakers Shoes

The ring I'm wearing is the 3 piece ring from my last post.

Beauty Tip of the Day:
The trick to nude & healthy lips: While brushing your teeth, brush your lips with your toothbrush to get rid of dead skin. Prior to putting on any nude lipgloss, I put the same concealer I use on my face on my lips to make them almost my skin color, then I apply gloss on top. The gloss is about the same color nude as my concealer so it blends well. 

I use MAC Pro Longwear Concealer on my lips and Sephora Shiny Perfect Nude lipgloss on top.

Good Eats:
If I know I'm going to go out to eat, I eat light earlier in the day. When I wake up I drink a tall glass of water with lemon juice before eating breakfast. Today before I went to the gym I ate half a wheat tortilla with a little peanut butter, half a banana sliced and a drizzle of honey all rolled up. After the gym and before lunch I drank a lot of water. Water helps keep you full so you don't go looking for needless food intake. Before every meal I drink at least a cup of water to help control how much I eat. 

We ate on the patio at a place called Nandos. I tried a veggie burger since I only eat Zabiha halal. They didn't have wheat bread and I forgot to say no mayo, so I just took off the top bun with the mayo and ate the rest. It was really good! Zainab had a portobello mushroom sandwich and she loved it. Of course, we had to get froyo, it was right across the street. Those dogs were about the same size as us! Tonight, I will probably eat some chicken I made last night with salad. Nothing heavy, just small and light since I already had a big lunch. 

Move that Butt:
I was told to go easy at the gym for the weekend since I hurt my knee running a few days ago. I only did 35 minutes of cardio on the eliptical and 30 minutes of abs and arms. Insha'Allah (God Willing) my knee will be better Monday and I can get back in my more intense routine. 

-Hulu

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Fashion Finds

To start us off.. here are a few things I bought today. I've never really had good luck finding nice things at Nordstrom Rack, but today I got lucky. These are a few things my mom would probably like too:


Two cute tunic style tops and a white cardigan, which I also bought in black. The first top and the cardigans were 16.97 and the blue top with the lace trim was 17.97.  As you can see, cardigans are very versatile and can be worn with anything. I have a cardigan in almost ever color. These shirts could both be worn with a long sleeve white shirt underneath as well, I just prefer cardigans on top. 


I also got this cute skirt from Nordstrom Rack. The skirt was a bit expensive at $44 but it's difficult to find a good skirt that isn't see through and long enough for me since I'm tall, so it was a good find for me. Perfect timing for summer! 



I'm not very big on jewelry because I usually wear the same few sentimental pieces of jewelry I have gotten as gifts over the years from family, but these were too cute to pass up. The ring set is 3 pieces for 4.97 and I loved these stud earrings for 5.97.


Last but not least, I finally bought a shirt I was eyeing for months! This dress/shirt is from H&M and it's simple and elegant and has nice beadwork on the neckline and wrists. You can easily wear a turtleneck underneath and tie your hijab back with nice earrings for a fancy night out. It was originally $40 but finally went on sale for $15!

-Hulu

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Mar 16, 2012

Hani Hulu


Ever since I can remember my mom has been calling me Hani Hulu. My name is Hanyeh, but my family calls me Hani for short, pronounced 'honey'. Hulu means peach in farsi, but is a word of endearment, like calling someone sweetie. This is where Hani Hulu came from.

I'm an Iranian born, Michigan raised, Philadelphia based, Muslim 27 year old. I like to live my life breaking stereotypes as I think many Muslim women do. I like to prove we are not oppressed or less than others just because we are Muslim or because we cover. In reality, we are among the strongest women around. I'm an accountant by day at PwC, one of the largest accounting firms in the world. Being able to say I work at PwC and have passed my CPA exams is something I worked hard for, and I am proud to be here. Everything I do related to Hani Hulu - website design, posts, social media - I have done all on my own in addition to having a full time demanding career and I hope to encourage others who want to maintain a career and pursue other things they love as well. There is no limit to accomplishing things you love in life, so don't let anything hold you back! 

Growing up, I was going down the overweight tomboy route since I had two brothers and ate as much as they did. But somewhere down the line, I met my friend Fati - short for Fatima - who started to mold the fashionista you see now. I think my love started with heels and since then, I have picked up a love for everything else - purses, accessories and of course clothes. In high school I reached a point of being tired with my weight, and I educated myself on healthy eating and working out and completely turned my life around. I want to use this blog to share my health, fashion, beauty and lifestyle tips with others like myself. 

Thanks for stopping by and please come back!

**Please note I am by no means advertising my fashion style as the perfect Hijab/Modesty. I am merely sharing my style and I am always working towards bettering myself to become a better Muslim and Hijabi. 
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