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From the Grindstone...

“Time Flies” - 2014, will be year to remember, two major court cases, Dewani and Oscar, made history, amongst many other happenings that come to mind.

Maintaining a positive attitude will always attribute to success. I have built strong relationships in the mar-ketplace and looking forward to some new projects to give SPICE Mag, more exposure. The initial idea was to create a Lifestyle Mag, and use it as a the new generation platorm. The digital world has revolution-ised the publishing world in many ways. SPICE Mag’s “paperless” and “going green” recipe has stood out, and we have had phenominal amount of interest from private and businesses sectors in this respect.

SPICE Mag is committed as marketing arm of the SUNFLOWER Foundation, and looking to expand in 2015 into eventing projects, to raise funds. SPICE Mag’s format has always been a vehicle to drive the SUNFLOWER Foundations’s awareness throughout all the editions.

On a lighter note, I personally take this opportunity of wishing our loyal readers, friends, families and busi-ness partners a peaceful and safe festive season.(I see my friends at the gym have taken time to “pig” out, during festive). Happy holidays and best wishes to all

ISh K Bugwandass - Editor / Publisher SPICE MagEmail: spicemag.sa@gmail.co.zawww.spicemag.co.za

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THE BALLITO NEW YEAR’S EVE

STREET PARTY

Miss South Africa, 22-year-old Rolene Strauss, was crowned Miss World 2014 at the contest’s glitzy fi-nal in London on Sunday 14 December 2014, with an estimated billion viewers watching on television around the globe.

Miss Hungary, Edina Kulcsar, was judged the run-ner-up and Miss United States, Elizabeth Safrit, came third in the 64th annual competition, contested by women from 121 countries.

Medical student Strauss clasped her hands together in surprise and was crowned by the outgoing Miss World, Megan Young of the Philippines, to huge cheers in the ExCeL exhibition centre.

“South Africa this is for you,” Strauss said. “I think I will brace myself for what’s about to happen. It’s a huge responsibility.”

She told AFP she wanted to help spread education in her homeland and thereby help other people real-ise their dreams.

“I am what I am today because of the opportunities I have received and I would love to give others the same opportunities; educating, the opportunity to be educated, to make healthy choices and also to live their dreams,” Strauss said.

“I’ll definitely keep it on as long as I can but my par-ents are staying around here so they’ll be hugging me and I’m afraid that it might fall off,” she said.

Sunday’s show started with a spectacular choreo-graphed dance routine, with all the beauty queens on stage in costumes inspired by their homelands -- including Miss Bolivia in a colourful feathered head-dress.

While beauty remains central to the event, the wom-en taking part are chiefly judged on their talents and involvement in good causes.

Miss Malaysia won the talent competition in a live sing-off with Miss Scotland.

In the Beauty with a Purpose section -- the heart of Miss World -- contestants present a charitable pro-ject they have been working on in their homeland.

In this section, the judges gave equal first place to Misses Brazil, Guyana, India, Indonesia and Kenya, unable to separate them.

In rounds held since the contestants arrived in Lon-don, Miss Finland topped the sporting competition; Miss United States was the multimedia winner; Miss Bosnia and Hercegovina won the top model round and Miss Sweden triumphed in beach fashion.

The 10 contestants who topped the final scoreboard were, in descending order, from India, South Africa, England, Guyana, Brazil, Hungary, Kenya, United States, Mexico and Australia.

They were joined by Miss Thailand, who won the people’s choice award, voted for by people around the world through a mobile phone app.

The judges chose Miss Hungary, Miss Australia, Miss South Africa, Miss United States and Miss England as their top five before picking their top three.

Miss World began in 1951, a year before its chief rival Miss Universe.

Strauss is the third South African Miss World, the country having held the title in 1958 and 1974.

Venezuela tops the all-time leader board with six ti-tles, ahead of India and the United Kingdom on five titles each.

MISS WORLD - Proudly South African

Rolene Strauss

Proudly South African, Rolene Strauss

Miss Hungary, Edina Kulcsar, was judged the run-ner-up and Miss United States, Elizabeth Safrit, came third in the 64th annual competition, con-tested by women from 121 countries.

The event also featured a special 20-year award for 1994’s Miss World, Bollywood star Aishwarya Rai (pic-tured right).

The 41-year-old Indian actress appeared on stage with her film star husband Abhishek Bachchan, their daugh-ter Aaradhya and her mother.

The prize was for the “Dhoom 2” star’s charitable work with children with cleft palates since being made famous by Miss World.

“I stand here overwhelmed by this honour,” she said.

1994’s Miss World, Bollywood star Aishwarya Rai

Medical student Strauss

While beauty re-mains central to the event, the women taking part are chiefly judged on their talents and involvement in good causes.

Rolene Strauss

“South Africa this is for you,” Strauss said. “I think I will brace my-self for what’s about to happen. It’s a huge responsibility.”

Rolene Strauss

After her spectacular win as Miss World 2014 Rolene Strauss will no longer be able to fulfill her duties as Miss South Africa.

According to the rules the first princess will be called upon to take on the role of Miss South Africa.

First princess Ziphozakhe Zokufa will be crowned this afternoon and reign as Miss South Africa until a new one is chosen in 2015.

Ziphozakhe will represent South Africa at the Miss Universe pageant early next year.

SPICE Mag team take pleasure in congratulating Ziphozakhe Zokufa on her achievement and wish her well, in representing our country, in various roles assigned to her.

SPICE Mag will cary a full feature in forthcoming edition.

New Miss South Africa takes the crown from Rolene Strauss

The SPICE Mag team wishes all readers, families, friends and ad-vertisers a safe and peaceful festive, and a Joyous New Year. Our first year of publishing has been a agreat success and wish to offer our readers more exciting reading material in future years.God bless you!

ProfileReal Life with Yudhika Sujanani

Born and Raised: Durban, South Africa Date of birth: 15/05/1976 Home Language: EnglishCurrent City: Johannesburg, Fourways

Inspiration

Celebrity chef, and author, Yudhika Sujanani’s fondest child-hood memory is of “being just tall enough to look out [her] parents bedroom window...remembering that the world looked only that high!” She remembers having to stand on her toes to look out the window. “The willow tree fascinated me endlessly. I have just bought a house with a massive willow tree – it would appear some memories stay with you subconsciously,” explains Yudhika.

Much of Yudhika’s youth was spent in hotel kitchens due to her mother’s career as a professional chef. Her first job, as an assistant in the Chantecler Hotel kitchen in Durban, was landed while she was only in grade seven. She enthu-siastically tackled anything handed to her, and seized the opportunity to learn the industry secrets while surrounded by good food.

She took a waitressing job in a hotel at 15, but quickly gradu-ated to baking cakes in the kitchen. Although Yudhika took pleasure in the interaction with patrons, her first love was the food. The experiences of her early years informed the way Yudhika ran her restaurant, Salaam Bombay. She made an added effort to ensure her guests contentment by leaving the kitchen to personally take orders; a measure that proved to promote the restaurant’s dazzling success.

Salaam Bombay was opened in 2002 and sold in 2008. Yu-dhika affirms that although it was “incredibly hard work”, it was also “enormously satisfying”. Challenges were constant and Salaam Bombay developed a reputation for tailor- made

gourmet curries. From “garlic free or blow your socks off spicy...nothing was impossible” and Yudhika made it look easy, in heels no less, and diamond earrings!

2008 marked a year of great change in Yudhika’s life. She was newly divorced, a single mom to three young children and also without her restaurant. She was already become a regular on the celebrity chef circuit and decided to build a brand using the media opportunities that were available at the time. Building connections with her audience included mailing out recipes, running competitions and also hand-ing out samples of her signature spices. These activities were funded by producing a range of samosas for the local Broadacres Superspar.

The sample spice jars were a hit and she began to mail spices out to her followers on request. She mentioned this to Pat Tarr at Broadacres Spar, who then suggested that she manufacture and list the range in store. Yudhika promoted the spices in store and began handing out photocopies of her flop proof recipes. The requests for recipes grew and two weeks later, she decided to self publish her first book, Curry Me Home. A second recipe book was published to keep up with requests for more recipe ideas.

A range of the Curry Me Home convenience meals was launched at the same Spar in 2012.

Curry Club

After fulfilling the dream of owning her own restaurant, Yu-dhika focused her attention on more innovative ways of sharing food. The Curry Club was a concept born out of her passion for entertaining, combined with her generous spirit, aiming to raise funds for humanitarian projects such as that of the Starfish Foundation. Catering a three-course meal for complete strangers in her home, Yudhika would take a col-

lection for the Starfish Foundation at the end of the even-ing. Curry Club was soon fully booked month-on-month and remains so.

Current Projects

Yudhika has authored two recipe books, ‘Curry Me Home’ and ‘Curry Me Home again’, and hopes to be releasing a third book later this year. Her ‘Curry Me Home’ complemen-tary range of spices, is available in a number of SPAR re-tailers country-wide and provides the foundation for many of her dishes. The spices are roasted and fused accord-ingly to form an exclusive blend. With an initial order of 120 bottles, which sold out in an hour, the range undoubtedly started off with a bang. “The demand is overwhelming! De-veloping an all in one spice paste is something that I would like to accomplish in 2014,” says Yudhika.

Despite her busy schedule, this wife and mother of three (five if you include her two Afghan puppies), still manages to visit the gym occasionally, as well as cook a hearty meal at her Fourways home for her family daily. She advises her children to follow their hearts, and “remember to assist oth-ers where possible...in return, they will never let you fall.” Her guidance for aspiring entrepreneurs is to “always go with your instinct, and remember that if you do what you love, you never have to work a day in your life, like me!”.

When having a meal cooked by Yudhika Sujanani, you can expect to taste the love in the food, as this master chef believes that food should always be cooked from the heart. She is also the author of a food column for various newspa-pers and has her blog www.yudhikayumyum.com.

Yudhika was appointed as the Hunger Advocate for the United Nations World Food Programme in 2013. Her role

is to create awareness on the issues around hunger in Southern Africa. Her first field assignment was in Lesotho in June 2013. She has done work with school feeding pro-grammes, nutritional clubs and as well visiting the United Nations food distribution centres.

Forthcoming Attractions

Yudhika is now working on her third book that will be re-leased by mid July 2014. This is going to be a larger recipe book with more inspiring stories about life, love, and eve-rything else. There are currently 8 Curry Me Home spices in the range. In 2014, this offering will increase with the introduction of Thai Curry Paste, Chutneys, and a more global spice range that will include Dukkah, Moroccan blends and as well fla-voured salts.

She has also just won first prize at the Gordon Institute of Business Science after receiving a scholarship from Gold-man Sachs on the 10000 Women Programme and topped the class in the business plan presentations winning over R420 000 in prizes.

SPICE Mag speaks to YudhikaTell us a bit about your restaurant, when did you open it and close it, and what made you decide to start the Curry Me Home brand, with the spices and cookbooks?

I opened my restaurant, Salaam Bombay, in 2003 and I sold in 2009. It was incredibly hard work but enormously satisfy-ing to work with food almost everyday. There was always a challenge and the restaurant became known as a place that you could get tailor-made gourmet curries. Whether it was garlic free or blow your socks off spicy...nothing was impossible.

Can you provide growth figures for the spice range? Where do you see this part of the business going in 2014?

The spice range has grown in leaps and bounds. My very first order at Broadacres Superspar was 120 bottles, which sold out in an hour. All I can say is that I work around the clock to make sure the spices are roasted, ground and bot-tled. The demand is overwhelming! Developing all-in-one spice pastes is something that I would like to accomplish in 2014 as well as branching out into a range of whole spices and a ‘global’ range to that will include Thai, Moroccan and Middle Eastern blends.

As an entrepreneur, what advice would you give to oth-ers starting out in South Africa?

Always go with your instinct and remember that if you do what you love, you never have to work a day in your life, like me! I just love all aspects of what I do!

What’s a favorite childhood memory?

Being just tall enough to look out my parent’s bedroom win-dow and remembering that the world looked only that high! I can still remember standing on my toes so that I could look over the windowsill. The willow tree fascinated me endless-ly. I just bought a house with a massive willow tree; some memories just stay with you subconsciously.

As a young person did the women around you inspire you? What were your dreams when you were growing up?

Yes, they were an inspiration but missing having my mom and grandmother sparked my interest in food. I really missed the kitchen chats and have now created the warm, friendly kitchen environment for my kids that I found so comforting in my early childhood. I also knew that I was going to be somewhat different and that I would be independent. I had to think ‘out of the box’ about my future. I knew that going to university was not a possibility and so I dreamt big dreams of being glamorous and....famous!

If you had only one opportunity to give advice to your three children, what would that advice be?

Follow your heart! Remember to assist others where pos-sible and in return they will never let you fall. What I carry most is that my childhood was a difficult one plagued by poverty, violence and struggle. Growing up, I was guided by the knowledge that I would overcome it. I always new that it would not be difficult forever and that true drive and determination live in your DNA. What is your favourite restaurant?

My home! Eating out for my kids, Rob and I is about be-ing served and just getting out from time to time. Eating at home is really what we love to do most.

Which other chefs do you admire?

Definitely Nikki Gibbs and Rudi Liebenberg. I have worked with both and they are incredibly meticulous and so tal-ented. I really do believe, where chefs are concerned, that ‘Local is Lekker’! I am a proudly South African Chef and fully support South African chefs as they are hard working, talented and incredibly creative. Most of all I admire my mom, who went to chef’s school in her thirties and built a career out of sheer determination.

What’s your hottest tip of all the ‘hot tips’ in Curry Me Home?

There are so many but the recommended products are tried and tested and that is what the feedback is mainly about. It’s what to use, how much to use, when to use it and what not to do! Good entertaining is always about cooking from the heart and the love can be tasted in the meals prepared. You should never say ‘I GIVE UP’.

In 25 years time I would like to have lots of grandchildren and be in stilettos and be running the ‘Yudhika’ empire.Happiness is that warm feeling in my heart when I place my head on my pillow at night. I relax when I am in my beautiful home…with my kids, dogs and a pile of books.

Glow TV is, the channel that is now available on MultiChoice’s DStv platform started from 17 November 2014. South Africa’s first free-to-air channel to offer eastern-in-spired content will launch on DStv channel 167.

The channel brings a wide range of high quality in-ternationally produced programmes to South Afri-can audiences. Yusuf Nabee, Glow channel head, said: “Our ongoing research and focus groups show that many South Africans are interested in eastern-inspired content, and so we’re delighted to now be able to reach a wider audience through MultiChoice’s digital satellite TV service.” He added that with nine different genres and no less than 24 different shows, “Glow is unlike any other eastern channel, we’re an entertainment channel with broad appeal.”

The channel, owned by Kagiso Media, will be avail-able on the DStv Family, Compact, Extra and Pre-mium packages. Kagiso Media Deputy Group CEO Omar Essack explained, “The launch of the TV channel, a little more than a year ago, signaled the Kagiso Media group’s entry into television. Not only has this bold move to grow new market places pre-

sented South African viewers with a unique new entertainment option but it has further diversified our media offering for advertisers.”

Aletta Alberts, GM for Content for MultiChoice welcomed the addition of Glow to the DStv plat-form. “We know our customers will enjoy the eastern flavor that Glow will bring to their enter-tainment – they’ll now be able to tune into great shows like The Kumars at No 42 and the popular soapie Bade Ache Lagte Hai.”

In keeping with the wide variety on offer, Glow in-troduces genre-themed weekday evenings - com-edy Mondays, travel Tuesdays, lifestyle Wednes-days, talk Thursdays and crime/drama Fridays. To complement Glow’s launch on DStv, the channel will be adding 11 new shows to their line-up in the month of November 2014.

Eastern-inspired

Glow TV now broadcasting on DSTV

Zanzibar is the semi-autonomous part of Tan-zania in East Africa. It is composed of the Zan-zibar Archipelago in the Indian Ocean, 25–50 kilometres off the coast of the mainland, and consists of numerous small islands and two large ones: Unguja (the main island, referred to informally as Zanzibar) and Pemba. The capital is Zanzibar City, located on the island of Unguja. Its historic centre is Stone Town, which is a World Heritage Site.

Zanzibar’s main industries are spices, raffia, and tourism.[4] In particular, the islands pro-duce cloves, nutmeg, cinnamon, and black pepper. For this reason, the islands, together with Tanzania’s Mafia Island, are sometimes called the Spice Islands (a term also associ-ated with the Maluku Islands in Indonesia). Zanzibar is the home of the endemic Zanzibar Red Colobus Monkey, the Zanzibar Servaline Genet, and the (possibly extinct) Zanzibar Leopard.

zanzibar

Zanzibar attracts visitors in search of glorious white sand beaches, warm tur-quoise sea, fantastic diving and rich cul-tural heritage. It is home to Stone Town, an intriguing old city of narrow, wind-ing alleyways and stone coral buildings, which is full of atmosphere and immense-ly beautiful. Visitors to Zanzibar typi-cally spend their time diving, snorkelling, swimming and exploring the beaches.

Tamanna Bhatia is a south Indian model/ac-tress who started her film career through her debut film in Hindi called Chand Sa Roshan Chehra.

Tamannaah was born to Santhosh Bhatia and Rajani Bhatia on 21 December 1989. She started acting at the age of 13, now she is first year student at National College in Bandra, and she has one brother, Anand Bhatia. . She can speak Hindi, Telugu, Tamil and English.

Tamanna has done many advertisements in Tamil for big companies such as Shakti Masala, Saravana Stores, RMKV and she also

Tamanna Bhatiadid few music albums before she entered the film industry. She stars in the commercial of Sun Direct.She changed her name recently as Ta-mannaah Bhatia (old name Tamanna Bhatia).

She started her film career through her debut film in Hindi called Chand Sa Roshan Chehra at the age of 13 years and made her Tamil debut film Kedi which did not do well at the box office.

The former model has also signed for her debut film in Telugu called Sri in which she played the leading female role amongst actor Manoj Kumar. And she is a rising heroine in both Tollywood and Kollywood industries.

Tamanna Bhatia

Tamanna Bhatia

I was still coping with the loss of my husband and transitioning towards becoming a career mum was not something that was on the cards.

I’ve never worked a day in my life so you can forgive the sea of panic that had personified multiple waves of anxiety when my father in-law had approached me 6 months after the death of my husband to take over a part of the family business.

About the Author

Valerie Naidoo is a British/South African whose experience as an expat comes after spending time in the United Kingdom (in London), India and in the UAE.

Today she lives in the Gauteng Province of South Africa. Valerie’s professional background includes Human Capital and Social integra-tion and she also practices as a career coach. Valerie also functions on the executive board at Non Profit organization- CHF where she has used her influence to form strong affiliations within the African Diaspora and has also initi-ated the Foreign Ambassadorship Program.

Gender equality and women empowerment is a common and debatable argument in the 21st century across dif-ferent channels such as forums, TV shows, and confer-ences, and this quite often superficially expressed and without consistent arguments.

From the Ballroom to the Boardroom defies this tradition. Praise to the author for challenging convention and boldly exploring themes such as: leadership, gender bias, so-cial barriers and psychological barriers, entrepreneurship, racisim by passport, men and women working together to bridge the gender gap, etc.

Women talk through the voice of Valerie Naidoo and her book. They talk about life, careers and all aspects affect-ing the 21st century woman in the social, professional and personal life of millions of women globally. This book is a real and concrete inspiration for women (and men), repre-senting the challenge we are all living in our time.

Marco Geuna | Head of Mission / Program Coordina-tion at Malteser International | Italy

Book ReviewFrom the Ballroom to the Boardroom

Valerie Naidoo

It’s been another successful year for The Sunflower Fund in KZN. Over 17 events and campaigns were held from

the much-loved ladies’ breakfasts to their premier annual events like the Charity Ball, Golf Day and Mum’s Mail High

Tea. Their 2014 theme ‘Celebrating Humanity’ formed the common thread of their campaigns and was significantly

reinforced in their public message. All funds raised by The Sunflower Fund go toward the education and recruitment of

more potential bone marrow stem cell donors for inclusion on the South African Bone Marrow Registry which directly

gives hope to patients suffering from leukaemia and other life-threatening blood disorders.

The Sunflower Fund wishes to thank the public,

sponsors and media for their continued support

and generosity and for being willing to

‘Share a Little, Save a Life.’

Sunflower Fund Events 2014

Socials / Happenings

Jatin Desai & Lisha Nunen, Sunil Patel & Kavi Naidu, Dhes & Shivanie Naidoo

Golf Day - Brett Lambert, Brent Russell, Sam Daykin, Andrew Church & Andrew Blades.

Sunflower Fund Events 2014

Big Bandana Bash Fashion Extravaganza -Bianca Warren, Chia Kougianos, Kathrin Kidger, Karen Monk-Klijnstra & Stephanie Berry

Hyper 5km Fun Run-Walk

Sunflower Fund Events 2014

Bikers4Bandanas - Stephanie Berry, Marius van Zyl, John Young & Anna Kromer

Mum’s Mail High Tea - Jane Linley Thomas, Karen Monk Klijnstra, Alice Leah and Steph Berry

For many this is just unthinkable, but each year thou-sands of South Africans (mostly children and teenag-ers) have to face this terrifying reality. Fortunately, life-threatening blood disorders such as leukaemia, aplasia, immune deficiencies, inborn er-rors of metabolism, and other new indications such as auto-immune disorders can now be treated. Treatment, however, entails a bone marrow/stem cell transplant from a willing donor and although it is sometimes possible for relatives to offer the closest matches, 75% of patients will not have a suitable sib-ling and will have to start their search for a matching non-related donor.

Where to start?To facilitate this daunting search, bone marrow regis-ters in different countries hold tissue type information

of volunteers who have provided small blood samples for testing and recording.

Sadly, the chance of finding a matching donor is just 1 in 100 000!

The odds are even more against South African sufferers due to the fact that our rainbow nation has more unique combinations of tissue types. Ethnic origin is important when matching donors and patients. The “markers” that are tested when searching for a match are genetically in-herited and often unique to a particular race.

It is therefore very important that South Africa has its own bone marrow registry and the larger that registry, the greater and faster the chance of finding a perfect match.

Website: www.sunflowerfund.org.zaFreephone: 0800 12 10 82

Dr. Akashni Maharaj (PHD)Counselling Psychologist - Bellair Psy-chology Centre, Durban

Akashni Maharaj is a therapist in pri-vate practice. She works with adults, adolescents and children. She adopts various modalities in her approach to therapy. She has completed her PhD in alternative therapies and has mar-ried the area of alternative therapies with traditional psychotherapies. She specifically looked at how these mo-dalities can be used in unison with one another to maximize the therapeutic process. She has found that the mind-body-spirit connection is an amazing tool to work with. Most of today’s im-balances come from the mal- align-ment of the mind, body and the spirit. She utilizes this approach to therapy and finds that she is able to work suc-cessfully to address most psychologi-cal problems that an individual brings to her rooms. She therefore provides the patient/client a diverse approach when they come in for therapy.

Akashni regularly contributes to the local media, both print and electron-ic. In the print media she is a regular columnist and shares her knowledge with many people. Her articles are well searched and insightful and easy to understand. She has appeared on var-ious talk shows and has contributed to both national as well as international magazines. She has her own website: www.akashnimaharaj.co.za

Practice Number: 0256749 HPCSA: 0098809 031 459 1940076 694 3661info@akashnimaharaj.co.zawww.akashnimaharaj.co.zaBellair Psychology Centre Durban

As the world sings the tune of Auld Lang Syne at the crack of 12 on the 31 December 2014, each and every one of us would be thinking of the year gone by and wish for a peaceful 2014. With peaceful thoughts of a brand new start to the year come new resolves, new dreams and hopes for a fresh new beginning. How many of us have made resolu-tions and promised to stick by them? Many of us start of great, almost with a BANG!!! And by the second week of January we are back to old habits. The answer to that failure is that we are all creatures of comfort and change is what we fear the most. So we do what we do best, we choose to stay within our comfort zones and revert to old patterns and old habits. Before long we realize that we are exactly in the same place we were a year before. It is then we begin to question ourselves about what went wrong and the cycle has already made a presence felt stron-ger than the year before? Why can’t we stick to change and what is it about us that make us creatures of comfort?

Many people like and prefer the old because the new takes too much work and too much energy. Some call it laziness, others call it fear and some may just say, what is the point of it all? Those that say what’s the point, are those people who are likely to suffer from poor self-esteem and poor staying power. Here the mind plays an active role almost like a critic that reinforces the negative rather than the positive. So when the mind receives No! and devaluing messages (I can’t do it, you are not good enough, etc.), poor self-esteem is the culprit causing one to give up. The only way to change this behaviour pattern is to “fight” the inner battle with positive “affirmations” and affirmations of worth.

A good mantra to use would be “I am worthwhile, I deserve the best, I can change, I have the ability to follow through and I can do it”.

How can we make a fresh start in life?

We all start with wanting to make changes but change can become overwhelming if too many things are piled on at the same time. I would suggest that a deep Reflection of 2012 should be the first step that any of us take. Reflect on:

What I want and need?

- What is most important for me as an individual?

- Wanting is not the same as needing. Sift through these and you will know.

What is it that needs to change and what do I wish to keep?

- Old habits, like old clothes need to go? Am I prepared to let them go and what purpose do they serve for me right now? Did it add value to my life or not?

Celebrating the Best Person in the World

Choose five things you like to change about yourself, e.g. lose weight, quit smoking, exercise, budget better, spend more time with the kids, spend less money etc..

- Put these five things in order of preference/importance and es sential need. Prioritize

- Once you have done that chose the three main ones and re solve to take those on. The other two you keep for “later”.

You now have chosen three things that mean a lot to you, now it’s time to research how to get this done.

- First step, if it’s to exercise more, then look at your work sched ule, sit down and see if you can actually fit it into your life. Questions such as

o When and how will you be able to do it?

o Can you make it happen?

o What sacrifices would I need to make it happen?

o Does your schedule allow for additions such as this and would you be able to commit to it for at least the first 3 months. If you can answer that as a yes then you have your first resolution set up in your plan of ac tion for 2013.

o Diarise it like you would any other important appoint ment. If its down it has to be done.

o Do the same for the other three.

The biggest mistake people make in life is taking on too many things to do at one time and not researching the viability of it all. It’s almost like when you decide to go on a holiday, you don’t get on a plane without doing the sums and making arrangements. The same goes with resolu-tions and making changes to one’s life. You decide, you do the sums and then you plan to do it.

As the year draws to a close, my take home message to all is that you should celebrate your life, your achievements and your worth. Nothing is more important than valuing the best person in the world and that is you.

Have a Safe, Peaceful and Blessed Holiday.

Dr. Akashni Maharaj

Nothing is more

important than valuing the

best person in the world and

that is you.

10 steps to cooking

1. Don’t forget to completely thaw out your tur key. To speed up the thawing process, some prefer to place their turkey in cold water, changing the water every 30 minutes until the bird is completely defrosted.

2. Preheat your oven (whether regular or convec tion) to 325-350 degrees Fahrenheit.

3. Drain the juices off the turkey and pat dry with paper towels.

4. Place the turkey in a deep cooking pan, de pending on the bird’s size. The bird should al ways be cooked facing breast up.

5. Spray or brush on cooking or vegetable oil to give the bird a more “crispy” appearance when it’s fully cooked. (To make your carving job easier after the bird is cooked, tuck the bird’s wings.)

6. To keep track of the bird’s temperature (to make sure it’s adequately cooked and safe to eat later on), insert an oven-safe thermometer into one of the bird’s thighs (a thick region) making sure to stay away from any of the bird’s bones.

7. Place your turkey in the oven once it is preheated to the corresponding tempera ture (look below for more information).

8. When your turkey is two-thirds of the way done cooking (see information below), it is best to wrap the breast of the bird and the drumsticks with tin foil to keep your turkey from getting too dry. Adding vegetables to your pan, such as carrots, can also help in keeping your turkey from sticking to the bottom of the pan.

9. Before serving your turkey, make sure it reaches at least 165 degrees Fahrenheit.

10. Let your turkey sit for approximately 15 minutes before carving and then, en joy!

Depending on your turkey’s weight, and if you choose to stuff it, different cooking times and temperatures are needed in order to ensure your bird will be safe to serve.

Cooking a turkey can seem like a daunting task for both beginners and sea-soned chefs. Luckily for those who have been entrusted to cook their family’s Thanksgiving turkey, here are 10 easy tips to successfully roast the perfect bird this Turkey Day. (These tips are most helpful if you’re cooking a frozen or fresh whole turkey.)

TURKEY

Welcome to Bellair Psychology Centre (BPC) BPC is nestled

in a tranquil garden stetting in Bel-lair. It provides the client with a safe place to escape temporarily from the hustle and bustle of daily life. The surroundings are calm, peaceful and serene. With only the sounds of the birds chirping, one can easily slip into a deep sense of relaxation, almost as like taking a short meditative break in the day. It is a place that nourishes the mind, the soul and takes good care of the spirit.

I am Dr. Akashni, counselling psychol-ogist and hypnotherapist in private practice. My work as a therapist focuses on issues that affect adults, adolescents and children. I also work closely with many EAP programmes and find that my knowledge and experience as an Industrial psy-chologist stands me in good stead to understand the complex problems faced by employees. I am able to do management coaching and training of employees in various areas of work development. I lecture part time at UNISA and I find the balance between a therapy practice and lecturing helps me get a better grounding in work-ing with clients and gives me greater perspective.

My approach to therapy, is non-tradi-tional. Some may call it ecclectic but it’s really only applying a holistic ap-proach to therapy. So in many respects I am an alternate therapist. I combine alternate methods (Hypnosis) of treat-ment with traditional (CBT, Psychody-namic, Solution focused) psychothera-peutic approaches. My PhD delved into the areas of combining alternative therapies with traditional psycho-therapies through the use of Cognitive behavioural therapy and Reiki.

This proved to be effective and en-hanced the therapeutic process. Many more alternate approaches were added on as time passed by and now each session is tailor made to suit each individual client/patient. Focusing on the mind-body-spirit is more effec-tive than working with only the mind. Most of today’s imbalances come from the mal- alignment of the mind, body and the spirit. Through adopting a ho-listic approach to therapy, I am able to successfully address many psychologi-cal problems which an individual brings to my rooms.

Bellair Psychology Centre Durban Practice Number: 0256749HPCSA: 0098809031 459 1940076 694 3661info@akashnimaharaj.co.zawww.akashnimaharaj.co.za

203 Wakesleigh DriveBellairDurbanSouth Africa

Bellair Psychology Centre is nestled in a tranquil garden stetting in Bellair.

My Philosophy “My belief is that every person has the inherent ability to find the courage to search for mean-ing and purpose in their life. Meaning and purpose is what life’s journey is all about. All the obstacles and hurdles we find along are only roadblocks on our journey to enlightenment.”

www.akashnimaharaj.co.za

“Going green”... ...is a popular phrase being bandied about these days. Chances are, you have heard it referred to quite a lot. But what does going green mean? In essence, it refers to using various everyday methods to help save the world and its environment. Many people consider going green to be an actual lifestyle; for them, it means basing your actions on working to save the world. From the smallest details to the most sweeping aspects of life, saving the world by implementing a green lifestyle is something that more and more people are aiming to do.

Definition of GreenLiving a green lifestyle – or going green – can begin in small, easy to manage ways. Recycling is a huge, obvious part of helping to save the world through green living. Reducing one’s reliance on oil-based energy sources is another popular method employed in trying to save the world. Purchasing only all organic, chemical free products is another way that many people begin going green, and is considered a very effective method at trying to save the world and all of its resources. Green living is infiltrating all parts of daily life, and the planet is sure to be better for it.

Going Green Pros and ConsLike any other type of lifestyle, going green and trying to save the world through environmentally friendly habits has its pluses and its minuses. The plus side is pretty obvious: saving the planet and contributing to a healthier earth.

However, there are some cons to going green. Saving the planet can be a costly proposition; many organ-ic products have far higher price tags than traditional products. Similarly, hybrid vehicles – another popular mechanism for helping to save the world – are also very expensive.

Going Green At HomeBesides big ticket purchases, there are plenty of ways of going green at home. People can make their contri-bution to saving the world by trying to purchase organic and chemical free products wherever possible. Doing so encourages healthy farming practices, which can sub-stantially work to save the world.

Going green at home can also mean being conscien-tious about not wasting tap water, and turning off lights when they are not necessary. All of these little things can really add up in one’s pursuit to save the world; if enough people begin going green, the planet will surely stand a far better chance.

Going Green TipsSome people find that an easy way of going green and helping to save the planet is by creating a compost pile in their backyards. Planting a vegetable garden instead of water hugging grass is another method being used by many people who are trying to save the world. Using bicycles – or going on foot – wherever possible is anoth-er simple way of eschewing gas guzzling vehicles and saving the world. Going green is an overall life philoso-phy, and it can be employed in even the most mundane details of one’s life with success.

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1. Alarm Batteries: Make sure all batteries are charged and working. Load shed-ding can dramatically reduce the lifespan of your alarm battery.

2. Electric Fencing: To ensure that your electric fencing continues to function dur-ing the power cuts/load shedding, your electric fence battery should have a back-up battery.

3. Generators: If you are using a generator never operate it anywhere inside your home, including the garage or any confined area, as it produces carbon monoxide which can be fatal.

4. Arriving/Leaving Home: Ensure that you are especially alert when arriving or leaving your home in the evenings, as the street lights and your outside lighting will not be functioning during the power cuts/load shedding process. Keep a torch in your car.

5. At Home: Ensure that all your automated gates and doors are secured and that all other gates and doors are locked.

6. Fire protection: With candles, gas and other lighting devices being used more often, these can result in an increased fire hazard and home fire extinguishers should be on hand.

7. Install battery operated lights in strategic places in your homes.

8. Keep the keys to motorised gates in an accessible place and have good quality padlocks available to use as a backup.

9. Programme your security provider number in your cell phone in case of emer-gency. Keep your cell phone fully charged during this uncertain time.

be prepared during power outages