Amazing Cauliflower Crust Pizza

My first cheesless, meatless, cauliflower crust pizza with peppers, onions, #fieldroast sausage and my homemade marinara sauce...

It's a winner..

Last pic says it all..

I maxed it...ALL of it!!

Wish id'a made 2.

Ask me how...

Black Lentils Never tasted so good!!

Fab Dinner or Lunch

Black lentils, cauliflower, Brussel sprouts and #fieldroast sausage..

PERFect....meal

Ask me how

A Night w/Mav Traxx...Family Ties Album Release Gala 2019

What a Night for Mav Traxx, Hosted by Jaydee Williams of I Am Royalty Radio and Space Boi Fresh...

Mav Traxx, the complete musical talent!!! 
The Composer, Producer , Singer and he's plays multiple instruments of which he was self taught.  His musical interest started when he was really young and flourished into a spectacular career. He even started his own production company, MavTones Productions.

Mav encountered many many world renown musicians throughout his career, like Robert "Sput" Searight, Shaun Martin, Cleon Edwards, Jodeci, RC Williams, Carl Thomas, Bobby Valentino, Eric Roberson, Montell Jordan to name a few.... and even with all those experiences he revels that the most exciting thing for him is his son playing along side him.  His son is 13 and plays drums and Mav relishes in the time he spends with his son on stage.
Family is so very important to Mav, which signifies the name of the album.  Along with his son, his wife Jessica, who was by his side for this event, plays a big supporting role in his career as well.

Mav decided to take some time to produce his own solo jazz album Family Ties and talks about what that means to him.

Ali (I Am Royalty Radio): What would tell someone who is new to this....How would you guide them?

Mav: "I would say go with whatever your gut feeling is.. Go with what wakes you up everyday....What drives you the most and what's your passion."

"You only win when you don't quit... You gotta push past the hard times... You gotta push past the broke times.... You gotta push past the times you think no one is listening or no one cares...… You have to pull from within. Don't give up on yourself."

Mav talks about having a community base to help you though the roller coaster ride of entertainment. He and his wife Jessica Roberts created Catch This Vibe, a community group to share like projects and support each other and keep each other accountable to do just that.  

Mav: "No one makes it alone"

Find Mav on www.mavtraxx.live and his music can be found on Spotify and Apple Music. 



Also performing that evening was Micki Miller all the way from So. Bend , Indiana.  Micki is a very well known musician, producer, songwriter and singer.
Micki Shares what it means to be a part of this event and her relationship with Mav. What her band means to her and what it is like to perform abroad.

Micki: "Chemistry reflects in what you create"  

Find Micki at www.mickimillermusic.com

Hosted by Jaydee Williams of I Am Royalty Radio and Space Boi Fresh...

    

Best of Fests Film Festival in Dallas Jan 2019!!

Let me just say history has been made!

 Dallas has set the bar with this one.

Who can think of a fantastic idea like this and pull it off?!?!
Who you say??? DFW Film Festival Founders etc.... That's who. Thanks to Emily Hargrove for spearheading this massive effort.

It took COLLABORATION at it's finest to do this and I feel like this is only the beginning.

Just so you understand the magnitude, there were 22 Festivals represented in the fest.  Twenty-Two!!
Festival represented:
Sons of the Flag Film Festival
Crossroads Film & Music Festival
Czech That Film
EarthxFilm
Dallas Jewish Film Festival
Thin Line Film Festival
Denton Black Film Festival
Oak Cliff Film Festival
DIFF
Asian Film Festival of Dallas
Best of Fests
Fort Worth Indie Film Showcase
Frame4Frame
South Asian Film Festival
Flicks by Chicks and Pegasus Film Festival
3 Stars Jewish Cinema
Lone Star Film Festival
Q Cinema
Deep in the Heart Film Festival
Festival de Cine Latino Americano
Women Texas Film Festival
Dallas Video Fest

All Film Festival Representatives

Not only did the festivals come together, but big ups to the venues who hosted including Alamo Drafthouse Cinemas, Cinepolis Luxury Cinemas, SMG and TexasTheatre.

Now to the Red carpet at the Alamo Drafthouse.  Not only is it an awesome location to host a festival at, it's an all around really nice full service theater with some really cool dining options.  Just wanted to add that.

A packed house at Best of Fests!

Back to this Red Carpet event... the film makers, directors, producers, actors showed up for this one and there was a festival banner there to represent them. John Wildman of Wildworks PR, Kelly Kitchens and others did an awesome job managing this festivals interviews, red carpet, media etc...

I am Royalty Radio, a media partner, was in full force on the red carpet, and we chatted with some of the festival and film reps for some great highlights for the night.

Act of Valor by Brendan & Brian

The Last Whistle the story about the Death of the  Texas High School football player -  Dir Rob Smart
Jaydee (I Am Royalty Radio): You said this was based on a few true stories..What does it all deal with besides him collapsing on the field?
Rob: It's a movie about he genetic heart condition that affects a few athletes every year and is usually very tragic

Niloo Jalivand (Flicks by Chicks and Pegasus Film Festival)
Pegasus Film Festival is a festival representing students around Dallas 18 and under
Ali (I Am Royalty Radio): I Love the idea that you put together a film festival that represents students 18 and younger, what does that feel like when you're teaching your students and they are in a film festival and putting together and producing something special?
Niloo: It Gives Me a Reason to Live!!! ...It is just the most amazing experience.. EVER!

Niloo: BOOKER T!!!

Mosca - Dir Lizette Barrera
Jaydee (I Am Royalty Radio): What does Mosca come from?
Lizette: Its a spanish word for "Fly".  It's a movie about a girl who pursues a boy....but realizes it's her cousin!!!!!
Jaydee: She Realizes ...What???
Lizette: It's her cousin...


Tejano - Dir David Blue Garcia
Ali (I Am Royalty Radio): How was it, making this film on the border, the Rio Grande Valley
David: It was great. That's where I grew up. So I knew how to get around.
Ali: You knew were all the knooks and crannies were
David: Despite what they say about the Rio Grande Valley, it's a pretty safe place.  It's not a crazy place.

Quick shot with Kelly Kitchens Dallas PR

And Feature film for the night was the controversial, mind boggling, crazy TRUE story... Abducted in Plain Sight. Directed by Skye Borgman

Skye Borgman Dir - Abducted in Plain Sight

It is a situation many of us would be lucky to survive.  The story takes place in 1974 and is  about a man, Robert Berthold aka B,  who abducted a little 12 year old girl, Jan Broberg, with almost no effort not once, but two times!! Right under the parents watchful eye. Folks This is the true story.  He "B" was attractive, charming, patient, yielding and as the story is told, an undercover manipulator..  So how did he do it? How could he do it?  Who knew? Why did it take so long for anyone to look for her? How did Jan deal with this and how could it happen twice?

The plot thickens like mashed potatoes when the milk is drying up. Get your Big Spoon for this one.

Skye spent 5 years digging into this story to bring this to the screen.  It was amazing, eerie and jaw dropping to watch as each onion layer gets pulled back. The parents shared things with Skye as she dug deep into their lives to understand how such a thing could happen.

Ali (I Am Royalty Radio) to Skye: Without giving it away, what are you really hoping, people take away from Abducted in Plain Sight?
Skye: "I want to start the conversation.  I think child abuse has been something incredibly difficult to talk about.  It is a hard conversation to start. and that is what I want this film to do, is give people a voice to start the conversation and to not have people squash you, but to have people open their hearts and open their minds."

This is a much see film.  Major Eye opener.  Great Job Everyone!

Lady Matrix - Women's Texas Film Fest - WTxFF


Ali Carter of  I Am Royalty Radio
www.iamroyaltyradio.com

Life is a Mirror

One thing is true.. We all have not experienced the same exact things at the same time... But the feelings and emotions are so close  to the same...it can not be denied...

I have never been married. ..that doesnt mean I don't feel some way about being married or having a lifelong companion,

I don't have a significant other, doesn't mean I havent felt love  and pain of that experience...

I don't have a small child now,  but did raise my son as a single mother,  so it doesn't mean I don't still feel endearing to excrutiatung love & pain..

Often times we think if somene isn't where you are right now.. They can't possibly know what you're feeling..  Not necessarily true..
Human contact and relations are universal..
In the end we all want someone to Love us,  care for us,  remember us,  treat us like we matter...
Remember that... #lifeisamirror

#wheresAli

Lingering....

There are a few things that I thought I couldn't live without in my life....

you know... like

Criminal Minds...

Cable...

Movie Pass...

A love...
And through life and changes..I have found that...I didn't necessarily need them.
Maybe because they were not serving a purpose and I have been able to live without them.... without realizing they were gone.

This hasn't been true for everything....

There are some things that just linger and linger.......and linger
and
I often wonder when the lingering will be gone...

~Ali

Blackbean pasta with Tomato relish

Simple and Satisfying Meals

#Blackbean spaghetti and tomato, onion, #garlic home made #relish..

Ask me how

If Beale Street Could Talk Review by Ali

A story about love and life and family and the mishaps of racism.... by James Baldwin.

Who wouldn't want a budding relationship that is based on the foundation of true friendship? Well that is exactly what Fonny (Stephen James) and Tish Rivers (Kiki Layne) had.

Friends since they were small children who grew up to be better, inseparable friends which turned into romantic love.
But..... of course you know it's not gonna be pretty.  The plot thickens.  But before it gets deep thick we get to witness Sharon Rivers (Regina King), Tish's mother come to life in yet another dynamic role that she kills.  She's not just a Mom and a wife, and provider, nudger, comforter, and she also is the backbone for her daughter as she embarks on this journey that she really has no idea about.
In every relationship there are 2 families and yep one is happy and the other is bitter..  I just want to know what ya'll would have said to Fonny's Mom and sisters.  Oohhh child, cuz, let me just say....

This back and forth story is about love, really, the main character, Fonny gets arrested and accused of a crime he did NOT commit... Go figure... We get to see, in a very clever way, how things like that tend to happen over and over and over.  I thought that part of the story is so crucial in the climate we are in today.
There's a baby involved, a women in Puerto Rico, 2 fathers coming together, a malicious cop and our judicial system....
and you end up with 2 families who fight for a young, innocent, black man, by any means necessary, in this country and in another country to bring necessary justice.

Did it work?  Was Fonny exonerated and released?  I won's spoil it for you...You have to go see for yourself.

The intimate pace of the film directed by Barry Jenkins leaves you immersed in every feeling and emotion, thought and.... eye color of each actor.  Last part was an inside joke.  You gotta go see it to understand.  Then post a comment when you get it.

Rating: I Give it an Ali - BAM!! 

Ask Ali of B.A.M. Body & Mind Radio show/I Am Royalty Radio 
www.iamroyaltyradio.com

wherezali.blogspot.com - for more movie reviews and blogs

FB - @IARonline
      - @alibamradio
IG - @iamroyaltyradio
     - @bamradiowali
Twitter - @I Am Royalty Radio
            - @bamradiowwithali

Ratings:
BAM - Great! Go see it
PEACHY - amusing & pleasurable

HUMDRUM - Ehhh...

RUBBISH - well it's Rubbish

Top 10 Money traps when traveling.... +1 Bonus!!!

Ya'll we all have seen the traps..

We budget in advance.. or think we have..

We got a plan and everything!! and these few things get us every time!!!

Don't get caught with the short end of the stick.  Traveling does not have to be a burden or financially scary if you plan ahead for the basics.. 

 I'm gonna give you 10 basics to start with.. 

Since my passport renewal on 12/16/2016 I have 23 stamps in my new passport and I've been a little busy. I have traveled from the old town of Havana Cuba to the beautiful countryside of Indonesia, to the red clay city in North AFrica to the Iceland coast and a few places in between and around..
I am a FRUGAL  traveler and deal finder QUEEN.. 

and recently I have embarked on Traveling Solo and I love it.. 

 You will find this comprehensive list to have some new things  & common things to consider..
Take a look and tell me what you think..

- Flight Bags - PAY IN ADVANCE- find out what is a carry on or Hold bag or checked bag.  Each airline may refer to them differently.  when in doubt call and if you need that extra pay in advance.  A $25 dollar bag online can turn into $75 at the gate.
** I'MMA add this..  Because Americans seem to dislike some airlines like Spirit because the feeling of being nickled and dimed..is  eminent 
Well most pick Spirit for the price.. Right??? So you automatically assume some luxuries or basics are consodered extras.. The price is low because they don't include the fluff that often most don't use anyway.. So key note..  Many of the flights around EU are very similar to Spirit..  Where you can get rock bottom prices if you know how to be economical..
So pack light or check a bag and only carry small on plane.. 
PERKS include being able to board first..  I witnessed this in Gran Canaria. How nice.. 


 **Account for duty free if you have connecting flights.. You can wind up either losing what you bought (ie. Liquor) if its a liquid or paying to buy a bag and to check it. I've had Duty Free Liquors I just purchased taken because I had to go back thru security..  Only way around this is to go back to baggage and see if they will pull your bag so you can pack it...

  **Speaking of bags.... bring a collapsible  bag that can be checked during your trip.  If you don't need it, great.  If you do, now you have a checkable bag that you do not have to lug around or pay for and you can get everything home..  Get those shrink bags.. I did.. They help tremendously..
My last trip I found I needed the larger checked back coming back to the states.  I picked up a nice share of gifts including Duty Free and needed to check all of it.  **I brought back 4 bottles...**

- SNACKS - Buy snacks at the store before you reach the airport and pack in your carry on.. Get your waters and juices once you get thru security and you are set... Then make sure to find a store near you and fill up the fridge with late night or early morning snacks.
**Note - if you go to a dry country... ie. Morocco and you like a little libation but want to stay in the old town area.  Get duty free at the airport and take to your hotel/Riad etc..  You will find very few restaurants that publicly sell beer or wine in the old medina area.  just an FYI.

-Print your itinerary in advance - and I mean ALL of it.. Every page.  This did not happen to me but I was forwarned in Morocco to take printed boarding passes as they charge a lot to print.  I did hear someone on one of the flights mentioning they charged someone $50 to print their boarding pass.
Right there if you had to add a bag and printed itinerary you are already $100 over budget.

- Rental car guarantees - Whoa!! be prepared for this.  You want a rental in another country....FIND the small print.  My rental in Canary Islands cost me $990 US upfront.  I did get it all back when I returned the car. But you need to know you gotta have that amt available on a CC and not to mention the check out and in process is not thorough at all in EU countries.. (At least not when I rented from TopCAr in Tenerife). They did not do the walk around or make sure I knew how to opporate everything.  I walked in, showed paperwork and they just pointed to the stall and basically said have at it.  ummmmm ok.. I still was not sure what side of the road they drove on. 浪

- Know The dogone Metric system conversions-  prepare yourself to be back in grade school almost in a funny way.  You see.. the US makes us learn the traditional metric system as kids through high school and then everything we use post primary education level is on the Western world metric table.  ie. km are mi, grams are ounces, celcius is faranheit, meters are feet etc....  

All of it seems rudimentary and may not mean much until you are hit with those metrics for every direction you are given. 
Or say you are purchasing something based on weight in grams and you can't do the math that fast.  YOu can easily end up spending 100s.  I did.  Well I got suckered into the spice guys store and their currency conversion to US is 9 DH to 1USD.  So Im good with 2 DH etc... the kicker is it's per gram not ounce.. So something that weighs .238grams can cost 238 DH which then converts to $24 USD.  Well my bill got all the way to $177 USD.  So be careful..  I love my purchases though..  I got stuff for my Mom and Brother.. 

-Using your CC - now this may seem like a great idea out the gate cause you don't have to take out much cash... right?  Well 1. some places only take cash.  2. when you swipe you can be endlessly charging and not keeping record.  I was on the edge and had to start paying more attention.  I suggest you don't even take it with you,  or have that Good Good discipline and keep it locked away.

- Exchanging USD in advance - I have found in my many traveling stops, just exchange the money upon arrival to the airport or based on where you are going, you may be better of exchanging directly at a local bank.  Which I did in Morocco.  The process was super easy and the rates are pretty close.. ** Note be mindful of local butters.. These are people who will walk in and jump right in front of you while you are in line and not think twice. like you are not standing there.  So Toughin up!!!

- Tours & Experiences - You gotta check out Airbnb.com  Yep!! they do more than rent condos and apts etc.... They have experiences and They are pretty cool and great prices! And the neatest thing is you pay the tour guide directly.  Of course Airbnb gets a cut, but you know who is getting money from showing you around their city.

- Uber vs Taxi vs Public Transpo- Im going to almost always say take public transportation IF they have a good system that runs consistently.  Why because it likely goes everywhere and is DIRT cheap.  Uber is usually the next best option because you get to see what the cost is upfront without guessing.  The flip side is, if you don't have access to wifi or data to hail an Uber, you better be in a good place for walking or hailing a cab.  So know before you go and wear the right shoes.
While in Lisbon solo,and sightseeing, I walked 1.5 hrs from a stop because I could not reconnect to my data service.  Luckily, it was daylight until the very end and my blue dot on google maps was working.  and Silverlining… I got my steps in that day for sure!

- Hotel with meals included - I say if the price is right, stay at a spot with either a fridge or a meal  preferably breakfast, included.  That way you have something to fall back on and it saves you a little cash even if it is juice, coffee, water and a snack to get your day started.

***BONUS - thought I'd throw in a little extra one for ya
- Hotel vs Hostel - I stayed in a Hostel for the first time solo in GRand Canaria.  It was a private single room with a shared bathroom.  Had a secure door and lock. Cost was $15EU for one night.  It was perfect.  It was clean and interestingly quiet.  Do your homework and make sure it is in an area where you can make other arrangements if it's a NO GO!!  But hey give it a try.  Expand your options if you are traveling with a companion and they are down to save a little cash.  And Also try Airbnb and booking.com.   Those were my go tos for my last trip,,,

You can catch more about my Dec 2018 trip on my blog.  Check back to hear all about Canary Islands, Marrekech, Lisbon and Madrid!!


So Meet new people and Have fun!!!

Let's Leave this in 2018

One thing I strongly suggest we 

leave in 2018,
and that is the notion of....

I am who I am, this is who I am, I'm not gonna change...

The reason I say leave that in 2018 is if you are an advocate of change, and you want things to be better and you are looking for people to do things different.

The change you're looking for, talking about, suggesting has to start with you..

#Alifuera

Why is following our Dreams so Hard???

Quick bullets on why I think it is so hard for each of us to truly follow our dreams...

I'll Give you 7 reasons why...

1. We don't want to ask for help
2. We don't want to listen
3. We don't know how to remove ourselves from the current life that binds us.
4. We don't truly want to remove ourselves from the current life that binds us.
5. Money rules us
6. Bad habits rule us
7. We don't want to sacrifice
All of these create this thing called fear.  Where we believe something is difficult because, one, we have not seen anyone else do it so we cant copy (most everything is copied in some form with our own twist)  And creating a new path of our won really only happens in memes.

If any of these are true for you , Decide how to break the mold like a baby bird when it breaks through the surface of its egg shell to discover something it has never seen before.....
The WORLD

#WheresAli
#WhereZAliBlog

Yellow lentil noodles with Seitan chorizo

Yellow lentil noodles

Chorizo sei tan, black beans peppers and onion with hot chili pepper sauce and Himalayan salt

Drizzled with my BBQ sauce mix and tomatilla sauce blend
Ask me how

Creed II Movie Review by Ali

Flying high now....

Knockout or NOT??

Rocky is back! but now through the eyes of another generation... Sounds cliche'.
But Who doesnt love a Rocky film?

I feel like me and Sylvester go way back..  Yes we are on first name basis..  He just doesn't know it..

Anyway check this out..
Did you see the first Creed?
I did and loved it..
Check out Bianca and the privileged Adonis (A name I love.. god of Beauty.. Doesn't quite fit this guys persona..but hey it works).


Ok back to Adonis... So he's noble and independent and strong and determined nd let's not forget stubborn....and he wants to follow in his fathers footsteps..   Without really following..
What's wrong with wanting to make your own way... I can respect that...

You know most sequels that turn into potential threequels..  Most always make the second one about with that love and family interest and they get sappy...  But this on had that girth 
Yep..  They got that..  Bianca is rocking with Adonis ie. D and let me tell y'all they are super cute in the movie..  And maybe even for real from what i can see in real life..  What's the deal Michael B Jordan and Tessa..??? And the way she sang that song..gave me life life...

Then of course you've got
Rocky and his son #astranged...
Drago and Victor #toomuchpressure
Adonis and the ideal of Apollo #whosnameisit
So yeah...it's a smathering of Father son cliches,  morals,  family values etc...
But I LOVED every bit of it..

Y'all just go see it ok?
I can't wait for the next one
.
I hear Rocky is hanging up his hat..  A reign well done.. 
There can never be another Rocky!! The soundtrack will forever be engrained in my head...
Hail Sylvester Stallone..
Rocky and now Creed...

Rating: I Give it an Ali - BAM!!

Ask Ali of B.A.M. Body & Mind Radio show/I Am Royalty Radio 
www.iamroyaltyradio.com

wherezali.blogspot.com - for more movie reviews and blogs

FB - @IARonline
      - @alibamradio
IG - @iamroyaltyradio
     - @bamradiowali
Twitter - @I Am Royalty Radio
            - @bamradiowwithali

Ratings:
BAM - Great! Go see it
PEACHY - amusing & pleasurable

HUMDRUM - Ehhh...

RUBBISH - well it's Rubbish

Load up a Fieldroast Veggie Burger!!

Tried the #fieldroast veggie burger.. And y'all know how I feel about fieldroast veggie sausage already.. (Go check out my YouTube video @Ask Ali..) It was really good.. Of course I hooked it UPPPPPP

ADDED sauteed kale salad, artichoke, beet, onion and one side Chao fieldroast cheese less cheese😉 and one side goat cheese.. On flaxseed flat bread, mustard and a smig of spicy BBQ.. Y'all my tongue danced inside... I should have made a video, but I did not.. Anyway, I give it 👍🏼👍🏼

Check it, out.. Be creative try new things.. Is with what, you already have... Don't know how or where to start ask me how.