Kelly Rowland has been a beacon of light for little Black and brown girls since she first arrived on the scene through Destiny’s Child in the 1990s, yet, despite her success and accolades, her road to self-discovery is still underway.
The Fantasy Football actress says this era of her life is rooted in constant discovery and the realization that the possibilities in life are endless.
“I’m in constant discovery and learning about myself, about life, about love, about communicating, and I just say discovery is my current era, and to me, the possibilities are endless of what my capacities are,” the “Motivation” singer told xoNecole during an exclusive interview.
A part of that discovery is acknowledging all of the different looks she’s trademarked over the years, whether it’s her classic short red cut or the blonde she’s been known to lean toward recently. She attests a lot of her iconic looks to her bonus mother, Tina Knowles.
“I’m really grateful to Mama T for that because since she owned and worked in a hair salon, she would say, ‘Well, let’s try this. Let’s cut it off. Let’s grow it back. Oh, it’s just hair,’ you know what I mean?” the 43-year-old recalled.
“I’m definitely in that spirit when it comes to hair and glam and just seeing what pops and what doesn’t. I think that there are no rules.”
“For a long time, brown girls were told you can’t do this, you can’t do this, and you shouldn’t do this. It won’t look good on your complexion. That’s not our story. That does not belong to us at all.
"Our possibilities are endless. If anything, we make the trends and we make it look good. We make gem tones look wonderful because of the brown skin that pops off of the gem tone. We make it look wonderful.”
As the mother of two boys, Noah and Titan, Rowland still aims to create tradition through a good meal. She notes how she manages to balance maintaining quality time with her family as a woman who wears many hats.
“One thing that we’re trying to stay on top of right now is one-on-one quality time,” she shared. “I like to do that with my boys. They both get their own afternoon or day with me, so we have these little dates. Noah and I were sitting at this ice cream spot in LA the last time, and we just sat there and talked. It also made me sad because I was like Oh my God, this three-year-old is growing up so fast. I can’t believe he’s even three, and we’re sitting up here and having this whole conversation.”
“One thing that we’re trying to stay on top of right now is one-on-one quality time. I like to do that with my boys. They both get their own afternoon or day with me, so we have these little dates.”
Rowland added, “Then, with Titan, he likes a sushi spot that we go to for hand rolls, and so, we definitely bond over food and over certain outings that we might have. I just like for them to be one-on-one so that we can create our memories together, and they feel seen by me, their mother, and we just enjoy each other’s time. We laugh, and that means a lot to me.”
She is also very intentional in stressing the importance of giving back, something that was instilled in her at a young age by her mother that Rowland is ensuring her sons get a taste of.
“For Christmas, we like to be home, but we also like to give back,” said Rowland.
“Around Christmastime, I want my kids to understand how important it is to give back. So this year, I think we will pile it on because both of them will understand now even more.
"The three-year-old might miss it, but the nine-year-old is definitely starting to catch on. My mom poured that into me about the spirit of giving, and I want my kids to have that same tradition that my mom gave me.”
Today, she continues to give back by pouring into a locally owned eatery that made her, even having a meal named in her honor in a new partnership with Pepsi for the Local Eats Better with Pepsi program centered around spreading the love when it comes to patronizing local restaurants nationwide.
This Is It! is one of her childhood favorite Black-owned restaurants in her home city of Houston. During the earlier DC days, she recalled bonding with her bandmates-turned-family members over a delicious plate of soul food at This Is It!, a fourth-generation, family-owned establishment known for its comfort dishes.
Courtesy
“I love the idea that a huge corporation like Pepsi wants to make sure that in their budget, they’re giving back to communities that have supported them for many years,” she said.
Rowland added, "This Is It! is a place that grew me up and helped me to keep my feet on the ground. This always brings back such fond memories for me.”
In honor of Rowland’s favorite This Is It! meal being named after her, which includes pepper steak with rice and gravy, green beans, peach cobbler, and an ice-cold Pepsi, the “Like This” crooner discussed her recipe for a good time.
“I would say good food,” she laughed. “Not that I need it, but a good Espresso Martini or a French white wine. Sometimes, I might lack energy, so I need a Pepsi to pick me right back up.”
“What else? Good energy. You need good energy. Like, good people with good energy who know how to have a good time. Who aren’t going to look around and see what the other person is doing," Rowland added.
"Because just when people are so good in their body and self-aware and self-assured, they are the funnest people to hang out with because they don’t give a crap about what’s happening around them. They just want to have a good time. I like those people.”
Let’s make things inbox official! Sign up for the xoNecole newsletter for love, wellness, career, and exclusive content delivered straight to your inbox.
Feature image courtesy
RELATED
Okay, but what if you’re someone who, for whatever the reason, can’t stand traditional vitamins? Maybe they’re too hard to swallow. Maybe they taste nasty. Maybe you’ve never really seen how they can truly benefit you. Well, for the first two issues, in just a moment, you’re going to see why gummy vitamins might be the best alternative for you. As for the last point, as I get into some of the benefits of taking gummy supplements, you may see why taking vitamins can be a really good practice overall.
Gummy vitamins have been all the rage for a few years now. If you’re wondering if they’re more hype than anything else, please read on.
Why You Should Feel Good About Enjoying Gummy Vitamins
Photo by Maria Kozyr on UnsplashEven though I don’t have a problem with swallowing vitamins, I must say that about half of the supplements that I take are gummies at this point. I mean, let’s not act like they’re not sweeter, easier to consume, and, all around more fun (I mean, if vitamin taking can be considered an enjoyable activity).
And so yeah, when it comes to the top reason why you shouldn’t think twice — or feel bad — about taking the gummies route for your supplemental health, it’s because gummies make it easier to take vitamins in the first place. Thankfully, there are other reasons, though.
- Depending on the brand (more on that in a bit), vitamin gummies have basically the same nutritional value as traditional vitamins
- Your system is able to process/digest them more easily than traditional vitamins
- They’re super convenient (because you don’t need a beverage in order to take them)
- They oftentimes are branded for specific needs like hair/skin/nails, feminine pH, and others
- Although there are vitamins that also come in liquid form and chewable tablets, gummies tend to taste much better than them all
A deliciously convenient way to get the vitamins and minerals that you need. If that’s not an awesome reason to take gummy supplements, what is, y’all? What is?
What You Should Be Aware of on the “Downside” As Well
Okay, so what if you’ve heard somewhere that vitamin gummies are something that you should do your best to avoid? Is there any kind of truth to that? The short answer (based on the “pros” that I just provided) is “no.” However, before you decide to go vitamin gummies shopping, there are a few other things to keep in mind:
- Vitamin gummies taste good because they have a good amount of sugar in them (oftentimes 2-8 grams per serving) which can lead to tooth decay or, if there are sugar substitutes in the gummies, that could lead to intestinal issues
- Vitamin gummies need additives and preservatives in order to have a decent shelf life and sometimes those aren’t the best for you overall (although the FDA did recently ban red dye in food which makes this less of an issue)
- Although vitamins don’t technically expire, many of them do lose potency after about two years — faster when they are in gummy form; that’s because gummies are more susceptible to moisture and moisture can ruin supplements faster
- Since vitamin gummies taste so good, that makes it easier to take more than the daily recommended amount (which is on the label) — and that can lead to things like vomiting and/or diarrhea
- Minerals like iron are missing from vitamin gummies; mostly because they create a metallic taste that prevents gummies from being as appealing to the palate
So, you know what all of this means, right? Although, for the most part, vitamin gummies can be beneficial for you, 1) you shouldn’t expect them to be total health life-changers and 2) you definitely need to be wise when it comes to selecting the ones that will be best for you.
And that brings me to my final point about vitamin gummies today…
5 Tips for Getting the Most Out of Your Supplement Gummies
When I first started getting vitamin gummies, I didn’t have this checklist. I wish that I had, though, because it took me a minute to figure out which gummies were going to not just taste good to me but actually be good for me. After a bit of trial and error, this is how I finally got to a brand that I am happy with.
1. Do some branding homework. Honestly, this should apply to both traditional and gummy vitamins because, as far as supplements go, they DEFINITELY are not all created equal. As far as my favorite gummy brand is concerned, it’s probably Nature Made, although OLLY, Honibe, and Smarty Pants are other ones that come highly recommended by health experts.
2. Make sure that the gummies are third-party tested. Basically, what this means is that the product has some sort of certification stamp on it. Speaking of stamps, be sure to check the expiration date on your gummies too. You’d be surprised by how many stores try to pull fast ones when it comes to not staying on top of that.
3. Pay close attention to what the label says. When you’re looking at the back of the label of any edible product, the nutrition is listed by what it has the most of. For instance, if you see vitamin C first, then it has more of that than anything else. And so, please, make sure that the additives and preservatives are very low. In fact, you’d be better off with a gummy that has none of them or has natural flavors and coloring instead.
4. Prefer what’s low in sugar. It’s not that we shouldn’t have ANY sugar in our life, it’s that we shouldn’t have more than 36 grams as a man and 25 grams as a woman on a daily basis. That said, if a gummy contains more than a third of what you should be consuming every day…can you see how that is already potentially problematic? Moral to the story: definitely look at the label for the sugar content too. Because it doesn’t make a lot of sense to take something for nutrition reasons if a ton of sugar is going to jack it up.
5. (Probably) go with bottles. Although gummy vitamins come in different types of packaging, you probably should go with bottles. Why? Because they typically have a seal that lets you know, beforehand, if the bottle has been tampered with or not. Pouches and jars don’t typically give you that kind of reassurance.
Unsplash
____
Even if it wasn’t on your bingo card to learn about gummy vitamins today (LOL), I’m hoping that you can feel more confident about them, the next time you see a bottle at Target or your favorite pharmacy. Shoot, being able to consume something that tastes great that is actually good for you — how can that not make reading all of this totally worth your time?
I’m sayin’.
Let’s make things inbox official! Sign up for the xoNecole newsletter for love, wellness, career, and exclusive content delivered straight to your inbox.
Featured image by Grace Cary/Getty Images