Healthy Snacking Kit to Stay Fit

As is generally said, “have breakfast like a king, lunch like a common man, and dinner like a pauper”. We understand the importance of having a heavy breakfast, medium lunch and light dinner. And then when we crave for something to munch between meals, very often we grab food which may be high in fat, cholesterol and carbohydrates, as such snacks are easily available over the counters. While it is essential to snack 3 to 4 times a day, albeit in small quantities, one must try to eat snacks as healthy as possible to maintain a healthy lifestyle, and also if one is trying to manage weight.

Try these quick snacking ideas and satiate your mid-meal hunger without any guilt.

10 Healthy Snacking Tips:

1.       Sweet corn/ Popcorn - Boil sweet corn pellets for 3-4 minutes, drain off the water and prepare your own spicy sweet corn snack. You can use butter-salt-pepper, lime juice-salt-chaat masala or any other creative spice combination you feel like…the result is always a healthy bowl of sweet corn.

Popcorn is a guiltless snack, which is tasty as well as filling, needless to say healthy as well. Popcorn packets available in stores or instant popcorn prepared in the microwave/pressure cooker are all good to satiate your mid-meal craving.

2.       Fruits/ Fruit Yoghurt – Whole fruits or fruit salads give instant energy, lots of fibre and loads of vitamins and minerals to keep you active and alert through the day. A gap of at least 1 hour must be given when having 2 servings of fruit snacks consecutively.

For fruit yoghurt, use hung curd (made by wrapping curd in a muslin cloth and keeping it hung for some time, by which the water from the curd drains off and the curd comes off the cloth as a thick lump), mix it with cut fruits of the season to make a healthy snack. You can add some spice to it by adding chaat masala, with salt/sugar to taste.

3.       Sprouts – Whole green lentils (moong dal) sprouts can be made by soaking the whole dal/lentils overnight, draining the water and leaving the wet lentils covered for half a day. You can make a healthy sprout salad by tossing in chopped onion, tomatoes, cucumber, coriander (dhania) leaves, boiled sweet corns and pomegranate seeds (optional) to add yellow and bright red colours. For the dressing, you can use either olive oil base or lime juice base, with salt, pepper, chopped green chillies and chaat masala.

4.       Nuts – Almond, pistachios, walnut, peanuts/groundnuts in small portions (2-3 of each when eating a mix of nuts, or 8-10 if you are eating just 1 type of nut)

5.       Brown/whole wheat bread sandwich – with fillings like paneer/cottage cheese, vegetables (tomato, cucumber, spinach, lettuce, bell peppers/capsicum, grated cabbage), boiled spinach and corn pellets, or a simple scrambled egg (with hung curd instead of mayonnaise if you like).  

6.       Vegetable tikkis/cutlets – Boil vegetables (diced carrots, green pea pellets, sweet corn pellets, diced potatoes) with a pinch of salt. When boiled, mash them completely and mix chopped green chillies and salt to taste. Divide the boiled vegetable mix into small round balls, and flatten them by pressing each ball between your palms. Shallow fry in a flat bottomed pan with a little oil. Turn the sides and cook well. Serve with onion slices and chopped coriander leaves…yummy and healthy snacks ready in no time!

7.       Milk shake – Make healthy and delicious milk shakes, and satisfy your mid-meal hunger. In a blender, mix milk, fruit slices (banana, strawberry, mango, kiwi, melon, papaya, pomegranate – but use only 1 fruit type for the shake, do not mix different fruits), sugar and blend for 2 minutes. Your lip-smacking milk shake is ready…enjoy J

8.      Multi grain biscuits/crackers - with a dash of honey (or a small spoonful of chocolate syrup)….quick, healthy and filling!

9.       Puffed rice (Bhel) – Make fat-free snack with puffed rice (bhel), roasted (or lightly fried) peanuts, chopped onion-green chillies-coriander leaves and a few drops of Indian pickle gravy (optional). Yummy magic in a jiffy!

10.   Dried Green Peas Chaat – Soak dried greenpeas (readily available in stores in the dal/lentils section) overnight. Boil the soaked peas (which would now look swollen) with a pinch of salt. Drain off excess water and let it cool. In a pan, crackle a pinch of cumin seeds (jeera) and grated ginger in a dash of oil. Add in the boiled peas and salt (to taste). The chaat base is ready. Serve in plates with chopped onion, tomatoes, coriander leaves, curd/yoghurt, a tsp of sweet/tamarind chutney (optional) and sprinkle some sev/bhujiya (optional) on top. Try it and you will know how tasty yet healthy it is!

Aloe Vera - A Potion for Healthy Skin

I was never really convinced about following a skin care regimen during my early age, and so I never had any at all when I was growing up! But with age (and thanks to the skin-care-products advertisements on TV), I started growing conscious of my skin. Were those really wrinkles on my forehead or laugh lines around my lips? Have my under eyes started sagging? Not sure if at 30 something such phenomenon sets in, but every other line on my face made me feel nervous….was I neglecting my skin, making it age before its time?

Lots of permutations and combinations of skin care routines later, I seriously decided to give Aloe Vera a chance. Given that most skin and hair care products boast of Aloe Vera as one of the key ingredients, why not give this little cactus a try? It is natural, cheap (plant it in a small pot on your window/balcony), easy to use and apparently gives skin the much needed moisture, resulting in enhanced elasticity. It is also known to contain vitamin E essential for our skin, and can reduce wrinkles and fine lines when used regularly.

Ways of using Aloe Vera:

Apply Directly – Split a leaf and a thick jelly-like juice oozes out. Take it in your fingers and apply on your face, neck, arms, legs, scalp (but do check with your doctor in case you are allergic). Leave it on for 10-15 minutes and then wash off with water till all the stickiness leaves your skin. Do not go out in the sun while you have the juice applied or immediately afterwards.

Juice Drink

-          Alternative 1 (in pure form): Cut the Aloe Vera leaves into 1 inch pieces and put them to boil with enough water in a pot. Once it has boiled, remove the leaves and allow the liquid to cool. This liquid contains the juice from the aloe vera leaves. You can directly drink this juice once it has cooled, or add a few drops of orange/lime juice, a pinch of salt and sugar (according to taste) to the juice for a tangy taste.

-          Alternative 2 (juice mocktail): Take the juice of 1 lime (or 1 orange), scoop out the jelly from 2 large Aloe Vera leaves and mix them in a blender with 1 tbsp of sugar and 1 glass of water. Serve this mocktail in a tall glass with ice cubes and your healthy Aloe Vera mocktail is ready!

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Face Pack – You can make face pack with Aloe Vera at home, keep in the fridge and use everyday. Scoop out the jelly from the Aloe Vera leaves and mix with turmeric and honey. If the paste becomes too thick, add a few drops of rose water. Make a smooth paste and keep in an air-tight container. Daily use of this pack will give the skin a natural glow!

Fresh Aloe Vera juice/jelly mixed with a few drops of fresh lemon juice can also help remove the effects of sunburn/tanning.

While you could also buy creams, lotions and various other skin care products which contain Aloe Vera, having an Aloe Vera plant in your garden/balcony is certainly a much healthier and cost-effective way to a healthy, glowing skin J

Wholesome Meal with Broken Wheat (Dalia)

I love walking through the aisles of supermarkets, every time noticing something new – sometimes I just read the nutrition facts on the reverse of the packets, or the ingredients on ready-to-eat food packets (which I try to incorporate in my own recipes), and sometimes even venture to try out one of these new food items. Broken wheat (or Dalia in Hindi) was one such item I had noticed on the racks of the supermarket I visit, having high nutritional value, but was not very sure how to cook it.

I tried Dalia khichdi, and it turned out really tasty, very much like the rice khichdi we usually prepare in India using small-grained rice, but minus the starch and with lot more nutrition.

Broken wheat/dalia has the look of brown rice (maybe a shade lighter), the whole raw wheat kernels coarsely ground but retaining the outer skin (bran). It is understood to be rich in iron, protein and fibre.

Here are 2 delicious recipes using broken wheat (Dalia) which I find very easy to cook and are wholesome too!

Dalia (Broken Wheat) Khichdi

Ingredients: Dalia (broken wheat) ½ cup, moong (yellow) dal ½ cup, vegetables of your choice (carrots, green peas, tomatoes, cauliflower, beans), 1 onion, green chillies, whole cumin seeds (jeera) ½ tsp, garam masala whole (1-2 pieces each of whole cardamom, cinnamon and cloves), ginger paste ½ tsp, spice powders (turmeric, red chili, cumin, coriander – ½ tsp each), salt, sugar (optional), oil, water, ghee/butter (optional).

Method: Wash the wheat and dal and keep aside. Heat the oil in a kadhai/pan and sprinkle in the cumin seeds and whole garam masala. Once they crackle, add the onions and green chili and sauté for 2-3 mins. Then add all the vegetable pieces and cook for some more time. While they are cooking, add in the ginger paste, masala powders and salt (and sugar if you choose). When the vegetables are cooked, add the washed wheat (daliya) and moong dal and cook for 1-2 mins. Then add 3 cups of water (use this measure if you are using ½ cup wheat + ½ cup dal) and cover the pan. First keep the pan on high heat, then after 1 min, put it on simmer and allow it to cook for 5-6 mins. After some time, check if the wheat and dal have softened (which means they are cooked) and take the pan off the heat. You can now add 1 tsp of ghee/butter (optional). Daliya khichdi is ready to serve!!

Dalia (Broken Wheat) Payasam/Kheer

Ingredients: Dalia (broken wheat) ½ cup, milk 1 litre, sugar 4 tbsp (or according to taste), cardamom 3-4 (crushed), chopped nuts (cashew/pistachio/almond as per choice), raisins

Method: Wash the Dalia and keep it soaked in water. Boil the milk and then let it simmer till it reduces to half its original volume. Keep stirring while the milk simmers. Once the milk has reduced, filter out the dalia from water and add to the milk, then continue to simmer the mixture. After 2-3 mins, add in the raisins, chopped nuts and cardamom also. Keep stirring while checking if the dalia has softened. Once the Dalia is completely cooked (it will get easily crushed when u press it between your fingers), remove the pan from heat and add the sugar. Stir the mixture to blend in the sugar. Your Dalia kheer/payasam is ready. After cooling, you can chill it in the fridge as chilled kheer/payasam tastes even more delicious J 

Beat The Heat - Naturally!

Summer was never as scorching as it is this year! Temperatures have been soaring across the globe, making summers hotter and longer every year. And this takes its toll on our bodies, our skin, our health if we do not take proper care and caution. We all know about various simple ways to beat the heat, which do not consume a lot of time or effort, but require consciousness and consistency. Following the below tips certainly go a long way in protecting ourselves from the scorching effects of the sun, like skin darkening, dehydration, sunstroke or digestion problems.

·         While going out in the sun, remember to apply sunscreen/sunblock, carry an umbrella and wear cooling shades

·         Drink lots of water, more than you normally drink (ideally 2-3 litres) to keep your body hydrated

·         While travelling, carry a bottle of plain water or water with a pinch of salt and sugar, to avoid guzzling on colas to quench your thirst on the road

·         Sip a glass of cane juice or tender coconut water instead of going for a cup of tea or coffee

·         Eat more fresh fruits and vegetables, specially the ones with higher water content, like watermelon, orange, sweet lime, grapes

·         Avoid too much spicy or fast food, as they are harder to digest this season

·         Instead of having ‘fruit drinks’ which are packed with preservatives and sometimes less than 20% fruit content, drink fresh fruit juices

·         Include yoghurt in your diet in the summer – add it in your salad, have it with parathas, use it with fruits for shakes, make yoghurt drinks or just have it plain.

To make summer a bit more exciting, I try to add some zing to the drinks I make from natural ingredients at home, as our bodies need a lot more fluid in summers than the rest of the year. You could try some of them, and add your magic touch of innovation as well J

Watermelon-Orange Punch

Ingredients: ½ Watermelon peeld and cut in pieces (seeds removed), 1 orange peeled, a small slice of giner, salt and sugar to taste

Method: In a blender/mixer, add the above ingredients and mix well. You may slowly add the salt and sugar to get your desired taste. Add a few ice cubes if you want it chilled and run the mixer again. Your watermelon-orange punch is ready in less than 5 minutes.

Tangy Carrot Drink

Ingredients: 2-3 Carrots peeled and cut into small pieces, juice of 1 lemon (or lime), a small slice of ginger, 1/3 tsp ground pepper, salt and sugar to taste, ice cubes (optional)

Method: Mix all the above ingredients in a blender/mixer, while adding the salt/sugar/pepper slowly to get your desired sweetness/saltiness. Add ice cubes and run at the end if you want a cold juice. Serve fresh.

Chilled Mango and Yoghurt Delight

Ingredients: 1 mango peeled and cut in pieces (you could use mango pulp available in tins as an alternative), 1 cup plain yoghurt, a pinch of salt, sugar to taste, a pinch of ground pepper or chaat masala (you could use roasted and ground jeera/cumin as an alternative), ice cubes (optional).

Method: Blend all the above ingredients in a mixer till all the mango pieces have been crushed and mixed uniformly. You could try adding a small slice of ginger as a variation. You could serve this immediately, or chill in the fridge for a while before serving.

The Shining Skull

At 72, my Dad is as fit as a fiddle. Not that he was always health conscious. He used to be quite plump in his mid-forties, and I still remember the love handles of his waist, which is characteristic of middle aged people with a sedentary lifestyle and high adrenaline corporate careers.

One fine day, he decided that enough was enough and devised a strategy to get rid of the excess fat, and assiduously stuck to it till he was able to reach his target BMI (Body-Mass Index). He used a multi-pronged approach which included a change in dietary habit, water therapy and a regular physical exercise in conjunction with yogic practices. One of the yogic practices, which later received widespread acclaim through the teachings of Baba Ramdev, is a breathing exercise known as ‘Kapalbhati’.

Found in several sacred Hindu scriptures, such as Gheranda Samhita and Hathayoga Pradipika, Kapalbhati can be translated as ‘frontal brain bellowing’ or as ‘shining skull’. The benefits of Kapalbhati are numerous – it helps to improve the digestive functions, makes the mind more tranquil by removing drowsiness and blocking disturbing thoughts. It helps clean out the lungs and makes oxygenation more efficient. It also strengthens the respiratory muscles.

The technique of Kapalbhati is as follows:

Sit in a comfortable position with the back upright. Close your eyes and relax the body. Inhale by slowly allowing the abdominal muscles to expand and then exhale with forceful contraction of the muscles. This is one cycle. Repeat the inhalation/exhalation cycles at least 25 times initially. This will make one round. Try at least 10 rounds in the beginning and go on increasing the rounds every day, but not beyond your comfort level.

This exercise should preferably be done in an empty stomach, either in the morning or in the evening. People with heart ailment or respiratory problems should seek professional advice.

The practice explained above is for beginners. Advanced practices require following awareness on certain points and breath retention along with Kapalbhati. Inhalation can also be done forcefully, but then that is another practice called ‘Bhastrika Pranayam’. Normal breathing involves active contraction of the respiratory muscles while expiration occurs passively. Kapalbhati inverts this process which is the source of brain stimulation by reversing the flow of nerve impulses.

It might come as a surprise to the iPhone generation that such a simple and inexpensive practice can be so effective in reducing excess weight. I too was a sceptic till I saw this old technique make a new man out of my Dad. And the best part is that he has not regained the weight which he lost in a matter of a few months only. As they say, “Old is gold”, you can try this old practice and see for yourself the visible benefits in a few weeks’ time. So go for this practice, in all earnestness, and reap high dividends with very little investment.

Say Cheese

Everybody loves cheese! And besides its yummy taste, there is another reason to love it – cheese is packed with the goodness of calcium, essential  for strong bones and teeth. Strong bones are less fragile, hence less susceptible to breakage, aches and pains.

Paneer or the Indian cottage cheese, is a well-known food item not just in India, but the world loves it! While paneer is readily available in the markets in packaged form, I prefer to make it at home whenever I want to make a paneer dish. Home-made paneer is fresh and healthy, as it has no trace of preservatives. Also, it takes barely 10 minutes to make (after which it needs to cool and set), and is loaded with calcium and proteins. This cheese is light on the stomach as well, helping it to get digested easily. So the next time you plan to cook paneer, try to make it yourself at home, by following my quick recipe J

Make Paneer (Cottage Cheese) At Home

Ingredients: ½ litre milk (with cream), 100 ml curd (or juice of 2 lemon)

Method: Bring the milk to boil, and when it starts boiling, lower the heat. Start adding in the curd (or lemon juice) while stirring the milk. The milk will start curdling while you continue to add the curd (or lemon juice). Keep stirring till all the water separates and lumps of paneer (cottage cheese) float on the water. Take the vessel off the heat and drain out the water. Allow the paneer to cool. The paneer will still have a lot of water. So wrap the entire lump in a soft cotton cloth, make a small bundle and sqeeze off as much water as you can. Then place this bundle on a clean, flat surface and put a heavy material (a heavy vessel or jar or grinding stone) on top of it to drain off any remaining moisture. After 15-20 minutes, open the cloth and you will find a slab of fine white cheese. This cheese/paneer is fresh, has no preservatives, and so easy to prepare! You can store this in the fridge for 2-3 days.

Paneer Pakoda (Cheese Fritters)

Ingredients: 100 gms paneer (cottage cheese), 1 cup besan (gram flour), oil (for frying), 1 tsp lime juice (optional), chopped green chillies and salt (to taste)

Method: Cut the paneer/cheese into thin, flat strips so that they cook easily. Add a pinch of salt and lime juice, mix well and keep aside. For the batter, add water to the besan (gram flour) and mix till it forms a batter of thick consistency. Add in the chopped green chillies and salt. Mix well.

Heat oil in a pan. Then dip each paneer/cheese strip into the batter, coat both sides well and lower in the oil. Fry for 2 minutes, then turn the side and fry for 1 more minute. Remove from oil and the pakodas/fritters are ready to be served with chutney or ketchup as a delicious snack.

Stuffed Paneer Paratha (Indian Bread with Cheese Stuffing)

Ingredients: 100 gms paneer (cottage cheese), ½ onion finely chopped, a small piece of ginger finely grated, roasted cumin seeds (jeera), ½ tsp coriander powder (dhaniya), chopped green chillies and salt to taste, chopped coriander leaves, flour, oil

Method: For the paratha (bread) stuffing,  crumble the paneer and add onions, grated ginger, chillies, coriander powder, cumin seeds, coriander leaves and salt. Mix well and keep aside. For the paratha, mix flour and water and make a soft dough. Now make small balls from the dough and roll out with a rolling pin, then add about 1 tbsp of the paneer filling, fold in the paratha from all the sides, and roll out again. Heat a flat pan/tawa and cook the paratha on it for a few minutes. Then turn the side and cook again. Now add 1 tsp of oil to each side and cook the paratha for 2 more minutes, turning sides. Remove from heat and serve your ‘cheesy’ lip-smacking parathas with raita or chutney.

Paneer Kheer (Cheese Balls in Sweetened Milk)

Ingredients: 200 gms Paneer (cottage cheese), 1 litre milk (with cream), 3 tbsp sugar, 1 tsp ground cardamom, finely chopped nuts (cashew, almonds, pistachio), raisins

Method: Knead the paneer thoroughly so that a smooth dough can be formed. Now make small balls from the dough (the balls should not crumble) and keep aside. Boil the milk in a saucepan till it reduces to half its original volume. In this condensed milk, place the paneer balls carefully and let it simmer. After a few minutes, add the sugar, cardamom powder, nuts and raisins and mix. Once the sugar has dissolved, remove from heat and cool. Serve this paneer kheer chilled, garnished with a few raisins and nuts.

Just Beet It!

When I was much younger, I remember having been diagnosed with iron deficiency, causing haemoglobin in my blood to dip below normal levels. I was advised to consciously add iron-rich food in my diet to bridge this gap, apart from the iron supplement tonics and capsules. Being a non-vegetarian, iron from meat and fish was automatically a part of at least 1 meal of my day. So for the additional needs, my mother chose vegetables like beetroot, spinach and raw bananas. And believe me, I liked none of those!

Now, even after so many years, I strive to maintain an iron-rich diet with the same vegetables (which I still dislike!), but give my own twist to the dishes make them appeal to my palate J Beetroot is one vegetable which I cook very often. Some of my recipes are shared below.

Beetroot and Orange juice

Ingredients: 1 beetroot, 1 orange (or ½ cup orange juice), 1 tsp sugar/honey, 1 small slice ginger , ice cubes (optional)

Method: Wash and peel the beetroot and orange. Cut the beetroot into small cubes. Put all the ingredients in a juicer/mixer and blend for a few minutes. Add ice cubes (if you want chilled) and blend once more. Beetroot and orange mocktail is ready!

Grilled Beetroot Sandwich

Ingredients: 1 beetroot, 1 potato, ½ onion finely chopped, ½ tsp ginger paste, ½ tsp garlic paste, green chillies chopped (to taste), salt, oil, bread

Method: Cut beetroot and potato into cubes and boil. Mash the boiled beetroot and potato separately. Mashed beetroot releases a lot of water, so press and strain away the excess water. Now mix the beetroot mash, potato mash, chillies and salt. Heat oil in a pan and fry the onions till golden. Then add the ginger and garlic paste and fry for a minute. Now add the mash mix in the pan and cook for 2 minutes till the flavours are blended. Fill this mix between 2 slices of bread and grill in a sandwich maker.

Stuffed Beetroot Paratha (Indian Bread)

Ingredients: 1 beetroot, 1 potato, ½ onion finely chopped, ½ tsp ginger paste, ½ tsp garlic paste, green chillies chopped (to taste), salt, oil, flour

Method: Cut beetroot and potato into cubes and boil. Mash the boiled beetroot and potato separately. Mashed beetroot releases a lot of water, so press and strain away the excess water. Now mix the beetroot mash, potato mash, chillies and salt. Heat oil in a pan and fry the onions till golden. Then add the ginger and garlic paste and fry for a minute. Now add the mash mix in the pan and cook for 2 minutes till the flavours are blended. The paratha filling is ready.

Make a dough by mixing water in the flour, take a small ball from the dough and roll out, add a spoonful of the filling in the centre and fold in from all the sides. Roll out again into a round paratha. Cook one side on a flat pan, then turn the side and cook for some more time. Add oil to both the sides and cook for another minute. Serve hot with raita or curry.