Summers Thirst quenchers

Summer's here in full swing and with it comes that perpetually thirsty feeling, when you never want to eat anything thats not cold and refreshing. Here are a few things i've been going after, what are your favorites?

1. Freshly squeezed apple/orange juice with breakfast, no added sugar.

2. Yogurt with a dash of blueberries & Walnuts for added flavor

3. Yogurt blended indian style with hing, salt, green chillies & corriander, seasoned with mustard & cumin seeds. Cucumber works well in the blend too!

4. Nimbu pani - Fresh Lemonade with Salt & sugar for the kick.

Finally, A fun fact, did you know that veggies with higher water content can fill you up faster than a glass of water during a meal? More reason to veg out all over!

Updates from me!

So here I am after more than a month I guess.. The non contribution being due to alas too much to do at work/home. I have realized that overworking is one of the easiest ways to lose track of health goals, especially when you dont get out of work early enough to see sunlight. Though I haven't been eating like crazy, I haven't really worked out in a while either, save for the few miles of walks each week by taking the boat instead of the train. Hoping to change that in the next few weeks & get back on the gym class rosters.

Sudan & I have discovered a new snack we both love, especially for that sweet tooth, baby oranges! They are soo yummy & great to enjoy after/before or as a mini meal!

I discovered a new salad place near work that makes a killer pear, olive oil, frisee, walnut & gorgonzola salad. The sweet & sour makes a great combo!

Saying no to rice does help in a big way to eating healthy. It makes you feel light all the time too!

Our newest love in the kitchen has to be tomatillos. These green tomato like fruit from mexico are sour & taste wonderful in dals, chutneys & kootu. Give it a try!

Apparently cutting about 50-70 calories a day helps a lot in the long term for your overall health.. try replacing your sugar with splenda or your cookie with an orange. Your body will thank you!

Tip of the day!

Look for spring onions, leeks and ramps (a wild onion) in your supermarkets this month. They make great omlette toppers. Eating whats in season is usually the way to go!
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Try bananas or dates before working out. It is an instant and healthy source of energy. Banana if you are working out for over an hour, otherwise like me for running for half an hour first thing in empty stomach in the mornings, one date should suffice. Way healthier than energy drinks that people gobble... don't you think?

****** I am adding a sidebar to keep the tip of the day or tips in general going.Post your tips there******

New Ideas?

Hi everyone!

I am back after a little while following a good vacation and some writer's block as well! Divya's entry motivated me to spring in as well ;) pun intended!

so here are some ideas:

1. How about a tip of the day item? I love reading tips, they are always fun!

2. This idea comes from the foodie in me.. post pics from great restaurants you visit/visited and rate them. I love reading picture blogs and I'm sure you do too!

what do you guys think?

For love of Quiche

Pending our vacation, we wanted to have a week of healthy eating to pre compensate for the sinful munching to come.. so it was a week sans rice or heavy carbs of any kind. So lunchtimes had me running to Financier pattiserie, a french bakery known for their petite cakes and yum food in lower Manhattan. They have daily lunch specials of soups & quiche.

Mmm quiche.. fluffy eggs with great salad is quite a treat. I especially love their truffled mushroom version. I am planning to try my hand at baking on upon my return.

Have you guys ever tried quiche recipes? If so, do share..

Visit financier here

Also posting a pic of Sudan's birthday cake that I ordered here..

Healthy Frying!

In response to Divyas' question, I read this relevant article this week: healthy frying

Hope this helps! I was pleasantly surprised to discover how health(ier) bajjis were in the fried category.

My frequented food blogs on the internet:

Some nice recipes

A must visit for New yorkers

A nice blog on travel food. I found it very unique

My friends food blog

Totally unrelated

This post has no relation whatsover to the blog except for another common passion of its readers, that of Books! I read an article in NYTimes yesterday which made me think a little about what to do. I have been wanting to clean out my bookshelf for a while now; and this article suggested that people shouldn't donate books to the library if they don't feel passionate about them. It said that we are doing a disservice to someone by making them read a book that we didn't care about in the first place, and that they'd have read one better book in their lifetime.

What do you girls think? Would you rather donate to the library or recycle? Do share your thoughts..

Mithra bakes!

Our trip to BJs last week left us with a 2 dozen bag of bananas which were slowly consumed for fear of unnecessary wastage. We got down to the final two today and their skins had started turning black. Not wanting to waste them, and in light of Divya's baking suggestion I turned them into a cake here using this recipe. I did add a handful of walnuts though, and used Sush's suggestion to use a blender to beat the eggs.

Here are the results (we nibbled a little)



I was quite pleased, and albeit a bit on the sweeter side, it was quite tasty. Planning to bake a bit more tonight, will post with pictures if attempt succeeds!

This week is NYC's restaurant week, so me & S went to get dinner last night here. We were simply amazed by the yumminess of the food, and have vowed to keep ourselves off of cheaper restaurant fare & indulge in NY C's goodness at least once every quarter! The tab was a little high (The Prix frie restaurant week dinners include a starter, main course and dessert for each person for $35) but totally worth it, since it pleased both our vegetarian & meaty tastes. So if you folks visit next time, we know where we are taking you!

Nature's bounty

I have never been a vegetable hater, but neither have i ever enjoyed them as much as i do these days. I love them fresh most of the time or just blanched/boiled, but not overcooked. Al Dente' works great on veggies as it does on pasta! Each day, I skirt the salad bar at work for a satisfying side, and I love the falafel guy a few blocks from work thanks to the zillion veggies he adds to my sandwich. Here's a list of my ten comparatively new veggie and leafy loves, tell me if you share these!

1. Arugula : This peppery little leaf adds a burst of flavor to your salad, just drizzle olive oil & you have a fab side!

2. Asparagus: I save the tops for the last as they are soo yum!

3. Beets & more beets: They are so sweet that they make a great dessert!

4. Sweet potatoes/Yams: Love these starches over the blander potato anytime!

5. Pumpkin: I like it as a soup or in my vathal kozambu but the boiled version isn't too bad!

6. Avocado: Nature's butter is as great for the face & hair as a pack as it is for your salad.

7. Zucchini: Amazing how this humble veggie transforms when grilled with olive oil!

8. Broccoli: Crisp & yum, need i say more, i know you guys heart too!

9. Sugar snap peas: great in Salads, Asian food & by themselves!

10. Edamame: The best bean, period.

Spinach soup

This is a twist on the traditional Palak panner that packs a punch & is just as if not more yum! Sudan & I licked our bowls clean when I made this last time, so here goes:

For two servings you will need:

1. two green chillies
2. one ripe tomato
3. Half a red onion
4. a few peppercorns
5. two pods of Garlic
6. A cup of spinach
7. a few cloves & cinnamon
8. A tablespoon of cream (optional, but it does make it more yum!)
7. Salt to taste
8. Oil

Add a tablespoon of oil & saute the spinach until it is cooked. Blend to a lush green paste.
Puree tomatoes to a fine paste
Chop the garlic, onions & green chillies finely & saute in oil with cloves & cinnamon.
Add the pureed tomatoes & salt to the mix & cook to a boil.
Powder the peppercorn & add to the mix.
Finally add the spinach & the cream & heat for 5 minutes. You should not overcook the spinach.

Enjoy with dippable bread sticks!

Desi cookies!

This weekend the chef in me was inspired by my exceedingly sweet tooth. I craved one of Amma's perfectly baked biscuits, reminiscing their wonderful baked smell and the golden color. So off I went to the local grocer in my aim to recreate the recipe. It turned out pretty cool, as its all gone now, I am happy with the result.

So here's the recipe (Proportions matter here):

A cup of all purpose flour

1/3 cup of confectioners sugar (you can powder regular sugar in a blender as well)

1/3 cup of butter, melted

1 tsp vanilla essence

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp baking soda (this is the egg substitute to make the cookie crumbly)

2% milk added as suitable when you knead.

Knead all ingredients together such that there are no lumps. You want a chapati doughy consistency.

Roll out the dough into a thick circle and cut out cookies with a cutter or a tumbler rim. (alternately you can make small balls & press down with a flat cup into cookie rounds for a more homemade look)

Preheat oven to 350F. Bake for 15 minutes until brown on top.

Enjoy!

More healthy stuff and a popcorn shocker

NYtimes has become my source of inspiration for all things healthy, and i came across this article yesterday which totally changed my idea about movie theater popcorn:

Movie popcorn shocker

So it will be a small only, no butter please, and only at AMC. What do you guys think?

Speaking of health habits, these days i am loving a handful of walnuts in my special K cereal in the morning, topped with Blueberries, just the way Divya recommends in the last post. I have to balance myself to eat well at lunch to go to the gym in the evening before hunger pangs strike. Strangely enough, cardio at the gym takes away hunger, while weights leave me hungry all the time..

Carrot Raita!

Taking cue from Divya, who suggests adding shredded carrots to Chapati, here I present a really easy to make dish that is so wonderfully sweet & makes a great accompaniment to chapatis or pulao. It is pretty intuitive, but we manage to wolf it down every single time!

Prep time - 10 mins

1. Shred three carrots finely ( use the smallest holes on your grater)
2. Add to a cup of beaten yogurt
3. temper mustard seeds with green chillies & asafotida & add to yogurt
4. Add salt to taste
5. Mix well. At this point the yogurt must be orange.
6. For the coconut lovers, add a tablespoon of shredded coconut to the mix
enjoy!

Interesting read on ny times

Link here to a very interesting post on NY times which may dictate your workout time :)

NYTimes health nutrition

I personally agree with this article, i find my heart rates change as noted..