Nutrients & more...

All the moms go through this dilemma of - what to pack in the lunch box of my child today?? Since majority of kids carry lunch box from home. The food has to be healthy and interesting enough for the kids to eat. Packing lunch for kids 1. Pack in an easy to eat way: Roll the roti/chapati/paranthas/dosa/ cheela in a foil with the vegetable stuffed in between like a wrap/Frankie/kathi roll. Roll each one separately. This way the kids will just tear the foil and eat along the way. Also, cut the sandwiches in 'easy to handle' sizes. Pic from Sailu's blog 2. Include more finger foods- easier to pick for kids and less interrupting in their activities. {Eg. Bite sized idlis with ketchup or chutney, Khamman dhokla, Cheese sandwich, paneer kofta with ketchup, dabeli , vada paav, sago or sabudana vada (cutlets made of sago), medu vada etc.} Mini sandwich Pic from here 3. Make it colorful: make food more attractive for kids by using colorful vegetables. It’ll ensure be

Most of us want to eat healthy and remain healthy but what with all the stress at work and home, we barely can register what we have eaten!! Here is a simple method for controlling what we eat: buy new plates. Buy a smaller plate for regular food - Having small plates and bowls will be easier to fill up with less amount of food. The visual will send a signal to your brain that you have your share of full plate. In the pic below, each person will see that his/her plate is full, even though the amount of food is actually different! pic Desserts are the most calorie dense items on the buffet table. Here again having really small bowls and spoons would be a better choice. It won't make you feel deprived, as a you had a full bowl and still managed to eat less. A totally win-win situation. Avoid second helpings. Use tall thin glasses for calorie dense drink like milkshakes, Lassi (Sweet yogurt drink), packed juices (they have a high sugar content) and broad glasses for ligh

In the last post we discussed all the de-merits of deep fried foods. Nonetheless, we can still enjoy these foods if only we take them moderately and have good physical activity levels to burn off the excess fat consumed. Deep frying is a technique which has to be done properly to reduce fat absorption. Appropriate cooking temperatures are important here. Each time you deep-fry, oil's smoke point is lowered irreversibly. So choosing an oil appropriate for cooking requirements is the best option. Some useful indicators of oil deterioration are: 1. Darkening, foaming, smoking, thickening, unpleasant smell on heating and a rancid taste. 2. Loose absorbent particles accumulate as sediment at the bottom of the storage container or are suspended in the oil. Use a small strainer or slotted spoon to remove as many crumbs as possible. 3. The viscosity of oil changes; it gets denser and it pours slowly. Tips to utilize oil effectively 1. Select oil with high smoke point if you

Indian cooking is full of various fried dishes from Pakodas, samosas, kachoris, namkeen sev, bhujiya (usual savory snacks) etc. to poori and bhaturas (fluffed, deep fried flatbreads) to bhajiya & vadas (deeo fried dumplings); fried foods are everywhere. Reasons to avoid Deep fried products 1. Full of fat- The amount of fat/oil exceeds far beyond the daily needs of an average person. Excess fat accumulates in the body over a period of time and leads to obesity. Such people are more prone to metabolic syndrome and heart diseases. Pic 2. Deadly- Repeated frying (a common practice in India) makes the oils smoke and changes the properties of the oil. Overheating leads to production of deleterious compounds like acrylamide, acrolein, etc. which are extremely damaging to the body. Pic 3. Salted- Salt is necessary in our diet but we are getting too much of it. This is evident by the increasing number of patients with high blood pressure. Most of the fried foods are salted. O

"Peace comes from within. Do not seek it without. – Buddha" Most of us seek a miracle cure for our ills. There are a lot of "Superfoods" in the shelves of the supermarkets today which claim eternal health. But why look at the supermarket, when you can find them in your own kitchen?? Here's a list of some natural superfoods: 1. Yogurt - Forget that prebiotic drink. Home made dahi /curd is a good source of pro & prebiotics which protects the gut and helps the immune system. It provides with a rich source of calcium, protein and is easily to digest. 2. Sprouted grains - Give your kids these grains for increasing protein in their diet. It provides easy to digest proteins (as it has active plant enzymes), micronutrients and fiber. Not to mention that you need variety for kids to eat well. They can be sun-dried and pounded to make baby food too! 3. Seasonal Fruits - Apart from giving us the taste of the season they enrich us with essential vitamins,