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, ...

Party season is here! We all are trying to look right in this festive season of Christmas and New year when we all party galore. Not to mention that the cool whether in India, gives us the opportunity and excuse to dig into loads of food...only to lead us to make new year resolutions of eating healthy. Here are a few tips on how to look good and eat well too: 1. Keep a record of your daily diet. 2. Partying at home? Shop healthy 3. I know everyone loves sweet treats, but keep these tips in mind for a bright smile. 4. You love food, but you just gotta watch the scale? Remember the smart way to stay slim . 5. Drink water , its winters but it still important to keep yourself hydrated. Also those tequila shots will dehydrate you. 6. Don’t rush to get thin and don’t skip meals . 7. If you are a couch potato, get yourself moving. Walk , exercise and get ready to groove on the dance floor. 8. Parties are usually for the evening, so have a healthy lunch and snack smart in th...

Ketogenic diet has been around since the 1920s. It was used to control epileptic seizures in refractory seizure patients i.e. patients on which the drugs won't work. Epilepsy is a taboo in India. It’s a problem surrounded by local myths which goes untreated for a long time (if at all!). The estimated number of persons with epilepsy in India was noted to be approximately 5.5 million, among whom approximately 4.1 million resided in rural areas ( Murthy et al,1999 ). What does this diet do? 1.Helps reduce the symptoms and frequency of seizures. 2.Reduce drug use and minimize side effects. What is ketogenic diet? This diet replaces ketone bodies (produced by fats) as the preferred food of the brain instead of glucose(produced by carbohydrates). Therefore a person on this diet, mainly derives his/her energy from fats . The classic ketogenic diet contains a 4:1 ratio by weight of fat to protein and carbohydrate together. It excludes high-carbohydrate foods such as starchy fru...