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4 Healthy Pizza Recipes You Can Try for World Pizza Day

4 Healthy Pizza RecipesHave you been craving for a delicious slice of pizza? While indulging in this forbidden treat can be a sin for those who are on their way to being healthy and fit, there are some who just can’t resist. Now that there’s no possible way you can cheat on your diet, let’s try some awesome healthy pizza recipes you can make at home!

1. Healthy Whole Wheat Pizza Base

(Recipe by Azra Faisan)
Whole Wheat Pizza Base
You can’t possibly go wrong when your foundation is this strong! Try this Healthy Whole Wheat Pizza Base for starters:

Ingredients:

  • 2 Cups of Whole Wheat Flour
  • 1 Cup of All-Purpose Flour
  • 1 Cup of Grounded Oats
  • 1 tbsp Yeast
  • 1 tsp Salt
  • 1 Cup of Lukewarm Water
  • 1/2 a Cup of Milk
  • 2 tbsp Sugar
  • 3 tbsp Olive Oil
  • 1/2 tsp Pepper Powder
  • 1 tsp Oregano (optional)
  • 1 tsp Dried Basil (optional)

Method:

  1. Dissolve the sugar in lukewarm water
  2. Mix the yeast and keep it for 15 – 20 minutes in a warm place
  3. Mix all the dry ingredients (grounded oats, pepper powder, etc.)
  4. Add the wet ingredients, including the yeast mixture
  5. Mix them with a spoon and bring them together with your hands (You may have to wet your hands a bit).
  6. Keep them in a dry place for 2 hours for proving. By this time, the dough will have expanded to twice it’s volume or more
  7. Punch it down and carefully shape it into balls
  8. Roll each ball and flatten them to make a thin pizza base
  9. In a pre-heated oven, pre-bake the base at 200°C for 8 minutes (only if you want a pre-baked base)
  10. If you want to skip pre-baking the base, then add your choice of ingredients (choose a few veggies and add only a little cheese to make it even more healthy!)
  11. Bake at 200°C for 10-15 minutes

2. Roti Pizza Recipe 

(Recipe by Urvi Gohil)
Roti Pizza
One of the easiest healthy pizza recipes ever made!

  • Prepare a Wheat Roti
  • Apply pasta sauce or you can even mix ketchup with chilli sauce
  • Add chopped onions, tomatoes, olives, lettuce, or any veggies you have at hand
  • Top it off with cheese, paneer and condiments such as oregano, mixed herbs or chilli flakes
  • Bake them in the oven or you can pan fry it for a healthy and delicious treat!

3. Cauliflower Pizza

(Recipe by Shraddha Shetty)
Cauliflower pizza

This might seem like a bad idea until you taste it! A must try recipe for anyone who loves their veggies!

Ingredients:

  • 2 Cups of Riced Cauliflower Florets
  • 1 Cup of Parmesan or Mozzarella Cheese
  • 1 Egg
  • Salt to Taste
  • Mixed Herbs

For Topings:

  • Tomato Sauce (Tomato puree, fresh garlic, mixed herbs, black pepper powder, salt)
  • Your Choice of Vegetables
  • A Little Cheese

Method:

  1. Clean the Cauliflower Florets by washing and drying them well
  2. Pulse the florets in a food processor or grate them into rice-like granular consistency
  3. Take the riced cauliflower and transfer it to a non-stick pan. Keep stirring on low flame till most of the moisture is gone (ensure that it does not turn brown) and let it cool
  4. Beat 1 egg in a bowl, add cheese and mix them well
  5. Add the riced cauliflower and mix well with salt and herbs
  6. Line a baking tray with parchment paper and transfer this mixture onto it to make a pizza base
  7. Gently pat the mixture to make a base of your desired shape with a thickness of a quarter inch. Ensure that you keep the edges slightly thick to avoid burning
  8. Place it in a pre-heated oven at 200°C for 20 mins
  9. Remove and let it cool
  10. Once cooled, spread the tomato sauce, add any topping of your choice with a little cheese and bake it again at 200°C for 10 minutes
  11. Serve hot!

4. Buckwheat Flour Bread Pizza

(Recipe by Shilpi Agarwal)

Ingredients:

  • 4 Slices of Whole Wheat Bread
  • 100 gm Buckwheat Flour
  • 1 Chopped Onion
  • 1 Chopped Tomato
  • Grated Carrot
  • Finely Chopped Green Chillies
  • Salt to Taste
  • 4 tsp Oil

Method:

  1. Mix the Buckwheat Flour and chopped vegetables
  2. Adding salt and water, make a batter of thick consistency
  3. Pour 2 tbsp of this batter on one slice of bread and spread well to cover the whole surface of the bread
  4. Heat a non-stick pan and grease it with oil
  5. When the pan is heated, put the bread coated with batter in the pan upside down
  6. Add ½ tsp oil and let it cook for a minute
  7. Turn it, add ½ tsp oil again and let the other side get cooked
  8. Take the bread slice off the pan when both sides turn golden brown
  9. Serve hot with tomato ketchup or tamarind chutney or a little bit of cheese

We hope you try these healthy pizza recipes at home and level up your health. Do leave your thoughts in the comments below! For more healthy recipes, check out Healthy Reads or tune in to LIVE cooking sessions on GOQii Play.

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Why should we eat more turmeric?

Curcumin

Turmeric is traditionally named as “Indian Saffron” because of its deep yellow-orange colour and has been used throughout the ancient Vedic culture of India as a condiment, healing remedy and textile dye. It is one of the most researched condiment and is used in almost all Indian curries, this spice has almost no calories and zeroes cholesterol. It is rich in dietary fibre, iron, potassium, magnesium and vitamin B6. The wide range of turmeric health benefits come mainly from its main ingredient, curcumin. Turmeric is used for arthritis, heartburn, stomach pain, diarrhoea, intestinal gas, stomach bloating, loss of appetite, jaundice, liver problems and gallbladder disorders. It is also used for headaches, bronchitis, colds, lung infections, fever, menstrual problems, and cancer. Some people apply turmeric to the skin for pain relief, ringworm, bruises, leech bites, inflammatory skin conditions and infected wounds. In short, Turmeric provides a wide variety of benefits, but there are seven standouts. Once you know about these seven benefits you’ll be eager to add the spice to your diet.

  • Potent Antioxidant

Curcumin has a huge therapeutic value as boosting immunity is one of its most important properties. Curcumin exerts powerful antioxidant effects by neutralizing free radicals, chemicals that can travel through the body and cause great amounts of damage to healthy cells and cell membranes. This is important in many diseases, such as arthritis, where free radicals are responsible for the painful joint inflammation and eventual damage to the joints.The high antioxidant power of turmeric also helps to put the brakes on aging process.

  • Maintains Healthy Heart

Oxidized cholesterol damages blood vessels and promotes plaques formation that can lead to heart attack or stroke. Curcumin not only prevents the oxidation of cholesterol in the body but is also beneficial in reducing bad cholesterol and improving good cholesterol. In addition, turmeric is a good source of vitamin B6, which keeps homocysteine levels under control and thereby protects direct damage to blood vessels caused by elevated levels of homocysteine.

  • Cancer Prevention

The most promising quality of turmeric is its ability to prevent cancer. Turmeric can be beneficial for preventing breast, prostate, skin and colon cancer. This super spice  helps the body to destroy mutated cancer cells and prevents its spreading into other organs. Moreover, It causes cancer cells to commit suicide. Turmeric prevents cancer progression by 2 ways: first, by enhancing liver function and second by preventing blood supply to cancer cells which may be necessary for their growth.

  • A Potent, Yet Safe Anti-Inflammatory

Curcumin is thought to be the primary pharmacological agent in turmeric. This makes it effective for fighting heart disease, osteoarthritis pain and other health problems related to inflammation. Curcumin is believed to reduce certain enzymes in the body known to trigger inflammation. Curcumin’s anti-inflammatory effects are comparable to the potent drugs like hydrocortisone and phenylbutazone as well as over-the-counter anti-inflammatory agents such as Motrin. Unlike the drugs, which are associated with significant toxic effects (ulcer formation, decreased white blood cell count, intestinal bleeding), curcumin produces no toxicity.

  • Promotes Weight Loss

Curcumin promotes weight loss and reduce the incidence of obesity-related diseases. Turmeric stimulates the production of bile which helps to break down fatty foods, which in turn, may help you lose weight. Taking one teaspoon of Turmeric powder with every meal may help in losing weight. This of course doesn’t cancel the fact that you need to eat healthy and exercise.

  • Slows the progression of Alzheimer’s Disease

Curcumin in turmeric has a potential role in the prevention and treatment of Alzheimer’s disease. Alzheimer’s disease is a neurodegenerative disease characterized by progressive cognitive deterioration together with declining activities of daily living and behavioral changes. Various effects of curcumin, including anti-inflammatory, and antioxidant property, improves overall memory in Alzheimer’s patients.

  • Natural Painkiller

Turmeric can be considered as an instant painkiller option. Turmeric is capable of fighting a variety of pain that would otherwise be rated with over-the-counter pain medication which just suppresses the pain unlike turmeric which attempts to heal the pain as well.

A Few Quick Serving Ideas to include turmeric in meals:

  • Add turmeric to egg salad to give it an even bolder yellow colour.
  • Give salad dressings an orange-yellow hue by adding some turmeric powder to them.
  • Season rice, vegetables and curries with turmeric.
  • Turmeric is a great spice to complement recipes that feature lentils.
  • Include the spice as an ingredient in your regular meals.
  • You can make a tea out of turmeric. Boil about four cups of water with a spoonful of turmeric for about ten to fifteen minutes. Strain and drink. The best remedy for a sore throat.
  • Add turmeric into your daily smoothies
  • Add turmeric to a glass of organic warm milk which helps fight cold and flu and a remedy for better sleep

Thus, turmeric is safe and offers a variety of general health benefits, you have nothing to lose by adding it to your daily diet in moderate amounts. We hope this article helps you. For further information or guidance, reach out to our certified experts by subscribing to GOQii’s Personalised Health Coaching here.

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The connection between Sleep and Liver!

Improve sleep and sleep qualitySleep can never be categorised as a boring topic to discuss. 8 out of 10 people love to sleep at any time of the day. For some sleeping is one of the best relaxation techniques.

An old adage says ‘Early to bed, Early to rise, Make a man healthy, wealthy and wise’. How true is this phrase? Is it alright to sleep late and wake up late?

In this digital world the bedtime for most people has changed drastically. Mobile phones, laptop, work pressure, deadlines and online markets have captured most of the sleep time leading to sleep issues for most. I have many clients who have everything in life but not good sleep.

We all know good sleep is very necessary for good health and to live long years. Lack of sleep or sleeping late can reduce your cognitive power, ages your skin faster, leads to weight gain, increased risk of death and also impairs judgment and decision making ability.

While sleep requirements vary from person to person, most adults require about 7-8 hours of sleep. Children and teens need even more. But, yes the quality of sleep is more important than quantity of sleep.

We have an amazing biological clock given by nature inside our body. Various functions occur in our body when we are sleeping. The most important function is detoxification which happens during our sleep hours.

So ideally between 11 pm to 3 am most of our blood circulation concentrates in our liver. The liver gets larger when filled with more blood. This is the time when liver undergoes detoxification process. But, if you cannot sleep during this hour, the liver cannot perform its function smoothly.

Later you sleep lesser the body detoxifies and keeps accumulating toxins in the body leading to weight gain, ageing, greying hair, belly fat, low immunity, multiple organ disorders and impure blood too.

Have you ever noticed when you go to bed very late you end up feeling tired and lazy the next day? Why does this happen?

In yoga practice, it is advised to wake up as early as 4 am and 5 am and exercise. Why is that?

Because between 3-5 am, most of the blood circulation is concentrated in the lungs. Breathing fresh air and exercise during this time is good. As per yoga, this is called Brahma Muhurat. During this time, the air is fresh, the mind is calm and stable and there is very less pollution.

Between 5-7 am most of the blood circulation concentrates in the large intestine. This is the right time to Poop. Pass out all unwanted toxins from the body, preparing the body to absorb good nutrients during the rest of the day.

From 7-9 am most of the blood circulation concentrates in the stomach. This is a good time to have breakfast and digest food well. Having healthy breakfast is a great way to start the day.

Have you ever noticed the daily routine of our grandparents? No matter what happens they sleep early and wake up early and carry out their routine work. This is the only reason they are so fresh, energetic and healthier even in the old age as they have followed their biological clock.

If you go against nature, things will turn out bad!

Some helpful tips to support your liver and get a good night sleep.

  1. Drinking lemon water in the morning
  2. Choose cruciferous veggies in the day for their liver supporting properties
  3. Try to express emotions in the best way rather than suppressing it as the liver is somewhere connected to your emotions too
  4. Have a light dinner and keep a gap of 2 hours before bed
  5. Turn off the phone, laptop, Ipad for one hour before bedtime. Use this time as ME time by reading books, meditation, reflection and yes chatting with family members
  6. Avoid stimulants like caffeine and sugar post 5 pm
  7. Practice yoga
  8. Have warm milk at bedtime to get good sleep as it enhances the production of sleep hormone.

In the symphony of health, the link between quality sleep and a thriving liver is undeniable. A commitment to early, restful nights not only enhances detoxification but also rejuvenates our vitality. Embrace the magic of a good night’s sleep for a healthier, more vibrant you. For personalised guidance on optimizing your sleep and liver health, connect with our experts through GOQii’s Personalised Health Coaching here.

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Foods That Help You Boost Your Mood

boost your mood

When we feel emotionally low, feel sad, anxious or frustrated, we get tempted to eat food that can lift our spirit. But in the bargain of improving our mood, we end up binging on sweets and junk food. These unhealthy foods can have negative outcomes of their own. So, to avoid those unwanted outcomes on your body, let’s look at healthy food sources that can help you boost your mood! 

Foods To Help You Boost Your Mood 

  1. Fermented Foods: The fermentation process allows the bacteria to thrive in foods, being able to convert sugars into alcohol and acids, creating probiotics. This helps increase serotonin levels. Kimchi, kefir, yogurt, kombucha and kanji are the sources of probiotics that support gut health and a healthy gut can help you boost your mood! 
  2. Fatty Fish: are rich sources of 2 types of Omega 3 – DHA (Docosahexaenoic acid) and E (eicosapentaenoic acid), both help lower the levels of depression. Salmon and albacore tuna are fishes we can include in our diet.
  3. Dark Chocolate: helps to improve mood as it may release a cascade of feel-good compounds such as caffeine, theobromine and N-acylethanolamine which is a substance chemically similar to cannabinoids that have been linked to improved mood. It is high in health-promoting flavonoids, which have been shown to increase blood flow to your brain, reduce inflammation, and boost brain health, all of which may support mood regulation.
  4. Banana: is a rich source of vitamin B6. It helps in the synthesis of neurotransmitters dopamine and serotonin. It is an excellent source of natural sugar and good probiotics, so it helps in keeping our mood up. 
  5. Whole Grains: like steel-cut oatmeal, quinoa, brown rice, amaranth, millet, bulgur and wild rice are important sources of B vitamins, nutrients vital for brain health. Vitamin B1 (Thiamine) helps in turning glucose into energy, vitamin B5 (pantothenic acid) helps in the production of the neurotransmitter acetylcholine (involved in learning and memory), vitamin B6 is needed to convert the amino acid tryptophan into serotonin, and vitamin B12 helps in the production of neurotransmitters serotonin and dopamine, which can boost your mood. 
  6. Berries: are packed with a wide range of antioxidants and phenolic compounds, which play a key role in combating oxidative stress and an imbalance of harmful compounds in our body. They are a good source of anthocyanins – the pigment in blue-purple colored berries, which helps lift the mood.
  7. Nuts and Seeds: are a good source of plant protein, healthy fats, and fiber. They are a good source of amino acids, which help in the production of serotonin. Seeds like sesame, pumpkin and sunflower aid brain function and can help in making you feel better.
  8. Coffee: Caffeine has been found to trigger the release of brain chemicals such as dopamine, which is important for performance and mood. Caffeine helps in the prevention of a naturally occurring compound called adenosine from attaching to the brain receptors that promote tiredness, therefore, increasing alertness and attention.
  9. Beans and Lentils: are high in fiber and plant-based protein. They are full of feel-good nutrients. They are an excellent source of B vitamins, which help improve mood by increasing levels of neurotransmitters like serotonin, dopamine, norepinephrine, and gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA), all of which are important for regulating mood. Vitamin B plays a key role in nerve signaling, which allows proper communication between nerve cells. Low levels of these vitamins, especially B12 and folate, can make us feel low.
  10. Leafy Green Vegetables: Spinach and other green vegetables contain folate. Green leafy veggies are an amazing source of vitamin B, fibre, iron, and folate which can help in improving brain function and produce neurotransmitters that help in boosting mood. Adding a good amount of green veggies to your diet will not only boost your mood but your overall health as well. 

With the above food, you should also exercise regularly, sleep for 7-8 hours and focus on the quality of sleep, manage stress and stay hydrated! We hope this article helps you. For more on nutrition, check out Healthy Reads or reach out to our certified experts by subscribing to GOQii’s Personalised Health Coaching here.

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