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About Neha Goyal

Neha Goyal is passionate about keeping herself healthy and educating others about the same. She believes that a fit and healthy body is our greatest asset. Being a post-graduate in Nutrition, she promotes healthy living and eating. She is also a REEBOK certified aerobics instructor. According to her, health is a relationship between you and your body, and you have to take full responsibility for the same. Her health mantra is, "Eat mindfully, sleep soundly, and stay active as much as you can, so that you age gracefully"

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Refreshing and Healthy Iced Tea Recipes

iced tea

Water is probably the best drink you can have during a hot summer day! Drinking at least 2 litres of water or more during the day helps your body dissipate excess heat – especially if you’re exposed to a high-temperature environment. A lot of people struggle with drinking water and rather opt for beverages full of sugar. Instead of hydrating on drinks detrimental to your health, why not opt for some tasty and healthy Iced Tea? Let’s look at some thirst-quenching recipes. 

1. Rose Iced Tea 

Ingredients: 

  • Handful or rose petals fresh or dried
  • Cardamom – 2 crushed 
  • Green Tea – 1 bag 
  • Raw honey – 1-2 tsp 
  • Hot water – 1 cup 
  • Ice cubes or chilled water 

Method: 

  1. Put rose petals, crushed cardamom and a green tea bag in a glass jar. Pour 1 cup hot water over this. Let this sit for 15-20 minutes. 
  2. Remove the tea bag after 3-5 minutes if you don’t want to make it very strong. 
  3. Add raw honey or any sweetener of your choice (avoid processed sugar) and mix well.
  4. Strain the rose petals. Fill a glass ¾ with ice cubes & pour this tea over ice cubes or add chilled water. Your refreshing rose tea is ready! 

2. Fennel Coconut Tea 

Ingredients: 

  • Fennel seeds – 1 tbsp 
  • Coconut water – 1.5 cup chilled 
  • Green tea – 1 bag 
  • Raw honey – 1 tsp 

Method: 

  1. Heat 1 cup water in a saucepan. Add fennel seeds & boil until it reduces to half. 
  2. Add the green tea bag for a few minutes. 
  3. After a few minutes, remove the teabag and strain the tea in a tall glass. 
  4. Add raw honey and mix well. 
  5. Pour over chilled coconut water and enjoy.

3. Apple and Cinnamon Tea 

Ingredients:

  • Apple – ¼ cup chopped or thinly sliced 
  • Cinnamon – 2-inch stick 
  • Cardamom – 1 crushed 
  • Green tea – 1 bag 
  • Raw honey – 1 tsp 
  • Water – 2 cups 

Method: 

  1. Boil 2 cups of water with cinnamon and cardamom for 5 minutes. 
  2. Turn off the gas, add a teabag to this and cover for 5 minutes. 
  3. Put apple slices in a glass jar and pour the boiled mixture over this after removing the teabag. 
  4. Add honey and mix well. Keep this in the fridge for minimum of 30 minutes to let the flavours infuse. After 30 minutes, strain and serve.

4. Pineapple and Ginger Iced Tea

Ingredients:

  • Pineapple – ¼ cup finely chopped 
  • Ginger – ½ inch thinly sliced 
  • Mint leaves – 4-5 
  • Lemon juice – 1 tsp 
  • Green tea – 1 bag 
  • Raw honey – 1 tsp 
  • Hot water – 1 cup 
  • Ice cubes

Method: 

  1. Put all the ingredients, except honey and ice cubes in a glass jar. 
  2. After 5 minutes, remove the green tea bag, add honey and mix well. 
  3. Let this sit for another 30-60 minutes at room temperature. 
  4. Now fill a tall glass halfway with ice cubes, strain and pour the tea mix.

5. Orange Peel Tea

Ingredients:

  • Peel of half an orange or kinnow
  • Water – 2 cups
  • Green Cardamom – 2 crushed 
  • Cloves – 2 
  • Cinnamon – 2 inch stick 
  • Green tea – 1 bag 
  • Raw honey – 1 tsp 

Method: 

  1. Boil cardamom, cloves and cinnamon with water for five minutes. 
  2. Kill the flame and add the green tea bag and orange peel in this. Cover for 5 minutes.
  3. Strain the mixture, add honey and let it cool in the fridge for 30 minutes at least before serving.

Tips and Highlights of the Iced Tea Recipes 

  • These recipes can help you fight inflammation, boost digestion, improve immunity and also aid you in removing toxins. 
  • These iced tea recipes can be a great addition to your routine to curb hunger pangs and promote weight loss. 
  • If any of these flavours become your favourite, you can lock in those flavours in the form of ice cubes and preserve it for a few days to enjoy it without waiting. 

We hope you try these recipes and enjoy them. Do leave your thoughts in the comments below. Get more healthy recipes here. You can also get customized recipes and diet plans tailored to your health goal, directly from a GOQii Coach, by subscribing for Personalised Health Coaching here.

Hydrate well and #BeTheForce 

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5 Winter Salads You Need to Try Now!

winter salads

With winter at its peak, it is all about comfort food for most of us. Even people who limit their tea, coffee and sugar intake, don’t mind sipping on 1-2 extra cups. But this is how we tend to get through these chilly months. While the comfort food makes us feel good, it also makes us feel sluggish. The best way to bounce back is eating clean by filling our plates with more veggies. The sad truth though, is that we don’t find salads as appealing as we do during summer. To make things interesting, I have some nice warm winter salads to help you get the goodness of veggies in your meals and keep your belly satisfied.

1. Chickpea Salad

Ingredients

  • Dried chickpeas (kabuli chana) – ½ cup soaked overnight
  • Grated fresh turmeric – 2 tsp
  • Grated ginger – 2 tsp
  • Chopped green chili – 2 tsp
  • Chopped green coriander – 2-3 tbsp
  • Medium onion – 1 thinly sliced
  • Small amla – ½ finely chopped
  • Capsicum – ¼ cup finely chopped
  • Boiled potato – 1 cut in cubes
  • Tomato – 1 chopped
  • Roasted sesame seeds – 2 tsp
  • Ghee – 1 tsp
  • Jeera – ¼ tsp
  • Hing powder – 1 pinch
  • Sea salt to taste

Method: Put soaked chickpeas in a pressure cooker along with grated turmeric, salt to taste & ¾ cup water. Let it cook for 4-5 whistles till it gets soft. Meanwhile, you can chop your vegetables. Now heat a nonstick pan on high flame, add 1 tsp ghee, jeera & let it crackle. Then, add the hing & boiled potato on high heat till crisp from all sides. Now combine steaming hot chickpeas, veggies & all other ingredients in a bowl & enjoy!

 2. Sweet Potato and Beetroot Salad

Ingredients

  • Boiled sweet potatoes – 2
  • Boiled beetroot – 1 medium
  • Spring Onion – ¼ cup chopped
  • Extra virgin olive oil or Sesame oil – 1 tsp
  • Fresh coriander leaves – 2 tbsp
  • Green chilly – 1 finely chopped
  • Sesame seeds – 2 tsp
  • Roasted pumpkin seeds – 1 tbsp
  • Paneer cubes – 50 gm
  • Sea Salt to taste
  • Black pepper powder – ¼ tsp
  • Lemon juice – 1 tsp

Method: Heat a nonstick pan over medium flame and grill paneer cubes over it. Add sweet potato, beetroot cubes and stir on high heat for a minute. Put the grilled veggies and paneer in a big bowl. Add the olive oil, lemon juice, salt, black pepper and sesame seeds in a separate bowl and mix. Pour this mixture over the grilled veggies mixture. Now add chopped spring onions, green chilly & fresh coriander. Toss everything together and your sweet, tangy & crunchy salad is ready.

3. Sweet Corn Salad

Ingredients

  • Sweet corn – 1 cup
  • Chopped carrot – ¼ cup
  • Chopped capsicum – ¼ cup
  • Paneer – 100 gm
  • Chopped onion – ¼ cup
  • Roasted sunflower seeds – 2 tbsp
  • Sea Salt to taste
  • Lemon juice – 1 tbsp
  • Cayenne/black pepper powder – ¼ tsp
  • Freshly chopped coriander – 2 tbsp

Method: Boil sweet corn in a saucepan with some water. While your corn is boiling, grill your paneer in a nonstick pan. Strain water from corn and transfer it to a big bowl. Now add paneer, chopped veggies, lemon juice, salt & pepper & toss everything together. Enjoy a hot bowl of salad.

4. Kidney Beans Salad

Ingredients

  • Boiled kidney beans (Rajma) – 1 cup
  • Chopped red onion – ¼ cup
  • Spring onion greens – ¼ cup
  • Chopped tomatoes – ¼ cup
  • Grated radish – ¼ cup
  • Small amla – 1 finely chopped
  • Grated ginger – 1 tsp
  • Finely chopped garlic – 1 tsp
  • Sea salt to taste
  • Lemon juice – 1 tsp
  • Chopped green chilly – 1-2 tsp
  • Freshly chopped coriander – 2 tbsp

Method: Add boiled rajma while it is still hot (or reheat if boiled in advance) in a big bowl. Now add veggies, herbs, spices and mix everything together. Your protein rich salad is ready!

5. Fruity Nutty Salad

Ingredients:

  • Pomegranate seeds – ½ cup
  • Orange, Kiwi, Apple – 1 each
  • Slivered Almonds – 7-8
  • Walnuts – 4 chopped
  • Roasted watermelon seeds – 1 tbsp
  • Rock salt – 1 pinch
  • Cayenne pepper – 1 pinch

Method: Peel the orange & cut into slices. Divide each slice in half. Cut the apple and kiwi into cubes. Combine all fruits in a bowl, sprinkle some salt, cayenne pepper and toss lightly (as vigorous tossing may let the juice of the fruits ooze out). Sprinkle nuts and watermelon seeds over your salad. It’s now ready to eat.

Highlights of the Winter Salads

  • Most of these salads contain carbs, protein and good fats in the right proportions. Hence, they are great options for a snack or a healthy and light dinner.
  • These winter salads are a good mix of warm and cold ingredients which don’t let you use winter as an excuse to skip salads.
  • The ingredients in these salads keep you warm and improve your immunity during winter.
  • They work as a great detox post the holiday binge as well

We hope you try these salads out! Your reviews are most welcome in the comment section below. If you tried any of these recipes, share a pic with us on your social media channels and tag GOQii! 

For more healthy recipes, click here or speak to an expert by subscribing for GOQii’s Personalised Health Coaching.

#BeTheForce!

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7 Reasons Why You Should Avoid Caffeinated Drinks During Winter

Avoid Caffeinated Drinks

Caffeine is a natural stimulant most commonly found in tea, coffee and cacao plants. Billions of people rely on caffeine to start their day and to get through their night shift or afternoon slump. It works by stimulating the brain and the central nervous system, helping you stay alert, reducing the onset of tiredness. Nothing is as comforting on a chilly morning as a hot cup of tea with a cozy blanket. For most people, intake of these caffeinated drinks increases during winter as they believe it provides warmth to beat the cold. But is that really so? Is there a reason to avoid caffeinated drinks? Let’s find out! 

How Caffeine Works

While caffeine is considered safe, drinking too much raises some concerns. When you drink any caffeinated drink, your gut absorbs it very quickly and sends it to your bloodstream. From there, as it reaches your brain, it starts blocking the effects of a neurotransmitter called adenosine. Adenosine relaxes your brain and makes you feel tired. So by blocking its receptors, caffeine helps you stay awake and alert. But with alertness comes anxiety as well. At the same time, caffeine also stimulates our stress or “fight & flight” hormones.

Reasons To Avoid Caffeinated Drinks During Winter 

  1. Dehydration: During winter, most people feel less thirsty and their water intake automatically reduces. All caffeinated drinks are diuretic and tend to flush out water from the body through urine, making it deficient in not just water but also vitamins and minerals that are required for the smooth functioning of the body.
  2. Amplified Heart Rate and Blood Pressure: Winter is not a good time for people with heart conditions and high blood pressure. They are always advised to stay away from low temperatures as it can constrict their blood vessels and lead to high blood pressure. Caffeine being a stimulant also increases heart rate and blood pressure. So it may increase difficulties for such people.
  3. Empty Calories: Most caffeinated drinks are loaded with sugar and give you not just empty calories but a sugar crash later, which might make you feel more lethargic after some time.
  4. Effect on Digestion: Being a stimulant, caffeine increases gut motility or the contraction of muscles that propel the contents in the gastrointestinal tract. This might be a reason why you feel like having tea or coffee with or after a heavy meal. But this actually isn’t good because it reduces the time your food stays in each part of your digestive system, not letting the nutrients fully absorb. In fact, too much can lead to diarrhea which is followed by dehydration.
  5. Pregnancy & Lactation: Caffeine can easily cross the placenta and can reach breast milk. So, women who consume caffeinated drinks may need to limit their intake to avoid risk of miscarriage or low birth weight.
  6. Interaction with Medication: Our body flushes out caffeine generally within 6-8 hours but while in the system, it can react with your medication and supplements, causing poor absorption or side effects.
  7. Suppresses Appetite: Now this can be both good and bad for all weight watchers. Research shows that caffeine acts as an appetite suppressant but increases higher plasma levels of PYY & Leptin (anorexic hormones). It might make you eat less calories, but with less food, there is less nutrition as well. So beware of consuming too much caffeine, as our body needs more nutrition to maintain immunity.

Now, the purpose of all this information was not to coax you off caffeine but to ensure you control your intake. Controlled amounts can have some benefits too! Make sure you drink the right quantity and the right version. 1-2 cups of black tea, green tea and black coffee are better options than sugary and cream filled versions. Also ensure that you drink your last cup 6-8 hours before you sleep. 

We hope this article on why you should avoid caffeinated drinks in winter helps you! Do let us know your thoughts in the comments below. For more on nutrition, check out Healthy Reads or speak to an expert by subscribing for GOQii’s Personalised Health Coaching here: https://goqiiapp.page.link/bsr

#BeTheForce 

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Healthy Eating: High Protein Hariyali Appe

hariyali appeGreen veggies are available throughout the year and these veggies can really help you boost your mood. But, apart from boosting your mood, what if these greens gave you a high protein boost? Let’s try making these delicious, crispy on the outside yet warm and tender on the inside, high protein Hariyali Appe that will help kickstart your mornings! 

What You Will Need 

  • Semolina (Suji) – 1½ cup 
  • Green peas – 1 cup 
  • Curd – ¾ cup 
  • Cashews – 8-10 
  • Oil for tempering – ½ tsp 
  • Cumin seeds – ¼ tsp 
  • Asafoetida – 1 pinch 
  • Chopped green chilly – 1 tsp 
  • Grated ginger – 2 tsp 
  • Baking soda (optional) – ½ tsp 
  • Salt to taste
  • Water as required 

How To Prepare 

  1. Soak green peas and cashews for 10 minutes, then grind these using ¼ cup water.
  2. In a bowl, take semolina, add curd, green peas paste, green chilly, ginger and salt. Mix everything together to make a smooth batter using water as required.
  3. Heat the oil in a tadka pan and add the cumin seeds. When it starts crackling, switch the flame off and add asafoetida.
  4. Add this tempering in the batter and mix everything together.  Keep this batter aside for 15-20 minutes.
  5. Check the consistency of the batter once again and add more water if required.
  6. Heat the appe mould on medium flame. Pour a spoonful of batter in each cavity and cover the pan to let the Appe steam nicely while getting crisp from the bottom.
  7. Flip & cook the other side as well but don’t cover it this time.
  8. Remove from the pan and  serve hot with green or coconut chutney.

Highlights and Tips For The Hariyali Appe Recipe 

  • This recipe is high in protein and fiber – it makes a perfect choice for those who are looking for vegetarian recipes providing enough protein.
  • Just like regular Appe, you can add more chopped veggies of your choice to make it more fiber rich.
  • You can also use ⅓ Dalia powder or multigrain atta to replace semolina in this recipe.

We hope you enjoy this high protein Hariyali Appe recipe! Do try it out and share your experience in the comments below or share it on social media, tagging GOQii. For more healthy recipes, check out Healthy Reads or get them directly from your GOQii Coach by subscribing for Personalised Health Coaching here: https://goqiiapp.page.link/bsr

Eat healthy and #BeTheForce

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