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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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5 Healthy Recipes For Janmashtami

healthy janmashtami recipes Janmashtami marks the birth of Lord Krishna. It is celebrated all over India with vigor and zeal. Devotees of Lord Krishna observe a fast and offer Puja to the Lord. Most people observe a fast religiously without even drinking a single drop of water while others do the same with various considerations. So, here are a few Healthy Janmashtami Recipes for people who observe the Phalahar kind of fast, while keeping healthy eating in mind.

1. Sago Uttapam

Ingredients:

  • Soaked Sago (Sabudana) – ½ cup
  • Water Chestnut Flour (Singhara Atta) – ½ cup
  • Curd – ½ cup
  • Boiled Potato, Chopped Tomato – 1 each
  • Grated Carrot – ½ cup
  • Grated Paneer – ½ cup
  • 2 green chilly chopped
  • Ginger (grated) – ½ inch
  • Chopped Coriander Leaves
  • Ghee or Coconut Oil – 1 tbsp
  • Sea salt to taste

Method:

  1. Grind sago, boiled potato & curd together in a blender.
  2. Mix Singhara Atta into this & make a smooth batter. You can mix water to adjust consistency of this batter. Let it rest for 15 minutes.
  3. Now add salt in the batter & heat a nonstick pan. Pour few drops of oil/ghee on pan & spread Uttapam batter in desired thickness.
  4. Sprinkle vegetables over Uttapam & let it cook from one side. After few minutes, flip it & let it cook from another side as well.
  5. Your healthy Uttapam is ready.

2. Creamy Coconut Chutney

Ingredients:

  • Fresh Grated Coconut – 1 cup
  • Roasted Peanuts – ¼ cup
  • Sea salt to taste
  • 3-4 Green Chillies
  • Chopped Coriander Leaves – ¼ cup
  • Curry Leaves – 10 to 12
  • Hung Curd – 2 to 3 tbsp
  • Water as required

Method:

  1. Blend all the ingredients in a mixer until you get a smooth paste
  2. Add 2-3 tbsp of water at a time.
  3. Your creamy coconut chutney is ready to have with the Uttapam.

3. Fruity Delight

Ingredients:

  • Low Fat Hung Curd – 1 cup
  • Pomegranate Seeds – ½ cup
  • Fruits (Banana, Apple, Pear) – 1 of each
  • Pineapple – ½ cup
  • 10-12 cashews
  • Cardamom Powder – ¼ tsp
  • Honey – 2 tbsp (optional)

Method:

  1. First chop banana, apple, pear & cashews & keep aside.
  2. Whisk hung curd with cardamom powder & honey in a bowl.
  3. Add all fruits & chopped cashews.
  4. Keep in fridge for half an hour before serving.

4. Carrot and Dates Kheer

Ingredients:

  • Skimmed Milk – 1 glass
  • 2-3 Dates (chopped)
  • 4-5 chopped Cashew
  • Grated Carrot – 2 tbsp
  • 1 pinch Cardamom powder

Method:

  1. Boil milk in a deep pan & add dates & carrot.
  2. In another pan dry roast cashews & keep aside.
  3. Let the milk simmer at low flame till it reduces to half. Keep stirring in between.
  4. Let it cool a little & then add cardamom powder & roasted cashew. Serve warm.

5. Paneer Rolls

Ingredients:

  • 2 Boiled & Grated Potato
  • Grated Paneer – 2 cups
  • 1 Green Chilly Chopped
  • Chopped Ginger – ½ tsp
  • Black Pepper Powder – ½ tsp
  • 7-8 Raisins Chopped
  • Cardamom Powder – ½ tsp
  • Chopped Coriander Leaves – 2 tbsp
  • Salt to taste
  • 2 tsp Ghee

Method:

  1. Take boiled potato & paneer in a bowl. Add green chilly, ginger, black pepper powder, raisins, cardamom powder, coriander leaves & salt.
  2. Mix all ingredients well and make a dough.
  3. Make rolls of desired size out of dough & keep aside.
  4. Heat a nonstick pan & grease it with some ghee. Now place the rolls in pan & fry till they get golden brown.
  5. Keep turning them a little so they cook evenly. Serve hot.

Highlights of the Healthy Janmashtami Recipes

  • All the recipes have a good mix of carbohydrate, protein & healthy fats.
  • Fruits, dry fruits or veggies provides vitamins & minerals.
  • Preparing all these recipes this Janmashtami can make a complete thali with variety of flavors.

Do try these healthy recipes & enjoy a guilt free feast on Janmashtami in controlled portions. Do tell us which one you liked the most in the comments below! To get these Healthy Recipes directly from your GOQii Coach, subscribe to personalized coaching here: https://goqiiapp.page.link/bsr

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Healthy Eating: Schezwan Dosa

schezwan dosa

Most of us are avoiding that delectable street food thanks to the monsoons. But, what can we do in those tiny moments of weakness when we crave it more during the rains? It’s only natural to feel this way after braving the scorching summer heat and facing the drop in temperature which makes our body crave for some nice warm, cozy, comfort food. While it may sound like a legitimate reason to indulge, let’s keep in mind that it needs to be healthy too! So here’s a mouthwatering street food recipe with a healthy twist – let’s learn to make some Schezwan Dosa! 

What You Will Need 

For Dosa:

  • Semolina – ½ cup 
  • Rice Flour – ½ cup 
  • Multigrain flour – ½ cup 
  • Curd – 1 cup 
  • Flaxseed powder – 1 tbsp 
  • Salt to taste 
  • Schezwan sauce – 2 tbsp 
  • Oil for cooking

For Stuffing: 

  • Oil – 2 tsp 
  • Chopped garlic – 1 tsp 
  • Spring onion – ¼ cup 
  • Carrot – ¼ cup 
  • Cabbage and capsicum – thin juliennes 
  • Schezwan sauce – 1 tbsp 
  • Salt to taste 
  • Lemon juice – 1 tsp 
  • Chopped Coriander – ¼ cup 

How To Prepare the Schezwan Dosa

  1. First, grind the Semolina into fine powder. 
  2. Now mix the rice flour, semolina powder, multigrain flour, flaxseed powder and curd together. 
  3. Whisk it and make a pouring consistency batter adding water. 
  4. Keep it aside for 15-20 minutes. Then add salt and whisk the batter once more.
  5. For the stuffing, heat oil in a pan and add all the vegetables along with salt. Sauté for 2-3 minutes. 
  6. Now add the schezwan sauce and lemon juice. Turn the gas off and cover the pan for 2 minutes.
  7. For the dosa, first heat a dosa tawa and spread a ladle full batter. Spread it over to get a round dosa. 
  8. Let it cook till the edges get light golden brown. 
  9. Now spread some schezwan sauce over the dosa and put the vegetable stuffing over it.
  10. By this time, the dosa is crispy and golden brown. Sprinkle some freshly chopped coriander leaves and fold the dosa over. 
  11. Serve hot with any sauce or chutney of your choice.

We’re sure you’ll enjoy this tasty, nutritious and delicious fusion of South Indian and Chinese cuisine, bringing back some of your fondest monsoon memories without compromising your health. Do let us know your thoughts in the comments below! 

For more healthy recipes, check out Healthy Reads or ask a GOQii Coach by subscribing for personalized health coaching here: https://goqiiapp.page.link/bsr

You can also purchase some nutrient-rich Schezwan Sauce from the GOQii Health Store within the GOQii app for a discount using your GOQii Cash! 

#BeTheForce

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How To Correct Your Posture At Work

Correct your posture

You must have heard that sitting is the new smoking. You might have also started experiencing this in your life since the pandemic, where you might have been inactive and sitting in front of the laptop for long hours. People are getting more backaches and cervical issues due to long sitting hours, majorly due to bad posture. While you may not be able to swap your job to lead an active lifestyle, there is one thing that you can start doing right now and that is correct your posture, especially while sitting. 

How Can You Correct Your Posture? 

Good posture is when your muscles and ligaments that support your back and neck have to bear the least amount of strain while sitting. Besides standing and walking as much as possible, and taking a few breaks from sitting at the desk, the next best thing one can do is to have an excellent sitting posture.

  1. The very first step to find and correct your posture is to adjust your desk height for your eyes to look ahead on your computer screen without the need of flexing your neck to see your work. 
  2. Your ears should be in the same line as your shoulder which means no leaning forward. 
  3. Roll and pull back your shoulders to avoid protracting your shoulders. 
  4. Your feet should be flat on the floor. Neither tucked under the chair, nor stretched out too far away in front of you. Do not cross your legs either. 
  5. Your weight should be evenly spread over both of the hips & lower back. The buttocks should touch the back of the chair.
  6. Natural back curve should be maintained all the time. One can also place a rolled-up towel or lumbar roll.
  7. Your knees should be bent at a 90 degree angle or can be slightly higher than hip level. You can also place a low stool below your feet.

Some Additional Tips 

  • While sitting in a chair that rolls or pivots, rather than twisting at the waist, turn the whole body to prevent any jerks.
  • When standing up from a chair, first move to the front of the chair and then stand up by straightening your legs.
  • Try to avoid sitting for longer hours at a stretch in the same position.
  • Keep frequently used objects within close reach.
  • Keep the keyboard in the right position so as to leave a gap of 4-6 inch between the edge of the keyboard and the table so your wrists can rest while you type something.

Long Term Approach 

Knowing what’s right is definitely the first step if you want to improve your posture, but this is not a one time thing. It does take work and dedication on a regular basis along with some lifestyle changes to improve your posture in the long run. 

  • When you walk, stand, sit or run, make sure you are practicing good posture. If you notice that you are slouching or returning to old bad posture, correct your alignment right away.
  • If you are carrying around some extra weight, try to shed that as having the right body weight for height can do a lot to improve your posture.
  • Practice stretching regularly to ease up stiffness in the muscles that develop due to staying in the same posture for a long time, whether it’s prolonged standing or sitting.
  • Make strengthening exercises a part of your routine as it will improve muscle power to fight gravity and keep you upright in proper posture.

We hope this article will help you correct your posture. Do let us know your thoughts in the comments below! For more tips, check out Healthy Reads or ask a GOQii Coach by subscribing for personalised health coaching here: https://goqiiapp.page.link/bsr

#BeTheForce 

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Why Should You Opt For A2 Cow Ghee?

A2 cow ghee

Ghee has always been a part of the Indian tradition as one of the healthiest milk products. In Indian households, we generally use ghee made at home with cow milk. Recently a new type of cow ghee has appeared in the dairy market known as A2 Cow Ghee. Looking at the name, A2 Cow Ghee seems like some kind of a new trend in the health market but it is cow ghee made from A2 milk. Let’s understand it better.

We all know that milk is a good source of protein. However, ghee is pure fat but contains a very small amount of protein as well. There are two types of protein found in milk called casein and whey. There are also different types of casein protein, one of which is beta-casein. A1 & A2 are actually two variants of beta-casein that make up about 30% of total protein in cow’s milk. Traditionally in India, cows produced milk that contained only the A2 form of beta-casein, but today, most of the milk available in local stores contains mostly A1 proteins.

The Difference Between A1 and A2 Cow Ghee 

Reading the name, both types seem like brothers of the same family but there is a huge difference between their source and effect on health. Ghee when made using A2 milk which has only A2 Beta casein (a type of protein) is called A2 ghee. This type of protein is found in the milk of only some native Indian breed of cows and some other animals like the Indian buffalo, goat, sheep, camel, etc. 

On the other hand, ghee made from milk having only A1 beta-casein or sometimes both A1 and A2 beta-casein is called A1 cow ghee. A1 beta-casein is found in all commercial dairy products that we use in general due to foreign breed or crossbreed cows in India. It’s cheaper as the milking capacity of crossbred cows is greater than desi cow and the total number of them is also huge. Obviously, A1 milk is no way better than A2 milk. 

The beta-casein in A1 milk has a structure that allows a short molecule called beta-casomorphin-7 or BCM-7 to split off during digestion. Some foreign researchers say that this small protein can cause various problems ranging from juvenile diabetes, autism, schizophrenia, allergies to auto-immune diseases such as Multiple Sclerosis and Parkinson’s. While the percentage of people with immediate effects is very small, the consequences are severe for affected individuals. On the other hand, A2 cow milk is comparable with breast milk when it comes to health benefits and digestibility.

What Are It’s Benefits? 

Being higher in nutrition values such as protein, iron, sodium, calcium, vitamin A, D, E with Omega 3 and 9 fatty acids, A2 cow ghee has many health benefits.

  • Slows the aging process and is good for skin & hair
  • Helps recover from wounds
  • Prevents diseases like asthma & headaches & alleviates insomnia
  • Best for joint massage & treating broken bones
  • Treats gastric issues
  • Lowers bad cholesterol and does not cause blockages
  • Makes your voice soft
  • Great for people who are trying to lose weight
  • Boost immunity
  • The best option for Nasya kriya which has many benefits for health
  • Suitable for even lactose-intolerant people
  • Reduces inflammation
  • Excellent for growing kids and pregnant women

Hope this information is helpful. Don’t hesitate to add at least 1 tsp of A2 cow ghee in your daily diet considering its multiple benefits for your body and mind.

You can get Pure Desi A2 Cow Ghee from the GOQii Health Store for a discount using GOQii Cash – all within the GOQii App. For more on nutrition, check out Healthy Reads or ask an expert by subscribing for personalized health coaching here: https://goqiiapp.page.link/bsr

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