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Eat Healthy Stop counting Calories

I used to count calories

It was part of my training as a dietitian – one of our homework assignments. It seemed everyone in my class was really good at it like they had memorized the calorie content of a bunch of foods. I treated the project as an experiment. What I mean by that is, if this is what we’re supposed to have our patients do, I should be able to do it well.

The funny thing however was, the more I counted calories and the less I was paying attention to the food in front of me. It was like looking at a spreadsheet on a plate. All you see is numbers.

I’d choose the less tasty entree because it was lower in calories, even if it didn’t sound appealing. If I got hungry after the meal, I’d second guess myself. “But I ate 700 calories!? That should be enough!”

It was like a battle between the calculator and my stomach. The calculations said I needed a certain amount of calories per day. If I went over, it was a “bad” day. If I went under, it was an excuse to eat junk food. I’d think to myself, “Well, these chocolates are only 90 calories…”

I’ll admit, I failed miserably at counting calories and gave up within a few weeks. I never really enjoyed it and I felt restricted, what I was going to develop is ordered eating.

Making good food choices is important for everyone. As a Nutritionist and Dietitian, I believe there are two important things you can do to achieve healthylifestyle—

# Make good food choices.

# Identify habits that you can keep doing over a long period of time, which fit easily into your daily routine, and can become a sustainable part of your life (what I mean by this is no fad diets!)

How else can you start making good food choices? Let’s start with the grocery store.

Here are some tips that may help you:

# Never shop when you are hungry. You will make much better choices if you shop after you’ve had a good breakfast or lunch, or when you’re not in a rush.

# Try to spend the most of the time while shopping in the fresh fruit and vegetable section. Most of us don’t eat enough vegetables, which offer many nutritional benefits and fill you up so you can better resist the temptation of unhealthy foods. Deeply colored fruits and vegetables provide more nutrients, so be sure to eat a variety of different color produce.

# Select whole grains instead of white flour, white pasta, and white rice. Quinoa is a great grain to try because it has a lot of protein, which is not the case for many grain products.

# Choose naturally low-fat and high-fiber foods (e.g., low-fat milk, yogurt, and cheese, whole grain cereals).

# Know that not all oils are bad for you. Look for nuts, seeds, avocados, olive oil and other healthy oils which can provide the fat you need in your diet.

# See if you can check out and exit the store without buying packaged and processed foods.

It’s simple to conclude that all you need to do is take in fewer calories than just count calories and make sure you are getting healthy fats into your diet each day.

 

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Simple tips for Lifestyle Changes

people-working-in-the-office

Today, everybody, everywhere seems to be busy.And, in the rush to make more money, the busy work life has got the worst of every individual leaving them with little or no time to think about themselves and their health.

Most people’s work in the current times either involves sitting for about 8-10 hours in one place or too much travel thereby resulting in people developing many issues such as

-Joint pains specially neck and back pain

-Irregular meal timings

-Problems like indigestion due to unhealthy eating

– Complete or partial cut off from social life

– Stress or depression

-Lack of Sleep

Hence the question on top of everybody’s mind is what do I do? Leaving the job is not a solution. In that case how do I get rid of all these problems?

The answer is very simple … bring about a ‘Lifestyle Change’ .

Tips for Change

-Set your meal timings. Set alarms for your meals on your mobiles and laptops

-Eat a balanced diet.

-Eat fruits, Vegetables and Salads

-Have small meals after every two to three hours rather than having three large meals or skipping any meal

-Get up from your seat every one hour and walk for about 5 to 10 minutes. You could also walk and talk when you get a call instead of sitting in your seat and conversing

-Don’t cradle your phone or message your colleague if you want something walk down to their desk.

-Use the staircase instead of the elevator As much as you can. There is no better exercise that walking up and down the stairs

-If your office is at a walking distance, try to walk or buy a bicycle for the same. It cannot get better than this

-Stretch in between work whenever possible so that the muscles get relaxed

– Instead of keeping a bottle on your table every time you are thirsty, walk down to the water cooler and have water.

-During tea breaks sit with colleagues rather than having it alone

-Listen to soothing music before you sleep. Believe me you will certainly get good sleep

-Breathing exercises works well whenever you feel stressed.

Bring about these simple lifestyle changes and you will realize that life is so much better.  In case you find it difficult to bring about these changes go through the following blog http://goqii.com/blog/why-is-it-difficult-to-make-a-lifestyle-change-6-tips-to-follow/and you can follow the tips given in this so as to bring about a change within your lifestyle.

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You can do so much beyond just salads with ‘Sprouts 6 delicious and healthy recipes

We are all fond of salads and soups. And, if that salad and soup are super nutritious then we can safely conclude that we are eating right. I love sprouts and they are nutritionally very good too. Usually, when people hear the word sprouts they think probably yet another boring veggie salad but, we can make it interesting and tasty. I had made some few advances with sprouts to make it tasty, tangy and healthier too…

Here is my collection of recipes. It’s personally tried and tested special dishes of sprouts. So put on your chef’s hat and exhibit your cooking skills!

  1.  Sprout Cutlet/Tikki

1

Ingredients:

  • Mixed sprouts [garbanzo bean (Kabuli chana), Green Gram ( moong)] 20 gm
  • Grated veggies (carrot, potato, pumpkin, lauki, etc.)
  • Chickpea Flour (Besan) (just for binding) 1tsp
  • Semolina (Suji/rawa)-for wrapping
  • Dry masalas-turmeric powder-1/4tsp
  • Red chilli powder-1/2 tsp
  • Salt according to taste and tangy spices (chat masala) -pinch

Method:

Boil sprouts and potato. Mash it. Don’t boil other veggies just grate it finely. Mix all the ingredients except semolina (Suji/Rawa). Make flat balls out of the mixture and then wrap it in the semolina and shallow fry it. Finally, serve it with chutney or sauce.

      2. Sprout Mix

2

Ingredients:

  • Mixed sprouts (garbanzo bean (kabuli chana), Green Gram ( moong) 20 gm
  • Vegetables such as carrot, onion, tomato, beetroot, cucumber, corn
  • dry masalas-turmeric powder-1/4tsp
  • Red chilli powder-1/2 tsp
  • Salt according to taste and tangy spices (chaat masala) -pinch

Method:

Take mixed sprouts add finely chopped vegetables and all dry spices. Then serve it with coriander and tamarind sauce (chutney).

        3. Sprouts and Paneer Schezwan Cigar

3

Ingredient

  • Green Gram (Moong) Sprouts – 1 cup
  • Grated Cottage Cheese (Paneer) – 1 cup
  • Szechuan Sauce – 3 tbsp
  • Sweet and Chili sauce – 1 tbsp
  • Salt to taste
  • Grated cheese – 1/4 cup
  • For rolls: wheat flour Indian bread (chapatti) or multigrain flour bread (chapatti).

Method:

  • In a big mixing bowl, take sprouts, cottage cheese, Szechuan sauce, sweet and chilli sauce, cheese and salt. Mix them well. Keep it aside.
  • Take one wheat flour or multigrain cooked bread (chapatti). Place a portion of the cottage cheese and sprouts mixture at one corner of the bread. Roll it up tightly starting from the end where the filling is placed to make a cigar. Seal the edges of the bread (Chapattis)
  • Shallow fry it in the pan.

Paneer and Sprouts Szechuan Cigar is ready. Serve them immediately with spicy sauce.

      4. Sprout Sandwich

4

Ingredients:

  • Mix sprouts
  • Multigrain bread
  • Grated vegetable (carrot, pumpkin etc.)
  • Raw vegetables cut in slice: onion, tomato, cucumber
  • Grated paneer-1/4th cube
  • Dry masalas: Red chilli powder, turmeric, chat masalas

Method:

Except for raw vegetable mix, all the ingredients and your filling are ready.

Now take bread apply coriander chutney on it and place the above mixture, place then the raw sliced vegetables and close it with the other slice of bread on it and grill it. Serve hot with sauce.

     5. Mixed Sprouts Dosa  

5

  • Grind sprouts along with steamed Pancake (Idli-dosa) batter, Cumin seeds, garlic, ginger, green chillies along with a little water.
  • Don’t add too much water.
  • Add salt and mix.
  • For the seasoning, finely chopped onions, green chilli, coriander and curry leaves.
  • Mix with cumin seeds and set aside.
  • This is an optional step to use as a topping/stuffing for the steamed flat pancakes (dosa).
  • Heat a girdle over medium heat.
  • When it is hot enough, pour a ladle of batter and swirl in a circular motion to spread it.
  • Drizzle very little oil around the dosa.
  • Spread some of the seasonings on the top. The wet surface will help it to stick.
  • Add a few drops of oil over the onions if required or just press with the ladle so that the onions stick to the steamed pancake (dosa) without falling off.
  • When it is done on that side flip to other side and
  • Cook for a minute.
  • Turn it again, fold and remove into a serving plate.
  • Repeat the process to make the required number of flat pancakes.
  • For mixed sprout steamed pancake (dosa) with coriander: Now include generous amounts of chopped coriander to the above batter and grind once again.
  • Make steamed pancakes with this batter following the same process as above.

      6. Sprouts Pancake

6

Ingredients:

  • Mixed sprouts-20 gm
  • Ground oats-10 gm or 1 tablespoon
  • Grated vegetables-carrot, bottle gourd, pumpkin, spinach etc.
  • Dry spices -red chilli powder, turmeric, salt to taste

Method:

  • Grind the sprouts.
  • Take a bowl and pour the ground powder of sprouts and all the ingredients and add water to it and make a thin batter.
  • Heat a girdle over medium heat.
  • When it is hot enough, pour a ladle of batter and swirl in a circular motion to spread it.
  • Drizzle very little oil around the pancake.
  • Flip it up and cook it from both the sides.

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Body detoxification – A way to rejuvenate and re-energize

Body-detoxification
Most of us are worried when we put on that little extra weight. Recently, one of my pals came to me cribbing about her weight gain. she said that she had tried every possible diet… but nothing seems to work on her! she was desperate that I do something for her.

Amidst listening to her cribs and complaints, I noticed that she looked absolutely dull and was feeling terribly lethargic. It seemed like someone’s sucked all the energy out of her. A detailed conversation with her led me to discover that she was over-exerting herself at work and ending up binge-eating to counter stress.

This, in turn, was followed by unreasonable crash diets and excessive exercise to burn up the excess calories. Little was she aware that her body was actually in dire need of some essential nutrients which could make her healthy for the better.

Today, most of us lead a very fast-paced lifestyle. And this lifestyle is associated with certain inevitable factors such as stress, pollution, physical exertion, few negative habits such as drinking alcohol and smoking etc. As one’s body gets continuously exposed to these factors, there comes a point wherein the body gives up. The body gets weighed down by huge amounts of toxins which essentially needs to be flushed out.

These toxins include waste products that result from normal cell activity, such as ammonia, and also the chemicals that we consume almost daily through the air, water and food like flavoured enhancers, food colours, pesticides and preservatives. A cumulative load of these toxins is known to slow down the body metabolism which in turn results in weight gain and other health-related issues such as indigestion, impaired immune function, low energy levels, lethargy, fatigue, poor concentration, headache, dull skin and so on.

The body has its own ways of detoxifying itself. The liver is the main organ which has detoxification as its primary function. The other organs like intestine, kidneys, lungs, skin and blood work together with the liver to ensure that toxins are transformed into less harmful substances and excreted from the body via urine, stools, sweat or breath.

Just as your car engine needs servicing so that it runs better, your body organs also need to be cleaned at regular intervals so that they perform their functions well and at a faster rate. One way to cleanse your body is through food by including various detox foods into your diet.

Detox foods include the ones that are power packed with vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, fibre and water. The antioxidants neutralize the toxic free radicals that are generated due to stress, excessive exercise, air pollution, etc. whereas fibre and water draw out and eliminate toxins by increasing the frequency of bowel movements and urination.

While detox dieting is a great way of cleaning your body internally, it can be beneficial to lose weight as well.

How is that possible? As detox foods cleanse the liver by flushing out the toxins, it actually gives relief to the liver by reducing its workload. This gives the liver a chance to focus on its next important function which is fat metabolism. Thus, many of whom I know have found that detox dieting is a wonderful way to kick off those extra kilos or to get over a weight loss plateau. Apart from weight loss, the other benefits of detox foods include improved digestion, regular bowel movements, and improved energy levels, lowered levels of fatigue, improved concentration and glowing skin.

Now the next big question is how often should you detoxify yourself? According to me, at least once a week and preferably choose a day which is followed by what you call “a cheat day”. So after having an exhaustive week and a fun-filled Sunday where you break free and grab that cup-cake or a pan pizza, Monday is a perfect day to detoxify yourself. A detox food menu would ideally include colourful fruits, all kinds of veggies – either stir-fried or in the form of soup/juice/salad, beans and lentils, nuts and dry fruits, oats, beverages such as green tea, coconut water, Aloe Vera juice and many more.

Remember, we are keeping the proteins at bay just to avoid burdening our digestive system and kidneys with extra work as proteins are heavy to metabolize. Thus, milk, cheese, butter, cream, eggs, meat and meat products are out of the list. Other foods to keep away during detox include wheat products, excessive sugar, unhealthy fats (saturated and trans fats), processed foods, artificial sweeteners, caffeine and alcohol- that goes without saying!

A detox diet will, therefore, rejuvenate your system, re-energize you and gear you up for all the meetings and assignments lined up for the week. A word of caution here –Pregnant and nursing women shouldn’t go for Detox diet. Otherwise, it’s an amazing experience. So get started with it and feel the difference.

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