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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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5 Winter Drinks and Beverage To Keep You Warm

winter drinks

During this nice chilly winter weather, there’s nothing more warming than a hot bowl of soup or a nice healthy drink. So why not take that warm feeling to the next level with some healthy winter drinks and beverages? 

Winter is a season of abundance – abundance of holidays, festivals, love and gratitude. This abundance is extended with the availability of a variety of fresh produce and a high metabolic rate that keeps making us feel hungry. A perfect opportunity to replenish your body stores of some crucial nutrients that you might need throughout the year. This makes it even more imperative for one to opt for healthy options and make the most of it.

While hydration and drinking water or fluids is considered to be a summer thing, it is equally important to keep yourself hydrated in the winters! Winters are dry and windy, and it takes more of your body to keep your skin moist and supple. Moreover, infection rates are higher during these times and hence, it is crucial to keep up your immunity game strong. Water is a simple tool for hydration and flushing out the infectious agents from the body. However, warm fluids give an added comfort, soothing the throat, warming your insides and a very filling effect on the stomach.

5 Winter Drinks and Beverages To Keep You Warm 

1. Soup
With bountiful fresh produce, seasonal vegetables and liberty of spices and herbs, it is the most convenient time of the year to cook soups and relish a hot bowl. Gourd soups with pumpkin, bottle gourd and tomatoes; The CBT soup with carrot, beetroot and tomatoes; Dal and tomato soup that has the goodness of moong dal proteins; Lemon coriander soup; Spinach soup; Broccoli almond soup.; Mushroom soup are just a few examples from the wide array of choices for this season, as all of these vegetables are easily available during this time. It has the benefits of vitamin A from the gourds, Vitamin C from lemons, and they both help build immunity. Quercetin from tomatoes and anthocyanins from beets enhance heart health. While spinach and broccoli have the goodness of calcium and vitamin K essential in bone health. Season soups with ginger, garlic and herbs like pepper, basil and oregano; some whole spices like bay leaf, star anise. Drizzle the bowl of soup with good fat like olive oil or sesame oil and you are good for a slurpy meal. Keeps you full for long, helps in weight loss and easy on the gut. Avoid packaged and ready to eat/cook soups, they contain very little natural ingredients and are very high in sodium which causes more damage to the body than benefiting it.

2. Spiced Turmeric Lattè
Our traditional Haldi doodh got glorified recently and became the turmeric lattè, which is simply hot milk with turmeric and a dash of cinnamon and pepper powder. It is the best remedy to find relief from sore throats and respiratory diseases. Turmeric invariably has the benefits of curcumin on heart, kidneys, helps control diabetes and wards off infections. For a subtle sweetness, one can add some honey or dates pureè. Sprinkle some dry rose petals and sliced nuts over it.

3. Hot Lemon Gingeràle
Hot water infused with lemon and ginger extract and slightly sweetened with honey gives the hot comfort of the lemon ginger water, soothes the throat and has a relaxing effect on the brain. Ginger has a compound called gingerol and the antioxidants as well as vitamin C from the lemon gives your immunity a boost. A pinch of cinnamon can enhance its flavour.

4. Black or Green Tea (variant: Kashmiri kahwa)
Black or green tea with a slice of lemon can be the most comforting thing ever. Black or green tea are a great source of antioxidants of the catechin family and lemons are rich in vitamin C and limonin, all involved in maintaining the metabolic rate and good blood circulation. The heaven on earth Kashmir is also home to some of the best culinary magics, and one of them is the Kahwa. Kashmiri Kahwa is Kashmiri green tea, boiled with saffron, cardamom and almonds. This drink has the ability to warm you up in the coldest of the winters, like those of Kashmir. 

5. Kaadha
It is an age-old method of curing or preventing winter diseases with a kaadha. Kaadha is a term in Ayurvedic medicine that stands for a concoction or extract of medicinal plants and herbs. Our Indian culture is blessed with a number of spices and other food additives that are not just food but have medicinal benefits too. Indigenous adjuncts and methods of cooking are appreciated worldwide. One can create a simple and beneficial kaadha at home with the following ingredients that can be easily found in any Indian household: 

  • 5-6 tulsi leaves
  • 2-3 mint leaves
  • A small piece of dalchini (cinnamon)
  • 2-3 laung (cloves)
  • 1 elaichi (cardamom)
  • 2-3 kalimiri (black pepper pearls)
  • 1 teaspoon of sauf (fennel seeds)
  • 1 teaspoon of jeera (cumin seeds) 
  • Small piece of ginger
  • Half a lemon
  • 1 teaspoon of honey

Boil all the whole spices in 1 litre of water and let it reduce to half a litre. Then slightly cool down this water, strain it and squeeze half a lemon over it, then add the honey. Sip this water throughout the day for at least 3 times a week. It will keep away common cold, sore throat, maintains your digestive health, eliminates flatus (gas) or bloating, and helps you lose weight by speeding up metabolism.

We hope these easily available winter drinks and beverages help you have a healthy winter! For more tips on staying healthy during winter, 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: French Beans Khichdi

French Beans Khichdi

If you are on your weight loss journey, you must have heard the advice of keeping your dinner light, low in carbs and high in protein and fiber. But do you feel that this simple tip is actually one of the most difficult to follow? As the entire day goes chasing work, after a tiring day, dinner feels like the only meal we can eat with all the time in the world and actually indulge in. Even if we decide to eat healthy, there are very few meals that support the low carb and high protein idea, especially for vegans. So, I want to share one of my favorite recipes, which is not just good when you are chasing your weight loss goals, but is also diabetes friendly, vegan and gluten-free. Let’s learn how to prepare the delicious French Beans Khichdi! 

What You Will Need 

  • Yellow moong dal – ¼ cup, soaked for 2 hours 
  • French beans – ½ cup, chopped
  • Carrot – ½, grated 
  • Onion – 1 medium sized 
  • Green chilly – ½ tsp, chopped 
  • Ginger – ½ tsp, grated 
  • Turmeric powder – ¼ tsp 
  • Garam masala – ¼ tsp 
  • Ghee – 1 tsp
  • Cumin seeds – ¼ tsp 
  • Lemon juice – ½ tsp 
  • Green coriander – 1 tbsp, chopped
  • Roasted sesame seeds – 1 tsp 
  • Hing – 1 pinch 
  • Salt to taste 

How to Prepare 

  1. Heat ghee in a pan and add cumin seeds. As the seeds start crackling, add hing powder, onion & sauté for 2 minutes. 
  2. Drain soaked dal and add it to the same pan. Sauté with onion for 2 more minutes. 
  3. Now, add ½ cup water, salt, turmeric powder, green chilly, ginger ,garam masala, beans & carrot. Mix everything & cover the pan. Let it steam cook for around 10 minutes and stir 1-2 times in between.
  4. After 10 minutes, turn the flame off and let it team in the hot pan for another 5 minutes. 
  5. Take the lid off and add lemon juice, fresh coriander and sesame seeds over it. Mix everything together and your French Beans Khichdi is ready! 

Highlights of the French Beans Khichdi Recipe 

  • Being Low in carbs & high in fiber, protein & good fats, it is a good dinner option for people suffering from diabetes, high cholesterol, hypertension, thyroid, PCOD or even high uric acid levels.
  • It is weight loss friendly as it is low in calories but still very filling.
  • It is gluten & lactose free, so people who are allergic to gluten or are lactose intolerant can also enjoy it.

Do give this healthy, delicious and simple French Beans Khichdi recipe a try and let us know your feedback in the comments below! For more healthy recipes, check out Healthy Reads or ask a GOQii Coach by subscribing for personalized coaching here: https://goqiiapp.page.link/bsr

#BeTheForce 

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Top 5 Habits You Need To Avoid After a Meal

avoid after a meal

There are a lot of myths regarding nutrition and food floating around on the internet. Some of them include things we should do and should avoid after a meal. When it finally comes down to facts, what’s the right way to go? We have briefly listed down the top 5 habits you need to avoid after a meal. You might know some of them but you might not be familiar with the reasoning.

What Should You Avoid After a Meal?

  1. Smoking: It is the most important habit that people should avoid after a meal. Smoking 1 cigarette after eating food is equivalent to the ill-effects of smoking 10 cigarettes. The chances of cancer are more in such cases. This is primarily because the body’s absorption rate increases after eating, which means that the harmful effects of tobacco (nicotine) are amplified as well. You could be risking damage to your intestines, heart, lungs and other internal organs.
  2. Fruits: It is advised that you should not eat fruits along with your meal and immediately after it as well. Fruits that are eaten after a meal cannot be digested easily in the intestine which causes air bloating in the stomach. Fruits are best absorbed when consumed as a meal in itself. You can have them either before or after a meal with a gap of at least 2–3 hours.
  3. Tea: Whenever you eat a heavy meal, keep yourself away from tea for a while. Tea leaves contains acids in it. When this acid enters the digestive system along with food, it makes the process of digestion (particularly proteins) process slow and difficult by hardening them.
  4. Bathing: Whenever we bathe, the blood-flow towards extremities increases and this is how you feel fresh after a bath. But, after eating, blood-flow towards the digestive system should be high, and not the extremities, so as to maintain the normal digestive system. That is why people are advised not to take a bath immediately after eating.
  5. Sleep: There always has to be gap of 1-2 hours between your meals and the time you sleep. Sleeping immediately after eating will result in improper digestion as efficiency of the digestive system decreases. Also, sleeping immediately may lead to gastric problems and infection in the intestines. Habitually sleeping immediately after eating will also increase the chances of obesity.

We hope these facts help you make better choices, bust myths with reason and eat healthy. Have you ever been told to avoid something before or after a meal? Let us know in the comments below!

For more articles like this, check out Healthy Reads. To know more about eating habits you should avoid or to introduce new habits to help you get healthier, speak to an expert by subscribing for GOQii’s Personalised Health Coaching here.

#BeTheForce

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