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March 19, 2023 By Madhu Soni 3 Comments

Healthy Summer Salads to Keep You Cool

Healthy Summer Salads to Keep You Cool

The scorching sun is shining brighter than ever! The resulting heat wave can have an impact on our health and appetite. During summers, it is important to watch what we eat. To balance the heat, we have listed a few scrumptious summer salads to help you stay cool!

1. Watermelon Feta Salad

Ingredients:

  • 1 big bowl of Watermelon cubes
  • ½ cup crumbled Feta Cheese or Paneer.
  • 1 medium bowl Cucumber cubes
  • Handful of Mint leaves
  • 1 tsp Honey and Olive oil
  • A pinch of rock salt
  • 1 tsp Lemon juice

Method:

  • For the dressing combine Honey, Lemon juice, Olive oil and rock salt
  • In a large bowl, take the Watermelon and Cucumber cubes
  • Add the finely chopped Mint leaves to it along with the dressing
  • Garnish with Feta Cheese or Paneer
  • Serve chilled

Healthy Benefits: High water content of Watermelons makes it an ideal fruit during summer. Feta Cheese is comparatively low on calories and is loaded with calcium.

2. Hung Curd Salad

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup Hung Curd
  • 1 cup Chickpeas
  • ½ cup each of Tomato, Cucumber, Onions and Bell Pepper.
  • Juice of a Lemon
  • Handful of Coriander and Mint leaves.

Method:

  • For the dressing, mix the Hung Curd, Lemon Juice, Rock Salt and Pepper
  • In a bowl, take Chickpeas, add finely chopped Tomatoes, Cucumber, Onions and Bell Pepper
  • Add the Hung Curd dressing and garnish with Coriander and Mint leaves

Healthy Benefits: Curd is an excellent probiotic. It helps in keeping stomach ailments away during summers. Chickpeas provide the much needed proteins and the veggies add a dash of freshness.

3. Mint Paneer Salad

Ingredients:

  • 200 gm Paneer
  • 1 cup thick Curd
  • Chopped Cucumber, Tomatoes and Onions
  • 1 cup Lettuce leaves and Salad leaves
  • Lemon juice and Lemon rind
  • 1 cup Bread Croutons [non fried-tossed on non-stick pan]
  • Handful Mint leaves
  • Salt and Pepper
  • Tandoori masala [store bought]

Method:

  • For the dressing, whisk half of the curd with mint leaves
  • Add Lemon juice and Lemon rind to it along with Salt and Pepper
  • Marinate the Paneer cubes in thick curd along with Tandoori masala
  • Shallow fry on a non stick pan till golden brown
  • In a large serving bowl, add roughly chopped Lettuce and Salad leaves
  • Add chopped Tomatoes, Onions and Cucumber followed by the Mint dressing and mix to coat well
  • Adjust the seasoning if required. Add the Bread Croutons and Paneer cubes.

Healthy Benefits: This is a perfect summer pot meal to cool you down. It has a good amount of fiber and proteins. The mint leaves aid digestion and take care of skin allergies during this harsh weather.

Hope you enjoy these summer salads! To make them more interesting, try adding these refreshing, low calorie summer drinks to your meal. If you’re looking for more healthy recipes, check out Healthy Reads.

You can also get these recipes from a GOQii Coach, along with meal plans tailored to your needs. All you need to do is subscribe for personalized health coaching here: https://goqiiapp.page.link/bsr

#BeTheForce 

January 24, 2017 By Priyanka Shah 18 Comments

Benefits of Pre-Planning your meals: failing to plan is planning to fail

1

Travelling for me has always been a bane not because I do not like travelling but, largely due to the fact that my meals just go for a toss and me going ravenous at the sight of food when I reach my destination. I would end up eating like I’ve never seen food before and then curse myself for the next three days. We all can relate to this even in our day-to-day life. How many of us come back home after a long day at work and raid the fridge. The reason-most of us either do not have the time or the willingness to carry food from home, how much ever of a ‘health freak’ you claim yourself to be. I am sure many of you reading this blog would identify with me on this aspect.

Ever wondered why this shift in behavioural pattern? – The answer is simple enough – Lack of planning! When it comes to eating well, meal planning is one of the easiest things you can do to set yourself up for success. While even the thought of it can be considered a chore to add onto your “to-do list,” this is one chore that should be at the top of that list!

Think of it as – planning your budget for the forthcoming week. Without planning your expenses based on your most recent earnings, there would be a high possibility ofyou going overboard with your spending and later putting yourself on a guilt trip. Same is the case with food planning. You certainly do not want to fall into thevicious trap of – overeat – feel guilty – get on a diet – punish yourself to exercise – starve – think that you have lost those unnecessary pounds – overeat again.

Planning your meals well ahead of time brings with it certain benefits difficult for us to overlook.

Here are some of them you are most likely to be able to relate to –

Make healthier choices– Planning your meals well ahead of time helps you take control of your personal nutritional needs. There are rare chances of you then reaching out to convenience foods like ready to eat foods, quick fixes like those creamy or sugar laden biscuits and cakes or fall prey to emotional eating.

Satiety cues are kept under control – The simplest of the food choices made by you (something as simple as dal rice) keeps you feeling satiated enough to prevent any hunger pangs or sweet cravings from setting in especially later in the evening. And, if you get this right, your weight loss concerns are taken care of!

Prevents bloating & acidity –Out of 10 people, 5 complain of acidity issues, bloating and other digestion related problems. Why is this? The main cause being, untimely meals especially due to faulty planning.

Slim chances of eating beyond your capacity –When you know that all your meals are taken care of for a particular day, it so happens and is my personal experience too, that you tend to relish and at the same time practice ‘mindful eating’ at all times when you sit down to eat. As you are tuned in to your stomach you know where exactly to stop the act of eating. End result? You end up feeling so much lighter and are ready and eagerly await your next meal within 2 hours!

Staying committed to your ‘cheat day’- We all set a weekly ‘cheat day’ for ourselves but, how many of us stick to it? If you are successful at planning your meals right, there are high chances of you sticking to this week long commitment!

In short, ‘planning’ your meals allows you to take control of yourself and your nutritional needs leaving you feeling so much better about yourself because you not only end up losing oodles of inches but, you are eating so much more than ever before!

January 13, 2016 By Nidhi Sarvaiya Leave a Comment

Healthy mini meals for your child

Every child is unique and each of them develops in their own way and in their own time. Parents play an important role in their child’s development. Young children learn all the time and mostly from their mum and dad. Parents are the role models for their children. Development refers to the changes that occur as a child grows and develops in relation to being physically healthy, mentally alert, and emotionally sound.

Balanced nutrition plays a vital role in nurturing your child to overall health and development. The right nutrition during childhood forms a strong foundation for the healthy future of your child.

The tiniest humans can create big challenges for their parents. Are you also one of them having hard times feeding your child?

Here are some yummy recipes to make your child’s mouth water packed with a bunch full of Nutrients.

1. Indian popcorn:

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Ingredients:
Phool Makhana/ Puffed fox nuts – 1 cup
Ghee: 1/2 Tbsp
Chaat Masala – 1/4 tsp
Pepper Powder – a pinch
Red chili powder – to taste
Black Salt – to taste

Method of preparation:

  1. Dry roast Phool Makhana/Puffed fox nuts till crisp
    2. Heat ghee in a pan, add red chili powder, pepper powder, chaat masala & black salt.
    3. Add Phool Makhana/Puffed fox nuts to it and mix well
    4. Serve as a healthy snack anytime

 2. Yummy Chapati Pizza!!

cabbage chapati

 

Ingredients:
Chapati – 1 no
Bell peppers, sweet corn, etc – 1/3 cup chopped (any vegetable)
Grated Cheese – 1/4 cup
Oil – 1 tsp
Salt – to taste
Garlic – 1Tbsp (finely chopped)
Onion – 1/2 cup (chopped)
Tomato puree – 1/2cup
Chilli Flakes – as required
Oregano – as required
Pepper powder – a pinch

Method of preparation:
Saute garlic and add onion in a pan, add tomato puree, pepper powder, chilli flakes and oregano and let it cook until the sauce is thick.
Spread the prepared sauce on chapatti. Top it with sauted capsicum, grated cheese and then cook in a covered pan for few minutes. Pizza is ready to serve with some chilli flakes and oregano sprinkled

3. Try healthy Oats Dosa!!

oats-dosa

Ingredients:

  • Quick Oats – ½ cup (ground)
    • Semolina (sooji) – ¼ cup
    • Rice flour – ¼ cup
    • Fresh curd – ½ cup
    • Water – 1 ½ cup
    • Onions – ¼ cup (finely chopped)
    • Ginger , green chilies, coriander leaves, curry leaves – 1 tsp each (finely chopped)
    • Cumin seeds – ¼ tsp
    • Black pepper – ¼ tsp
    • Salt to taste
    • Oil for shallow frying

Method of preparation:

Mix all the ingredients (except oil) to make a thin batter of flowing consistency and keep it aside for 10 minutes. Take a ladle full of batter and make dosa drizzling some oil on non-stick pan. Serve hot with chutney.

4. Brownie phirni!!

461996-rice-phirni

 

Ingredients:

Ragi & Rice flour (mixed) – 1/4 cup
Milk – 2 cups
Grated jaggery -1.5-2 tbsp
Dates puree – 1.5 tbsp
Dry fruits for garnishing

Method of Preparation:
Boil milk, add Ragi and Rice flour by mixing well and simmer. As the mixture thickens a bit add jaggery and cook till jaggery dissolves. Cool it and then add dates puree to it mix well. Serve cold with dry fruits.

5. Hara Bhara Dosa:

IMG_3012

Ingredients:

Rice, Lentil, Spinach dry red chillies, ginger, cumin seeds, asafoetida (hing), salt with some water

Method of Preparation:

Grind soaked rice and lentil coarsely. Make a batter of the mixture with spinach, dry red chillies, ginger, cumin seeds, asafoetida (hing), salt with some water. Make dosas out of the batter by shallow frying. Serve hot with chutney.

6. Soya Sticks:

 

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Mash boiled Soya bean and mix it with boiled vegetables, season it. Make a small ball of the mixture and put it around the ice-cream stick like a lolly-pop and Grill it.

7. Colourful Bhel:

bhel-puri-recipe.580

 

Mix cooked chick peas, chopped cucumber, pomegranate, sliced onions, chopped tomatoes and coriander. Add lemon juice, salt, pepper and mix well and serve on any baked vegetable.

Try these Lip smacking snacks for your child and make them Healthy. It’s really hard to find out creative snacks for your kids. But just follow the basic guidelines while preparing snacks for your children which will also help you stay creative:

  1. Healthy
  2. Homemade
  3. Low Sugar/ starch
  4. Simple

Just follow this simple tip and I am sure your kids will love the snacks prepared by you. Also you can make your child eat Rainbow.

Encourage your child to make balanced food choices and fill each day with plenty of colourful fruits and vegetables. The more colours your children consume the more varied the nutrients their bodies are receiving. Make it fun and colourful !

Try these, but don’t be afraid to experiments on your own. Wishing you and your kids, a healthy, productive and joyous health.

September 17, 2015 By SNEHA CHIKHALE Leave a Comment

10 Healthy Lunch Ideas

Healthy Lunch Ideas for Kids at Home copy

Lunch box….. The big question always is what do I pack today for lunch? Whether it is packing lunch for your own self or for your kid is a perennial challenge. By the time noon rolls in, it is very easy for us to head to the nearest eatery. Constant splurging of money on restaurant food which we can make at home for lesser costs and healthier too ends up as a tedious task apart from getting boring.

How can one keep their lunch tasting good day after day? How can one have mouth watering food and stick to their diet too? How can one be hero of their kids by winning their hearts with innovative and yet healthy recipes?

Here are 10 healthy lunch ideas, where health meets ease, losing weight become interesting and kids will love you for having new meals in their tiffin box everyday!! 

1) Sandwiches and Wraps:

The simplest meal, one can ever make. Nutrition packed between two slices of bread, make sandwich a wholesome meal. One can make sandwich a complete meal by adding various elements to it. Veggies of your choice will give you ample of fibre and protein can be derived by adding grilled chicken or scrambled or poached egg to it. Vegetarians can opt for cottage cheese for their protein quota!

Wraps too are good option, when we are running out of time. One can make a wrap healthy by opting for healthier base like wheat base or ragi or multi grain base.

2) Salads:

When one thinks about salads and to most of us, salad is one of the most boring foods treated as side dish. But, if some dash of creativity is added to it, then a salad can be one of the most interesting and a wholesome meal!

Various experiments can be done with the salad, especially with the veggies in it. One can stick to classic salads, made of carrots, cucumber, onion, tomato. Or can go exotic by adding vegetables like broccoli, red cabbbage, zuccini, mushrooms, cherry tomotoes, baby spinach, avacado etc. One can always make it interesting by adding a zest to it with salad dressings. But, be cautious here as it can be fattening too, if mayonniese is added.

One can make it a whole meal by adding cottage cheese, grilled chicken, poached or boiled eggs to the salad. 

3) South Indian meal fare:

South Indian style meal can never go out of fashion! It is one of healthy and quick meal to prepare and is favourite of every second Indian!

Stick to the classic choice of white idli, paper dosa, masala dosa, rava dosa or one can opt for healthier verisons of the dosas and Idli’s!! Instead of classic rice and urad dal combination, one can have idli or dosa made of ragi or oats. One can make it colorful by adding different veggies to it or simply can add a paste of spinach or dill leaves to the batter.

Don’t forget to have a sambar by your side, as it is your protein dose which should be taken with the main meal!

4) Soups:

Looking for something piping hot to moisten your throat? What can be the better option than the soup!! Soup is always considered as a starter. But, now this starter can also be taken as a main course, if made healthy changes to it! Classic soup can be given a wholesome twist by adding fresh vegetables to it. To get the more nutrition, one can change the trend of having clear broth and go for thicker soup instead.

But, beware of those packed soup. It is best to avoid them, as preservatives is been used and to get the thicker consistency, corn starch is generally added to the soup.

5) Parathas and Theplas:

Yet another easy, quick and healthy option we can have on our platter for lunch. One can make stuffed parathas, more full of fibre and rich in protein by adding vegetables and cottage cheese to it. Give a miss to a classic Aloo paratha this time, and make parathas more tempting and healthy by adding vegetables like carrot, peas, cauliflower, brinjal, cabbege etc.

One can combine methi or palak theplas with thick curd to make a healthy and balanced meal.

6) Try something new:

If you have some time to use little imagination, then here are few quickies for you. Most of us are aware of Quinoa by now. How about having this high on protein meal for our lunch? We can make this cereal healthy and wholesome by throwing in some vegetables to it. Same can be applied to Daliya (broken wheat) as well as for red and brown rice.

Veggies will add fibre to it and cottage cheese or chicken or egg piece or even curd aside to suffice the protein requirement of the lunch. 

7) While eating out:

Not necessary it has to be packed or home cooked for us every day for lunch. There will be days, when we have a party thrown by an office colleague, or you are the one who is giving the party or sometimes, we can be in no mood to cook food for ourselves and wishing to simply eat out!!

Start your meals with some sumptuous healthy starters like grilled or tandoor chicken or fish platter, Paneer and baby corn tikka or order for a Mediterranean platter that contains hummus and pita bread.

Sizzlers could also be a good option to start your meals with. Order varieties of starters so that your stomach will be half filled with the starter and will have less place for typical Indian main course meal.

8) Some innovations with your kids tiffin box:

Let’s face it. It is a universal question for every mom who prepares a lunch box for their kids!! What new and healthy can be packed which balances taste and the nutrition. We can pack everything from sandwich to wraps to bread omlete to parartha or even muffins and pastries!

Make sure we add some quirky twist to their meals which will simply WOW them and make them finish the entire tiffin!! Apply ideas like making cartoon faces over sandwich or paratha by using eggs, olives, carrots etc. Use the not-so-favorite-vegetable of your kids in such way, that they will unknowingly or consciously make an effort to eat it.

But, also keep in mind, that their meals should consist of each major element like carbs and protein, in ample amounts.

9) Something for calorie watchers too!

“I am on diet, I can’t have tasty food”. Say bye bye to this thought and make your lunch sumptuous by adding zest to it. Give classic recipes a healthy twist by adding your own ideas.

Heard of vegetable smoothies? Go wild over your ideas by adding your fav vegetable to the mixer and blend it to a thicker juice. Don’t go for straining and you can drink your vegetables!!

One can always stick to salads, soups etc. But, you can make the boring weight loss interesting by making the meals interesting with new ideas!

10) Go Traditional:

Nothing can replace classic dal chawal thali to any continental meal!! It has everything, right from carbs (rice) to protein (dal) to Vegetables (fibre) to chapati (complex carbs). Our typical Indian thali is actually a wholesome meal. Rather than going gung-ho about eating rice, we simply can enjoy rice by watching our portions. Make sure your vegetables are tossed in least amount of oil. No extra oil goes on chapati. If we keep these things in our mind then we are sorted.

I think I have shared enough of options with you to be a hero of your family! So, go ahead and indulge in some of the most delicious yet healthy food!

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