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September 3, 2022 By GOQii 39 Comments

Health Benefits Of Eating A Bowl Of Salad Daily

bowl of saladTraditionally, salads are prepared with raw vegetables like cucumber, tomatoes, cabbage and onions – which are cut into slices and sprinkled with a pinch of salt and lemon. They were either served as the smallest portion of the meal or totally ignored. If you have also been doing the same, it’s time to change! Adding a bowl of salad to your meals is important and that’s what we’re going to tell you in this article.

Why Should You Eat A Bowl Of Salad Daily? 

  • Firstly, starting your meals with a bowl of salad will help you lose weight. It’s true because salads are low in calories, high in fiber and rich in other nutrients. Fiber helps you feel full and you go easy on the rest of your meal. Eating less but healthy = sustainable weight loss! Eating a high fiber salad aids in lowering cholesterol and also is known to prevent constipation.
  • Eating a little good fat (like the monounsaturated fat found in olive oil, avocado and nuts) with your vegetables in salads helps your body absorb protective phytochemicals  (known to protect against cancer and heart disease), like lycopene from tomatoes and lutein from dark green vegetables.
  • Best way to skip croutons (deep fried pieces of wheat bread) which are few in nutrients and have a high glycemic load, is to replace them with nuts and seeds and maintain the crunchiness in the salad.
  • To balance it with proper carbohydrates and proteins to make it a whole meal, you can add brown rice or protein packed Quinoa, grilled chicken, low fat Paneer, Tofu or Sprouts.
  • People, who do not like to eat fruits, can relish salads which combine fruits and vegetables and eat it as a whole meal or an in between snack. This provides a host of powerful antioxidants which protect the body from damage caused by harmful molecules called free radicals.

Tips To Prepare Healthy Salads

  • Salads are known to be rich in Vitamins. Fat soluble vitamins A, D, E and K cannot be absorbed and used by the body without the presence of some fat. So go for the unsaturated kind (good fats) like olive oil or canola oil. Toss the oil with vinegar which helps to prevent blood sugar spikes after meals.
  • The best way to include greens like romaine, radicchio, iceberg and spinach in our daily diet is to mix them all up or use one at a time in salads.
  • Add medicinal herbs like basil, garlic, lemon juice or parsley to the salad for that strong punch of flavor and loads of disease fighting antioxidants. The more flavorful your salad is naturally, the fewer high calorie ingredients you will need to add for taste like extra cheese and cream.
  • Pack your salads with as many other veggies or fruits as possible to get the synergetic effects. Carrots, cucumbers, different colored peppers, broccoli, peas, artichokes, strawberries, raspberries, or pears are great choices to get in different textures as well as plenty of filling fiber.

We hope this article helps you pick up the habit of adding a bowl of salad to your meals! Do get creative with your salad, make it colorful or crunchy and share a pic on social media or the GOQii Arena and tag us! For more on healthy living and nutrition, check out Healthy Reads.

To get more advice and guidance from experts on nutrition, weight loss, diet tips and healthy recipes! Subscribe for GOQii’s personalised health coaching here: https://goqiiapp.page.link/bsr 

Eat Healthy and #BeTheForce

March 23, 2019 By GOQii Leave a Comment

Ashwin Chitransh Never Gave Up On Being Healthy!

Ashwin C-COLLAGE

  After GOQii                       Before GOQii 

 

Sleeping during the day and working at night was his regular routine. He had no discipline in life and ate indiscreetly. He weighed 79 kg at a height of 5 ft 6 inches. He tried to lose weight by just dreaming about it and doing the bare minimum. He did not have a good workout routine so the small gym that he had created for himself at home was not utilized to its optimum. Finally, magic happened and he got into a routine. He joined a gym with a personal trainer, his diet got regularized and he is far healthier and fit that he was.

Ashwin Chitransh’s Transformation Story In His Own Words

It all began for me in August 2017 when I took a trip to McLeodganj for a couple of days and had rich grand meals. When I came back home, I weighed close to 79 Kg at the height of 5 Feet 6 inches. I was aware that I was leading an unhealthy life but I wasn’t doing anything about it. Set up a small gym at home but hardly worked out. My routine was haywire with me sleeping during the day and working at night.  My eating habits were bad and nothing was helping me get on track. I wanted to change things for myself. This is when I was introduced to GOQii by a friend. I liked the concept of a personal coach who will motivate and push you to achieve your health goals.

I enrolled in GOQii and also joined the Gym with a personal trainer. This started my journey of transformation! On my first day at the Gym, I felt nauseous and thought I’d pass out in 15 minutes. Other guys were working out smoothly which was quite intimidating. There were so many well-built guys using heavy weights that I could not even dream of. The key, I realized, is patience. Rome wasn’t built in a day. Don’t compete with others, compete with yourself to achieve your goals.

Apart from a gym workout, cardio workout is important for me. Most of the fat which I had, was on my belly. I started by walking for 2 km, increasing gradually to 5 km per day, at the speed of 5  to 6 kmph. Then, a bit of my belly fat melted, I started running/jogging at 8kmph. I gradually moved to 10 kmph but reduced the distance to cover (to 1.5 km).

Currently, I work out for 30 minutes mostly focusing on the abdominal area. Slowly once the belly fat saw some reduction, I started working on 2 muscles a day.

One thing which is very important to keep in mind while undertaking any health goal is that it takes time to achieve these goals. You need understand your body and how it reacts to various strenuous exercises. You need to have patience especially when it comes to achieving weight loss goals.

Exercise alone cannot help you, diet is equally important. “There is no love sincerer than the love of food,” quoting from Man and Superman by George Bernard Shaw. A lot of my misconceptions were broken. One such misconception was that if you go on a diet you have to remain hungry. Secondly, good healthy food is tasteless. But, in fact, I learned a few things:

  1. To eat healthily, you do not need to make it taste bad necessarily
  2. Quit (Avoid) unhealthy/junk/fried food

My GOQii Coach helped me make healthy food choices. My diet now includes pre and post work out meals and salads. I was never a salads guy but I eat them now. I have stopped having refined sugar since November 2017. My meals are balanced and portion size is small with multiple meals in a day, unlike my earlier three large meals.

All these small changes over time have helped me achieve my health goals. I am much fitter and healthier now. My only message to all is don’t be disheartened if your hard work does not pay initially. It takes time. You won’t see changes in a week. Just be self-motivated and keep pushing yourself. There will be days when you won’t be able to work out or you won’t be able to follow your diet. But, it’s okay! Continue with the same routine next day. When you fall, you must have the willpower to stand up again not once but multiple times. Its sheer determination and hard work that will help you achieve your goals. Did I fail during my transformation phase? Of course, I did fail, and on more than one occasion but I never gave up.

What does coach Evangelene Wankhar have to say about her player Ashwin?

Ashwin Chitransh was assigned to me in October 2017.  His goal was to lose 10-12kgs. He wanted to get active and build strength. Prior to GOQii, he had already started with gym workouts with a personal trainer and lost 3kgs. But, his concern was his food habits. When we started, he was having a heavy meal for dinner, adding few unhealthy foodstuff during the day. These were old habits which I had to gradually get him to shed. Each time he had a heavy meal and ate unhealthy food, I guided and explained to him the pros and cons. I told him choosing healthy food over unhealthy will help him achieve his goal. He agreed and started applying the tips I shared with him every day. Of course, he had few cheat meals but he has managed to make the cheat meals healthy as well. If he took something over the counter which was unhealthy, he compensated that with more activities and a healthy diet the next day. Over the last few months, he has progressed well. He has been very consistent in his workouts, healthy food habits and has been following every guideline that I share with him. I am proud to say that Ashwin has achieved his target goal of losing 12kgs and now we are in the process of building his strength and muscles since that is his next goal.

August 15, 2018 By Trupti Hingad Leave a Comment

A Fusion of Taste & Health : Exotic Salads for you to try.

Trupti Hingad

This Independence day let’s get healthy and try out some of these power packed nutrient salads. Why are salads important and what are its health benefits is nicely described in this blog https://goqii.com/blog/health-benefits-of-eating-a-bowl-of-salad-daily/.

Salad or veggies is the most important part of the meal platter. You cannot afford to skip if you want to get your daily dose of micronutrients. But, it is so boring and monotonous to cut slices of cucumber, tomato and onion and have it daily. There are various veggies available which you can twist and turn and make your salad interesting and colourful and tasty too. Wondering how?  Keep reading.

Here I am listing some tasty salads with amazing dressings

  1. CRUNCHY MUNCHY SALAD
Crunchy Munchy Salad

Crunchy Munchy Salad

Ingredients:

Wheat/oat flakes- ½ bowl

Baby Corn- 5-6 in no

Bell Peppers (3 coloured)- ½ bowl

Lettuce- 2 leaves

Pomogranate- ¼ bowl

Seasoning

Lime juice – 2-3 tap

Salt- acc to taste

Chaat masala- According to taste

Method

Roast the oats a bit. Then mix all ingredients with the seasoning. Toss well and serve.

  1. DETOX SALAD
Detox Salad

Detox Salad

Ingredients:

Broccoli- ½ bowl florets

Carrot- ½ bowl juliennes

Bell pepper- ¼ bowl juliennes (red, yellow, green)

Baby Corn- 4-5 in no diced finely

Cherry tomatoes-1/4 bowl or regular tomatoes

Red Cabbage- ½ bowl finely chopped

Zucchini (yellow) – ¼ bowl sliced

Alfa Alfa sprouts- 2 Tbsp (for garnishing)

Seasoning:

Vinegar- 2 tsp

Red Chilli Flakes- 1 tsp

Salt – according to taste

Flax seeds- coarsely pounded 2 tsp

Walnuts- coarsely pounded 3-4 in no

Method:

Toss all ingredients with seasoning in a bowl.

Refrigerate for ½ an hour & serve.

  1. SPROUTED METHI SALAD
sprouted-methi-seed-salad-recipe.1024x1024

Sprouted Methi Salad

Ingredients:

Sprouted Methi seeds- ½ cup

Pomegranate- ¼ cup

Cucumber- 1 in no diced

Carrot- 1 in no diced

Capsicum- ½ each diced (3 coloured)

Tomato- 1 in no chopped

Spring onion- 1 stalk finely chopped

Seasoning:

Chaat masala- ¼ tsp

Lemon juice- ½ lemon

Salt – acc to taste

Method:

Add all ingredients in a salad bowl. Add seasoning to the same. Toss well. And Serve.

  1. WALDORF SALAD
waldorf-salad-horiz-b-1500

Waldorf Salad

Ingredients

10-12 cup walnuts halves

2 tsp flax seeds
1/2 cup low-fat yogurt
1 stick finely chopped parsley

1 stick finely chopped celery
1 teaspoon honey

2 leaves of Ice berg lettuce chopped
2 large crisp apples
Freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup golden raisins
1/2 lemon, juiced
Method

Cut apple into chunks. Add all ingredients in a salad bowl. Toss all the ingredients. Refrigerate for 30-45mins and serve.

  1. BEAN SALAD WITH PROBIOTIC DRESSING
Bean Salad with Pro-biotic dressing

Bean Salad with Pro-biotic dressing

Ingredients

Bean sprouts- 1 cup

Fresh pomegranate- ¼ cup kernels

Cucumber- 1 in no (diced)

3 coloured bell pepper- ½ each (diced)

Tomatoes- 1 in no (diced)

Dressing:

Curd- ½ cup

Honey- 1 tsp

Olive oil- ½ tsp

Flax seeds – 2 tsp (coarsely crushed)

Chaat masala- ½ tsp

Salt- if required

Method:

For dressing:  Whip all ingredients together with a fork. Add other ingredients in a bowl. Add the dressing and toss well. Refrigerate & serve on a bed of lettuce.

 

  1. TANGY TROPICANA

 

Tangy Tropicana

Tangy Tropicana

Ingredients:

Pineapple- 3 fresh slices (diced)

Cherry tomatoes- 6-8 in no

Red, Yellow & Green bell peppers- ½ each cut into juliennes

Lettuce- 2 leaves chopped

Walnuts- 2 in no chopped

Seasoning:

Lime juice- ½ lemon

Honey-1/2tsp

Ginger- grated a small piece

Salt – As per taste

Black pepper powder- As per taste

Method:

Soak grated ginger, lemon juice & honey together

Add all veggies & walnuts in a salad bowl

Add the dressing prepared, salt & pepper

Toss well

Serve chilled

 

What are you waiting for? Get healthy-dress up your meal platter with the above colourful veggie mixes!

January 7, 2018 By Fatema Khamgaonwala 4 Comments

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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