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5 Tips To Stay Active During Winter

stay active during winter

It’s tough to stay active in winter when you’re nice and cozy under a warm blanket. Binge eating and browsing through some series seems so much more appealing. It can be tough to get motivated when the weather blows in, but don’t give up all thoughts of staying active. A little planning can help you stay active during winter. 

Tips To Stay Active During Winter 

  1. Team up with a partner: Sometimes, the hardest part of staying active is getting motivated. Consider exercising with a partner. It will keep you accountable and could give you the extra push you need. There’s the additional benefit of making friends and hanging out with like-minded people.
  2. Exercise during your lunch break: It seems to be frustrating when it’s dark in the morning and dark when you come home from work. The solution is to workout in the middle of the day, during peak light hours. Take a long, brisk walk during lunch hours. This provides the additional benefit of getting Vitamin D from sunlight.
  3. Indoor activities: Even if the weather is nasty, there are dozens of indoor activities to keep you moving during winter. Aside from taking stairs, we all can opt for dancing, mall walking, active housework like sweeping & vacuuming, bowling and yoga. Have some fun and stay active at the same time. Alternatively, you can join LIVE sessions by experts by subscribing for a GOQii PRO class within the GOQii App. 
  4. Take the stairs: Make small changes to your daily habits to stay active during winter. A perfect choice is taking the stairs instead of opting for an elevator or escalator. The extra movement will keep your muscles working and will help you burn fat.
  5. Create a home gym: The moment when you don’t feel like going out for exercise, then you can easily set up a great workout area in your living room and basement. Buy some inexpensive equipment like stretch bands, stability balls and hand weights. You can also wear a heavy backpack to add intensity to your workout or do bodyweight exercises like push-ups, lunges and squats.

We hope this article helps and motivates you to stay active during winter! Do leave your thoughts in the comments below. For more on exercise and fitness, check out Healthy Reads or ask a GOQii Coach by subscribing for personalized health coaching here: https://goqiiapp.page.link/bsr

#BeTheForce 

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Healthy Eating: The Ultimate Winter Soup

ultimate winter soup

With everyone seeking to build their immunity, especially due to the change in weather and the ongoing pandemic, eating the right food is quite essential to our wellbeing. There is nothing that fuels your body with the right nutrients and warms your soul like the way soup does. So here’s the delicious Ultimate Winter Soup that’s loaded with the goodness of vegetables, herbs and protein.

What You Will Need 

  • Finely chopped onion – ½ cup
  • Ginger garlic paste – 1 tbsp
  • Finely chopped carrot – ¼ cup
  • Finely chopped sweet potato – ¼ cup
  • Chopped french beans – ½ cup
  • Finely chopped tomato – ½ cup
  • Soft boiled chick peas – 1 cup
  • Vegetable broth/ water – 5 cups
  • Coriander – ½ cup
  • Oil – 2 tbsp
  • Salt 
  • Black pepper powder – ½ tsp
  • Red chilli paste – 1 tsp
  • Turmeric – ½ tsp

How To Prepare

  1. Heat a pan and add oil. Once the oil is hot, add the onions and allow it to sauté until soft.
  2. Then add the ginger garlic paste, give it a quick stir and allow it to cook for a minute.
  3. Add the carrot, french beans & sweet potato. Let them cook for 2 minutes.
  4. Now add the vegetable broth or water and partially cover the pan with the lid and allow the veggies to cook.
  5. After 10 mins, once you see the carrots are tender, add the tomato and mix everything well. Add the turmeric and salt during this time.
  6. In another small bowl, mash the chick peas with a fork and transfer it to the soup pan. Also add the coriander, red chilli paste and black pepper at the same time. Give it a quick mix and let it cook for 5 more minutes.
  7. Time to serve the hot colorful looking soup and enjoy.

Note: Instead of chickpeas, you can use any pulse of your choice like chana, sprouts, mung, etc. 

Highlights of the Ultimate Winter Soup

  • An absolute delight for your body, it will boost immunity, heat you up and clear your throat. 
  • Very fulfilling due to the use of a variety of seasonal vegetables. 
  • Great for people healing from any type of viral infections.

We hope you enjoy this Ultimate Winter Soup! Do share your thoughts with us 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

Eat healthy and #BeTheForce 

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Sprouts As Superfoods During the Pandemic!

sprouts

During this period of time , when most of us are avoiding crowded markets again and again to purchase fruits and veggies , sprouting of the readily available beans and grains at home has become the best and cheapest way of getting complete nourishment. We have been using sprouts for ages either to recover post illness or to build muscle mass, increase stamina, to combat nutritional deficiencies and so on. 

What Can Be Sprouted?  

All edible grains, seeds and legumes can be sprouted. These include:

  • Grains: Wheat, Maize, Ragi , Bajra, and Barley . 
  • Seeds: Alfa-alfa seeds, radish seeds, fenugreek seeds, carrot seeds, coriander seeds, pumpkin seeds, muskmelon seeds, sesame seeds. 
  • Legumes: Mung , Bengal gram, groundnut and peas ( commonly used )  .

Benefits Of Consuming Sprouts

  1. Increase in Nutrition: In the process of sprouting, the vitamins, minerals and proteins increase substantially with the corresponding decrease in the calories and carbohydrate content.  There is an infinite increase in vitamin C content. 
  2. Good For Pregnant Women: Being high in folate, sprouts are beneficial for pregnant women. Folate is quite essential for fetal development and proper development of brain development of a child. 
  3. Ensures Healthy Eyes: As Vitamin A content also gets enhanced by a remarkable percentage, sprouts keep our eyes healthy and protect them from all the Vitamin A deficiency diseases of the eyes such as night blindness. Regular intake even delays the development of cataract due to ageing. 
  4. Healthy, Shiny Hair: Being rich in Vitamin C and protein, they ensure strong and healthy hair.
  5. Good Heart Health: Sprouts are high in omega 3 fatty acids which make them heart-friendly.
  6. Easily Digestible: Now the question arises in our minds, the black gram, the mung beans, and some other legumes do produce flatulence… will it be ok for those who suffer from bloating and indigestion to consume these legumes and beans?  And the answer is yes! When we are consuming sprouts, they are in pre-digested form – which means they have already been acted upon by enzymes and made easy to digest.  In fact, they contain a lot of fiber and water. Hence, they help overcome constipation. 

When Can You Eat Them: You may have them as your post-workout meal in the morning, in your evening snacks when you are hungry and while raiding your kitchen for something to munch on.

How To Eat Sprouts: Besides having sprouts alone, you can make it delicious by adding chopped onion, tomatoes, cucumber and squeeze some lemon juice. You may make sprout dosa or pancakes or mixed sprout bhel with puffed rice. You can also try this delicious Sweet Potato Sprouts Tikki and Oats, Sprouts and Vegetable Uttapam. Make sure you are steaming or boiling sprouts in water before eating them. This will not only make them easily absorbable, but will kill any bacterial growth that may have developed during the process of sprouting. 

Eating sprouts is the safest and cheapest way to get all the advantages of fruits and vegetables. If you are having them in your breakfast, it’s going to be a perfect power-packed breakfast. No packaged Muesli, instant oats, processed cornflakes, etc. are going to provide this much nutrition. 

Please Note: Make sure the dried beans and seeds are of best quality, purchased from a good store where they are kept under good conditions and packaged as “food”. Seeds meant for planting purposes may contain mercury compounds and other toxic chemicals. Avoid purchasing seeds or beans of low quality because these may cause various bacterial infections like salmonella, e-coli infections. 

We hope this article helps you! Go on and get your sprouts. Do let us know your thoughts in the comments below! For more on nutrition, check out Healthy Reads or ask a GOQii Coach by subscribing for personalized health coaching here: https://goqiiapp.page.link/bsr 

#BeTheForce 

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6 Magical Foods That Could Help Boost Your Immunity

boost your immunity

The winter flu coupled with the ongoing pandemic isn’t a very desirable combination. If you’re too worried about that cough or cold being a symptom of COVID-19, you need to boost your immunity this season! Being we get to the foods which can boost your immunity, let’s understand what immunity is all about! 

What Is Immunity? 

It is a condition of being able to resist a particular disease, especially by preventing the development of pathogenic microorganisms or by counteracting the effects of its products. The Immune system consists of organs, cells, tissues and proteins – together they carry out bodily processes that fight off pathogens (viruses, bacteria and foreign bodies that cause infection or disease). When our immune system comes into contact with a pathogen, it triggers an immune response. The immune system releases antibodies which attach to the antigen or pathogen and kill them.

In simple terms, immunity is the strength to fight and ward off viruses and bacteria which make us weak and ill. It’s the 1st line of defence. To build immunity, we have to choose a healthy lifestyle with: 

  • Regular exercise 
  • Healthy and nutritious food
  • Staying well hydrated
  • Good quality sleep
  • Stress management
  • Avoid smoking and alcohol
  • Avoid processed, canned, preserved and refined food

Magical Foods That Can Help Boost Your Immunity 

While the above certainly help you boost your immunity, here are a few magical foods that can help you as well. 

  1. Fruits: are packed with vitamins and minerals. They are a rich source of Vitamin C and Vitamin A which play a very important role in building immunity. They are packed with antioxidants. Citrus fruits like Orange, grapefruit, Sweet Lime, lemon as well as kiwi, papaya and all types of berries are the best. To get the best of fruits, we should always consume seasonal and locally grown fruits. 2-3 serving of fruits are recommended per day if there is no restriction.
  2. Vegetables: like green leafy veg, broccoli, red bell pepper are packed with vitamins, minerals and antioxidants. Green leafy vegetables are packed with fiber and water. They are loaded with Vitamin A, C and K. Calcium, iron, magnesium, potassium are the minerals which we can get from them. They are also good sources of phytochemicals like litein, zeaxanthin and beta-carotene which revitalize our health. In fact, Broccoli is supercharged with vitamins A, C and E. It has sulforaphane which is an antioxidant. It has good amounts of fiber which supports the immune system. Red bell pepper has good amounts of Vitamin C which can be compared to Citrus fruits. If anyone wants a good amount of Vitamin C with fruit sugar (Fructose), bell peppers are the best option. It is also a good source of Beta carotene (which gets converted into Vitamin A). Along with helping boost your immunity, it also improves your skin and eye health.
  3. Nuts and Seeds: are good sources of good fat/omega 3 fatty acids and have protein and antioxidants in it along with Vitamin E minerals. In nuts and seeds, almonds and sunflower seeds help you boost your immunity. Vitamin E is fat soluble and almonds have plenty of it! Sunflower seeds are great sources of phosphorus, magnesium, selenium, Vitamin B-6 and E. Vitamin E is very important in regulating and maintaining the immune system.
  4. Roots like Ginger and Garlic: Ginger is anti-inflammatory and antioxidative in nature, hence it helps in preventing illnesses. Certain chemical compounds in ginger helps our body ward off germs. Both fresh and dried ginger are good to build immunity. Garlic is used in home remedies for common cough and cold and other illnesses. It has allicin in it which helps to lower down the blood pressure, cholesterol and helps in heart health.
  5. Green Tea: is packed with flavonoids and epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) which are antioxidants. In studies, it’s shown that ECGC helps boost your immunity. Green tea also contains L-theanine which is an amino acid that helps in the production of germ fighting compounds called T-cells, which reduce inflammation in the body and helps fight infections.
  6. Dark Chocolate: The Cocoa found in dark chocolate can strengthen the defence of our immune system. Dark chocolate may help fight a stubborn cough. It contains an antioxidant called theobromine, which may help boost your immunity by protecting the body’s cells from free radicals. But dark chocolate is high in calories and saturated fat, so it is important to maintain portion control.

These are the few foods which help boost your immunity. With these, there are many more foods that help us, such as amla, haridra, neem, tulsi and ashwagandha. They are known to strengthen the immune function. As with all foods, you need to maintain portion control. Before you try any of the above foods, check with your doctor, dietitian or nutritionist. 

For more on immunity, 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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