Lunch and dessert on a rainy weekend!

Taking advantage of the gloomy weather, I went off to Trader Joe's and bought a bunch of supplies for my culinary adventures. While the Olympics played away on the TV, I got into the kitchen, post a hearty workout, for some well-deserved food. 

Starting off with basil pesto (recipe later), I moved a step up with this cauliflower recipe. Normally I make it Indian style but this time I just went with the flow. I let the spirit guide me and I added ingredients as they came to me.

Here's how it flowed:

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 head cauliflower

1 cup frozen peas

1 root ginger

Red chili flakes and salt to taste

2-3 tablespoons coriander chutney

Mint to garnish (Optional)

1.  Add olive oil in a warm wok (or any other deep pot).
2.  Shred a root of ginger (you can also cut it) and add to warm oil.
3. Add cauliflower and peas and saute for a few minutes until cauliflower becomes a little soft.
4. Add salt and red chili flakes.
5. Add coriander chutney and stir. 
6. Turn off stove and garnish with mint.

The result will be one happy spouse (or you!) 

Feeling encouraged, I went onto further uncharted waters - the low-carb diet meant I had banned all desserts but no body informed my sweet tooth! To remedy that, I looked around for healthier dessert options and found a marvelous recipe that uses almond meal. 

What is almond meal you ask - when you pulse pieces of almond, you get almond meal! That's how simple it is. Replace that for the flour and it is one guilt free dessert/breakfast. And the best part? You cannot tell! I shared it with a few friends at work and they were absolutely blown away when I told them there was no flour!

While the original recipe called for 3 oz (1/2 cup) of sugar, the bread turned out a tad sweeter than I would have liked, it could work well with 1/3 cup of sugar and ripe bananas.

 

1 cup almond meal

1/2 tea spoon baking powder

2 eggs

1/2 cup sugar (or use 1/3 cup sugar and ripe bananas)

1/2 tea spoon cinnamon

3 bananas + extra slices for topping

Slices of almond to garnish

1. Pre-heat oven to 300 F. 
2. Lightly dust a muffin tin or bread dish with some spray oil.
3. Add almond meal and baking powder and set aside.
4. Beat eggs, cinnamon and sugar together to make it fluffy.
5. Add egg mixture to almond meal and mix. 
6. Pour in baking dish/tin and garnish with slices of banana and almond. 
7. Bake about 40-45 minutes for bread and 30-35 minutes for muffins (or until top is browned and skewer comes out clean).

Salad freshness

With the heat bearing down the past couple of days, I cannot fathom eating much else besides happy chunks of green. To celebrate the king of fruits and combat the rising temperatures, I made a salad incorporating two of my favorites - avocado and mango. 

Here go the ingredients.

1/2 packet arugula

1 mango

1 avocado

Feta cheese (to taste)

Salt, pepper (to taste)

Olive oil

Balsamic vinegar

I honestly do not know the measurements for the olive oil and vinegar but I drizzled enough to make sure most of the salad had the "drenched" look. 

Yum! Yum! 

What's So Wrong With Soda?

Bloomberg wants to impose a ban on all 64 oz cups and limit the servings of sodas in New York to 16 oz only. He says people are less likely to buy four 16 oz cups opposed to one 64 oz cup. I agree with that assessment however a bunch of folks are taking this as another one of Bloomberg’s unfair interventions and calling New York his “nanny state.” They think it will affect the low income groups who primarily rely on fast food restaurants.

To give you an idea, here are the different drink sizes. Tell me, what good reason do we have to drink that massive 64 oz cup?! 

Image courtesy: The Daily

Coming back to the low income group debate - so because they mainly eat at McDonald’s we should let them drink the 64 oz cup of soda as well? What kind of society are we to be more concerned with the size of their drink opposed to the plethora of health problems it would cause them? No one in this country has been spared from the health debate; we all know how expensive it is to get sick. Absolutely no body, leave alone the low income group families, can afford to get sick. So instead of promoting healthy eating habits – lowering the cost of produce in super markets, teaching kids the importance of eating well, making farmers markets more accessible – we are going to argue to maintain the 64 oz cup of soda? Seriously!?

To get an idea what soda does to you, look at the picture below. 

These are some serious illnesses that can plague us for the rest of our lives! Diet; zero or any other kind that corporations come up with, soda remains your nemesis. 

Image courtesy: Termlife insurance

A new study has also revealed soft drinks change the way muscles use food as fuel, making them prefer to burn sugars over fats; which means that within a short period of time (4 weeks or so) your body decreases its ability to burn fat. 

So the next time you find yourself reaching for a Coke, think of all the harmful effects you are exposing yourself to. The simple alternative: drink water. Not only is it delicious but it’s also free. 

Kale, squash and sweet potato soup

Having stayed out of the kitchen for a while, I was itching to make some special delicious meals. So I went hunting to see what I could find that satisfied my palate and conscience. Among a few things I found was this soup. It looked delicious but my on-going war on carbs meant the potato had to be replaced! Enter sweet potatoes.

Why sweet potatoes, you ask.

Well, not only are they sweet but they also provide an abundant amount of health benefits. Besides being high in fiber (close to 7 gms /serving) they contain a large amount of vitamin B6 which with keeping your blood vessels looking healthy. The high amount of vitamin A means they help fight cancer causing free radicals. And to metabolize your carbs, they contain manganese (those french fries can at last be combated!). Lastly they have vitamins C & E which along with vitamin A become a super beauty food. 

So sweet potatoes is the way to go!

Shopping list:

1 onion

2 carrots

1 celery

1 clove garlic

2 sweet potatoes (I replaced potatoes with this!)

1 squash (the original recipe calls for butternut but I used yellow instead)

1 bunch kale (broccoli rabe might be a good substitute as well)

Pinch of thyme

Salt, pepper, red chili flakes to taste

Some flakes of Parmesan-Reggiano (optional)

To cook:

1. In some olive oil add the garlic, onions, carrots and celery

2. Once they begin to soften, add thyme, sweet potatoes, salt, pepper and chili flakes

3. Bring to a boil and let sweet potatoes soften. 

4. Add squash

5. Once squash is tender, add kale and cook for 5 minutes or until kale begins to slightly wilt. 

6. Add flakes of Parmesan-Reggiano

(I did not take any pictures when I was cooking but I promise to do so going forward).

So What's This About?

Over the years, I have started watching what I eat – with a family history of diabetes; my mind is always on eating right. Thankfully, growing up my mother cultivated some very healthy eating habits which I managed to carry with me throughout my adulthood. When I came to the US, I still ate my fruits and veggies (after acclimatizing to the different taste) but also ate a lot of junk (enter Cheetos, Chips Ahoy!, Newtons). Part of the reason was me being broke, the other was the attitude that I was too young and these were the “golden years” of my life where I could burn all junk calories. 

Thankfully no health problems were diagnosed, but that carefree attitude prevailed over the next several years. When I moved in with my, now husband, we started to examine our diets and our weight and discovered we were several pounds heavier than we should be. Determined to change that, we engaged in a 7-day detox, began an extensive gym program and reduced the intake of all foods detrimental to our health. Over time, with access to information and interest in my eating, I started reading blogs, books, and other resources on eating healthy. As my aunt puts it “food is the only foreign object present in your body so you have to eat right.” I took that adage seriously. 

I became passionate about healthier food options, eating more and more fruits and veggies and exercising. The effect was dramatic; not only did I shed the excess weight but I felt better than I ever had in my entire life! I did not subscribe to any dietary regimes – my belief is they do not work and are a waste of your time and $ (two things we are all short of) – but made simple changes to my eating habits. Cutting down meal sizes, snacking and exercising helped me change my outlook towards myself and the world. 

With extensive research also came the knowledge of the kind of food we eat. Realizing that a lot of our food is grown with the aid of pesticides I started a “clean food” revolution in my house. We began eating organic food, banning plastics and buying locally grown produce. I also started reading labels (which I hated to do until that point) to understand the nutrition value the food I ate provided me. 

Then I got pregnant and at six months was diagnosed with gestational diabetes. I was LIVID! Despite eating the way I did; my daft genes got the better of me! Planning to use the last month of my pregnancy as a free pass I was utterly disappointed but tried to look at the bright side. Gestational diabetes meant I could not gorge on carbohydrates or eat willy-nilly; which in turn meant my baby ate right too. The idea was to keep my blood sugar at acceptable levels so my portions became extremely measured and protein-heavy. This was a unique challenge for a pescatarian, like me, but with the help of my husband I managed to make the best of it. Net result – I gained only 23 lbs during the entire duration of my pregnancy.  

After my daughter’s birth I gave myself a few months of haphazard eating but started examining my diet once again. Realizing that I was at a higher risk of developing diabetes (thanks to the gestational); I started looking for ways to cut carbohydrates and replace them with healthy but delicious food choices. With a 3 month old who will soon be eating, I also wanted to make sure she started on the right foot.  This brings me to where I am today. 

Over the past year, many friends and family have suggested I start a blog with my  knowledge on food. While there is a lot more to learn, I do believe I have a lot to share. Now, there are a lot of resources on losing weight but my focus is not just that. Whatever your weight is, the idea is to eat healthy. The basic aim is to watch what goes in your mouth and how, if at all, can you replace your existing food choices with smarter, healthier ways to eat. Of course, they have to be delicious but sometimes it does take a little getting used to flavors hitherto unknown; so time and patience are also important. Finally, nothing starts without will so if you lack the desire don’t even waste your time. The idea is to not “diet” for a few weeks and then fall back into old patterns; but to make eating right a lifestyle. 

So here we go, I will attempt to share my research, success stories and other interesting food facts. Since I am a pescatarian, this blog will primarily be about veggies and sea food but I will try to include the omnivores too. If you’d like me to include any of your stories/healthy recipes, feel free to share. I’ll try and keep it entertaining. 

Happy reading!