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Showing posts from February 21, 2016

Benefits of Oatmeal; Healthy Recipes: Why Make Oats A Part of Your Regular Diet

oats benefits Health benefit of oats are aplenty. It is the foremost reason for its adoption as a popular cereal grain these days. Do you know the first evidence of adoption of oats has been traced to a cave in Switzerland (belongs to around 3000 BC)? History of Oats If you think oatmeal recipes are getting popular these days, then you might be wrong. Oat is the most popular food in Scotland and also widely used in England. When the English came to India and settled here, they began cultivation of oats. Though the first mention of oats is found in Ain-e-Akbari of Abul Fazal (around 1590), their real adoption began with British promotion after 1816, when they captured vast areas Uttarakhand. However, this was limited to the consumption of the British army only. Hari Singh of Kashmir ordered special oat seeds from England in the 1930s and began their cultivation in royal farms. After independence, the state govt of Kashmir promoted oats and local farmers began cultivating i...

Home Made Healthy Whole Wheat Cookies With Almond Meal, Oatmeal

whole grain cookies Baking with whole grains is easy. Agree? I have been doing so for over a year, trying out different cookie variations with healthy grains. I am quite happy with the results. Almonds are my favorite nuts. I prefer to add them to my cookies. However, the addition of almond meal makes a big difference to the taste of cookies. I have added almond powder to my previous batches, wherein I used ground almonds for the recipe, but almond meal enhances the taste to the next level. Here's why you should include nuts for a healthy heart. Let's see what all I have included in these healthy whole wheat cookies with almond meal. baking with whole grains Oatmeal Cookie Ingredients almond meal 1 cup- wheat flour 1/2 cup- oatmeal 2 tbsp- milk powder 1 cup- almond meal (check the recipe of almond meal here ) 1/2cup-besan (chickpea flour) 1 tsp- baking soda or powder 4 tbsp- sugar powder (more or less as per your taste) 2 tbsp- chille...

Healthy Breakfast Recipe: Instant Poha Upma - 2 Recipes

Kick-start your day with a healthy breakfast recipe. Looking to add another healthy recipe to your breakfast collection? Well, this surely is going to be a great start. Poha or rice flakes is a healthier alternative to many things normally used in Indian kitchens.  This makes even diabetes-friendly recipes. My diabetic parents-in laws have poha as a snack in the evenings. poha upma Here I am sharing two poha recipes - perhaps poha upma recipes that are unlike the kind of upma you have been having until now. The first simple breakfast recipe uses steamed veggies. It is as simple as steaming vegetables of your choice, say carrots, peas, capsicum and then adding them to a tempering of onion, tomato, and ginger. Finally, your poha upma is ready when you mix pre-soaked poha. Done! So simple; yet so yummy and healthy! I started eating poha a few years back after I found its varied uses as a snacking option and healthy breakfast alternative. Here is a very si...

Idli - Steamed Rice Flour Black Lentil Dumlings

Here's what I do with the leftover dosa batter. Yes, you have guessed it right - I make idlis with it. idli Ingredients  2 cups- rice 1 cup - urad dal (black lentils) Procedure Soak both for 6-7 hours or overnight. Grind together in the morning. Let the batter ferment for 5-6 hours. Take a laddle full of the batter and pour into greased idli wells. Steam for 8-10 minutes (more or less). Enjoy with coconut chutney, Bengal gram chutney or sambar.

Chakuli - Odisha's Dosa

chakli- odisha's dosa Chakuli - A breakfast option from Odisha This recipe uses the traditional same dosa ingredients, with the only difference being that it is softer to touch, feel, and relish. Makes a wholesome lunch meal as well. I learned this recipe from my mother in law, who has amazing culinary skills. Chakuli is widely common in Odisha and savored as a breakfast or lunch. I can eat it for dinner as well. Ingredients 2 cups- rice 1 cup- black lentils (urad dal) 1 tbsp- fenugreek seeds (methi dana) - optional Other ingredients oil salt Procedure odisha dosa Soak these three ingredients separately for 7-8 hours. I usually soak them overnight and grind them in the morning. Next day, I grind these together without water. Keep these aside for fermentation for another 4-5 hours. I usually leave them as such until evening. When you are ready to make chakli, mix the batter well. Take out the batter that you w...

Rava Dosa: A Healthy Breakfast Option

rava dosa Breakfast is the start of the day's meal planning. When you get to eat "soul food," you don't want anything else. This is exactly what I am experiencing today. Made Rava dosa 'n it tasted yum with potato sambar curry!!! Perfect meal combo to kick-start your day! Super easy to make 'n is equally filling. Recipe : 1 cup rava (suji) 1/2 cup rice flour 1 tsp atta 2 tbsp of curd (optional) 1 cup water (more or less depending on the consistency - the batter should not be too runny) salt as per taste Tempering/tadka ingredients: 1/2 tsp oil mustard seeds curry leaves chana dal, urad dal (optional) Procedure rava thali Mix rava, rice flour, atta, salt, and water. You can add 2 tbsp of curd.. Set it aside for 15-20 minutes. Meanwhile, boil potatoes. Cut boiled potatoes in small sizes. Marinate them with salt, turmeric, and sambar powder. Fry marinated potatoes on tawa/skillet. Pour one cup of water in a pan. Add 2 tsp o...

Say No to Junk Food, Say No to Burgers

source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8c/Red_Robin_burger.jpg Burger is one of the most-blamed food for health problems in America. Let alone the ham, the veg burger is also dangerous. First, it is a junk food, second it has over processed ingredients, and third is the excess sodium. Junk food results in obesity while excess sodium leads to high blood pressure and an increased risk for heart disease, stroke and kidney disease. Processed ingredients have no essential nutrients. Many burgers available in the market contai n hexane, a chemical used to separate soya oil from soya seeds, that can cause cancer. Toppings and cheese are always processed and without any nutritional value. French fries make it more harmful, as these fries too have a bad health quotient. Instead of making burgers at home, substitute it with more healthier options. Burger is made from refined wheat flour, which has no nutritional value and is full of starch sugar. If you...

Moong Dal Oats Tikki

moong oat tikki Ritu Mendiratta is a health freak like me. She comes up with some of the healthiest recipes, with oats being the key ingredient. She shared yellow moong dal tikki (cutlet) yesterday, which inspired me to give her recipe a try. I loved the idea of using parboiled moong dal (yellow lentils) and blending the paste with oats and a mix of vegetables of your choice. I included carrot and peas, as I had only these two vegetables in stock. Nevertheless the outcome did not disappoint; rather, I would love to try the recipe with other lentils as well. Here's the recipe: INGREDIENTS: Oatmeal 1/2 CUP + 1/4 CUP YELLOW MOONG DAL 2/3 CUP ONION 1 (I didn't add) CARROT 1 Peas - 1/4 cup GARAM MASALA 1/4 TSP RED CHILLI POWDER 1/4 TSP CORIANDER Powder OIL 1 tbsp Ginger- small MILK 2 tbsp SALT as per taste Turmeric METHOD: Soak moong dal for an hour and then cook with turmeric for 10 minutes on a low flame. No need for pressure cooking the lentil. Drain...

Orange Peel Pickle

orange peel pickle Orange peel pickle , are you serious? Na, I am not kidding! After having thrown tons of orange peel all my life, I have come up with a tasty, tangy way to relish this vitamin C rich orange cover. Thus far, I was only aware of one use of orange peel, that is, face powder. Yes, during childhood, we would dry these peels under direct sunlight and then grind them to powder for application on face as a rejuvenating face pack. I do not remember whether the face pack ever did any trick, I simply loved the aroma! Another favorite activity we would indulge in during childhood was to squeeze orange peels in each other's eyes - yes, that was such an exciting moment. I do this even now...LOL!, though I do it with myself. For a long time, I have been discarding orange covers like anything or only using them as a deodorizer in my shoe rack and refrigerator. I imagined doing something else with these Vitamin C rich peels, which have umpteen other health benefit...

Instant Vermicelli Pulav /Biryani in 5 mins

What has brought you to this page is your search for a healthy breakfast option, right? Or you might be looking for a healthy snack idea for preschoolers or elders alike. When health tops the list of your priorities, can taste be left behind? Of course, you are often constrained for time when it comes to making healthy snacks. But not once you learn this one pot one shot vermicelli recipe. This instant vermicelli pulav biryani recipe takes inspiration from Jyothi Cooking Book. Instant Noodles - Na Instant Maggi - Na Instant Biryani Vermicelli Think of instant food, and 2-minute maggi will flash your mind in an instant. But there is more to instant food than instant maggi. What if we give you a no-fail recipe for instant biryani vermicelli that is more of a visual treat and tastes just like your favorite maggi. But our instant vermicelli upma or biryani has the advantage of being a healthy snack option, which is made with whole wheat semolina. I do not eat noodles. ...

Mix Vegetable Parantha

mix vegetable parantha for breakfast Paranthas are a quintessential breakfast in north India, especially Punjab and Delhi. Being a Punjabi, I have a fondness for paranthas, though I try to make low-calorie paranthas, using least amount of oil, instead of clarified butter. Anyway, I add oats and ragi flour to wheat flour to knead my daily dough for rotis and paranthas. This time I added finely chopped carrot, capsicum, peas, ginger and sprouts to the dough and made mix veg paranthas. These Indian flat bread rotis are healthier form of paranthas and taste great. I enjoyed these with sweet amla chutney. Ingredients wheat flour - 1 cup ragi flour - 1/4 cup Oatmeal (powder)- 1/4 cup salt, oil Ginger grated carom seeds (ajwain) Chopped Vegetables of your choice (carrot, capsicum, peas, cauliflower, methi) Procedure Mix everything and make a semi-soft dough. Let it sit for 10 minutes. Roll out into chapatis or paranthas. Fry using little oil/ghee on either side...

Homemade Oatmeal Recipe With Almonds

oats almond ladoo Health remains on the top of my agenda when it comes to meal planning. I started making sweets last year after joining a few food groups and learning the basics of making sweets there. Thereafter, I have been continuing with my food experiments in my efforts to make the food we savor healthier. After having tried different kinds of sweets, I tried this super easy, quick, and healthy badam ladoo recipe that uses oats and almonds as the base. Before coming up with the final recipe, I had decided to make almond ladoos that I have made previously. While making ladoos this time, I decided to add oats to make these cute little balls healthier. Badam Burfi Ladoo The recipe does not disappoint, nor do these power-packed ladoos: almond oats ladoo 1/2 cup oatmeal (powder) 1/2 cup almond powder 1/2 cup condensed milk (if you do not have, you may use 1 cup milk and mix it with 2 tbsp of milk powder and let it simmer on low flame.. stir intermitte...