Sneak in Chia seeds

Chia seeds as I heard it is a super food. Yes, most of the times, the tiny things are the ones which are significantly healthy :-) Google about chia seeds, a brief idea about it, it is a tiny seed which is very high in good fat, calcium and many more nutrients.

It forms into a jelly if you leave it in any liquid like water, milk or yogurt.. some people might like it but my family does'nt prefer it that way. So, what are the alternates

1. Mix it with dosa/idli or any crepes batter. I make many different variety of crepes. Need to add them into my blogging. Will do soon.

2. Just add 2-3 Tbsp in any smoothie at the end and give a whip. Good here too.

3. Add it on top of greek yogurt just before serving them..

4. Mix it with Hot milk and drink it immediately for a warm drink.

5. My brother likes it to mix it with buttermilk and have it as a snack drink.

6. My favourite addition is in baking starting from breads, muffins, cakes, quick breads...

7. Summer is coming up..so it is definetely going to be in my popsicles,hmm, how about icecreams.. I think Yes.. it would find its place if it does not spoil the taste.

no restrictions. Just add them and take the additional benefits. I came up with all these ways after seeing this seed in whole foods. I dont know if we can get it across globe but if you get it, try them..

Pairing of Foods!

Many of you might know this but I am just adding it just in case if someone is out there like me! Science is such an important thing in food.. Unless we understand it better, we cannot make the best use out of what we eat.

I had already blogged about berries which should not be consumed along with proteins. Protein hinders the absorption of the nutrition from the berries. When we are eating berries, why not take the maximum benefit of it?

Iron rich foods has to be paired with something for the body to absorb it well. Vegeterians rely on beans, dark greens, whole grain cereals for their iron intake. Unfortunately, boday does not take it all. So, we can pair it with few foods.

(1) Beans best friend is Tomatoes
(2) whole grain cereal goes well with vitamin c rich foods. Any calcium for ex., coffee/Tea with milk hinders the iron absorption.
(3) Tofu with Hot/sweet peppers
(4) Dark Greens with strawberries and melons.

Another information is about Vitamin D intake. People take supplements for their deficiency. I opted to go for Vit D2 which was plant source. I never realized that Vit D should be paired with Fat for them to be taken by the body. Yes, it is true that I have also read VIT-A, D, K and E are fat soluble. You can take your Vit D whenever you eat fatty foods like nuts/avocado or any other fatty foods.

Talking about Vit D, I discovered all organic/normal milk has added D3 from animal source, some from fish, cows, pig or lanolin (sheep fur) especially in US. I could not convince myself to take it anymore. So, I switched to milk without added D3. It is the next big challenge to find store who carry milk without D3.

Thanks for reading! Will add more recipes soon.

Broken Oats Pongal

Broken Oats Pongal

This is one easy dish which can be served as brkfast or dinner and would taste very good when it is hot.

What you need?

Broken oats-1 1/4 cup
Yellow Moong dal-1/4 cup
water-2.5 cups
salt,
ginger - 1 inch grated or cut fine
whole pepper or pepper powder-1 tsp or more
jeera-1 tsp
asofoedita-a pinch
curry leaves a few
Oil-1 Tbsp or Ghee

How to do?

1. Dry fry oats and moong dal in a kadai
2. Add water and pressure cook for 3 whistles or you can just cook in rice cooker
3. Tadka Ghee/Oil with jeera, ginger, pepper, ginger,
4. Add salt and Tadka to the Pongal and mix well.

Serve Hot with Tomato Gosthu/Dal or any chutney of your choice. Kids also had it without any fuss. Enjoy and keep healthy!

Notes:

This recipe can use broken wheat or any other grain.

Choco Apple Banana Smoothie!

I bought a box of unsweetened cocoa powder and making use of it in many ways. Cocoa is a very good antioxidant and it has many health benefits. We love smoothies and this is a different variation of the berry smoothie. Ingredients are just some basic fruits at hand with added oats, walnuts, cocoa powder and fig/dates as the natural sweetener. You can also add avocado, it blends well. This smoothie tastes like indian fruit Chikku juice.


What you need?

Apples-2
Banana-2
Oats-1/2 cup
Walnuts-1/2 cup
Cocoa powder-2 Tbsp
figs-10
dates-10
(Increase the sweetener as per your taste)
Salt-1/4 tsp
Yogurt or milk - 1 cup
water - 1 cup

Optional ingredients
Chia seeds-2 Tbsp
Avocado-1 medium sized

1. Soak dates and fig with hot water for 30 mins and remove pit.
2. Cut the fruits into chunks
3. Blend everything until smooth. Add chia seeds at end. Adjust water consistency by adding more if desired.

You can top it with sliced almonds for a great look.

Peanut Avocado chutney

I had already posted one Avocado dip or chutney. This fruit is so healthy and I find new ways to use it into my everyday cooking. Avocado and peanut go well together.

What you need?

Roasted Peanuts - 1/2 cup
Medium sized avocado-1
Ginger-1/2 inch
Gr chillies - 3 (depends on your taste)
Cumin seeds(Jeera)-1/4 tsp

How to make?

1. Cut avocado into half and take out the pulp,

2. Grind all the ingredients and do tadka

Tadka

Heat 1 tsp oil and add mustard seeds.

Note: You can add lemon juice if you would like to add tanginess.

Simple and quick make chutney with can go with Idli/Dosai and can also get into roti rolls! or just a dip for baby carrots.

Crispy Healthy Dosai(Dosa)

I have been making this for a while after playing with the ingredients little bit. Dosai is using made with boiled or raw white rice and urad. My recipe uses brown rice, whole urad(with black skin) and whole ragi(finger millet) as the main ingredient. My kids who were not eating dosas just love this and that is the reason I thought of posting this.

What you need?

Br rice - 1 cup
Whole urad(with skin) - 1/2 cup
whole ragi - 1/2 cup
Toor dal - 2 Tbsp
Fenugreek seeds (Methi) - 2 Tbsp (optional)
salt - 1 tsp

Prep work:

Soak all the ingredients for 6-8 hrs or overnight. Wash them and grind whole urad, rice and ragi. I usually let the whole urad run for a while in my grinder, it turns really fluffy. You should add enough water for it to grind. It is similar to grinding for idli batter. If someone needs to know in detail, please email me. Take the urad out in a container and then grind ragi, once it is soft, you can add rice and other ingredients to it. Let it all grind smoothly. Transfer it to the container, mix salt and let it ferment for few hours. Fermentation time depends on the weather. Keep the container in a warm place. It takes 16 hrs here to ferment. Once you see some bubbles and the batter risen, it is fermented. It is ready to make dosas or store it in the refrigerator.


If you store the dough in the refrigerator, keep it out for few hrs to bring it to room temperature.

How to make?

1. Heat a tava or a griddle and keep it on Med high
2. Make crepes and it can really go as thin as you want, spray oil.
3. In a minute, it will be ready to turn
4. Turn it to the other side, let it cook.
5. Serve hot with any chutney of your choice.

Note:

1. Recently, I have started using chia seeds into my cooking. It is a very healthy seed which has so many health benefits. I just add a tbsp of it into any batter and it goes into the system without any effort!! This is jsut optional. You should just keep your mind open and let good things in whenever and wherever possible.

Oats and Dry Fruits Laddoo 2

I made dry fruits laddoo for last year Diwali with Jaggery which is crispier. This is a different one, more juicy. My kids like the juicy one while we like the crispy ones also. Oats and dry fruits laddoo is a healthier sweet again with very less Ghee and no additional sugar. Dates and Fig have sugar but they are good ones. So guilt free enjoyment for this Deepavali.

What you need?

Rolled Oats-1 cup
Almonds-1 cup
Pecans-1 cup
walnuts-1 cup
Dates-1 cup
Fig-1 cup
Raisins-1 cup
Milk or just water-1/2 cup

Ghee-1 Tbsp
Cardomom powder-1/4 tsp

Prep work:

1. Coarsely blend all the dry fruits(almonds, pecans and walnuts) seperately

How to make?

1. Heat Ghee in kadai and fry oats. Set aside
2. Boil milk or water and add dates and fig till they becomes mushy.
3. Add the oats, coarsely ground dry fruits, raisins, cardomom powder into the mushy mixture. Mix throughly and shape them into balls or into semi circles as you like.

My kids love to help me in shaping this sweet. It will be a good job to just give them a measuring spoon and press into it. Like my idea?

Tip: You can add any other nuts of your choice too here.