Make Healthy Choices in Life and Move Towards Better Lifestyle

Fitness sounds like a very big word but believe me when I say that it’s actually not very difficult to remain fit for life. All you have to do is to make small little changes in your life to maintain a healthy body. There is no need to burn yourself regularly in gym or eat cucumber the whole day. Small changes such as taking stairs instead of escalator, eating margarine instead of butter etc. will do wonders to the shape of your body.

Today, in this post we will be exploring my favorite topic of butter or margarine. Yes, it looks like people are in endless debate over this topic. Most of the people believe everything they read online. Even they think that margarine is one molecule away from being plastic.

Personally speaking, I believe on the scientific facts which have been proved. It is not advisable to believe on everything you read because lots of people do not have any information about the actual facts. In fact, the margarines which are now available in the market are completely in sync with recommendations which has been provided by 2005 dietary Guidelines for Americans and the MyPyramid food guidance system.

If it is a bad food item or something by which the human being can get a heart attack then the national food guidance system would have never allowed them to be on the shelves of every grocery store.  More so, soft margarine products can help you in meeting the daily need of vitamin E of your body. Hence, eating margarines are not bad for you rather, if you are picking margarine over butter than you are making a very healthy decision.

There was a breath taking study which was conducted by Dr. Margo Denke (M.D) an associate professor of medicine with University of Texas, the research was published in The Journal of the American Medical Association. It involved 46 biological families and it shows that by just making a simple switch from butter to soft margarines, the families have lowered the levels of LDL cholesterol by 11 percent in adults and 9 percent in children’s.

Even in some of the other cases, the effect of soft margarines in lowering the LDL was even greater than the result which is given in the above given paragraph.

Besides this, it is vital to know that margarines are made from the vegetable oils and they are not any plastic rather they have less saturated fat and good cholesterol which is required by our body in order to function properly. I sincerely hope that I was able to clear some of the doubts of everyone here about margarine. You can easily substitute margarine with butter in cooking, baking, frying etc. Enjoy you meals and live healthy.

Father’s Day Special Dessert- Innovative Golf Style Cupcakes

My father is the most precious thing I have in my life. Not even a day pass by when I don’t speak to him. At times, I feel short of words to express what he means to me. He is the reason of my existence and hence, the celebration of father’s day is dearer to me.

Golf is something my father loves to do. Whenever he is free, he will go to country side with his friends and spend hours playing golf. My mother is so envious of my father’s golf kit. There was a time when she use to hide those sticks, so that my father doesn’t go out and play.

I am having a party in my backyard this Sunday to celebrate father’s day and my father has a huge sweet tooth. I mean to think of, my father can stay without golf but he cannot go to bed without having a sweet dish at night.

So, to give him the tribute this father’s day. I am making a special daddy-style cupcakes. If your father’s is a golfer than this recipe is a must make on Sunday…. J

Ingredients-

• 1 packet mixture of chocolate cupcakes (they are very easily available in the market)
• Butter cream for the frosting of cupcakes
• 2 cups of green standing sugar
• Round white candies
• Tooth pick & small paper triangle

Method-

• Cook the cupcakes as per the instruction given on the packet. If you do not wish to cook the cupcakes, you can purchase them from the market. Make sure that you are buying plain cupcakes, without any frosting.
• Spread the butter cream on the cupcake using the wooden spatula. Make sure that you are spreading even cream on the cupcake while maintaining the corners from overflowing buttercream.
• Allow the cream to rest on the cupcakes for about 2-3 minutes. 
  
• Now sprinkle green standing sugar on the cupcakes with your hands or perhaps with a small teaspoon. Try to be firm in your hand so that you do not dust too much of sugar on the cupcake. You must create symmetry while sprinkling the sugar.
• Sprinkle two coats on the cupcakes.
• Now make small triangle of colored paper. About 1 inch each and paste those on the tooth pick.
• Insert these toothpicks in the corner of the cupcakes and place a small white round candy near the toothpick.
• Your cupcakes are ready. Put them in the refrigerator and serve cold. Do not keep them outside the butter cream and sugar will melt!

This is just one of the idea for father’s day cupcake decoration. You can create fishing theme cupcakes or perhaps tool-kit cupcakes for your father. Make sure you personalize them with your love…. J

Happy father’s day everyone!

Honey-Lime salad fruit Mocktail for perfect Meatless Mondays

Today is Monday, it is the beginning of this week. Personally, I hate Monday. I just do not like the sound of this word and hence, I try and do easy things on this day so that I do not have to stress myself too much.

Summers are already knocking on the door and we must incorporate lots of fruits and green vegetables in our diet, especially in summers. So to begin this bad day, I am eating something colorful, refreshing and full of nutrition’s. You can add as many fruits as you like or you can also opt for the fruits of your choice.

This dish can be ready in less than 10 minutes and it goes perfectly well with meatless Mondays. My family loves the refreshing taste of it and I hope you all would love it too…. J

As I said above there is no hard and fast “rule” to this dish. You can be very creative in terms of preparation, servings, garnishing, fruit selection etc. However, I am just describing how I make this dish for my family.

Ingredients-

1 big apple

1 ripe banana

1 ripe plump/ kiwi

Some dry cranberries

1 tablespoon of honey (you can also select maple syrup/brown sugar syrup)

2 tbsp. fresh lime juice

Poppy seeds

Sesame seeds

Chia seeds

Method-

Cut apple, banana and plump in large piece and set them aside.

Now take a large bowl, put the fruits, dry cranberries, honey, lemon juice, poppy seeds, sesame seeds and chia seeds. Mix all of them well.

Take a small serving mock tail glass and rim it with shredded coconut. Put the fruits in the glass, for the extra kick you can sprinkle some of the chili powder.

Garnish it with some more sesame seeds before serving!

Fun tip- If you are making this salad only for adults, you can also pour 2 spoons of vodka on the fruits. However, it may create problem for Monday…. ;)

I hope you all will love this easy fruit salad recipe. Please write to me or connect with me on social media so that I can get your reviews.

Love,

Zara

Let’s Celebrate Mother’s Day with Amazing Beetroot Recipes

We all know beetroot is a wonder food. If you are anemic or you are weak, doctor advise you to include the beetroot in your daily diet. It does not only help you in increasing your blood but it is rich in fiber which keeps you full the whole day. It also has zero fats.

This vegetable was very popular in roman times and people were custom to use this vegetable to treat fever, constipation, open wounds and skin problems. As I said above it’s a wonder vegetable because it contains potassium, iron, vitamin-A, B6 and C, carbohydrates, protein, antioxidants and soluble fiber.

 Beetroot is used world over to increase the stamina and hemoglobin. Doctor advice that one should include beetroot in their daily diet. So, this women’s day I thought of sharing a 4 course meal which will feature the beetroot. As a women, I understand how difficult it becomes to take care of our body post 40 years.

So let’s celebrate mother’s day with a wonder food called-Beetroot. Here are your dinner ideas for the day.

Fresh beetroot soup- This is a very simple yet tasty soup. Even a kid can make this dish for his mother. This dish can be ready in 30 minutes and you only require 5 indigents for it. It’s very healthy because it’s kind of beetroot juice and the addition of beef broth brings the zing to this dish. You can get the complete recipe of this soup here.

Crunchy beetroot salad- for a starter, try this crunchy beetroot salad by Jamie Oliver. It is a very colorful salad which will bring smile on anyone’s face. Feta cheese is really optional but it really adds some color to your dish. Also you can try some goat cheese instead of feta cheese. You can be experimental for this dish. Easy to make and garnish, get the full recipe of this dish here.

Roasted pan of chicken and beetroot- again a very healthy combination. In the traditional recipe, people also add baby carrots and potato which enhance the nutrition value of the dish. You can give it a skip, if you desire so. This is a crispy dish which is loved by the kids as well as adults. It takes about 40-45 minutes to cook and it is a perfect recipe for a Sunday brunch. Clickhere to get this recipe.

Delicious beetroot halwa- this is an Indian recipe which has been told to me by my vegetarian friend long time back. I tried it at home and I was amazed by the taste of this amazing dish. However, it does take some time to cook this dish but believe you me, the final outcome is beyond words. This recipe has some fats because it is made in ghee (clarified butter) but I think once in a while its ok to let loose yourself. Get the full recipe of this dish here. 

Please let me know how you have celebrated this mother's day because it will give me some more ideas for my mother's day celebration as well. I hope you will enjoy this vegetable called-Beetroot as much as I do. Happy mother's day to all.... :)

Most Delicious and Healthy Breakfast for the Kids-Nutella Cookies with Banana Shake

My kids are really picky. Whenever I serve them some green vegetables they make funny faces and come-up with some excuse to not eat those vegetables. Hence, I keep innovating the dishes which are healthy yet tasty so my kids get their daily diet of protein, calcium and fat.

Few years back, my friend told me about this amazingly delicious recipe of nutella cookies. This recipe takes about 15 minutes to cook and you need a prep time of 10 minutes. You can store these cookies for about 1 week and you can serve them to your kids, guests etc. Believe it, they all will love it!!

Let’s not waste any more time and let’s start cooking this amazing breakfast recipe.

Ingredients-

1 ½ cups of all-purpose flour

1 cup of chocolate chips

2 medium eggs

¼ cup of sugar

¼ cup of demerara sugar (brown sugar)

¾ cup of nutella

300 grams of unsalted butter (at room temperature)

2 glasses of shakes of cinnamon

½ tbsp. of baking soda

¼ tbsp. of baking powder

¼ tbsp. fleur de sel

¼ sugar (for rolling)

Cooking method-

1.       Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees. Line two baking sheets with silicon mats.

2.       Take a big bowl and whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and cinnamon shake. Try the cut and fold method for the whisking.

3.       In a separate small bowl, beat the butter until smooth and creamy. Add nutella and beat it for another minute or so. Now add demerara sugar and normal sugar, beat them for about 4 minutes and then finally add the egg and beat that for 1 minute. Give this mixture a resting time of 3 minutes.

4.       Add this mixture to the other big bowl with fleur de sel and chocolate chips. This whole mixture should look like a mushy-soft dough.

5.       Now make a small balls out of this dough and roll them either by your palm or by the rolling pin. Do not put pressure while rolling them should be thick and small. You can also use the sugar to coat them after rolling.

6.       Place the cookies on the baking sheets and bake them for about 10 minutes. Check if they are not done, bake them for 2 more minutes.

7.       The cookies will be soft right from the oven, give them some time to rest.

8.       You can also make a nutella cookie sandwich like I made in the picture.

9.       Serve them with a chilled banana shake. It will give your kids the required energy punch of the morning!

I hope you all will like this recipe. I would really love to hear from you and please also write if you have some alternations to suggest for this recipe. Till then-stay healthy, stay happy!!

Interesting Vegetable Soup Recipe to Celebrate the Traditional Good Friday Dinner

Good Friday is around the corner and most of us celebrate this day traditionally and go meatless. My kids make really funny faces whenever I use this term because they think that vegetable recipes are not good. However, last couple of years I have been proving them wrong.

I make some really interesting good vegetarian recipes and I think we all must celebrate this day with meatless food because it is important for us to carry on the tradition and pass it to the generations. I guess, I have never mentioned but I have an Indian neighbor- Maanya. She happens to be an amazing cook and on top of it she’s a vegetarian.

This is her recipe which I am sharing with you all, I hope you all will like this dish called Indian lentil soup. So, let’s not water any time and start planning the menu for Good Friday.

Ingredients-

• ½ a cup of lentils of your choice
• ¼ cup of basmati rice
• 1 can of unsweetened coconut milk
• 250 grams of Swiss chard (trimmed stems and cut in strips)
• Plain low fat yogurt
• 1 large onion (diced)
• 2 large fresh tomatoes (diced, you can also use canned once)
• 2 large carrots (diced)
• 2 tablespoon of unsalted butter
• 2 tablespoon of garlic paste
• 1 tablespoon of garam masala
• 1 tablespoon of ground cumin
• 3 cups of vegetable broth (you can also use one stock cube)
• ½ tablespoon of curry powder
• Salt & pepper as per your taste

Method-

• Take a heavy base pan and heat butter in it. Now put onions, tomatoes and carrot into it. Cook for about 5 minutes or till the time carrots are softened. Now add garam masala, cumin powder, curry masala and garlic paste. Stir it well until the vegetable are coated.
• Cook this for about 2 minutes or until its fragrant.
• Now stir in the broth and lentil, bring it to a boil. After the boiling point is reached, reduce the heat to low and cook it for 20 minutes or will the time the lentil are soft and tender. Stir them occasionally and do not overcook the lentils.

• Stir in the rice, coconut milk, salt and pepper. Cover and cook them for 20 minutes with the pan lid on. Check the pan after 20 minutes, if the rice are still not tender cook them for next 5 minutes.
• Add Swiss chard into soup and cook it for next 2-3 minutes. Until they are tender.
• Serve this into the soup bowl after drizzling the yogurt on top.
• Enjoy!!

I hope you all will like this easy recipe and cook it for good Friday however, if you make some alterations to this recipe kindly let me know that as well. I would also like to try that. Enjoy your long weekend, happy good Friday!!

Let’s celebrate Mother’s day and Thanks our Mother for everything

Mother’s day is around the corner and I confess that I never gave much importance to my mother growing up but now when I am mother myself, I can understand all her sacrifices which she has done for me. She is an amazing women who bought 4 kids all by herself.

So, yesterday I called-up my mom and gave her the head start about the party which I am throwing on Sunday (yes on the occasion of Mother’s day!!). I am also inviting my brothers and sisters with their family. It will be like a family re-union and together we all will give tribute to our mother.

So, the preparation for the lawn party is at full swing at home and we all have distributed the dishes as well as responsibilities. I am responsible for making a delicious soup and I am thinking of making a wonderful butternut squash soup.

I am making this soup because I do not want the kids of the family to make funny faces when they see any dish. I know kids really love butternut squash soup, it is healthy, tasty and full of colors. I am sharing this recipe here because I want to know if any of you have any suggestions to improve this recipe.

So, here is my recipe for this soup-

Ingredients

·         1 large butternut squash (Peeled, DE-seeded and cut into cubes)

·         2 large onions (peeled and diced)

·         1 large potato (peeled and quartered)

·         5 cloves of garlic (peeled and crushed)

·         4 Vegetable stocks (we require 2l. of water)

·         3 tbsp. of olive oil

·         ½ tbsp. of chilli flakes

·         Pepper and salt (salt is not required if you are using a stock cube which already has salt)

·         50 ml of cream (for garnishing)

·         Parsley spring (for garnishing)

Method

·         Take a large pan and heat the olive oil in it. Once the oil is hot, cook the chopped onion for about 4 minutes.

·         Once, you can see that onions are opaque, add butternut squash and potatoes in it. Cook them on the medium heat for about 10 minutes. You can add chilli flakes and pepper in the pan.

·         With the help of spatula, try to mash the butternut. If you can easily do that, that means they are cooked. Once, they ate cooked, add the vegetable stock.

       Tip- If you are using a salted stock cubes then you must not add any more salt in the soup.

·         Cook this for about half an hour on the low heat settings. Do not peek again and again, it kills the temperature of the pan.

·         After half an hour, remove the pan from the heat and with the hand blender smooth this mixture. Add more water if you think it’s too thick for your taste.

      Tip- If you do not cooking in the deep utensil, then you can shift this mixture in the food processor and blend it, until it’s smooth.

·         Serve this hot with the swirl of cream, parsley and your choice of bread.

Note- I have cooked this soup for 15 people. Please adjust the seasonings as per your gathering.

I hope you all will like this recipe and do share some interesting vegetable recipes with me. I hope you all will celebrate this day with your mother’s! Make her feel special, she deserves it!!