OATS UPPU URUNDAI /KOZHUKATTAIS

This is a different take on my mother-in-law's recipe made with rice, an easy preparation, and gets done in around 30 minutes. I usually prepare this for breakfast.

Oats uppu urundai served with tomato chutne

Ingredients

Oats, 2 cups.
Mustard seeds. ¼ teaspoon.
Red chili, 2.
Channa dhal, 1 tablespoon.

Asafetida, a pinch
Salt as per taste.
Curry leaves, 1 sprig.

Preparation:
Dry roast the oats for 5 minutes under low flame and let it cool. Once cooled, grind it into a powder. Heat a pan with some oil. When the oil is hot enough, add the mustard seeds and let it splutter. Then add the broken red chilies and channa dhal and fry for a few seconds until everything is brown. Then add the curry leaves, asafetida, and the ground oats powder along with 1-1/2 cups of water and salt and mix everything well. Reduce the flame to low and keep mixing until a dough-like consistency is reached. Switch off the stove and remove the pan from heat. Once the dough is a little cool, start making small bite-size balls from the dough. The balls will be formed very easily if the consistency is right. Then steam the urundais for 15 minutes in an idli cooker or a steamer. Serve them hot with coconut chutney or tomato chutney.

CRACKED WHEAT VEGETABLE BRIYANI

With the New Year creeping on us, (I still cant believe we are into New Year already), hubby and I have started on a weight-loss plan. We are trying to lose the weight that we have gained after having the babies. The first two years with our babies, we could not think of going to the gym or anything else except caring for the babies. Now that the babies are a little grown up, we have started taking turns to go the gym or go for walks with the kids. We are also trying to cut down our rice intake and including more oats and other wheat in our diet. This recipe came in ideal when we were not in the mood for chapathis one day and this was a hit at my place., so here is my first recipe for 2013, hoping to post more in the future.

Ingredients:
Cracked wheat, 1 cup. (I have used the bigger variety here. This gives a good texture to the dish. Bulgur wheat can also be used here).
Sliced onions, 1 cup.
Chopped tomatoes, ½ cup.
Green chilies 1-2.
Ginger-garlic paste. 1 tablespoon.
Mint leaves, a handful.
Chopped cilantro, 1 tablespoon.
Briyani masala, 1 tablespoon (OR) 1 teaspoon of fennel seeds, 2 cardamom pods, 2 cloves, 2 small cinnamon sticks, 2 bayleaves, 1 star anise.
Chili powder, 1 teaspoon.
Chopped vegetables like green beans, carrots, cauliflower etc all coming around 1 cup. I have pre-cut freezer veggies.
Green peas, a handful.
Ghee 1 tablespoon.

Preparation

Heat a pan with a tablespoon of oil. When the oil is hot, add the seasonings given under briyani masala and fry for a few seconds. Then add the sliced onions and saute for a few minutes until the onions are tender. Now add the chopped tomatoes, green chilies, ginger-garlic paste, chili powder, and salt and keep sauteeing for a couple of minutes until everything is well blended. Now add the vegetables, green peas, and soya nuggets along with the cracked wheat and mix everything well. Transfer the contents to a rice cooker. Add 2 cups of water along with the ghee and mint leaves and cook the briyani until done. Garnish with chopped cilantro and serve hot with raita.

Alternatively cook the briyani in the pressure cooker for 3 whistles up to 10 minutes just like for cooking rice.

This briyani can also be done under stove top. After adding the water, cook closed under low flame until the dish turns dry until the cracked wheat and veggies turn soft.

These are the recipes that I prepared for get-together and potlucks for the New Year. For the potluck at my hubby's office I had prepared bisibelebath and soya kothu curry (recipe coming soon). We also had a get-together at my friend's place and I prepared vegetable briyani and black channa curry. I also prepared some chicken nuggets and fish sticks for the kids  just in case they don't want to eat anything :)

Hummus Three Ways - Guest post by Sara Dawkins

Hi Friends, here are some awesome hummus recipes from Sara Dawkins, just in time for Thanksgiving.

-->

Hummus Three Ways

This holiday season you don’t have to worry about gaining that unwanted 5 pounds from all the yummy and delicious snacks. Here is a healthier option to snack on between holiday meals. Here is the basic recipe for homemade hummus; it’s best paired with pita chips, carrots and celery. You may want to try all three and be sure to make a double batch for larger groups:

• 1 can of chickpeas
• 1 tablespoon of pressed garlic
• 1 lemon for juicing
• 1.5 tablespoon of tahini sauce
• 1 dash of preferred hot sauce
• Ground pepper and salt to taste

Open the can of chickpeas and drain most of the can but save a splash of juice for the recipe. Rinse the chickpeas and discard any loose shells. Combine chickpeas, garlic, and lemon juice then blend in a food processor until smooth. Then add just a dash of hot sauce and tahini sauce, blend until smooth again.

Herb and Olive Oil Hummus:

To achieve this flavorful hummus, follow the above steps and just add the following on top. First drizzle 1.2 tablespoon of olive oil on top. Then finely chop up your favorite herbs, rosemary, basil or dried oregano are popular tastes. You want about one large tablespoon of herbs to sprinkle on top of the hummus. This is a great hummus flavor before you serve a big, nice meal.

Avocado Hummus:

Find one soft small sized avocado and get rid of the pit. When working on this recipe you take out a handful of chickpeas before blending. The avocado will add more volume and make the hummus extra smooth. Add a tablespoon of sour cream and you are good to go. Blend and serve for early in the day snacks or brunch.

Roasted Red Pepper Humus:

This is the easiest hummus recipe of all three. All you need to do is buy a jar of roasted red peppers in oil. Depending on how you like the flavor start with one table spoon of drained red peppers and go from there. Roasted red pepper hummus is great for any time of the day and any meal.

Author Bio

Sara is an active nanny as well as an active freelance writer. She is a frequent contributor of http://www.nannypro.com/.

Guest post by Emily Roberts - Seven top tips on funding private medical treatment costs

Dear friends, this is a very  informative guest post from Emily Roberts, who is Tech writer from UK. She writes articles related to the Health and Finance. Thank you very much Emily for sending in such an useful article and giving us all these useful money-saving tips.

7 top tips on funding private medical treatment costs

In the present generation, all the prices of essentials are sky rocketing. Even the medical treatments also come under this category. Here are few choices which can be opted to fund costs of your medical treatment.

Savings:

It is a vital step which is must and has to be taken up by everyone. Savings is a safety guard which acts as a standby and won’t tend you to take debts or extra amounts in any emergencies. To secure your future it is must to save your earnings. Make a budget of monthly expenses and prioritise the essentials. Don’t spend for luxuries and don’t get attracted by excitements. Take wise decisions and stick to your plan.

Negotiate with the doctor:

If you are unable to make the whole payment at a time, then talk with your doctor and explain him about your financial situation. Request him for discounts as it assists you financial help to make the payment. Else ask him to divide the amount in instalments as it will reduce your burden top pay the bill at a time and also will be easier to repay it sooner.

Credit cards:

Though not all the credit cards will provide service medical aid but few will help to make the payment of hospital bills such as inpatient, prescription, blood units and so on. Credit cards will charge you a little extra amount to make the payments but supports you best in case of money shortage.

Medical loans:

You can take a medical loan to finance your treatment. There are few health advances which provide you the money required for lower interest-rate. Some of them will pay your medical bill on behalf of you which in turn you have to pay them later. But make sure to pay the recovery as not face any catastrophes.

Personal loan:

Though the personal loan is a time taking process, take a loan from private banks as they provide the amount in fewer days. But these banks cost a little high rate of interest when compared to traditional banks. This can be preferable when you are left with no other option and can able to bear the higher interest as well.

Health insurance:

Being secured under insurance will get you ample aids. Health insurance will help to pay your medical bills and few of them will make the payment of the whole amount that covered your treatment instead of you. So, it is recommendable to secure your life with a health insurance and others.

Health cards:

Health cards the assistances that are offered to you by the government. Not only for the regime treatments but also these cards help you even for private cures. These cards will fetch you ample benefits such as discounts of your payment, free check-ups and so on.

EMI schemes:

Many of the doctors provide health services on equated monthly instalments (EMI). Search for those and ensure whether the treatments offered can be trusted or not. Make the payment to doctor timely according to the agreement which you have taken up.

Short term loans:

Short-term loans or cash advances are the one the best choices which can be in the emergency situations as they provide you the money instantly. These are unsecured loans and won’t check your credit status to offer you the amount.

If you are unable to make the payment of recovery due to short of money, then take loans for bad debt that provide you with the required cash.

Author Bio:

Emily Roberts is a Tech writer from UK. She writes articles related to the Health and Finance. You can catch her @financeport

Guest post by Dora Novak - Dangers of dieting and how to avoid them

Dear friends, here is a very informative article from Dora Novak, who is a freelance author of health and food related articles. This article definitely changed by perpective about dieting. A big thanks to Dora for all these useful points, which needs to be kept in mind, when starting a diet regimen.

Dangers of dieting and how to avoid them
Dieting is an obsession that almost everyone in civilized countries has. The current ideal body is seen as a tall, thin person with plenty of beauty and charm. On the other hand, an excess of sugary, fatty foods is making the modern person heavier than ever. This leads many people to try extreme diets for quick weight loss that may be unsafe for their health in the end. Before starting any extreme diet plan, you should always consult with a health professional, but you should also consider these four potential dieting dangers and how to avoid them to maintain your overall health.



Image courtesy of shutterstock.com

Eating disorders
One common problem that affects dieters is the creation of eating disorders. When eating is considered a “wrong” activity, it can lead to an unhealthy relationship with food. Women and girls are more likely to develop eating disorders than men are, but men can still fall into the eating disorder trap as well. Since calorie restriction is such a large part of many diets, it is easy for dieters to fall into the trap of further and further restrictions until they have passed healthy levels. Eating disorders can also lead to other problems, including muscle loss, hair loss, and even organ damage.

The best way to avoid falling into the trap of eating disorders is to realize that food is just fuel for the body. There is nothing “bad” about food, and nothing terrible will happen if you accidentally eat a few too many calories one day. Another way to avoid the trap of an eating disorder is to stay away from calorie-counting diets and simply stick to eating healthy foods most of the time without making a big deal about it.

Yo-yo health affects
Most people want fast weight loss results, so they try any number of crash diets to lose weight quickly. These diet plans can work for the short term, but rarely end in long-term weight loss. People who crash diet often have weight fluctuations of 30 pounds or more, continually losing and gaining the same weight each time. This is dangerous for the body, because extreme diets can lead to immune disorders, heart disease, depression, and high blood pressure.

The best way to avoid yo-yo dieting is to choose a diet plan that is manageable for the long term. This will help avoid binge eating and extreme weight loss, which your body can interpret as an illness or other problem and respond by attacking anything in the body-whether it is good or not.

Nutritional deficiencies
Many diets focus on excluding food groups, such as meat, carbohydrates, dairy, or certain other foods with different properties. The trouble with this kind of dieting is that excluding entire food groups can cause a severe nutritional deficiency in the body. The body is designed to eat a little of everything, and cutting out large chunks of food can lead to unwanted health problems and side effects.

The best way to avoid this problem is to make sure you are supplementing the nutritional loss from excluding a food group with a replacement food that has the same nutrients as the missing food. You can also take supplements to replace the missing nutrients in your diet.

Famine bodies
Another strange side effect of dieting is the famine body. If your body does not receive enough daily calories, it can go into famine mode. In famine mode, your body hangs on to every ounce of fat that it can, refusing to give up the fat reserves that your body has. This is designed to keep the body healthy during an actual famine, but in modern times it simply leads to weight loss plateaus that are discouraging.

The best way to avoid this problem is to ensure that you are getting enough calories to keep your body out of starvation mode. A doctor or a nutritionist can help you determine your exact calorie needs for your lifestyle and activity levels.

If you avoid these four dieting pitfalls, you are likely to see long-term success in your dieting goals. You may not lose weight as fast as you would like, but just like the tortoise in the old fable, slow and steady often wins the race in the end.

Article provided by Dora Novak, freelance author of health and food related articles, recently interested in everything related to sandwich franchise and food companies while still experimenting with healthy and tasty food recipes.

Diabetic Friendly Pumpkin Pie - Guest post by Alex Keriwn

A big thanks to Alex Kerwin for sending me such a wonderful recipe and also some key tips to watch out for when preparing desserts for diabetics. These tips are very useful and can be kept in mind when preparing any kind of diabetic-friendly treats. This pumpkin pie is definitely a keeper.  I am grateful for meeting people like him through my blog, who make a difference in our everyday life.

Diabetic Friendly Pumpkin Pie

Many people equate autumn with comfort food. The smells of roasted turkey, sweet corn, and fresh apples delight all of our senses. Unfortunately, many of these comfort foods wreak havoc on a diabetic diet. Luckily, diabetics can enjoy practically any food as long as they are willing to make some small changes.

It is well known that diabetics should avoid added sugars in foods. However, diabetics should also steer their diets away from white flour, processed foods, full-fat dairy products, and items that are high in sodium. This recipe for diabetic friendly pumpkin pie manages to combine all of the goodness of home-cooking with all of the necessities of diabetic living.

The first task the diabetic chef needs to tackle is the pie crust. There are plenty of pre-made pie crusts that can be purchased at supermarkets throughout the country. Unlike homemade pie crusts, they are generally high in sodium and other unsavory finds. Making a pie crust at home is easy, healthier, and can be a lot of fun.

Diabetic Friendly Cinnamon Whole Wheat Pie Crust
1.5 cups whole wheat flour
3/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup ice cold water
1 tbsp sweetener
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

Combine dry ingredients in a large bowl. Add oil and blend. Add cold water in small amounts until the dough forms into a large ball. Flatten the dough into a small circle, cover and refrigerate until it is easy to handle. While the pie crust is chilling, begin working on the filling.

Diabetic Friendly Pumpkin Pie
2 eggs, beaten
2 cups pumpkin puree
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ginger
1/2 tsp cloves
8 oz fat-free evaporated milk
2/3 cup brown sugar substitute

Preheat oven to 425 F. Combine all ingredients in one bowl and mix well. Remove the pie crust from the refrigerator. Roll the dough into a 12 inch circle and place into a prepared pie pan and trim the edges. Do not pre-bake the crust. Pour pie filling into the crust and bake for 10 minutes. Reduce heat to 350 and bake another 30 minutes. Allow to cool before serving. Serves 8. If your pie cracks once it begins to cool, you should reduce the cooking time by five minutes.

Written By: Alex Kerwin is a creative writer from Michigan. Aside from writing, Alex works closely with Christian drug rehab programs, helping people struggling with addiction.

GUEST POST FROM MISKHA THOMAS- and what has been going on in Gita's Kitchen these days.

Dear friends and readers, here is another wonderful and interesting article from Miskha Thomas. Her article definitely changed my perspective about zinc deficiency and supplementation. I was very much aware of the necessity of zinc supplementation for my kids to maintain their immunity but along the way I just forgot how much this is important for adults too. A big thanks to Miskha for such an eye-opening post.

Are You Getting Healthy Nutrients from Your Food? Read This and Find Out!
Are you or any of your family members suffering from nutritional deficiency or vitamin deficiency?

Believe it or not, this is a common dilemma that many people struggle with today. The good news is that there is a simple way to reverse vitamin deficiency, and that is to consume wholesome, nutritious foods.

The problem is that not all food sources are as healthy as they seem to be. For example, many people today often settle for fast foods and junk foods that are easily available but loaded with unhealthy artificial sweeteners and chemical additives. There are even “health” foods that claim to be nutritious but are in fact dangerous to your health!

As much as possible, you must strive to consume organic foods that come from natural and local sources. But how will you know if the foods you’re consuming are healthy or not?

Fact: Most Foods Lose Their Nutrients BEFORE They Reach Your Table
Have you ever given thought to how your food is produced, and what it goes through before it reaches your supermarket shelves? Most people are aware that foods are harvested, shipped, and then packed in crates, but the truth is the degradation of foods happens even before that.

For example, conventional farming uses a wide variety of chemical pesticides and fertilizers that can be absorbed by fruits and vegetables, which, in turn, you absorb. Meanwhile, poultry, pork and beef are often injected with hormones that “speed up” their growth and “boost” their production of milk and eggs. When you consume these foods, you also absorb these potentially-harmful hormones.

It doesn’t stop there. You also deplete the nutrients in your food when you cook and prepare it. Microwaving, frying, baking, or charbroiling food damages its valuable nutrients. Many people are also prone to overcooking their foods, which is a bad practice, since this not only damages the nutrients but also creates harmful toxins that you can ingest.

If you want to consume your foods with most of the nutrients intact, your best options would be to boil, steam, or poach them.

Eight Guidelines for REAL Healthful Food
If you are striving to improve the quality of your food and make sure you’re getting all the vitamins and minerals you need, you must look for these eight guidelines whenever you’re shopping for food:
1. Grown without chemical fertilizers and pesticides
2. Is free of antibiotics, added growth hormones, or other drugs
3. Are not genetically-modified (GM) or genetically engineered (GE)
4. Is free of artificial ingredients and preservatives
5. Fresh. When choosing between wilted organic produce or fresh conventional produce, choose the latter.
6. Is not factory-farmed or did not come from a confined animal feeding operations (CAFOs)
7. Grown with the laws of nature in mind (this means that the animals are given their native diets and have free-range access to the outdoors)
8. Grown in a sustainable way (uses minimal amounts of water, protects the soil from burnout, and uses animal waste as natural fertilizer)

Every time you go out to buy foods, make sure you keep in mind these eight guidelines. They will help ensure that you are choosing optimally healthy food products that will benefit your health and help you avoid nutrient deficiency.

Zinc Deficiency: A Growing Problem in Today’s Modern World
One particular nutrient deficiency that affects many people today is zinc deficiency. According to research, almost two billion people suffer from this problem. In the United States alone, almost 12 percent of the population is in danger of becoming zinc-deficient. What makes this alarming is that many of them are not aware that they have this problem! Zinc deficiency symptoms are often mistaken for other types of diseases.

The ideal way to get zinc is by consuming foods like:
• Animal liver
• Spinach and sea vegetables
• Crimini mushrooms
• Beef
• Pumpkin seeds
• Oysters
• Beans
• Raw milk and cheese

Again, when buying these foods to combat zinc deficiency, make sure you adhere to the guidelines above to make sure that you’re maximizing the amount of zinc and other nutrients that you’re getting.

About the Author
Mishka Thomas is a fitness instructor based in Los Angeles, California. After being a strict vegetarian for five years, she started consuming meat and other animal products again two years ago, after her doctor warned her about her risk of zinc deficiency. When not busy with her full-time work, Mishka loves to read books about zinc supplement, and go surfing.

PS:
Thanks to my friends who have been constantly mailing me regarding my whereabouts and why am I publishing so many guest posts these days, here are the answers :) Our babies are now 21 months and getting close to their second birthday, we still can’t believe how time flies so fast and these two were the preemies that we bought home. They keep me busy all the time and my days are spent by taking care of their demanding needs, cleaning up after “I can eat it myself messes”, taking them to playschool, again evening walks and play area etc….so it is pretty much centered around their activities starting from morning routine to reading books or “sthory” at night :). We still find it surprising to realize how much two little ones can make such a mess and give mommy a hard time and I am still looking for the charger of my sweeper, which no one has yet confessed to where they have hidden it. My social life is at rock bottom, since I hardly get to the phone or mobile these days and sometimes I have to search for them and find them at the weirdest places. Life has taken a different turn and we are enjoying this phase and living every moment of it.

Regarding my blog posts, my camera is broken and we are still trying to fix it. I know this sounds like “the dog ate my homework” kind of thing, but what can you do when you have 4 naughty toddlers (my sister’s kids and mine) in the house together for 2 weeks? Karthik (my sis’s naughty boy) climbed up on a chair along with my baby girl Krithika while my son Aryaa and Mridini (my sis’s sweet baby girl) were watching and they just threw the camera onto the floor :(….so Gita’s Kitchen will soon return to regular blogging as soon as we get a new camera ;)

GUEST POST BY TARA SPENSER -Sprouting Grains for a Whole Grain Diet

I am thankful to Tara Spenser for sending me this great article as a guest post. We know sprouting is healthy and increases the protein content in a grain but her article takes it to a next new level. Thanks for providing us with such useful information Tara. I am also grateful for meeting such wonderful people like you through my blog.


Sprouting Grains for a Whole Grain Diet





Think sprouting grains is for hippies? Think again.
We’re advised to eat lots of fiber-rich whole grains today, but eating whole grains without soaking or sprouting them can hurt our health by blocking necessary mineral absorption. Our ancestors sprouted their grains by soaking them overnight, leavening them, or leaving harvested grains in tied sheaves until it was time to thresh them (which allowed many of the grains to sprout). In our fast-paced society built on convenience, we’ve fallen out of practice.
The Whole Grains Council (a nonprofit consumer advocacy group) reports on the many the health benefits of sprouted whole grains.

• Soaking and sprouting neutralizes phytic acid, which is responsible for blocking absorption of many necessary minerals (like iron, calcium, zinc, and more) by combining with them in the intestinal tract.
• The sprouting process increases the amount and bio-availability of vitamins (especially vitamin C) and minerals.
• Sprouted brown rice helps fight diabetes and promotes cardiovascular health.
• Sprouted buckwheat protects against fatty liver disease.
• Sprouted brown rice helps decrease depression and fatigue, especially in nursing mothers.
• Sprouted barley is associated with decreased blood pressure.
Sprouting is relatively easy and low-maintenance way of ensuring that your body is getting the most of the other foods you eat. Here’s how to do it.

Materials
• Sprouting kit (or)
• Mason jars and sprouting lids (or)
• Steel strainer
• Glass or steel bowl
• Apple cider vinegar
• Grains like brown rice, wheat berries, quinoa, barley, millet, rye, or spelt.

Instructions
1. Before going to bed, fill your sprouting container a third of the way full and fill the rest with water; leave out overnight. If buying a kit is too much investment at this time, just soak a few cups of grains in a bowl of water overnight. Add a tablespoon of apple cider vinegar to ensure the phytic acid is neutralized.
2. Use soaked grains the next morning as desired. To sprout them, however, and thereby increase their nutrition density, continue.
3. Drain the jar or bowl the next morning and rinse gently so all the grains have been cleaned with fresh water.
4. If using a mason jar, drain and place a bowl that will hold your sprouting jar upside down at a slant. The water will drain but air will circulate. If using the strainer method, drain the grains into the strainer. With both methods, rinse at least twice a day.
5. Repeat until little sprouts protrude from the grains. Quinoa is the quickest and will sprout overnight. Wheat berries, millet, and brown rice can take 2 – 4 days.
6. You can scoop soaked or sprouted rice directly into a rice cooker without dehydrating.
7. To turn your grain into flour, dehydrate sprouted grains using a food dehydrator or spreading evenly over a baking sheet and bake on 150 F for several hours. (Wheat berries take about 7 hours.)
8. Use a grain mill or even an electric coffee grinder for the smoothest flour.
9. Sprouted but not dehydrated grain will keep covered in the refrigerator, but beware of mold after the first few days.

Tara Spenser is currently the resident writer for workingcapital.org, where she researches the most affordable cash advances for business and business capital. In her spare time, she enjoys blogging, swimming and being a mom.

GUEST POST - Healthy Eating Tips for Type 2 Diabetes

Dear friends,
Here is a wonderful and informative post by Mr. William Richards on managing type 2 diabetes through healthy eating. Thank you very much sir for such an useful article and giving us some useful tips on dealing with this chronic disease.

I am also thankful for meeting people like Mr. John LaGrace, who is the National Awareness Director for DrugWatch.com, who makes a difference by creating awareness to help educate the public about the dangers of type 2 diabetes medications and enhance the knowledge of the alternatives to manage type 2 diabetes. Additionally, they also work 1-on-1 with individuals and their families and provide them with free informational literature as well as financial assistance.

Healthy Eating Tips for Type 2 Diabetes



By William Richards

Eating when you have type 2 diabetes demands a careful strategy. You have to plan ahead to take proper care of your insulin deficiency.

The foundation for a sound plan to keep your blood sugar from spiking when you eat is to eat is to pick foods that give you a lot of nutrition without a lot of saturated fat and carbohydrates.

Food Basics
Try to pick out foods that are high in fiber and low in starch and sugar. It's important to have a blood-sugar meter with you so you can measure exactly what your blood-sugar levels are after you eat.

The sweet spot for your blood sugar is between 70 and 130 mg/dL before a meal and below 180 mg/dL two hours after you eat.

You should find out exactly how many carbs are in every portion of food you want to eat. Keep track of the carbs per portion and stick to consuming only 40 to 60 grams of carbs each meal. That should keep your blood sugar just right.

If you eat too much junk food, you can set yourself up for a dangerous bout with high blood sugar (hyperglycemia).

Seek out Whole Grain Alternatives
Now that you've learned to walk the eating walk, it's time to jog a little. You already know that fiber is good and starches and sugar are bad. Did you know whole grain starches also contain fiber?

By seeking out whole grain versions of sugary and starchy foods you can get more nutrition out of junk food like pasta. People with type 2 diabetes should have three to four servings of carbs with each meal. You can have some junk food, but it’s good to find healthier versions of junk food and stick to smaller portions.

Pick a Safe Back-up Drug
When you have diabetes, your blood sugar can do crazy things. Even if you do everything right – eat the proper foods, have them in moderation and stay near your target weight – you can find yourself in hot water when food or a change in your body makes your blood sugar rise.

It's good to have medication handy in case your blood sugar unexpectedly rises too high or dips too low. There are many medications available, and your doctor can fill you in on which one may work best for you.

However, just make sure that you run a background check on your meds for any safety changes mandated by the U.S. the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), because many of these medications bring along life threatening side effects. For instance, Actos is a best-selling type 2 diabetes drug but a quick search on FDA.gov shows that it will doubles your risk of bladder cancer with prolonged use (more than one year).

William Richards researches and writes about prescription drugs and medical devices for Drugwatch.com.

Guest post -Delicious Casseroles Give Cancer Patients Important Nutrients

This is a guest post from Jillian McKee, who is currently researching and writing about healthy eating and living a healthy lifestyle. She recently sent me this wonderful article, which is especially very useful for someone going through the battle of cancer. This article is about the benefits of eating healthy during and after a diagnosis of any kind if cancer. Each cancer has its limitations, but if one can keep healthy body, they have a better chance to overcome this awful disease. I feel this is true for all types of diseases even for chronic illnesses like diabetes. Thank you Jillian McKee for sending us this informative post and letting us know more about battling cancer and eating.


DELICIOUS CASSEROLES GIVE CANCER PATIENTS IMPORTANT NUTRIENTS

Coming up with appetizing recipes for main meals can be a challenge, especially when the doctor has ordered that the person must consume healthy foods that are high in calcium and nutrients. Cheese and vegetables provide many health benefits such as added energy to help cancer patients, whether diagnosed with breast cancer, mesothelioma, or lung cancer. Increased energy levels can lead to a person gaining enough strength and endurance to begin exercising in order to better handle their cancer treatments.

While it may be a challenge to create easy and healthy menus for cancer patients, there are a variety of casseroles that can be cooked, frozen, and then thawed and reheated for fast and delicious meals. Many cancer patients have friends and family members who will bring them meals they can freeze and pull out whenever a meal is needed. This is a huge help to people with cancer who are busy going to chemo and radiation treatments and for people who are tired and have depleted energy due to the disease.

A variety of nutritious ingredients can be utilized to make creative, delectable casseroles that can be frozen or had fresh out of the oven. Whole grain, brown rice casseroles can be complemented with fresh parsley, red onions, broccoli, chicken broth, and sliced carrots. Combine the vegetable and seasoning ingredients with partially-cooked wild rice, mushrooms, a cup of milk, and top with cheese. Cover this casserole and bake for 30 minutes at 350 degrees for a perfectly delicious and nutritious casserole.

There are many fresh and wholesome ingredients that can be used for casseroles. Vegetable and cheese casseroles can be complemented with whole grain pastas, broths, and milk for the perfect mixture of delicious taste and valuable nutrients. Seasonings that work well to jazz up healthy casseroles include basil, cilantro, lemon, pepper, and sage. Each of these brings different and tasty flavors to any meal and can quickly transform an ordinary casserole into http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifa mouthwatering casserole.

Black beans, red beans, and toasted nuts also add taste, flavor, and healthy forms of protein to casseroles. Mexican casseroles, Indian casseroles, and classic American casseroles are just some of the numerous options to choose from. They all result in appetizing dinners that are easy to prepare and they provide wonderful nutritious value to a cancer patient.

Live Strong provides many nutritious ideas and recipes for vegetarian casseroles. Eating healthy and consuming meals loaded with vitamins and calcium will provide numerous physical advantages to a person who is struggling with cancer.

Increasing levels of energy and improving the immune system can potentially be accomplished by switching to a diet that is high in fiber, calcium, and nutrients that are commonly found in dairy products, vegetables, whole grain breads and rice, and nuts.

Spicy Green Lentils Fry and a Guest Post

Dear Friends and Readers, I know I have been missing from my blog for a really long time. I have been very busy with my toddlers these days that it has been a couple of months since I checked my blog dashboard for new messages or updates. My kids are at the stage where they keep running all over the place to climbing every chair and table to shelf they see and they need me all the time and when they sleep, I take a much-needed nap along with them. Many interesting things have been going on in our life for the past couple of months. We came to India in December for our babies first birthday and right now my babies are I are in India where they are having a good time getting pampered by everybody. There had been some happy moments (had our babies ear piercing ceremony done) and sad moments in our life (I lost my dear grandma a few months ago) since we came here. We are also shifting our base from Virginia to California this month.

It feels really good to read the mails from some of my friends enquiring about me or a few mails from new friends giving good feedbacks for my old posts in spite of my absence. There was one particular mail from a friend from Veena (thank you very much dear) from Australia, who said that she found my recipes useful during her pregnancy, so here I am back with a recipe that I did long back. I really hope I continue blogging regularly. This is a recipe that I had published long back at http:/blogcritics.org/tastes/article/spicy-green-lentils-fry . This was a big hit in my family and parents said that this dish tasted almost like prawn fry, so I guess a vegetarian-version of prawn .

Spicy Green Lentils Fry

INGREDIENTS: Green lentils, 1 cup. Onion, large, 1. Roma tomatoes, . Ginger-garlic paste, 1 teaspoon. This can be substituted with 2 crushed garlic pods. Fennel seeds, 1 teaspoon. Chili powder, 1 teaspoon. Coriander powder, 2 teaspoons. Turmeric powder, ½ teaspoon. Salt as per taste. Curry leaves, 3-4, (optional). Chopped mint and cilantro, ¼ cup.

PREPARATION:

Wash the lentils and cook them for 15-20 minutes with 2 cups of water in a pot under medium flame. They can also be cooked in the microwave in a microwave-safe bowl. If cooking in the microwave, add a drop of oil to the water before cooking. This prevents the lentils from sticking to one another. The lentils should not lose their shape after cooking and should have a little crunch. Dice the onions and tomatoes. Heat a pan with a tablespoon of oil. Once the oil starts to bubble, add the fennel seeds and fry for a few seconds. Then add the diced onions and sauté for a few minutes until the onions are tender. Then add the diced tomatoes, curry leaves, ginger-garlic paste and sauté for a few more minutes until everything is well blended. Add chili powder, coriander powder, turmeric powder, salt, and the cooked lentils; mix everything and cook under medium flame for 10-12 minutes stirring the mixture in between. If needed, another tablespoon of oil can be added during the stirring process. This helps to fry the spices and release their flavors. Add the chopped mint and cilantro leaves at the end and serve as a side dish with rice or bread. If needed, any curry powders or garam masala powder can also be added along with the given powders for a much spicier version. The green lentils can also be substituted with green peas or any type of beans.

GUEST POST

This is a guest post from Mr. Leroy Templeton. He is a recent college graduate and a health nut who is very passionate about educating people on how healthy eating can help fight certain forms of cancer. I thank him for sending this compelling and useful article. We find this very informative and interesting.

Nutrition and Cancer

By: Leroy Templeton

Good nutrition is important for all people. However, it is essential for cancer patients. Learning the proper foods to include in a diet can ease some cancer and cancer treatment symptoms and increase a patient's overall well-being. Simply taking control of the foods that are consumed and following nutrition tips can enhance strength, recovery, energy and mood.

Cancer often curbs an appetite. Those suffering from the illness find it difficult to eat due to stress, anxiety, nausea, fatigue and side-effects from treatments. When this occurs, it is important to select foods high in protein and calories without sacrificing healthy eating. Choose olives, seeds, nuts, and dried fruits as snacks. These are healthy options to add protein and calories to your meals. Pick cereals with dried fruits and nuts. Have yogurt topped with nuts and granola. Cook foods with olive or canola oils. Refrain from using empty sugars (milkshakes, candies, cakes, puddings, etc.) to complete a high-calorie diet.

Water should be on everyone's list for optimal nutrition. Those with fatigue, nausea and diarrhea can especially benefit from the hydration water adds to the body. Cancer and cancer treatments are often hard on energy levels and digestive systems. Water replenishes the intestines after vomiting and diarrhea, known symptoms of Pancreatic Cancer, Pleural Mesothelioma and many other forms of cancer.

Tolerance for certain foods may also cause issues for cancer patients. Treatments are often known for their interference with the small intestine to produce lactase. Patients taking chemo or radiation may want to be cautious with or refrain from eating or drinking dairy products.

Vitamins from fresh vegetables are also a great way to keep your immune system up during stressful and trying times on your body. However, raw veggies are filled with fiber, which can be hard for a stomach to digest. Cancer patients may want to consider jump-starting the process to prevent stomach troubles. Blend vegetables in a blender and drink them as a smoothie or add them pureed in a soup. This option is much healthier than skipping out on the vitamins offered by vegetables.

Fruits also offer much nutritional value. Patients with upset stomachs and digestive troubles will want to consume fruits with less fructose. Melons, for example, are known for their high level of fructose. Choosing fruits with lesser values, such as berries, peaches and citrus is one way to gain the nutritional benefits without overloading a small intestine.

A cancer patient's body suffers enough without added illness. Treatments and medications used to fight cancer cells often weaken the body's immune system. Therefore during these times, it is important to stay away from foods that are high-risk for bacteria. These include undercooked or raw meats, eggs and seafood.

KADALAI CURRY /BLACK CHICKPEAS CURRY

This is one of my mother-in-law’s preparations. She had learnt this from their family friend, who is from Kerala. My father-in-law and mother-in-law still fondly remember of the days they had spent with their friends and the vacations they had gone together. I like this particular curry since this is not too spicy and has a different flavor and taste compared to the usual channa masala or the black chickpeas masala I make. This also does not have a lot of masalas. If you are bored with the regular channa masala and looking for something different, then this is your dish. We all love this black chickpeas curry with puris.

INGREDIENTS
1. Black chickpeas, 1-1/2 cup (soaked overnight or for 8 hours).
2. Onion, medium size, 1.
3. Curry leaves, a sprig.
4. Salt as per taste.
5. Dried red chilies, 2.
6. Ginger-garlic paste, 1 teaspoon.

To roast and grind:
1. Channa dhal, 1 tablespoon.
2. Coriander seeds, 1 tablespoon.
3. Peppercorns, ¼ teaspoon.
4. Cumin seeds, ½ teaspoon.
5. Dried red chilies, 4-6 depending on spice level. (I have used the less spicier long variety).
6. Peeled small onions, 4.
7. Grated coconut, 1 tablespoon.

PREPARATION:
Cook the soaked chickpeas with some salt and keep aside. I used a pressure cooker for up to 3 whistles to cook the chickpeas. Dice the onion finely. Roast the channa dhal, coriander seeds, peppercorns, cumin seeds, red chilies, grated coconut(until it changes to brown color) one by one and add the small onions in the end. Sauté for a few minutes until the onions turn translucent and let the mixture cool. Once cooled, grind it into a smooth paste. Heat a pan with a tablespoon of oil. Once the oil is hot, break the dried red chiles, and curry leaves into it and fry for a few seconds. Add the diced onions and sauté for a few minutes until the onions turn brown. Then add the ground paste, along with the cooked chickpeas, salt, and enough water to immerse the whole mixture. Let it cook for 10-15 minutes until the desired thickness is reached. Garnish with chopped cilantro and serve hot with rice, chappathis, idlis, dosas, or appams.

OATS VEGETABLE MASALA UPMA

I am back from my week-long road trip to Pittsburg, Niagara Falls, and New York. The babies managed the trip very well and they actually enjoyed the water spraying on their faces at the falls. This is our first long trip with the babies, a tedious one with the packing and unpacking but we did enjoy it, especially my in-laws.

The thing with oats is you either like it or you don’t. Some of my family members still wrinkle their noses when I say that I prepare a couple of Indian recipes with oats. Today when I was mentioning to my mil that I am planning to prepare upma with oats, the first thing she asked was “will it not be too mushy, how are you eating that stuff” but when both my father-in-law and mother-in-law tasted this upma they seemed to like it. I usually toast the oats in a pan or in the microwave until they are all toasty and while cooking, I will usually stir the oats just once until everything is mixed and let it cook under low-to-medium flame. This way the oats is whole and doesn’t turn mushy…well if you like the upma to be a little mushy, you can go ahead and add a little water and keep stirring it just as with any other upma.


INGREDIENTS:
1. Rolled oats, 1 cup.
2. Onion, medium size, 1.
3. Roma tomato, 1.
4. Green chilies, 2.
5. Mixture of chopped vegetables like carrot, green beans, capsicum, cauliflower, green peas, 1 cup. (I have used red bell pepper, carrot, and green peas)
6. Ginger-garlic paste, 1 teaspoon.
7. Chili powder, 1 to ½ teaspoon depending upon preferred spice level.
8. Mustard seeds, ½ teaspoon.
9. Cinnamon, a small stick.
10. Bay leaf, 1.
11. Fennel seeds, ¼ teaspoon.
12. Clove, 2.
13. Curry leaves, 3-4.
14. Chopped cilantro for garnishing.
15. Salt as per taste.

PREPARATION:
Dry roast the oats under low-to-medium flame for 5-7 minutes and let it cool. Chop the onion and tomato and slit the green chilies into 2. Heat a thick-bottomed pan with a tablespoon of oil. When the oil is hot, add the mustard seeds and let it splutter. Then add the cinnamon stick, bay leaf, cloves, and fennel seeds and fry for a few seconds. Add the chopped onions now and sauté for a few minutes until the onions are tender. Then add the chopped tomatoes along with the green chilies, curry leaves, and salt and keep sautéing until everything is well blended. Add the chopped mixed vegetables along with chili powder and keep frying under low flame for 2-3 minutes until the chili powder loses its raw smell. Add 2 cups of water now and let it come to a boil. Once the water starts to boil, reduce the flame and add the oats. Mix everything once and cook closed for10 minutes under low-to-medium flame. Do not stir in between, this helps the oats from getting too mushy. Garnish with chopped cilantro once the upma turns dry and the vegetables have been cooked and serve hot with pickle.

PARIPOORANA PONGAL OR THAALITHA PONGAL WITH CRACKED WHEAT

This recipe is from the Tamil magazine “Snegithi”. This was from a cooking special edition from the magazine where some famous Tamil chefs shared their family favorites. The chef describes this dish as a comfort food and her family usually makes this pongal on fasting days. This was a little bit different from the pongal we make and I had bookmarked this long back. The original recipe is with rice and moong dhal and I have substituted the rice with cracked wheat. This version was really good. We liked this better for dinner rather than for breakfast. There was no preferred side dish specified in the book for this dish. It was mentioned that plain curd is good enough for this pongal. We had it with coconut chutney. It was something different and new for us and we liked it.

INGREDIENTS:
1. Cracked wheat, 1 cup. (I have used the bigger variety here, the smaller cracked wheat variety can also be used).
2. Moong dhal, ½ cup.
3. Mustard seeds, ½ teaspoon.
4. Cumin seeds, ½ teaspoon.
5. Dried red chilies, 3.
6. Black pepper powder, ½ teaspoon.
7. Curry leaves, 4-5.
8. Asafetida, ¼ teaspoon.
9. Turmeric powder, ¼ teaspoon.
10. Salt as per taste.

PREPARATION:
Heat a tablespoon of oil in a pressure cooker or pressure pan. Once the oil is hot, add the mustard seeds and let it splutter. Then add the asafetida, turmeric powder, cumin seeds, broken red chilies, curry leaves and fry for a few seconds. Reduce the flame and add 2 cups of water along with the cracked wheat and dhal. Add pepper powder and salt and mix everything well. Cook for 15 minutes or up to 3 whistles. Once the pressure is released, a teaspoon of ghee can be added if needed. This tastes good even without adding ghee. Serve hot with coconut chutney or sambar or curd.

BANANA BLOSSOM DHAL/ VAZHAIPOO KOOTU

My mother-in-law typically makes these kinds of dhal with greens or vegetables almost every week for breakfast. Our favorites are the ones with greens or ridge gourd and she serves this as a side dish for idlis and dosas rather than rice. These kinds of dhals go well with rice and chapathis too. Her preparation is also a very simple one, kind of one-pot dish using a pressure pan. Dhal with banana blossoms was very new and interesting to me, so I decided to take a couple of quick pictures just before we had our breakfast. These shots were taken at the table with my baby girl sitting on a feeding chair from across the table and looking intently to see what was I doing and taking a peep at the dishes and plates on the table.

INGREDIENTS:
1. Banana blossoms removed from a flower.
2. Moong dhal, 1 cup.
3. Onion, medium size, 1.
4. Tomatoes, 2.
5. Green chilies, 2.
6. Ginger-garlic paste, 1 teaspoon. (optional).
7. Chili powder, 1 teaspoon.
8. Coriander powder, 2 teaspoons.
9. Hing or asafetida, 2 pinches.
10. Turmeric powder, ¼th teaspoon.
11. Mustard seeds, 1 teaspoon.
12. Cumin seeds, 1 teaspoon.
13. Curry leaves 4-5.
14. Chopped cilantro, 1 tablespoon.
15. Salt as per taste.

PREPARATION:
Clean the blossoms, chop them finely, and soak them in a diluted solution of buttermilk for 10-15 minutes. Chop the onions and tomatoes and slit the green chilies into 2. Heat the pressure cooker or pan with a tablespoon of oil. Once the oil is hot, add the mustard seeds and let it splutter. Add the cumin seeds and fry for a few seconds. Add the chopped onions and sauté for a few seconds until the onions are tender. Then add the chopped tomatoes, green chilies, ginger-garlic paste, curry leaves and keep sautéing for a few more minutes until everything is well blended. Now add chili powder, coriander powder, turmeric powder, asafetida, washed moong dhal, chopped banana blossoms (squeeze out the excess water from the blossoms before adding), and salt along with 2 cups of water. Mix everything well and cook for up to 3 whistles. Once the pressure is released, add chopped cilantro and let it simmer for 5 more minutes before serving. Serve hot with rice, chapathis, idlis, or dosas.

CRACKED WHEAT VEGETABLE UPMA

This is a favorite and regular breakfast item for us, a healthy and easy one-pot dish. Usually when preparing plain upma, I only season them with green or red chilies and onions. For the vegetable version, I add tomatoes and chili powder to make it more spicy and colorful. This type of upma doesn’t need any side dish alongside.

INGREDIENTS:
1. Cracked wheat (samba ravai), 1 cup.
2. Onion, medium size, 1.
3. Roma tomato, 1.
4. Green chilies, 2.
5. Mixture of chopped vegetables like carrot, green beans, capsicum, cauliflower, green peas, 1 cup.
6. Ginger-garlic paste, 1 teaspoon.
7. Chili powder, 1 to ½ teaspoon depending upon preferred spice level.
8. Mustard seeds, ½ teaspoon.
9. Channa dhal, 1 tablespoon.
10. Broken cashews, 1 tablespoon.
11. Curry leaves, 3-4.
12. Chopped cilantro for garnishing.
13. Salt as per taste.

PREPARATION:
Dry roast the rava under low-to-medium flame for 10 minutes and let it cool. Chop the onion and tomatoe and slit the green chilies into 2. Heat a thick-bottomed pan with a tablespoon of oil. When the oil is hot, add the mustard seeds and let it splutter. Then add the cashews and channa dhal and fry for a few seconds until they turn brown. Add the chopped onions now and sauté for a few minutes until the onions are tender. Then add the chopped tomatoes along with the green chilies, curry leaves, and salt and keep sautéing until everything is well blended. Add the chopped mixed vegetables along with chili powder and keep frying under low flame for 2-3 minutes until the chili powder loses its raw smell. Add 2 cups of water now and let it come to a boil. Once the water starts to boil, reduce the flame and add the cracked wheat slowly. Keep stirring the mixture to avoid any lumps as the cracked wheat is added and once the wheat is added, add another tablespoon of oil, mix everything well, and cook closed under low flame for 10 minutes. Garnish with chopped cilantro once the upma turns dry and the vegetables have been cooked and serve hot with pickle.

FOOD BUZZ TASTEMAKER PROGRAM –ORE IDA SWEET POTATO FRIES

As a part of the Food Buzz Tastemaker Program, Food Buzz sent me a coupon for the new Ore Ida Sweet Potato Fries. These were very different and interesting from the regular fries that my family loves. The cooking instructions were to either bake them on deep fry them in oil. I deep fried them and this version was delicious. The outsides were flaky and crispy and the inside was soft. Despite of being used to savory and spicier version of potato fries, we actually liked these sweet fries. We had these with our evening tea and these fries were a hit at my home. Next time, I am planning to bake them instead of deep frying them. The baked version can be a totally guilt-free snack loaded with beta-carotene.

MUTTAI ATTU-ADAI / EGG PANCAKES

This is a favorite egg dish of my father-in-law and it has been in the family for many generations. It seems that my father-in-law’s mom used to prepare this as a side dish with rice for lunch quite often and she used to mix duck eggs along with chicken eggs when she prepares these adais to add some richness to the dish. Adding channa dhal flour to the eggs is used for increasing the volume and stretching the buck during those days. Now-a-days we see this as a healthy protein-rich evening snack. The eggs can also be substituted with Egg Beaters or plain egg whites.

INGREDIENTS:
1. Eggs, 3.
2. Onion, medium size, 1.
3. Green chilies, 2-3.
4. Ginger—garlic paste, ½ teaspoon.
5. Roasted channa dhal or chutney dhal (pottukadalai or udaicha kadalai) , 2 tablespoons.
6. Salt as per taste.
7. Curry leaves and cilantro for garnishing.

PREPARATION:
Grind the roasted channa dhal into a fine powder. Dice the onions and green chilies finely. Heat a pan with some oil. When oil starts to bubble add the diced onions and green chilies along with 2-3 curry leaves and ginger-garlic paste and sauté for a few minutes until the onions are tender and let it cool. Break the eggs into a bowl and beat them along with the sautéed onion mixture, channa dhal powder, salt, and a tablespoon of chopped cilantro. Heat a thick-bottomed pan or a kadai with a tablespoon of oil and once the oil is hot, ladle the egg mixture into the pan. Cook closed for 4-5 minutes under medium flame until the corners get crisp, and flip it to the other side. Cook for another 2 minutes until that side also turns brown and crisp. Repeat the process with the remaining batter and serve hot with ketchup or as a side dish with rice.

VARIATION: Half a teaspoon of fennel seeds can also be powdered along with the channa dhal for much tastier and flavorful adais.

WHEAT IDLI

This post had been ready to be published a month ago but I couldn’t find time to post this until today. Everything has been moving at a fast pace since the twins were born. Days keep flying by with Aryaa and Krithikha keeping us on our toes all the time and I have only a little time for myself at the end of the day. We started going out for evening walks but sometimes it doesn’t work well for the twins and I have to come back holding one baby in my arm and dragging a stroller behind (my mom-in-law will be coming along with another stroller and the other little one :) Some days are real tough and it usually gets crazier as the day goes by, but we are enjoying every bit of it. Coming on to the recipe, my mother-in-law makes these idlis for me very often for breakfast. After coming here, amma got very much interested in my blog and she is also helping me to take pictures for the blog. I am hoping to post regularly for the next few months with her help….I don’t know what my babies have decided :)

INGREDIENTS:
1. Whole wheat flour, 2 cups.
2. Urad dhal, 2/3 to 1 cup depending upon the type of dhal.
3. Fenugreek seeds, 1-1/2 tsp.
4. Salt as per taste.

PREPARATION:
Wash the urad dhal well and soak it for half-an-hour along with the fenugreek seeds. Grind the dhal into a smooth paste using a blender or grinder. Then add the whole wheat flour and blend everything together to a smooth paste until the batter is fluffy. Add salt to the batter and mix everything well. Let it sit overnight or 6-7 hours to allow fermentation to take place. When the batter has risen to 1/3rd of its size, they are ready to be steamed. Pour them into idli moulds and let it steam for 5-7 minutes. Once the idlis are cooked, remove them from the molds and serve with sambar or chutney.

Note: The softness of the idlis depends on the type of the urad dhal used. I have used the ratio of the flour to the dhal to 2:1 since I have used a blender to grind the batter. If using a mixer grinder, less dhal can be used. The same batter can also be used for preparing dosas.

ASPARAGUS STIR FRY/PORIYAL

I made this poriyal for my mother in law since she was very interested in this new vegetable (its funny shape too  ) she saw for the first time. I have made this poriyal a couple times before and this is the only way I can eat asparagus rather than the traditional way it is served. She seemed to like it and her comment was that this poriyal tasted just like the one with green beans. I followed her poriyal recipe this time and it was really good. We added some coconut at the end for some extra taste; this can be omitted if needed. It tastes good without coconut too.

INGREDIENTS:
1. Asparagus, 1 bundle.
2. Onion, medium size, 1.
4. Mustard seeds, ¼ teaspoon.
5. Urad dhal, ½ teaspoon.
6. Ginger-garlic paste, ½ teaspoon, (optional).
7. Salt as per taste.
8. Curry leaves and cilantro for garnishing.
9. Chili powder, ½ teaspoon.
10. Coriander powder, 1 teaspoon.
11. Cilantro for garnishing.
12. Grated coconut or coconut powder, 1 tablespoon.

PREPARATION:
Break the asparagus stalks from the woody parts (this can be done by bending the asparagus and it would break over the fleshy section, this woody portion of the stalk can be used in stocks and soups). Chop the fleshy parts of the stalks into small pieces. Dice the onion. Heat a pan with a teaspoon of oil. When the oil is hot enough, add the mustard seeds and let it splutter. Then add the urad dhal and fry for a few seconds until it turns brown. Add the diced onions and curry leaves and sauté for a few minutes until they are tender. Then add ginger-garlic paste, chili powder, coriander powder, and the cut asparagus stalks and sauté for a minute. Then 2-3 tablespoons of water along with salt and cook closed under low flame for 4-5 minutes until everything is cooked and turns dry. Add the grated coconut and mx everything well. Garnish with cilantro and serve as a side dish with rice.

LENTILS MASALA / CURRY

Dear friends, how are you all doing? I am back with a post after a long time. My babies are 4 months old now and doing fine. Currently my mother-in-law is staying with us to help us with the babies and she does all the cooking. My entire day is spent with my munchkins. Taking care of 2 infants is quite a challenge and most of the time I am tired and sleepy. At the end of the day all you want is to just go and sleep when one of the babies decides not to sleep  .Coming on to the recipe, I managed to take some photos of dishes when my mother-in-law was cooking. This is one such dish where she was trying to clean my pantry. I had some leftover lentils which I had stocked up for making soup and she made this tasty dish out of them. She had used only a few ingredients here. This was very good with rice and we had the same with chapathis for dinner. The green chilies used here can also be substituted with 1 teaspoon of chili powder.

INGREDIENTS
1. Lentils, any type (I have used dupuy or French lentils). 1 cup.
2. Onions, 1 medium size.
3. Tomatoes, 2, medium size.
4. Green chilies, 2.
5. Ginger-garlic paste, 1 teaspoon.
6. Sambar powder, 1 teaspoon.
7. Any masala powders like garam masala, chicken masala, or biryani powder, 1 teaspoon. ( I have used MTR vangibath masala).
8. Curry leaves, 1 sprig.
9. Chopped cilantro, 2 tablespoons.
10. Salt as per taste.
11. Mustard seeds, ¼ teaspoon.
12. Cumin seeds, ¼ teaspoon.

PREPARATION:
Wash and cook the lentils until they are tender. I used a pressure cooker for cooking the lentils. Chop the onions and tomatoes and slit the green chilies into two. Heat a pan with some oil and splutter the mustard seeds once the oil is hot. Then add the cumin seeds and fry for a few seconds. Add the diced onions and fry for a few minutes until the onions turn translucent. Then add the diced tomatoes, curry leaves, green chilies, ginger-garlic paste and sauté everything for a few more minutes until everything is well blended. Now add the sambar power, masala powder, and salt and cook for a few more minutes until the spices lose its raw smell. Finally add the cooked lentils with 2/3 cup of water, mix everything well, and cook closed for a 3-5 minutes. Garnish with chopped cilantro and serve with chapathis or rice.

ITS A BOY AND A GIRL!

Dear friends and readers, thank you very much for remembering me and all your well wishes during my long absence from my blog. We are happy to announce that we have been blessed with a baby boy and girl. They are 2 months old now and we have been very busy since the babies were born. The only time I cook is when both the babies are asleep, and most of our meals are fast-food kind of meals and one-pot dishes. Gita's kitchen will be on an extended break for a few more months until my littles ones are a little bigger. Thanks to everyone for the warm wishes. I'll be back soon with more recipes.

INSTANT WHEAT IDLI

The recipe for this idli is almost the same as regular rava idli. The first time I tried making these with instant wheat puttu flour and that turned out well, so this time I tried it with plain wheat flour. This variation turned good but the batter had to be jazzed up a little with seasonings. I even added some sautéed onions to the batter. Here I have served these instant wheat idlis with sambar.

INGREDIENTS:
1. Regular whole wheat flour, 1 cup.
2. Thick sour yogurt, 1/2 cup.
4. Water, 2/3 cup or more depending upon batter thickness.
5. Baking soda, 1/4 teaspoon.
6. Salt, ½ teaspoon.
7. Mustard seeds, ¼ teaspoon.
8. Channa dhal, ½ tablespoon.
9. Broken cashews, ½ tablespoon.
10. Chopped cilantro, ¼ cup.
11. Diced onions, ¼ cup.

PREPARATION:
Fry the wheat flour in a pan under low-to-medium heat for 5 minutes until good smell emanates from the flour and let it cool. Mix the cooled wheat flour, beaten curd, baking soda, salt in a big bowl. Keep adding water until the batter reaches regular idli consistency and there should not be any lumps in the batter. Set it aside for 5 minutes. The batter should be just thick enough to pour into the molds. Meanwhile, heat a small pan with some oil. Once the oil turns hot, add the mustard seeds and let it splutter. Then ad the channa dhal and cashews and fry for a few seconds until they turn golden brown. Remove the seasonings from the pan and add the diced onions to the same pan and sauté for a few minutes until the onions are tender. Add the onions along with the fried seasonings and chopped cilantro to the idli batter and mix everything well. Pour the batter into regular idlis mold and steam for 10 minutes. Once cooled, remove from the mold and serve hot with any chutney or sambar.

Please check out my other low-carb idli recipes:
1. RAGI IDLI

2. OATS AND CRACKED WHEAT IDLI

SHRIMP, MUSHROOM, AND SPINACH FRY

This dish was a product of my refrigerator cleaning spree. I threw in some leftover button mushrooms and baby spinach lying in fridge into the shrimp curry which I make very often. This version was good and somehow it turned healthier too :) Here I added the shrimp, mushrooms, and spinach together to give the dish a saucy consistency instead of a dry dish. For a different version of the dish, the spinach can be added in the end and cooked just a little to retain their color.

INGREDIENTS:
1. Cleaned and deveined shrimp, 1 pound.
2. Any type of mushrooms, 1 small packet.
3. Spinach, 1 big bunch.
4. Onions, medium size, 4.
5. Tomatoes, 3.
6. Ginger-garlic paste, 1 teaspoon.
7. Mustard seeds, ½ teaspoon.
8. Fennel seeds, ½ teaspoon.
9. Curry leaves, 1 sprig.
10. Chopped cilantro, ¼ cup.
11. Chili powder, 1 teaspoon.
12. Coriander powder, 2 teaspoons.
13. Turmeric powder, ¼ teaspoon.

PREPARATION:
Dice the onions, tomatoes, and spinach finely and slice the mushrooms into even pieces. Heat a pan with a tablespoon of oil and when the oil is hot, add the mustard seeds and let it splutter. Then add the fennel seeds and fry for a few seconds. Add the diced onions and curry leaves now and keep sautéing for a few minutes until the onions turn brown. Add the diced tomatoes and ginger-garlic paste and keep sautéing until everything is well blended. At this stage, add chili powder, coriander powder, and turmeric powder and keep stirring under low flame until the powders lose their raw smell. Another teaspoon of oil can be added here. Now add the shrimp, mushroom, and spinach, mix everything and cook closed under medium flame until everything is cooked and the dish turns into a saucy consistency. Garnish with chopped cilantro and serve hot with rice or any type of breads.

Variation: A teaspoon of garam masala can be added in the end to give a good flavor to the dish.

WHEAT SEVAI OR WHOLE WHEAT ANGEL HAIR PASTA PAYASAM

Dear friends, thank you very much for all the support and well wishes during my absence. Things have been busy at the personal front lately that I had hardly any time to post anything in my blog, even from my drafts. Now I have a lot of catching up to do with all your posts :)

Coming on to the recipe, I made this payasam today for Krishna Jayanthi. I found a packet of whole wheat sevai at my nearby Indian grocery and the ingredients consisted of 98% whole wheat, which a perfect choice for a low-carb dessert…..ideal for those who miss out all the sweet indulgences during the festival season. The same payasam can also be made with whole wheat angel hair pasta, and also transformed into a low-fat and sugar-free version with fat-free milk or half and half and Splenda.

INGREDIENTS:
1. Wheat sevai or whole wheat angel hair pasta, ½ small packet. This comes to a cup when broken into small pieces.
2. Milk, 1 to 1-1/2 cups. (Low fat or fat-free milk also works perfect for this).
3. Any sweetener of choice, ½ cup or more depending upon preferred sweetness.
4. Cardamom powder, ½ teaspoon.
5. Ghee or butter, 1-2 tablespoons.
6. Raisins, 2 tablespoons.
7. Cashews, 2 tablespoons.
8. Coconut milk ¼ cup.

PREPARATION:
Grind the coconut with ½ cup of water to a smooth paste. Dry roast the sevai until it changes to a light reddish color and let it cool. In the same pot, add the ghee and let it melt. Roast the cashews and raisins until the nuts turn golden brown and the raisins plump up. Add the milk, coconut milk, ¼ cup of water, cardamom powder, and sweetener and let it come to a boil. Add the sevai or noodles mix everything well and cook until the sevai is cooked. This can be served hot or cold.

Please check out my sugar-free rice and moong dhal payasam here.