Tag: nutrition

Book on nutrition, by Rujuta Diwekar

Book on nutrition, by Rujuta Diwekar

by writershilpa ♥ 22 Comments

 

INDIAN SUPER FOODS, by Rujuta Diwekar.

I received this book from my blogger friend, Ashvini Naik for a quiz on Instagram that I won. I wanted to do this post on the book ever since, but somehow it got delayed. Nevertheless, here it is, today. It is certainly not a review, but about a book that I found extremely helpful, informative and practical.

Rujuta Diwekar is a famous name amongst Indians for the health and nutrition tips she gives; lessons on diet that are easy to follow, make a lot of sense, and are inspired by the food habits of our ancestors.

I totally agree with Ms. Diwekar’s motto of eating what’s grown locally; eating every 2 -3 hours and eating all that you like, but, within limits.

In this book, Ms. Diwekar introduces us to 10 Indian Super foods that not only help in reducing weight, but help care for our overall health.

The foods she has discussed are:

GHEE: THE FAT BURNER

KOKUM (MANGOSTEEN): THE NATURAL ANTACID

BANANA: THE RECHARGER

KAJU (CASHEW): THE ANTI-DEPRESSANT

AMBADI (ROSELLE PLANT): THE STOMACH-SOOTHER

RICE: THE GRAIN THAT SUSTAINS

COCONUT: THE CALMER

ALIV (WATERCRESS SEEDS): THE BEAUTY PILL

JACKFRUIT: THE FERTILITY BOOSTER

SUGAR: THE ANTI-AGEING SECRET.

These are the ten foods she speaks about in a language and style that is so easy to understand and relate to.

She goes back to the times of our grandmothers and how they incorporated seasonal fruits/vegetables in their everyday diet to stay healthy.

How and why they insisted on avoiding certain foods in certain seasons as these harm not only our health, but also that of the Universe!

She has beautifully explained how, according to Ayurveda, one should not eat food that disturbs our personal constitution as well as one that disturbs the constitution of the Universe–a principle based on the understanding that what can cause harm to the human being, can also cause harm to the entire Creation.

She has also given tips on how and when to incorporate these super foods in our diet; ways in which these foods are used to manufacture snacks, health foods etc to be consumed by people when they need those nutrients the most.

She has cleared certain myths regarding foods like Ghee and Sugar–yes, the food stuff that is abhorred by the health fanatics.

Her very casual way of explaining makes one feel like she is having a chat with us, telling us what, how and why we ought to eat foods which will improve our health in such a way that we stay healthy–right from our gut to our skin, or from the inside to the outside!

I would suggest you read the book. Making certain changes in our diet based on Ms. Diwekar’s teachings is sure to restore your health and vitality and give you the body of your dreams!

Love,

SHILPA…

BOOK ON FOOD

 

Are you lactose intolerant?

Are you lactose intolerant?

by writershilpa ♥ 19 Comments


Featured post on IndiBlogger, the biggest community of Indian Bloggers

Do you remember, as kids, being coaxed to drink up that tall glass of warm milk every morning and evening? I know, some of you couldn’t even tolerate it and so emptied the glass in the flower pot or the sink, right?  The smell and the taste can be off-putting, so I can understand.

But, there’s a reason why our parents wanted us to drink that glass of milk, you know?

Milk is a COMPLETE FOOD as it consists of every such nutrient that we humans need.

 

We have heard it since the time we were kids about how drinking milk will give us strong teeth and healthy bones as it is rich in Calcium.

But, apart from that, it also helps keep the heart healthy and the blood pressure under control.

Milk fortified with Vitamin D helps us sleep well and helps produce serotonin–our  ‘good mood’ hormone–which could keep depression away. Now, this is an information my doctor provided.  He said that a lack of Vitamin D results in all of the PMS related feelings like mood-swings, irritability, depression, fatigue, etc, that, if not taken care of, can only worsen with time.

And, yet, so many of us find it unbearable to even bring a glass of milk close to our nose! Well, if the smell puts you off, you could always add a spoonful of some nutritional powder, like Horlicks, Boost, Complan, or even almond/cardamom powder–there’s a wide choice of nutritional drinks available in the market. Choose the one that you like.

If hot/warm milk gives you nausea or gas, try chilled milk. I love chilled milk. I add a spoonful of Horlicks to it and have it for my breakfast.  My last post was on coughs and cures, where I failed to mention that my cough usually gets cured by a glass of chilled milk, instead of the usually prescribed warm haldi wala doodh (milk with turmeric)!

Lactose intolerance and food options:

When the body cannot digest the lactose present in the milk, it makes you lactose intolerant. One could suffer from nausea, vomiting, gas or diarrhoea and, hence, stay away from milk, altogether.

However, if not milk, then you can surely have other milk products such as curd or yoghurt, buttermilk, cheese, cottage cheese or paneer, ghee, butter and milk which is lactose-free.

Other alternatives are soy milk, coconut milk, almond milk.

Dark green leafy vegetables like spinach contain calcium as does Amaranth. Chia seeds, beans, lentils and tofu are other foods that also contain calcium in good quantities.

Milk products for the lactose intolerant:

Curd contains high amount of proteins making it a highly nutritional food. Add some fruits of your choice, some dates and other dry fruits and honey and you have a delicious and healthy bowl for a midmorning or evening snack, ready in no time!

You could also make a smoothie with curds and some fruits. Keep sugar out of these recipes, though. And, artificial sweeteners, too. Using honey, dates or raisins is a better alternative.

Curds go well with parathas, rice (curd-rice, any day!) or oats, too.

Buttermilk, when had after a heavy lunch, makes for the best digestive. Just add some cumin powder, rock salt (kala namak), some finely chopped green chillies and coriander and you get the best cooling, digestive drink, ever. You know that, don’t you?

Cottage cheese, or paneer, is another milk product loaded with calcium and proteins. And, it aids in weight loss, too. Homemade paneer tastes the best–soft and creamy–as opposed to the readymade one, which is often rubbery and lacks any taste. Just add a spoon of lemon juice to some warm milk and when the milk curdles and the curds separates, pour it through a cloth in a strainer. Gather the cloth, squeeze it lightly to drain the excess water and tie it up. That’s it. Perfect, soft, tasty paneer ready to be used in your recipes, or eat it as is.

Cheese provides calcium and proteins, vitamins A and B12, riboflavin, phosphorus and zinc. The best benefit of cheese, I read, is for the teeth as it prevents tooth decay. For those trying to gain some weight, you could add cheese to your diet. It helps improve the bone density and also strengthens the muscles.Opt for cheese with low salt content as otherwise it could affect your blood pressure.

And, finally, ghee, or clarified butter, is another milk product that you can consume on a daily basis. It will help in maintaining your gut health, keep your joints healthy, your heart beating beautifully, your skin soft, and your weight under control. My post on Ghee has the method of preparing it at home. it’s really easy to make, or you could buy white butter from the market and use that to prepare the ghee.

So, if you have deleted milk from your daily diet due to lactose intolerance, do include it now through the various milk products.  You will be doing a world of good for your health–mental as well as physical health. Trust me!

Take care,

Love,

SHILPA…

 

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Herbs & Ayurveda to cure cough.

Herbs & Ayurveda to cure cough.

by writershilpa ♥ 22 Comments

Top post on IndiBlogger, the biggest community of Indian Bloggers

Hello, people! How have you been? I was MIA on my blog for the past week or so. My winged babies chewed off the wire of my WiFi router…Yeah, that’s their favourite pastime–chewing wires–and, now that I have learned my lesson, I am going to get all the wires covered. Anyway, so, after we got a new wire and my wifi started working smoothly, I fell ill. Severe menstrual cramps, a UTI and fever…uff! I have never in my life suffered any such cramps, so I really felt like I was dying!

Thanks, though, for my gynaec friend who prescribed some meds and today I feel fresh as a lily! It helps to have doctor friends, isn’t it? Just one phone call and your issue gets sorted. So grateful for some really wonderful friends!

Anyway, today, I am sharing with you all some remedies for cough that I have tried and tested during the few times I have suffered from a terrible throat infection. And, no, this is not a sponsored post because of the syrup and Ayurvedic medicines I will be talking about (which, I am sure, many of you must have heard of, already).

First of, I would like to share the herbal drink I made for myself a couple years ago, when I had had a really bad cough. And, miraculously, my cough was cured in just a few days! So, do try it out, if you haven’t already. It works like a charm and is extremely soothing.

REMEDIES FOR COUGH:

HERBAL DRINK:

As you must be aware, our kitchen cabinets hold in them spices that not only add flavour to our food, but also have medicinal properties that help in curing some ailments. So, using a few of those spices we are going to prepare the herbal drink for our sore throat.

INGREDIENTS:

A glassful of water

Half a teaspoon of fennel seeds

2 – 3 pepper corns

2 cloves

A tiny piece of cinnamon

Half an inch of grated ginger

A few Tulsi leaves

1 spoonful of honey

Keep the water to boil. Then, add the spices and ginger and let boil for a few minutes. Switch off the gas once the water changes its colour and you get the aroma of all the spices. Strain in a glass, add a spoonful of honey, stir well and consume it when hot. Take your time, though, lest your tongue gets scalded!

Having this drink twice a day –first thing in the morning and last thing at night–will definitely cure that cough in a matter of a few days. You won’t need to visit a doctor who will prescribe some cough syrup and medicines that will only make you drowsy and cost you a lot of money.

Gargling with warm salt water, or turmeric water, helps, too. It does provide relief from the itchiness in the throat.

 

TURMERIC+SUGAR:

Turmeric has anti-inflammatory properties and is an antioxidant used for its medicinal purposes.

Gargling with hot water mixed with half a spoonful of turmeric gives great relief to the sore throat.

Another way to use it to cure cough is to consume quarter spoonful turmeric and half a spoon of sugar before bed time. Chew thoroughly and then have half a sip of water. This will ensure an uninterrupted sleep. It’s something my MIL always believed in and now, so do I.

AYURVEDIC MIXTURE:

India is the birthplace of Ayurveda, as you must know. It has been used since ages to cure ailments without any side-effects, provided prescribed by a knowledgable practitioner. However, the mixture I am telling you about is something that has been passed down to me by my mother. It’s something she always prepared for us when we developed a sore throat during childhood. And, this, too, works…trust me.

AYURVEDIC MEDICINES:

1/2 a spoonful of Yashtimadhu (Licorice) powder

1/2 a spoonful of Sitopaladi Churna

1 spoon Honey

1 spoon Ghee

The Ayurvedic medicines are easily available at your local chemist.

Mix well all the ingredients in a bowl and have quarter of a spoonful (of half a tiny spoonful) every half hour or so. Also, drink the herbal drink twice a day and you will feel better soon.

ADULSA:

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Adulsa is a medicinal plant found in Asia and is used in Ayurvedic medicine, specially for cough and cold. You will find it at your local chemist. All you need to do is, add 2 spoonfuls of this syrup to a glass of warm water, add some honey and drink this twice of thrice a day. It not only tastes good, but will give you quick relief from cough and cold, and will not make you drowsy.

BENEFITS OF HOME REMEDIES OVER OTC COUGH SYRUPS:

The ingredients used in the herbal drink are all used in our everyday cooking. These are spices that are also medicinal in nature and have zero side-effects.

Ghee contains antibacterial and anti-inflammatory properties that help cure not only dry cough but various other ailments. Did you know that adding a spoonful of ghee to warm milk and drinking this before going to bed can relieve you of constipation?

Honey, too, is antibacterial and helps in curing a throat infection.

Ginger has antibacterial properties that help fight infection and treat a sore throat effectively.

Tulsi leaves help fight infections and allergies.

Yashtimadhu, or Licorice, also has anti-inflammatory properties that help cure throat infections.

Sitopaladi Churna–an Ayurvedic medicine–is a commonly used cough remedy that has no side-effects. When added with Yashtimadhu, honey and ghee–all of which have anti-bacterial and anti-inflammatory properties–it’s the best cure for a sore throat.

The over-the-counter cough syrups and other drugs that people generally opt for when suffering from a sore throat or a runny nose, offer nothing except temporary relief and that, too, with side-effects. You feel drowsy all day and hardly find any relief despite consuming bottles of the syrups.

This being the season of coughs and colds, I thought of doing this post so that if any of you are suffering from a bad throat, do give these cough remedies a try. it’s all a matter of faith, really, which I am sure you will develop once you experience the benefits of these remedies as opposed to the OTC cough syrups.

The Ayurvedic products are all available online, so, if you fail to find these in the area you reside in, you can always shop online.

Do let me know if you found any difference after using the above tried and tested remedies.

Take care…

LOVE,

SHILPA…

 

Treat cough with herbal medicines.

Two herbs that aid your digestive system.

Two herbs that aid your digestive system.

by writershilpa ♥ 17 Comments

Top post on IndiBlogger, the biggest community of Indian Bloggers

Cumin seeds, or Jeera, and Carom seeds, or Ajwain, are common herbs used in many a recipes. I love the flavour cumin seeds bring to every dish I use them in. And, carom seeds too have their distinct flavour as well as taste.

Combine these two herbs in boiling water and what do you get?

Best drink in aid of digestion

A glassful of a health drink that solves your digestion problems, gets rid of flatulence, fights acidity, helps in weight reduction and provides iron.

It’s a drink I begin my day with ever since my bestie suggested it to me. A glassful of this–actually, two glasses of this drink– first thing in the morning helps relieve any kind of digestive problem, increases my appetite and thus helps me increase my food intake, that I so need.

Surprisingly, this drink also helps reduce weight by dissolving body fat. So, if you are trying to shed those kilos, do try it out. In fact, dissolving fat is one of its few main benefits.

Lightly crush a teaspoon each of these seeds in your palm and add these to the water that you have kept for boiling. You may add ginger and honey, too. Once the water comes to a boil, switch off the gas and allow to cool. Strain and drink. Don’t gulp it down, though. Sip it slowly and feel it sliding down your throat, entering your system and working its magic!

You could prepare the brew with either of the herbs, or both together. But, a word of caution here: if you experience any discomfort, discontinue it immediately. Drinking plain, warm water with ginger, lemon and honey works well, too!

Did you know that the digestive process has a profound impact on our emotional and mental state? An increase in our stress levels and our anxiety affects our digestive system to quite an extent, and this in turn worsens our stress levels furthermore.

Keeping our digestive system in a good working condition is therefore a necessity if you wish to have a peaceful day.

To check if your digestive system is working well, take a look at your tongue. A light, thin coating reveals a good digestion and a thickly coated tongue reveals poor digestion.

Oh, also a bad digestive system often results in an irritable mood!

And, therefore, you begin your day with a glassful of warm cumin+carom seed water, with some ginger and a spoonful of honey. This is bound to keep your digestive tract happy as well as your state of mind!

Try it!

Love,

SHILPA…

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For the love of Peanut Butter.

For the love of Peanut Butter.

by writershilpa ♥ 25 Comments


Featured post on IndiBlogger, the biggest community of Indian Bloggers

Did you know that November is the Peanut Butter Lovers’ Month? I had no idea about it until I stumbled upon this really amusing concept that was started back in 1995.

I have always loved Peanut Butter. Actually, I love butter; just the word ‘Butter’ has me drooling, and that’s why I thought of doing this post on Peanut Butter.

So, peanut is actually a legume–and not a nut–which is packed with nutrients like:

 

Protein

Fibre

Vitamin B6

 Vitamin E

Magnesium

Potassium

Zinc

Copper

Iron

Manganese

 

…all packed in the tiny peanut. I read that peanuts also contain reservetrol–the anti-ageing molecule found in grapes, as well as healthy fats that cut cholesterol.

A handful of peanuts a day are enough to avail of the nutrients found in them.

Roasted peanuts are my favourite. And, to add to their nutritional value, I eat a handful of roasted peanuts with some jaggery as a dessert post lunch or dinner. If you haven’t had it ever, do try it out. The combination of peanuts and jaggery is awesome in taste, too!

At times, I fry some peanuts and sprinkle those on the poha that we have for breakfast. This, too, improves not only the taste of the dish, but also its nutritional value.

And, finally, I love peanuts in the butter form the most! Be it the crunchy variety or the creamy, Peanut Butter makes for an excellent snack when spread on a chapati or bread when I suffer from hunger pangs in the middle of the day, or night, or evening, or whenever.

The chapati-Peanut Butter roll/Peanut Butter sandwich is not only filling, but also nutritious. It is reassuring knowing that this snack that I have is not just some junk that I stuff to satisfy my hungry belly, but food that my body benefits from.

Just dipping my finger to scoop out some Peanut Butter from the jar is one of the most satisfying experiences for me!

How about you? Do you like Peanut Butter? Are you a diehard fan? If you are, then wish you, too, a very happy Peanut Butter Lovers’ Month!

Love,

SHILPA…

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The goodness of Peanut Buttter