Water chestnut and quinoa salad !!

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup quinoa 

• 1 teaspoon  soy sauce

• 2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar

• Few  green onions, thinly sliced

• 1 tablespoons fresh cilantro, finely chopped

• Few mint leaves - chopped/ torn

• Pinch of garlic powder 

• 1 cup  mixed bell peppers, diced

• Juice of half lime

• 1 cup Water chestnuts - washed, peeled and sliced 

• 1 teaspoon salt or to tastse

• few greens (baby spinach / lettuce) washed , dried and torn

Method Put everything, except salt in a serving bowl and toss lightly  At the time of serving add salt - check seasoning - adjust to taste and enjoy !!

How to prepare Couscous ??

Among  many  things that I keep in my fridge to be used for salads is  couscous. It is extremely easy and quick to make (which suits me very well ,. as I am always looking for ways to minimise my time in the kitchen) , and makes a world of difference to volume and body of your salad , not to mention it also helps in making salad more tummy filling.








So what to do - memorize the ratio of 1 :1.5 i.e one part of  couscous to 1.5 part of hot water (stock if you want to make it more interesting). Soak it for 10 minutes  and fluff with a  spoon/ fork - bingo healthy couscous is ready for you to add in salads or have with Indian curries and dals.  

Fantastic Fruity Salad !!!

Ingredients

Fantastic Fruity Salad !!

• 1 banana cut into round pieces
• 1 apple diced
• 1/2 pear diced
• Few Green grapes cut into half horizontally 

Dressing 

• Juice of half lemon
• Salt  as per taste
• Roasted cumin seed powder - to taste
• Rock salt - to taste

For Garnish

• Chopped coriander leaves 

Method 

• Mix all the fruits in a bowl
• Pour dressing and toss lightly
• Add chopped coriander leaves for garnish
• Serve immediately - enjoy !!!

Why Salads

Salads are one of my favorite meals to put together. They're delicious, healthy, wholesome and delightfully easy meals to put together.  Seriously healthy eating has never been so easy and yummy!

Most of the times, I don't plan on a specific list of ingredients for my salad.  My formula is simple – stock your refrigerator with wholesome foods which can be :

·         Fruit

·         Chopped / steamed/ sautéed vegetables

·         Cooked brown rice /  quinoa/ couscous,

·         Green leafies

·         Boiled chickpeas/ kidney beans

·         Tofu / Paneer

·         Home made light dressings

·         Sprouts

·         Seeds etc.

I make these salads often using various ingredients each time. OfMy mantra - make ahead of time, keep it in the refrigerator – toss it up with your choice of dressing and there you  have a great option available to snack on or have as a full meal….when hunger strikes. Breakfast, lunch or dinner, salads is full of nutrient dense foods , that fill you up….eat as much as you want to eat and see your body getting rid of toxins and fats !!!

2014 Winter Break – Stop 1 – Rishikesh

Long holidays of our daughter bring more joy to me and my spouse, as we look forward to getting away from the grind of daily routine- office, maids, cooking, projects, and homework etc.  The process of religiously going through travel magazines, discussing and deliberating on where to spend our vacations, commence months before the onset of holidays.  Decision, however, invariably happens last minute.  

This, winter break was no different ….me and my hubby racked our brains for weeks over suitable get away for us (thoughts swayed between Australia, Austria, London, to name a few) and finally zeroed in on a 10 day trip to Rishikesh, Manali and Solang…..yes in freezing cold…. This, after much cajoling and coxing by our tour organizer Mr. Sunil of unwind outdoors http://www.unwindoutdoor.com/. And a brilliant trip organizer he is !!!

So, on the very first day of the vacation, we flew down to Delhi …to get acclimatized to cold. Next ,we visited Decathlon to adequately equip ourselves with snow shoes, woolen socks and other necessary (and many unnecessary) paraphernalia . Visit to this store is highly recommended for any sport/ outdoor adventure related stuff. Great stuff…. fabulously priced.  As of now, the shop is present in Thane, Noida and chandigarh.  http://www.decathlon.in/

Finally, on a foggy morning, we hit the road and after close to eight hours drive reached Rishikesh and made ourselves comfortable with Glasshouse on the  Ganges, a Neemrana property. http://glasshouse-on-the-ganges.neemranahotels.com/

We stayed in a tent by the river Ganges….it was just perfect….all you hear is the melodious flowing sound the river….it is amazing to be lulled  to sleep by the sound of water gushing down. Exhausted, by long drive and an additional task of keeping a boisterous 6 year old entertained, we decided to spend our time hanging out in the hotel. Resort is well equipped with books, board games and extremely efficient staff.   

An evening stroll on the beach owned by Glasshouse was refreshing. While daughter had fun making playing in wet sand, we watched evening aarti (in honor of river Ganges) performed by the hotel priests. While we shivered, these priests, dipped their feet in the icy cold water of Ganges… we winced, while they  busied themselves with the task of keeping the diya lit for the duration  of the Aarti.  

We had planned rafting for the next day and it turned out to be a perfect day…bright and sunny. 

all set for rafting !!

We did, what they call, baby rafting (since there are not many stretches where kids are allowed on rafts), starting from Kodyala and ending at Marine drive. It took us close to 2 hours, however there is a stretch where you have to get off the raft and walk. Incase you are planning to do this stretch , please carry spare slippers/ footwear …not a place to walk barefeet, 

ouch !! don't walk barefeet !!

Most of the rapids were gentle enough to motivate our young rafter to ask for more, however, the last rapid was a big one and left all of us completely  

drenched in icy cold water, after which daughter dear quickly changed her mind.

Next, we enjoyed snacks at famous Chottiwalla restaurant. It was  built in 1958, and it is said that the food is prepared in pure ghee.  Now there are two Chottiwalla, both are excellent.  

Next we went to Geeta Bhavan, bought full Geeta printed on single page for Re1. 

We ended our  day and Rishikesh trip by attending an evening aarti Parmanth Aashram on the banks of river Ganges. It was truly mesmerizing to listen to Aarti against the backdrop brilliant and changing colors of the sky - befitting finale to two wonderful days in Rishikesh. 

Next stop Solang - Stay Tuned. 

How Blogging Happened ?

Post the birth of my daughter, I happily gave up, the only thing I ever did (work, work, and work) and blissfully occupied myself with the job called motherhood.  For many years my world was just my daughter and other responsibilities that come along with being a daughter, wife, and daughter in law, however a part of me screamed to make better use of my grey cells. Now and then the itch to go back to work (which actually pays you, gives you promotion and weekly offs ) would surge but would die its natural death. In between, the restless me tried different things ...music, guitar, art, etc however in the end it was love for travel, culinary experiments, and passion for good health that stuck around. I realized my passion for fitness when I lost over 30 kgs within a span of  18 months post-birth of my daughter - without any help of any dieticians. nutritionists or trainers.  I need to thank Dr.  Rita Shah for guiding me in prenatal and postnatal journey.  Writing and blogging started in a bid to help others in their wellness journey. Initially just and article or two , here and there. Things changed when my article about water in weight management went viral and I got invite to write guest posts. I hope you will benefit from these articles as much as I benefitted by implementing whatever is written in them,