Peanut butter, Banana sandwich

Serves-1 (415 cal per serving)

Enjoy this delicious protein rich sandwich. Great way to start your day!

 

Ingredients:

 

Whole wheat bread-2 slices
Peanut butter-1 tbsp (I use Teddie unsalted smooth version. beware of added sugars)
Banana-1 medium
Honey-to taste

Method:

1. Toast the bread and spread peanut butter.
2. Make thin slices of banana and spread them evenly on the slice with peanut butter.
3. Drizzle honey and eat it away!

P.S: I used http://www.myfitnesspal.com/recipe/calculator to calculate the nutrition information.

Cowpea (Black eyed peas) Salad

Ingredients:

 

Cowpeas-1 cup soaked and boiled
Red chillies-2
Green chillies-2
Cumin seeds-1 tsp
Mustard seeds-1 tsp
Ginger garlic paste-1 tsp
Oil-1 tsp
Salt- to taste
Onion-1/4th big
Corriander- to garnish
Lemon-half medium

Method:

 

1. Soak cowpeas overnight and pressure cook for 2 whistles the next day. Drain the water and keep the peas aside.
2. Take a pan and add 1 tsp of oil. Once the oil gets heated, add cumin, mustard, ginger-garlic paste and saute for few sec.
3. Add red chillies and green chilles and saute for 30 sec.
4. Add salt, cooked peas and saute for a minute.
5. Squeeze lemon and garnish with corriander, onions, carrot and cucumber. Serve hot with lemon juice or buttermilk.

Beetroot juice

Ingredients:

 

Servings-1

Tomato-1
Beetroot-1/4 big
Cucumber-1/2 medium
Carrot-1/4 medium
Lemon-1/2 small
Corriander-to taste
Honey-to taste

Method: 

 

Wash, peel, cut and blend the vegetables by adding some water. Add lemon and honey to the juice and serve cold with some mint leaves.

The story of FATS!

What comes to your mind when you think of fatty foods? Weight? Unhealthy? Avoid? Does TYPE and AMOUNT come across your mind? If you ask yourself the type of fat every time you eat fat foods, then you are on the right track! Fats should constitute 25-30% of your diet. Read through the post to learn about different types of fats and their health benefits.

Types of Fats:

 

1.Trans: These are the bad fats. They are formed upon partial hydrogenation of oils (add hydrogen to oil). Partially hydrogenated oil is less likely to spoil, so foods have higher shelf life. These fats are mainly used in shortenings for deep frying in restaurants because it doesn't have to be changed as often as other oils. They also occur in baked goods, ready-made frosting, snacks including potato, corn, tortilla chips, packaged or microwave popcorn, refrigerator dough, canned biscuits and cinnamon rolls, nondiary coffee creamer and stick margarines. Read your food labels and avoid this fat all together.

2.Saturated: There has been a controversy that saturated fats are bad for health. But recent research shows that these fats do more good than bad. Saturated fats raise HDL (good) cholesterol. Good sources of saturated fat include diary products (milk, yogurt, cheese, butter, ghee). Having said that saturated are healthy fats, it is also important to track how much you are ingesting. For a 1500 calorie diet, one cup of whole milk, one cup of whole milk yogurt and 1 slice of cheese amount to 100% of saturated fat that is needed per day. There are so many other foods that you eat throughout the day that may contain saturated fat. So either decrease the serving of whole milk products or switch to low fat products without compromising on the amount of sugars and protein (I mean do not buy low fat, sugar added products). Therefore, read the labels and eat the right amounts!

3.Monounsaturated, Polyunsaturated and omega-3 fatty acids: These are the healthy fats and raise HDL cholesterol. They decrease the risk for heart diseases and are essential for overall health. They occur mainly in oils, nuts and avocado. Foods with higher percentage of these oils occur in liquid at room temperature. Only down side of polyunsaturated and omega-3 fatty acids is that at high temperature, these fats get oxidized and turn into harmful fats. Do not use oils that are high in polyunsaturated or omega-3 fats for frying. Use saturated or monounsaturated rich oils for that purpose (Eg: coconut oil, olive oil etc).

Avoid the oils listed below for high temperature cooking either they are rich in polyunsaturated and omega fatty acids and/or they are highly processed.
Soybean, Corn, Cottonseed, Canola, Rapeseed, Sunflower, Grapeseed, Safflower, Rice Bran oils.

Now that you know different types of fats, pros and cons of each variety, make sure you read the nutrition labels, know what you are eating and how much you are eating. DO NOT AVOID fats completely.

Importance of Proteins

Protein should constitute 30% of your diet. They are the building blocks of life and are essential for repair and functioning of individual cells. Proteins are part of skin, hair, muscles and other organs. As mentioned in the previous posts, it is important to add protein to every meal along with good carbs and fats.

Sources of protein:

 

Vegetarian:

Beans- Pinto, Black, Kidney, Garbanzo beans, Lentils, Split Peas
Nuts- Almonds, Hazelnuts, Peanuts, Peanut and Almond butter, Sunflower seeds, Walnuts (Watch how much you eat as they are high in fats)
Eggs- Limit one egg per day as egg yolks are high in cholesterol-Replace egg yolks with egg whites for more protein
Dairy products (Use low fat versions)-Milk, Yogurt, Cheese
Tofu and other soy products
Whey protein powders

Non-vegetarian:

Turkey or chicken with the skin removed, or bison (also called buffalo meat),Lean cuts of beef or pork, such as round, top sirloin, or tenderloin (trim away any visible fat), Fish or shellfish.

Do not consume more than what you need. General rule of thumb says that body needs 0.5-0.7 g of protein per pound of mass depending on how active you are. Excess protein will be stored as fat.

Example recipes :

Peanut butter-banana sandwich, avocado-chickpea salad, lentil soups (daal), veggie-cheese sandwich, paneer curries (watch out the fat content in paneer), omlettes with additional egg white, yogurt parfait, smoothies with whey protein, roasted nuts, edamame and many more.

Pancakes

Servings-6 (~150 cal per serving)

Ingredients: 

 

All purpose flour or Bread Flour-1 cup (400 cal)
Salt-1 tsp
Sugar-2 tbsp (100 cal)
Milk-3/4-1 cup (100 cal)
Baking powder-1 tsp
Egg-1 (separate yellow and add foamy white) (70 cal)
Oil-2 tbsp (240 cal)
Vanilla essence-1 tsp

Method:

 

1. Mix all the dry ingredients (flour, salt, sugar and baking powder) and keep aside.
2. Separate egg yolk and add vanilla essence and mix properly. Add milk and oil and mix again.
3. Add the liquid mixture to the dry mix and mix properly till there are no clumps. I use electric mixer to decrease effort. The consistency of batter should be little thick. Add more flour at this point, if the batter consistency is very thin. Note that, the egg white foam in the next step will make the batter thinner.
4. Take egg white and beat it until foamy. It will be easy and fast if you use electric mixer for this purpose.
5. Transfer egg white foam to the batter and mix properly. Do not over mix.
6. Heat a pan at low flame. Take a ladle full of batter and pour on the pan. If the batter is properly aerated, you will see bubbles on the top.Turn the pancake to the other side when you see lot of bubbles (~1 min). If it gets too dark, it implies that the heat is a little high. Adjust the flame accordingly. Cook the pancake on the other side.
7. Serve the pancakes with syrup, honey or simply butter! Add scrambled eggs on the side for protein.

Variations: If you want to make blueberry pancakes, sprinkle blueberries after you pour the batter onto the pan instead of mixing them with the batter itself.

Tips: 

 

1. Thickness of the pancakes depend on the consistency of batter. So, adjust the consistency accordingly. The amount of milk depends on the flour you use. Bread flour needs a little more milk than needed for all purpose flour.
2. Do not use lot of baking powder and baking soda. Some recipes call for 2 tsp of baking powder and 2 tsp of baking soda. Pancakes become very bitter if you add both.
3. Temperature of the pan is very critical. You want to cook pancakes at a very low flame and for long time. So, don't be in a hurry and turn up the flame. They will get burnt.
4. Use electric mixer for soft pancakes. Smooth and aerated batter is key to soft and fluffy pancakes.