WAR WITH RAW ~ ASH GOURD SALAD FOR ENFF

Tried and tasted by Nivedita

 Hi All,

Are you thinking I have gone RAW? ;-), But when I think of Nutritious food, only raw food comes in my mind. Its natural and its directly prepared by God. Am I right?

Today I am introducing you our king of raw food, King of Vegetables; ASH GOURD. Don't get confused with Aishwarya Rai Bachhan. I am talking about Natural beautiful vegetable.

Enough of jokes now.

I never knew the benefits about this veggie, I always saw this was used during poojas at home especially on house warming day. And I really thought that only Brahmins(or who comes for doing puja)  should eat it. That is how it was, after puja they used to take it home.

Only after I joined SSY course, I realized the importance of its benefits. From then, it has become a part of my menu in some or the other way. I wait to use this in my preparation

I make juice with it, I make salad with it, I add it in sambhar, I make ash gourd fry.... The list goes on.

But,

Taking it in the morning in the form of  juice  by adding the equal quantity of water to it is the best for many healthy reasons. Season it with very little salt and pepper(optional). (This and beetroot juice are too potent to be taken alone and need to be diluted with equal quantity of water)

I have a 2 page notes on its benefits which I took it during my course.

I tried to find out the benefits of this from net, because its the evidence to prove my love for this veggie.

http://smartwaytohealth.blogspot.in/2013/08/ash-gourd.html

http://www.vegrecipes4u.com/health-benefits-of-ash-gourd-winter-melon.html

Coming to today's recipe,

Its simple, easy and healthy and NUTRITIOUS. So what are you waiting for?

Ingredients:

Ash gourd - 1 cup, cleaned, peeled, de seeded

Cucumber - 1 small, cleaned and peeled

Fresh yogurt or curds - 1 cup

Salt to taste

Pepper powder - 1 tsp or chopped 

For temepering:

Oil - 1 tsp

Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp

a dash of hing

Curry leaves few

Urad dal - 1 tsp(optional)

Red dry chilly - 1 cut into small pieces

Method:

• Take one cup ash gourd. Either grate it or churn it in a mixer just for half a minute. I prefer the latter one.
• Keep it aside.
• Cut the cucumber in to small cubes.
• Take yogurt in a serving bowl. Add salt and pepper to it. Mix well. Add the ash gourd and cucumber. Mix well and refrigerate for some time(if you have)
• Till that,
• heat oil in a small pan.
• Add the mustard seeds and allow to splutter.
• Add urad dal and allow to change the color.
• Add curry leaves, hind and red dry chilly.
• Remove from the heat and allow it to cool.
• Add it to the ready salad.
• Serve cold with chapati or rice.

• The other day I had it with khara pongal :-)

WILL COME WITH DIFFERENT NUTRITIOUS FOOD IN THE NEXT POST FOR THIS EVENT. (THIS TIME NOT RAW FOR SURE)

Linking it to Eat Nutritious, Feel fabulous 

Keep Smiling,

MAGIC WATER AND MILK FOR HEALTHY LIFE/EAT NUTRITIOUS, FEEL FABULOUS

Tried and tasted by Nivedita

Hi All,

How are you all? I am here today with a healthy purpose. Jagruti and Me have started a event on healthy, nutritious food series.

Its not only about recipes or food preparations. Here we are talking also about few tips or may be exercises or any other way which helps to keep us healthy.

I am not a Guru or gained any diploma or degree in any of the field, but I am following it regularly. Here whatever I am posting is what I have experienced and gained the benefits.

Today, I am talking about how I start my day and how I end it. I mean what is my first food intake in the morning  and what is the last thing I sent to my body. ;-)

The first thing after I get up and brush my teeth is this glass of warm water with honey, lime juice and Cinnamon powder.

And it really works. I am taking it regularly in the morning. For me it has worked as an energizer and has proved very positive.

THIS IS TOTALLY MY EXPERIENCE AND IT IS NO WHERE SUGGESTED BY DOCTORS.

Warm water is always better than the normal water at any time of the day. But having it in the morning has its own benefits.

With that if you are adding a tbsp of lime juice, you are adding Vitamin C and many more.

There are 100+web sites or blogs to give you information about the benefits of having this magic water. I have just tried to refer few and giving you the links.

This is from the web site (http://www.hopinghealth.com/top-10-benefits-honey-lemon-skin-hair-health/)

1.  Drinking lemon juice mixed with lukewarm water and honey may help to reduce belly fat and obesity. Lemons are low in calories while honey is a fat free, natural energy booster. Their combination helps to melt down the fatty deposits in the body. Honey contains natural fruit sugar which is digested easily. Add one teaspoon of honey and three teaspoons of lemon juice to a glass of warm water. Stir well and drink it every morning to shed those extra kilos from the body.

And 

here is the best information about the benefits of having lime in your water in the morning:

http://wiki-fitness.com/lemon-lime-health-benefits/

But, 

there is an information about side effect of having lemon is here: http://www.livestrong.com/article/180835-side-effects-of-lemon-in-water/

AND

http://health.sify.com/fab-foods-that-burn-fat/

"Lemons have a high citric acid content that may irritate your stomach, particularly if you have an ulcer. This acid, even if diluted in water, can also damage tooth enamel if consumed in large quantities".

And according to the fitness guru Rujuta Diwekar(author of “Don't Lose Your Mind, Lose Your Weight”)(recently I have started following and reading and watching videos about her) won't agree with this that it  helps us to burn calories. 

Anyways, for every good thing there is always some bad thing, but when you see the positive side, its fine to go ahead, right?

I believe in it, because it keeps me fresh or may be I have it with my regular exercise, walking and meditation. Each of us have our own experience right? 

Now adding Cinnamon to your water has lot of benefits.

Go through this site to get more information. 

http://cinnamonvogue.com/cinnamoncommonuses.html

and

http://www.getprograde.com/Health-Benefits-Of-Cinnamon.html#.Utx7t9K6bGg

For me, it has proved to remove bad cholesterol.  

And, now the last thing is adding garlic in your milk in the night.

If you really don't like it you can have it thrice a week. 

Garlic has played a very important role in Indian food history. Just go through the sites if you want detailed information about its benefits.

http://nilasays.hubpages.com/hub/Garlic-milk-A-medicinal-drink

"Getting down to the main topic of this hub - Garlic milk : A medicinal drink.

This drink with garlic, is tasty, less hot, less smelly and very effective in fighting cold,sore throats and infections. Is your picky eater prone to frequent cold ? This is the right drink to enhance his/her immune system. Kids love it !...." CONTINUE READING...

http://ayurveda-foryou.com/health_articles/garlic_benefits.html

"HOW TO TAKE GARLIC:

Crush two or three small cloves of raw garlic and eat it raw or boiled, before going to sleep. You can have it with a glass of milk or with water. Please do not take more than two or three raw cloves of garlic per day as it might makes your blood thinner and might cause serious ailments.

Contra-indications/precautions:

Do not consume more than three to four raw cloves of garlic a day.

Patients having heart and other problems should take medical advice before consuming it.

It's best to avoid garlic before any surgery because it could probably disturb Anticoagulants.

If you are on any medication, always check with your doctor first before taking raw garlic.

Asthma patients should not use it as it worsens the symptoms of Asthma."

So, what do you think about my post, please do comment on your experience,

It will lead us to new road.

Sending it to our own event started by me and Jagruti :

Linking it to Eat Nutritious, Feel fabulous 

Expecting your views on it.

Keep smiling,