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,

Garlic Rice,Curd Rice and Chutney Rice(Leftover delicacies)

Tried and tasted by Nivedita

Hi All,

Left over rice can be used to make many yummy dishes Most of the time I make more rice in the night to prepare some thing from it, the next day.

My preparation depends on the texture of the rice.

If it is hard and grains apart, I make garlic rice

If its soft I go for curd rice.

And if its very soft and mushy, I use it for making Thalipeeth.

Giving here recipe for garlic rice, curd rice and chutney rice.

Garlic Rice:

This is my favorite rice when I want to have a spicy food. 

Left over rice - 1 cup

Onion - 1 small, finely chopped

Curry leaves - few

Garlic - 8 to 10 small cloves( 4 to 6 if taking big one)

Chilly powder - 1 tbsp

Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp

Oil - 1 tbsp

Mustard seeds - 1 tsp

Cumin seeds -1 tsp

Salt taste

Sugar - 1 tsp

Fresh coriander - 1 tbsp, chopped to garnish

Heat oil in a kadai. When hot, add mustard seeds and wait till splutter. Add cumin seeds, curry leaves, onion and fry for few seconds.  Add crushed garlic and fry till brown. Add chilly powder, turmeric powder and salt. Mix well. Add the rice, mix well. Add sugar and fresh coriander. Cook for a minute. Cover and keep for few minutes for rice to get the garlic flavor. 

Enjoy hot garlic rice.

Single serve

Curd Rice:

When the rice becomes watery or soft, it best to make curd rice. What will soothe you in summer? A bowl of curd rice kept in the fridge for sometime before you eat it.

Left over cooked rice : 1cup

Curds or fresh yogurt - 1/2 cup

Milk -2 tbsp

Salt to taste

Oil - 1 tbsp

Mustard seeds – 1 tsp

Curry leaves – few

Red dry chilli -3 broken

Urad dal – 1 tbsp

Sugar – 1 tsp

Fresh coriander – 1 tbsp, chopped to garnish

 Mix the rice, curds, milk, salt and sugar in a serving bowl and keep it aside.

In a kadai, heat oil, add mustard seeds. Wait till splutter. Add urad dal and fry till golden color. Add red dry chilly and curry leaves. Fry for another minute. Add this to the rice. Mix well. Garnish with fresh coriander. Keep in the refrigerator before you serve.

COCONUT CHUTNEY RICE :

I am not a chutney person. But my family loves chutney. My husband likes to have the coconut chutney even with Poha!

Coconut chutney is always there in my house. But as I do not like, I use it in many recipes. I use it to make masala for the gravy. I use it to make masala majjige. 

But my favorite is rice. This coconut rice tastes very good. Try it and you will agree with me.

Leftover cooked rice - 1 cup

Oil - 1 tsp

Ready coconut chutney(you can say ' leftover chutney') - 3 to 4 tbsp

For my normal chutney recipe, click this.

Salt to taste(less, as there is salt in the chutney already)

Now, other ingredients will depend on what is there in your chutney. 

As my chutney has all the ingredients, I do not put anything.

Heat oil in kadai. Add the chutney. Fry for few minutes, till it changes its color. Add the rice. Mix well and saute for few minutes or till you get coconut aroma. Its aroma will remind you of the rice which is served in Brahmin or  Udupi marriages or temples.

These three rice plates(bowls!!) are going to 

PJ's ongoing event,

Scrumptious Delights From Leftovers - An Event Announcement

Keep Smiling,

Peanut chutney powder(Shenga Chutney)

Tried and tasted by Nivedita
Hi all



I am from North Karnataka, and there different types of chutneys are always at home, and served everyday with meals. These powders really make the food more tasty. I will try to post other types of chutney powder in future.
Here is the recipe:
Peanut - 1cup
Dalia ("Puthani" in Kannada) - 1/2 cup
Chilly powder - 1 to 2 tbsp as per your taste

Curry leaves - 2 lines
Tamarind - 2 tbsp
Garlic - 4 to 6 big one(we get in UAE) or full one bulb if it is Indian.
sugar - 1 tsp
Salt to taste
Turmeric a pinch
Roast peanuts and remove skin. Mix all the ingredients and put in a mixer and make it coarse powder.
Chutney(ಶೇಂಗ ಪುಡಿ)is ready. Eat with chapatis and curds or hot rice and ghee.
But I always liked it with crispy jowar rotti(katak Jolada rotti) and curds.

This chutney powder is going to participate in

Pavani's Announcing JFI - August ’09: Peanuts,

and the (JFI) WAS STARTED BY Indira (@ Mahanandi)

Keep smiling,

Tomato and Garlic Rasam(Tili saaru)

Tried and tasted by Nivedita

Hi all,

Tomato is my all time favourite. I love its color. It is so essential in almost every recipe, I always keep tomatoes in my fridge. Any type of soup or rasam with tomato is always welcomed by my taste buds. This is one recipe, usually my mom makes. It tastes great when she prepares it.

Here is the recipe,

Tomato – 2 medium

Garlic – ½ bulbs peeled and freshly crushed (if it is big. We get big one in UAE, if taking Indian, 1 full bulb)

Curry leaves – few

Mustard seeds – 1 tsp

Jeera – 1 tsp

Methi seeds – 1/2 tsp

Sugar – 1 tbsp

Salt to taste

Chilly powder – 1 to 2 tbsp or as per taste

Lemon juice – ½ tbsp

Oil 1 tbsp

Fresh coriander to garnish.

Heat oil in a vessel. Add Mustard seeds, and then add methi seeds and jeera.

Now add crushed garlic and curry leaves. Fry till garlic becomes slightly brown.

Then add chopped tomato, chilly powder, salt and sugar. Let it cook till tomato starts leaving oil. Now add 2 cups water and let it boil for 10 min.

Add lemon juice, just before switching off the stove. Garnish with coriander.

Servers for 3.

Sending this to 

PJ'S ONGOING EVENT

Healing Foods -Event Announcement which is started by Siri  (Healing foods)

Keep smiling,