Ginger: What it can do for You?

Friends enjoy ginger in your food to help you fight against lots of ailments. I have mentioned ginger in my previous posts as well. This post is an extension of my previous post to emphasize on the good effects of ginger.

Indian food is already known for good spicy content in food. Probably our ancestors knew all this much before science could prove it. Ayurveda has spoken of many such ingredients to be helpful in keeping ailments at a bay much before the western world spoke about it. The western world has now accepted the healing effects of many Indian spices & ingredients as factors to fight lots of diseases.
Enjoy ginger in your food, drink ginger tea, and you can keep yourself fighting against so many problems. Wish you all a very good health & take care. Thank You!!

Coffee: Good or Bad?

Coffee has been discredited by many as bad for health. There have been lot of posts on bad effects of coffee. Now recent research has come up with lot of good effects of coffee, mainly the caffeine content. Though high dosage of caffeinated coffee is not good for health, more than 28 cups in a week can have adverse effects. Let's start with some good points in favor of coffee:

1. Coffee has been known as an energy drink for ages & that is due to caffeine present which helps in blocking an inhibitory neurotransmitter named Adenosine. This helps in other transmitters to become active which make your brain more receptive & increases functioning of the brain. It increases energy levels, memorizing capability, reaction time & general cognitive function.

2. Caffeine can improve fat burning in the cells, boosting the metabolic rate by 3-10%. Also adrenaline levels are increased due to caffeine which makes us more active & can make us ready for physical exertion. So, again this can help in losing weight & staying in shape.

3. Coffee is known as lowering Alzheimer's Disease & Dementia. Coffee drinkers have shown upto 65% lower risk of getting these diseases, also risk of Parkinson's disease can be reduced.

4. Coffee reduces the risk of stroke & risk of some types of cancer (liver and colorectal). Often coffee is associated with high blood pressure it is true but is very small & regularly drinking coffee leaves no effect on the blood pressure. Women have shown reduced risk of stroke on drinking caffeinated coffee.

5. Coffee with its huge antioxidant properties have shown reduced risk of deadly skin cancer. It has properties of signal tissue repair which helps in regulating cell re-growth increased collagen level giving a healthy looking & increased skin elasticity.

Friends these can be a good reason for drinking coffee but beware of the side effects. Do not drink too much coffee as it can lead to insomnia & if taken with some medication (anti-depressants, psychiatric drug, thyroid medication, and antibiotics) can have bad effects. Please take care & stay well. Thanks!!

Fishy Story- Rohu

Dear Friends, my topic today is a tribute to my Bong friends who love to have a piece of fish everyday. The good news is you can enjoy it without any guilt. You can happily tell others a fish a day keeps the doctor away :). Mostly all fish have a good nutrient value but Rohu being a very common fish in our daily diet. Lot of people prefer only eggs & meat over fish but technically fish thrice a week is a better option. The presence of the following nutrients make fish an awesome choice.

Rohu is a good source of high quality protein which has been valued around 80. Fish protein should be banked upon as much as possible due to low fat and low carbohydrate content. The fat present in Rohu is low & is good for health. It is rich in Omega-3 fatty acid. The fish is usually full of different kind of minerals Iron, Zinc, Iodine, Potassium, Calcium & Selenium and such kind of various minerals are very difficult to find in one source of food. Rohu is a river fish & is known to be rich in  Vitamin C, it keeps diseases like cold & cough away.

Apart from this fish & brains are correlated. It is said a fish eater has a better memorizing & analyzing skills along with fewer occasions of mood swings. Also antioxidants in fish are believed to fight cancer to a great extent.

I hope this would be an interesting short read. And hope all the fish eaters will have more reasons to enjoy it.

Recipe- Power breakfast for health & weight loss

Hi Friends!! Today is a very interesting day in the Indian Politics, trying to clean out politics, let's try to clean out our body systems... Today will talk about a breakfast recipe. Breakfast always emphasized by me as the most important meal, should be easy & quick as well to make.

Spiced Carrot Pancakes

Ingredients:
Multi-grain flour: 1 1/2 cup
Low fat milk: 2 tablespoons
Eggs: 2
Grated carrots: 1/4 cup
Olive oil/ Canola oil
Cinnamon:1/2 teaspoon
Baking Powder: 1/2 teaspoon
Chopped Chilies: 1-2 (if you like spicy)
Salt to taste

Preparation:
1. Mix the flour with Cinnamon powder, salt, baking powder, eggs, 1 tablespoon oil, milk to get a smooth batter. Add the grated carrot & Chilies to the batter & mix well.
2. Heat the non-stick pan. Spray/ brush the pan with oil.
3. Pour the batter in small portions on to the pan. Wait for it to be cooked on low flame. Toss it over to the next side for it to cook as well.

Your pan cakes are ready to serve. It has the perfect combination of carbohydrates, fiber, protein, omega-3 & anti-oxidants. A good start for the morning.

Thanks friends!! I will keep it short today, have a mood to enjoy Saturday.

Recipe- Healthy & Yummy for Weight Loss

Hi Friends!! I have been talking about ingredients which should be there in your diet which promote a healthy lifestyle. Today thought of spicing up a bit with recipes which are easy to make & tasty to eat. Giving two recipes which are powered with great ingredients already spoken about some.

Tofu Shimla Mirch:

Ingredients:
Tofu: 250 g (Generally it is cooked with Paneer or cottage cheese, tofu chosen over the same for                               providing high quality proteins)
Green bell pepper: 1
Yellow bell pepper: 1
Red Bell Pepper: 1
Onion: 1 large
Tomatoes: 2 medium
Garlic: 2 cloves
1/4 teaspoon turmeric
1/2 teaspoon red chilli powder or Kashmiri mirch powder
Some Oregano leaves for flavor
Black Pepper
Olive Oil for cooking
Salt to taste

Preparation:
1. Cut the 3 bell peppers into one-inch squares. The three colors have been chosen to make the food look colorful. Also their good nutrient source can be used. Cut the onion also in the same way. Cut the tofu into 1-inch cubes
2. Puree the tomatoes & garlic.
3. Heat a non-stick deep frying pan. Pour small amount of olive oil into the pan. Add the onions & the bell peppers. Cook till they are sauteed well & move in a separate bowl.
4. In a little oil add the puree & the turmeric & Chilli powder. Cook till the gravy thickens & changes color. Add salt to taste.
5. Add the tofu & stir for some time later add the cooked onion & bell peppers. When the preparation is well mixed & gravy is well spread over the ingredients add half ground black pepper & some dry oregano leaves powder. Adding Oregano will give a nice different flavor to the preparation and also help in case of any stomach ailments.

Grilled Garlic Chicken:

Ingredients:
Chicken: Breast pieces 4
Lime juice: 1/2 cup
Garlic: 4-6 cloves (small) or 2 cloves (large) minced
Mustard paste: 1 teaspoon
Ground black pepper: 1/2 teaspoon
Soy sauce: 1 tablespoon
Olive oil: 1/2 tablespoon
Salt if required

Preparation:
1. Wash the chicken pieces & make 2-3 slits on both sides of the pieces.
2. Mix the rest of the ingredients. Add salt if the soy sauce does not have any according to your taste.
2. Coat the chicken pieces well with the mix & keep it refrigerated for 1-2 hours in a closed container. The chicken would be marinated well in this time.
3. Spread the chicken on the grilling plate over a piece of aluminium foil & place it in a pre-heated oven at 160F, or in case of microwaves you can choose grill for poultry. You can grill for approx 15 min. turn around in between to grill both the sides well.
4. You can check the chicken whether it is cooked or not by poking it with a fork. If it is cooked it will go inside well.

Don't have photos for the same, sorry for that.

I hope you like these recipes. They are low fat & low cal recipes & very easy to cook, don't require too much preparation time as well. Tell me whether you like it or not. Awaiting you suggestions & comments. Thanks!!