Eat Right With Less Sugar

Do you feel addicted to sugar ! an urge to eat sweets or sugary food? Specially after every meal? Or at the same time every day?  Sugar cravings are common and can often be explained by simple things.

The human body craves sugar for various reasons, and generally, each craving is different for each person. Your brain may experience an intense craving because it needs sugar for energy and to function properly.  But beyond meeting a need, sugar cravings for adults tend to be habitual, rewarding, or due to poor sleep quality, high stress & skipping meals.

Sugar has a sneaky way of creeping into our daily diet right from breakfast cereal and cookies to salad dressings and smoothies. Even though your taste buds love the sweet stuff, your body might beg to differ.

Diet high in sugar can lead to a wide range of health conditions including heart disease, fatty liver disease and type 2 diabetes. It can also alter your gut microbiome, increasing intestinal permeability and triggering widespread inflammation.

Consuming free sugars increases the risk of dental caries (tooth decay). Excess calories from foods and drinks high in free sugars also contribute to unhealthy weight gain, which can lead to overweight and obesity. Recent evidence also shows that free sugars influence blood pressure and serum lipids, and suggests that a reduction in free sugars intake reduces risk factors for cardiovascular diseases .

But all sugar is not bad for health. Natural sugar is an essential source of carbohydrates. It is present in the form of fructose in fruits and vegetables and as a compound called lactose in dairy products.

The real culprit is added sugar which is put in food items during the manufacturing process to enhance their flavor or texture. 

But with a few smart diet tweaks, you can easily slash down your sugar intake and get in shape at the same time. Here are some easy and effective ways to reduce your sugar intake right away:

1. Avoiding sugary drinks, such as sodas, energy drinks and fruit drinks, will drastically reduce your sugar intake and could help you lose weight.

2 .Desserts such as ice cream, cakes and cookies are loaded with sugar and provide little nutrition. Switch to fresh or baked fruit to reduce your sugar intake and increase your fiber, vitamin and mineral intake.

3 . Common table sauces can contain a shocking amount of sugar. Always read the label to make sure you choose sugar-free options or use herbs and spices to flavor your food.

4 .Low-fat foods may contain more sugar and calories than full-fat versions.Make sure to check labels before buying. 

5 .Whole foods are free of added sugar and other additives commonly found in processed foods. Eating more whole foods and cooking from scratch will reduce your sugar intake.

6. Canned food, including canned fruits and vegetables, may contain added sugar. Always read labels to ensure you choose versions without it.

7. So-called healthy snacks, such as protein bars, can contain lots of added sugar. Be prepared and take low-sugar snacks like nuts and fresh fruit with you when you’re out .

8. Breakfast cereals are among the worst culprits for added sugar, along with pancakes, waffles and jams. Switch to low-sugar options such as eggs, oatmeal or plain yogurt.

9. A high sugar intake is linked to increased appetite and weight gain. Eating more protein and fat has been shown to have the opposite effect, reducing appetite and cravings.

10. Sugar can be addictive for some people. If you find giving up sugar to be particularly difficult, natural sweeteners such as stevia can help.

11. If you have sugar-filled snacks in the house, you are more likely to reach for them when cravings strike. Consider using distraction techniques if you feel cravings and keep low-sugar snack options handy.

12 . Lack of sleep causes people to favor high-calorie, sweet and salty foods over healthy foods like fruits and vegetables. Get a good night’s sleep to help you eat less sugar.

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Detox Drinks

Ever wondered if there is anything similar to DrainX(used for our drainage at home) that can clean our body of toxins? The answer is Yes ….it’s called Detox drink. Many doctors and nutritionists praise detox drinks as one of the easiest ways to rid your body of toxins, flush your liver,boost your energy, give your digestive system a break, and improve your overall health.

So, what is Detox drink? 

it’s a water based drink recipe with infused fruits, vegetables, herbs etc. that helps your body get rid of toxins, promote weight loss, boost energy & cleanse the liver.

Some of the  popular detox drinks are detox water, detox tea, detox juice, and detox smoothies.

why do we actually need to Detoxify ?

We are surrounded by pollutants – from the air we breathe, the food we eat, the water we drink, to name a few. All around us, there are things that we ingest that our bodies can’t use or worse, do harm to our system. So, Detox drinks help your body, especially your liver, a chance  to flush out these toxins. These toxins build up over time and create health issues including cancer, reproductive, metabolic, and mental health effects. Detox drinks also help in reducing inflammation, weight loss,improves skin health and boosts energy.

Detox Water :A basic detox water recipe consists of fruit, vegetables or herbs mixed with water. Some detox water ingredients include lemon, oranges, strawberries, cucumber, mint, watermelon, mango,grapefruit, cinnamon etc.

Detox Teas : The next most popular type of detox drink is detox tea. People have been using detox tea for a long time to help detoxify their body and improve their overall health.

Different herbs like ginger, lemongrass, dandelion contain ingredients that support a healthy liver, which is one of the main organs in charge of detoxifying your body. 

Detox Smoothie: Detox smoothie which is full of vitamins,antioxidants, fiber, and other nutritious ingredients that provide your body a detoxifying flush.

Some Detox Smoothie ingredients include spinach,lemons,ginger, mango, watermelon, almonds etc. but fresh organic ingredients are mostly recommended.

So don’t wait and Start detoxifying your body for healthy you today! 

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Recipes of Season’s Most Sought After Fruit – Custard Apple

Season’s most sought-after fruit – Custard Apple Recipes

Custard apple, creamy and sweet fruit grown in tropical areas is the most sought-after fruit in India. It is available for a short season from August to October. 

Custard apple is packed with several essential nutrients. The fruit is a storehouse of Vitamin C, Vitamin A and Vitamin B6. It contains minerals like potassium, magnesium, phosphorus, sodium, copper, and dietary fiber. Its magnesium and potassium support healthy blood pressure levels, dietary fibers promote healthy digestion and protect against inflammatory digestive disorders. Its vitamin C helps boost immunity and help your body fight infections.

It also provides lutein, which may promote eye health and protect against conditions that can lead to poor eyesight or vision loss.

If you don’t know, it is also a smart alternative to dairy products and lactose intolerant people prefer it in many countries. 

You can store it at room temperature until soft, then keep it in the fridge for maximum three days but we recommend eating it when its soft. Make sure to remove skin and seeds before consuming custard apple. It tastes delicious in fruit salad, mixed into yogurt or oatmeal, or blended into smoothies or salad dressings. It’s easy to mix it into breakfast foods, snacks, and sweet treats.

Here, we have some delicious recipes of Custard Apple which  can be a truly energising treat that your taste buds will thank you for.

1. Custard Apple Milkshake

Custard Apple Milkshake makes for a filling snack or a refreshing drink for kids as well as adults.

All you need is 2 Ripe Custard Apples, 1to 1/2 half cup Milk (Chilled),2 to 3 tsp honey.

Scoop out the pulp onto a blender jar. Pulse once or twice so that the seeds are separated from the fruit pulp. Remove all the seeds out. Add honey and blend again until smooth.

Now add milk and blend again until the milkshake is thick. Custard Apple milk shake is ready to serve chilled.

2. Custard Apple Smoothie

One more quick healthier option is Custard Apple smoothie which is really delicious.

For the preparation you need,1 ripe custard apple, 200 ml milk, 2 tsp honey , 4 ripe bananas, ½ tsp Cinnamon powder, 8-10 ice cubes.

Remove the seeds of the custard apple. Combine all the ingredients in the blender and blend for a few minutes. Serve in a tall glass. Garnish with Cinnamon powder . Your Custard Apple smoothie is ready, serve it chilled.

3. Custard Apple and honey frozen yogurt

Another healthier dessert option is custard apple and honey frozen yoghurt recipe which will make you feel like you’re indulging in a few scoops, without the added calories.

For the preparation you need, 

3 cups organic full-cream yoghurt

1 cup custard apple pulp and juice (about 1 large custard apple, or you can use frozen pulp)

3 tbsp honey

At first you need to line a fine sieve with a clean tea towel and place it over a large bowl.

Then pour the yoghurt into the tea towel and leave in the fridge to strain for at least two and a half hours but preferably overnight.

Put the strained yoghurt into another large bowl and mix through the custard apple pulp and honey until well combined.

Freeze in an ice cream maker for 1 hour and then transfer to the freezer to set for a further 2 hours.

If you don’t have an ice cream maker, you can just freeze this mixture in a large bowl in the freezer, whipping vigorously with a whisk at 45 minute intervals until it is set (about 3-4 hours).

It makes approx 750ml of frozen yoghurt.

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Are you confused with Nutrition advice from the experts?

Are you confused with Nutrition advice from the experts?

Not sure if you will be able to follow and maintain your diet plan? Not sure if a certain food is good for you? What should be the portion size?

A healthy eating plan is the one with low in saturated fat, trans fat, cholesterol, sodium (salt), and added sugar. Following a healthy eating plan will lower your risk for overweight /obesity, heart disease and other related conditions. A healthy diet should replace processed food with real food whenever possible. Eating food in its natural form can make a huge difference in the way you think, look, and feel.

Healthy foods include:

• a. Fat-free and low-fat dairy products, such as low-fat yoghurt, cheese, and milk.
• b. Protein foods, such as lean meat, fish, poultry without skin, beans, and peas. The Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA) for protein is a modest 0.8 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight.
• c. Include Whole-grain foods, such as Whole wheat flour, bajra, jowar, nachni food, steel-cut oats, buckwheat, rajgira, white/brown/parboiled rice, broken wheat etc instead of refined wheat flour food items like bakery products.
• d. Fresh, seasonal and local fruits and vegetables
  • Consume at least 2 fruits per day on empty stomach or before and after workouts.
  • Include vegetables in every meal. For breakfast, instead of plain poha/upma/idli/dosa, add veggies to it. In lunch and dinner include cooked veggies in the form of sabzi or soup and raw veggies as salads or raita. Try to add varieties of vegetables wherever possible in your recipes from day today.
• e. Low or no sugar: replace sugar with 1-2 tsp of jaggery/honey/stevia per day.
  1-2 fruits per day and Include 2-3 black dates or 2 anjeer or 6 to 7 black raisins per day.
• F. Sip 2.5 to 3 litres of water to hydrate the body throughout the day. It is preferred to have plain water/lemon water/buttermilk/coconut water over soft drinks and other packaged drinks.

Moreover, some simple tips can help to learn, to create and stick to a varied, and nutritious diet that is as good for your mind as well as your body.

Eat a variety of nutrient-rich foods and always match food intake with physical activity.

Avoid smoking, chewing of tobacco and tobacco products and consumption of alcohol.

Colour Your Plate With Fruits And Vegetables

Preparing healthy low-calorie meal is easy when you include more fruits and vegetables. They are full of phytochemicals the natural plant compounds, that produce the bright color and provide a variety of health benefits. They are also packed with vitamins, minerals and fibers. Include at least 2-3 fruits on empty stomach and 5 to 6 serving of vegetables in a day.
People who eat more fruits and vegetables have reduced risk of chronic diseases, including stroke, diabetes, and some types of cancer. Research also suggests that fruits and vegetables may help in preventing and treating heart disease and high blood pressure.

Vary your vegetables and choose from different groups of dark green, red and orange. Including both raw and cooked vegetables is important.

Many of us, however, don’t get enough. So, here are some tips you can follow:

1. Purchase fresh, seasonal and local fruits and vegetables.

2. Eat a variety of fresh fruits. Keep a bowl of fruit on the counter for an easy-to-grab a snack.

3. Enjoy a fruit-n-nut smoothie at breakfast. Mix up low-fat milk or yogurt with freshly cut fruits and top them up with nuts like almonds, walnuts and even seeds like pumpkin seeds or sunflower seeds.

4. Make a veggie wrap with roasted vegetables and low-fat cheese rolled in a whole-wheat tortilla or Grill colorful vegetable kababs packed with tomatoes, green and red peppers, mushrooms and onions

5. Sip on some hot soup with variety of veggies like corn, carrots, peas, sweet potatoes, beet or pumpkin.

6. Juice your veggies and eat your fruits. Juice up and relish unstrained raw vegetable juice. Make sure not to juice your fruits.

6. Prepare some delicious salads with lettuce, tomato, and other vegetables. Squeeze lemon, spice it up with herbs, make it crunchy with walnuts and almonds and finally sprinkle flaxseeds/seasame seeds/pumpkin seeds.

7. Stir fry, experiment with different vegetables, or use what you have on hand. Don’t forget to add garlic.

9. Use fruit for your dessert choice. How about fruit salad?

You can visit your local farmer’s market to get organically grown produces. You might learn about some new fruits and vegetables you haven’t tried.

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Nutrition Week 2019 Health tips

This Nutrition week let’s pledge to get a balanced diet to make sure your body receives all the nutrients it needs. Here are some tips to keep ourselves healthy:

1. Start your day with either lukewarm water or lukewarm water with lemon to cleanse you body. Never start with tea or coffee.

2. Next grab some fruit and nuts like almonds and walnuts for the natural antioxidant shot to your body. Best time to have fruits is on an empty stomach and not with meals.

3. Eat your breakfast: Your breakfast should be heavy, should include whole grains, pulses, vegetables and milk. A nutritious, well-balanced breakfast can give you energy and prevent you from eating too much during the rest of the day.

4. Do regular exercise: 45 to 60 minutes of moderate to intense workout for at least 5 days a week is recommended to stay healthy. For people without any medical complications should try HIIT workouts which are short period workouts but with high intensity. 

5. Make sure you have post workout meal with 20 mins which should include fruits and proteins like sattu/ eggs/sprouts/curd.

6. Lunch should be balanced by including salad, rice or roti, vegetables, dal or sprouts/non-veg and curd or buttermilk.

7. Drinking water is extremely important as it helps to rehydrate your body. Make sure you consume 8-10 glasses of water to ensure a well hydrated body. Do not drink extremely chilled water.

8. Eat less salt, not more than 1.5 to 2.3 gms per day for adults. Eating too much salt can raise your blood pressure. Opt for unprocessed salt.

9. Reduce Added Sugars: Foods and drinks with added sugars can contribute empty calories and little or no nutrition. Limit sugar intake, even better replace it with Jaggery.

10. Fix Healthy Snacks: Healthy snacks can sustain your energy levels between meals, especially when they include a combination of foods. Few healthy picks can be roasted chana, peanuts, fruits, homemade chivda, makhana, eggs, dry bhel etc.

11. Eating an early dinner (before 8 pm) is considered healthy. Dinner must be the lightest. It should be similar to lunch but reduce the amount of rice or chapati and increase salad and proteins.

12. Set a specific bedtime for yourself. Turn off all digital devices 30 minutes to an hour before you plan to turn in for the night. Exposure to light-emitting screens will make you difficult to fall asleep when you want to.

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Janmashtami and it’s Traditional Sweets

Janmashtami has a fond association with food. We all know that Lord Krishna loved good food. He was also fondly called ‘makhan chor‘(butter thief) for his special liking for butter.

Sweet shops are bustled with a variety of sweets that have been known to be Sri Krishna’s favourite. Some devotees of Lord Krishna prepare these sweets at home with much fervour too.

Peda is one of the most popular offerings to Lord Krishna. Made of fresh mawa, milk, sugar, ghee and cardamom powder, pedas are slightly brown in colour and best consumed when fresh and soft. Devotees who fast on this day often include pedas as part of their post-fast meal.

Charnamrit or panchamrit is a sweet and milky concoction of ‘5 foods’, hence the name panchamrit. ‘Panch’ in Sanskrit means five and amrit means ‘elixir’. It is made by blending together honey, liquid jaggery, milk, yogurt and ghee. The concoction is used to bathe the feet of Lord Krishna’s idol, post which, it is distributed among devotees as part of prasad.

Dhaniya panjri is popularly prepared during Janmashtmi in Northern India, especially Punjab and Uttar Pradesh. It is made from coriander seed powder, bhoora (powdered sugar), ghee, chopped almonds, raisins, cashew nuts and mishri. Dhaniya panjiri is also one of the common staples in a quintessential ‘chappan bhog thali’.

Kheer is very popular in Indian festivals. No matter what the occasion or celebration is, a bowlful of kheer is sure to find its way. The festive favourite is made by cooking boiled rice with milk, ghee, sugar or jaggery. It is flavoured with cardamom, raisins, saffron, cashews, pistachios and almonds.

Malpua is often touted to be India’s oldest dessert. Much like kheer, malpuas are also a festive-favourite. These fried pancakes are made with a flour batter mixed with milk, and is then fried in ghee and dipped in sugar syrup.

So, enjoy this festival with these delicious traditional sweets. Happy Janmashtami!

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Foods to consume during Fasting

Today we will discuss about what vegetables, rice, grains etc should be consumed during fasting and it’s preparations. In our previous article, we have already discussed about fruits, dry fruits and nuts.

Bottle gourd(Lauki): Bottle gourd can be cooked in minimal oil and consumed during meal time. Bottle gourd is rich in dietary fiber, vitamin C, iron and magnesium. Since bottle gourd is high in water content it is also good for hydration.

Pumpkin: Rich in fiber, potassium and vitamin C, Pumpkin is great for your heart as well. You can eat pumpkin in meals and as a dessert as well by adding ghee to it.

You can also boil Pumpkin, add rock salt and serve with yoghurt.This is one of the simple way of having pumpkin in fasting.

Vari rice or Sama rice (barnyard millet) is commonly used during fasting days. It is a gluten-free grain which behaves like rice and is a perfect fasting ingredient.

Amaranth grains and Amaranth (Rajgira) ladoo: You can make a light Khichdi using amaranth grains if you are eating one meal in the day. You can also have rajgira laddoo as a snack. Rajgira ladoos are commonly consumed during fasting as it keeps one satiated.

So make sure to include some of the above mentioned foods, the next time you fast. Make your fasting food interesting and keep yourself nutritionally in check too.

Fruits & Dry fruits for fasting

When it comes to fasting, we are always left confused what to have and what not to have. Let’s discuss today what fruits, dry fruits to consume during fasting and how to prepare it?
Fruits: We can consume seasonal fruits like papaya, custard apple, bananas, pomegranate etc. Fruits detoxify in the most natural manner. Add them in a smoothie and have them for breakfast, cut them and consume them as snack.

Dry Fruits and Nuts:

Don’t forget to eat dry fruits and look beyond almonds and walnuts. Dates, cashews, raisins and dried apricots all make for good munching options. Dried fruits like dates can be heavy if eaten in large quantities, so stick to one a day.

Eat a handful of roasted peanuts as a mid-day snack to keep lunch time hungerpangs at bay. Make sure you roast the peanuts at home and add a dash of sendha namak for flavour.

Hope, we have made the confusion clear what fruits and dry fruits to consume during fasting. In our next article, we will discuss about which vegetables, rice and grains are beneficial for fasting and it’s preparation.

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Toor dal in Monsoon

Toor dal is popular for the taste, aroma, and richness of nutrition it brings to our lives.Do you know how this daily delicacy can feed your hunger in monsoons. Let us tell you the benefits of Toor dal and how you can consume it in monsoons.

Toor dal contains folic acid, an important vitamin for women’s health. It is also an excellent source of carbohydrates which your body needs for energy. It is a healthy source of dietary fiber, which can help to prevent constipation and promote regularity.

Toor dal combined with rice is a standard cooking ingredient in many communities.Boiled toor dal perked up with spices makes a great dal to accompany rotis or rice. Together with tamarind pulp, vegetables and spices, toor dal is used to make delicious ‘Sambhar’. Toor dal khichdi is also another tasty delicacy.

Get your toor dal monsoon-ready to be savored with steamed rice, jeera rice, chapati or rotis. Don’t forget to top the dal with ghee to make its taste on the tongue.

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