SPINACH PASTA

Ingredients:
- 1 cup whole wheat pasta (cooked and drained)
- 1 cup spinach leaves, finely chopped
- ½ cup tomatoes, finely chopped
- ¼ cup onions, finely chopped
- Few basil leaves
- 1 tsp freshly ground pepper powder
- 2 tsp tomato chilli sauce
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- Salt to taste


Method:
1) Heat olive oil in a non-stick frying pan and sautee chopped onions and chopped garlic first.
2) Then sautee the chopped tomatoes, tomato-chilli sauce and basil leaves for a minute.
3) Then add the spinach leaves, salt and pepper powder and sautee for 3 minutes.
4) Now add 3 cups of cooked pasta and add salt. Mix them well for 1-2 minutes.
5) Top with a few basil leaves and serve.

FACTS ABOUT POTATOES

Potatoes cannot be titled as a “bad” food.
what matters is the amount of potatoes, overconsumption and the preparation method.
In fact this is true for most of the foods. Any food which is over consumed or made wrongly will not do good to the body.

Talking about Potatoes, they are rich in vitamins and minerals such as potassium, vitamin C, magnesium, choline, phosphorus, zinc and fibre which will keep you satiated and keep your energy levels stable.
It’s rich source of vit B 6, which is essential for breaking down carbohydrate.
Potatoes are rich in folate too, which helps in repairing the DNA.
Potatoes are alkaline in nature and reduces gut inflammation.
Raw Potato juice is also said to have lots of benefits but needs to consumed in supervision of your nutritionist.

It’s as simple, that If you eat a small bowl of potatoes in form of a bhaji, or aloo roti  it will not lead to weight gain or make you fat, rather will nourish you with good nutrients. But  if the same potato is consumed in the form of French fries or fried come or if you overeat potatoes will lead to weight gain.
Enjoy Potato in your meals and don’t go overboard.

CABBAGE SPRING ROLLS

Ingredients:-
- 10 small cabbage leaves

For filling:
- ¼ cup bell peppers, chopped
- ¼ cup spring onion, chopped
- ½ cup mushrooms, diced
- 1 tsp oil
- 2 tsp garlic, crushed
- 2 green chillies
- Salt to taste
- Tomato garlic dip (for serving)

Method:-
- For filling
  I) Take 1 tsp of oil in a wok and toss spring onions, garlic, mushrooms and bell peppers.
 II) Add green chillies and salt.
III) Cook till the mixture is dry and keep it aside.

- How to proceed
1) Take a leaf of cabbage, add the filling and make into a roll. Close with a toothpick.
2) Heat a non-stick pan, put cabbage roll slightly roast on all sides.
3) Serve hot with tomato garlic dip.

BARLEY MOMOS

Ingredients:
- ½ cup barley flour
- 2 tbsp wheat flour
- 4 tbsp cabbage, diced
- 2 spring onions
- 4 garlic cloves
- ¼ tsp pepper powder
- 1 tsp oil
- Tomato/ garlic sauce (for serving)
- Salt to taste

Method:
1. Mix the barley flour and wheat flour, knead into a dough and keep aside.
2. Wash the chopped cabbage and spring onions.
3. Heat the oil in a non-stick pan and saute the onions and garlic till it turn golden colour. Add the diced cabbage and spring onions.
4. Add salt and pepper powder. Keep aside for cooling.
5. Now divide the dough equally, make small round balls, and roll out in a round shape of bangle size.
6. Fill the mixture into the rolled chapati and wrap into a momo.
7. Steam it for about 15 to 20 minutes in a steamer or idli cooker.
8. Serve it with tomato / garlic sauce.

EID MUBARAK

After a month of mental, spiritual and physical cleansing via fasting, restarting your regular eating

habits with a feast may leave you with indigestion, acidity and in some cases even weight gain. 

Here are 6 nutritional strategies to ditch Eid’s after effects.

1. Start off Slowly: On the morning of Eid break start your day with something low fat, light, fluid filled and easy to digest. This means fruits, curd, a few dry fruits, buttermilk, homemade kheer are good options.

2. Don’t Leave Home, Hungry: Before stepping out to meet loved ones and friends ensure you are not at your hungriest by eating a handful of dry fruit, maybe a glass of buttermilk or even a bowl of curd.

3. Fill up First: Opt wherever possible for whole fruits and vegetables that are also high in water, essential minerals besides natural fiber. Such as opting for a raita with your main meal. Before serving yourself a plate of that delicious biryani, start off with a bowl of curd and a salad on the side to ensure you are easing back into eating after a month’s long break of small meals and extended fasting.

4. Serve Smartly: When faced with a delicious array of options it can be tempting not to mention confusing on what to eat first, instead of serving yourself a little of everything, pick 1-2 items (e.g.: chicken + rice, kebab + salad). When you taste a little of everything you end up eating foods of varying glycemic index’s which can later turn into fat deposits.

5. Stay Clear of Soft Drinks: While a cold glass of something aerated may seem really refreshing to wash down a big meal in on a hot day, you can easily avoid the added calories and blood sugar spike by instead opting for a glass of chaas or buttermilk which not only give you pro-biotic plus points but also are far more nutritious.

6. Keep the Night, Light: After an afternoon of indulging instead opt for simple foods later in the day such as roti with sabzi, a bowl of salad or sprouts.

EGG PLANT WITH CHERRY TOMATOES AND OLIVES

Ingredients:

- 10-15 cherry tomatoes
- 2-3 tbsp onion, chopped
- 2 tsp olive oil
- 1 cup egg plan, cubed
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 1 tsp garlic, crushed
- 5-10 depitted olives

Method:

1) Heat the oil, then add the eggplant and roast for 3-4 minutes.
2) Add the onion and garlic and cook till it becomes pink in colour.
3) Add the salt and pepper. Cook for another 2 minutes.
4) Add the cherry tomatoes and olives.
5) Cook for 2 minutes.
6) Serve it immediately.

THE SCIENCE BEHIND THE FACTS

The science behind the facts:

1. Avoid eating fruits post meal, eat them in between meals like mid day or evening.
Why: There are more than a few reasons behind this one

 A large main meal generally contains a mix of macronutrients such as carbs, fat and protien. While fat and protein digest slowly- carbs digest relatively quicker. Depending on what you ate and how much you ate the food slowly gets broken down and sent into the blood stream to all the waiting organs that require energy. Once this is taken care off the excess energy (or calories) are then converted to fat.
Eating a fruit with your meal increases the odds of this conversion happening as you are adding a carb to and already carb-ed up lunch/ dinner. In addition to this carb on carb complex- you generally arent your most active self post meal.Which means any excess sugars or carbs will quickly buildup in the blood stream with nowhere to go.
Other reasons to avoid eating fruit post meal is based in ayurvedic principle that states eating fruits with  larger meals delays the digestion time causing the fruit to break down in the stomach and ferment while it waits. This fermentation process then causes GI discomfort such as gas ,bloating etc- while simultaneously losing precious nutrients etc that would otherwise be digested better on.


2. Avoid eating mix of fruits at one time. If you chose to eat a fruit eat Any or max 2 different fruit at one time. Avoid Fruit platters and fruit chat.

 While most people consider fruits a super healthy food ( which they definitely are) they also forget that fruits are an easy way to load on up simple fast digesting carbs. All carbs are basically combinations of simplesugars strung together (carbo) +  with water (hydrate)
When these break down sugars and water are released into the body.
Now as you can imagine not all fruits have the same level of sweetness (i.e: Sugar!) eg: mango vs sweetlime or cherries vs a guava
Each fruit has its own GI (glyceamic index - which is basically the way the fruit influences how much your blood sugar goes up - how fast + and how much) which further adds to its GL (Glycemic Load- that is how the food overall contritbutes to the total amount of carbs )
Now to avoid getting into the complicated thick of things- the main reason behind mixing too many different fruits is to avoid raising your blood sugars in a complicated manner. Too many different fruits of varying GI's can confuse the stomach and also cause it to release a lot of gastric juice that again can destroy the delicate nutrients contained in them (as per ayurveda) and once again lead to fermentation tract.
Lastly you wouldn’t mix sugar with sugar would you? Then why a tonne of fruits? The body cannot diffrentiate between table sugar and natural sugar once they are broken down they are all the same chemically to the system- with the major differences coming from things like fibre vitamins etc.
However if your blood sugar goes up beyond a certain level--- and that sugar has no place to go--- it will once again be converted to fat. There are ofcourse exceptions for people who have depleted muscle glycogen stores (like athelets, runners, etc) but for most of us with desk jobs and 20 minutes of elevated heart rate on our evening walks- having fruit salads could be a easy way to gaining fat.

3. Eat local seasonal fruits and avoid imported fruits like purple big grapes and New Zealand apples 

Eating local is so good for you for a number of reasons:
-Foods indigenous to your area and locality are easily recognised by your digestive tract and are thus easier to break down and absorb without being treated as a foreign particle and raising red flags in your gastro intestinal system ( hello food allergies and intolerances!) you may have even noticed these signs and sympotms but thought nothing of it. Indicatiors include gas, bloating etc.
-Eating locally reduces the chances of having fruit that have been transported with chemicals or may have been stored for a long time before it finally gets on your plate. In this waiting periods a lot of vitamins can be lost as certain delicate biochemical compounds cannot withstand time, heat and oxidiation.
-Locally grown fruits are also less likely to have been subjected to genetic modification as simple farmers don’t have much access to these things.

Inputs by Nutritionist Zenobia Chacko