Category: Articles related to health

Roasted baby peppers and cauliflower with Asiago and Parmesan

Today, my nephew came for dinner, so I made a chicken biryani. We needed a simple vegetable to complement it.

I wanted to use some of my vegetables in the fridge and decided to roast the vegetables. I had cauliflower and peppers that I sliced and then made a olive oil mix with fresh garlic, red chili flakes and some herbs. A few minutes before I served it, I sprinkled some Asiago and Parmesan cheese. It was a great side to the spicy biryani. Sadly I was unable to get a picture once it was done, we consumed it immediately. It was delicious and it will be a side, that will be my go to.

Cauliflower is a cruciferous vegetable that is an anti carcinogen. It is very high in Vitamin C and is a good source of magnesium and B6.

1 head of cauliflower has 12 grams of fiber and 1700 mg of potassium. It also has iron, vitamin K and folate.

Ingredients

  • 1 head cauliflower cut into florets
  • 6 small baby sweet peppers
  • 4 Tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 teaspoon chili flakes
  • 1 teaspoon chopped garlic
  • 1 tablespoon mixed herbs
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  • 1/2 cup shredded Asiago and Parmesan cheese.

Method

Heat the oven to 425 degrees. Put the cauliflower and peppers on a roasting pan. Mix the olive oil and all the herbs and spices and then mix it into the vegetables. Roast for around 30 min. Sprinkle the cheese mix and then roast for 10 more minutes.

Time flies! Raw Mangoes

I cannot believe that April 16th was my last post. I love blogging but somehow between traveling and fasting, I just didn’t get to open my laptop and got caught up with other things. Not to say that this has not been on my mind, I have been making notes on paper, regarding Nutrition advice. Sadly in the cooking department, I have been very lazy and hardly cooked till yesterday.

Hopefully over the next few weeks, I will put it all down here. My cousin Asma’s advice was just put something small down weekly, but don’t stop. Sadly I didn’t take the advice and realized now that she was absolutely right.

So most of my Muslim friends know it’s Ramadan and we fast from Sunrise to Sunset. It is hard, but by Gods Grace we get through it. The warm weather makes it harder due to thirst and it’s very important to get our fluids either from foods or liquids so we do not get dehydrated.

On a side note, please read my friend Dr. Shamaila’s Facebook page, she has taped a great video on the health related concerns on fasting. It’s called the Healing Med.

After some research, I came up with a list of foods that help with hydration.

I bought watermelon, pineapples lemons, mint, cucumbers and radishes, I also bought a lot of salad ingredients to get my leafy greens. I found some raw mangoes too.

Since I was missing Pakistan, I decided to use my raw mangoes and I remembered a recipe that an Indian friend gave me. It is a salsa made with cucumber, mint, pineapple and the raw mango. It turned out delicious and fresh and sour and sweet. My husband and son loved it, even though they do not like the taste of raw mangoes. I on the other hand can eat raw mangoes daily with salt and chili powder.

Raw mangoes are usually green in color, they are excellent sources of Vitamin C due to their citric acid. They are great in helping the liver detoxify the body and can be used in the prevention of excessive water loss. In Pakistan and India they are used to make a refreshing drink to cool the body. My mother in law even made raw mango curry!

Cucumbers are low in calories and contain a large amount of water and soluble fiber, they are amazing for hydration and weight loss.

Pineapple are rich in vitamins and enzymes. They help strengthen the immune system and help with digestion.

This salsa recipe is topped with a mint chutney, that is a bit different from the ones we make back home.

Raw Mango Salsa

Ingredients

  • 2 raw green mangoes peeled and chopped
  • 1/2 cup chopped pineapple
  • 1 cup chopped cucumbers
  • 1 cup cilantro leaves
  • 1/2 cup fresh mint leaves
  • 4 green chilies
  • 1/4 cup raw peanuts
  • 1/4 cup curry leaves
  • 1-2 teaspoon fresh ginger
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  • 4 teaspoons lemon juice.
  • 1 teaspoon sugar

Method

In a blender or food processor, blend all the ingredients starting with the cilantro and ending with the sugar. Do not add too much water. The ginger flavor can be strong, so add less if you find it over powering.

Mix the raw mango, cucumber and pineapple and let them sit for sometime, so the flavors can mix, then add the chutney and serve.

We had it as a side to our dinner which was a ground beef with peas and khitchri which is rice cooked with with yellow moong daal. I have added pictures of my meal..l.

My photography is pretty bad, hopefully in the next few months, Saniya can help me improve!!

Watch your portions

Portion Control

“Even when you’re making healthy food choices, portion size matters. While it’s not necessary to be thin to be healthy, overweight and obesity are associated with many negative health consequences. Eating oversized portions packs on the pounds because, healthy or not, all foods and most beverages have calories, and consuming excess calories causes weight gain.

Managing portion sizes in today’s food environment is a constant challenge. How much we eat is influenced by how food looks and smells, how tasty it is, how long we sit at the table, social norms, and even the size of the package or how much we’re served. A review of 72 controlled trials on portion control found that people eat and drink more when they are offered larger-sized portions, packages, or plates than when offered smaller-sized versions of the same food or meal. This is a big concern for all of us when we consider that restaurant portions and package sizes have increased substantially over the past few decades. A typical muffin in the U.S., for example, is 333 percent bigger than the standard USDA serving size, and a serving of pasta offered at your favorite restaurant could be up to 480 percent larger. Being mindful of the size of the plate or the serving size is important because, as we become accustomed to seeing these portions, we may see them as the norm rather than the exception.

Mastering Portion Sizes

Don’t let packaging and marketing distort your image of how much food you need. Try these tips to manage portions in an oversized world:

• Use 9-inch plates and smaller bowls and serving spoons.

• Don’t bring serving dishes to the dining table. Serve food before sitting down.

• Never eat out of a package. Try portioning snacks into individual containers or bags for grab-and-go eating.

• Use a measuring cup occasionally to check how your serving of cereal compares to the package serving size.

• Don’t “supersize” it.

• Split restaurant entrees, or have half packed up in a to-go container before being brought to the table.

• Order appetizers or small plates as entrees.

• Skip appetizers, soup, and dessert when eating at a restaurant.

• Choose nutrient-rich, minimally processed foods, such as whole fruits, non-starchy vegetables, beans, nuts, and low-fat or fat free yogurt, which are more satisfying than starch- or sugar-rich foods.”

This is a preview to a great book called-

Change your diet. Change your life.

EWG’s Dirty Dozen & Clean Fifteen Lists 2018 – mindbodygreen

Every year, the Environmental Working Group sifts through the fruit and veggie market to find out which types of conventionally grown produce contain the most—and least—chemical pesticides. The 2018 report found that nearly 70 percent of produce tested was contaminated with pesticide residues.
— Read on www.mindbodygreen.com/articles/ewg-dirty-dozen-and-clean-fifteen-lists-2018

Food Politics by Marion Nestle » FDA says public health matters, promises to consider nutrition issues

Food Politics by Marion Nestle » FDA says public health matters, promises to consider nutrition issues
— Read on www.foodpolitics.com/2018/04/fda-says-public-health-matters-promises-to-consider-nutrition-issues/

FDA to consider updating health claims food manufacturers can make

The FDA wants to make it easier for consumers to know whether the food they’re eating is good for them.
— Read on www.cnbc.com/2018/03/29/fda-to-consider-updating-health-claims-food-manufacturers-can-make.html

Hopefully we are moving in the right direction, towards education about the food we consume and transparency.

Blueberry flax muffins

My friend was visiting from Chicago, so I decided very last minute to bake something this morning. I looked into my fridge and I had a box of blueberries, so I decided to use those so I could get my baked good to have some amazing antioxidants, the deep blue purple color has all the flavonoids that help against diseases of the brain, such as Alzheimer’s. Flavanols are also found in dark chocolate, so my next muffin will be oats and dark chocolate.

Most recipes for cake or bread require all purpose flour. I only had whole wheat flour at home, so I decided to make a muffin. Whole wheat flour is dense, so to make the muffin lighter I substituted some of the flour with almond flour and to add some omega 3 fats, I added flax seed flour and grass fed butter. I used Greek Yogurt and egg for protein and I ended up with a pretty good muffin. I added lemon rind to add a more exotic flavor to the muffin. The muffins tasted much better than they looked😊

Ingredients

  • 1 egg
  • 1 cup Greek yogurt plain
  • 1 small box blueberries
  • 1 cup whole wheat flour
  • 1/2 cup almond flour
  • 1/4 cup flax seed flour
  • 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1/3 cup sugar
  • 1/3 cup butter melted
  • 1/2 tsp lemon zest

Method

Melt the butter and add the sugar and beat well. Then add egg, vanilla and yogurt. Mix till mixture is smooth.

In a separate bowl mix up the flours, baking powder and salt. Then add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients. If the mixture is very dry add some milk. Do not over mix, the consistency of the mixture is very thick unlike a cake or bread. Fold in the blueberries gently. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes

Chilli lime popcorn

I have been looking for a low calorie snack to eat at work, I wanted something savory as I eat too many sweet foods. I decided to make popcorn, it was actually my friend Saba’s idea when I was shopping at Trader Jo in Scarsdale. I decided to jazz up my popcorn.

Popcorn can be a perfect snack for dieters. Even if you’re not trying to lose weight popcorn provides nutritional benefits. It provides you with a bit of healthy fiber and can provide far fewer calories than many other comparable snacks. A single three-cup serving of popcorn provides less than 100 calories, only one gram of fat, just over 18 grams of carbohydrate and 3.5 grams of dietary fiber. That means that each serving only provides 14.5 grams of net carbs.

I used 1 cup of popcorn  and added it to a large pan with 3 Tablespoon heated coconut oil. Once the popcorn was all popped, I added 3  teaspoons of Trader Jo lime chili seasoning. The result was delicious, it was spicy, salty and tangy. I packed it in a Ziploc bags and took it to work. It was satisfying.filling and delicious.