Food and Wellness

Happy September and welcome to the fall season,

Fall is my favorite season, not only because of the changing of the leaves and the cool crisp air, but because it is a good time to get back into a schedule and take out some time to work on myself.

This summer has been different in many ways and we all need something positive to look forward to, taking out time to write out a few personal meaningful goals can help us connect to the very important question
we all need to ask ourselves which is “What brings you Joy?”

Here are a few ideas to help you get started on prioritizing your wellbeing this fall:

1. Write down 3 things that bring you joy, they should not require too much time or money. Ask
   yourself what brings a smile to your face? What gives you a feeling of peace and contentment?
2. Before you get out of bed in the morning, think of 2 people you are grateful for and send them a
   silent gratitude
3. Connect with someone you haven’t talked to or seen since a few months
4. Take some time out of your day to do something for yourself
5. Take a walk outdoors, paying attention to the colors and beauty around you

A few things that bring me joy, is spending time with friends and family, baking desserts and savoring them, being surrounded by flowers and traveling!!

Unfortunately traveling is not realistic at this current time, but watching foreign films and the travel channel helps. If food or dessert brings you joy, remember moderation is key.

I just made a bag of healthy sunflower seed granola, the recipe is on a previous post and I made a pistachio rose water semolina cake to share with friends from Ottolenghi book Sweet!

I cannot believe it is approaching half a year since we went into self quarantine!

Unfortunately, I did fall of the bandwagon in keeping this blog up to date. It is so easy to be caught up in life and forget the things that give us joy.

Today my friend Janet wrote to me reminding me to blog, and I felt that twinge of joy, when I was thinking of what to write about.

Today I want to talk about purpose, your sense of purpose is shaped by things you believe in and value, and helps you live by those values. Trying to find that sense of purpose not only helps you to find and do things that add meaning to your life, it can also help when things go wrong.

In these unforeseen times, having a healthy sense of purpose helps us put things in perspective and allows us to refocus on the things that are meaningful to us and to move ahead and enjoy life.

Try to find your purpose, by examining your life and looking for the key things that give your life meaning, and then try embracing them.

I enjoy spreading wellness and my  purpose is to help myself and all my loved ones.

I have learnt through this pandemic that life is too short and if we can concentrate on what we have rather than what we lack we can be happier.

Ask yourself today what brings you joy? and allow that joy to motivate you to get up in the morning and face the day.

Making a  salad brought me joy today and I  want to share it with you.

Kale and carrot salad with Chickpeas for protein and lots of Vitamin C and A which we all need to keep our immune system strong.

Ingredients

• One bunch Lacinato kale torn into pieces
• 3 carrots shredded
• 1 can chickpeas
• 5 Colored mini peppers sliced
• 2-3 Tbs lemon juice
• 1 Tbs Dijon mustard
• 6 Tbs Olive oil plus 1-2 tsp for massaging
• 2 garlic cloves crushed
• salt and pepper to taste
• Fresh herbs of your choice

Method

Remove the tough stems from the kale and tear the kale into bite size pieces, sprinkle some salt and 2 tsp olive oil onto the kale and massage the kale till its gets soft and dark green. Shred 3 large carrots and slice the peppers and add to the kale. Then add a can of rinsed chickpeas.

To make the dressing, crush the garlic and add the mustard, lemon juice and olive oil. Shake up the dressing, adding salt and pepper to taste. If you have fresh herbs, they add some zing to the dressing. I added fresh mint from my friend Saba’s garden.

Mix the dressing into the salad and enjoy. Whatever you eat always savor every bite!

Today, I want to focus on happiness and what it means to be happy.

The definition of happiness by psychologist Tal Ben-Shahar is “the overall experience of pleasure and meaning.”

There is a lot going in our lives and in this world and just changing your mindset from a negative one  to a positive one can play a difference in our happiness, personally for me being grateful for a sunny day and having a job that fulfills me allows me to re frame my negative thoughts, and believe me there are many!!

Concentrating on the positives in our life first can also help with optimism, our brains always scream the negatives and whisper the positives and changing that is key for our overall well being.

I want to share a quote: “Mind is a flexible mirror, adjust it, to see a better world.”
― Amit Ray, Mindfulness Living in the Moment – Living in the Breath

I hope you all can practice some of these actions to bring happiness into your lives.

On the note of happiness, since I cannot fly anywhere, we decided to take a road trip to Connecticut  and the highlight of my trip was juicy red strawberries from Bishops orchard, each bite was bursting with sweetness. I also caught up with two close friends and I realize that the support from friends and family is key in getting through these uncertain times. I am so grateful for all my amazing family and friends. Each one of you play a role in my sanity!

I leave the best for the end! I came home and made a delicious simple strawberry cake and chocolate almond flour cookies. The cake does have some butter and sugar but the strawberries are the stars. The cookies have dark cocoa and almond flour and I  sweetened them with coconut sugar. So lots of nutrients apart from the fat and sugar. Moderation!

The recipe is for only two people, you can double it for 4-6

Simple strawberry cake

• Ingredients
• ¼ cup melted butter
• ½ cup strawberries hulled
• 1/3 cup brown sugar
• ¼ cup whole milk
• ¼ tsp salt
• ½ cup flour
• ½ tsp baking powder

• Method
• Turn on oven to 350 degrees and grease a 4x 6-inch dish or a 6- inch round dish
• Mash the berries with a fork and add ½ the brown sugar. Set aside
• In a separate bowl, whisk together the remaining brown sugar, milk and salt, then add the flour and baking powder and continue whisking till batter is smooth.
• Transfer to greased dish and spread evenly into corners.
• Spoon the strawberries and all their juices over the top of the cake. Bake for 15-20 minutes and then serve with ice cream

Chocolate Almond Flour Cookies

• Ingredients
• ¾ cup blanched almond flour ( Not almond meal)
• 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 3 1/2 Tbsp coconut sugar or brown sugar
• ¾ tsp baking powder
• ¼ tsp salt
• ¼ cup water

• Method
• Preheat oven to 350F, line a baking sheet with parchment paper
• In a medium bowl, whisk the almond flour, cocoa powder, sugar, baking powder and salt.
• Add the water and stir till blended.
• Drop by tablespoon on the sheet, 2 inches apart or make balls and flatten
• Bake in preheated oven and cool for 10 minutes

You can add coconut flakes or nuts or coffee instead of water. The sky is the limit!

Next post, I have some amazing summer salad recipes and roasted vegetables. I think I need to slow down the baking!!!!

Happy 4th of July and stay safe!

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I cannot believe that we are nearly halfway through the month of Ramadan.

Being in quarantine has made this a very different Ramadan, more time for reflection and baking!!!

My biggest issue in Ramadan is constipation, this year is worse due the limited movement. Working from home makes it harder to motivate myself to move, but I am trying to get out and walk a couple times a week.

I have been experimenting with high fiber recipes and in fact have been baking brownies, muffins and bread all with whole wheat flour and best of all for the fat I use olive oil. I will add some of the recipes on this blog.

I know I need to increase my fiber foods, but I need foods that are energy dense but also small as in Ramadan the stomach shrinks and it is hard to actually eat as much as we want.

The American Heart Association recommends that you consume at least 25 grams of fiber each day. Fiber reduces your risk of constipation and hemorrhoids by encouraging proper digestion and regular bowel movements. 

At Suhoor which is the meal before sunrise, it is really hard for me to eat anything substantial. When I wake up to eat at 3.30am, I am still full from dinner. I usually eat breakfast foods like muesli or cheese toast, but have been experimenting with recipes.

I love these energy balls, we have them daily, they give you sustained energy from the oats and banana and have flaxseeds and chia to add more fiber and omega 3. The protein comes from the almond butter. Rolled in coconut they are delicious.

I sometimes add a tablespoon of cocoa or if I want to be indulgent add some chocolate chips. You can roll them in chopped nuts if you prefer. They take 15 minutes to make.

Dates are great in energy balls as they are a good source of fiber and antioxidants, but we eat dates daily to open our fasts at sunset. So I did not want to over do the dates.

Coconut energy balls

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cup oats

• 1/2 cup desiccated coconut plus more for rolling

• 1/4 cup flaxseed meal
• 2 Tbs chia seeds ( optional)
• 1 1/2 mashed banana
• 1/4 cup almond butter( can try peanut butter)
• 1Tbs cocoa powder
• 1/2 cup maple syrup ( can try honey)
• 1 Tbs olive oil
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 Tbs olive oil

Soften the almond butter and mix all the above together. Then with wet hands make round balls. If the mixture is too sticky, put it Into the fridge for an hour. Roll each ball in coconut and place in tray.

They are not overly sweet and the best thing is that they require no major equipment.

Hope you enjoy the recipe.

May is mental health awareness month, so my next few blogs will include ideas to build our emotional resilience, which is the ability to cope or bounce back after an adverse event.

Even when it feels paradoxical, feeling positive emotions (love, gratitude, joy) in the midst of a global crisis can promote resilience (Fredrickson, Tugade, Waugh, & Larkin, 2003).

Happy Mother’s Day to all the hardworking mothers.

Love and gratitude to all my readers.

Stay safe and stay well🙏

This Friday we begin the holy month of Ramadan. For Muslims these 30 days are a time for prayer and reflection and most importantly fasting from sunrise to sunset. It does require a lot of discipline and it is not easy but somehow we do get the strength to complete this month and then celebrate.

My coworker Beheshta Kiyam is a Registered Dietitian and has graciously written today’s blog! Follow her on Instagram @thehijabidietitian and enjoy the below 🙂

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Today, I received my serological test results and I have positive antibodies for Covid19. It is good news but again like everything else with this virus, we still don’t know. One of the silver linings to the roller coaster we went through!!

Vitamin D is one of the fat soluble vitamins that plays a huge role in our bone health. According to the Office of Dietary Supplements (ODS), the key benefit of vitamin D is that it helps keep a person’s bones, muscles, and nerves healthy. It also contributes to a healthy immune system.

Vitamin D is the only nutrient your body produces when exposed to sunlight. Unfortunately about 50 percent of the Worlds population is deficient. This is partly because people spend more time indoors, wear sunblock outside, and eat a Western diet low in good sources of this vitamin.

The foods that are high in this vitamin are not those we eat on a daily basis, so it’s important to try to eat some of these foods regularly.

I hardly eat any of the above foods except for yogurt and sometimes eggs, and unfortunately I am very deficient, so I have to take a supplement. Without Vitamin D, Calcium cannot be efficiently absorbed, thus making me at risk for osteoporosis.

Since Amir is not a fan of fish, I have to be really creative with fish. I decided to make Salmon with hemp seeds in a spicy Asian sauce. I served it with broccoli fried rice.

3 small salmon fillets

2 Tbs sesame oil

1 Tbs maple syrup

1 tsp chili flakes

2 Tbs soy sauce

1 tsp chopped garlic

1 Tbs rice vinegar

Salt and pepper

1/4 cup hemp seeds

It has been 4 weeks since the lock down in NYC and 5 weeks since my family was affected by this virus. AJ is about 90 percent better, so more time is still needed.

Since the quarantine, life has changed for all of us and I hope most of you are settling into a new normal. I do not think it is easy!! But I am one of the fortunate ones to have a job and a roof over my head and I cannot be grateful enough for my blessings.

That being said, I am besides myself on the weekends and cannot figure out how to stay busy apart from resorting to screen time.

Luckily, cooking and baking is something I am resorting to and blogging the nutritious benefits of different foods from time to time.

To carry on the education on Vitamins, I will talk about Vitamin E.

Vitamin E is the third antioxidant, which means it is an anti inflammatory, and can help against chronic diseases and may help with strengthening our immunity.

After speaking to a close friend about making bread, I decided to try but there was no yeast available so I made a quick whole wheat bread with flax and sunflower seeds. It tastes delicious with any type of nut butter or simple butter and honey like I had it. I served it with a berry banana smoothie to add some color to my meal.

I used the recipe below but added sunflower seeds for an extra crunch.

http://www.eatingwell.com/recipe/260016/whole-wheat-quick-bread/

Since it’s Sunday today, I decided to make brunch, high in all 3 of the antioxidants ACE.

Avocado toast with scrambled eggs made in olive oil with red peppers and feta. I served it with melons and mango salsa.

AJ is slowly and steadily improving but in this disease if you get the pneumonia, your lungs do get a beating and only time can heal.

One day at a time!!

Today I want to discuss the importance of Vitamin A, my very close friend sent me a study.

Vitamin A is an antioxidant and helps against inflammation, which is the start of many chronic diseases.

Vitamin A plays a vital role in maintaining your body’s natural defenses.

This includes the mucous barriers in your eyes, lungs, gut and genitals which help trap bacteria and other infectious agents.

It’s also involved in the production and function of white blood cells, which help capture and clear bacteria and other pathogens from your bloodstream. 

This means that a deficiency in vitamin A can increase your susceptibility to infections and delay your recovery when you get sick.

We have all been increasing our Vitamin C and Zinc but we need to pay attention to this important vitamin.

The best way to get this vitamin is through our food as mega supplements may cause toxicity.

Liver has the most vitamin A but fruits and vegetables are the best way as you also get antioxidants, fiber and other vitamins and minerals.

I roasted sliced sweet potatoes with honey, olive oil and some seasonings. I made a home made tomato sauce with red peppers, which I served with pasta and we had Shishito peppers on the side.

My meal was full of Vitamin A and many other beneficial nutrients.