Culinary uses of Sesame seeds (til)

Culinary uses of Sesame seeds (til)

Sesame seeds have delicate nutty flavor. Their flavor indeed becomes more pronounced once they are gently roasted under low flame just for few minutes.

-Use it as the traditional seasoning to enrich the taste of your food.

-Sesame seeds add a great touch to steamed broccoli that has been sprinkled with lemon juice.
-You could make a paste of sesame seeds, add crushed garlic, lime juice and salt and use it as a dip for raw vegetables.

- Grind the seeds fresh shortly before using them.
-Sprinkle whole or  ground seeds over cereals, vegetable dishes, salads or fruit. 

- Can be added  to parathas
-Also in Tamil Nadu, 'Milakai Podi', a ground powder made of sesame and dry chili is used to enhance flavor and consumed along with other traditional foods such as idli.
-Dry fried sesame seeds ground to a thin light brown color paste known as tahini. Tahini is one of the main ingredient in famous middle-eastern dip, hummus.

-Dry fried seeds sprinkled over toasts, biscuits, breads, cakes, salads, stir fries etc.

Just a hand full of sesame a day provides enough recommended levels of phenolic anti-oxidants, minerals, vitamins and protein.

Go ahead enjoy sankranti with til ladoo, til gajjaks, til chikki…..just control the portion size and have it in the earlier part of the day!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Walking after a meal

 Walking after a meal

Do not walk immediately after a meal even though you have heard people say so. Walking immediately after a meal will make it difficult for the digestive system to absorb nutrition from the food we eat, as blood supply will be directed to leg muscles instead of stomach, wait for atleast an hour after your meals and then walk if u want to.

OATS BAR

OATS BAR

 

Ingredients:-
½ cup roasted oats
¼  cup roasted n finely crushed channa

¼ cup roasted n crushed peanuts
½ cup finely crushed walnuts
½ cup finely crushed almonds
2 cups finely chopped dates
2tsp honey

3 tsp butter

Method
Heat 3 tsp butter in a pan add chopped dates, let it melt which would take around 5 mins. Add oats, channa,peanut, walnuts, almonds, mix well, remove from the gas, add honey, mix well. Set it in a greased plate, cut it in diamond shapes, garnish with almonds n walnuts.

It is much healthier than the so called fat free and sugar free sweets available this days.

Carrot Pickle

 Carrot Pickle

So it’s the season of carrots right……besides carrot halwa esp for weight watchers this is a unique way of having carrots

Chop carrot lengthwise, slit green chillies also lengthwise, add salt, mustard seeds(grind a little), lemon and a few drops of olive oil and mix well. This can stay in fridge for 6-7days. Pickled crunchy carrots make a terrific accompaniment for just about any meal.

Carrots will give u vit A n addition of olive oil will ensure good absorption of the same.

HEALTH BENEFITS OF FLAXSEEDS

HEALTH BENEFITS OF FLAXSEEDS

FLAXSEEDS
Rich in omega 3 fatty acids, soluble fiber, phytoestrogens, magnesium.

HEALTH BENEFITS- helps in
constipation
diabetes
high cholesterol levels
menopause

INCORPORATION OF SEEDS IN THE DIET

● use 1tsp of ground seeds (50-60kcal) per day.
● can be sprinkled on breakfast cereals, chapatis, salads, vegetables or a pulse preperation, sandwich spread.
● use ground seeds for better digestion and assimilation.
● should be refrigerated in an air-tight container.

Packed lunch a step towards healthier you

 Packed lunch a step towards healthier you

 
Many people go out for lunch to fast food places, coffee shops or restaurants that serve less-than-optimally-healthy fare. While this does save a bit of time, you can save money and usually eat much healthier if you take a few extra minutes to pack and bring a lunch from home. 

Even if you do this only a few days a week, it would be an improvement over eating every lunch out.

Cooking tips - Retaining nutrients

Cooking tips - Retaining nutrients

 

Retaining nutrients
Water soluble vitamins are delicate and easily destroyed during preparation and cooking. Tips on retaining them include: 

1.Scrub the vegetables rather than peeling them, as many nutrients are found close to the skin.

2.Steam, bake, grill or microwave the vegetables instead of boiling them. If you like to boil vegetables, use a small amount of water and do not over boil them. 

3. Include more stir-fry recipes in your diet. Stir-fried vegetables are cooked quickly and they retain their crunch and associated nutrients. 

4.Vegetables such as tindli, parvar, french beans, peas, potatoes and eggplant can be cooked in the pressure cooker with 1 tsp oil.