Dil Toh Pagal Hai -A path to making your heart more healthy!

It's ironic that one of my conversations with a colleague was around the fact that with Aging a number of our conversations are around aches & pains, parents getting sick, us getting sick vs. births, engagements and romance gossips.

It was even more ironic that as my husband, my mother-in-law and me were walking around the lake and rejoicing the fact that my MIL had lost 24 lbs in 8 weeks and no longer had knee issues and could walk comfortably for 1 hr (she is 73), we got a panicked call from my sister-in-law...my father-in-law had suffered a massive heart attack (Posterior myocardial infarction with anterior infarction in case you were wondering). My MIL is back in India with my FIL and his condition is stable now and he is in the recovery phase. The reality is even though my FIL walks regularly, he doesn't pay much attention to diet ( he is a diabetic) and my MIL is determined to make a change to that. She asked me to send a diet chart for him and I was working on this a couple hours in the evening and hence my thought - why not share the knowledge and information.
Here are some key things to remember while planning your diet for heart -health 

1. Focus on Portion Control (we have started eating in salad plates vs. dinner plates)
2. Eat more vegetables and fruits (especially cruciferous vegetables like cabbage, cauliflower and green leafy vegetables like spinach, amaranth and methi greens and high fiber fruits like Apple and Pears...one banana a day is great if you are not a diabetic or on the border line)
3. Select Whole Grains but limit your whole grain servings to twice a day ( steel cut oats, barley, quinoa and if you absolutely must have rice swap white out for brown)
4. Limit unhealthy fats (basic thumb rule - say no to red meats, don't eat too much fried food, use ghee in moderation or not at all, we have swapped out whole milk for 2% and limit the amount of dairy, we have more yogurt than milk because it gives us the protein and is probiotic and good for the stomach, we use coconut oil in moderation for cooking - 750 ml lasts  3 people about 6 months in my cooking ( I pressure cook a lot in my Instant Pot) 
5. Choose low-fat protein sources - Egg Whites, Tofu, Beans & Legumes ( I make a lot of sprouts or beans salads, dals/lentil soups), choose chicken and fish over other fatty meats.
6. Reduce the sodium in your diet...flavor with lemon, pepper and all the wonderful warm Indian (or non-Indian) spices like cumin, coriander, turmeric, cayenne, cinnamon etc.
7. Plan Ahead - make meal plans, diet charts - do your grocery shopping mindfully
8. Supplement as needed - Fish Oil, Flax Seed Capsules, Garlic Capsules, Red Yeast ( all work for heart health) - what's more important is find out what works for your body!
9. Have a hurrah - it's OK to get a treat occasionally, you don't have to go cold turkey, treat yourself to foods that you miss once in a while, don't binge on it though

Here's the diet chart I built for my Father-in-Law. Reality is I have kept it easy with a focus on the tenets I have above - lesser carb, more protein and heart healthy foods (flax seeds, green tea, oatmeal, high fiber).

Do ensure that you take a probiotic and give your stomach the time to get used to eating more vegetables and legumes...it might take a couple weeks. Consult your doctor before starting any diet, I am not a registered dietician or nutritionist. My mother-in-law is a practicing doctor and she stuck to my diet plan and believes that it really helped her in the two months that she was here (but then again, she is my MIL and she might be forced to say nice things ;-) )

Try this delicious Chickpea and Coconut Milk Ishtew (non-fat/light coconut milk) - you can make it in your pressure cooker or Instant Pot. If you are in the mood for some meat try this heart-healthy Haleem recipe (again made in my trusty pressure cooker or Instant Pot).

You heart will thank you!

How Sunshine Returned to Joyland?

Cancer in my dictionary is a bad word...it stole away from me my champion, my best friend, my motivator & my role model...my father. So, I have watched cancer from far with trepidation and fear...knowing that it's this evil beast that can strike at any time...When SC walked into my office last week and shared this book with me How Sunshine Returned to Joyland?, I didn't really want to read the book, this is about someone's baby having cancer...could I really deal with it?

The book sat on my night stand a couple days untouched and my 10 yr old attracted by the beautiful artwork asked me if we could read it together. I couldn't chicken out or find an excuse to say No, so we started reading the book.

• We read it once, he said - Ma, she draws really well. Is she only 6 years old?
• The second time we read it, he said - so the darkness was this ALL (blood cancer), Ma she is brave. Can you google me her picture?
• The third time we read it, he said - can I keep the book?  

I feel I am very inadequately attempting to share the emotional journey my son and I made in those three readings of this story about Aparajitta Dutta, this brave 6 year old who fought cancer head-on. The struggles that she  and her parents went through are many, but the reality is that her story is an inspiration for parents across the globe whose brave kids are fighting cancer.

The lessons she teaches simply in her book are lessons we can all find strength in :

• Dream Big
• Smile
• Enjoy the Present
• The Magic of Happy Thoughts
• The gift of true friends

Hats-off to her parents who are thinking beyond just their own child and focusing on greater good - funding cancer research for childhood cancer and also setting up a support network for parents whose children have been diagnosed with cancer. All proceeds from the book are going towards St.Jude Children's Research Hospital. 

If you want to read the book, you can buy it on Amazon here  

If you want to donate to the cause - Brave Kids Fight Cancer you can do so here

Going back to the roots...

                                         

I landed in Bhubaneswar on a cool clear day in February...having been stuck inside a tin can they call an aeroplane for hours I was more than ready for a visit outside and we ended up at the "Adivasi Mela" 

I ended up picking up Palua or Arrowroot along with a few other herbs (turmeric, bhel patra etc.) at the Mela and it was a glimpse into a part of the culture that I hadn't been exposed to in a long time. Palua is a root vegetable and has numerous health benefits - easy to digest, good for digestion, immunity boosting, treats urinary tract infections,fights food borne pathogens and soothes dental issues among other things...

The Palua sat in my pantry for a couple months and then finally today I dusted out my degchi (cooking pot) and made some delicious kheer(i) which my son  slurped down in the matter of minutes.

How do you make Palua Kheeri? Here is my 5-step fool proof recipe to making this recipe in a degchi

1. Start your cooking range, place degchi and pour about 3/4th liters of milk (I used 2%) and start heating
2. Make a slurry of the Palua in cold milk ( about 3 tbspoon worth)
3. Grind cardamom ( 6 pods) and sugar to taste ( I added this) and add in the degchi
4. when the milk starts boiling, gently add the slurry and keep stirring
5. when the consistency of the kheer thickens (like picture above)...it's done

Here is my 3-step fool proof recipe to making this recipe in an Instant Pot

1. Make a slurry of the Palua in cold milk ( about 3 tbspoon worth)
2. Turn on your instant pot, add 3/4th liters of milk, add the slurry, Grind cardamom ( 6 pods) and sugar to taste ( I added this) and add to your IP
3. Keep the instant pot to Porridge Mode and let your kheer cook. Stir - check sweetness and consistency.

You can eat it warm or cold...Enjoy!

What I have learnt rather late in life is that - it's the simple things that take you back to your roots and sometimes it just doesn't need to be complicated.

The Self Care Series : While you were sleeping...

“I love sleep. My life has the tendency to fall apart when I'm awake, you know?”  

― Ernest Hemingway

                                                                      circa 2006, tired mom getting some Zzzzz time
While I was writing my last blog post I was shocked to find out that the risk of death from stroke and heart disease was significantly higher in people who get less than six hours of sleep a night ( think 48% higher).

I had watched Arianna Huffington talk about sleep about 4 years back at a Women's Conference ( you can see the jist of it in this Ted Talk by Arianna Huffington ). She insightfully quoted "sleep your way to the top" and rediscover how to live a more productive and joyful life  by getting more sleep. According to AH,  for men, sleep deprivation is an act of virility and one-upmanship and goes on to talk about examples at the work place of how "lack of sleep" was being worn as a victory badge (don't shoot the messenger guys...instead look at yourself and scan yourself and see if you indulge in those behaviors).

How to get more sleep?

1. Get checked for medical problems that might be waking you up - these include issues like Obstructive Sleep Apnea ( did you know people with OSA had 3 times the risk for Type 2 diabetes). My dad suffered from OSA and sure enough he had Type 2 diabetes.

2. Set up your environment for sleep — have a comfortable bed, a dark room (or an eye mask, if needed), and quiet (use earplugs, ambient music).

3. Set up your evening for sleep — do a quieting half hour before bed - they say don't take a device to bed but for me the Kindle is my version of a physical book, so I read for 1/2 hr before bed. 

4. Set up your days for sleep — get sunshine during the day and keep the room dark in the night. Get some physical movement aka exercise, so your body doesn’t want to move when it’s time to sleep.

5. Prevent hunger and low blood sugar. A bedtime snack including protein and some complex carbohydrate (a small bowl of oatmeal, some nuts, even a small piece of dark chocolate) might help you stay asleep. I swear by this smoothie recipe of mine (it's a play on the Ethiopian Drink Telba) - 1 Banana, 2 tablespoons roasted flaxseeds, 1 teaspoon cacao nibs (optional) , 1 cup of water or more depending on the consistency you want and 1 tsp honey to sweeten (I added Stevia, as I am trying to cut down on sugar). It's high in protein, fiber and essential minerals like Magnesium and potassium (it's good for you heart too!).

6. In consultation with your health-care provider, consider proven sleep supplements such as magnesium and melatonin. On high stress days, I take 5 mg of Melatonin to ensure uninterrupted sleep. I take a magnesium supplement every day called Natural Calm   and have been taking this supplement for 4 years now.

7. Get help with anxiety, stress, and depression, if you think those might be problems. I think everyone goes thro' phases and sometimes the depression and anxiety might just be a chemical imbalance ( for me a couple years back it was a severe Vitamin D deficiency) or even if it is a deeper seated issue, its better to meeting it headlong vs. let it fester.

8. Accept that sleep is important. It’s not being lazy; it’s not shirking your responsibilities. Your body needs it. You may have to spend some time in the day clearing up things that are worrying you, like taking care of the kids so that you can relax and heal at night. Sleep is especially important for kids and setting them up with good sleeping habits is critical to their well-being.

I look forward to shutting off the lights and having this free entry into a "land of dreams"... I especially love getting up in the morning rested after a good night's sleep. How did you sleep last night?