The AHA Moment!

“I believe that the ability to laugh at oneself is fundamental to the resiliency of the human spirit.” 

I will let you on to a secret about me...I suck at parallel parking...so here's how it all played out - I was driving out to a Yelp Elite event in Palo Alto...on a busy road...magically I got a parking right by the restaurant on the street...I tried very hard to parallel park straight but was unsuccessful...so kinda sorta gave up and left my car with it's behind slightly sticking out...there were these bunch of teenagers sitting and drinking boba tea who had this amused look on their faces, I looked at them and then looked at my car and I could have walked away feeling shitty and judged but then I looked at one of them - winked and smiled and said - I sucked at it right! They started laughing with me vs. laughing at me...I left that encounter with a note to myself -“What other people think about you has nothing to do with you and everything to do with them. If I base my self-worth on what everyone else thinks of me, I hand over all my emotions to other people and become dependent on a source outside of myself for validation. Then I wind up chasing after something that I have no control over, and should that something suddenly place its focus somewhere else, or change its mind and decide I am no longer very interesting, I end up with a full-blown identity crisis...SO.NOT.HAPPENING. A true AHA! moment - I am badass and I don't need anyone else to tell me I am badass...

While I was having my AHA! moment I was also cooking up a storm - I made my Detox Cabbage Soup and made a south-indian version of my khichdi. It was super yummy and I had it with a karela pickle from the Indian Store ( Grand Sweets and Snacks - Pavakkai Thokku). 

South Indian Khichdi - Ven Pongal

What you need

1. 1 Cup Quinoa (washed in cold water and soaked with dhuli/skinless moong dal 1/2 hr in hot water I boiled in my electric kettle)
2. 1 cup  Dhuli/yellow Moong Dal 
3. 3 cups water ( I like my Khichdi to have a nice mushy consistency...add lesser water if you want it dry)
4. 2 tsp Ghee
5.   Mustard Seeds, cumin seeds, Hing (asafoetida) - I used more than a pinch, Whole Black Pepper (most of it roughly crushed, keep some  whole for the garnish), curry leaves, a slight pinch of turmeric (optional)
6.  salt to taste

To Cook 

1. Turn on your Instant Pot to Saute. Add your ghee....add hing, cumin seeds and mustard seeds. When they splutter, add turmeric and crushed black pepper and curry leaves.
2. Add the moong dal and the quinoa  to the instant pot and give it a stir 
3. Add  Water 
4. Put the IP on Rice Mode
5. When done open, Natural Release - add salt to taste

Enjoy with a pickle, sambar or chutney and remember your awesomeness and don't let it rest on someone else's opinion of you!

Evening Routine and a healthy Kheer!

"It's incredibly liberating to spend some time talking to someone and not caring about what you sound like. It's about understanding myself."

My evening routine is still work in progress but here's the rough sketch -

5.30 PM : Leave Office ( my commute is 28 miles each way - I call up a friend/husband/son on my way back home or do a work call)
6.15 PM :  Reach Home and get dinner on the table
7.00 PM : Done with Dinner
7.15 PM : Leave for the gym for a 7.30 PM Zumba Class ( M, W, F) - if no Zumba then my husband and I walk the dog and  watch some TV
8.45 PM : Get back home
9.00 PM : Hang out with my son after which he goes to bed
9.30 PM : Read a book on the kindle, Watch TV or some nights I have a 1 hr Engineering Meeting
10.45 PM- In Bed, Asleep

Here are some things that I have found help me in my quest for finding grounding and mindfulness in my life :

1. An acceptance that every day will not be equal, some days I will be bone tired and grumpy, other days I will be energized and ecstatic...yet I will treat every day with equanimity and try to get it to a good close
2. Eliminate Negativity - I find that when I keep my thought positive, hushing that inner critic, giving my son praises vs. criticism and by practicing gratitude for this wonderful life, I am able to end the day on a high note. I make a mental list of all the awesome things that happened to me  that day before I fall asleep (my mental gratitude journal.
3. Do at least one thing you love - I do  a LOT of things I love...I dance (I go to Zumba), I spend time with my son and husband by taking a walk with them, I play with the puppy and I read in the evenings...
4. Plan for the next day - Nothing is more discouraging than beginning the next day without a plan - I know by the time I go to bed what's for lunch for Krish and me and I have things ready in the kitchen for a quick in and out in the morning. I also plan out my work to-do list for the day in the evening.

I made a healthy dessert for the boys this evening (yay! for saturdays). It is  quick to make this  Kheer made with Palua or Arrowroot. Palua or Arrowroot is a medicinal root found in East India and I got my stock from the Adivasi Mela when I was down in India but you can find it on Amazon too. Palua is nutritive, and is used as an agreeable, non-irritating diet in certain chronic diseases, during convalescence from fevers, in irritations of the digestive and respiratory tract  and is well suited for infants - it's jelly has no peculiar taste, and is less liable to become acid in the stomach, and is generally preferred by young infants to all others. It helps with weight loss and heart health.

How to make Palua Khiri in your Instant Pot?

Ingredients

• 4.5 cups of 1% Organic Milk + 1/2 cup
• 5 tablespoons Truvia/ Brown Sugar Blend
• Crushed Elaichi (Cardamom)
• 1/4-1/2 cup of Palua or Arrowroot Powder (this thickens the kheer, so add based on how thick you like your kheer)

How To?

1. Mix the 1/2 Cup milk with the 1/2 cup of Arrowroot
2. Add 4.5 Cups of Milk+ Truvia + Crushed Elaichi plus the slush from step 1 to your Instant Pot
3. Set the Instant Pot for Manual 5 minutes (NR)
4. Once the pressure has naturally release, open, stir and taste 
5. If you are happy with the sweetness, go ahead and keep in glass/earthen container for it to set ((if not please add more truvia to your taste)
6. Once it cools down, you can keep it in the fridge. Garnish with almonds and savor this wonderful dessert which is actually very good for you!

Do you have an evening routine?