Detox Diet...

 

I have been eating healthy for a while now,  exercising and keeping to a good routine. Then G & P come back from Chennai and I have Aavin Palkova (my absolute favorite 😍) and A comes back from Jaipur and gets me Besan Laadoo while my MIL sends Peda for her grandson from Pune...so every evening when I come back exhausted from work or the gym...there is a beautiful siren's call from the fridge and I go and grab myself a "pick-me-up"😤😥

So last night I told myself enough was enough...I needed to go on a detox. Guidelines set for myself -

1. Binge on Sleep - I went to sleep at 10.00 PM yesterday
2. Drink a glass of water the moment I get up in the morning 
3. Stretch (I had all intentions of going to a class but the busyness of life made me stretch out a mat in the bedroom and stretch out the sore muscles...after a 1.5 hrs u-jam class yesterday I think I could hear my bones creaking!)
4. Reach for bloat-busting beverages (the two I swear by are Yogi Tea and Pukka Tea )
5. Skip the sugar (so hard...)
6. Make a big batch of my Ayurvedic Detox Soup  (Dal really but soup has a distinctive ring to it)

What you need (Servings - 4)

1. 1/2 Cup Quinoa (washed in cold water and soaked with the moong dal 1/2 hr in hot water I boiled in my electric kettle)
2. 1 cup  Moong Dal (the moong dal with no cover)
3. Basic Mirepoix - blend of onion, celery, carrots (all from my local farmer's market)
4. 3 Cups Bone  Broth ( I used the Pacific Chicken Bone Broth - I will write a separate blog post about bone broth but I read this book by Kellyanne Pettruci and I was blown away by the health benefits). Vegetarians stick to a vegetable broth that is low in sodium)
5. 1 small knob of ginger (for digestion)
6. Fresh Lemon Juice to taste
7. Liquid Aminos (for seasoning), Avocado Oil (or any other oil),  turmeric powder, black pepper powder
8. Parsley (Detoxing) for garnish - I actually end up adding a lot more (later) just to get the earthy parsley flavor - yum!

To Cook 

1. Turn on your Instant Pot to Saute. Add your oil....add the roughly chopped ginger. Add the Mirepoix and sweat it. Add turmeric and black pepper powder.
2. Add the moong dal and the quinoa to the instant pot and give it a stir 
3. Add the Broth (if you eat meat, I highly recommend giving the Bone Broth a try!)
4. Put the IP on Rice Mode
5. When done open and add Liquid Aminos to taste (you can use salt instead of the liquid aminos)
6. Now add fresh lemon juice and cut parsley. 

Now if I can  avoid desserts or sugar for just 1 week I will consider my Mission Accomplished. Are you ready for the long weekend?

From Greens to Gold!

The week had been particularly hard on me and the death of a young colleague weighed heavily on the heart and head this week. It all came to a head for me on Saturday and it almost was like my system detoxed itself out of the grief and my head felt so much clearer and lighter...

I went to the Farmer's Market (as usual) on Sunday and walked by all my favorite vendors. The Lee Farms is one of my favorites because he carries some of my favorite veggies - bitter gourd , opo squash, bhindi, habanero peppers.

Today he had these strange looking greens and I went up to him and I was like - Lee, what's this?

He gave me a wide-eyed look and said - I thought all you Indians know this green - it's gongura...😉

Well I didn't but there is a first time to everything

So I got the bunch of gongura leaves home on an impulse. I googled recipes and the one that stood out to me like a healthy fit to my style of cooking was - Gongura Pappu. I also googled the health benefits of the Gongura Leaves  known as Red Sorrel Leaves. These leaves are a rich source of Iron, Vitamin C, B6, folic acid, calcium, phosphorous and magnesium. It has anti-oxidants essential for human nutrition. All for the win!

What you need

1. 1 bunch of Gongura leaves - cleaned, pluck the leaves and rough chop
2. 1 cup Toor Dal (soaked for an hour in hot water)
3. 1  small finely chopped red onion, 3 cloves Garlic, 2 Red Fresno Chillies (use dry red chilis), Curry Leaves, Cumin and Mustard Seeds for Tempering, Hing
4. Ghee
5. Imli Pichku (Maggi) or Tamarind Paste
6. 1/2 tsp red chilli powder
7. 1 tsp turmeric powder
8. Salt to taste

To Cook 

1.  Put your Instant Pot on Saute - add the ghee, then hing. Add the tadka ( Cumin and Mustard Seeds, Curry Leaves). Now add the onions, garlic and chilly and saute till the onions brown. Add the turmeric and chilly powfer
2. Add the Gongura Leaves and the Toor Dal and saute for a minute
3. Add the Imli Pichku and the Salt
4. Now turn the IP to Manual, High Pressure for 15 minutes NR (no release)
5. When you open, taste test and adjust for salt

Enjoy with a hot bowl of rice/quinoa and soon you realize this golden delight with a sour kick to it is fast to get over - it's so addictive.  A strange time to get reminded of Robert Frost but I think of his poem -

Nature's first green is gold,

Her hardest hue to hold.

Her early leaf's a flower;

But only so an hour.

Then leaf subsides to leaf.

So Eden sank to grief,

So dawn goes down to day.

Nothing gold can stay.”

Goodbye M - See you on the other side!

"The most painful GoodByes are those that are never said and never explained"

I am tired of GoodByes...especially Good Byes, where there is really no Good Bye...one day you are laughing, dancing and talking and the next week you hear this person is no more...

          She was a girl-woman, 

          Had an air of vulnerability,

Seemed brilliant in a nerdy sort of a way (Cal-tech graduate working at Oracle) 

Painfully Young (she had just turned 21) 

A smile that covered her entire face and made it shine, 

She wore the cutest cut-up t-shirts that she watched You-Tube to make, 

She was a constant in the BollyX class, 

And confessed to liking old tamil songs and bhangra...  

While we are still in shock,   

I am sure her parents are looking for closure.  

There are so many questions unanswered, 

All I can wish for her is - that she keeps smiling & dancing where ever she is 

 We will dance in her memory on September 1st in the BollyX class on Saturday. Shruthi and the Oracle BollyX community shared some sweet memories with this gorgeous girl. We want to say good bye to her in a style she loved and adored : with bollywood dance and music. Please do come if you knew her or just want to say a Good Bye together. Shruthi (our BollyX instructor) shared this on a text with me and I think it's a good reminder to all of us

The importance of a morning routine

Following a system first thing in the morning, means you’ll have more time to reflect in a quiet atmosphere (less hustle and bustle) and it gives you the opportunity to be organized for the rest of the day. More importantly, this daily habit helps you create energy and the right “mindset” to tackle the challenges of a busy day.

My morning routine is still work in progress but here's the rough sketch -
6. 45 AM - Get up + Warm Water + Miracle Cleanse + 15 minutes of breathing (Anulom Vilom, Kapal Bhatti, Bhramari)
7.15 AM - Make Ginger Tea + Dry Roast Peanuts in the microwave (Summer)
                 Start Lunch prep for son's lunchbox (if school year)
7.30 AM - Feed Dog
8.00 AM - Walk Dog ( this 15 mins gives me time to think about my To-Do list and intent for the day)
8.15 AM - Start working (unless there are 8.00 AM calls, then I move up my schedule 15 mins)
I didn't eat much peanuts before about 5 years back.  Then I attended a Sadhguru Seminar where Peanut was about 80% of the breakfast and  he said yogis could go on a 100% peanut diet because it is a complete food.
Today I adopted an evening snack that really made me feel good about my eating. I made myself a snack of a "Chatpata Peanut Chaat"

What you need

1. 1 cup  raw shelled peanut (or kadlekai or shenga)
2. 1  small finely chopped red onion
3. 3  tbsp finely chopped coriander Leaves
4. 1 small green chili finely chopped (optional - for extra spiciness)
5. 1/2 tsp red chilli powder
6. 1/4 tsp chat masala (optional)
7. Salt to taste, Lemon Juice

To Cook 

1. In your Instant Pot - add the raw peanuts with 1 cup of water and the salt
2. Now turn the IP to Manual, High Pressure for 4 minutes NR (no release)
3. While the peanuts are cooking - chop the veggies - small red onion, chillies, coriander leaves
4. Open the IP and take the peanuts in a bowl, mix everything, taste and season some more as needed.
5. Enjoy with a cup of adrak (ginger chai)

I want to leave you with the thought : My morning routine definitely sets the tone for the rest of the day for me. If I am rushed or stressed in the morning, it tends to carry into my entire day. So I take the time to take some quiet time to myself before getting caught up in the whirlwind of activities. What's your morning routine?

I know a shortcut

So I am a little (ok a lot) schizophrenic when it comes to my comfort food choices...one day it might be me craving  Dalma + Quinoa ( Dalma Bhato - the quintessential Oriya comfort food of Dal Chawal), the next I would be absolutely craving Dahi+ Quinoa (Thayir Sadaam - the universal south indian comfort food of Yogurt and Rice with a dash of pickle)...but for me one of the hands down favorite foods that I crave at all times is Kadhi in any form - Punjabi Kadhi, Dahi Kadi Oriya Style or  Mor Kuzhambu ( better known as South Indian Kadhi). I tried making Mor Kuzhambu from scratch multiple times and honestly my end product didn't remind me of what I ate in my friend Lal's mom's kitchen. Then my friend Pri suggested the Grand Snacks Mor Kuzhambu mix and there has honestly been no looking back for me.

What you need

1. 1 Cup Thick Yogurt or 1.5 Cups Kefir ( I use Trader Joe's organic European style non-fat or 1% Plain Kefir)
2. 2 Tablespoons (or to taste) - Grand Snacks Mor Kuzhambu Mix (I found this at my local indian store)
3. 1 Cup - Peeled and Chopped Opo Squash (from the farmer's market)
4. 1 Cup Water
5. Salt or Liquid Aminos to Taste ( I used Salt today!)

To Cook 

1. In your Instant Pot - add the Chopped Opo Squash, Water and the Mor Kuzhambu Mix. Stir Well
2. Now turn the IP to Manual, High Pressure for 4 minutes NR (no release)
3. Open the IP and add in the Kefir/Yogurt and Salt to taste. 
4. I garnished my mor kuzhambu with curry leaves (from my garden) that I microwaved with a spray of coconut oil (45 seconds)

I add more water/kefir/ yogurt depending on thickness I want - I found out it's a personal preference. Some people like it thinner while others like it thicker. I enjoy my bowl of Mor Kuzhambu with cooked quinoa and some stir fried Kothavarangai Poriyal (it's the season right now for this vegetable cluster beans in our Farmer's Market but it's on the expensive side at $6/pound :-) - Ask me about the time I got almost 2 lbs of it and really messed up the recipe...now I stick to my tried and tested Poriyal recipe).

This recipe took me less than 10 minutes to execute and tastes so much better than my stove top version which takes me at least 20-25 minutes to make (might be 15 minutes if you add in chopping the Opo Squash but I do my food prep in advance to make my week easier).

So are we going to take this short cut together?

She Loves Me...She Loves me NOT....

If you can dream it,

You can do it...

Yet there are things I refuse to make in my Instant Pot,

As much as I love it...and I have owned mine for over 3 years...

Today is Sunday and I had no intentions of cooking...just watching Ready Player One with the boy and eat out. But on top of my mind were these two bananas in the fruit bowl that had reached their peak and I didn't really want to throw them away. So I ended up picking up a recipe from the trusty internet and firing up my oven (NOT my Instant Pot) and ended up baking two not one cake.

So here are things I would rather not make in my Instant Pot (or I have tried them a couple times and they were epic fails!

1. Adrak Wala Chai: I use grass-fed organic milk and organic ginger and two times out of three the milk split....so now I stick to making my chai cuppa on the stovetop with my trusty old saucepan
2. Cakes & Bakes: I usually end up getting a mush vs. the magic (like the picture above) which I have started taking for granted.
3. Dosa Batter: Honestly I see the number of cry's for help with the over-poofed up Dosa Batter and I refuse to put my Instant Pot through that abuse :-)
4. Poriyals (quick vegetable stir-fry): I  do feel the poriyals (cabbage, carrot, beans etc.) that I make in my wok on a gas flame taste so much better than what I make in the instant pot!
5. Mac & Cheese : now now I see all the wide-eyed disbelief but I have managed to muck up this recipe in the Instant Pot...I prefer making it on the old-fashioned stove top
6. Ghee: I make Ghee twice a year with grass fed organic unsalted butter and I tried making it one of those times in the Instant Pot but honestly liked the end product from my  stove-top version better!

Here are the things that I will cook every-day in my Instant Pot :

1. Steel-Cut Oats
2. Dal/Lentils/Sambar/Chana/Rajma
3. Soups & Stews
4. Wet Curries - Anda Curry, Aloo Matar, Matar Paneer
5. Pastas 
6. Grains - Quinoa, Barley
7. Kheer - Oats, Quinoa, Dalia 

So I know you love your IP but are there things you will not make in your Instant Pot?

Guru Purnima : A Day for Gratitude

Guru Purnima is the day to pause and note all that you’ve been given by the universe and celebrate with gratitude. However, feeling grateful for things we have only scratches the surface of our joyful cores. It is possible to feel grateful without an apparent reason and experience spikes of inner joy and celebration. 

                                                           ---- Art of Living 
So I had every intention of fasting till dinner today - I was attending an Art of Living Guru Purnima Celebration  in the evening where Sri Sri would be there in person, but hadn't really reckoned with the rumblings of the stomach (loud insistent complaints). So I quickly soaked some quinoa and chilka moong dal and in 20 minutes had the most nutritious lunch (all in between a bunch of calls)...some kind of magic that is!

What you need

1. 1 Cup Quinoa (washed in cold water and soaked with the moong dal 1/2 hr in hot water I boiled in my electric kettle)
2. 1 cup Chilka Moong Dal (the moong dal that still has its cover)
3. 1 /2 Cup - Frozen Vegetables (365 Whole Foods Brand is what I used)
4. 2  Cups Vegetable Broth (Saffron Road)
5. 1 small knob of ginger
6. Liquid Aminos (for seasoning), Avocado Oil (or any other oil), cumin seeds, Hing (asefoetida), turmeric powder, black pepper powder

To Cook 

1. Turn on your Instant Pot to Saute. Add your oil....add hing, cumin seeds and the roughly chopped ginger. Add turmeric and black pepper powder.
2. Add the moong dal and the quinoa (and the veggies if you added any) to the instant pot and give it a stir 
3. Add the Broth 
4. Put the IP on Rice Mode
5. When done open and add Liquid Aminos to taste (you can use salt instead of the liquid aminos)
6. Now add fresh lime juice and cut cilantro. Garnish with some raw chopped onions if you so wish.

I am grateful to get these wonderful 10 minutes to relish a bowl of khichdi with some yogurt. And yes! the complaints of the stomach kind have thankfully stopped. I am so ready for my evening session of meditation and gratitude