Something about Salads!

THE LIGHTER CEASER

MAC MAHARANI

VEGGIE-GASM

WINTER WARMTH

BEANIFICIAL

1. It's no big secret that a conscious effort towards eating "healthy" consistently not only requires dedication, but can also be rather time consuming and cumbersome more often than not.

I'm also not a big fan of propounding the benefits and the need of "clean eating" and all that jazz. Mostly because I'm the last person who finds it easy to apply it to self.
I admit that I have set goals, not once, from "losing X kg" to "no chocolate and cheese", from "at least 30 minutes of moderate workout every day" to "okay, 15 min of treadmill on weekends" and from "no carbs, only protein" to the bare minimum of "only one binge meal a week".
Only to fail miserably each time, give myself grief, fall into this deep pit of guilt and self pity, crawl out to end up feeling disgusted and disappointed, all targeted towards my own self.
With the long long years of constant battles with my weight, my body, my sweet tooth, my hormones and my heart (or mind, whichever you prefer), I have only been able to come to the conclusion that I'm not going to get any healthier if I keep going on in these unending cycles of motivation and mourning with no idea of how to keep one alive and how to kill the other.
I also realised that food, in all its glorious calorie laden devilishness, gives me pleasure. Masochistic maybe? But whatever. My mental health is a part of being healthy and if I'm happy with what, how much and who I am, that's all that matters. You may say I'm only being defensive and evasive, and I may agree. But I also may not.
Given all of this, it does come as a surprise when I want to make myself a salad, just because. No gyaan or ulterior motive to eat healthy or balance a binge - because I frankly don't know how to do that.
But there are days when I crave something juicy, crunchy and colourful.
And because I love spending time in the kitchen, I have perfected some salads that I love the most. Some for the lazy days when I want it right here right now. And the others when I have the good sense and time to plan and prepare.
The best part is that these are dishes that are oh so yummy. It's just a little conspiracy on the part of the universe that people also call them healthy. 😂😋
It's funny how people find it difficult to digest that I don't feel unhealthy while ordering a pizza, but are absolutely nonchalant when I say I don't feel healthy when I eat a salad.
I think the entire concept of comfort food is a sham. It's just a method of carb junkies like me (and proudly so) to have what they want while being equipped with a ready explanation to the why. Why else are all "comfort foods" carb and cheese laden, and all salads and smoothies are "clean foods". Have you ever had a bite of fresh Swiss cheese? Or warm chocolate fondue? Or besan laddoo made by Ma? There is nothing cleaner than that! And sometimes, the warmth of bitter green tea is like being hugged by your favorite person.
The point of the entire rant is, that I feel the same pleasure in crunching those chunks of cucumber as I do in having that cheese melt in my mouth. It's all about the timing. Of what I'm feeling. And what I want. Food is for fun, pleasure and comfort. And it's unfair to burst that bubble with the prick of calories. 

Hey there...

Hey there, Little One!

There's this thing about dreams, 

the joy and the thrill and the wonder, 

as you watch one take shape,

begin as a germ ; gnawing and pinching

till you feed it with your very blood 

and watch it glow, grow.. and go.

As you chase behind it, with lazy amusement

like a wisp of dandelion floating away

on a far off grassy hill. 

As you watch it roll down your palm, 

droplets of sticky ice candy,  

too sweet to be devoured all at once. 

As it hides behind chores and hesitations, 

Like a handwritten note of love in your wallet, 

Too scared to claim "I'm real"

As you flip it and push it and twist it back in tight coils, 

flying out to cover your eyes like hair on windy eve,

rebelling against being confined. 

You take it in your arms then, to console, cajole, 

and make promises, 

you don't mean. 

"You're mine", you say, "And one day I'll be yours." 

And you lull it to sleep, opening the window, 

just a tiny bit, and give a soft nudge. 

Maybe next time! 

The Awesome Overnight Oats

I was speculating about what to kick start my blog with - fashion post, something about books or an elaborate or favorite recipe or food joint. I mechanically began preparations for the next morning's breakfast for my brother and myself with a marathon in my mind among the pros and cons of each new blog post possibility. As I arranged stuff for the Oats on my kitchen shelf, I backtracked and realised I actually, already have a prospective blog post unfurling right then there. That it could come out of a simple and now regular Breakfast dish, is humbling and exciting all at once.

I discovered a rather glorified version of Overnight Oats on Huffington, sent to me by SB, who often sends me links to all kinds of amazing food finds.  After researching extensively on this seemingly awesome way to have oats, since I could never like them in any manner earlier, I experimented with quite a few methods off the web and by hit and trial. To my delight, I have found that not only is preparing this yumminess quick and easy, it is also highly customisable and super healthy to boot.

You will need –

·        A glass bowl/ jar with lid, better if microwave safe

·        Oats – I used Quaker, but I’ve read the non quick-cooking ones are better since they are crunchier. I’ll get to them once I exhaust my bag of Quaker, till then these have been just fine.

·        Milk – Double Toned for me. Whichever kinds you like

·        Condiments – Peanut Butter, Cocoa Powder, Protinex (optional), Instant Coffee Powder, Sugar

·        Toppings – Almonds, Raisins, Walnuts, Apple, Banana or just any fresh or dry fruit that you like.

Dry roast the oats and almonds. Lay in the glass jar. Mix all the other ingredients with a bit of milk to form a thick paste. This is the second layer. Top with milk, double the quantity of oats. Cover and leave to rest overnight. Give it a good stir in the morning, top with fresh cut fruit and you’re good to go.

Like I mentioned, this is a very suit your style recipe. You can choose to roast the oats or have them as is, use honey instead of sugar, omit coffee or chocolate and have a simple fruit and nut variant. You could also use blanched almonds if you're not a fan of roasted. 

The thickness can be adjusted too – you need almost double the amount of milk for oats to swell overnight, but you can always top it up with more in the morning. I like them cold in summers or at room temperature in current weather. My brother pops the jar in the microwave to warm it up a bit. 

Ideally this is refrigerated overnight, but since New Delhi is almost freezing (brrr!) your kitchen counter would be just perfect.

This version of Overnight Oats is a favourite with me and my brother, for so many reasons-

1)  Oats - Obviously Oats are healthy as hell to have, especially for weight watchers, but I have never liked the texture or taste of Oats before I came across this method. This trick leaves them soft yet with a sufficient bite to them (kind of like Al Dente Pasta) which doesn't make me feel like I'm eating a soggy gloop. I know, eww, right?
2) Milk – I could give a two year old a run for his money when it comes to hatred for milk, especially ‘white’ milk. But this recipe delights my Ma since she can see me having so much healthy stuff all in one go.
3) Protein – The peanut butter and Protinex packs in a solid punch of protein which is something that you should definitely try and get a good amount of in the morning, especially when you are trying to lose weight. Protein keeps you full and reduces the urge to gorge on carbs. Not to mention, peanut butter tastes heavenly. Win Win.
4) Nuts and Fruit – Almonds and apple add crunch and texture and banana and raisins add natural sweetness. Although I hate raisins, I make it a point to add the other three to give my breakfast some dimension. Again, Ma happy!
5) Coffee. Chocolate – Best way to begin mornings, enough said.

The perfect Monday morning pick me up, you can relish it even when you’re on the go. Because of course you’re running late, it’s Monday after all!!!!

The Beast Within

It’s not the first time that I have attempted to begin writing my own blog, but it really is the first time I actually got around to doing it. The reason I never got around to this stage is simple – I could never decide what my first post could be. Yes, that’s for real.

That’s me. I have plunged into some very unconventional and totally novel things headlong with a surprising amount of courage and bravado and yet there is always a little thing, mostly insignificant really, which could daunt me for days and months and years. Being the hyper-sensitive personality that I am, crises are usually any and all circumstances which find me standing on a crossroad. But since I’m also a bag of contradictory oddities in my own right, I pride myself on being an effective planner and a quick decision maker.

Although I never intended this to be an introductory piece of writing, I must admit that it gives me a certain thrill in being able to list just how I see myself and just what I dream to do. Narcissistic, much? Hell yeah! I turned 25 less than a week ago, and it was quite an introspective birthday for me. (I felt I really am growing up, earlier it was always about shopping and party and fun, this time though, I just couldn’t get my mind to shut up. Ah! Old age)

Two things that really struck me with the quarter century mark were – (1) Things would always have a way of not turning out in the way they were planned, and that is okay. Rein in the control freak inner Biatch, woman! It’s still never too late to go after what you want; no time is bad to make a beginning. (2) Life has been more than generous. If I can be thankful for even a handful of life’s gifts – I’m surely luckier than I know.

So here I am, making a deeply heart-fuelled attempt at giving expressions to just some of my passions,  trying to put into words my personal more than two pennies about everything fantastic under the sun. I am geared up – to not look back, to plough on, to walk on this path at my own sweet pace and see where it takes me, to give a glimpse to the world of the Fantastic Beast that I am!!