Refreshing 'Spa' Water!

Since the past few trips that we took, it has become customary (and I love it!), that 'M' takes care of the kids and I visit the Spa in the resort we are staying in! I feel guilty at times, that I get pampered, but love the occasional indulgence!

This time, in Puerto Rico, I visited this "Bali' influenced Spa named 'Mandara'. After the Spa treatment, they offered this cool refreshing drink.... Simple cold water that had Lemon slices,Cucumber slices and strawberries soaking in it ....It was SO simple yet..SO Refreshing....I drank like 4 glasses of it.....literally:)

How to make it:

Fill a glass jug with cold water. Add few cucumber slices, 1-2 cut up strawberries and 2-3 lemon slices. Just squeeze a few drops of lemon juice in the water as well and let it chill and soak up all the good flavors!!!

 You will love to sip on this refreshing water and feel rejuvenated in minutes!

 

Summer Salad with Mandarin Oranges, Almonds and a Cherry Vinaigrette

It's summer and it calls for a cool crunchy yummy salad!! As much as I love salads, I like to vary the veggies/ fruits, crunchy toppings and make my own dressings. It's much better that way I feel...you can cater to your own taste and get a 'feel good' healthy salad for yourself.

This one is perfect to be called 'summer' salad because of it's 'warm' color tones from oranges, cherry tomatoes and red cherry vinaigrette.

Ingredients:

2 cups 'Veggie' salad mix (with variety of lettuces, radish, carrots)

1/4 cup mandarin oranges

1/4 cup whole toasted almonds

few cherry tomatoes

Cherry Vinaigrette dressing:

1tbsp Extra virgin olive oil

1tsp Red cherry preserve

1/2tsp Lemon juice

1/4tsp black pepper

1/4tsp dried oregano

salt

Method:

1) Toss all the ingredients for the salad in the salad bowl.

2) Stir together the vinaigrette ingredients.

3) Pour the vinaigrette over the salad just before eating.

Enjoy the crispy-crunchy textures of this 'warm' colored summery salad

Pearl Barley and Spinach Patties

"Barley"...yet another grain..I hadn't cooked with before. Yesterday, I cooked it with an intention to make Barley soup..but these patties came impromptu to my mind...and made a delicious evening snack!
Pearl barley:

Barley is yet another "Nutritional powerhouse"(http://www.barleyfoods.org/nutrition.html) It has the slow digesting carbohydrates called "beta glucans" in the grain.I also read that, the beta glucans and the fiber is distributed throughout the grain and hence...even if it is "pearled" barley( bran and outer layers removed)...it is still better than many other refined grains.(http://www.oprah.com/health/Why-Barley-Makes-the-Best-Breakfast)
 Cooked Pearl barley:

Ingredients:
1/2 cup pearl barley (pressure cook in 1 cup water plus little salt)
1/2 cup finely chopped spinach
1/4 cup finely chopped onion
1/2 boiled potato(mashed)
3/4 cup whole wheat bread crumbs( E doesn't like his sandwich with crust.I cut them off,freeze them..pulse them to make these whole wheat bread crumbs.)
1/2 tsp finely chopped garlic
1/2tsp red pepper flakes
1/4tsp cumin
salt
olive/ canola oil for shallow frying

Method:
1) Cook the pearl barley in pressure cooker -3 whistles.Let it cool completely.
2) Mix the cooked barley,chopped spinach,onion,mashed potato,garlic,red pepper flakes,cumin,salt,1/4 cup of bread crumbs and mix well.
3) Heat a non stick pan with oil for shallow frying.
4) Make patties with the above mixture.Roll them in the bread crumbs and fry on medium- low heat till they are golden brown and crisp on the outside.
5) Serve hot along with your favorite sauce/ maggie hot and sweet sauce( I love it!!)/ green mint chutney.

Puffed Sorghum / Popped Jowar Chivda

"Add a variety of whole grains to your diet".....was the message I gained from 'food' books I was reading.Really what has changed...how many types of grains are we eating compared to our 'traditional diets' (back in India)?? Jowar, Bajra, Nachani (Ragi) ....all very traditional grains to our diets....hardly make it to our daily meals now.
I found this Puffed Jowar Chivda, was a simple, yet tasty snack to add as a 'adding whole grain ' to the diet agenda. And, I remember my grandmother making these as snack, before the whole 'Pop Corn' culture came!

Ingredients:
4 Cups Puffed Sorghum/Jowar ( Found in Indian grocery stores)
1/2 cup peanuts
10-12 curry leaves
1/2tsp mustard seeds
1/2tsp turmeric
1/2tsp red chili powder
4tsp oil
1/4tsp Hing/Asafoetida
salt and sugar to taste

Method:
1) Heat oil, add the mustard seeds. Let them splutter.
2) Add the peanuts, curry leaves and fry till the peanuts turn golden.
3) Add the turmeric, hing, red chili powder and the puffed sorghum.Toss till mixed well.
4) Take off the heat .Let it cool. Store in air tight container.

"Whole Wheat" Almond and Chocolate Chip Cookies

I agree to Lisa Leake, from "100 Days of Real Food" : There is "Traditional Junk Food" Versus "Artificial Factory made Junk Food". At home, even if you bake with things like butter, all purpose flour, sugar...which most don't consider 'healthy'....you still are doing much better than eating a cookie from a store with 20 ingredients/ additives/ chemicals...you can't spell and don't know what they do to your body.

 And then there is that 'concept' that processed foods have built into us. For eg: a store bought bread...is extra fluffy ..soft ...looks 'picture perfect'. But a bread baked at home...may not come out as "picture perfect' and fluffy and soft. Well...at the factory they added all those conditioners and other chemical additives to make your bread that way. At home...you are eating "pure"....a bread..like bread should be!! But in our minds..the texture and 'look' of bread is "like the store bought"...

So....Spring break started and we needed some 'activity' to keep the Lil' ones busy!

We managed to bake a 'Healthier Version" of  Chocolate Chip Cookies!!!

Ingredients:(Makes 24 cookies)
 1 Cup Whole Wheat Flour
1/2 Cup Almond powder
1/2 cup All purpose flour
1/2 cup Sugar
1 Stick unsalted butter (slightly cold)
2eggs
1/3 cup Chocolate chips
1/3 cup Peanut butter chips(optional- you can double the chocolate chips and leave out peanut butter chips)
1/2tsp Baking soda
1/2tsp vanilla extract
1/4tsp salt

Method:
1)  Sieve together whole wheat flour,all purpose flour, salt and baking soda.
2) Beat the butter with electric beater for 3-4 mins until creamy.This is important!!Add sugar and eggs and beat for another minute or so.Add the vanilla extract and mix.
3) Add the sieved flours,almond powder and beat till blended.
4) Add the chocolate and peanut chips and mix

5) Chill the batter in refrigerator for 15-20 mins. Pre- heat the oven to 375F.
6) Place spoonfuls of batter onto a ungreased cookie sheet. For 'better looking' cookie..make the batter into rounds and press.I just leaved the batter as is.

7) Bake for 8-10 mins till golden. Do not let them burn on bottom.Let them cool.

 The cookies will puff up, are crisp on the bottom, little soft in center and delicioussss ....as cookies should be:))

Homemade 'Oats and Nuts' Granola/ Cereal

So when my favorite cereal (Quaker Life), which I thought wasn't too 'Sugary' and was 'Multigrain', got a 'C' rating on Fooducate (a cool App to scan groceries and know what's really in them), because  of being 'highly processed', has 'low fiber' and has the additive- Butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT)...I decided to make my own blend of Granola/Cereal...with all the goodness..free of additives...low in fat and sugar... to 'Start the day with the Right Bite"!!

What I added...And Why???

Oats: 100% Whole Grain
Puffed Rice: For crunch(has low calories per serving)
Almonds: Mono unsaturated fats, protein
Pistachio: Oleic acid, vitamins and minerals, lowest fat nut
Wheat bran: Fiber
Flax meal:Antioxidants, minerals, fiber
Chia seeds:Omega 3 fatty acids
Olive oil- unsaturated fats, crisp up the cereal
Light brown Sugar and honey- Sweetness
Cinnamon: highest anti oxidant strength,helps lower 'bad' cholesterol
Dried cranberries: Sweet-tart flavor, Vitamin C

Ingredients:
This granola won't be as 'Crunchy' as the store bought one....well.....because it isn't loaded on sugars and fats!!

3 Cups Quick cooking oats/ you can use whole oats too (any 100% whole grain oats)
1Cup Puffed Rice (puffed brown rice would be great!!)
1/2 Cup chopped Almonds
1/2 cup chopped Pistachio
1/2 cup Light brown sugar
1/4 cup dried cranberries
2tbsp Unprocessed Wheat bran
2tbsp Flax meal
1tbsp Honey
2tsp Chia seeds
2tsp olive oil
1tsp cinnamon
1/2tsp salt
Canola oil Cooking spray

Method:
Preheat oven to 300F
1) Mix the oil, sugar,salt, cinnamon and honey.
2) Add rest of the ingredients except the cranberries
3) Spray a cookie sheet with cooking spray.Spread the cereal mix on the sheet and spray it with cooking spray.
4) Bake the cereal for 60-70 mins until toasted, mixing and turning it every 15 mins. The nuts should turn slightly toasted.DO NOT LET IT BURN!!
5) After cooling, mix the dried cranberries and store in a container.

Start your day with a spoon full of "Goodness"!! 

Yogurt- Strawberry frozen bars

You decide to diet and eat 'healthy', but those sweet cravings aren't going anywhere are they??? And then the Lil' ones at home still need a weekend treat...right???
This was a perfect little bar...which wouldn't 'undo' all the exercise of the week, but still make the lil' ones jump with joy:)  'A' wouldn't even share a 'lick' of this bar with anyone!!!

Ingredients:
8-10 Fresh Strawberries
1 Cup fresh yogurt
4-5 tsp sugar (adjust according to the sweetness of the strawberries)
few drops of Vanilla essence

Method:
1) Wash the strawberries and cut of the leaves.
2) Blend together yogurt,strawberries, sugar and vanilla until smooth.
3) Pour into 'kulfi' / Popsicle moulds and insert sticks

 4) Freeze for 5-6 hours until completely frozen.
5) Run the mould under warm water to remove the Yogurt-Strawberry bar!

 Enjoy!!

Celebrating 300th Blog Post!!

A very special blog post- It's the 300th Blog post and today happens to be Women's Day!!!
Happy Women's Day to all you beautiful ladies, who make Sizzling good food for their families and thanks for visiting 'TheSizzlingPan' and encouraging me.This blog means a lot to me and you make it a 'happier place' for me!!!
So, for the 300th Blog Post...I wanted to try something NEW...which I hadn't cooked before...some new ingredient...some new dish...something brand new for myself and my family!!

Quinoa Veggie Upma:

I had never tried or made Quinoa before, but had heard a lot of good things about this mighty little whole grain.It looks similar to 'Jowar' but very much smaller grain size.It has a High protein content, low in fat, rich in iron and many more reasons to include in your diet. More about Quinoa nutrition:
http://vegetarian.about.com/od/healthnutrition/qt/Quinoa-Nutrition-Facts.htm
I had a pack from Jungle Jims in the pantry, and couldn't wait to try it!

I used the Quinoa to make the very familiar 'Upma' with carrots and peas,so that it will be easy to accept this new grain in the family!!

Ingredients:
1 Cup Whole grain quinoa
1 and 1/2 cup water
1/4 cup Chopped onion
1/4cup Chopped carrots
1/4cup green peas
1/4cup corn kernels
1/4cup roasted peanuts
2-3 green chilies chopped( add more or less to adjust spiciness)
 2 tsp oil
1tsp Cumin seeds
1/2tsp Mustard seeds
1/2tsp sugar
1/2tsp ginger paste
4tsp lemon juice
salt
Cilantro for garnish

Method:
1) Wash the quinoa 2-3 times with water.Drain the water. Boil 1cup quinoa in 1and 1/2 cups water and little salt for 15-20 mins until cooked. It will fluff up.I covered it with a lid and stirred occasionally.
2) Heat 2tsp oil in a pan. When it heats up, add mustard,cumin,onions.Saute for 2 mins.Add other veggies,ginger paste and chilies.Let them cook.Add the roasted peanuts and fry for few more seconds.
3) Add this to the cooked quinoa and mix.Add sugar,Squeeze lemon juice on top.
Garnish with chopped cilantro. Serve hot!!!

'Fat Free- Whole wheat -Triple Chocolate-Almond' Muffins

As I was writing a 'name' for these muffins....I realized they have the longest name ever!! LOL! But couldn't help putting all the 'good stuff' they have, in their good name and hence the name- "Fat Free"- Whole wheat -Triple Chocolate-Almond Muffins!!
They are made with Whole Wheat flour and Almond powder, have 'Applesauce' in them to act as moistener and binder and NO added fat i.e butter/oil!! The triple chocolate is- Cocoa powder,mini semi sweet chocolate chips and white chocolate chips.The biggest 'hurray factor' for me.....E loved them...and had them with breakfast 2 days in a row:))
 By the way...did you know?? A store bought food, labeled 'fat free' is not necessarily fat free? It can have upto 0.5 gms of fat per serving! So if you eat more servings, the fat can add up. Also, if you are just looking at 'Number of calories' on the food label....KNOW this--
According to FDA regulations, calorie information on packages must be accurate with a margin of error of 20%. Which means you could be off by as much as 100 calories on a 500 calorie entree !!

Actually,last year, I tried a similar recipe-

"Fat free" and "Good for you" Chocolate-Banana-Walnut Muffins

http://www.my-kitchens-aroma.blogspot.com/2012/04/nutritious-and-delicious-healthy-and.html
But since,'M' hates bananas, I had to improvise the recipe and 'minus' the bananas in the recipe. But let me tell you, the bananas make the muffins really moist and yummy.So for all those who don't mind either the bananas or the egg in the recipe...go ahead and try out the above recipe!

**For a 'Banana less' and 'Eggless' version use this::
The biggest 'hurrray factor ' for me.....E loved them...and had them with breakfast 2 days in a row:))

Ingredients: Makes 12 muffins
1 Cup Whole Wheat flour
8 oz Applesauce( I used store bought- but homemade would be excellent!)
3/4th cup sugar
1/2 cup Powdered almonds
1/2 cup Unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 cup mini chocolate chips
1/4cup milk
2tsp Flax seed powder (Optional! It's just to give 'boost' in nutrition and a little more 'nutty' flavor)
1tsp baking powder
1tsp baking soda
1tsp Vanilla essence
2-3 tsp water
few White chocolate chips
1/4tsp salt

Muffin liners(aluminum)
Non stick cooking spray

Method:
1) Pre heat the oven to 375F
2) Place muffin liners in muffin pan.Spray with non stick cooking spray.Since the muffins have no added fat,they will stick to the liner,therefore spray with non stick cooking spray and use aluminum liners.
3) Sieve together- whole wheat flour, baking powder,soda, cocoa powder,salt.
4) In a mixing bowl, mix apple sauce,vanilla and sugar.
5) Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients.Add the almond and flax seed powder.Add the milk and 2-3tsp water as needed to make batter.
6) Fold in the mini chocolate chips and mix gently.DO NOT OVERMIX!! Otherwise the muffins will be tough and chewy.
7) Pour into muffin liners till 3/4th full. Add few white chocolate chips

8) Bake at 375 for 17-20 mins.Till a toothpick inserted will come out clean.

Indulge into a Chocolaty and Nutty goodness with less guilt!!

Avocado Parathas

Everyone has heard the buzz about the 'Health benefits of Avocados' and want to incorporate more of them in their diets. Though they are a 'high fat vegetable'(85% of its calories come from fat)...don't you worry...they are "Good for you fats". Here is the link to know more about  health benefits of Avocados: http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=5
I love to eat Avocados...in the form of "Gaucamole"...with chopped onions, tomatoes, green chilies, cilantro and squeeze of lemon juice....Spread on the baked Tostitos or even better.... "Microwave toasted Papad"!!!

The other day, my friend "Soniya Keskar" gave me a brilliant idea of making "Avocado Parathas". Since both "E" and "A" are not huge avocado fans...this was a great way to incorporate it in their diet!!
The parathas came out really soft due to the 'fats' in the avocados and looked slight 'yellowish-green' with tiny specks of avocados and cilantro.

Ingredients:
2 cups Whole wheat flour
1 'medium- ripe' avocado
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
1tsp Red chili powder ( add more or less)
1/2tsp cumin seeds
1/4tsp Garlic paste
1 green chili finely chopped
Salt
water if needed

Method:
1) Slit the avocado length wise. Twist both halves in opposite direction. Take out the seeds. Scoop out the flesh with a spoon. Scrap all the 'green' flesh near the skin too.The healthy goodness lies in here!
2) Mash the avocado with your hands.Add the rest of the ingredients and make into a "chapati like dough'. Add little water if needed to make the dough. No need to add oil.The avocado already has 'fats' to make the parathas soft. Keep the dough aside for 30 mins.
3) Knead the dough again and roll out into parathas. Roast the parathas on a heated 'tava'
4) Serve hot along with Chutney/ Pickle/ Ketchup or Gaucamole!!

Cucumber-Onion-Pomegranate salad

Looking for a 'cool, crunchy, colorful' and delicious salad??? Here is one for you! The crisp green cucumber slices with the crunchy 'mildly' spicy white onions (actually red onions would be fantastic in here!) and the pretty- red juicy pomegranate...all come together to make this beautifully refreshing cool salad!!

Ingredients:
1 Seedless English cucumber, sliced
1 small white onion sliced
1/2 cup pomegranate seeds
1-2tsp olive oil
1/4tsp oregano
salt and pepper

Method:
1) Mix all the ingredients ...except the salt and Keep the chopped veggies in the refrigerator to 'chill' them.
2) Just before serving, sprinkle salt. Serve cold!