My Key to cooking fresh food

Key to cooking fresh food along with stressful work life is advance preparation and getting up early.

Early morning Brown Rice(in electric cooker) and Dal/Lentil(pressure cooker)/Soup are kept before starting morning rituals.

Frozen cut veg or quick cutting vegetables are stir fired with very basic seasoning and put the lid with low heat. So by the time Im ready for work my half cooking is done.

Evening when I enter home all I do is make hot Roties (Phulksa)/Tortias/Indian Bread and Season the boiled dal (lentil)/Soup.

Stock Dosa batter/Indian Pancake batter

Make some chutneys/sause/dips in weekend

Stock cut salad so you save some time.

Use tomato paste & tamarind paste, ready seasoning like McCormicks spices, or make your own combination to accelerate cooking.

Youve to give up traditional cooking and stick to very basic cooking to keep up with healthy life style.

If healthy fresh cooked food is not in kitchen Junk food find its way.

Just wake up 20min early than your daily routine and try whatever I suggested.

Cooking is rapid & swift in the morning than evening. By end of the day we are really stressed and tired. We can get more mileage out of ourself only in the morning.  Planning and preparation will keep our diet on track and we can stick to healthy life style.

By: Reena Sharma

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What is Food Pyramid

Use Sparingly: Fats, oils, and sweets
2 - 3 Servings: Milk, Yogurt, and Cheese Group
2 - 3 Servings: Meat, Poultry, Fish, Dry Beans, Eggs, and Nuts Group
2 - 4 Servings: Fruit Group
3 - 5 Servings: Vegetable Group
6 - 11 Servings: Bread, Cereal, Rice, Pasta

The Food Pyramid published by the USDA makes it easy to envision just how much of each food type you should eat. Each section of the pyramid represents a food group; the size of the group corresponds to the number of recommended servings.

1. The base of the pyramid represents the grain group. These are carbohydrate-rich foods like bread, cereal, rice, and pasta. You should eat six to 11 servings per day of these foods.

2. The next tier of the pyramid includes vegetables and fruit. You should eat three to five servings per day of vegetables and two to four servings per day of fruit. These are good sources of vitamins, minerals, and fiber.

3. The next level is protein, like dairy products, meat, poultry, fish, dry beans, eggs, and nuts. You should eat two to three servings per day of foods from the milk group and two to three servings per day of foods from the meat, egg, bean, and nut group.

4. The top level of the pyramid is fats, oils, and sweets; these should be used sparingly.

The pyramid calls for eating a variety of foods to get all of the nutrients you need, and, at the same time, the right amount of calories to maintain a healthy weight. If youre watching your weight, eat the minimum number of recommended servings. If you need to gain weight, eat the maximum number of servings. And, keep in mind as to what constitutes a serving. Most serving sizes are smaller than you think. Be sure to read the food labels carefully to determine the accurate portion size.

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Tips for Weight Loss Success

Tips for Weight Loss Success

Here are some tips for weight loss success:

1.     Eat regular meals.  People who eat regular meals consume fewer calories than those who eat irregular meals.

2.     Use a plate, sit down, and enjoy your meals. Folks who do this eat 43% smaller portions than those who eat out of containers or on the run.

3.     Get at least 30 minutes of moderate activity each day.

4.     How much and what you eat makes a big difference.  Enjoy normal portions of foods that are high in fiber (fruits, veggies, whole grains) and rich in lean or low fat protein is the secret to feeling full.

5.     Think positive: Focus on the benefits of a healthier lifestyle rather than the scale.
Eat at the same times every day (including snacks). Sure you cant do this all the time, but some people find that knowing when to expect their next meal or snack makes them a lot less likely to graze. Our body appreciates rhythms, from seasons to tides, so why not give it what it craves?

6.     Make only one meal. Instead of making something high-cal for the family and low-cal for yourself, get everyone on the same healthy-eating page. Weight loss and maintenance is easier when everyones eating the same thing -- and youre not tempted to taste someone elses calorie-dense food.

7.     Remember that little things add up. So keep eating a little fruit here, some veggies there, continue grabbing 10 minute walks between meetings. Weight loss is a journey guided by your unique needs, so hook into what works for you -- and do it!

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Some Food I Wont Ever Be Posting Recipes For

What is the shared obsession with gelatinious things in food from the 50s and France? This all looks quite scary. The more traditional recipes in the book are quite good but I make sure to never look for the pictures of them because the photographer found a way to make everything look frightening.


Casino Lobster. Did it just finish playing poker? I dont get it.


Fish in Outerspace. Apparently these are not fish of some sort and not creatures from another planet.

Edible Horse. This is an appetizer of some sort. Im still looking for the appetizing part.


Chest Burster Chicken. I made the mistake of reading this recipe. Thats a whole chicken then coated in candied aspic. The other things are hard boiled eggs with the same treatment then on a bed of aspic. It looks dangerous.

Roulette Ham. Who looks at a perfectly good piece of meat and thinks "hey lets put goo on it, that would be awesome."

All of this from Modern French Culinary Art which is a self contained gallery of regrettable food.

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Top 5 lifestyle changes to reduce cholesterol

Lifestyle changes can help reduce cholesterol, keep you off cholesterol-lowering medications or enhance the effect of your medications. Here are five lifestyle changes to get you started.

By Mayo Clinic staff

High cholesterol increases your risk of heart disease and heart attacks. You can reduce cholesterol with medications, but if youd rather make lifestyle changes to reduce cholesterol, you can try these five healthy lifestyle changes. If youre already taking medications, these changes can also improve their cholesterol-lowering effect.

1. Lose weight

Carrying some extra pounds — even just a few — contributes to high cholesterol. So losing as little as 5 to 10 pounds (about 2 to 5 kilograms) can help reduce cholesterol levels.

Start by taking an honest look at your eating habits and daily routine. Consider your challenges to weight loss — and ways to overcome them.

If you eat when youre bored or frustrated, take a walk instead. If you pick up fast food for lunch every day, pack something healthier from home. If youre sitting in front of the television, try munching on carrot sticks instead of potato chips as you watch. And, look for ways to incorporate more activity into your daily routine, such as using the stairs instead of taking the elevator. Take stock of what you currently eat and your physical activity level, and slowly work changes in.

2. Eat heart-healthy foods

Even if you have years of unhealthy eating under your belt, making a few changes in your diet can reduce cholesterol and improve your heart health.

§  Choose healthier fats. Saturated fats, found in red meat and dairy products, raise your total cholesterol and low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, the "bad" cholesterol. As a general rule, you should get no more than 10 percent of your daily calories from saturated fat. Instead, choose leaner cuts of meat, low-fat dairy and monounsaturated fats — found in olive, peanut and canola oils — for a healthier option.

§  Eliminate trans fats. Trans fat can be found in fried foods and many commercial baked products, such as cookies, crackers and snack cakes. But dont rely on packages that are labeled "trans fat-free." In the United States, if a food contains less than 0.5 grams of trans fat per serving, it can be labeled "trans fat-free." Even though those amounts seem small, they can add up quickly if you eat a lot of foods that have a small amount of trans fat in them. Instead, read the ingredients list. You can tell if a food has trans fat in it if it contains partially hydrogenated oil.

§  Limit the cholesterol in your food. Aim for no more than 300 milligrams (mg) of cholesterol a day — less than 200 mg if you have heart disease. The most concentrated sources of cholesterol include organ meats, egg yolks and whole milk products. Use lean cuts of meat, egg substitutes and skim milk instead.

§  Select whole grains. Various nutrients found in whole grains promote heart health. Choose whole-grain breads, whole-wheat pasta, whole-wheat flour and brown rice.

§  Stock up on fruits and vegetables. Fruits and vegetables are rich in dietary fiber, which can help lower cholesterol. Snack on seasonal fruits. Experiment with veggie-based casseroles, soups and stir-fries. If you prefer dried fruit to fresh fruit, limit yourself to no more than a handful (about an ounce or two). Dried fruit tends to have more calories than does fresh fruit.

§  Eat foods rich in omega-3 fatty acids. Omega-3 fatty acids can help lower your LDL ("bad") cholesterol. Some types of fish — such as salmon, mackerel and herring — are rich in omega-3 fatty acids. Other good sources of omega-3 fatty acids include walnuts, almonds and ground flaxseeds.

3. Exercise on most days of the week

Whether youre overweight or not, exercise can reduce cholesterol. Better yet, moderate physical activity can help raise high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol, the "good" cholesterol. With your doctors OK, work up to 30 to 60 minutes of exercise a day. Remember that adding physical activity, even in 10-minute intervals several times a day, can help you begin to lose weight. Just be sure that you can keep up the changes you decide to make. Consider:

§  Taking a brisk daily walk during your lunch hour

§  Riding your bike to work

§  Swimming laps

§  Playing a favorite sport

To stay motivated, find an exercise buddy or join an exercise group. And remember, any activity is helpful. Even taking the stairs instead of the elevator or doing a few sit-ups while watching television can make a difference.

4. Quit smoking

If you smoke, stop. Quitting can improve your HDL cholesterol level. And the benefits dont end there. Just 20 minutes after quitting, your blood pressure decreases. Within 24 hours, your risk of a heart attack decreases. Within one year, your risk of heart disease is half that of a smoker. Within 15 years, your risk of heart disease is similar to someone who never smoked.

5. Drink alcohol only in moderation

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Double Chocolate Flourless Torte

It has been a hell of a day over here in my world so Im going to just let this fabulous chocolate treat speak for itself.  Long story short; its amazing and easy and I wish I had not already eaten it all so I could have some right now in my time of need.  Also please feel free to oo and aw over my new dessert plates.  Thats all.

Double Chocolate Flourless Torte

1 cup dark chocolate (4 one-ounce squares)
1/2 cup almond flour
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 eggs
1/3 cup agave nectar
1/2 cup oil

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Break up the squares of dark chocolate a little bit (I used unsweetened baking chocolate and still thought the recipe was too sweet) then place in food processor and pulse until coarsely ground.  Remove 1/2 of the ground chocolate for later. 

Add in almond flour, cocoa powder, and salt and combine for a couple more seconds in food processor.  Add eggs to food processor and pulse again, then add in agave, oil and orange zest.  Combine until smooth.  Add the remaining 1/2 cup of chocolate pieces back to the mixture and stir briefly.

Transfer batter into a well greased 10 to 12 inch round pan.  Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until it passes the tooth pick test.

Adapted from a recipe on Elanas Pantry.

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Technical Difficulties and a Rant

Ive just found out that Im not actually sitting over here talking to myself in cyberspace for the last couple of months, its that there is just some weird glitch that has been hiding all your lovely comments from me. So if youve commented and I havent gotten back to you its because technology has failed us and I didnt see any of them. I appreciate all your comments and feedback a lot so keep them coming, you just might get a belated response. If you want a more immediate response feel free to e-mail me.

Also I didnt think I had to mention this but it was brought to my attention last night that I apparently do. All the pictures I post here are my personal pictures that I took and host and are copyrighted to me. I dont put water marks on them because I want you to see the yummy food not my name sprayed across them. So feel free to cook anything I post here and link back to my pictures just dont steal my pictures and my original recipes without even giving me credit.

Food bloggers are a community. I see yummy things on other peoples sites and cook them, modifying them for my gluten free and sugar free diet for the benefit of others on the same journey I am on. But when I post these recipes to share I always link them back to the person I found the idea from. I am 100% honest about the fact that many of these recipes are not mine Im posting my experience about cooking what they created and telling you where to find more of their ideas.

People worked hard on these recipes and posting them so other people could enjoy them, I would never steal their creative spirit by passing them off as mine. So its not very neighborly when the few recipes I did create are being posted without being credited back to me in any way. If you like what you found here give me some credit when you repost it. You wouldnt steal the braised cucumbers out of my kitchen so why steal my photos and recipes.

How rude. Now lets all go have a gluten free brownie and play nice.

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Food that can help burn belly fat

Fat burning foods are foods that burn more calories than the calorie content of the food itself, thereby fighting stored fat. Fat burning foods help lose fat even while you sleep.

If you skip meals and food, it will slow your metabolism and your health will deteriorate.

There are certain foods which actually burn more fat than the calorie content of the food itself. These fat burning foods are natural plant foods. If you eat these fat burning foods and do some exercise, it will boost your metabolism and burn more calories (fat) at a faster rate for several hours even after exercise. Full list of the fat burning foods is available.

List of Foods that burn fat: Fat Fighters

1. Fruits rich in vitamin C - Citrus Fruits: like limes, lemons, oranges, guava, grapefruit, papaya, sweet lime, tangerines and tomatoes are rich in Vitamin C and fiber and have fat burning properties so they may be called as fat burning foods or fat burners or fat fighters.
Vitamin C helps the body process fat faster and also stimulates the carnitine amino acid which speeds up the bodys fat-burning capacity.
Vitamin C dilutes the fat and makes it less effective and helps in releasing the fat from the body.

2. Apples: Pectin in apple restricts the cells to absorb the fat; and also encourages water absorption from the food which helps in releasing the fat deposits from the body. The antioxidants in apples may help prevent metabolic syndrome, a condition marked by excess belly fat or an apple body shape.

3. Calcium Rich Dairy Products: Calcium in dairy products like milk, cheese and yogurt act as fat burner that can boost weight loss by increasing fat breakdown in fat cells. According to Professor Michael Zemel at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, (Obesity Research, April 2004; vol 12; pp 582-590), dairy-rich diets with same calorie restriction can nearly double the rate of weight and fat loss. Eating 3-4 servings of dairy products a day is more effective at enhancing weight loss efforts than calcium supplementation alone. Dairy products may therefore be termed as fat burning foods or fat burners.
The researchers found:
Overweight people who consumed 3 servings a day of calcium-rich dairy lost more belly fat than those who followed a similar diet minus two or more of the dairy servings. The calcium supplements didnt work as well as milk.

4. Nuts help feel full while also increasing the bodys ability to burn fat, says author Jordi Salas-Salvado of the University of Rovira i Virgili in Reus, Spain.

5. Chillies: Foods containing chillies or cayenne pepper are considered to be as foods that burn fat. Chillies contain capsaicin that helps in increasing the metabolism. Capsaicin is a thermo genic food, so it causes the body to burn extra calories for 20 minutes after you eat the chilies.

6. Cardamom: Cardamom is a thermo genic herb like Capsaicin that increases metabolism and helps burn body fat.

7. Curry leaves (Curry Patta): Curry leaves flush out fat and toxins, reducing fat deposits in the body.

8. Garlic: An effective fat burning food.

9. Proteins: Protein rich foods and high fiber foods are the best as foods burning belly fat. Protein needs more energy to digest than fat as so eat low calorie dairy products, beans, whole grains, oatmeal, eggs, etc. as much as possible.
Lentils are high in protein and soluble fiber, two nutrients that stabilize blood sugar levels, therefore lentils are a great tummy flattener," according to Tanya Zuckerbrot, R.D., author of The F-Factor Diet.

10.  Green Tea: Studies show that green tea revs up your metabolism, so drink several cups a day.

11.  Fish oil: Fish oil supplements are a great way to shed pounds. A recent study found that fish oil is great for helping your body burn fat more efficiently. You may lose up to 2 kg over 3 months.

12.  Some of the other foods that may be included in the list of fat burning foods are asparagus, beet root, broccoli, cabbage, carrot, chillies, beans, soybeans, sweet potatoes, blueberries and watermelon.

13.  Honey: Honey mobilizes the extra fat deposits in the body.

14.  Avoid Salt and Sugar: Avoiding salt and sugar can shape you up very fast.

Note that in order to lose weight you have to burn more calories than you consume. This can be done by eating fat fighting foods and doing some physical activity. This will help your body burning up the excessive stored fat.

Article By: Padma Mehta and Prakash Mehta (www.fatfreekitchen.com)

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Quick Healthy Recipes Part 1

Mango Salsa Recipe
1 ripe/raw mango, peeled, pitted(without skin and seed)), and diced (about 1 1/2 cup)
1/2 medium red onion, finely chopped
1 Green Chilies/ Jalapeño, minced (include ribs and seeds for a hotter taste if desired)
1 small cucumber, peeled and diced (about 1 cup)
3 Tbsp. fresh cilantro leaves, chopped

3 Tbsp. fresh lime juice
 

Salt as per taste
(I even add little Carrot/Beetroot/Tomatoes. More the merrier)
Mix all and serve with lunch or dinner. You eat as salad or topping for Papad or topping for any chat items.

Stuffed Pita:Get Whole Wheat Pita Bread 1 Packet
Pressure Cook 1 & 1/2 cup Black beans with 4 Cup water, 2tsp salt and 2 Garlic cloves.
Drain water and keep Boiled Black beans aside. Add little salt again.
1/2 medium red onion, finely chopped
Raisin Grapes finely chopped
1 Tomatoes finely chopped
3 Tbsp. fresh cilantro leaves, chopped

Cut Pita into Half, pan grill till it turns golden throughout.
Open half cut pita like a pocket Fill it with Boiled Black beans, little cut onions, Grapes, tomatoes and Cilantro. Its ready to eat.
Vegetarian Lettuce wraps recipe is quick and easy to make. Serve the filling on a platter with whole lettuce leaves on the side, and let your friends and family wrap their own. Theyll love the combination of crisp, cold lettuce with the warm, flavorful filling.
head fresh iceberg lettuce (this type works best for this recipe)
1. Cooking oil: 3tsp
2. Finely chopped onions: 1½ Cup
3. Minced Garlic: 2 Tablespoons Cup
4. Finely chopped ginger: 1"x1"
5. Soy Chunks: 1½ Cup (Put Soy Chunks in Boiled water for 4min and drain the hot water by putting in colander and squeezing out all the water)
6. Mutton Masala/Garam Masala 1 teaspoon
7. Cumin Powder: 1 teaspoon
8. Coriander powder: 1 teaspoon
9. Red Chili powder/Lal Mirch powder (Cayenne): ½ teaspoon or to taste
10. Salt: ½ teaspoon or to taste
11. Tomato Paste/Mango powder(amchur): 2 tsp.
12. Defrosted green peas: 1 Cup (Optional)
13. Chopped fresh Cilantro: 2 Tablespoons

Method1. Heat oil in a heavy bottom pan/nonstick pan. Add onions and sauté onions till clear about 5 minutes. Add Garlic, Ginger. Continue Sautéing about 90 seconds.
2. Add Boiled & Drained Soy Chunks. On medium heat continue cooking and till all water is dried and the Soy has turned light brown.
3. Add ingredients Mutton Masala, Cumin Powder, Coriander powder, Red chili powder, Salt. Sauté about one minute.
4. Add Tomato Paste Continue sautéing till it forms a mixture (shiny).
5.  Turn down heat to medium. Cover. Simmer covered for 7 minutes or till done.
7. Add Green peas. Shut off heat. Do NOT cook peas for long time, they lose color and become mushy.
Garnish with fresh chopped Cilantro.
Now take 1 leaf of iceberg lettuce and put 1tbs of Soy Stuffing in the center, wrap it up and eat.
You can use some tamarind chutney or any ketchup to make it more interesting.

By: Reena Sharma

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Extreme Weight Loss Diets That Work Is Preparation Necessary

First of all, who is in charge? You or your food? Decide now how committed you are going to be in trying and extreme diet. The more committed and consistent you are, the faster and better results youll have.



There are necessary changes in your food choices that need to place. Make your decision now to go full out without looking back. Move forward while being in control of your habits and completely focused on your meal planning and preparation.

Set yourself up for weight loss success by limiting your involvement in other areas of your life. A good time to start is when your life is in balance. Choosing to switch to a new way of eating right before a wedding, in the middle of a move, or at the start of new job, probably are not the best times to change your food regime. It will be easier to keep organized if your life is at an even state without major life changes.

3 Things to know before you learn about extreme weight loss diets that work

1. Meal plan. Plan meals and snacks at least 2 weeks in advance. Planning will enable you to buy the necessary food for your meals.

2. Shopping list. Organize a shopping list for all of the foods, herbs, and spices you will need. Make sure your list is complete. If you are missing some items, it is easy to slip back into old habits because you were not prepared to eat what you had planned.

3. Prepare. Prep snacks and other meal items in advance. Cook double and save the rest for another day. Chop up fruits and veggies and place in easy to go bags or containers. Make a weeks worth of snacks.

3 Extreme Weight Loss Diets That Work

1. Sugar free. Sugar is an excellent food for fat cells. They love it and thrive on it. As soon as sugar is gone, the fat cells stop producing and the old ones melt away. Once off of sugar for at least 2 weeks, you will stop craving it as much. Check food labels for sugar or high fructose corn syrup. Beware of sugar filled beverages.

2. Raw food. A raw food diet eliminates sugar as well. Consuming mostly fruits and vegetables, you will gain energy while speeding up your metabolism.

3. Cleanse. A cleansing diet works quickly. This type only lasts for a week or so, it is not a lifestyle change. Although participating in a cleansing diet several times a year is very beneficial to your digestive tract. You will notice that bloating is significantly reduced.

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Rice Flour Angel Food Cake

The fella has only one requirement for his birthday: there must be an angel food cake with blue frosting. I love him more than air but in case youve never tried angel food cake making is a pain in the behind. There is also the fact that boxed cake mixes are my Achilles heel of baking. I can make a three layer hummingbird cake with cream cheese frosting from scratch without breaking a sweat but show me a boxed cake and I can almost guarantee it will not turn out.

The first two years the fella and I were together I made the mistake of thinking a boxed angel food cake would be the way to go because even though baked goods in boxes are my nemesis it had to be simpler than doing it from scratch. Right? Both times I spent an afternoon in the kitchen glaring at the box and swearing at the electric mixer. No matter how much I beat the mix it wouldnt fluff up. Convenience food? Ha. After much pacing of the kitchen and many choice words I did end up with a mostly in tact cake placed on the table and frosted and me with a smile on my face, trying not to let on to the fella the amount of crazy I had just re-harnessed behind my beaming faux house wife facade before he got home.

There were a couple moments while making those cakes when all the angel food cakes I would make for the rest of my life flashed before my eyes and I wanted to give up. Was a deep meaningful relationship with a man I love dearly and connect with on almost every level worth making angel food every year? It turns out it is but I still dislike angel food.

This year a box mix wasnt even an option. If I was making this cake I was making a gluten free cake I could eat and if I was going to go through that much effort I was going to make the best freaking angel food cake ever. This would be the year I made piece with angel food.

It worked. I took the super simple recipe for basic angel food cake in The Joy of Cooking and switched rice flour in for the cake flour and stirred in some chocolate flakes to make it more interesting. It was a long 35 minutes waiting for that cake to finish. There is no window in my oven door and opening to peak in would have ruined anything so for 35 long minutes I was sure that I had just wasted a dozen eggs and my afternoon for nothing. When the timer went off and a perfectly risen fluffy gluten free made from scratch angel food cake came out of the oven I couldnt help but do a little dance and congratulate myself. The fella was thrilled and belly laughed at me for my lack of modesty.

Now there was the issue of blue frosting. I thought of all sorts of creative and crazy ideas for flavors or ways to make it blue without food coloring but in the end I went simple. Homemade whipped cream with blue food coloring heaped on the top of the angel food cake so that it looks like a fluffy blue cloud of yum. As you can see the fella was excited by this prospect and Im excited that I finally made a yummy birthday cake for him.

Turns out angel food cake isnt that difficult after all. The trick is reading the recipe a million times before starting and making sure absolutely all the tools youll need for all the steps are within arms reach because once you turn that mixer on for the first time you are not leaving that corner of the kitchen for a good 10 minutes but the result is worth it.

So happy birthday to the fella, hope youve had the best birthday week ever.

Rice Flour Angel Food Cake

1 cup brown rice flour
2/3 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt

1/ 4 cup dark chocolate pieces or chips

12 cold egg whites
1 tablespoon water
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon cream of tartar
1 teaspoon vanilla

2/3 cup sugar

Preheat oven to 350. Have ready an un-greased 10 inch tube pan.

Sift together the flour, sugar and salt three times into a medium bowl.

Pulverize the chocolate chunks in a food processor until finely chopped. Set aside.

In a large bowl beat together on low speed with an electric mixer for 1 minute the egg whites, water, lemon juice, cream of tartar, and lemon. Increase mixer speed to medium and continue beating until the mixture increases in volume about 5 times and resembles a slightly translucent soft foam. This should take around 2 to 3 minutes. The foam will hold soft moist peaks when beaters are lifted.

One tablespoon at a time slowly beat in the remaining 2/3 cup of sugar. Do this process over the course of 2 minutes. When the sugar is added the foam will be a creamy white and hold soft glossy peaks that bend over at the points. Do not beat until stiff.

A 1/4 cup at a time sift a fine layer of the flour mixture evenly over the surface of the batter and fold gently with a rubber spatula just until the flour is nearly incorporated. Repeat 7 more times with the rest of flour mix until no traces of flour are visible. During the last addition of flour mixture add the chocolate pieces.

Pour the batter into the pan and spread to level the top. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 35 minutes. Let cool upside down for at least 2 hours, setting the tube over a bottleneck or resting the pan on 4 glasses.

Original recipe from Irma S. Rombauer, Marion Rombauer Becker and Ethan Beckers The Joy of Cooking.

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Light Indian Food Tips

This article is by Sanjeev Kapoor(Very Famous Indian Chef). Im his fan and liked his tips on eating healthy.

There are many ways to enjoy some light Indian food. If you have roti and sabzi make sure that the roti is not laden with ghee and the sabzi is smartly made in a non stick pan with use of minimal oil. In fact, go ahead and have a bowl of skim milk yogurt, some dal and a bowl of brown rice. What about the salad – have it with a dash of lemon! So you can judge for yourself that is easy to have a balanced meal of light Indian food.

In case you are looking at skimming off calories through the day here are some tips:

Replace one cup of full cream milk with either half a cup or better still replace with same quantity or lesser of low-fat (skimmed) milk.

• Snack on an orange and a banana instead of something fried
• Have steamed vegetables once in a while instead of sautéed ones.
• If you are about to reach for a handful of caramel chocolates, look at dried fruit instead. When making a sandwich, use two slices of whole wheat bread instead of two slices of white bread.
• The nightcap of whole milk hot chocolate can be replaced with skimmed milk flavoured with a dash of elaichi.
• Cut back on sampling during cooking. All "tastes" have calories!
• Snack on a papaya instead of a packet of biscuits.
• On a hot day, quench your thirst with a glass of ice water with lemon or mint instead of a can of cola.
• Use one cup of fat-free cottage cheese instead of regular cottage cheese.
• Have a single scoop of ice cream instead of a double scoop.
• A good sandwich spread is made with mustard paste or green coriander chutney. So why use mayonnaise or butter?
• Once in a while one can have fried foods but there are possibilities of creating tastier versions using the grill, microwave or methods of steaming or baking.
• In case of cutlets and croquettes, which are deep-fried, ensure to drain them well and then keep on absorbent kitchen paper. This helps in removing the top oil.
• The list of wafers, chocolates, cakes, pastries and biscuits as snacks can be replaced. I suggest that once in a while you also try out fresh fruit, dry fruits, breadsticks or vegetable sticks whenever hunger pangs strike you in between meals.

By: www.sanjeevkapoor.com

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