All posts by HealthyLife

HealthyLife is a part of www.WeRIndia.com, an all India – centric website (https://healthylife.werindia.com) and is solely owned and operated by WeRIndia.com. It is a Indian nutritional portal providing educational articles.This nutritional port was launched on February 5th, 2015.
Spicy poha snack

Spicy Pounded Beaten Rice, Kuttavalakki Recipe

Beaten rice, poha -can be used for preparing different types of snacks. One can make laddu, sweet dish, spicy mixture, poha upma for breakfast or just mix with yogurt and jaggery to satisfy hunger.

Mixed with various spices and condiments ingredients to a spicy coarse powder, traditional pounded beaten rice spicy powder tastes really yummy! This snack item is popular in Southern Indian states. It is recommended for fasting days, religious ceremonies and also as a simple ready to eat breakfast.

Kuttavalakki / spicy beaten rice powder recipe

Ingredients

  1. Beaten rice – 3 cups
  2. Tamarind – 4 inches (one medium lime size)
  3. Jaggery -3 Tbsp
  4. Red chilies – 7-8
  5. Cumin -1 tsp
  6. Coriander seeds – 1.5 Tbsp
  7. Mustard – 1.5 tsp
  8. Urad dal – 1 tsp
  9. Peanuts – 2 Tbsp
  10. Copra/dried coconut – thin sliced -1/4 cup
  11. Curry leaves – 2 leaflets
  12. Turmeric -1 tsp
  13. Chana dal – 1 tsp
  14. Roasted chana – 2 Tbsp
  15. Salt – as per  taste (1 tsp recommended)
  16. Asafetida – 2 pinches
  17. Cooking oil -2 Tbsp

Preparation:

  1. Add cumin, coriander, tamarind, red chili to a dry grinder and prepare powder.
  2. Add beaten rice and powdered jaggery continue mixing by pulsing to a coarse powder.
  3. Heat oil in a pan, add mustard seeds, chana dal.
  4. Once chana dal turns golden brown, add peanut followed by copra slices.
  5. Add curry leaves and continue frying till you get the aroma. Ingredients should not burn. Reduce the heat.
  6. Add turmeric powder, roasted chana dal, asafetida and beaten rice mix. Mix the contents. Add salt and continue mixing on low heat. Turn off the heat.
  7. Allow content to cool down and transfer beaten rice spicy powder to an airtight container.
  8. One can eat this powder with tea, coffee as an evening snack. Or can have this as morning breakfast with yogurt and banana on side or mix with yogurt.

Image credit:”https://assets.pinterest.com/162411130287592250

Author: HealthyLife | Posted on: July 29, 2021
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Benefits of Shatavari

Benefits Of Wonder Herb Shatavari

Shatavari is a beautiful medicinal herb used for centuries in Ayurveda medicine system. The name shatavari in Sanskrit means “having hundred roots”. It is a rejuvenating herb that helps women in various stages of life – in pregnancy, during lactating, menopause and at old age. Not just women both children and men can get benefit from shatavari herb.

Asparagus racemosus is the botanical name for shatavari. In Ayurveda it is also known as Rasayana herb or rejuvenating and immunity building medicinal herb.  Plant belongs to contain many tuberous roots. One plant can produce hundreds of such tuberous roots and these roots are useful as medicine.

Benefits of shatavari for all:

  1. improving male reproductive health and male fertility
  2. good for blood sugar balance
  3. used in improving digestive health
  4. It has anti-inflammatory property
  5. Builds healthy immune system
  6. Reduces irritability and anger – improves mood
  7. Reduces constipation, stomach ulcers and diarrhea
  8. Soothes and improves respiratory tract performance
  9. Improves energy level and helps in strengthening overall system.
  10. Supports overall health of women – reduces menopausal symptoms
  11. Promotes breast milk production in lactating women
  12. Applying on skin to reduce redness

Shatavari is used in Ayurveda to balance vata and piita dosha. It has a cooling effect on the system. If a person is suffering from excess pitta, consuming shatavari helps. It acts as a tonic for digestive system and improves blood hormone levels. It improves normal estrogen hormonal productivity and utilization.

How to use Shatavari ?

Generally, Shatavari is taken as tablet, powder or in the form of liquid (extract).

Shatavari powder is available in medicine stores or pharmacy can be taken with milk, ghee, sugar, or honey. Shatavari root liquid extract and tablets are also available in pharmacy and Ayurveda herbal centers.

Shatavari powder can be combined with dry fruits such as dates, figs, and raisins. Add ¼ tsp of shatavari powder to the dry fruits and run in food processor, prepare laddu. Eating these energy balls will help to improve stamina in girls.

One can add ½ tsp Shatavari powder to a glass of milk, add turmeric (1/4 tsp), rock sugar or jaggery little, cardamom powder and  mix and boil. For women this recipe also helps to relieve stress during pregnancy.

To reduce skin dryness and to get fresh look, mix ghee and shatavari powder in equal ratio. Apply this on skin. Wash after few minutes using warm water.

For inflamed skin, mix ½ tsp shatavari powder, ¼ tsp turmeric powder and ¼ tsp red sandalwood powder – mix with little water or milk to prepare a paste. Apply this on inflamed skin to reduce the inflammation.

If you have preexisting or chronic condition, talk to your doctor before consuming shatavari. Do not mix shatavari with regular medicines that you take as it can cause reaction.

Image credit:

Asparagus flower: Dinesh Valke from Thane, India, CC BY-SA 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

Saraswatiayurveda.com, indiamart.com

Author: HealthyLife | Posted on: July 23, 2021
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Rava bonda

Semolina / Rava Bonda with coconut chutney

Having a low glycemic index, semolina or rava is ideal for those who wish to lose weight or those who have blood sugar problems. Semolina is made of durum wheat which is a hard variety of wheat. It is slow to digest and little amount of semolina fills the stomach. This helps you feel full longer and prevents you from overeating. For those who lead an active lifestyle, semolina is a quick and nourishing source of energy. The trace minerals in semolina, such as phosphorus, zinc and magnesium, are beneficial for the health of your bones and nervous system.

Here is a quick and easy kids friendly recipe of semolina bonda which also can be used as a snack item when you expect guests.  Serve this with coconut chutney to make it more tasty !

 Rava bonda recipe:

Ingredients:

  1. Rava/semolina – 1 cup
  2. Sour yogurt/curd – ½ cup
  3. Onion – 1chopped
  4. Ginger – An inch chopped
  5. Green chili – 2 chopped (or as needed)
  6. Pepper powder – 1/4 tsp
  7. Curry leaves -12 chopped
  8. Coriander/cilantro leaves chopped -1/4 cup
  9. Salt – as per taste
  10. Asafetida (hing)- a pinch
  11. Oil for frying

Preparation:

1) Mix rava, sour curd, salt well to a paste – not too thick. Use little water too. You should be able to make a ball out of this paste. Keep it aside for an hour to soak.

2) Add finely chopped onion, ginger, green chili, pepper powder, curry leaves, cilantro leaves and pinch of asafoetida (hing) and mix well.

3) In a deep pan, heat the oil under medium flame.

4) Make small balls of semolina mix and release slowly in the oil. Deep fry till they turn golden brown.

5) Transfer the hot rava bonda to a tissue paper to drain the excess oil.

6) Serve hot rava bonda with coconut chutney with coffee or tea as a snack item.

Coconut chutney recipe:

Ingredients :

  1. Grated fresh coconut -1/2 cup
  2. Roasted chana dal -1/4 cup
  3. Ginger-1/2 inch
  4. 1 green chili -1 or 2
  5. Curry leaves -10-15
  6. Oil – 2 tsp
  7. Asafetida – a pinch
  8. Salt as required

Preparation:

  1. In a grinder, add coconut, roasted chana dal, ginger, chili, little salt and grind to a paste.
  2. Transfer the chutney to a container.
  3. In small pan heat little oil, add mustard, urad dal, curry leaves and asafetida and get ready with seasoning.
  4. Add the seasoning to the chutney. Before serving if you would like then add little lemon juice and serve with bonda.

Recipe: www.werindia.com

Author: HealthyLife | Posted on: July 13, 2021
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Time and money saving easy beauty tips!

Time and money saving easy beauty tips!

In our daily life, we come across several herbs and we neglect the importance of these herbs.

Do you know you can save trips to beauty parlor if you use these herbs and save on both your time and money?  

These are simple techniques / tips. Try it!

  1.  Lemon: Use lemon to remove underarm odor instead of all those deodorants that are loaded with chemicals.
  2. Garlic: Crush garlic clove and hold it on pimple/acne for few seconds to stop infection or dip cotton ball in organic garlic oil and place it on acne for few seconds. This reduces acne spreading on face.
  3. Papaya and turmeric face pack: Mash papaya and mix with turmeric. Apply on face as face pack for 30 mins. Get glowing and clear skin with this treatment.
  4. Sugar scrub: Two tea spoons of sugar and one tsp of honey – mix well, prepare sugar scrub and apply on chopped lips. Wash after 5 minutes with warm water.
  5. Castor oil: Warm 2 tsp of castor oil for about 20 seconds and apply on scalp and hair. Wait for 30 minutes and wash hair with good shampoo once. Do this once a week – hair looks black, thick and increases facial beauty
  6. Use mint to remove clogged pore: Mix 2 Tbs fresh mint (finely chopped) with equal amount of curd and oatmeal powder. Apply this concoction of face, leave it for 10 to 15 minutes. Wash with warm water.
  7. Potato slice and juice: Tired of eye bags and dark circles? Peel a potato, cut into small pieces. Using a blender grind it with water. Apply this juice below eyes. Alternatively you can place sliced potato under the eye. Advantage of using potato juice, you can roam freely while waiting for the potato effect!
  8. Under armpit care: To get rid of black mark after shaving try this simple method -mix and apply honey and charcoal, or use lemon juice, yogurt and honey mixture or place cucumber slice or prepare paste of cucumber and turmeric – apply. Wait for 10 minutes and wash.
  9. Turmeric and curd/buttermilk: Mix ½ tsp of turmeric powder in ¼ glass of curd or buttermilk. Apply this on face. Wait for 15 minutes and wash face to get glowing look.
  10. Aloe gel: Mix Aloe gel, few drops of coconut oil and lemon juice – put it in a blender and liquefy the mixture. Transfer to a spray bottle and mist on hair. Leave it for couple of hours. Wash hair with warm water. Hair gets smooth appearance.

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Online grandma: www.healthylfie.werindia.com

Author: HealthyLife | Posted on: July 12, 2021
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Need a new battery recipe?

Need a new battery recipe? Take one leaf, bake it, and add sodium!

Scientists Just Figured Out How To Power Batteries With Leaves

By Brianna Acuesta @www.trueactivist.com

Scientists at the University of Maryland were successfully able to use leaves to replace an important component in batteries.

It’s basically common knowledge that when we dispose of batteries, we’re not supposed to just throw them in our trash casually. Whether or not we all dispose of them properly is another issue. But why are batteries so bad for the environment?

In a nutshell, batteries, especially rechargeable ones, aren’t great for the environment when you throw them out because the heavy metals—cadmium, cobalt, and lead—will degrade and release the toxicity into the air, through the topsoil, into the groundwater, and eventually reach us again—except this time we’ll be consuming it.

This is why a team of visiting professors at the University of Maryland decided to look for more sustainable materials to build batteries and hopefully replace the heavy metals. They first tried many other natural materials, including wood fibers, before making an attempt at a leaf. Their goal was to find materials that could absorb and store the sodium and make up the anode of a battery.

There are many benefits to using leaves. As Hongbian Li, one of the lead authors of the paper that published these results, stated,

“Leaves are so abundant. All we had to do was pick one up off the ground here on campus,” said Hongbian Li, a visiting professor at the University of Maryland’s department of materials science and engineering and one of the main authors of the paper. Li is a member of the faculty at the National Center for Nanoscience and Technology in Beijing, China. 

They also have a carbon structure that can be burnt off to make the sodium more absorb-able, they’re covered in pores where the sodium electrolytes enter, and they already have the perfect structure to fit the need of a battery. Additionally, Fei Shen, another lead author on the paper, notes that,

“The natural shape of a leaf already matches a battery’s needs: a low surface area, which decreases defects; a lot of small structures packed closely together, which maximizes space; and internal structures of the right size and shape to be used with sodium electrolyte.” 

How do they actually get the leaf to absorb and hold the sodium? The process is easier than you think. They bake the leaf for an hour at 1000° Celsius to burn off the carbon structure and add sodium. Though the researchers know that there are other natural ways to make a battery that have been tested with success, such as banana peels and melon skin, leaves take less preparation and are more naturally accessible.

The team’s next step is to find the perfect leaf by testing different thicknesses, structures, and flexibility for the battery.

Read More: http://www.trueactivist.com/scientists-just-figured-out-how-to-power-batteries-with-leaves/

Author: HealthyLife | Posted on: July 9, 2021
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Natural Poisons in Fruits and Vegetables

Natural Poisons in Fruits and Vegetables

Eating fruits and vegetables is healthy as they supply nutrition and less calories. We are familiar with benefits of most popular fruits and vegetables.

But do you know some of the famous fruits and vegetables also contain poison?

We are not referring to pesticides and herbicides sprays here. We are talking about natural poisons that are present in common produces.

Sometimes unknowingly we might consume seeds of certain fruits and feel sick.

Reason for this is, the chemical constitution of seeds that can be the reason for symptoms of sickness.

Apart from microorganism infection that could be reason for food poisoning, certain natural chemicals found in fruit and vegetables can be poisonous too.

Image credit: www.pixabay.com, www.needpix.com, www.unsplash.com, www.creativecommons.com, https://commons.wikimedia.org/ (Free for commercial uses)

Poison in Apples: Click here to read more

Poison in Apples

Poison in Almonds: Click here to read more

Poison in Almonds

Poison in Cherries: Click here to read more

Poison in Cherries

Poison in Peaches: Click here to read more

Poison in Peaches

Poison in Apricot: Click here to read more

Poison in Apricot

Poison in Cashews: Click here to read more

Poison in Cashews

Toxic Squash Syndrome of Cucurbits: Click here to read more

Toxic squash syndrome of cucurbits

Other Common Poisonous Fruits and Vegetables: Click here to read more/span>

Common Poisonous Fruits and Vegetables

References:

  1. http://www.seattleorganicrestaurants.com
  2. https://modernfarmer.com
  3. https://www.cnn.com/
  4. Images: Pixabay (Free for commercial use)
Author: HealthyLife | Posted on: July 5, 2021
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Poison in Apples

Poison in Apples

One apple a day keeps doctors away! The King of fruit is good for health and contains nutrients and fiber. It is source of Vitamin C, A and lots of antioxidants.

Well this is true when you eat apple flesh. On the other hand, apple seeds contain amygdalin chemical that produces cyanide once ingested.

This is the reason when you consume many apple seeds get pain in stomach.

Cyanogenic acids are poisonous and consuming seeds results in headache, confusion, anxiety, dizziness, increase heart rate and kidney failure!

Avoid apple seeds and remove seeds before consuming apple.

Author: HealthyLife | Posted on:
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Poison in Almonds

Poison in Almonds

Almonds are actually seeds. Almonds are known for proteins and almond milk, sweets etc. Generally almonds are used in bakery and for other cooking purposes including sweets.

Almond milk is replacing regular milk and popular with vegans.

Did you know almonds are processed seeds of bitter almonds? If it is not processed it can be poisonous.

It contains cyanogenic acids similar to apple and consuming bitter almond can be deadly. Before entering market, bitter almonds must be processed to remove poison.

Heating process removes poison from bitter almonds. In US it is illegal to sell 100% bitter almonds.

Almonds sold in US are now heat treated to remove poison.

Author: HealthyLife | Posted on:
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