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.
Winner of Mothers’ Day Special Recipe Contest 2018
Our motto was to “Celebrate the most important women in your life this Mother’s Day!“
We asked our users aka WeRIndians to share their family’s best, favorite food recipe in the comment section of our Facebook page and they could win a gift hamper to pamper their Mom like she deserves. And, guess what… we have received an amazing response from our participants in the contest.
My Ultimate & the most healthy snack is “Oats Cutlet”.
And here’s the ‘Oats Cutlet‘ recipe:
Ingredients:
Oats – 1cup
Onions – 1 cup (finely chopped)
Potatoes (boiled and mashed) – 4
Red chilli powder – 1/2 tsp
Chaat masala – 1/2 tsp
Cumin Powder – 1/2 tsp
Garam masala – 1/4 tsp
Coriander Powder-1/2 tsp
Paneer-150 gms
Salt – to taste
Bread crumbs – 1/2 cup
Cornflour (for paste,mixing with water)
Green Chillies –(finely chopped) if required
Olive Oil
Coriander leaves – (finally chopped)
Method:
Dry roast the oats and keep it aside.In a separate bowl Add mashed potatoes and grated paneer and chopped onion now add the red chilli powder, chaat masala, cumin powder, garam masala and coriander powder, salt and the chopped fresh coriander and mix well. Then add roasted oats and mix well.
Divide to 11 or 12 equal parts and make it as round flat or oval shaped or heart shaped cutlets.
Coat both sides with cornflour paste quickly then coat each cutlet with bread crumbs/Rusk crumbs.
Heat a pan and sprinkle little olive oil and place the cutlets.When the bottom side turns golden brown, turn the other side.
Remove when the other side also turns golden brown.
Serve hot with tomato ketchup/green chutney.
Note:You can add vegetables like boiled peas/chopped capsicum/grated carrot.
Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is a term for two conditions – Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis both are chronic inflammation of the gastrointestinal (GI) tract. IBD often mistaken as IBS – Irritable bowel syndrome.
Symptoms of Inflammatory bowel disease are:
Persistent diarrhea
Abdominal pain
Rectal bleeding/bloody stools
Weight loss
Fatigue
To diagnose IBD endoscopy is used for Crohn’s disease and colonoscopy for ulcerative colitis. With these imaging studies, MRI, computed tomography or CT are used. Doctors will check stool samples to check any possible infection or run blood test to confirm their diagnosis.
Crohn’s Disease: Can affect any part of the GI tract from mouth to anus). Most often it affects the portion of the small intestine before the large intestine/colon.
Damaged areas appear in patches that are next to areas of healthy tissue
Inflammation may reach through the multiple layers of the walls of the GI tract
Ulcerative Colitis: Occurs in the large intestine (colon) and the rectum
Damaged areas are continuous (not patchy) – usually starting at the rectum and spreading further into the colon
Inflammation is present only in the innermost layer of the lining of the colon
How is IBD treated? Different types of medications including immunomodulators, corticosteroids, aminosalicylates are used. To prevent infections vaccinations are recommended. Severe IBD required to remove damaged portion of GI. Now a days surgery is uncommon due to advances in treatments. Both Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis require different types of surgeries.
How to manage IBD?
Cause of IBD is still not totally understood and it cannot be prevented. However, IBD symptoms can be managed to prevent complications.
Stop smoking. Smoking worsens treatment outcomes and increases flares-up among patients with Crohn’s disease.
Get recommended vaccinations. IBD patients treated with certain medications have a higher risk for infection.
Ask your doctor if you should be screened for colorectal cancer. Patients with IBD may need to start screening for colorectal cancer before age 50.
If you are a woman with IBD, talk to your doctor about how to prevent cervical cancer. Patients with IBD are at higher risk of cervical cancer.
Ask your doctor if you need a bone density test. Certain medications used to treat IBD may increase your risk for osteoporosis.
Diet & Nutrition: Diet and nutrition helps to prevent IBD. But diet or food does not initiate IBD.
Eat smaller meals at more frequent intervals. Eat five small meals a day, every three or four hours, rather than the traditional three large meals a day.
Reduce the amount of greasy or fried foods. High-fat foods may cause diarrhea and gas if fat absorption is incomplete.
Watch dairy intake. Persons who are lactose intolerant or who are experiencing IBD or IBS may need to limit the amount of milk or milk products they consume.
Restrict the intake of certain high-fiber foods. If there is narrowing of the bowel, these foods may cause cramping. High-fiber foods also cause contractions once they enter the large intestine. Because they are not completely digested by the small intestine, these foods may also cause diarrhea.
Avoid problem (trigger) foods. Eliminate any foods that make symptoms worse. These may include “gassy” food (such as beans, cabbage and broccoli), spicy food, popcorn and alcohol, as well as foods and drinks that contain caffeine, such as chocolate and soda.
Foods to try: Bananas, applesauce, canned varieties of fruit, White bread, crackers made with white flour, plain cereals, White rice, refined pastas, Potatoes without the skin, Cheese (if you’re not lactose intolerant). Smooth peanut butter, Bland soft foods, Cooked vegetables, Canola and olive oils, Low-sugar sports drinks and Crystal Light diluted with water
Foods to avoid: Fresh fruit (unless blended or juiced), Prunes, raisins or dried fruit, Uncooked vegetables and raw foods, High-fiber foods (such as fiber-rich breads, cereals, nuts and leafy greens), High-sugar foods, Skins, seeds, popcorn, High-fat foods, Spicy foods, Beans, Some dairy products, Large food portions, Caffeine in coffee, tea and other beverages, Ice-cold liquids (even water)
Managing stress helps to reduce IBD symptoms. Getting enough sleep, nurturing body with healthy tips, enough physical activities prevents prolongation and pain caused by IBD.
For more on Inflammatory Bowel Syndrome please visit:
Stay in the kitchen: Keep an eye on cooking. Do not leave cooking area unattended because the number one cause of cooking fire is not paying attention and unattending.
Check food regularly. If you are roasting, simmering, seasoning, baking, frying it is important to keep an eye on food. You can also use a timer to remind you to check on dish.
Oil: If oil is too hot or seasoning is not done properly, oil will attract fire. Do not overheat oil. Overheated oil will spill out and can cause ignition.
Keep stove top clear: Do not place dishtowel, paper towel, oven mitts on stove top. These materials can catch fire.
Clothing: Do not wear lose clothing while cooking. Wear short or close-fitting sleeves.
Clean cooking surfaces:Use a proper liquid and remove food and grease build up.
No gasoline: Do not store gasoline inside the kitchen and house. Likewise, do not keep store solvents, flammable materials, cleaners close to stove surface.
Vessels: Pan and pots that have handles should have proper handle covered with fire resistant material.
Gas cylinder: Learn how to open and lock gas cylinder. Learn safety measurements while handling gas cylinder. If gas is leaking, open all the windows. Let the gas empty kitchen and house. Do not light the gas.
Watch children: Do not leave children unattended in kitchen while cooking. When old enough, teach children fire safety.
Grill: If you are using grill, be sure to keep it clean and away from materials that could catch on fire. If you are using starter fluid be careful. Propane gas tanks should be checked for leaks on regular basis
How to extinguish fire?
Slide a pan lid over flames to smother grease or oil fire and turnoff the heat. Leave the lid in place until the pan cools.
Use baking soda to extinguish food fires. Do not use water or flour on cooking fires.
Keep the oven door shut and turn off the heat to smother an oven or broiler fire
Keep a fire extinguisher in the kitchen and learn how to use it.
Smoke detector: Have a working smoke detector at home. Change the batteries twice a year.
Always have fire department number handy and if you feel fire cannot be contained call emergency number and get out of the house. While leaving, close the door behind you to help contain the fire.
To get benefit of mung bean one can sprout mung beans and prepare mung bean pancakes (also known as dosa) by adding light spices such as cumin, coriander, turmeric and fennel.
Adding these ingredients makes it more digestible and easy on stomach.
Often referred as low plank pose, Chaturanga Dandasana, Four limbed staff pose is a intermediate yoga pose. It resembles a push up with a difference -dandasana is a straight-line pose where body is aligned correctly and limbs and hands support the body. It is a challenging pose for yogis and takes many practices to get it correct. It is a major component of Vinyasa, Ashtanga and modern power yoga. It is an essential pose of Sun salutation or Surya namaskar. It strengthens and tones arms, wrists, abdominal muscles and lower back. It prepares body for arm balancing poses. It is one of the most desired pose of yogis and once learning accomplished the pose is a powerful tool for full body toner. – Healthylife
Come into Plank pose. Make sure your hands are aligned beneath your shoulders, and distribute your body weight evenly between your hands and feet.
Exhale and bend at the elbows. Slowly lower your body until it’s parallel to the floor, a few inches above your mat, and your arms are at a 90-degree angle. Hold your elbows in close to your ribs.
Engage your abdomen and thighs to maintain length in the spine. Do not let your shoulders come lower than your elbows. (This will help protect your rotator cuff.)
Lower your gaze so you are looking straight down, keeping your neck in line with your spine.
To release, exhale and push up into Upward-Facing Dog. Beginners may lower down to the abdomen, preparing for Cobra pose.
Spring is beautiful season and time to remove clutters accumulated during winter season.
Spring means going outdoors and keeping house doors open, windows open and let the bright Sun light in.
It also means cleaning the house to make it more pleasant and attractive to live.
Here is a list of spring cleaning tips…
Stainless sink: Sprinkle baking soda inside the sink and using a sponge scrub the sink. If needed add salt with baking soda.
Water stains in faucets: Rub lemon half on faucet and remove hard water stains.
Shower head: Remove calcium and mineral deposits by white vinegar. Fill plastic bag/Ziploc with white vinegar and immerse showerhead in the liquid. Secure with rubber band. It takes overnight treatment to remove deposits.
Burnt residue? Place a wet dryer sheet on ceramic top for few minutes and rub the burnt residues
Grill stains: Spray white vinegaronto grates and scrub using half cut onion. Any residues will come out. Use cleaning cloth and remove residues.
Clean glass surface: Use old newspapers to get streak -free look of windows and glasses. Spray water -vinegar- liquid soap mix using a spray bottle on glasses and windows. Clean using newspaper.
Planning to clean furniture? Understand which material your furniture made of and what manufacture labeling says. Upholstery cleaning labels read like this: W: Use water based cleaning solution, S: Dry cleaning solvents only, S-W: Use water based cleaners or dry cleaning solvents. X: Use only vacuum or brush
Cleaning vents: Lot of dust settle down during winter in vent. Use a butter knife and get into places between and behind vents. Wrap knife with thin cloth and clean between slats.
Removing dust from surface: Use old socks for this purpose. Wear socks in hands and run hands on dust surface.
Cleaning ceiling fans: Use old pillow cases to clean fans. Cover blades with old pillows while cleaning so that dust won’t fall on you.
Exhaust fan: Use vacuum cleaner brush or damp cloth. Wipe down blades and non- electric parts.
Table and floor fans: Use vacuum cleaner brush or a duster to clean. Makesure fan is unplugged and clean blades using hair dryer. If grills can be removed, hose them under shower. Dry and put reassemble parts.
Clean floor mats: For outdoor mats apply mild dish soap and water mix using spray bottle. Use a soft bristled brush and loosen the dirt. Use a garden hose and wash mat outside or pour bucket of water and wash. Sun dry the mat. Bath and kitchen mats – can be washed in washing machine.
Light fixtures: Use a stepladder to clean light fixtures. Spray natural cleaner and use clean soft cloth.
Dust bunny removal: Get a dustpan with rubber edge. This helps to pick up the dust bunny. Use right kind of vacuum and remove dust bunny.
Mattresses: Remove dust using vacuum cleaner. Spot clean any stains and deodorize using baking soda. Vacuum baking soda and air it out using natural sun light. Here are more tips to clean mattresses.
Image credit: Photo by Anthony from Pexels (Free for commercial use)
In several Indian villages instead of using sugar for sharabath preparation people use jaggery with light spices. This traditional tropical sharabath gives several health benefits including – cough, indigestion, asthma, arthritis pain, to reduce cholesterol, fat burning, nausea and stomach ache. Another advantage of drinking this juice is it contains jaggery and not sugar. Jaggery is non- centrifugal cane sugar that has molasses and is unrefined sugar. Consuming jaggeryhelps to keep control on allergy, cold and cough. It boosts immune system, detoxifies liver, reduces constipation.
To keep stomach healthy and cool, prepare and drink this fresh fruit traditional tropical sharabath containing jaggery.
Ingredients:
Jaggery – 1 kg
Grated ginger- 1 inch
Black pepper powder – ½ tsp
Coriander powder – ½ tsp
Cardamom powder – ½ tsp
Any fruit juice – 1 cup
Salt – little (less than ¼ tsp)
Preparation:
Add jaggery to 1-liter water and boil to dissolve jaggery. Boiling helps jaggery to give pure aroma.
To boiling jaggery water add grated ginger, coriander powder and pepper powder
Allow it to cool
You can refrigerate this base mix in a glass container.
When you need sharabath, then remove the base mix and prepare juice as below.
Select your choice of fruit – Lemon, watermelon, cranberry, mango, musambi, pineapple, guava, papaya, muskmelon, Indian gooseberry, tomato or your choice of any fruit and prepare fresh juice. Do not add sugar while extracting fresh fruit juice.
Add cardamom powder and pinch of salt and, mix well
Mustard greens have several health benefits. Mustard greens belong to same family as cabbage. It is considered as lightweight champions of green foods! These green leaves are filled with several goodies! There is no fat and a cup of mustard green supplies only 21 calories!
They are rich source of Vitamins – A, K and C. Vitamin A is essential required for maintaining mucus membrane, Vitamin C needed to fight body invaders and Vitamin K is essential for bone health and nervous system. Vitamin K is also anti-inflammatory agent.
Apart from Vitamins mustard plants are also source of several minerals – magnesium, calcium, zinc, iron, potassium, folate.
It also supplies antioxidants in abundant. Antioxidants helps to prevent cancer and other conditions.
Adding mustard greens in salads supplies good dietary fiber. We know consuming dietary fiber helps in reducing cholesterol and improves heart health. It also has detoxifying effect on system.
Adding mustard greens in food helps to reduce weight and increases overall stamina and health. It reduces chronic illness too.
Consuming mustard greens for lunch or dinner with salad or in a side dish recipe helps digestive system and removes unwanted fat. This will bring body weight down. Include mustard green in your food 2 to 3 times a week to get better results. Here are two quick recipes to get full benefit of mustard greens:
Mustard green crispy salad:Take 2 Tbsp of olive oil, 4 garlic cloves (sliced thin), mustard green leaves – washed, trim about 1 kg, lemon juice 2 Tbsp. Heat oil on tray in oven (300 F). Add garlic and fry to golden brown. It should turn to crispy. Add mustard green and stir – cook for couple of minutes only and add all greens. Continue to mix and stir in between till the leaves become tender and crisp. After 10 minutes add lemon juice, crushed pepper (and or red pepper), sprinkle salt. Mix well. Serve before lunch or dinner.
Another way to eat mustard greens: In a pan add one or two tsp oil and heat on medium heat. Add 1 tsp cumin and half tsp pepper, one green chilli – followed by thin sliced garlic clove and half sliced onion. Fry the ingredients for couple of minutes. Add grated ginger, mustard green and continue frying. Add one cut tomato. Close the lid – let it cook for 5 to 10 minutes. Turn of the heat and allow contents to cool. Puree the contents with little salt. Serve this with your choice of bread, chapathi or rice.
Image: Google
Grandma’s home remedies :www.healthylife.werindia.com
Take 2 Tbsp of olive oil, 4 garlic cloves (sliced thin), mustard green leaves – washed, trim about 1 kg, lemon juice 2 Tbsp. Heat oil on tray in oven (300 F). Add garlic and fry to golden brown. It should turn to crispy. Add mustard green and stir – cook for couple of minutes only and add all greens. Continue to mix and stir in between till the leaves become tender and crisp. After 10 minutes add lemon juice, crushed pepper (and or red pepper), sprinkle salt. Mix well. Serve before lunch or dinner.
In a pan add one or two tsp oil and heat on medium heat. Add 1 tsp cumin and half tsp pepper, one green chilli – followed by thin sliced garlic clove and half sliced onion. Fry the ingredients for couple of minutes. Add grated ginger, mustard green and continue frying. Add one cut tomato. Close the lid – let it cook for 5 to 10 minutes. Turn of the heat and allow contents to cool. Puree the contents with little salt. Serve this with your choice of bread, chapathi or rice.
