CAUTION!! NEVER REHEAT NOR REFRIGERATE THESE FOODS !!

A very good morning Friends..

In continuation with my previous blog post, regarding reheating the refrigerated food, I would like continue mentioning certain foods that we daily eat, but are not aware what foods may be toxic if we store and reheat again and again for 2-3 days.

1. MUSHROOMS: Being a very healthy vegetable, Mushrooms are very sensitive and delicate and should be treated with great tenderness:-) Once you prepare the yummy Mushroom curry or mix in your veggie salad, you better finish it off in one stretch. The reason is the good amount of protein present in Mushrooms will undergo degradation and may even cause serious digestive or heart problems. So, Beware Friends, whenever you cook this pretty umbrella shaped cute, tender vegetable, try to limit the quantity you cook.

2. BEETROOT/SPINACH/CELERY : These super foods which are rich in antioxidants, may turn carcinogenic(foods that cause cancer) when stored in refrigerator and reheated. The nitrate content in them is the cause of the toxicity of these vegetables.

3. POTATOES: These are one of the most common foods used extensively world wide and I guess even few states use potatoes as their staple vegetable. Easy to prepare, handy and always available in the kitchen, tasty and kids friendly vegetable with a reasonable price and so on....Potatoes have to be served immediately after cooking and in any case the meal is delayed the potato curry should be placed inside the refrigerator after 2 hours of cooking. In case left outside more than that, the Clostridium botulinum bacteria tend to attack the tasty recipe of potato and then start producing spores which are the main cause of Botulism. And theses spores are resistant to heat, so there will be no use if you reheat the curry.

4. EGGS : Hmm..Eggs we all know that eggs ( I mean boiled or cooked eggs) should never be refrigerated. The reason behind this is that the protein power house in eggs will be disrupted and deteriorated when stored after cooking and again reheating, so if ever you happen to cook more, better donate to poor and needy :-)

5. RICE : Even boiled rice also is normally not refrigerated, and it is a good practice. If any of you guys remember your olden days that all the vegetable curries used to be cooked first and then the rice would washed thoroughly and cooked and served immediately hot!! And most of the elders even now prefer to eat only hot rice, compared to the new generation who usually just reheats the rice once again in a microwave oven before eating or else jus eat it cold. Hmm.. Even I used to do the same :-( But according to the Food Standards Agency, the longer the rice is kept outside to room temperature, the more favourable it becomes to toxins. And the bacterial toxins in turn will cause vomiting, diarrhoea etc..  So better to cook rice just an hour or even lesser before you eat. This will help you to be healthy :-)

6. SEAFOODS: Cooked Sea food also is not recommended to be stored for longer periods in the refrigerator and reheat before eating.

7. PROTEIN RICH FOODS: Many protein rich foods may also be harmful to your body upon refrigerating and reheating, as the storage tends to break down the proteins in the foods which no longer may be useful building blocks for our body, instead certain protein degraded products are very hazardous to our body.

8. CHICKEN : Another protein rich food, commonly cooked yummy and tasty and tempting which mainly prevents us from donating the super spicy chicken curry to anyone, instead store it in the refrigerator and eat it in the next 2 days ;-) I guess this happens in most of the households :-) But Chicken being rich in protein tends to be degraded and even the quality of the chicken nutrients, will reduce upon storing, so no point in eating a tasty but not so healthy, low-nutritive food. In worst cases the stored chicken may also be the result of many stomach infections and may disturb your daily routine unnecessarily. SO EAT FRESH AND STAY FRESH :-) 

Take care dear Friends,
GOOD DAY :-)

REHEATING OF FOOD FROM REFRIGERATOR

Hi Friends,

Good Morning,

 With increased career goals and a strive towards a better life style, I feel we all are neglecting our health.

Today, let's see a few interesting notes about how healthy it is to reheat the food kept in the refrigerator and enjoy a  meal without any strenuous effort ;-)

Reheating the food is quite common in all households irrespective of place of origin. 

Reheating can actually be done for one time.  And the most important thing is that, all the foods should be kept immediately in the refrigerator after 4 hours of cooking(if you want to preserve the foods).  What exactly happens is, if we leave the food on the dining table for hours together, we are indirectly inviting the germs,(Bacteria, Virus, Fungi etc..) to come and have the food ;-) and slowly they will start multiplying in the left over food and expand their colonies !!

In order to kill the dangerous bacteria and even their spores,  the US FDA advises to boil  the food for at least a minute at 150 degrees or even above temperatures.

Reheating actually reduces not the only the quality but also the taste of food particles. 
In any case of time issues better reheat the food only once and also thoroughly and eat the reheated food immediately. 

If still food is left over, please donate to poor people around you, no need to call fancy numbers and wait till they come and pick your food,  just look around and donate your left over food if any, to the needy, whom you will find many around your house or locality.

In this way you will have two benefits, i.e., you will be prevented from the toxic effects of stored food and instead if you donate, that will help many poor people to fill their tummy:-) and a huge self satisfaction which is worth millions :-)

The other way to prevent all the reheating process is to just cook small quantities each time.

There are certain foods which are strictly not to be stored and reheated which many of us are not aware and I shall share the list of those foods in tomorrow's newsletter :-) 

Till then, EAT HEALTHY AND STAY HEALTHY :-) 

PASTA

Pasta a staple food of International cuisines, mainly for Italians, is considered as a traditional dish in Italy. Contrary to the common belief that Pasta have been introduced first by Italians, actually the Arabians were the ones who have introduced Pasta to Italy in 9th Century AD. Interesting Isn't it?? :-)

Pasta is one of the world's most accessible foods, World Pasta Day is celebrated in October. There is even a Pasta museum in Rome. That sounds something royal about Pasta !! 

Mediterranean is one of the famous diets and is known for its healthier side, and the soft, tasty, Pasta is an integral part of mediterranean diets. Pasta is an easy to prepare meal and easily attracts not only women, but also men and teenagers also and drives them to prepare this yummy, fast, instant as well as a HEALTHY dish. Just got to watch a TV commercial recently where a teenager boy prepares pasta to impress his girl friend;-) Cool.. Right!!

Now let's look at the Nutrient facts of Pasta: 

CARBOHYDRATE: As 60% of the energy for humans has to be derived from carbohydrates, we all should have enough amount of carbohydrates daily. But due to the recent increased incidence of metabolic diseases, many people are just giving a pause to have good amount of carbohydrates. But instead if you guys be a little smart enough to differentiate the refined carbs and complex carbs, it will be easier for all of you to eat full yet be healthy:-)

Pasta is an excellent source of complex carbs, but choose the Pasta prepared from whole grains, as refining of the whole grains washes out all the nutrients and  converts the complex carbs into simple carbs.

Pasta  has good amount of insoluble fibre in it and the speciality of insoluble fibre is, it increases the roughage of the stool, thus reliving you from constipation if any. Pasta has a low glycemic index and Diabetics can enjoy the extremely versatile dish happily.

Whole wheat pasta contains Carotenoids, Lutein, Zeaxanthin, folate, Zinc, Selenium, Manganese. Selenium is an important mineral and helps in protecting  cells from damage. Manganese is another wonderful mineral which helps in regulating blood sugar, and also helps in metabolising Carbohydrates.

Pasta is low in Sodium and also free from cholesterol so no worries :-) unless you over do the Pasta with excess white creamy sauces, cheese etc etc.. It is just like what happens to your face when you over do your make up, the same happens to your poor digestive system, when you over do your food. The only difference is we can see the change of over make up immediately but we tend see the effects over creamy food stuff, quite later.. 

So, instead of adding all unhealthy stuff, on to your healthy pasta, make it a healthy, nutritious meal by adding finely cut boiled vegetables, fish, chicken pieces, Olive oil, grated paneer instead of cheese, tomato which is rich in a splendid antioxidant called Lycopene, which has the magical power to repair damaged cells. In this way you have a complete meal enriched with carbs, fat and protein.

So a big YES to PASTA..When your kids crave for junk foods, instead of buying them burgers or pizzas, just say a few fascinating words of this wonderful, versatile dish and I'm sure they won't say NO:-)

GOOD DAY FRIENDS :-)

THE MOST SPECIAL DISH ON A VEG PLATE..PANEER.

Hi Friends,

Hope you all had a good day!!

How many of can guess correctly, what is in the above image?? EGG BHURJI?? Yes or No?

I'm sorry friends, those all you guessed it as egg bhurji are all wrong;-)

It is the King of Vegetarian recipes, A Royal dish, a soft and spongy texture, that just melts into your mouth and I bet none of you can just eat it without giving a compliment to this wonderful dish. Another clue it is pure, milky white in colour unlike in the picture, in which I have made it in a pure Desi style, But I and my love it this way:-)

So, I guess all of you have already raised your hands to answer..PANEER.

Panner is produced from milk.

A great source of calcium, protein, fat, vitamins and minerals and a little amount of carb and some amount of fibre makes it in the list of healthy food.

Especially kids and old people are more benefited with this paneer, as the abundant amount of calcium in it works great for strong bones and teeth, and paneer also has Vitamin D in it and helps in absorption of all the calcium properly.

The high amount protein is a must for mainly vegetarians, and paneer will give you the required protein, so please include paneer also in your weekly menu, if not in your daily menu. Few recipes are tasty as well as healthy :-) So, choose wisely and keep your family healthy and happy with the yummy tasteful dishes.

Coming to the fat content, actually paneer has quite a good amount of fat in it , and though most of it is from the conjugated linoleic acid, and sphingolipids which are considered as good fats essential for the growth of the body, My advice is to be modest here, as fat is a fat, good or bad. But for kids paneer is the best healthy food option, opt for it on home made pizzas instead of cheese, do some magic and try to include paneer in most their recipes:-)

In fact the conjugated linoleic acid is essential for the body for adults to even helps in burning fat by increasing the body metabolism. But when the limit is crossed all the fat gets accumulated.

The Vitamins and minerals also helps in increasing the immunity, promotes growth in children, helps in the strengthening of cartilage and tissue formation.

Due to good amount of protein and low carb, paneer is a YES for Diabetics and even recommended by American diabetic Association.

COOL AND HEALTHY DRINKS IN HOT SUMMER;-)

Hi Friends,

 Being Summer, in order to combat the heat, there are  many healthy cool options. One of them is the traditional Indian refreshing non-alcoholic drink SWEET LASSI.

As many are aware that sweet lassi is originated in Punjab, and even today if anyone wants the perfect Lassi you have to visit a Punjabi Dhaba..What say friends??

Hmm..Few foods/drinks are so tempting or infectious and even addictive and Sweet Lassi is surely one of such delicious foods that no one can say "NO" to it.

Now, all of you please don't get surprised or shocked if I say that in North India, commercial Lassi outlets use washing machines to churn the yogurt into lassi.

Sweet Lassi is a perfect natural probiotic drink. Probiotics are natural microorganisms found in the body mostly in the intestines, and these are called the good bacteria and helps in the easy breakdown of all the food stuff you have taken, thus helping in keeping your digestive system cool and relaxed:-)

Probiotics are also important for the absorption of all the minerals present in your food stuff and they even fight with the harmful bacteria and protect your stomach lining from damage. Just like the saying"A Diamond has to cut with a Diamond" the bad bacteria entering in our body can be easily dealt with the good bacteria present in our body;-)

We all are naturally gifted with the good amount of good bacteria but with our dietary style and lifestyle the good bacteria tends to be destroyed by stress, antibiotics, modern junk foods, and by excess intake of sugars and simple carbs..So in order to compensate this loss we should increase our intake of foods that are probiotic.

Probiotic foods not only prevents acidity, bloating, they also help in improving constipation and also useful if you are suffering from diarrhoea too. Probiotic foods are also useful in improving your urinary tract infections, if any..

Sweet Lassi is perfect when your energy levels are low, as it provides immense energy levels and you swap your lunch or dinner with a glass of sweet lassi happily.... How many of you have done this??:-)

All the men out there, if you are fond of showing up your muscle mass, have sweet lassi regularly and the protein in it helps in increasing your muscle mass and is also a good friend of body builders. The abundant amount of calcium in Lassi helps in keeping your bones strong and also improves your dental health. So, if anyone runs away from a glass of milk, please substitute it with a cup of curd or a glass of lassi.

Lassi is loaded with amount of minerals and vitamins, like Calcium, Zinc, Potassium, Phosphorus, Folic acid, B-complex group of vitamins. With all these, Lassi is good for increasing your immunity levels. Another good news for all the pure veg's out there, that in case your Doc has advised you to increase B12 intake and you are worried what to take other than supplements, yogurt or lassi has a decent amount of Vitamin B12 and make it a habit to include yogurt regularly in your diet, and in summers just explore, experiment with 'n' number of variants of lassi:-)

Just one caution you all have to keep in mind is the amount of sugar added in sweet lassi and just have in moderation.

Enjoy the cool natural drinks available widely, and need not open the google and search for exotic drink recipes, instead just go back  to your childhood and grab all the grandma's recipes, they are the perfect as well as nutritious and easily available, and easy to make :-)

GOOD DAY.