Sunday, November 29, 2020

7 delicious breakfast ideas under 200 calories - Weight loss !

When you are watching your calorie intake to shed kilos, you always look for options that are healthy and low in calories. You know that you have to consume a fixed amount of calories and at the same time ensure that your micronutrient intake is up to the mark. The greatest challenge is to fix your meal, which is tasty, low in calories, yet keep your fuller for a longer time. To help you deal with this problem, we have listed 7 low calories breakfast options ideas under 200 calories.

Ragi Dosa

Ragi dosa is a delicious gluten-free alternative of wheat dosa. It is more nutritious and makes an excellent filling breakfast. Ragi, also known as finger millet is rich in iron, fiber, magnesium and different kinds of vitamins. You can fill some sauteed vegetables in it and can pair it with coconut chutney or tomato chutney.

1 serving= 132 calories in 1 dosa

Oats Idli

Give a healthy twist to your idli by replacing rice with oats for preparing the batter. Oats contain more fiber and nutrients as compared to rice. They are high in manganese, phosphorus, copper, vitamins, iron, selenium, magnesium, and zinc. 2 oats idlis with a bowl of vegetable sambar will keep you full till your next meal.

1 serving= 60 calories in 2 idlis

poha


Dhokla

This Gujarati dish is perfect for breakfast or mid-afternoon snacking. Made with gram flour, dhokla is packed with nutrients like calcium, iron, potassium and vitamins. Just be careful about the quantity of sugar used in it. It is better if you can avoid sugar and have unsweetened dhokla.

1 serving= 60 calories in 1 dhokla

Rava Upma

Having traditional upma made with rava or semolina and some healthy veggies in the morning can keep your going till afternoon. It is low in fat, low in calories and high in fiber content. All these factors make this south Indian delicacy a preferred weight loss breakfast option.

1 serving= 192 calories in 1 serving

Moong Dal chilla

Chilla is another excellent weight loss friendly food. Made with green gram, this low-calorie dish is easy to make and extremely delicious. You just need to be careful about the oil when making the chilla. Always make your chilla in mustard oil or ghee and be careful with its quantity.

1 serving= 128 calories in 1 chilla

Vegetable Dalia

You can have dalia both ways- sweet or savoury. Add some honey and nuts in your sweet dalia to make it healthy or just toss some vegetables and rock salt in it to make a tasty savoury dish. Both ways it is healthy and can promote satiety.

1 serving= 174 calories in 1 serving

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9 Things We Should All Stop Storing on the Kitchen Counter

A kitchen counter is a convenient place to store items we reach for daily, but the attempt to keep everything within your reach can actually backfire, and the result is foods that spoil faster, a cluttered counter, or even a potential health hazard. Do you keep a knife holder on the kitchen counter? What about a jar with coffee, some spices, or perhaps a bottle of olive oil? If you’ve answered “yes” to any of these questions, you may want to learn why that’s probably a bad idea, in which case just read on.
1. Olive Oil
Things Not to Store on the Kitchen Counter Olive Oil
Keeping olive oil on the counter near the stove is one of the most common mistakes we see. Sure, it’s convenient to just grab the bottle when you need it, but heat and exposure to direct light can affect the quality of the oil and make it spoil faster. Of course, the same rule applies to other types of oil, as well as vinegar and sauces. It’s best to keep all of these ingredients in a dark cool place, so just move them into the kitchen pantry or a kitchen cabinet. 
 
2. Dish soap and sponges
The kitchen sponge is one of the most germ-ridden items in the entire house. Surely, you wouldn’t want to keep it close to your food. Still, many people do precisely that, storing the kitchen sponge as well as the dish soap on the counter next to the sink. 
 
Speaking of dish soap - don’t forget that dish detergent is a chemical substance that shouldn’t come in contact with food or be ingested and please don’t keep it near food. The best place for storing dish soap, disinfectant, and kitchen sponges is in a cabinet underneath the sink.

3. Spices
Things Not to Store on the Kitchen Counter Spices 
Like olive oil, spices are very sensitive to heat and direct light and will lose their flavor and aroma faster when stored near the stovetop or exposed to direct light. As Stephanie Bostic, Ph.D., a food safety expert told Reader’s Digest, “light, and heat from sunlight or cooking surfaces, can degrade the flavors faster than if you store them in a cool, dark place.” 
 
Therefore, it’s a much better idea to move the spices rack into the pantry or a kitchen cabinet, right next to other common cooking ingredients like oil and vinegar, for convenience. 
 
4. Papers and letters
Nothing gives off an impression of a cluttered and messy kitchen more than a countertop riddled with newspapers, bills, junk mail, and random notes. And that’s only half of the problem, as all these papers also seem to attract spills like a magnet, and then you have to deal with the additional headache of drying them and hoping that the bills and letters are still legible and don’t look too terrible.
 
Instead, we recommend reserving a drawer for papers only if you must keep them in the kitchen. Or even better - move the papers to a spill-free zone like the desk.

5. Knives
Things Not to Store on the Kitchen Counter Knives 
No one argues that keeping knives on the counter saves a lot of time and a knife block looks quite prominent and fancy. However, there are several issues with it, too. First and foremost, it’s a safety hazard for the little ones, as keeping knives on the counter also means that they’re within the reach of kids. 
 
In a home with kids, it’s best to keep knives in a drawer with a lock. In addition, a large block can look bulky, take up a lot of space, and it’s also quite difficult to clean, so it might not be the best choice in homes without kids as well. 
 
6. Coffee and tea jars
Things Not to Store on the Kitchen Counter coffee tea sugar 
It’s fashionable to buy decorative matching canisters for coffee, tea, and sugar these days and display them on the kitchen counter. And while it can look quite pretty, they also get dirty very quickly when you’re storing them in the same place you’re preparing food, so keeping them on the counter isn’t such a great idea. 
 
In addition, they can take up a great deal of room, so it’s a much better solution to display them on a kitchen shelf. This way, they will still be accessible and make a beautiful display piece but they won’t be such a mess to maintain. 
 
7. Snacks and sweets
Sometimes, easy access isn’t a very good thing. When it comes to snacks and sweet treats, the more visible they are, the more likely you are to notice and eat them. So it only makes sense that it’s in our best interest to keep junk food as far away from the counter as possible. In fact, keeping all the foods you’d like to limit in less accessible places like a high shelf in the panty is a great way to keep cravings and temptations at bay. 
 
8. Electronic devices
Things Not to Store on the Kitchen Counter alexa 
Electronic devices are so convenient that you might be tempted to bring them into the kitchen to follow a recipe, listen to some music, or even watch the news while cooking or cleaning. Alas, very few of them are truly waterproof and all of them are pretty tough to clean, and all this obviously clashes with the damp and steamy kitchen environment. 
 
Look, we’re not saying that bringing your devices into the kitchen is completely off-limits, but we’d still like to point out that keeping them on the same counter you cook is not the best idea. Instead, place the laptop, smartphone, or smart speaker in a place where water and spills never occur. 
 
9. Kitchen appliances you don’t use daily
Things Not to Store on the Kitchen Counter appliances
Kitchen appliances are a tricky subject, and choosing the ones you should keep on the counter will really depend on your personal habits. Most people prefer to store the coffee maker and an electronic kettle on the counter because they use them every day, and that’s a good general rule of thumb. But if you’re not a huge coffee drinker, you may actually prefer to put the coffee machine away. 
 
Likewise, if you cook and bake practically every day, you may want to keep the stand mixer on the counter, which wouldn’t be such a good idea for those who only bake occasionally. You get the picture - put all the appliances you use regularly front and center and move the ones you don’t use that often in the cabinets or pantry. This is guaranteed to save you a lot of precious counter space and will make your kitchen look neater, too.

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Thursday, November 26, 2020

Chocolate roll

With the home-made mawa, I made chocolate roll

INGREDIENTS

home made mawa 1/2- 3/4 cup

sweetened mawa 200 gm pkt

sugar 15 tsp

cocoa pdr. 6 tsp

nuts as needed


METHOD

heat the store bought mawa on low heat, as it will be hard, it will slowly become thin, then added home-made mawa, along with cocoa pdr, sugar, mix well.

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https://cancersupportindia.blogspot.com. feel free to view for easy, simple and health tips  
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keep stirring continuously or else will get stuck to the bottom.

As it gets thick and leaves the sides of the pan, spread on a greased plate, sprinkle chopped nuts on top.

allow it to set for 2-3 hours, then cut into desired shape, or you can roll it with nut in between.


How to make mawa / khoya at home

Most Indian desserts one main ingredient is mawa/  khoya. At times we don't get it in the shop or at times it can be adulterated. So, I prefer to make it at home.

It is easy, all you need is milk and milk pdr.

Boil a liter of milk till it reduces to 1/2 or even less. While it is boiling, it is necessary to keep it stirring on and off as the cream on top will get mixed well. Once it is thick, let it cool, add 1/2 cup of milk pdr, mix well. There your mawa is ready for use, you can store it in fridge for a couple of days before you can use it.

Next post, I shall write about the chocolate barfi/ roll made with this mawa. 


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https://cancersupportindia.blogspot.com. feel free to view for easy, simple and health tips  
https://kneereplacement-stickclub.blogspot.com. for info on knee replacement


 


Sweet potato cutlets

  

cutlet mixture ready for mixing, moong dal and sweet potato mashed, onions chopped, rice flour, salt, chili pdr, chaat masal pdr., ajwain added

Cutlets ready for frying

cutlets ready to eat

INGREDIENTS

sweet potato 2 small

moong dal 1/2 cup

onion 2 medium size

rice flour roughly 1/2 cup or as needed

turmeric pdr 1/2 tsp

salt and chili pdr to taste

chaat masala 1/2 tsp

alwain/ carom seeds 1/2 tsp

oil for frying

METHOD

wash, peel and chop sweet potato in water or else it gets dark

wash it well, add to your pressure pan or cooker

wash moong dal and add to the sweet potato, add just enough water to cover them to cook well and I added 1/2 tsp of turmeric pdr. I pressure cooked in pressure pan for 4 whistles, as it whistles very fast.

once I'ld open my pressure pan, mashed the dal and sweet potato well with the mashed

I finely chopped 2 small onions and added along with rice flour, salt, chili pdr, chaat masala and ajwain

mixed it all well, you may roll in breadcrumbs, but once you add rice flour, it gives it crispness, so I didn't want to add breadcrumbs. You may add little semolina/ suji too to get crispness

I deep fried in medium hot oil till brown on both sides.

It was crisp outside, but soft inside, served with ketchup. Or you may serve with chutney of your choice.

ps- though I did deep fry, it didn't take much oil.

You can use little semolina/ suji to get more crispness, or you can roll in suji instead of breadcrumbs and fry.

You can shallow fry too. I got 13 cutlets in all medium size.

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https://cancersupportindia.blogspot.com. feel free to view for easy, simple and health tips  
https://kneereplacement-stickclub.blogspot.com. for info on knee replacement

Thursday, November 19, 2020

11 Traditional Cleaning Tricks That Stood the Test of Time

Too often, we tend to opt for the new and shiny things, forgetting about the old school, tried and tested methods. This is also true when it comes to cleaning. With an entire aisle full of cleaning supplies available at every supermarket, we tend to forget all about the traditional and often no less effective cleaning products used by our grandparents and great-grandparents, which is a real shame.

Truth be told, the cleaning methods used by the wiser generations are often cheaper, contain fewer chemicals, and are also way easier to find. In fact, most of them we’ll be able to locate in our own kitchen pantry already. In this article, we wanted to remind you of 11 tried and true cleaning methods that truly outperform newer cleaning supplies. 
 
1. Make your own window cleaning spray 
 Traditional Cleaning Tricks window cleaning
It may be tricky to find a replacement for store-bought glass cleaners, as most home cleaning products tend to leave streaks and stains behind. But don't worry, grandma's got you covered: simply mix 2 tablespoons of ammonia with half a gallon of warm water (about 2 liters), and you're done. This mixture works just as well as a storebought glass cleaner and get smudges and stain off of mirrors, windows, and glass furniture, all streak-free. By the way, you can also replace paper towels with newspapers when cleaning windows - they work just as well.
 
2. Prevent mildew from collecting on the shower curtain 
 
  Traditional Cleaning Tricks  shower curtain
 
It's super annoying when a relatively new shower curtain suddenly starts developing mildew. Fortunately, it's super easy to prevent - simply trim off the bottom seam on the shower curtain. This will ensure that water doesn’t collect at the bottom of the curtain and it dries off before mildew could form. Once the curtain does get a bit grimy, though, you can always throw it in the washing machine together with a towel and it will be as good as new again. 
 
3. Get rid of persistent stains with baking soda 
  Traditional Cleaning Tricks  baking soda

Persistent burnt stains on the bottom of pots and pans can linger on for weeks or months, and no soaking can help get rid of them. Who knew a simple kitchen staple like baking soda could help? But it's true, simply mix baking soda with a little bit of water until it forms a thick paste, and then coat the stain in question with a thick layer of the paste. Let the baking soda dissolve the stain for about 4-5 hours or overnight, occasionally spritzing it with water. Afterward, simply wipe off the baking soda, and the stain should be gone. Repeat several times if needed. 
 
Bonus: the same method works wonders at cleaning the oven without the need to use any chemicals.
 
4. Use coffee to get rid of odors around the house  
 Traditional Cleaning Tricks coffee beans
 
Coffee has remarkable odor-absorbing and smell-canceling properties - this is exactly why fragrance sellers provide customers with coffee beans as a "nasal palate cleanser". Households have been using these properties for decades to get rid of odors around the house and replace it with a cozy coffee aroma. You can put a small cup of coffee beans next to the garbage, in the fridge, or anywhere else. Over time, it will absorb any unpleasant smells. Needless to say, you won't be able to reuse the beans to make coffee, so this trick works best with cheap beans or old coffee. 
 
5. Make your silverware sparkling clean with toothpaste 
 Traditional Cleaning Tricks toothpaste and toothbrush
 
Although toothpaste is the most common way to clean one's teeth today, in the past, tooth powder was used for the same purposes. Over time, people also realized that this tooth powder also works great at removing tarnish from silverware without damaging the fragile surface of the utensils. Polishing the silverware with the powder also gave it a nice shine. When the first toothpaste was invented, it too was used to clean silverware, a trick that many of us have now forgotten. 
 
So, if your forks and knives are in need of a good clean, try polishing them with some toothpaste. The trick is to use a plain white toothpaste instead of the gel stuff, though, as it's closer to that original tooth powder formula and is much better at polishing silverware.

6. Use cloth diapers to dust the house 
Did you know that microfiber cloths are made of plastic? It's true, the now ubiquitous cleaning cloths may do a great job at cleaning various surfaces around the house, but all of them are produced from either 100% polyester or a blend of polyester and polyamide. Therefore, using them only causes more plastic pollution, and is by no means environmentally friendly.
 
Luckily, the previous generations have a more eco-friendly solution in mind. It turns out that using cloth diapers isn't just as effective as microfiber cloths, it's also kinder to the environment. This is because cloth diapers are nearly always made of natural fibers, such as linen, cotton, and hemp. An extra advantage to using cloth nappies as a dusting rag is also that they can be cleaned in the washing machine at high temperatures without losing their cleaning properties, unlike a microfiber cloth.

7. An easy solution for wall crayon stains 
  Traditional Cleaning Tricks crayon stains
 
Left your kids or grandkids alone in the room for just a second, and now you suddenly have a crayon masterpiece in the middle of the wall? It's a known issue, and we're hardly the first generation to deal with it. Yet again, our grandparents have a solution for us, so let's not reinvent the wheel and listen, as we should. Get some dry cleaning solvent, soak a cloth in it, and proceed to erase the masterpiece from the wall. 
 
This method is extremely effective, but be careful and patch-test in an inconspicuous area of the wall first to make sure that it doesn't leave any stains. This trick shuld also probably be best avoided on antique wallpaper or very old walls. 
 
8. Fight soap stains with more soap!  
 Traditional Cleaning Tricks dish soap
 
Soap scum can be quite difficult to clean up, unfortunately, but once you realize that most soap scum is just build up soap mixed with body oils, the job becomes much easier. If you've seen your parents and grandparents clean the bathroom with dish soap or even laundry detergent, you might have been puzzled, but it's actually the smart thing to do, and they knew it well. This is because both of these detergents are formulated specifically to remove oil and grease stains from surfaces, and now that you know what soap scum is made of, it becomes only logical to use them to scrub away the soap scum from the shower. We urge you to try it.
 
9. Render your carpets dust free with tea  
 Traditional Cleaning Tricks carpet
To say that a dusty and smelly carpet is the source of all evil is hardly an exaggeration because the majority of dust and debris in the room comes precisely from the carpet. When we're walking or sitting on the carpet, or when our pets are rolling around on it, all of the dust and dirt goes up into the air, and it then settles on the furniture, making it look as if you've never dusted your house in the first place. Not to mention that all this dust is also the perfect place for germs to stick around. 
 
Therefore, having a quick solution for this issue is really important, and at times when you don't feel like it's time to wash the carpet just yet, but need a quick fix to get rid of dust and bad smells, reach into your kitchen pantry for some loose leaf tea. Simply sprinkle plenty of tea evenly over the carpet, wait for 15 minutes, and then vacuum the carpet as usual. This method is sure to help you get rid of stale odors and dust from the carpet. 
 
10. Leftover beer can be easily reused to clean your home 
  Traditional Cleaning Tricks beer
 
Yes, people in the past did utilize beer in a variety of ways, too, and it turns out that the alcoholic beverage is not only beneficial when it's inside you. They used old or leftover beer to refresh wooden furniture, for example, by simply soaking a cloth with beer and varnishing the surface of the furniture with the beverage. The beer may make the furniture a bit sticky, but you can get rid of the stickiness by simply washing the beer residue away with a damp cloth. The result is pretty amazing - the beer will tint the wood into a nice golden-brown color. 
 
11. Absorb spills with salt 
  Traditional Cleaning Tricks salt shaker
 
Just a sprinkling of salt can do wonders at absorbing fresh liquid stains and making them look less apparent. This trick works on any surface, too, be it wood, carpet, or even clothing. Simply sprinkle some salt on the fresh stain, let it sit and absorb the stain for a few hours, and then dust off and wash the item in question with soap and water. This clever method works on all kinds of stains, even persistent ones like those left by ketchup or red wine.

https://gscrochetdesigns.blogspot.com. one can see my crochet creations  

https://cancersupportindia.blogspot.com. feel free to view for easy, simple and health tips  
https://kneereplacement-stickclub.blogspot.com. for info on knee replacement