Berrylicious Power Smoothie

This is my go-to recipe after a long workout. This smoothie has everything that body needs to replenish after a workout – a good balance of protein, fats, carbs, fibre, vitamins and anti-oxidants. It doesn’t have any added sugars. It gets its beautiful pink hue from berries and sweetness from bananas. You can use any unsweetened nut milk, add protein powder and fruits and chia or hemp seeds of a healthy dose of omega 3s and blend everything together and drink it up! Ingredients: 1 cup unsweetened nut milk (almond, cashew or soy) I prefer almond in my smoothies. 1…

Moogachi Kheer / Parippu Kanji – A Festive Lentil and Jaggery Porridge

A healthy festive drink! [dropcap]L[/dropcap]ast Monday we celebrated Akshay Trutiya, a religious occasion which calls for a sweet treat. “Akshay” means the never diminishing in Sanskrit and this day falls on the third Tithi (Lunar day) of Bright Half (Shukla Paksha) of the Indian month of Vaishakha and one of the 3 and 1/2 “the most auspicious days” or also known as “Sade-Teen Muhurt” considered by Hindus. It’s believed that Akshay Trutiya was the day when Lord Ganesha started writing epic Mahabharata to Ved Vyasa’s dictation. It’s considered auspicious to start a new venture or a new job, buy new property and jewelry too. Every year my aajji used to…

Almond Energy Drink

A drink that makes every morning a good morning! We seem to be sacrificing more of our time and energy to our high-speed wireless culture and as a result exhaustion has become a familiar aspect of our lives. All too often we forget to take care of ourselves. How many times you consider yourself an important part of your life? Making room in your frantic schedule for some downtime is equally important as intentionally replenishing your energy with healthy and wholesome food. Here is my recipe for an energizing drink, a perfect start for your day! It contains just 4 simple ingredients,…

VitaMAX Smoothie

The inspiration for this smoothie came from the ‘Power Juice’ recipe by Chef Parag. He used beet root and carrot juice together with lemon juice. I was looking for a creamy texture so instead of just using juices I decided to make a smoothie. Needless to mention it’s loaded with vitamins and mineral from beet root and carrots and hence the name! To make sure it’s perfectly sweetened I used dried figs and dried apricots and also raisins, I know I am genius 🙂 The result was outstandingly creamy, sweet, a beautiful pink smoothie which we have made a regular part of…

Watermelon Cooler

Celebrating National Watermelon Day!

Watermelon is a wonderful wonderful summer treat. Nothing beats the sweet, sugary, red juicy watermelon bites. Very low in calories and rich in Vitamin A & Vitamin C, it’s also a great source of potassium. Today watermelons get their made up holiday, 3rd August is celebrated as ‘National Watermelon Day’ in America. Hence, I am sharing some of my favorite watermelon treats. Personally watermelon juice is my favorite. Squeeze a few drops of lime juice and sprinkle a pinch of chaat masala and you will have a refreshing cooler in no time! Watermelon Quinoa Salad is a popular recipe and…

ताक / Chaas / Buttermilk

A pure, simple summer refresher Buttermilk has always been an integral part of traditional Maharashtrian meal. Imagine coming home from scorching heat and sipping on a glass of cold, lightly spiced homemade buttermilk. There is no better thirst quencher!   It’s very simple, just takes 5 minutes to mix everything together. [purerecipe] Surprisingly not everyone knows about buttermilk. One of my colleagues thought it was made by adding milk to butter. It actually referes to the liquid left over after extracting the butter from churned yogurt. The churning process causes some of the lactose – milk sugar, to be converted into lactic…

Blackberry Smoothie

Nutritious yet delicious delight The easiest way to enjoy fresh blackberries is to have thick creamy blackberry smoothie. Add fresh washed blackberries with thick greek yogurt, honey and some milk and give it a quick whisk in a blender. Nothing can be more filling than a glass of sweet creamy blackberry smoothie loaded with antioxidants.   Blackberry Benefits – 1. Blackberries are one of the top ten foods containing antioxidants. The anthocyanin, the antioxidants give blackberries their deep purple color help in memory retention and prevent the risk of hypertension. 2. Blackberries are packed with polyphenols helping to prevent cancer and…