“Love yourself enough to live a healthy lifestyle.”
To juice or not to juice is often the question, and it’s a tough one to crack. Having given it a good thought, as old school as I may be, I think a juicer is a boon for people who live fast paced lives, have demanding schedules, fussy kids, love clear juice and fancy the idea of making the most of seasonal produce. For me, usually fussy kids who shy away from fruits are the ones will benefit most.Nothing can be better than knowing what goes into your glass of juice and serving it fresh, like a farm to table feel! It’s also real fun to have kids make their own juice. Once they get involved, see them enjoy the fruits of their labour, or virtual labour since their work is cut out. They can use a whole lot of combinations. Ideas after juicing – have as is, make mocktails, popsicles, granita, sorbet, slad dressings. The juice is also a great base for cocktails for adults!Then again, it’s quite fascinating watching fresh, clear colourful juice pour out into a jug, then bottle it up and enjoy it! The Tefal Juice Extractor allows you just that. Points to remember are that the quantity of juice pushed out depends on the water content of the produce. For eg 2 large mangoes and about 1/2 a pineapple will yield 2 glasses of juice. Since pineapple has a high liquid content, the juice output is higher. In season, sweet lime or orange juice is a great add. Also all pips, stones etc must be removed before fruit is put in.Produce like beetroot and spinach yield a small quantity of juice due to the dense nature of beets and that spinach leaves have little water. It’s best to combine them with a fruit or vegetable with a high liquid content. I like adding seedless black grapes to beet juice as it enhances the natural sweetness of beets. You could always add beet greens to the juicer as well if you are lucky to get a nice organic supplier, or are lucky to grow some at home. If you’d like to cut back on sugar, add cucumber instead of grapes. Throw in some celery, add a squeeze of lime.The possibilities are endless. I did three juices and it took all of 30 minutes. I think prepping the veggies takes far longer. The juicer is intuitive, easy to use and has a very smooth dial in front with 2 settings. Love the bright blue light that shines in front while juicing is in progress. There is also a generous jug to collect the juice quite neatly, and yet another larger jug to collect the pulp.If you are like me, where I don’t like wastage, then the thought will definitely creep into your head “What to do with all this pulp?“. Wastage feels bad and you can’t just throw out the pulp. The mango and pineapple pulp I just happily ate, but you can add it to your breakfast bowl, top with granola, some yogurt if you like.Stir it through a bowl of yogurt maybe, or add to that favourite smoothie.A quick search online adds to some thoughts I already had while juicing. There’s so much you can do with the pulp, that you should be happy to have the juice extractor on your shelf!! Here are a few ideas to set you off…
Add it to stock or soup
Up the fibre in a burger patties
Throw it into a smoothie
Deydrate it, grind to a flour. Bake with it
Blend it and use as a soup/gravy thickener
Make a dip using pulp as a base
Use it in pancakes
Make a iced tea. Steep with water, maybe tea leaves or tisae, strain, drink
Add it to nuggets
Use in pet feed as is, or make doggie treats
Freeze into ice cubes, and add to meaballs, or pasta sauce, or curries
A juicer is a boon for people who live fast paced lives, have demanding schedules, fussy kids, love clear juice and fancy the idea of making the most of seasonal produce. Here are 3 quick and fun juices to make in your Tefal Juice Extractor.
Prep Time 5 minutesminutes
Total Time 5 minutesminutes
Servings 2people
Ingredients
Beetroot Grape Spinach Juice
3beetsscrubbed well, quartered
1black grapesbig bunch
2cupsspinach leaves
Peach Cherry Juice
6peachespitted, halved
2cupsof cherriespitted
Mango Pineapple Juice
1large mangodiced
1/2a pineapplecubed
Instructions
Feed the fruit/vegetables through the tube of the Tefal Juice Extractor. Turn on the machine to speed 1, then speed 2.
“Breakfast is everything. The beginning, the first thing. It is the mouthful that is the commitment to a new day, a continuing life.”
A. A. Gill
Kesari Halwa … another one in my breakfast series, and this one is probably the fastest one I’ve made to date. Least work too, or rather, nothing to it! Halwa is a very popular breakfast include in India, and almost every region has its own variation. The variation runs across meal courses too. Either which way, this is a much loved preparation, nostalgic too often.Up in North India, sooji ka halwa has always been popular on the breakfast menu. Eaten on it’s own, yet sometimes served with crisp puris, this semolina prep holds a special place. There are many ways to make halwa and kesari halwa is a popular rendition with an orangish colour brought on by the addition of saffron. Every house has a their own little recipe which is more often than never roasting the semolina/ suji, making a sugar syrup, then cooking the roasted suji together with the syrup until done. It is a little time consuming, needs you to stand and stir, and gives you a bunch of dirty dishes!Here’s a great alternative for those who crave a sweet breakfast, which has the natural goodness of grains, no preservatives, tastes good AND is ready in minutes. I’m talking about the Kesari Halwa from the MTR 3 Minute Breakfast Range. Importantly, there’s barely any cooking involved. None actually if you boil water in a kettle. As simple as putting the dry mix into a bowl, pouring hot water over it, giving it a good stir, then leaving covered for 3 minutes. Voila! You have halwa. That is it!! How good is this for busy mornings? Almost a magical preparation for breakfast in a hurry or on the go. Completely fuss free, and, honestly, the same consistency time and again! And the good thing is that you can eat it everyday!I made a simple video to show you just how simple making this Kesari Halwa is. Also, because it left me so much time, I thought I’d show you how to creatively present it. Breakfast and fruit is a firm favourite, so I served the halwa over pureed mango sauce {no added sugar}, with some seasonal phalsa berries, rose petals and mint from the garden. To finish, a scattering of saffron because it is Kesari Halwa after all, where kesar is the hindi term for saffron!
Try the breakfast for yourself and see how easy and yum it is. It’s available in cups as well for on the go consumption. I love plating and serving breakfast in fun sunshine bright colours to make one feel refreshed and active, ready for the day! And if you fancy something savoury alongside, then MTR offers a wide variety of savoury 3 minute breakfasts as well. Think Poha, Khatta Meetha Poha, Vegetable Upma, Magic Masala Upma, Oats Homestyle Masala…
“There is not a thing that is more positive than bread.”
Fyodor Dostoevsky
Walnut Garlic Coriander Wholewheat Bread, another favourite artisan bread. It’s 100% wholegrain, the dough is beautiful, the bread tastes as good as ever… and it uses a beautiful new wholewheat flour mix from Aashirvaad that we’ve have used at home forever! For those who know me and follow me, I am still pretty obsessed with my #makehalfyourgrainswhole passion. I win some, I lose some, yet I LOVE experimenting.As you can see above, I bake a whole lot with wholewheat flour. So when this new variant of wholewheat flour, Aashirvaad Sugar Release Control Atta showed up at home I was pretty excited. We’ve used Aashirvaad Atta at home forever and ever. A lot of folk I talk to get their own grains and have them milled with a mix of lentils, fenugreek seeds etc. I tried that once but I found it difficult to sustain. We do use a lot of wholegrain flour at home.This new variant from makes me happy. The day it came, I baked bread! It was a 60% wholegrain loaf that turned out yum! Pretty too! It tasted just like what we use normally, so a little surprising that a stepped up variant is so within reach now. The GI value of the grain mix is 53, and the blend contains a portion of lentils, fenugreek and oats too!Nothing better than fresh home baked bread, and the success of the 60% bread made me bold enough to try a 100% wholewheat version. It didn’t disappoint. At all. Of course I like added flavour to my breads so in went some omega-3 rich walnuts, loads of fresh coriander, and a drizzle of fine quality extra virgin olive oil. That’s all a good bread needs in our home! Fresh herbs, nuts and olive oil and a wholegrain base!This Walnut Garlic Coriander Wholewheat Bread is bursting with goodness of the new wholewheat flour. Use herbs and nuts of your choice, play around with ingredients, but do make this. It’s healthy, it’s addictive, and bread baking is therapeutic. Above all, it’s so good for a 100% whole grain bread!! This is my new favourite wholegrain flour, and I’m loving it!There is so much and more you can do with it. Maybe wholewheat pita bread. All you need is falafals and hummus, a crisp salad, and you have a healthy balanced delicious meal! Or maybe bake wholegrain crackers! So YUM!! Serve them with some fun home made dips and you’re good to go!What would you make with a flour like this? I mean other than including it as an everyday pantry staple of course! I’ve used it quite a bit the last week or so. As basic dough for chapatis/flatbread, also for stuffed tandoori parathas. It behaves and tastes just like the regular flour. That it’s even healthier is a bonus. The low GI makes it diabetic friendly and an ideal pantry staple! I’m next thinking wholegrain chocolate chip cookies or cheese crackers.Oh, and did I tell you I baked a batch of Wholewheat Dark Chocolate After Eight Mint Cupcakes with the same flour mix two days ago? It’s a one bowl no brainer recipe filled with wholegrain goodness that I carried to the “Facebook: A Place to Connect” event at New Delhi. I was speaking there on Facebook Live, and you can catch me and my Aashirvaad Sugar Release Control Atta cupcakes on the link here!I’ll share that recipe soon as a WHOLE lot of folk have been asking me for it. Until then, here’s another peep into how good and moist the cupcakes were.
Now time for the Walnut Garlic Coriander Wholewheat Bread. This is just a new way of thinking food, or rather #EkNayiAadat with #Aashirvaad!
Nothing better than fresh home baked bread, and this Walnut Garlic Coriander Wholewheat Bread is bursting with goodness of this new wholewheat flour . It has great flavour. Use herbs and nuts of your choice, play around with ingredients, but do make this. It's healthy, it's addictive, bread baking is therapeutic and above all it's so good for a 100% whole grain bread!!
Prep Time 10 minutesminutes
Cook Time 30 minutesminutes
Total Time 1 hourhour40 minutesminutes
Servings 1loaf
Ingredients
Walnut Garlic Coriander Dough
2cupsAashirvaad Sugar Release Control Atta
1tspyeast
1/2salt
1tsphoney
2tbspextra virgin olive oil
1cupwater {approximately}
1tspgarlic powder {or 4 cloves minced}
1cupfresh coriander, finely chopped
1/2cupwalnuts, finely chopped
Topping
4-5walnut halves
Few sprigs fresh coriander
Himalayan pink rock salt
Extra virgin olive oil to drizzle over
Instructions
Walnut Garlic Coriander Dough
Add the wholewheat flour/Aashirvaad Sugar Release Control Atta, yeast, salt,garlic powder, honey and extra virgin olive oil to bowl of your stand mixer fitted with dough hook.
Stir to mix on speed 2, then knead for 5-7 minutes on speed 4 until the dough is smooth and elastic.
Add a few spoons of wholewheat flour if the dough is too wet, or a tbsp or two of water if too dense. We're looking for a soft dough.
Make a smooth ball, drizzle over some olive oil, and cover the bowl with cling-wrap or a damp kitchen towel. Place in a warm, draft free place for an hour or two until the dough doubles in size.
Form into a ball, drizzle over with a little olive oil, cover the stand mixer bowl with cling-wrap or a wet kitchen towel. Leave to rise in a warm, draft free place for an hour or two until doubled.
Preheat oven to 200C.
Take off the cling wrap or kitchen towel, add the finely chopped fresh coriander and walnuts to the same bowl and knead again briefly to mix.
Form into a loaf and place on a parchment lined baking sheet.
Topping
Paint top gently with damp fingers and sprinkle over some Himalayan rock salt and finely sliced garlic, push in walnut halves, and maybe add a sprig of fresh coriander.
Leave covered with a kitchen towel until the oven preheats to 200C. {20 minutes}
Bake for approximately 30-35 minutes until golden brown and done. Serve warm or at room temperature.
“Remember, there are cookies waiting here for you.”
Dean Koontz
Eggless Wholegrain Buckwheat Oat Chocolate Chip Cookies. These are cookies that come together in a matter of minutes, are fuss free and absolutely delicious. That they are 100% wholegrain makes them a winner. Swap the chocolate chips for raisins, maybe add some walnuts, or make them coffee chocolate chip cookies. Either way, these will disappear before you know it! This is pure comfort food.
While I shared the making of the eggless version in an instastory there the next day, I never really got down to sharing the recipe as I got busy with this & that. To cut a long story short, here you are – Eggless Wholegrain Buckwheat Oat Chocolate Chip Cookies! #healthy #indulgent #glutenfree
I love using buckwheat flour or “kuttu ka aata” while baking at home when fresh flour is available in the market. Often when the fasting season is on, the local market is flooded with freshly ground flour. Since buckwheat flour gets rancid easily, especially in warm temperatures, I buy a few bags and keep them in the freezer. A little goes a long way, and it’s always fun to experiment!
That this experiment also worked out quite well put me in a happy space. In any case, an eggless cookie experiment always behaves better than an eggless cake experiment! Often, using yogurt/dahi or flaxseeds work quite well.
Eggless Wholegrain Buckwheat Oat Chocolate Chip Cookies
Eggless Wholegrain Buckwheat Oat Chocolate Chip Cookies. These are cookies that come together in a matter of minutes, are fuss free and absolutely delicious. That they are 100% wholegrain makes them a winner. Swap the chocolate chips for raisins, maybe add some walnuts, or make them coffee chocolate chip cookies. Either way, these will disappear before you know it! This is pure comfort food.
Prep Time 5 minutesminutes
Cook Time 15 minutesminutes
Total Time 20 minutesminutes
Servings 20cookies
Ingredients
Dry Mix
75gquick cooking oats
75gbuckwheat flour {kuttu ka aata}
3/4tspbaking soda
pinchsalt
100gdark chocolate chips
Wet Mix
115gunsalted butter, room temperature
115gjaggery granules
15mlhoney
1tbspyogurt
1/2tspvanilla bean paste {or vanilla extract}
Instructions
Dry Mix
Place all the dry mix ingredients in a large bowl and stir to mix.
Wet Mix
Place all the wet mix ingredients in bowl of stand mixer, fitted with the paddle attachment, and process for 2 minutes on speed 3.
Add the dry mix and stir with paddle attachment on slowest speed for 30 seconds.
Let the mixture stand/rest while you preheat the oven to 180C {15-20 minutes}
Line 2 baking sheets with parchment. Use good quality heavy duty cookie trays, else use 2 trays at a time for even baking.
Place scoops of cookie dough on the parchment, 2 inches apart, 12 on each sheet. Flatten gently with the tines of a fork. {Sprinkle over a few more chocolate chips if you are feeling particularly indulgent}
Bake for approximately 15 minutes, until the edges are done, light golden brown, and the centre is still a little soft. {Bake further 5 minutes if you like crisp cookies}. Watch closely towards the end so they don't get burnt.
Remove tray from oven, allow to stand for 5 minutes, then cool the cookies completely on the rack. Best eaten in a day or two.
“If it could only be like this always — always summer, always alone, the fruit always ripe.”
Evelyn Waugh
Mulberry Lime Cooler for times like these when the season changes, when spring meets summer. With a very short and ‘finger staining good’ mulberry season in progress, life is good. This is the best time of the year, yet this time it’s unseasonably warm for April. With temperatures already threatening to touch 40C in North India, mulberries are literally raining off trees. How better to use these foraged beauties than in a refreshing summer cooler!I have loads of mulberries in the fridge. This fruit is very perishable. There’s going to be just about 2-3 weeks of mulberry joy, and then alas, wait for next year. I’m constantly thinking of things to do with this precious fruit, other than cramming them into my mouth of course!That’s how we spent our childhood. Climbing up trees in the heat of summer, foraging fruit, coming home with our hands and clothes mulberry coloured and happy. Now I want to use the fruit in more fun ways. The simplest I thought was a variation on the lemonade or our native Nimbu Paani. There was that bottle of 100% pure maple syrup from Canada that was calling my name.With summer here, it’s best to hydrate the body with loads of seasonal refreshing things. It’s fun to make coolers with fruit in season, so that’s where I begun. This Mulberry Lime Cooler is as simple as that. Basic ingredients – freshly foraged mulberries, lime juice, maple syrup and fresh mint.Mulberries are filled with nutrients that are important for our body, including iron, riboflavin, vitamin C, vitamin K, potassium, phosphorous, and calcium, as well as a significant amount of dietary fiber and a variety of beneficial organic compounds. Paired with pure maple syrup, this Mulberry Lime Cooler is certain to refresh you. Takes a few tablespoons of maple syrup to add a soothing natural sweetness. Maple syrup is a healthier alternative to regular sweeteners and sugar, and is known to be an antioxidant, has anti inflammatory properties, and is a rich source of nutrients.I don’t like to cook down berries unless required because they lose their Vitamic C. So I thought it would be best to muddle them with a little maple syrup. Love the deep colour berries released. No more to the simple summer cooler. Muddle well, strain by pushing through as much juice as you can collect. Then add a generous glug of maple syrup to sweeten. Also lime juice, a few whole mulberries and mint leaves to the pitcher. Chill well before serving, else pour over ice. It’s refreshing!There is so much more you can do with maple syrup. I made this Breakfast Berry Smoothie Bowl using a batch of gluten free granola I made last week with the maple syrup. Mulberries here too! This is just the simple kind of goodness that you can treat yourself to. Use fruit in season to get maximum benefit!So many possibilities, so much fun. Am thinking of no bake energy bites next. Best to keep things quick and easy through summer!
Mulberry Lime Cooler for times like these when the season changes, when spring meets summer. With a very short and 'finger staining good' mulberry season in progress, life is good. How better to use these foraged beauties than in a refreshing summer cooler sweetened with 100% pure maple syrup from Canada!
Prep Time 5 minutesminutes
Total Time 5 minutesminutes
Servings 4glasses
Ingredients
1 1/4cupfresh mulberries {or similar seasonal berries}
4-6limes, juice of
1/2cup100% pure maple syrup from canada
1/4tsppink rock salt
3-4cupsof water as required
Few sprigs fresh mint
Instructions
Reserve 1/4 cup fresh mulberries for later.
Place 1 cup mulberries in a large glass bowl or glass with the pink rock salt and 2 tbsps of maple syrup. Muddle well, mashing the berries on the sides of the bowl to release as much juice as possible.
Strain into a pitcher by pushing through as much juice as you can collect. Add some water and strain again. {You can use the pulp in a smoothie later, or like me, just eat as it. It's quite delicious.}
Add water, lime juice and a generous glug of maple syrup to sweeten. Taste and adjust sweetness adjusting the lime juice and or maple syrup as required. Add a few whole mulberries and mint leaves. Chill well before serving, else pour over ice.
“Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants.”
Michael Pollan
Tropical Fresh Turmeric Chia Energiser… when a ray of sunshine hits you in the morning, you know you are energised. How much better can a morning be to wake up to? These glasses have all the colour, loads of flavour and summer literally within. You do know how good fresh turmeric is for you, right? Combine it with milk, chia seeds and a 100% pure maple syrup from Canada and the goodness comes together!So when you combine powerful ingredients that compliment each other, all the benefits come under one roof, or in one glass as the case might be.Here we have a superfood like turmeric well known for it’s antioxidant and anti inflammatory properties. It is also good for the control of diabetes and arthritis among other things. The turmeric latte has caught the world by storm over the past year. Just a peep at the vibrant sunshine colour will convince you of it’s goodness.To this, add liquid gold of a 100% pure maple syrup from Canada and you’ve got magic. Just a few tablespoons of maple syrup are enough to add a soothing natural sweetness. Maple syrup is a healthier alternative to regular sweeteners and sugar. It shares similar properties with turmeric. Is known to be an antioxidant, has anti inflammatory properties, and is a rich source of nutrients.Do try making things as simple and good as this. They are fun to create. Use seasonal fruit, use fresh herbs from the garden, maybe edible flowers too. See how pretty a whole bouquet looks! And of course if you are short on time, you can always just do a very very simple and basic Fresh Turmeric Iced Latte for summer. Combine milk with fresh or dry turmeric powder {haldi} if you please, add a glug of earthy robust 100% pure maple syrup, chill and get energised for summer!
Tropical Fresh Turmeric Chia Energiser... when a ray of sunshine hits you in the morning, you know you are energised. Wake up to a good morning. These glasses have all the colour, loads of flavour and summer literally within. You do know how good fresh turmeric is for you, right? Combine it with milk, chia seeds and a 100% pure maple syrup from Canada and all the goodness comes together!
Prep Time 5 minutesminutes
Cook Time 5 minutesminutes
Total Time 10 minutesminutes
Servings 2people
Ingredients
Tropical Fresh Turmeric Chia Energiser
200mlmilk
1inch piecefresh turmeric, grated fine
2-3tbsp100% pure maple syrup
3tbspchia seeds
To top
Cape gooseberries/physallis
Pomegranate
Fresh mint
Organic fresh rose petals
Instructions
Bring the milk to a boil, take off heat and add the fresh grated turmeric to it. Let it steep for 30 minutes, then strain and sweeten with 100% pure maple syrup.
Stir in the chia seeds, allow to cool, stirring a few times to distribute the chia seeds.
Add halved cape gooseberries to serving glasses and pour over the fresh turmeric chia milk once it cools.
Allow to stand in glasses in the fridge overnight.
Top with more cape gooseberries, pomegranate pearls, fresh mint and organic rose petals.
Serve chilled
Note: This can be served as only Fresh Turmeric Chia Latte too. Increase the milk for this version, and or decrease the amount of chia seeds. Alternatively, skip the chia seeds, and pour the steeped strained fresh turmeric milk with maple syrup over ice cubes. This will offer a very refreshing delicious iced latte!
