Preparation for October Challenge

Please finalise the menu for Tadka as per your palate and compile the shopping list. My recommendation for seven days-

1. Hara dhaniya - 7 small bunches.
2. Pudina - one bunch.
3. Ginger - 250gms.
4. Garlic - one pod.
5. Coconut (giri) - one and dry - one.
6. Lemon - 7.
7. Almond - 28.
8. Walnut - 14.
9. Dates - 21.
10. Magaj + pumpkin seeds - 100gms
11. Sesame seeds - 7 spoons required, 100gms as may be used for fruits and salads too.
12. Ground nut - 500gms.

(THESE ARE JUST A SUGGESTION)

Tadka for 7 Days

Dry Fruits - almonds -28, walnuts-14, raisins70, pumpkin seeds-70gms, flax-seeds70gms, groundnuts-100gms, sesame seeds-7 teaspoons, magaj-7 teaspoons, dry coconut grated-14 spoons.

Chutney - choose your day

Hara Dhaniya
Nariyal
Pudina
Palak/available local green
Red Chillies
Garlic
Ginger

These can be the base and add tomato, garlic, ginger, green chillies, fresh lime and blend it. These ingredients are always part of our weekly purchases.

Sprouts

Sprouts add a crunchy flavour to our salad. Best is moong beans sprouts.

So today and tomorrow is the day. If you have whole green moong dal at home do it today or even tomorrow will be fine.

Sprouting is very simple if you don't ask anyone.

1. Take a katori/bowl of moong dal. Roughly one handful is good for a week.
2. On first sight you may feel that one handful is less, this is natural. Don't increase the quantity.
3. Wash it thoroughly and soak it for 24 hours. Change water once after 12 hours.
4. After 24 hours strain the water and store it any container(if perforated available use it) and cover it with a wet cloth.
5. Keep rinsing and straining water as per your convenience every 6-7 hours.

That's it. Within 4-5 days you will have sprouts.

If you smell something odd, rinse and strain is the magic that works.

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What Keeps us Healthy

Three factors responsible for healthy life are physical, chemical and emotional. The three threats (T) to us are also three Ts.

1. Physical Trauma (T1). Accident, natural calamity, heart attack, etc are some common examples of physical trauma.

2. Chemical Toxin (T2). Whenever we see, touch, smell, taste and hear, there is a corresponding chemical reaction in our body. If it produces Toxin in our body then it comes under this category.

3. Emotional Thought (T3). Stress is number one reason for all illness. All thoughts which makes us sad come under this category. We often hear that a person is suffering from so and so disease, but is always smiling and at ease.

So now exercise daily to avoid T1, see, smell, touch, taste and hear healthy to avoid T2 and stay positive to avoid unnecessary T3.

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Ideal time to Eat

Ideal time to take food is when you feel hungry. Hunger is two types - physiological and psychological. You need to learn the difference by experience.

Sometimes when we are out in the market the mere scent of samosa or jalebi or fast food evokes hunger. Though you may have had a full meal before leaving your home. The mere sight of food on TV also gives rise to hunger. This is psychological hunger. Basically the thought evoked due to perception by any of our five senses evokes such hunger.

Now recall a time you were travelling by road or train or by air. The circumstances did not allow you to eat something worthwhile and the first opportunity that you got, you had your meal. This opportunity could be an unhygienic dhaba, or an expensive eatery at the airport. You just ate what was required to satiate your hunger and the beauty is that you still nostalgically savour that taste till date. This is physiological hunger.

Remember food is not the source of energy, sleep is what recharges our body vitality. Food builds muscles, blood, organs and each cell of our body.

Once we sleep at night and wake up in the morning, we have fasted during this period because one cannot drink or eat while sleeping. During sleep the food is digested and early morning the body is ready to eject the byproduct toxins from the body. This elimination of toxin is by air(morning walk or exercise), liquid (urine) and solid (stool). Coughing, sneezing, sweating is also a way of toxin elimination.

So we wake up in the morning fully charged and body is busy in elimination of toxins. To assist the body in this process of elimination green vegetables or their juice is the best to have first thing in the morning. Imagine the harm we do by drinking tea/coffee. The body's energy is diverted into digestion mode and the elimination of toxins suffer.

Since sleep was a natural fast that is why the first meal is called breakfast - breaking the fast. Ideally delay this breaking of fast as much as you can and one must have fruits only for breakfast.

It takes an average 2 to 3 hours to digest fruits. So ideally next meal/snacks should be 3 to 4 hours after breakfast only on feeling hungry. This principle will also govern subsequent meals/snacks till last meal of the day.

Every time you eat anything the body is put into digestion mode. Everyday we consume 75% of our energy only in food digestion. The rest 25% is what is used for running, walking, commuting to office, working, etc. So if one reduces the number of meals, the vitality is conserved and this is what makes us feel energetic.

You have to now balance these number of meals as per your daily routine.

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How to Eat Green Vegetables

We all know that green leafy vegetables are a great source of iron.

1. Always mix lemon juice with green leafy vegetables, coriander fresh, mint, salad leaves to increase iron absorption.

2. When having them raw, cut small strips or into small pieces and let them rest for five minutes. This increases the nutrients absorption.

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Healthy Spices

One must incorporate these spices in daily meal. The list is endless and I have mentioned only the common ones.

1. Cinnamon - dal chini.
2. Black pepper - kaali mirch.
3. Clove - laung.
4. Green cardamom - hari elaichi.
5. Rosemary.
6. Oregano.
7. Ajwain/carom seeds.
8. Saunf/fennel seeds.
9. Rye/mustard seeds.
10. Dry mango powder.
11. Dry ginger powder.

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Simple Salad

Simple Cucumber, Capsicum and Tomato salad to go with coconut dip.

Just cut long julliene of cucumber and capsicum. Arrange them to the side of the bowl. Cut tomato into eight straight cuts and arrange in centre. The capsicum top may be placed on top with a tomato piece.

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Beetroot Kanji - Easy Homemade Probiotic

Take a one litre glass jug. Cut juliennes of beetroot, add two spoons of crushed black mustard seeds, one spoon crushed fennel seeds, one and half teaspoons of black salt. Put all in the jug and fill it with water. Cover the jug with muslin cloth and keep this jug near a window where there is some sunshine.

Stir the mixture every 24 hours with a wooden spatula. In three days you will have your probiotic drink and pickled beets.

Even carrots may be added to this.

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