EGGLESS BANANA TEA BREAD

A robust, bursting with flavour Tea bread, high fiber and healthy too!, could you ask for anything more?For once I will just let the pictures do the talking.
The recipe below has been adapted from Martha Day's-Complete baking.
Makes 1 loaf
Ingredients-

• Self raising flour-120 gms
• Wholewheat flour-55 gms
• Baking powder-1 tsp
• Soft butter-40 gms
• Castor sugar-50 gms
• Skimmed milk-4 tbsp
• Ripe bananas-2
• Cinnamon-1/4 tsp

Method-

1. Preheat oven to 180 C. Grease and line a 450 gm loaf tin.Sift flours and baking powder into a mixing bowl.Rub in butter until mixture resembles breadcrumbs.
2. Stir in sugar, cinnamon, milk and bananas and mix.
3. It will be a thick batter, spoon into prepared tin and bake for 45 minutes, let cool slice thickly and serve buttered.

I must admit I was apprehensive since the recipe did not call for any eggs, and I almost always add eggs to baked goods, but after baking this, I marvelled at the simplicity as well as the wonderful crumb and flavor of this bread, a good addition would be perhaps some walnuts :)

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GUILT FREE! CREAMY STRAWBERRY YOGURT

Caught hold of the last bunch of strawberries just as they are waltzing out to Dreamland, that means from now on , will be dreaming only sweet dreams of them! ...
I have had a long , deep fascination for strawberries maybe because, living in India, we only read about them and tried to imagine the flavors as described,It is only fairly recent that we have had access to fresh strawberries, earlier we just had to resign ourselves to that nasty, fake, artificial colour and flavor.
Today I was in the mood for something very simple yet full of flavor and deeply satisfying, yet bereft of any of the guilt that desserts usually possess, thus this recipe came to mind, rich, creamy and luscious , pure pleasure without the guilt!
To make

• Fresh strawberries-250 gms
  
• Curd-500 gms
• Sugar or sweetener - acc. to taste and sweetness of berries

Method--

1. Wash and hull the strawberries, puree half and chop the rest.Hang curd in a muslin cloth to drain out the whey preferably for 2 hours.
2. In a blender or with a hand mixer blend in the hung curd with the pureed strawberries, sweeten and fold in the chopped berries, chill and enjoy!!

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HOMEMADE DATE OAT MUESLI (SUGAR FREE!)

Muesli is a great way to start your day, a healthy combo of complex carbs, nuts and fruits, it can be deliciously combined with Milk or yogurt for a filling breakfast or as a anytime snack.
I was fed up with buying expensive, sugary, manufactured muesli, so decided to simply make my own, it turned out really good!, low fat and absolutely no added sugar!
I carry this muesli in my tiffin too for a nourishing mid-meal snack or when I crave something sweet after meals.

To make this you require-

• Oats- 1 cup
• Corn/Wheat flakes-1/2 cup
• Almonds and raisins-1/2 cup
• Chopped dates-1 cup
• Flaxseeds-2 tbsp
• Clarified butter/butter-1 tsp

Method- Heat butter in a heavy bottom pan, add the oats and toast till fragrant and just starting to turn golden, at this time your kitchen will be filled with a heavenly aroma of the oats being roasted in ghee, slice almonds and add to the pan stirring all the time, tip in flaxseeds , dates and raisins, switch off flame and let cool, lastly combine the corn/wheatflakes, mix well and store in an airtight container.
Serve with either Milk or yogurt and your choice of fresh fruit.Delicious and crunchy :)

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LOW CAL FRUITY SANDESH WITH ORANGE SAUCE

If you are one of those people who thought “nutritious” and “delicious” couldn’t mix, you are in for a happy surprise! Because that’s just what the following recipe is all about…tasty, healthy, simple… that you and your family will love.

To be fit and healthy, modifications in diet are required, but at most times people trying to adopt a healthier lifestyle or trying to lose weight or suffering from a medical condition get frustrated with a monotonous diet and a long list of foods that one has to avoid.And that is exactly the right time to refer to the following recipe...

Sandesh is a classic Bengali sweet made with fresh chenna/paneer which is often flavored in a variety of ways.In this recipe a fascinating combination of low fat paneer and citrus fruits like oranges/raspberries/strawberries make this delicacy rich in Calcium and Vitamins.

Ingredients:

• For Sandesh-
• Low fat fresh paneer(homemade with skim milk)-50gms
• Low fat/Skim milk powder-2 tsp
• Skim milk-1 tbsp
• Honey/Stevia/sweetener- 1 tsp
• For the orange sauce-
• Fresh orange juice-1/3 cup
• Cornflour-1/4 tsp
• Sweetener-1/2 tsp
• Lemon juice-3 drops
• Fresh chopped fruits(choose from raspberries/strawberries/apple/papaya/oranges)-1/4 cup

1. For the sandesh-Combine all the ingredients and blend to a smooth paste in a blender, spread on a serving dish and chill.
2. For the orange sauce-Combine all the ingredients in a pan and mix well, cook till sugar has dissolved, cool completely.
3. To serve- Garnish the sandesh with the chopped fruits, pour sauce on top and serve or serve sauce separately.

Nutritional value/serving

• Calories-46 kcal
• Protein-3.2 gms
• Fat-2.8 gms
• Calcium-66 mg

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BLISSFUL ORANGE VANILLA BISCOTTI

These are my Early morning blissful SUMMER treat!, so good that I could eat a dozen!...a zesty flavorful and fruity biscotti, light and crisp and so refreshing in the hot Indian summer, perfect with some Lemon Iced Tea.
The basic recipe is same as I had posted before but sans the addition of nuts, I think I really like these since you can feel the texture all through, whatever that means :)
It's Sunday morning here and I am up bright and early, enjoying a batch of fresh, aromatic biscotti, baking has uplifted my spirits in a way that nothing else ever can!!
To make these you require (adapted from here)-
(makes 8 large ones and about 20 small bite size one's)

• Sugar-1/2 cup
• Butter(salted)-60 gms
• All purpose flour-1 and 1/4 cup
• Baking powder-3/4 tsp
• Orange flower water/Orange flavor- a few dropS
• Grated orange zest -1 orange
• 1 egg
• Pure vanilla essence-1/2 tsp

Method- Preheat oven to 180 C/350 F and line a baking sheet with foil/parchment,take granulated sugar in a large bowl and sprinkle rind on top, rub to moisten and leave for few minutes, beat in softened butter till light and fluffy.Add egg and essence and beat well for a few minutes.Sieve flour and baking powder together and add to the egg mixture, it will come together to form a soft, sticky dough.Flour your work surface and halve the dough, shape into two logs, 10 inches long and about 1 inch thick, shape with dampened hands and flatten a bit, gently place on baking sheet at least three inches apart and bake for 25 minutes, cool for 10 minutes then with a very sharp knife slice diagonallyand bake again for 15 minutes, transfer to wire rack and cool completely.Store in an airtight container.Enjoy over hot cups of coffee

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YES DIETING DOES MAKE YOU FAT!... AND SOME REALLY GREAT WAYS TO LOSE WEIGHT PERMANENTLY!!

I have mentioned in some of my previous posts that I am a Dietitian/Nutritionist by profession, the maximum number of people I meet in my practice are overweight and want to lose weight "fast" even to the extent of near starvation!, they tell me about the pathetically low number of nutrient deficient calories they are consuming, and in a desperate voice tell me that they are -"still not losing a single pound", another frequent visitor is that person who has invariably managed to lose some pounds but after a few months has regained the lost pounds and added some more!!I have been seeing an alarming number of these kind of cases so was prompted to write down this post today, now most of us are fighting a forever going on battle with weight loss, some have expressed their thoughts very lucidly like Lynn, and some of us just continue silently with a yo-yo like pattern picking up snippets from magazines, the net, newspapers anything which gives a shortcut to weight loss.To understand why these people are not losing weight we first need to understand that why eating less doesn't always work-If you cut out 1000 calories per day from your maintenance level, that will add to a 7000 calorie deficit in a week, there are 3500 calories in a pound of stored fat so cutting out 7000 calories should give you a weight loss of 2 pounds per week, Right ?, No wrong! It rarely happens that way!!There is a very simple explanation to this- The body has a survival mechanism that kicks in the minute it senses that the number of calories it is getting is lesser than normal, since the human body cannot distinguish between "dieting" and "starvation", it naturally thinks that you are starving and will hold onto it's reserve of calories, thus dieting actually makes you "fat"!
So I guess it makes sense to stay away from very low-calorie diets as these affect your life in many ways like-

• maybe initially you will lose weight but it will become progressively more and more difficult
• binging and cravings will go up
• your metabolic rate will slow down
• you will feel weak and tired all the time
• chances of rebound weight gain are high

BEST WAYS YOU CAN PERMANENTLY AND EFFECTIVELY LOSE WEIGHT-

• Decrease only a small number of calories (for your RDA see here).
• Start exercising a lot more to burn that fat, weight training is highly effective.
• Divide your meals into 6 smaller meals so that your metabolism is high throughout the day, increase intake of protein(calculate the number of calories and macro-nutrients in your diet here).
• Refrain from both fasting and feasting.
• Remember it is more important to be fit and healthy.
• Be patient!.

If you thought that "Nutritious" and "delicious" don't go together then you are in for a happy surprise!It is often thought that Healthy food is bland and boring and if you think so too then these recipes are just for you :)

• Healthy wholewheat (atta) soft bread
• Tangy pineapple rasam
• Homegrown turmeric and a healthy burfi
• Peach Upside down vegan cake
• Healthy Sugarfree Cookies
• High protein dal ke kebab
• Double protein Besan cheelas with swiss chard
• Tomato Soup
  

ENJOY!

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