Yummy Late Night Snacks

These days I hardly meet any youngster who sleeps on time! Some of them are up all night, some working, some just like that! I am one of them, needless to say, and I often have hunger pangs at late night and finding something interesting to eat becomes a problem. I have come up with a few late night snacks which are tasty and don’t take a toll on your health as well. Although there are options of late night food service in India, but the most of the times it is not a meal that I want to eat but something light. Also, it is not possible to spend so much every alternate days, so here are some easy to find, quick, yummy and healthy smacks for you to keep you up all night!

Lemonade/Orangeade cubes

 
Get a jar of lemonade made in the evening and put in the freezer in the ice tray. You are all set for night by when they will all freeze and give you a mind blowing feeling during a long tiring night! For someone who has a cold, I would suggest not to go for it, as your condition might worsen with so much of ice intake!

Fancy salad

 
Chop down a few of your favorite vegies and keep them in the freezer, take them out and mix pizza pasta sauce, oregano, little bit of mayo sauce, and any other spice you are fond of. You are good to go for a night. So let the midnight oil burn!

Popcorn

We all love it! These days we get packaged and flavored ones. All you need to is make them. My personal favorites are the masala flavored ones, and the aroma gives me another reason to have popcorn at night! Just make sure you don’t have too much as that might cause acidity and try not to eat it empty stomach.

Glimpses of Childhood

It is probably the most ironical thing about growing up; you want to be a child again, trace back time to the time when life was life! There were so many things we did and got away with! It is dreary to be a grown up and deal with everything you do, face the consequences and fight them. Simplicity was at its best during those days, and I am sure everyone would agree to the following list of thing we all miss from our childhood:

Summer vacations

Oh those days! The euphoric feeling of a month long off! Seems like a dream to most of us now- (try taking a month’s off from your office!)The freshly peeled mangoes and trips to our relative’s house were almost like a routine- sheer bliss! The re-union with cousins, and those incessant sessions of games with them was like the best feeling ever.

Home-made potato chips

Rarely does anyone have the time to make those crunchy potato chips at home. The packaged ones filled with nothing, tempt the kids of today. Little do they know the heavenly taste and the smell of those freshly bakes chips. I still vividly remember the sight of my mother putting out the slices to dry in the sun and me eagerly waiting for them to be edible!

Santa Clause

I had a heart break when I came to know Santa Claus is fictional. I would do anything it takes to get that thrill back to check the gifts in the stocking that Santa has left for me the first thing in the Christmas morning. It seemed like a miracle when Santa granted our wish by gifting us exactly what we wanted. Life is dull without such innocent surprises.

Crying

Yes! This is the saddest part. I miss crying like a child. Crying was like an instant solution to any distress back then, and you always had some two to three people attending you, to make you stop. Gone are those days when used to howl out the reason of my distress and be done with it. Who said growing up was easy?

Birthdays- Then and Now!

It was not long ago when the thought of our birthday approaching gave us goose bumps. A few of our happiest memories from childhood are of our birthday parties! The word ‘party’ used to be much under rated back then. Recently I was invited to one of my nephew’s birthday who had just turned six. It was a party in real sense and he was spotted serving crispy potato chips to ‘his guests’; another cacophonic bunch of six year olds.

While talking to his mother I learnt that it was the kid himself who wanted to celebrate his birthday this way! He had invited almost half of his class friends; made sure he got a fancy cake with his favorite super hero on it, and wore the outfit he saw in a showroom! Most kids I see this day are actually thriving on the things they see on television and would do anything to make it happen in real life.

Life used to be so simple when we were this age, and birthday ‘party’ was a gathering with a few friends and family a cake, lots of candles, and kettle chips. India has seen a marked change in the outlook with the advent of globalization. Exposure to television and internet has made the kids of these days more demanding in several cases. Parents too, have become indulgent and a birthday party has to be ‘party’ in all aspects even if they have to go out of their way to make their child happy.

Making your child happy is probably the sweetest thing for a parent. But think for a while, aren’t we making our children more materialistic? Aren’t they deriving pleasure out of the most futile things? Where are the days gone when simple things used to make us happy? I think parents should maintain a fine balance between being indulgent and wise when it comes to the upbringing of their children.

Healthy Foods to Combat Depression

When you are out of sorts, or you are feeling low and depressed, one of the easiest ways to feel instantly better is to eat! But what we commonly end up doing is, buying some good amount of junk and indulge in it to lift our spirits up. Certainly, an easy thing to do, but we force ourselves not to think about the side effects we are building up within ourselves with all the junks piling in.

Experts say, there are healthier options to satiate your depressed hunger pangs! Take a look, as I list down a few of them.

Go nuts!

Nuts are rich in magnesium and they are known to speed up the production of serotonin a chemical which gives our brain the ‘happy’ feeling! For all those health conscious people who are bummed for some reason, here is the best way to neutralize it! Get a handful of nuts and raisins, and munch it away to happiness!

Omlette an egg!

Does that sound weird to you? Well, yes, omlettes do life your mood up! The best part is it is healthy! The presence of Vitamin B in and the protein works on your nerves and they make you feel better within a few moments of consuming it! So the next time your boss pulls you up for some reason, do not buy an extra chocolate fudge, go home, crack an egg and make yourself the yummiest omlette! You can add a bit of butter or mayonnaise sauce to go with it! It will keep you full for quite some too, cutting down your craving for any more junk!

Do something fishy!

Order a fish preparation if you are eating out, or you can make one yourself, and a good fish meal will put you out of your misery. Fish is known to have Omega-3 fatty acid which stimulates certain hormones in our body which makes us feel better.

These are the top three foods which you can completely trust more than any food service in India when you are in a foul mood. Eat good, feel good!

Are Baked Potato Chips Healthy?

Potato chips are probably one of the most popular inventions of the time especially with the younger crowd. They love to gorge themselves on these scrumptious items and the fact that it’s made from potato and with other flavours to it has only heightened its popularity. But it’s not only the younger crowd that love them, even office working people, parents and relatives all love them and they are the first thing to be brought out when serving guests or friends over.

But in the recent few years with the rise of obesity and heart problems many health experts have concluded that junk food like the fried potato chips and especially their unhealthy consumption has led to all these health problems being faced. A lot of health experts have condemned the consumption of junk food altogether.

But since most of the population has not given them up, many companies have come up with alternatives to the regular version while introducing variations like the baked potato chips, or the no salt and low cholesterol chips. These alternatives supposedly have the same taste as to regular chips but area little healthier since there is no use of oil to fry them and the salt and cholesterol content is low too.

The question that comes up is that are these baked potato chips, really that healthy or are they are the same as the fried versions with just a fancy name stuck on them. It has been proved that these alternatives are a little bit healthier, but not so much that one can rely completely on them and should not make it a regular consumption.

And even the major population leans towards the fried ones still and because of that even companies have to produce both the version. Still it is advised that one should consume the baked ones instead of the fried potato chips since even if marginally they are still a healthier option to the other.

At the same time such junk foods should never become a part of a person’s regular diet and should be consumed only sometimes and not always.

Making Mayo at Home

More often than not whenever I raid the refrigerator and open up a bottle of mayonnaise, it’s empty –and I have a lingering suspicion that I’m not the only one faced with this dreadful mayo situation! Tired of eating sandwiches and what not with just a tiny drop of mayo, I decided it was high time I started making my own mayo so I can enjoy a generous helping whenever I please.

So, given below is a recipe for some lip-smacking mayonnaise sauce. Try it out and I guarantee it’ll taste just as great as the store-bought variety, if not better!

•    Into a large bowl and crack an egg yolk.
•    Add ½ tsp. salt, about 1 tsp. sugar and about ½ tsp. dry mustard to the bowl, and whisk together well.
•    In a different bowl, mix 2 tsp. lemon juice and 1 tbsp. white wine vinegar, and transfer about half of it to the bowl with the egg yolk, and whisk well.
•    Now, in the bowl with the egg yolk, begin adding a cup of corn oil, slowly, while whisking.
•    When about half the oil has been combined, add the remaining portion of the lemon juice mix.
•    Continue to whisk until the mixture lightens and thickens.
•    Let the prepared mayonnaise sauce mixture remain at room temperature for a couple of hours, then refrigerate.

There you have  it –easy as can be, mayo made at home!

But, we don’t always need plain old mayo, do we? Sometimes we like to mix it up! So here are a few variations of mayo that you could use for salad dressing India or what have you:

•    Herb Mayonnaise
Add about 1/2 cup mayo, 1/4 cup chopped fresh herbs (basil, thyme, rosemary or anything), and a pinch of pepper.

•    Chipotle Mayonnaise
Into 1/2 cup mayo, combine a chopped chipotle chili, along with a teaspoon of adobo sauce, and a pinch of cumin.

•    Pesto Mayonnaise
Again, add 1/2 cup mayo to about 1 tablespoon pesto, and there you have it!

Innocent Junks

I am a person who swears by junk food and all the stuff which are not considered to be high on nutrient value. Recently a friend pointed out that I love all the things which are classified as junks but are not as harmful to health as perceived to be. Overwhelmed, I ran a quick check and it turned out to be true! If you too share the same passion for these, then you can sit back and relax, and go have some more!

To start with, I am dimsum addict which are commonly known as ‘momo’ in India. I would just go crazy over those steamed pieces of chicken filled balls served with a spicy sauce. Yes, to be honest, probably too many of them consumed at one go is harmful given the refined flour content and the sauce is not also very healthy. But once in a while it is an amazing way to treat your taste buds, without thinking much about your health!

Another thing I am crazily addicted to is tomato ketchup! I know I might sound really weird for saying this, but I just can’t help tasting and licking the entire tomato sauce off the plate when it is served. My friends joke that I am probably the sole patron of all the ketchup suppliers in India!

I especially like the Indian version of the sauce as Indian tomato sauce has a tangy flavour which is barely present in any of the other tomato sauces. And yes, it is not harmful unless you consume a bottle in a day!

Finally, I will chocolate to add to this list which my ultimate favorite and I cannot do without it. Although not on a daily basis, keep eating dark chocolates and unlike the popular view it doesn’t lead to weight gain. It at times effectively helps me get rid of my headache! So no, it is not to be considered harmful as well!