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.

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.

5 Easy Dips with Chips

While we’d all surely agree that potato chips are wholesome and delicious by themselves, there comes a time when we need to whip up a few dips to go with the chips. Whether it’s a party, a small dinner get-together or what have you –chips with dips are a sure-shot success! Read on for some amazing dip recipes that go perfectly with any kind of potato chips.

1.    Caramelised Onion Dip
 

•    In a large skillet, melt 2 tbsp unsalted butter over medium heat.
•    Add 2 chopped onions and sliced kosher salt. Cook for half an hour and then let it cool.
•    Grab a bowl, mix the onion mix, along with black pepper a bar of cream cheese, 1 cup sour cream and 2 tbsp chopped chives.
•    Serve with kettle chips India for best flavours!

2.    Guacamole

 
•    In a bowl, add 1/2 chopped onion, 1 chopped jalapeno, 1/4 cup chopped cilantro, some kosher salt and black pepper to taste.
•    Then, mash in the veggies till they start to release juicies.
•    Then add 2 diced avocados, 2 tbsp fresh lime juice and serve up with potato chips!

3.    Hummus

 
•    Puree 1 can chickpeas, 1 clove garlic, 1⁄4 cup olive oil, 2 tbsp lemon juice, 2 tbsp sesame seed paste, 1 tsp ground cumin, and some salt until desired level of smoothness.
•    Put the mixture in a bowl, add 1/4 teaspoon paprika and sprinkle some olive oil and serve alongside a few packs of kettle chips India!

4.    Salsa

 

•    In a bowl, mix 2 diced plum tomatoes, 1 diced yellow bell pepper, 1 diced cucumber, 1/2 diced red onion, 1 tbsp red wine vinegar, 1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil along with some kosher salt and black pepper. Mix well, and serve with chips and dippers!

5.    Spinach and Parmesan Dip

 

•    Grab a bowl and mix 1 package chopped spinach, 1 cup sour cream, 1/4 cup grated Parmesan, 1 clove garlic, some kosher salt and black pepper to taste. Easy as can be!

Health Benefits Of Indian Tomato Sauce

When I look back at my childhood days, I realize that there was no day without the participation of the Indian tomato sauce in our breakfasts. Be it for sandwiches or cutlets, the tomato sauce bottle used to be the permanent accessory on our tables.

Even now, when I am messed in the rush of morning hours, the Indian tomato sauce acts like a savior and gels with every type of breakfast recipe, saving a lot of time!


Let us have a look at some of the health benefits of the tomato sauce, and know why it is the permanent companion of easy and healthy breakfast recipes, since ages!

• Vitamin C: It is a well-known fact that tomatoes contain Vitamin C and that Vitamin C is one of the most important requirements of the body. It metabolizes extra fats of the body, speeds the wound healing up and keeps our teeth and gums healthy. Why run for other Vitamin rich dishes when we can have it all in our tomato sauce!

• Antioxidant: The tomatoes have a powerful antioxidant called lycopene which prevents the cell damaging caused by the free radicals from the food we eat and the water we drink. Cell damaging increases the aging process, and if you want to keep your cells undamaged and look young throughout, tomato sauce would give you a tasty way of doing it!

• Low on fats: Compared to other cream based sauces available in the market, the tomato sauce is low on fat and carbohydrate content, hence it doesn’t add much of calories into your body. The nutritional value of this delicious treat makes it a preferred choice among sauces.

And with no doubts about its deliciousness, tomato sauce does wonders in enhancing the flavor of pizzas and burgers and what not!