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.

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!

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!

Tweak Your Salads with a Dash of Spices

Swapping fried fare with salads and some greens is the first step towards a healthier leaner self. However, a major obstacle in making this essential swop is the insipidity and well, lack of variety. While salad will still be a salad, we can surely spruce it up for you to give the much needed push. Here are 6 interesting and healthy Indian salad dressings that will add flavour to the blandest of veggies.

Ranch Dressing

Take a cup of buttermilk and add to it ¼ cup low-fat shredded paneer, some dried onion flakes, salt, lemon juice and pepper. Store it in an airtight container and refrigerate.

Vinaigrette with a twist

Buy the healthier variants by one of the best food services India and play around with its flavours every time you use it. A few ideas can be to add a few drops of orange juice, or apple juice or even vanilla essence. You can also put some grated lemon rind and a few drops of lime juice for a tang or simply whip it up with a table spoon of yoghurt before adding it to the salad.

Spicy Indian Salad dressing

Take a quarter cup of lemon juice and add to it some tomato puree, red chili powder, some tabasco sauce, cilantro leaves, salt and ½ tsp jaggery dissolved in water. Shake them well and its ready.

Thai salad dressing

Take some peanut butter and add a little boiling water to it. Sprinkle in some apple cider vinegar, a dash of honey, salt to taste. Now spice it up with minced garlic cloves and crushed and roasted red pepper.

Curry Dressing

Roast some curry powder dry in a skillet and then cool it. Add a bit of light mayo, yogurt, mango chutney, minced ginger and grated orange peel and whisk properly. You can store this for a while so make for the weeks ahead.