Nutritionally chia seeds are rich in fats, particularly polyunsaturated [including omega-3 fats] and monounsaturated fats, protein, antioxidants and calcium. They also contain a good amount of iron and other minerals like potassium, magnesium and phosphorus.

Source of omega-3

Omega-3 fatty acids are essential acids which are necessary but cannot be made by the body and hence have to be obtained from foods. They have been known to reduce inflammation and blood triglycerides, thereby helping to prevent heart disease and stroke among others. Like all plant sources [flax seeds, walnuts, leafy vegetables], the omega-3 present in chia seeds is in the form of ALA [alpha linolenic acid].

Two tablespoons of chia seeds contain about 4,500 mg of omega-3, which is a little less than flax seeds, the other power house of omega-3.

Source of fibre

Fibre helps not only to relieve constipation but also in lowering cholesterol and blood sugar levels. Two tablespoons of chia has about 10g of fibre. It is regarded as a good source of fibre as adults need about 25 – 40g of fibre per day. As foods with fibre take longer to digest, chia seeds may help in keeping you feeling full longer, just like other high fibre foods.

Weight loss?

Since chia seeds are rich in fibre, they are touted to help lose weight. When chia seeds are soaked in any liquid like water, milk or juice they absorb the liquid and get swollen. They can swell up to 10 times their dry weight and become a gel like substance. This property is used to advertise its ability to curb appetite. However, a study conducted by researchers at Appalachian University showed that it did not promote weight loss or alter any disease risk factors.

Chia seeds may not be suitable for patients taking blood pressure medication or blood thinners as there is a possibility of a drug-food interaction

Most researchers agree that chia seeds may have health benefits when taken along with a balanced diet and adequate physical activity but may not be a “miracle” food for all our lifestyle induced diseases like diabetes, obesity, heart disease and stroke.

Using chia seeds

Chia seeds have been used since ancient times, both whole as well as ground into flour. They have a longer shelf life too due to the antioxidants in them. It is great for vegans and for those who are gluten intolerant.

For vegans – Since chia forms a gel like substance when mixed with water, it can be used as a substitute for eggs in baking, making it a perfect egg substitute for vegans.

For gluten intolerant – Chia seeds are gluten free and hence make a great alternative for wheat, barley, oats.

Chia seeds are very similar to the sabja seeds [tulsi seeds which are used in falooda] that most Indians are familiar with. They have a mild nutty flavour and hence combine well with most dishes without drastically changing its taste. The soaked seeds are soft but have a crunch at the end which gives the dish a different texture.

Here are some ideas to include chia seeds in your diet

Breakfast: It makes a great substitute for cereal soaked in milk; use it in lieu of cereal [cornflakes, oats, muesli or wheat flakes] or add it along with them to make your breakfast more nutritious. It can also be added to dosa, idli batters for those looking for traditional Indian breakfast.

Snacks or dessert: Soak them in curd or juice and you have a pudding like dish. You can even add them to smoothies to add a nice crunch. It can be used in baking to make cupcakes, muffins and breads.

Lunch and dinner: The soaked seeds or the ground flour can be added to rotis, thalipeeth and parathas. You could add chia seeds to your chutney recipes too.

Is it worth the price?

With the apparent health benefits of chia seeds, the only deterring fact is the cost. At INR 200 – 250 for 100g, many may feel the pinch. Flax seeds are a better buy as they have slightly more omega-3 and you could buy a kg of flax seeds for INR 200.  But wait, here’s some good news—some farmers in Mysore are growing chia seeds and if the trend catches on, it might bring the prices down in the near future.

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Also called makhanphal in Hindi, the butterfruit was not a common local fruit and was grown exclusively in Coorg at that time. The fruit by itself was pretty bland like plain butter but my curiosity led me to start gathering more information about it from my friends—this was a time before the internet era. I was vaguely told that the best way to eat them was to cut them when they were ripe, scoop and mash the pulp in some milk and sugar. The resulting concoction was absolutely divine—it had a buttery feel in the mouth and a subtle, delicate flavour, something that reminded me of tender coconut. We were hooked on this dessert for a long time. That it could also be made into savory preparations was something I realised only when I was in the US where I tasted guacamole.

Though avocados are now grown in various parts of India—mostly Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and some parts of Maharashtra—they are believed to have originated in Mexico and Central America. Once shunned by health enthusiasts because of their high fat content [around 21g in a medium sized fruit], they are now being revered as one the healthiest fruits. This change came about when researchers found that the mono-unsaturated fat [MUFA] in avocados are good for keeping the heart healthy and may also help in controlling blood sugar levels. A recent study suggests that people who eat about half an avocado at lunch tend to snack less later in the day and hence it can be a great food for weight watchers.

Besides the MUFA, the avocado is also a good source of polyunsaturated fats [PUFA], fibre, protein, the antioxidant lutein and around 20 different vitamins and minerals including potassium and manganese, making it one of the most nutrient dense fruits. It offers myriad of health benefits like lowering cholesterol, controlling blood pressure, preventing cancer and relieving constipation.

In India, butterfruit is mainly used in milkshakes or ice-creams, but it can also be used as:

• Dips: Guacamole is made by mashing the pulp and adding freshly chopped onions, tomatoes, coriander leaves, lime juice, salt and a dash of pepper [or chopped green chillies].
• Spreads: Use it in lieu of butter, cheese, jam or mayonnaise on your toast, in your sandwiches, wraps or rolls and you’ll have a healthy, cholesterol-free, better-than-butter spread.
• Salads: Dice the pulp and add it to salads or mash it and use it as a creamy dressing for your salads.
• Topping: Use it as a topping on soups, pizzas or even as frosting on cakes!
• Sauces and soups: Make your pasta healthier by using an avocado sauce instead of the creamy white sauce or make a cold soup with it.
• Baby food: Its creamy consistency and rich nutrients make it a great addition to a baby’s diet.

Avocados can also be used for non-culinary purposes. Their natural oils make them an excellent choice for face packs to moisturise the skin, treat sunburns, under eye bags and wrinkles. It can also used as a hair conditioner and a skin cleanser. Avocado oil can be used for cooking, as a dressing for salads and also for cosmetic purposes and as a massage oil.

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Tips for buying, storing and using avocados

Though it isn’t a very popular fruit in India due to its bland taste, you can occasionally find locally grown avocados some time between August – October. Imported varieties may be available throughout the year. Here are some tips for those who are new to the fruit and would like to try it:

• Indian avocados are pear shaped and usually have a smooth, shiny exterior. Over the years I’ve learnt this the hard way that buying the hard, unripe ones are a hit and miss affair, which may or may not ripen using traditional methods such as keeping them with other fruits, wrapped in a newspaper or buried in raw rice. To be on the safer side, I now buy them when they are slightly soft to touch. But do make sure that they are not too soft and don’t have brown sunken spots.
• You can store the ripe one in the refrigerator for a day or two—but do keep checking it as they tend to go from ripe to overripe pretty fast.
• Cut it lengthwise in half [around the centre seed]. Remove the seed, and then scoop out the flesh with a spoon. The pulp should be light green.
• You can slice, dice or mash the pulp depending on how you want to eat it.
• Avocados, like apples and bananas, tend to get oxidised on exposure to air. This can be prevented by adding some lime juice to them after they are cut.

With so many benefits, it’s only a matter of time before the Indian consumer will become aware of it and be able to develop a taste for this healthy fruit. Once the demand for it increases, I’m sure it’ll be found more easily in the market. Until then, keep a watch for this superfood and do give it a try.

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Though a menace when touched, stinging nettle has been used since ancient times as an alternative medicine for various ailments. It is believed that cooking, boiling or even drying inactivates the toxic venom and renders it safe for consumption. The young plants are also consumed in various parts of Europe and are known to be highly nutritious as they are rich in iron, calcium, magnesium, potassium, phenols and other naturally occurring antioxidants. Traditionally, different types of concoctions were made with the leaves, stem or roots and taken as tea or used as a tincture to treat urinary tract infections, joint problems or even seasonal allergies.

While handling the plant

Those who live in areas where stinging nettle grows and would like to harvest it, make sure to wear long sleeves and gloves or use tongs when handling these plants. Be warned that touching or accidentally brushing against the stinging nettle will cause a tingling sensation with pain and inflammation at the point of contact that can last for some time. This is due to the sting from the tiny hairs present on the plant that inject plant venom, believed by chemists to be a mixture of acetylcholine, histamine and serotonin. If you do get stung, you can wash the area with soap then take an over–the-counter anti-histamine tablet to reduce the severity of the sting. Or try natural methods like using mashed plantain leaves or a paste of baking powder in water.

If using as an ingredient in your kitchen

For culinary use, the young leaves and tender shoot should be harvested before it starts to flower, as naturopaths believe that the older plants are rich in oxalic acid which may cause kidney stones. Once plucked, they should be washed to remove any surface dirt or grime, pressure cooked [or boiled in water] first, then cut and put into dals and sabjis. You could also make a soup from it like any other green leafy vegetable. The iron content of the nettle is not readily absorbed by the body, but can be beneficial when eaten with a source of vitamin C like a dash of lime, an orange or a glass of lemonade. The Nepalese call stinging nettle as sishnu. Sishnu ko tarkari and shishnu soup are popular dishes in Nepal where it is sold in the local market along with other greens and vegetables. And that’s not all, there’s some exciting news for all wine connoisseurs as in Nepal it is even made into and sold as wine! In the West, people use the boiled leaves in a variety of dishes including salads, pizzas, soups, pastas and pestos.

When consuming it as pills or tea

If you aren’t lucky enough to get fresh nettle, you could buy it in the form of capsules, tablets, dried powders or tea bags, which are available online and in some health stores in India. It is mainly used as a medicinal herb in this form to treat various ailments from urinary tract infections, allergies, joint problems, skin problems, gout and kidney stones. Nettle tea can be made by boiling the dried nettle leaves in water, then straining and having as such or with some lemon, a few sprigs of mint and some honey. If you want a stronger concoction, simply boil a little longer. Large quantities can be made and refrigerated which can be used over three to four days.

Like most herbs, there are little or no scientific studies on the medicinal benefits of the plant and hence it is not widely used. Even the manufacturers of the commercial products in India tend to put out a statutory warning that the claims are not approved by the FDA [Food and Drug Administration in the United States]. Do make sure that your physician is aware of what you are taking.

Using it in your kitchen garden

Stinging nettle is also great as a fertiliser and can be used as green manure. A kind of bokashi mix [those familiar with gardening will know that it is a Japanese term for fermented organic matter which is used as a fertiliser] can be made by putting the leaves in a big bin of water and letting it rot for a week. The liquid then can be diluted and used to water the plants while the remaining solid waste can be used as compost matter.

This was first published in the December 2015 issue of Complete Wellbeing.

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Known as ‘jai’ in Hindi, ‘jav’ in Gujarati and ‘thoke godhi’ in Kannada, oats is lately been enjoying a cult status among whole grains. This new found prominence is mainly due to the discovery of cholesterol lowering properties in oats. Oats have been credited with the highest levels of soluble fibre [the type that dissolves in water] among whole grains. The soluble fibre in oats combines with the fat in food and prevents it from being absorbed by the body. This helps the cholesterol levels from rising. The other reason for oats getting the ‘heart friendly’ reputation is due to the presence of an antioxidant [avenanthramides], which, say researchers, can prevent not just heart diseases but cancer too.

Besides the heart healthy properties, oats is known to help the following conditions:

Diabetes Being rich in soluble fibre, oats are a good choice for diabetics as they tend to slow down digestion, and therefore the release of glucose into the blood. Choose the traditional variety of oats that need to be cooked for a long time as they have a low Glycemic Index [GI] rather than the instant variety, which happens to have a higher GI and therefore may not release the glucose into the blood stream gradually.

Weaning foods Oats make wonderful first foods for babies. This is something I learnt the hard way when my second born suffered from constipation. What happened was that I started her on solid foods, namely rice. Now traditionally, rice is the first food introduced to a baby’s diet in India. So, I didn’t suspect that rice could be the cause of the constipation. When I was told to stop it and start feeding her oats instead, my interest in oats as a baby food began. Surprisingly, my baby thrived on it and slowly her problem with constipation was solved too.

Overweight Again, the fibre in oats tends to slow down digestion, which means that the food you eat stays longer in the stomach, keeping you feeling fuller for a longer period of time. This makes it oats a wonderful food for someone trying to lose weight.

Constipation If you suffer from constipation, have a bowl of oats everyday and see the difference.

Insomnia Being a good source of magnesium, a mineral that helps to relax the muscles and nerves, eating oats at night may help insomniacs sleep better.

Skincare For centuries, oats has been used as a beauty aid. It has been used externally to treat pimples, dry itchy skin and sunburns. Ground oats mixed with raw milk and honey make for an excellent face pack. Due to its ability to hydrate, nourish and fortify the skin and hair, oat extracts are also being used in cosmetics—as a part of shampoos, bath gels and other skin care products.

While buying oats, look for the ones that have low sugar and sodium. You can eat oats as a sweet or savoury dish. Use it to make porridge, upma, dosa idli, cookies or even khichdi. To make your bowl of oats porridge more delicious and appealing to the eyes, garnish it with chopped nuts like almonds, pistachios and walnuts. You could also add a few strands of saffron to give it a royal touch.

This was first published in the July 2013 issue of Complete Wellbeing.

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Sigh… how times change! To get him excited about school restarting, we take him shopping for a school bag, shoes and all the paraphernalia needed for the year.

But that is an easier challenge. The tougher one is packing a healthy lunch and snack for him daily.
Most parents will agree that getting a child to eat his lunch at school and making sure it’s also healthy can be a nightmare. It’s a common sight to see the lunch boxes coming back with food that is untouched or half-eaten. No wonder all parents struggle with getting their kids to eat right.

The question they ask is: what foods should I pack so that my child gets the optimum nutrition from them.

Prepare a kid-friendly tiffin

Here are some tips to keep in mind while deciding the menu for your child’s tiffin:

Variety: Variety is the spice of life—and it most certainly is in the case of children, who get bored of eating the same food too often. A change in the menu every once in a while adds a surprise element to the boring lunch box. Give rice or rotis a break, pack a club sandwich or an egg roll or something that they love and you can be sure that the box will come back home empty.

Colour: The saying that ‘we first eat with our eyes’ is apt. If something doesn’t look good, it’s very unlikely that your kids will finish it. Try adding a range of colourful foods [and here I don’t mean adding food colours] by pairing two or more different coloured vegetables [eg: adding some peas to cabbage will make it more appealing].

Presentation: Make eating a sandwich more exciting by cutting it into different shapes and sizes. Try using a cookie cutter to make different shapes for not just sandwiches, but also fruits and vegetables.

Exotic names: Ever noticed how your kids are enamoured by the names of dishes at restaurants? Kids love the food served at restaurants simply because they are different from what is made at home. You may not be a gourmet chef [I know I’m not], but you can always give some exotic names to simple dishes. For example, my son was bored of sandwiches until I grilled them one day and called it a ‘panini’—he happily ate it all. Make a mental note of the names of dishes at the restaurants you eat at and use those names when you cook those dishes at home.

Be innovative: There are no rules in cooking—dare to be different, change the ingredients, substitute, add your kid’s favourite fruit/vegetable and voila!—you’ll have a new dish. My kids love mushrooms, peas and broccoli and I add them to their least favourite dishes, to make sure they eat them.

Involve the child: Take your child along when you go grocery shopping and let her help you choose the vegetables, fruits and other essentials required for the week. You could also give a choice between two items and let them choose one for their lunch box. Another trick is to mention what is for lunch so that they look forward to lunch time.

Packing a healthy lunch box for your kid isn’t always easy. But make sure to avoid packing junk food or processed foods like chivdas, chips and cakes . Some kids have their lunches delivered to them at lunch time while others carry it with them in the morning. If you pack your kids tiffin in the morning, keep this in mind:

• Avoid dishes like khichdi or bisi bele bath, which turn hard and unpalatable when they turn cold.
• When the weather is hot, curd can turn sour by the time kids eat it at lunch. To avoid this, you can put in a few ice cubes into the curd and put it in an insulated container. A trick for curd rice is to mix the rice with just a tablespoon of curd and add milk so that it sets in by lunch time.
• To avoid sandwiches and wraps/rolls from getting soggy, make the filling dry and put some butter/cheese slice or a lettuce leaf between the filling and the bread/roti.
• When packing dosas, don’t make them too crisp. Crisp dosas taste great when eaten hot off the griddle, but may break or become hard when eaten later. Try not to spread the batter too thin on the tawa, cover and cook for a minute or two, then flip it over and sprinkle a few drops of water and let it cook. This will keep the dosas soft when eaten at lunch time.

Each child is different and their tastes too change like the seasons. So don’t get too worked up if they are still fussy. As long as they are healthy and growing at a steady rate, they’ll turn our just fine.

This article was first published in June 2013 issue of Complete Wellbeing.

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My earliest memories of saffron are of my maternal uncle giving a teeny-weeny box of Spanish saffron every year to my mother on his annual trip to India from the Gulf. This was one of the most treasured gifts that she received and used it sparingly through the year. A few strands of saffron would find their way into selective dishes [mostly sweets] that my mother cooked. Few, because the stock had to be used until a fresh stock arrived and also, very little of it was all it took to create magic in the recipe. The kheers and payasams that I remember relishing as a kid, always had a yellowish orange hue, with an occasional thread of kesar floating in it. That saffron was also used in savoury recipes likes biryanis and pulaos, was a revelation that I stumbled upon only when my own trysts with cooking began, post marriage.

My research on saffron, during my pregnancy, threw light on a lot of other aspects that I had no idea about and by the end of the nine months I had a mini-dissertation in one hand and a baby in the other!

The stigma of a flower [Crocussativus linnaeus], it is a native of the Mediterranean region. The cultivation and harvesting of saffron is a laborious and time consuming process. Each flower yields just three of these dark orange saffron threads which need to be hand-picked and separated. No surprises that saffron is the most expensive spice in the world. In India, it has been grown in the Kashmir valley since ancient times and is regarded as high grade saffron.

Known as ‘zafran’ in Urdu, ‘kumkumakesari’ in Kannada, and  ‘keshar’ in Marathi, it is widely used in Indian cuisine to impart both, colour and flavour to the dish. Besides milk based sweets, curries and biryanis, saffron is also widely used across the globe in baking, making cheese and even liquors.

Watch-out while buying saffron

A 5g box of high grade saffron can cost anywhere between `1200 – 1500, making it one of the most widely adulterated spices. The cost is also one of the reasons why some restaurants and sweet shops substitute saffron with orange food colour in their dishes. When buying, be vary of sellers trying to palm off saffron at cheaper rates—you may just end up with something that contains chemical dyes instead of pure saffron. Here are some tips for buying, storing and using saffron:

• Pure saffron threads are red in colour with a slightly orange-red tip. If the thread is all red it is believed to be adulterated with red colour to look expensive.
• Saffron is graded by its colour—the deeper the red , the higher is it’s grading and cost.
• There should be no yellow or white threads, which is a sign of adulteration with other parts of the saffron flower.
• Saffron is sold as powder and as threads. The threads are supposed to be a better buy rather than the powder which also has a lesser shelf life.
• After buying saffron, store it in the refrigerator or in a cool dry place. It tends to absorb moisture rather quickly, so wrapping it in a foil and then placing in a tight fitting container is recommended.
• There are different ways of using saffron in cooking—the most common way in India is to steep the saffron threads in hot milk for about 15 – 20 minutes. This milk is then used in the dish. Other methods of using are to crumble the threads and then soak in the hot gravy of the dish itself, or in any other hot liquid like water or broth.

Culinary uses and more

While saffron is widely used in cuisines the world over, its use isn’t limited to culinary purposes. It has been used in cosmetics from ancient times and is also known to have some medicinal properties. The natural orange-red hue and fragrance of saffron has been used in different cosmetics ranging from hair oils, perfumes to skin creams. In ayurveda, saffron is used as a skin cleanser and enhancer. Saffron oil is supposed to be an astringent as well as an antiseptic and hence used for the treatment of a host of skin problems including acne, bug bites and even sores.

Besides its cosmetic use, saffron is also believed to help in reducing premenstrual symptoms and depression. There are claims in alternative medicine of saffron being used for various disorders ranging from coughs, colds, asthma to diabetes. It is also known to stimulate the appetite and used as a diuretic. Researchers are studying the possible antioxidant effects of saffron [it is a rich source of carotenoids] in treating cancers and even heart diseases.

Since it is so expensive, side-effects due to overdose are rare. However, here’s a word of caution for the women: Excessive consumption of saffron during pregnancy can cause miscarriages, as it is known to stimulate contractions in the uterus.

For those wondering if our baby turned out to be the quintessential ‘fair and lovely’ bundle of joy, let’s just say that he is the perfect blend of our genetic pools.

This article was first published in the March 2013 issue of Complete Wellbeing.

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Before learning to pick out healthy options, first familiarise yourself with the terms used in menus. This is important, as once you are familiar with the cooking terminology, choosing the dishes will become joy. To make it easy to remember, let me colour code terms as Red [Alarm Bells] and Green [Go for it]:

Deep Fried: You know this one. The food is cooked submerged in hot oil, hence making it full of calories. Deep fried items can be either ‘breaded’ [coated with flour, egg whites and bread crumbs], dipped in a batter [like besan or maida] or coated with masala and then lightly dusted with flour before frying.

Creamy base/gravy: This includes the malais and makhanis on the menu. The creaminess comes from generous use of cream, butter, cheese, maida [refined flour] or cashew paste.

Crispy: Again a method in which the food is fried till it is crunchy.

Dressings: Used in salads, these can make the so called ‘healthy dish’ a high calorie one. The dressings to stay away from are the Thousand Island, French, Ranch, Mayonnaise and Caesar.

Steamed: This method of cooking uses the heat from the steam to cook the food. Since no oil or fat is used, it is the perfect choice for anyone on a diet.
Poached: The food is cooked by immersing it in hot water, curry or stock.

Grilled: Food cooked on a grill over the source of heat. In most cases, grilled foods use the bare minimum of fats or oils during the cooking process.

Baked: Food is cooked in an oven. Proceed with caution when ordering baked foods however, as many baked dishes come loaded with butter, cheese or flour-based sauces.

Tandoori: Food baked in a traditional Indian oven.

Stir-fried: Food cooked using high heat with very little oil and tossed or stirred continuously to avoid burning.

Tomato based curries/gravies/sauces: Insist on ‘no butter’ or cream to be added to these as a garnish.

Stick to your diet

Here are a few easy ways to stick to your diet and enjoy a night out:

• Avoid buffets when possible. Not only do buffets offer too many tempting options at arm’s length but they also prove very difficult when it comes to portion control. Better instead to order à la carte and choose exactly what you want to eat.
• Start your order with a clear soup. This tends to fill up your stomach, making it easier to stick to portion sizes during the main course.
• Ask for water. Instead of juices, energy drinks or mocktails—water is nature’s best zero calorie drink.
• Choose your appetizers carefully. Order ones that are preferably protein based [like paneer, chicken, tofu or fish]. Protein foods again tend to bring about a feeling of satiety.
• Make sure the steward understands your dietary restrictions: Most restaurants now recognise the need to please the increasing number of ‘health conscious’ clientele.
• Always order salads. The extra fibre will help in reducing your appetite for the main course.
• Stick to eating small portions. Don’t try to polish off the entire bowl/plate of what you have ordered.
• Order less to start with. Most restaurants serve fairly large helpings, which can be shared. Find out the serving size and mentally divide them with the number of diners with you.
• Give into your cravings. A nibble here and a piece there [or even a spoonful of that sinful dessert!] isn’t going to wreck your diet.

For all you die hard ‘diet nuts’ or ‘health freaks’ interested in ordering and picking out healthy foods from the menu, here’s what you need to mention before placing your order and also some healthy options to pick.

Indian Food

Stress on the fact that the food should be made with no oil, butter, ghee or malai and chances are that instead of the food floating in a bed of oil, it’ll be made with less oil.

Soups, starters and appetizers: Tomato soups, Mulligatawny soup [or simply pepper rasam] or dal shorba, tandoori items, kebabs [shashlik] are usually a safe bet for starters, instead of Chicken 65, fried kebabs and pakodas.

Main course: Plain rice or rotis instead of the biryanis, naans or roomali rotis.

Side dish: Dal tadka, vegetables, pulses or chicken/ fish cooked in a tomato based curry [Ask the steward if it isn’t specified in the menu].

Chinese Food

Authentic Chinese food is usually low-fat, bland and mostly healthy. Unfortunately, the Indian version can be quite the opposite—oily, spicy and unhealthy. Again, make sure you ask for food to be cooked with ‘no oil’.

Soups and starters: Sweet and sour soups, hot and sour soups, egg drop soups or any non-creamy soups are good. Steamed momos are an excellent option instead of the fried wantons, manchurians, and chicken lollipops/drums of heaven.

Main course: Noodles or fried rice made with less oil and extra vegetables.

Side dish: Stir-fried dishes with extra veggies.

European/Continental food

Avoid creamy and cheesy dishes.

Soups and starters: Any clear soups or minestrone. For starters, anything grilled is a better option than the fritters.

Main Dish: Pastas in tomato sauce instead of white sauce, grilled sizzlers instead of cheesy baked dishes, and grilled chicken/fish instead of fried versions.

Sides: Grilled/steamed vegetables instead of mashed potatoes/French fries.

Healthy options are not always be possible to find but sensible eating helps. With the correct choices, you can continue on your weight loss journey and remain an inspiration for people who give up too easily.

Bon Appétit!!

This was first published in the April 2013 issue of Complete Wellbeing.

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That’s right, though they are sold alongside vegetables; mushrooms are actually the edible fruits of fungi.  Mushrooms have been hugely popular in cuisines around the world since ancient times. Hence, with its buzzing stir, they are a recent addition in the Indian cuisine as well. With it gaining popularity among the Indian masses, mushroom cultivation is now seen as a lucrative option. The climate in India favours its growth, and it is a crop that can be grown all through the year since it is grown indoors.

Health quotient

Mushrooms, like all vegetables and fruits have their fair share of healthy nutrients. Although the nutrient content varies widely in the different varieties, they are mostly a good source of protein, fibre, B vitamins, potassium, and selenium and to some extent copper. Second to cod liver oil, mushrooms are the only source to contain vitamin D in edible form. They are also a gift for the health conscious as they are naturally low in calories, fat and sodium. Of late, extensive research is being conducted to validate the anti-cancer and immune-boosting properties of mushrooms. But more concrete findings are required  before elevating mushrooms to the ‘superfood’ group.

Mushrooms have manifested in multiple folklores as being poisonous. However, experts confer that mushrooms purchased from markets are mostly safe. In fact, they are safe to consume by pregnant women as well as kids. Out of the 14,000 documented varieties of mushrooms around 2,000 species of mushrooms are edible. Out of these, only the white button mushroom [the most commonly used ones], the oyster mushroom [oyster or fan shaped], the paddy straw mushroom [dark brown in colour and also known as Chinese mushroom], milky mushroom and more recently the Shiitake mushroom are grown in India. These are now hugely popular and are revered as a ‘gourmet’ food.

The cause for concern is for those who enjoy mushroom hunting. Mushroom hunting is a popular hobby in the west among mushroom lovers, wherein people go into forests to pick up wild mushrooms, typically for eating. Mistaking a poisonous mushroom for a benign one could naturally become fatal if consumed. Hence, without much knowledge of identifying mushrooms, an enthusiast must not divulge in hunting. So if you aren’t the one to forage into a forest to pick up your own mushrooms, then you aren’t likely to get poisoned from them.

Buying and storing

Mushrooms are very delicate and require extra care while buying, storing and cooking. Here are some points to keep in mind:

• When buying, choose those that are white with no or few brown spots.
• Take them out of the plastic wrapping, put them into paper bags and store in the refrigerator. Use them within a day or two of purchase.
• Before cooking, remove any visible mud and then wash them well in water. Do not soak them as they tend to absorb water.
• When cooking them with other vegetables, add them at the end as they cook very quickly.
• When adding to gravies or curries, add it when the dish is almost done. Add the sliced mushrooms, mix and switch off the stove. Cover and keep aside and the mushroom will cook in the heat of the dish.

Mushrooms are versatile, have an umami or savoury taste. They can be cooked light and delicate or robust and earthy. I tend to incorporate them into dishes like pulav, noodles, bhurjis, stir-fry and fried rice or even everyday vegetables just to make it more appealing to the kids. A certain motif of urban legend has been prevalent since ancient Egyptian times—mushrooms confer immortality or restore life. I cannot second that but I can ascertain that it is a healthy and scrumptious underestimated superfood. And for those who haven’t tried mushrooms I hail, “Try them!”

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This was only possible because veganism, a philosophy that shares a lot with vegetarianism, is a fairly popular trend in the US. It has been around for a long time, having emerged in Britain as far back as 1944. In fact there is also a day dedicated to it—the 1st of November every year is celebrated as “World Vegan Day”!

This isn’t your mother’s vegetarianism

Vegans are basically people who do not eat or use anything that is of animal origin. According to Donald Watson, one of its earliest advocates, veganism “is a way of living that excludes all forms of exploitation of, and cruelty to, the animal kingdom, and includes a reverence for life. It applies to the practice of living on the products of the plant kingdom to the exclusion of flesh, fish, fowl, eggs, honey, animal milk and its derivatives, and encourages the use of alternatives for any commodities derived wholly or in part from animals.”

Most vegetarians in India are either ‘lacto-vegetarians’ [meaning they have milk and milk products] or ‘lacto-ovo vegetarians’ [they have eggs along with milk and milk products]. Vegans avoid many foods that vegetarians would normally have, such as milk, curd, butter, ghee, paneer, cheese, milk-based sweets [rosogullas, kheer, barfi, ice-creams, chocolates] buttermilk, eggs [including cakes].

The problem with the sugar we use is that it could have been refined with animal bone charcoal

For most vegans, this is a lifestyle and not just a diet. They also believe in not harming animals or using them in any way—that means they avoid anything of animal origin like leather, fur, wool, silk and even pearls.

How practical is it?

In a country like India, where dairy products are an integral part of the diet and even the Gods are appeased with ghee and milk, the biggest challenge lies in saying no to the likes of palak paneer, shrikhand or a plate of simple curd rice on a hot summer day! However, since people in India have had centuries of expertise in making delicious vegetarian dishes, being a vegan here doesn’t have to mean living on salads and fruits.

The hard part, rather, is finding acceptable substitutes for foods that are to be avoided. You do have options, though. In place of milk, you could use soy, coconut or rice milk. For those who love paneer, tofu makes for a great substitute. Similarly, jaggery can be used instead of honey and even sugar. The problem with the sugar we use is that it could have been refined with animal bone charcoal, which vegans object to.

Does it help you lose weight?

Vegan or not, ultimately, the portion size you eat is entirely in your hands. And if you don’t regulate how much you eat, you will gain weight. Also, keep in mind that a food being vegan doesn’t automatically equate to being low-calorie. Samosas, vadas, potato chips, pakodas, sweets made without ghee or milk [like sheera, besan laddu, carrot halwa], a vegetarian thali without the curd, paneer or ghee all qualify as vegan foods but could add to your waistline.

Vegan or not, ultimately, the portion size you eat is entirely in your hands

There are other health benefits in going vegan, though. Some studies have shown that avoiding animal foods can reduce the risk of heart diseases and high-cholesterol as cholesterol is present only in animal foods.

Rising popularity

In India, the vegan philosophy is rapidly gaining popularity among vegetarians and animal-rights activists. Today, almost every city in India has a ‘vegan club’ where people meet to exchange news, views and recipes. In Bangalore, the Vegan Bengaluru Club, which started in 2008, organises potluck lunch meetings almost every month. Today, there are also many restaurants all around the country that serve vegan foods and desserts.

It looks like it’s just a matter of time before Indians are as familiar with the concepts, beliefs and lifestyle of being vegan as they are now with being vegetarian.

A version of this was first published in the August 2013 issue of Complete Wellbeing.

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