Category: Diet and Health

BrewNSpew Café July 1-2019- Watermelon

Watermelon is the best fruit which we can consume in this hot season.

Eat it on its own. Digging in with a spoon into the watermelon bowls was something we used to do as kids. An easy way to eat without too much mess.

But it’s a very versatile fruit and there are so many ways to serve it.

A watermelon pizza is a great idea, where you can use your favorite fruits and herbs to top the slices of watermelon cut into wedges.

The water content in the watermelon is around 80-90% with a lot of soluble fiber so it is safe even for people with diabetes.

It fills the tummy and quenches the thirst.

What could be better than this low calorie fruit. A bowl of watermelon has just 40 calories.

So dig in!

Word of the week – watermelon – (noun) – a large oblong or roundish fruit with a hard green or white rind often striped or variegated, a sweet watery pink, yellowish, or red pulp, and usually many seeds. Synonyms – melon, cantaloupe, water melon.

In response to;

BrewNSpew Café July 1-2019

#keepitalive

#brewnspewcafe

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Fandango Provocative Question #27

Fandango’s Question this week;

“If you could choose one — and only one — particular malady, condition, or disease for which a safe and effective treatment was available, what one condition would you choose to treat and why is that your choice?”

My response;

I have read many responses from people on this question. Many have chosen illnesses which affected them or their loved ones which is quite natural. We will want what is causing pain and discomfort to us or our family to be gone. And if a cure is discovered for it to completely eradicate it, what could be better!

But there are so many diseases in the world today which are the cause of mortality and morbidity. The first and the major one is cancer. It is a disease which strikes terror in the heart of a person when they hear of the possibility of having it. There are so many faces of this disease, some of them treatable and some even curable. The number and types of malignant disease is growing daily and so are the number of people effected by it. Some doctors have come up with cure for a type of cancer while billions of dollars are being spent in research every year for this type of disease. I would say if people discovered a cure/ treatment for cancer all forms it would save many lives.

On the other hand, on a completely personal note, I would love for someone to come up with a cure for obesity….. Anyone???

In response to;

Fandango Provocative Question #27

#keepitalive

#fpq

Eclectic Taste

Food is what we all need to live. Most sensible people eat so that they can live. And then there are people like me who live so that they can eat. Pretty unwise, I would say. We have eclectic tastes in food and we shamelessly cater to them. Always tempted by something sinfully rich and decadent. If an ice cream scoop has not enough calories, we need to drizzle some syrup on it to make it more so. We would choose food with most calories and least health benefits, at least that is my first instinct. I even would like to smother my fresh fruit with whipped cream or maple syrup, or both to make it extra yummy. Upon reflection I know it’s not a good idea. In fact it is a very very bad idea because it is NOT GOOD FOR MY HEALTH! But when I go by instinct, this is where I head. I literally have to stop myself all the time from making unhealthy choices. I am trying to train my mind so that I become a sensible eater. So far, very little success.

In response to the following prompts;

Your daily word prompt:

Eclectic

FOWC;

Reflect

Word of the day challenge;

Tempt

RDP;

Drizzle

#keepitalive

#fowc

#rdp

Self care is so very important

I started this draft when I started my blog, almost eight months ago. This post and many others on similar topics are sitting in my draft folder. So now I am going to set them free!

Why self care?

And what I mean by self care?

By self care I mean taking care of the body and mind that houses your soul.

We can go without food for a few days and without water a couple of days so we are very particular about feeding ourselves and hydrating our bodies.This all is instinctive. And a very few people need to be reminded about eating food or drinking enough water to hydrate themselves.

Then when we are young, looks are very important for our self esteem so we spend time money and effort to look good. This too, at that age is an inborn instinct. Maybe a survival instinct as we need to find mates and propagate the human race.

So at our prime, that is the age when we have everything going for us, we are very good at looking after our bodies.

The issues or you may call it a problem arises when we start to age and at that time lose interest in maintaining our looks and/or good physical and emotional health.

Physical health

Taking care of our nutrition and getting in enough vitamins can be enough to maintain good physical health. There are some special needs for our bodies as we age.

Calcium ; Sources are milk, dairy, fish, almonds and green leafy vegetables.

Vitamins D; Sunlight, enriched butter , eggs and supplements.

Vitamin B; Meat, whole grain, eggs and dairy

Iron and folic acid; Red meat, fruits like apples, pomegranate, green vegetables, almonds

Fiber; Whole grains, lentils, beans, vegetables etc

I will write separately about the dietary requirements as it needs to be explained properly.

Emotional health

Looking after our emotional well-being because more important as we age because there are chances of going into depression with increasing age. We are feeling poorly due to health issues and that contributes towards a decline in mental robustness.

I have written a post about maintaining mental health before but I will write about it in detail again later, as this is a comprehensive topic and needs more attention.

Self grooming

Grooming plays a very important role in lifting up our self confidence and gives a boost to our morale. As we age we loose color, from our hair, skin lips etc. Some people find it distasteful to color their hair and prefer to let nature take its course. For some dying hair is not a possibility due to allergy to hair dye. Whatever the reason, if you prefer your hair that way, it your choice.

But use cosmetics to give some color to your lips and face. It does wonders for our morale. Get a manicure or pedicure for a little pampering. Or you can do it at home, yourself. The point I am trying to make is that we should spend some time on self-care and pampering. It has tremendous psychological benefits.

I have been through the stage where I gave up doing things like self grooming for myself and noticed a mark decline in my mood. So I have a monthly ritual where I get my roots re-touched and get a menicure and pedicure. Sometimes a facial too. Believe me, it does makes a huge difference in how I feel towards myself and others too.

This is a very short post where I have just highlighted the main issues.

I will be writing more on them

Meanwhile, please share your thoughts and feedback in your comments

#keepitalive

#health

Mentalandphysicalhealth

A weighty issue

In my tag line I have mentioned obesity. I have been at war( regular armed warfare!!!) with the weighing scale most of my life. Being a chubby and cute baby really didn’t help me when I grew up into a teenager. My weight would fluctuate a lot. I would gain weight and after some effort, would get it off but not for long. This continued till my marriage and first pregnancy. With my first pregnancy, I put on a whooping 60 pounds.This yo-yo’ing went on for a lot of years till , finally at the age of 38, I was diagnosed with hypothyroidism.

I thought that now , at last, my weight troubles are over! Well not exactly! I did loose about 35 pounds after the start of treatment but not for long. Apparently, people with hypothyroidism have a tough time taking and keeping the weight off.

I tried Atkins diet, low-fat high carb diet, southern beach diet and any number of variations of these and many other diets. The result was more weight fluctuations and very little satisfaction.

So, where am I now heading? I have not given up. No sir! I mean to keep on trying to lose this excess weight , not because I want to just look good( BTW, who doesn’t), but now it’s a matter of being healthy.                                                                                                                                       appetite apple close up delicious

So the battle continues!

Till then , please like and comment

I have reposted this blog.

#Weight

#weightloss

#iamalwaysonadiet

#Keepitalive

321 Quote me— Food Glorious Food

I have been tagged by Kristian and SanaH for the Quote me on FOOD!

Rory of A Guy Called Bloke and K9 Doodlepips has created this tag;

Here are the rules:

• Thank the Selector

• Post 2 quotes for the dedicated Topic of the Day.

• Select 3 bloggers to take part in ‘3.2.1 Quote Me!’

[Please Note Rory will be reblogging your responses unless you ask him NOT to do so.]

And when you combine this love with love for food, nothing gives you more satisfaction.

Julia Child was a legend in her own right. I saw the movie Julia and Julie and it gave me a glimpse into the life of this amazing lady.

I am tagging;

Dr Tanya of Salted Caramel

Kristianw84 Life lessons from around the dinner table

Teresa of The Haunted Wordsmith

In response to;

321Quote me- Food glorious food

#keepitalive

#321quoteme

MLMM; Tale Weaver #221-Ritual May 2/19

Michael has given us this prompt;

Do you have anything in your life that you consider a ritual. For example do you follow a routine each day, that is part of the way you start or end your day?

Are there rituals in your life that you are part of? They could be religious and or cultural.

Or you could just tell a story in which you explore the concept of ritual.

Go where the prompt leads you and have fun.

My daily walk;

As far as rituals go, this is not something written in stone. I am pretty flexible about it. But it must be a part of my day, about that I am pretty sure.

My daily walk….

Hot or cold, snow or rain, I try to fit in my daily walk during the day. I do try to have it done during the first half of the day, that is, till afternoon because I know from personal experience that the demon of laziness strikes as the day progresses. I can walk outside, on a track, or a road. A park or a green belt is always welcome but not essential. I just need to log in my step, any thing from 6000 to 10000. There are days when I will walk only 4500 steps and there have been days when I did more than 20000 steps( just two, but I did that!). If I cannot go outside, I walk indoors. The hallway, the corridor or in the rooms. I am very adaptable that way.

What happens if I don’t walk?

I feel lethargic and down. But the predominant feeling is of guilt. I feel that I have wasted a day, if I don’t do my daily walk. When I had a couple of fractured bones in my right foot, I couldn’t walk for a few weeks and that really made me realize how important this ritual has become for me. I haven’t lost much weight by walking, well I did initially but not since a long time. But there are a couple of advantages that I have gotten from my daily walk;

1. I feel very active and upbeat during and after my walk.

2. Most of my health numbers have shown an improvement after I have started walking.

3. I have something to say for myself when my family members criticize me for not looking after my health.

I think that as far as being health conscious goes, this is my one saving grace. That I am consistent about my daily ritual.

What are your daily rituals?

And how do you look after your self?

In response to;

Tale Weaver #221-Ritual

please share your thoughts and feedback in your comments.

#keepitalive

#taleweaver

Health care

Speculating about health and fitness seems to a popular pastime these days. Every one has become an expert. Giving advice, propagating theories and postulating on probable outcome of certain regimen is something that lot of people feel well qualified to do. There is a lack of proper professional guidance in a lot of cases and hence the failure of attempts to attain healthy fitness. Most people find exercising monotonous and bore of it quickly if they don’t get results instantly. What does not engages their interest, because drudgery and abandoned sooner than later.

The proper way to attain good physical health is to find a form of exercise that suits our lifestyle. If you can get up early and go for a jog, walk or swim in the morning, it is the best thing to do. Doing some physical work early in the day gives a powerful boost to the metabolic rate of the body, making us burn more calories during the entire day. It also awakens our senses and gives a lift to the mood increasing the feeling of wellbeing. If you are too busy or lazy to find time for your daily dose of exercise in the morning, do not despair. Any time during the day works too. Or even in the evening. You can save on fuel by walking home from work. This will not only help you unwind from work but also would provide the opportunity to burn off those extra calories and purge the system of accumulated toxins. Then there will be no need for chivalrous to people praise you on your slimmed and improved looks. The compliments will be genuine.

Written in response to the following;

Health

Word of the day challenge;

Monotonous

RDP;

Speculate

Your daily word prompt;

Chivalry

#Keepitalive

#FOWC

#RDP

Three Things Challenge PL#16

 

 

A beautiful plate of fresh salad sprinkled with herbs and grated cheese can be a replacement for lunch any day of the week. I love the pre-prepared boxes available in most grocery stores, all ready to eat with a small plastic ford thoughtfully provided in the same package. I specially love those which have a small sachet of nuts to spread on the top. This gives more nutrition to the salad and also satisfies the palate with adding a crunch to the meal. Another easy and nutritious snack/ lunch replacement are the yogurt packs, with fruit and crunchy nuts etc included. I do have some reservations about the sweetened yogurt as the sugar content is quite high.

Round off this meal with a cup of either hot coffee or tea or you can get a drink of cold water or soda. I really don’t get sodas as the caloric count of soda is very high and the carbonated drink makes it the ideal vehicle to be absorbed rapidly into the bloodstream and rise the glucose levels. Even diet sodas are not free from their own harmful effects.

When watching calories it is best to stay away from hot food, at least during mid-day meal because hot food like paninis, pizzas of burgers cause an increase in appetite and we eat more than required.

 

 

 

 

Written in response to;

3TC

filter, keepsake, salad

Keto friendly Almond flour bread

I have said that I will post some keto friendly recipes on my blog.

I got this recipe from Allrecipes.com, but modified it to get the best results.

So here it is;

Almond flour Bread

Ingredients;

Almond flour——-1 1/2 cups

Flax seed flour——-1/3 cup

Eggs————————-4

Coconut cream/ coconut milk——-1/4 cup.

Olive oil——————————————2 tablespoons

Baking powder——————————-2 teaspoon

Salt————————————————–1/2 teaspoon

Directions;

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F, or 175 degrees C.

2. Grease a loaf pan, 4x 8 , lightly with butter or olive oil

3. Mix all the ingredients and whisk lightly.

4. Pour into the prepared pan and sprinkle sesame or sunflower seeds.

Bake for 20- 25 minutes and check by inserting a tooth pick in the middle. If it comes out clean, take out the pan and let it cool naturally. One it is cool, loosen the edges with a knife and gently lift it out of the pan. The baking time can vary, and can take longer in some cases. Please check after 20 minutes.

The bread should be stored in the refrigerator till it is consumed.

This bread tastes good on its own. But you can toast it in the toaster and make a sandwich with cheese and butter, combined with the meat of your choice.

I wrap my bread in cling film to keep it fresh.

Hope you guys enjoy it.

Perfect keto recipe.

A bonus dessert recipe;

Strawberry with Greek yogurt

Strawberries. 1 cup, sliced

Greek yogurt. 1/2 cup

Heavy cream 2 tablespoons

Unsalted mixed nuts ( cashews, peanuts, almonds ) or any other nuts that you like, 2 tablespoons

You can sweeten this with a few drops of liquid stevia, or xylitol ( a couple of teaspoons) and enjoy it as a desert.

The carbs in this recipe are mostly fiber and net carbs are very few.

#Keepitalive

#Ketolifestyle

#Ketodiet