I was born and brought up in the land of coconuts and yes coconuts for a major part of our diet we malayees are always looking for optimal utilization of resources and it’s amazing how many uses they are discovered for the good old coconut. From its husk used for rope to its leaves used to build houses, sweep floors. The very coconut , the tender inside used in cooking and making oil , its hard nut outside used for making spoons for cooking or burned to make the fire for cooking and the water used for drinking and even make alcohol ..
LOL amazing what a single tree can do... Our families have always used coconut oil for our head, body and consumption. It helps moisturize your skin and scalp .It’s a natural antiseptic and hence helps fight infection, it for the base for several oils in Ayurveda .It’s one of the main oil used to cure Eczema. Consumed it helps in weight loss, its lighter than regular oils however an acquired taste is.
I absolutely love cooking in this magic oil and always carry it around everywhere I go
Monday, March 25, 2013
All about home Food
I was seeing a program yesterday on TV about how the Indian society was surely shifting away from our tradition foods to the fast and easy culture adopted from the west .This has also made me thinking about my own food journey. As stated by Ayurveda, each body has its our unique DNA according to the land it is born in and then each body has certain foods that suite their body type and certain that don’t .After coming here, I have seen both lean and not so lean people and often wondered how the lean managed to remain lean despite all the fast food they ate and how I after coming here have managed to pound on so much weight .Well today I realize the answer.
My body best suites the good old dosa idly lifestyle and not the bread and biscuits lifestyle and I also see that the moment I slightly change my diet to the good old days , my fat goes melting away on its own ..
I searched for variety in western food only to find that there was far many in Indian too, just that I had to look. Probably the submissive Indian in me is still trying to gimmick the western food just so to be recognized as civilized and modern... Somehow we find the western food exciting to discover and new recipes from the Indian cuisines boring...
May be like Yoga it would take another foreigner to tell like that our good old brown rice and Sāmbhar is healthy, delicious. Sad that even though I would like to say that I am liberated, my thoughts are still chained...
My body best suites the good old dosa idly lifestyle and not the bread and biscuits lifestyle and I also see that the moment I slightly change my diet to the good old days , my fat goes melting away on its own ..
I searched for variety in western food only to find that there was far many in Indian too, just that I had to look. Probably the submissive Indian in me is still trying to gimmick the western food just so to be recognized as civilized and modern... Somehow we find the western food exciting to discover and new recipes from the Indian cuisines boring...
May be like Yoga it would take another foreigner to tell like that our good old brown rice and Sāmbhar is healthy, delicious. Sad that even though I would like to say that I am liberated, my thoughts are still chained...
Sunday, March 24, 2013
Cooking ....
Italian Pound Cake Checked,
Nankatai Biscuits Checked,
Cornbread Checked
Boy am I bored or what
Lately I have been so bored that I have literately exhausted my culinary skills .Its amazing what boredom can actually teach you. I have never cooked before and since we loved in here I have been so bored sitting at home that I have been trying to cook everything under the son I have tried the Indian , the Chinese , Mexican ,Italian ,American and of course the British .. As much intimidated each recipe looks in the beginning slowly but surely you realize that it’s all the same.
Today I can confidently look at any recipe and say I can do this and yes I can... All it takes is you getting into the kitchen and trying...Yes there have been several disasters but now I have developed the knack of turning a disaster into a palatable dish as well...
Nankatai Biscuits Checked,
Cornbread Checked
Boy am I bored or what
Lately I have been so bored that I have literately exhausted my culinary skills .Its amazing what boredom can actually teach you. I have never cooked before and since we loved in here I have been so bored sitting at home that I have been trying to cook everything under the son I have tried the Indian , the Chinese , Mexican ,Italian ,American and of course the British .. As much intimidated each recipe looks in the beginning slowly but surely you realize that it’s all the same.
Today I can confidently look at any recipe and say I can do this and yes I can... All it takes is you getting into the kitchen and trying...Yes there have been several disasters but now I have developed the knack of turning a disaster into a palatable dish as well...
Cleaning ...
One of my favourite and most difficult chores for the day is cleaning .As much as I love to see a clean neat house I know it takes a lot of effort. Especially when you are an Indian in UK lifestyle designed house. I often wonder when I clean why on earth a landlord would opt for white gas top and bathroom fittings for a house to be rented .My House is filled with all the light shades yu can imagine and its pain staking to keep this clean but I do it the best way possible
I cook less and wipe more every time I am in the kitchen in the fear of our masala's playing havoc with the white stove top.. And the worst case is the Bathroom...
I really don’t understand why you have a bath tub in which you stand and take bath 90 % of your time .Its pain staking for someone like us who have lived in bathroom back in India where you could pour water without the fear of spilling it over .You could turn around without the fear of falling off ...This is also probably one of the main things that makes me want to wish to go back home. Yes the lifestyles are different the reasons different .But imagine a household like us who drape ourselves in oil everyday taking bath in a bath tub, disastrous it would be had it not been for my everyday painstaking chore of clean ..So much so that I feel like I have almost lost a layer of skin from my hand
I cook less and wipe more every time I am in the kitchen in the fear of our masala's playing havoc with the white stove top.. And the worst case is the Bathroom...
I really don’t understand why you have a bath tub in which you stand and take bath 90 % of your time .Its pain staking for someone like us who have lived in bathroom back in India where you could pour water without the fear of spilling it over .You could turn around without the fear of falling off ...This is also probably one of the main things that makes me want to wish to go back home. Yes the lifestyles are different the reasons different .But imagine a household like us who drape ourselves in oil everyday taking bath in a bath tub, disastrous it would be had it not been for my everyday painstaking chore of clean ..So much so that I feel like I have almost lost a layer of skin from my hand
Saturday, March 16, 2013
Brain Dead
I was actually conversing with my friend the other day and then actually realized that I am not even able to get a joke that easily, one skill I was very proud of before was my humor sense and timing... No one could beat me in that .But today I suck at it.
I have been rather sedentary over the last one year and slowly so has been my brain and today I realize that as a result, things are slowly fading away. It’s become difficult to recollect things .I forget things in a fraction of a second
One other place that I can glaringly see the difference is in my writing .I struggle to get a flow of writing these days.. It’s never been this way .I was someone who always enjoyed writing and whenever I set out to write something words would come down my brain automatically, but today I have a clean stale and I am struggling to find that word I am looking for
Well I guess an idle mind first becomes a devils workshop and when he gets bored our mind then becomes dead...Slowly but surely I feel like I am heading in that direction and hence I am forcing myself to keep writing however disappointed I am about how bad my writing is ,I am going to continue just so that I keep my brain active
I have been rather sedentary over the last one year and slowly so has been my brain and today I realize that as a result, things are slowly fading away. It’s become difficult to recollect things .I forget things in a fraction of a second
One other place that I can glaringly see the difference is in my writing .I struggle to get a flow of writing these days.. It’s never been this way .I was someone who always enjoyed writing and whenever I set out to write something words would come down my brain automatically, but today I have a clean stale and I am struggling to find that word I am looking for
Well I guess an idle mind first becomes a devils workshop and when he gets bored our mind then becomes dead...Slowly but surely I feel like I am heading in that direction and hence I am forcing myself to keep writing however disappointed I am about how bad my writing is ,I am going to continue just so that I keep my brain active
Gang Rape
Every day I read the paper (NDTV) I am struck by just the sheer amount of gang rapes that are coming into picture .Everyday, a girl is being stripped off her identity, her life and all this because of some boneless dogs who fail to respect women..What can be done, the whole country debates in unison? While some want them to be stripped off their masculinity others want them to be counseled and understood as to what makes them do it...Whatever the case, a women does not feel safe anymore just for the simple fact that she is a women. And this is really sad...
Do men think of women as just mere objects .or are we women seeking attention by the way we are .I don’t think it’s either .I think it’s just the lack of accountability by the system . I don’t think that the convict in Delhi case hung himself. I think he was tortured and killed and yes I do believe he deserved it
Rich or poor...It happens across society and there are just thousands of reasons and just no solution. The respect for women needs to be inculcated right from homes to schools to colleges .It should be nipped at the bud.
I also think that these men are the most insecure people on the planet and that they find the weirdest reason to satisfy their masculinity...Sick and depressing
Do men think of women as just mere objects .or are we women seeking attention by the way we are .I don’t think it’s either .I think it’s just the lack of accountability by the system . I don’t think that the convict in Delhi case hung himself. I think he was tortured and killed and yes I do believe he deserved it
Rich or poor...It happens across society and there are just thousands of reasons and just no solution. The respect for women needs to be inculcated right from homes to schools to colleges .It should be nipped at the bud.
I also think that these men are the most insecure people on the planet and that they find the weirdest reason to satisfy their masculinity...Sick and depressing
Friday, March 15, 2013
Fun few days
A friend came over day and we were able to gather some old memories of our school and all the fun we had .. It was shocking to actually realise 10 years have passed since school . Well indeed I am getting old .Both of us being in the jobless category poured out our grievances and that surely felt good ..As sad as the thought is , sometimes it feels nice to know you have company ....
My walks and yoga keep continuing through I must admit my laziness is fighting really hard to make me loose this .But I am trying hard to keep up
I have been baking cooking and trying crazy receipes .. Cornbread , rocky road.. Yumm. pasta in whwite sauce with tomato and ham... Not bad my culinery skills are getting awakened !!!
Every Thrusday my son and myself we viti our local library for our nursery rhymes session..This half hour of rhymes is as much a fun for im as it is for us mothers ..You see all of us gleaming and proudly singing all the rhymes as though we would like to pronounce to the world that yes ,We know it too ... Its always been fun and relaxing ...
My walks and yoga keep continuing through I must admit my laziness is fighting really hard to make me loose this .But I am trying hard to keep up
I have been baking cooking and trying crazy receipes .. Cornbread , rocky road.. Yumm. pasta in whwite sauce with tomato and ham... Not bad my culinery skills are getting awakened !!!
Every Thrusday my son and myself we viti our local library for our nursery rhymes session..This half hour of rhymes is as much a fun for im as it is for us mothers ..You see all of us gleaming and proudly singing all the rhymes as though we would like to pronounce to the world that yes ,We know it too ... Its always been fun and relaxing ...
Sunday, March 10, 2013
Friday, March 8, 2013
Best Indian Diet for weight loss and whole body detox
I am always fascinated by stories of weight loss and detox or rather anything that is got to do with food and nutrition .However , I am not someone who believes in crazy dieting and like to live life without having to compromise on food. However , I always felt that being in the lifestyle that we are in ,it is always important to give your body something to rest ,rejuvenate and recover only then would your body be in peak health at all times
Like always I found my answer to this in Ayurveda. I remember my grandparents fasting on occasion of religious belief and I used to wonder why god made people fast .But I know understand how smartly our forefathers have included a full body cleanse into the life by adding belief of god to it.
Clearly, things are not going to change by just a fast , but fast means clearer body , clearer mind and hence more positivity , thereby you suddenly feel like God has just blessed you ..
Now back to the diet I am sure would suit everyone’s lifestyle
This is a course of 7 days and must be done only once in 2 months Max. It consist of preparing the body for fast, the actual fast and then preparing the body back to the normal diet...
Day 1-3 Glass of Hot water with 1 tbs of ghee in the morning on empty stomach and the rest of the day only Moong dal soup .You can have as much of it as you want
Day 4 Fasting day
Day 5-7 Khichidi which slowly progresses to the normal diet by day 7 (Rice + Moong dal + Vegetables )
Doing Pranayama and suryanamaskar (Only as little as you can) throughout this phase is also helpful.
Moong Dal Soup
Moong Dal : Soaked overnight.
Heat Ghee , add turmeric , asafoetida , bay leaves grated ginger ,add moong dal and 3 parts water and simmer for 30-40 minutes .Then , saute Onions , cumin ,coriander seeds ,garlic and to the cooked dal and use .
Khichidi is the same moong dal with rice and vegetables added to it.
This is one of the most sensible ways to cleanse your body and mind ... Done sparingly, it will remove all the toxins from the body and rejuvenate you
Like always I found my answer to this in Ayurveda. I remember my grandparents fasting on occasion of religious belief and I used to wonder why god made people fast .But I know understand how smartly our forefathers have included a full body cleanse into the life by adding belief of god to it.
Clearly, things are not going to change by just a fast , but fast means clearer body , clearer mind and hence more positivity , thereby you suddenly feel like God has just blessed you ..
Now back to the diet I am sure would suit everyone’s lifestyle
This is a course of 7 days and must be done only once in 2 months Max. It consist of preparing the body for fast, the actual fast and then preparing the body back to the normal diet...
Day 1-3 Glass of Hot water with 1 tbs of ghee in the morning on empty stomach and the rest of the day only Moong dal soup .You can have as much of it as you want
Day 4 Fasting day
Day 5-7 Khichidi which slowly progresses to the normal diet by day 7 (Rice + Moong dal + Vegetables )
Doing Pranayama and suryanamaskar (Only as little as you can) throughout this phase is also helpful.
Moong Dal Soup
Moong Dal : Soaked overnight.
Heat Ghee , add turmeric , asafoetida , bay leaves grated ginger ,add moong dal and 3 parts water and simmer for 30-40 minutes .Then , saute Onions , cumin ,coriander seeds ,garlic and to the cooked dal and use .
Khichidi is the same moong dal with rice and vegetables added to it.
This is one of the most sensible ways to cleanse your body and mind ... Done sparingly, it will remove all the toxins from the body and rejuvenate you
Organizing your home
I have been seeing a lot of videos on organizing homes in my pursuit to make my house neat and functional and there by remove the clutter that has accumulated. I have been very conscious since we moved into this house to try and avoid unnecessary purchase and reduce clutter to the minimum. I must admit , one year later I have been rather successful at it .However , no matter how hard you try there would be some clutter that come in that you just can’t avoid .. I have a soft spot for food and I guess I get this habit from my mother to stock up groceries as though there would be a storm in a few days. Hence that’s one area that has buildup...
Anyways, today was my closet cleaning day .One cleaning I hate the most. I am not a big shopaholic and hence thankfully there is very little clothes but I have always been clueless of how to keep them clean and add to that the fact that wardrobes in my house don’t come with shelving compartments it’s a task in itself ..
Anyways after more than 3 hours of hard labor, loads of aches and pains and lots of help from my little helper, Pranav, I have successfully cleaned that clutter... And to add to this success I have also cleaned up Pranav’s Clothes and two cabinets in my kitchen...Kudos to supermom...
In this process I came to realize that this unfound and rare love for organizing my house comes from the fact that I have a very cluttered mind at this point and my minds way of searching for an answer is by cleaning the visible clutter..
I am slowly but surely clearing all the clutter at home and my mind...
Anyways, today was my closet cleaning day .One cleaning I hate the most. I am not a big shopaholic and hence thankfully there is very little clothes but I have always been clueless of how to keep them clean and add to that the fact that wardrobes in my house don’t come with shelving compartments it’s a task in itself ..
Anyways after more than 3 hours of hard labor, loads of aches and pains and lots of help from my little helper, Pranav, I have successfully cleaned that clutter... And to add to this success I have also cleaned up Pranav’s Clothes and two cabinets in my kitchen...Kudos to supermom...
In this process I came to realize that this unfound and rare love for organizing my house comes from the fact that I have a very cluttered mind at this point and my minds way of searching for an answer is by cleaning the visible clutter..
I am slowly but surely clearing all the clutter at home and my mind...
Thursday, March 7, 2013
Mobile toy Library Croydon
As every small child will be your children are never fascinated by the same toy for more than a hour to max and you always need to be stocked up and prepared for the worst... Also you can never really guess the toys that might be of fascination to them. I remember when I took Pranav to the toy store and asked him to see what he likes he grabbed the tag of toy that that fallen on the ground and ran towards me to proudly show me that, that’s what he likes the most.. So I was always of the lookout for an option that let me circulate my toys very now and then and yet not actually have to bear the cost of buying them all ... Well I found my answer
The mobile toy library is such a beautiful concept that the councils have developed which helps so many middle class women like us entertain our children at no extra cost..
They have a varied range of toys suitable for all kids and a 2 weeks turnaround time for us to pick two toys of our choice and return them the next time. They come by and stop over at several location every 2 weeks in turn covering the entire Croydon in a month, so not forgetting any mo who needs some toys..And all this for a small membership fee of 5 pounds..
I wish this concept travels far and wide to every country and every street, to every child who ever needs a toy!!
The mobile toy library is such a beautiful concept that the councils have developed which helps so many middle class women like us entertain our children at no extra cost..
They have a varied range of toys suitable for all kids and a 2 weeks turnaround time for us to pick two toys of our choice and return them the next time. They come by and stop over at several location every 2 weeks in turn covering the entire Croydon in a month, so not forgetting any mo who needs some toys..And all this for a small membership fee of 5 pounds..
I wish this concept travels far and wide to every country and every street, to every child who ever needs a toy!!
Wednesday, March 6, 2013
Power of Ayurveda
Every since I was small, I have always been fascinated by yoga and ayurveda the greatest contributions from India... I always remember closely watching every program that detailed about it..Today all grown up, I am still fascinated by the science of ayurveda and how several centuries ago , Ayurveda has developed so many cures and lifestyles changes that could help tackle even the modern day diseases like Diabetics and how even the minutest of things that our forefathers did was governed by the science of Ayurveda .. Let me explain
People in those ages knew the art of portion control, the amount of carbohydrates, proteins and fats per meal, the concept of small regular meals, the idea of eating dinner early, eating seasonal produce, the idea of exercise... There is a lot ....It’s all there in ayurveda... No wonder the people from those centuries that no health issues well into their 90's
The only sad thing is that it took the westerners to recognize the power of yoga and ayurveda, for us Indians to appreciate its true value.
Today yoga and ayurveda is everywhere, there are several patented versions of it... But the true spirit of yoga and ayurveda is not a course of a 1 hour activity it’s a way of life...
Ayurveda never fails to amaze me even to this day , it plays a part in every day of my life knowingly or unknowingly .It helped my son recover from Eczema, it helped me get my health back on track, it helped me recover faster from my delivery , it helps my dad survive his neck pains ... the list continues ...
People in those ages knew the art of portion control, the amount of carbohydrates, proteins and fats per meal, the concept of small regular meals, the idea of eating dinner early, eating seasonal produce, the idea of exercise... There is a lot ....It’s all there in ayurveda... No wonder the people from those centuries that no health issues well into their 90's
The only sad thing is that it took the westerners to recognize the power of yoga and ayurveda, for us Indians to appreciate its true value.
Today yoga and ayurveda is everywhere, there are several patented versions of it... But the true spirit of yoga and ayurveda is not a course of a 1 hour activity it’s a way of life...
Ayurveda never fails to amaze me even to this day , it plays a part in every day of my life knowingly or unknowingly .It helped my son recover from Eczema, it helped me get my health back on track, it helped me recover faster from my delivery , it helps my dad survive his neck pains ... the list continues ...
Walking through Croydon
In my pursuit for positivity in life I continue..
Yesterday , I continued my daily session of yoga and quite surprisingly I notice that with just a few days of sincere yoga I can surely feel the improvement in flexibility and general wellbeing , no wonder its such a wonder drug!!
Finished my daily chores like a mad machine. I think I am slowly getting obessive about cleaning , my kitchen has almost lost its sheen due to the constant cleaning by me !!
Then followed the day with my usual chatting eating watching tv etc ..
Evening , headed out on a stroll with my husband on our pursuit of discovering all the nooks and corners of croydon .. Its been almost a year since we moved in and yet besides the regular routines we have never really dared to explore the ever so large town that Croydon is , so during one of our strolls we decided that for our walks we would never repeat the same roads and hence each day is a new routine , new buildings parks and beautiful discoveries ..Loving it ...
I think the only think you really need in life to get excited is something new from the usual , it could be as small as this yet it could give you so much more of satisfaction that it could just make your day
Yesterday , I continued my daily session of yoga and quite surprisingly I notice that with just a few days of sincere yoga I can surely feel the improvement in flexibility and general wellbeing , no wonder its such a wonder drug!!
Finished my daily chores like a mad machine. I think I am slowly getting obessive about cleaning , my kitchen has almost lost its sheen due to the constant cleaning by me !!
Then followed the day with my usual chatting eating watching tv etc ..
Evening , headed out on a stroll with my husband on our pursuit of discovering all the nooks and corners of croydon .. Its been almost a year since we moved in and yet besides the regular routines we have never really dared to explore the ever so large town that Croydon is , so during one of our strolls we decided that for our walks we would never repeat the same roads and hence each day is a new routine , new buildings parks and beautiful discoveries ..Loving it ...
I think the only think you really need in life to get excited is something new from the usual , it could be as small as this yet it could give you so much more of satisfaction that it could just make your day
Monday, March 4, 2013
Positive living
I always wanted to imbibe positivity into my mind and tried and read so many books just to understand how ...
But i know from practice now that no book can make that choice for you.. Only you can
So adding to the several failed pursuits i try again ..
Yesterday and today have been rather successful days .
For start,since i always wanted to be a fit person but just did not believe in spending money in gym ,i started my very home based 0 cost yoga and miles of walking ..
Yesterday covered 4.5kms and did a session of pranayam
Today took pranav out for football and my mile walk down market road..
Came home and evening did yoga.its true excerise makes you happy ...
The funny thing is instantly you feel like you are already healthy with just one pose and that you look thinner ..
Also managed not to drag a mood swing post an unexpected afternoon nap to take over my positivity ...
So 2 days of sucess .. Hoping to go on ...
Thank you for this beautiful day .. Gn ..
Sunday, March 3, 2013
Growing up !!!
I truly believe that everyone has some sorrow they carry in life
And that life gives everyone challenges ..its how we face them that makes us happy or sad people ..success is also a measure of your ability to find happiness amongst these sorrows .. I was reading a blog of one of my schoolmate and truly inspired to see how she looked at live with so much positivity and took life simple .. I am now taking my baby steps towards this journey ..I have decided to try and live every moment to the fullest cause not many are so fortunate ..I also realised that the most privilaged are the ones who crib the most.. So I have kicked my butt and told my self oh.. Grow up....
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