Piglet: “When you wake up in the morning, Pooh, what's the first thing you say to yourself?" Pooh: "What's for breakfast? What do you say, Piglet?" Piglet: "I say, I wonder what's going to happen exciting today?" Pooh nodded thoughtfully. "It's the same thing," he said. Where are you at with your new years' resolutions friends? If being healthier was on your list, I hope you are on track! While minor hiccups are a part of any undertaking, if you take each day and each meal as an opportunity, you will do just fine! I am a firm believer that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. Not only does breakfast get your digestive system reignited, but it also sets you up in a great frame … [Read more...]
Quinoa and Lentil Bowl
Anup and I always end every year in style! We celebrate our marriage anniversary on Christmas Eve (13th this time!) followed by the Christmas Day celebrations with friends and family. My sister's birthday is on December 26th, and then there is New Year's Eve! Because I preach natural foods on my blog, I stick with 100% natural Tequila shots that night! So after this last hurrah, the first week of January makes me feel like the vacation is over and it is time to go back to school. January brings with it the plethora of pressure to create the "New You". The television ads reminding you of the need to detox, eating healthy and shedding those extra pounds you might have gained over the holidays … [Read more...]
Chai Spiced Pumpkin Crumb Cake
"Where are you from?" A harmless question, no doubt. But the question is enough to throw Anup and I for a loop. The conversation turns equally painful for the person who asked the question. While he or she might be just making small talk; they now have to hear us yap about how we are originally from India, went to grad schools in New York and Texas, lived in California for about a year before moving to Florida, and then decided to move to Vancouver. Phew! The brave ones try to keep the conversation going and ask, "So is Vancouver home now?" No, most of our family is in India so we might decide to move back there. But we love the ocean too and have been itching to travel to the Caribbean … [Read more...]
Crispy Chickpea Polenta
India is a land of storytellers! From the religious stories of Ramayana and Mahabharata to the ancient Indian collection of animal fables Panchatantra, we grew up listening to various stories as kids. My grandma used to tell me stories about India's independence movement; how people would come out and throw their gold ornaments on the streets as a donation for the freedom fighters. She would tell me about her early years with her husband, and how her life changed when she became a widow in her twenties in a society that had no place for widows. She had a way to explain things to my young mind, and with her words, she could take me to a different world as if I was traveling back in … [Read more...]
Raw Protein Bar
Anup and I love road trips and we have been lucky to have made a few of them together! Looking back, each trip has memorialized the way we were back in those days! Our first road trip was when we moved from San Jose to Dallas. In fact, we had bought our first car, a used Toyota corolla, just so that we could make that road trip! Call it a bold move or sheer stupidity, but we thought that an 1800 mile road trip would be the best way for us to get some driving practice! So we bought our car 10 days before the road trip, and every evening, Anup and I would go out driving. We only practiced on the bus route 81, which was the bus ride Anup used to take every day to get to his job. This was our … [Read more...]
Orange Marmalade Hand Pies
“To avoid criticism say nothing, do nothing, be nothing.” ― Aristotle I envy the people who are not afraid of looking like a fool. Anup is one of those people. If he has a new thought or idea, the first thing he wants to do is share it with people. He can take rejection in a stride. It's not that he is just unafraid of rejection, it is as if he is not even aware that he is being rejected. That to me is a blissful state of mind. I have seen him celebrate his failures. "Remember that time I wanted to buy a yacht, hire doctors to work on it and market the service as a vacation at a hospital? Remember that?" I, on the other hand, have struggled with fear of rejection for as long as I can … [Read more...]
Gluten Free Muffins – Apple and Cinnamon Muffins
I don't think there is any dispute about which is the best part of a muffin - it's the muffin top! You can tell a lot about a person based on how they eat their muffin. The calm and heedful carefully detach the top of the muffin and put it aside to savor later. They want to end their muffin eating experience on a high note; these are the people who believe in delayed gratification. The impulsive, on the other hand, lack the patience and take a big bite out of the muffin top! A muffin can also be used to test the bond of a relationship, just ask a couple to share a muffin. You certainly hope to see two happy people beaming with joy a few moments later, but do cross your fingers! In … [Read more...]
Easy and Healthy Breakfast – Steel Cut Oatmeal
I recently read a very thought provoking quote. It is a bit long but worth putting it in its entirety here: I actually attack the concept of happiness. The idea that everything we do is part of the pursuit of happiness seems to be a really dangerous idea and has led to a contemporary disease in Western society, which is fear of sadness. It’s a really odd thing that we’re now seeing people saying “write down 3 things that made you happy today before you go to sleep”, and “cheer up” and “happiness is our birthright” and so on. We’re kind of teaching our kids that happiness is the default position - it’s rubbish. Wholeness is what we ought to be striving for and part of that is sadness, … [Read more...]
Chickpea Flour Crepes with Summer Berry Marmalade
Some foods, you associate them with feelings. Maybe it reminds you of a special occasion, a certain period of your life, or a special memory you created with someone. I have many such foods and memories associated with my Grandma. One such dish - Puda, a simple savory chickpea crepe - makes me nostalgic. My grandma was my hero in the kitchen. She gave me some of my first cooking lessons - from making a cup of chai tea to baking a perfectly round roti bread. While I learned a lot of traditional Indian recipes from her, the most important lesson I learned was to cook with love and patience. For her, the journey of cooking was as important as the final destination of a meal served on the … [Read more...]
Savory Vegetable Cake
India is a busy place. 1.2 billion people living in a country one third the size of the US makes for a crowded country. The first thing I notice about India every time I go back there is how close everyone stands to each other. Starting from the Immigration and Customs lines at the airport, you can not help avoid an awkward proximity with strangers. If you are still in your "western" mindset and leave too much space between you and the person in front of you, someone might just remind you to move up in the line a bit! India is a country on the move - everyone is rushing to be somewhere! I was used to this hustle and bustle of India while growing up there. My parents would wake up early, and … [Read more...]