First Eat- Healthy breakfast app

                                             

When I first got an email from FirstEat team, I wasn't sure how was the portal different from other app based food store.  Without knowing much about the portal, I agreed to attend the bloggers breakfast meet at Kitchens of the World in Gurgaon on 27th February, Saturday.

Launched in Nov 2015, FirstEat started with a philosophy of #PehleKhao, since this is what our moms remain concerned about. (First Eat is Pehle Khao in Hindi) Co founders Shitiz Dogra,  Mannat Wadhera, Saikat Bagchi and Rishabh Tickoo started with a concept of healthy food, primarily breakfast since it is the most neglected and abused meal of the day, especially for the corporate professionals who are pressed for time always. Find out about them here. 

First Eat app is available on Google Play and Apple Store android.

FirstEat is present in Gurgaon currently, wherein they target to deliver healthy breakfast or evening snacks to workplaces. The menu has listed healthy balanced items prepared in minimum or no oil and no fatty additions. It includes poha (Rs 65), vermicelli, upma (Rs 65) ,aloo parantha box (Rs 85), veggie salad (Rs 125), sauteed idli salad (Rs 85) , omlette with sautéed vegetables (Rs 100), veg and non veg sandwich. They also have two fresh cold pressed drinks- Detox Juice of beetroot, carrot, ginger and Rejuvenating  Juice of Spinach, lemon, ginger each at
Rs 85.

Detox juice

Now that's not a bad deal. For people who end up paying Rs. 200-250 on high calorie unhygenic meals, FirstEat comes as a boon with healthy and economical meals. Not to forget the big portion size. I can vouch for it since this is how we were served. The meals are packed in hygienic, leak proof, microwavable bowls. The team does not compromise with quality.

Warm water with lemon honey

For the meet, dedicated areas with name tags were assigned to bloggers. That made us feel special. Not many bloggers were invited, which gave enough room for discussion and feedback. Hubby and I spoke at great length with Shitiz and Mannat about First Eat's business model, operations, plans of expansion and target group. The team also recently got covered by Outlook Business. Read here- http://www.outlookbusiness.com/enterprise/big-idea/now-a-food-app-for-the-calorie-conscious-2608

Healthy poha

We got to taste poha, omlette & salad with both the juices. As a health concious person, I give it 5 on 5 for freshness and no/less fat and oil in the preparations. Before the breakfast was served, we were treated with lemon honey warm water, as a reminder to cleanse your body and start healthy! Warm water also calms down the stressed nerves. Now that's a useful knowledge sharing, I must say.

We downloaded the First Eat app to know more about it. (Thanks to the free Wi-Fi. Okay no body can ever say

Garden Salad

no to free WiFi, so stop smiling, okay?) The drop down in the app shows delivery places in Gurgaon at major points like  Guru Dronacharya and MG Road Metro station, Cyber City, Udyog Vihar & DLF Phase 1,2, 3 etc. (Oops my workplace is not listed. Somebody please do something for the underdeveloped Gwal Pahari which is called BPL- Below Poverty Line area) In the next 6 months they pan to expand to whole of Delhi NCR. Desktop version and phone ordering would be available soon.

Users can place the order from from the app starting 8 am till 6 pm. There is no minimum order :-) Yay!

First Eat also has collaborated with Ola Shuttle. The passenger can place an order before boarding the shuttle and collect the order at the mentioned dropping points. What an idea sirji!

Fellow bloggers

Healthy discussion flowed in over healthy breakfast and the session ended with pictures & goody bags personalized with our name tags. Warm gesture that was!

Good quality + assured health= Happy professional , since a healthy mind resides in a healthy body. At least my life is sorted with First Eat!

Kellogg's Breakfast

This blogpost is for https://www.facebook.com/anaajkanashta

When people self-invite themselves over breakfast at your house, it means there is definitely something nice about it. That's what Gupta family is known for. Kellogg’s presents over 100 mouthwatering recipes featuring Guptaji’s family who know how to whip up the perfect breakfast for any occasion! And there are over 100 reasons for me to go to their house for nashta.

Late in 2011, I started going to the gym in attempt to make my lifestyle healthy. My gym instructor suggested me healthy diet, which included cornflakes in breakfast. Reluctantly I started to consume cornflakes. For me, the only way to eat cornflakes was to soak cornflakes in milk and top with fruits of your choice. Gradually it became a part of my daily routine and my colleagues know me by the name "cornflakes girl". The only thing that keeps changing is the fruits topping. At times its apple or almonds at times banana or raisins. But I was restricted to these fruits only. Unlike Guptaji I did not know the use of cornflakes for such an amazing variety!!

Cornflakes make such wonderful shakes. Why it did not hit my mind ever? Guptaji's recipe of Almond Coconut Shake left me surprised. Blending almond, chocolate syrup, ice cream, coconut and soaked cornflakes with a topping of thin slices of coconut n ice cream. Wow, almond shake with cornflakes was never so easy. Besides,  almonds is healthy and filling, recommended for all age groups. Where was this recipe all these years? Certainly a unique way of getting the remote back in your hands.

What Mrs. Gupta calls Cornflakes Crumble Mango Custard, a "Razz Kholne Wala Nashta", indeed is something to die for!  It is mouthwatering. Custard paste just takes 10 minutes of preparation.  Yummy, healthy and awesome. Not only a breakfast, but can also serve as snacks or dessert. Get the yummy-licious dish at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q0yDjFygJtU

Even the peach cornflakes is ready in nick of time! I had never tried peaches with cornflakes.

For one recipe of Cheesy Cornflakes, I literally started doubting my creative thinking. I had only prepared bhelpuri with cornflakes. Adding cheese paste would have given my bhelpuri an Italian twist. Fine chopped onion, tomato, cheese paste and 1 minute of microwave is all that takes to prepare Cheesy cornflakes.

I would certainly like to go to Guptaji's place for the date shake made by Guptaji. They way he made the date shake to revive his love for Mrs. Gupta was indeed impressive. Few dates removing the seeds, 3 cups milk and soaked cornflakes, that'st it!  Date the shake onhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EcXVY-P5BGM Kellogg's has definitely changed my perspective of breakfast recipes.

Making sweet dishes in Indian family is a nightmare. Hours of toiling in kitchen and loads of sugar and refined oil refrained me from making Indian desserts, especially laddoos. I could have never imagined preparing laddoo with cornflakes! It is amazingly marvelous! Crush cornflakes, add shredded nuts, ¼ cup milkmaid, ¼ cup ghee and desiccated coconut. A easy mixture of this into small balls and crispy laddoos are ready in no time. Get the recipe at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1JR_6GlFGE0

Kellogg's breakfast recipes have not only captured the essence of India' middle class who are on their toes juggling with health, office and time, but also given new dimensions to quick breakfast.

Be it the Cornflakes Fruity Yogurt Cup, Cornflakes Khatta Moong or Walnut Cornflakes Chocó balls, there is a huge variety of such wonderful recipes from the house of Kellogg’s. Who does not want to have breakfast at their house! I would love to.

"Twisted" tale of bread

Bread Poha

What happens when you are left with boring pieces of bread at home without much options besides butter, jam or omlette? You either end up forcing yourself to sandwich them or throw them after they turn stale. I chose to give the bread pieces a nice twist and turn them into an interesting poha. This is bread poha. No, I hold no patent of invention. This dish has existed for years! I am sharing a quick, light and healthy breakfast fix with you all.

Things needed- Heavy bottomed pan, cooking oil, Bread pieces (any type), tomatoes, onions, mustard seeds, curry leaves, salt.

Cooking method-

1. Cut the bread pieces into cubes. Slice onions and tomatoes. Keep these aside.

2.Heat oil in pan. Add mustard seeds. Optionally you can add peanuts or raw chana daal in oil and fry them till they brown. (I skipped peanuts, as they are not too healthy). Add curry leaves and dried red chilly, once mustard seeds start crackling.

3. Add onions to the pan.Keep stirring till onions turn light brown. Add the diced tomatoes.

When the tomato dices turn pulpy and start to dehydrate, add bread cubes in the pan. Add salt to taste.

4. Stir the content in the pan and add a little water. Garnish with coriander leaves. Serve hot.

I used brown bread for this dish. You can use multigrain bread as well. Any kind of cooking oil can be used, be it ghee or refined oil. I used mustard oil.

This healthy, lip smacking dish barely takes 10 minutes. This preparation is low on cholesterol and has the necessary spices required by body for daily metabolism.

Caution- Do not over cook the dish and do not add too much oil.

Stay healthy, stay blessed

Break-fasting?

Which category? Do you fall into the category of those who are big time foodie and don't mind eating anything that comes their way, be it breakfast, lunch or dinner? Or do you fall in the category who are weight watchers and extremely conscious about your calorie intake? The third category is for those who think breakfast in unessential and generally skip it due to lack of time or other factors. Whatever category you fall into, please keep in mind the importance of breakfast and what should go inside your body. You should know that breakfast is the most important meal of the day which should NEVER be skipped. After your night's dinner when you sleep for 6-7 hours, your body has digested the food. The energy of your body is consumed by your body cells to breakdown the food particles. Hence it is important to replenish your body with energy in the morning, with the right food (breakfast). This energy keeps you going throughout the day.

The argument over breakfast- Some say it should be light, some prefer it heavy. Remember, whatever you consume, the food is broken down in the cells accordingly. You definitely don't want to feel sleepy at work/school/college after a rich heavy breakfast! That tempting rice or puri/bhature is hence a big NO for breakfast. Its advisable to eat cereals or anything light. Choose from a variety of fruits (one whole fruit a day is recommended worldwide by all dietitians, doctors), cereals (I have been consuming cornflakes in breakfast from the past 2 years and I am not bored of it), Brown Bread (white bread is MAIDA that aids slow digestion and is not fibrous), Milk/ Fresh juice (packed juice is only sweet flavor, no fiber), oats (sweet or salted as you like), Poha (battered rice), pasta (made of rawa or sooji), Eggs (not omlette), or Cheela (made of chipkea flour/besan and sooji and/or eggs)

An easy recipie

You can made a wonderful variety of the above, if only you had all the time in the world. Being a working professional, I understand the time constraint of everybody. My friends were amused to know see me eating cornflakes daily, which had become a habit. I could not torture them with cornflakes, on the morning of New Year when I had invited them for New Year party the previous night. With less time in hand, no open shops around and with the limited ingredients available at home, I made my own customized CHEELA. (Why has it been named so, only CHEELA would know :p )

Cheela- breakfast/evening snack for 4-5 people

Spread on tawa

Preparation time- 15 minutes Ingredients- 1 and half small cups chickpea flour or Besan 2 and half cups rawa or sooji 1/2 cup refined oil Finely chopped onions Finely chopped tomatoes Half a spoon turmeric A teaspoon of- black pepper, cummin seeds salt as per your taste , a pinch of baking powder Optional: Grated ginger, Finely chopped coriander leaves (Dhaniya), tea spoon of chilly powder/chopped green chillies, 2-3 eggs

Blend chickpea flour, rawa sooji, spices, chopped vegetables together with water in a pan. The paste should neither be too thin nor thick. Mix the right amount of water till you achieve consistency. Make sure chickpea flour don't form balls together. Blend eggs in the mixture if you want. A pinch of baking powder or soda will make the Cheela soft and fluffy. In case you add eggs, skip the baking soda. Heat the pan/tawa, spread a spoonful of oil and/or sprinkle cummin seeds. Pour a small portion of the mixture over the tawa. Follow the process of making omelette. Turn the cheela upside down and cook the other side with few more drops of oil. Don't let the cheela stick to the tawa. Keep turning its sides lest you may burn it.Serve hot with

Follow the process of making omelette

 chutney/sauce. Cheela spring rolls- If you have some more time in hand, on one side of the cheela, spread cooked vegetables like beans, cabbage, carrots, peas or dinner leftover and roll the cheela like a spring roll. You can even stuff the roll with small soya chunks. A healthy, tasty meal with minimum cholesterol is ready within no time. I make this usually on weekends or on days when my cornflakes stock is over!

Whats in there for you- benefits: 

• Nutritious as Chickpea flour- is rich in Vitamin A, Phosphorus, Potassium, Has Zero cholesterol, Sooji- Has Vitamin E& B complex, Iron, Is easy to digest, keeps you full for longer duration
• Less time consuming 
• No hassle preparation( even kids can make it )
• Light yet filling