2017 reading challenge

                         

              

Though I met the 2017 reading challenge, the books that I read were little disappointing. Starting with James Patterson & Ashwin Sanghi's Private India, it was below average. It was poorly thought of plot that resembled some B grade movie. Where was the research and excitement which usually Ashwin's brings in his novels? Equally disappointing was The Krishna Key. It started on a good note, built the story, characters were strong but got sloppy as the story ended. Climax was dead. Not done Ashwin. I had high hopes from both the books since I adore your work. 

Next disappointment was Binodini which is a product of Gurudev Tagore. I got my hands on the translated version randomly in a bookstore at a metro station. Oh boy, this was the most irritating book that I read. With due respect to Tagore, the Bengali version I am sure would be good, since it won several accolades. I guess the essence was lost in translation. Binodini was poorly translated which least captivated. Widow-remarriage, plight of a married lady, extra marital affair, a devastated mother, friendship, romance and all emotions fell apart with an extremely bad translation.

                                  

                   

The books which held me till the end were The Lowland and The Sialkot Saga, not because they are my favourite authors but because the books had the essence of what the authors are good at. Tugging at emotions (Jhumpa Lahiri) and well-paced plot backed by superb research (Ashwin Sanghi) made the books to my top list of reads in 2017. While The Lowland was about two brothers one of whom chose to be a Naxalite, leaving his pregnant wife alone to the mercy of the cruel world. The elder brother comes to her rescue and marries her, against his parents' wish. The plot moves to Rhode Island is the U.S where they live as a married couple but never attached to each other. Desolate, hopelessly in love and complicated relationships- Jhumpa excels at writing on these. 

The Sialkot Saga is a story woven pre-partition where two young boys separated in communal clash, are adopted by different families and grow up to be professional rivals to each other. Characters in different states of the country, imparts the feel of two different stories being narrated simultaneously until destiny brings them face to face for a never ending battle. This book is typical of Ashwin's style which I thoroughly loved.  

Preeti Shenoy's Life is What You Make It got  the 3rd place in my "good reads". A very good story indeed. I was impressed by the way Shenoy researched, brought in the angle of teen age love, career ambitions, clinical depression and seamlessly added conviction to the story. The characters seem real and every young person would be able to connect to this book. I want to read more of Shenoy’s work now.

Terminal Love was an experiment. New author Vicky Arora tried touching upon the unusual story of gay love. The plot was well-thought of, but lacked expression. The story has the power to make you cry in the end, but this is one of the books which does not leave you "feeling good". Depressing climax but a good attempt at first novel. It takes guts to write on a bold topic and Arora partially succeeded. Only the plot needed to be a little stronger.

Potpourri by Ruskin Bond is a collection of short stories and each story left me with a smile on my face. I guess that's emblematic of an incredible author. Stories are of different genres and give moral learning too. Short and sweet.

John Grisham's The Client has a unique plot but do not expect more than court room spectacle and lawyer turning into detective. The all's-well-that-ends-well plot has plenty of drama, action, violence and of course law theories. This book as better than his The Testament.

Iron Rich Poha Beetroot Cutlet

A woman's body is prone to iron  & calcium deficiency which lead to serious health hazards later. Iron deficiency, especially after child birth, complicates lot of things. Failing to compensate the low levels may lead to hair fall, brittle nails, fatigue, paleness in skin and much more. Anemic women face trouble in keeping energy levels intact which adversely effects their social, economic status. Why wait for the consequence to take a toll when little changes in food habits can do the job? In association with livogen.in, here is an attempt to create iron rich recipes for women and help fight anemia. 

I love having poha for breakfast and keep giving twists to it for interesting recipes. Hereby, presenting tikki or cutlets made with poha, beetroot and potatoes.

Health goodness
Beaten rice or rice flakes, also called poha is a rich source of iron. Every 100 grams of raw rice flakes has 20 milligrams of iron besides a good value of carbs and minerals. Experts suggest that regular consumption of flattened rice can prevent iron deficiency and form hemoglobin that carries oxygen to blood cells. Beetroots are also iron rich and proven extremely beneficial in case of anemia or low hemoglobin.. 

                          

 

Ingredients

1. Poha- 2 cups
2. Potatoes- 3-4
3. Beetroot-1 medium size 
4. Salt to taste 
5. Green chili- Optional- 1-2
6. Black pepper- Half tea spoon 
7. Coriander powder- 1 teaspoon
8. Cooking oil- 3-4 tablespoons

Method

1. Soak poha in water for 10 minutes. Drain water. Keep aside. Make sure all water is drained out from poha. 
2. Boil  potatoes. Peel and mash them. 
3. Peel and grate beetroot. Keep aside. 
4. In a large bowl mix the mashed potatoes, soaked poha and grated beetroot. Bind them together to make dough. Add salt as per taste. Mix black pepper and coriander powder. Churn the dough well. 
5. Make little round shapes from the dough, pressing them gently to flatten them. 
6. In a pan, heat oil and shallow fry the cutlets. 
7. Flip and fry till the pink tikkis turn brownish on both sides.

Tip: Flame should be kept low to medium. Potatoes give cutlets a binding texture and body. Do not over-boil potatoes. Since beetroot is used raw in the dough, it will give crunchiness to cutlet. You can add onions to the tikkis if you like. I wanted to keep it quick and simple, hence skipped it.

For more iron rich recipes visit http://www.livogen.in/iron-chef

Chickpea spinach egg spread

Come winter and the market gets flooded with green veggies. Spinach suddenly rules the Indian kitchens. But who really wants to eat palak saag or palak paneer every day? So, I put on my thinking cap and dished out chickpea spinach & egg spread for a winter morning. Keeping the fact in mind that iron is one of the most important elements for women's body, Livogen.in's iron chef inspires me to make an innovative recipe fortified with iron. 

Health goodness 

100 g of besan or gram flour contains 34 iron, 68% dietary fiber and good amount of vitamins. Spinach is undoubtedly a rich source of iron, magnesium, dietary fiber and zinc while egg stands out with iron, protein and Vitamin D. 

Ingredients

Spinach leaves- One small cup
Besan or chickpea powder- 3 small cups
Eggs- 3-4
Onion- 1 big, fine chopped
Tomato- 1 big, fine chopped
Green chilies- 2, fine chopped
Salt to taste
Black pepper- 1/2 tea spoon
Cooking oil- 3-4 Tablespoons
Coconut milk (Optional)- half cup

Method

Preparation 

1. Blanch (not boil) spinach in less water. Since boiling destroys the nutritional content of spinach and the water drained goes a waste. Hence blanch in very less water till spinach turns soft.
2. Mash the blanched leaves.
3. Sieve besan/chickpea powder in a large bowl, ensuring no lumps are formed. Add little water.
4. Break eggs and whisk with besan smoothly.
5. Add chopped onions, tomato, green chilli, pepper, salt, and mashed spinach in the egg-besan mixture. Whisk well.
6. If the mixture turns thick, you can add little water or coconut milk for flowy consistency.

Cooking

1. Heat oil in a flat pan. Pour the mixture. Spread it evenly and let it cook for 2 minutes. 
2. Cover the pan for a minute, allowing the egg to cook.
3. Flip side and cook till both sides turn light brown.
4. Serve hot with mint chutney or ketchup.
5. Team it with hot tea or coffee for a filling healthy breakfast

Tip: Make sure the pan is on low flame. Use non-stick cook ware to avoid sticking of cheela and allowing smooth flipping.

For more iron rich recipes visit http://www.livogen.in/iron-chef

Atmos for royal atmosphere, literally!

The rising levels of pollution and resulting climate changes have been prime concerns for all since long. India wasn’t behind in the race towards contributing to the level of daily poison. And then the controversial Odd Even happened (in Delhi) to combat pollution.

As conscious citizens, husband and I took careful measures to minimize pollution, because every contribution matters. Husband humbly drove his CNG fitted car to cut down air pollution and I planted saplings in my residential colony to improve air quality.  During Diwali we refrained from crackers and discouraged others as well. In spite of being proactive and aware with outdoor pollution, we could not escape the negatives while indoors. And the reason was our ignorance for indoor pollution which is 5 times as much the outside effluence. As the realization dawned upon us, we scratched our grey matter figuring out how to fight indoor pollution:

The scratching of grey matter further polluted the indoor air but cleared our rational. We immediately bought snake plants which are known to clean indoor pollution commendably. This is one of the plants that releases oxygen at night and filters all toxin from air. Ah! We felt our mission was accomplished. We proudly owned and placed this plant in every room of the house. Several other indoor plants help control pollution, besides emitting positive energy and decorating the place naturally. Go for happy greens J

And then my mind raced to the scented sticks which my mother in law lit up for pooja every day. “Don’t they cause pollution?” I asked myself. Several researches have proved the toxic effect of agarbattis and scented sticks. But who bells the cat, was the question. How dare would I challenge the religious beliefs of my own mom in law. I faked headaches and gradually shifted the agarbatti holder outdoors under the holy basil tree. Though I added toxin to outdoor air, atleast the indoor air would be clean, and I patted my back.

Did you know your footwear also bring in dust and trash indoors? Besides the negative energy ofcourse.  Hence many Indian families practice leaving footwear outside their house to avoid bringing in dust and pollutants. You can call me superstitious, but I leave footwear outside my bedroom. I do this to ensure the room is clean sans dust and negative energy. (I am talking too much on energy. No it causes no pollution but does impact the vibes of the air, if you believe in it)

To keep indoor air clean, people have retorted to air-purifiers. Though I find these puny and over hyped, I may want to give it a try. Who knows it might as well just work.

Ignorance is bliss, but not always. It’s not good to ignore your ceiling fan and carpet that lie neglected, collecting dust since eternity. It is advisable to clean these un-noticed assets at-least once a month, if not weekly. Invisible dust in your carpet and the thin layer of grime on the fan easily makes way to your nasal passage and even contaminates your food. Let the mattress, pillows and doormats soak some sunlight so that they remain free of moisture and germs. Now you see that Vitamin D is not only good for us but for home too :-) 

Often unnoticed and under-estimated, the LPG gas in kitchen or freshly painted furniture also releases toxins in the air, strong enough to trigger migraine or breathing trouble. The best possible solution is to check the cylinders for leakage and use paints less toxic pollutants or VOC content. Chemicals in paint have been found to react with forming smog that triggers respiratory disorders. So much for beauty of our homes!

Last but not the least; we can paint our homes with Asian Paint Royale Atmos. Didn’t see Deepika Padukone swear by Royale Paints? Take a look here-

Precisely, Royale Atmos is a paint that reduces harmful air pollutants and makes the air cleaner. The activated carbon technology absorbs various foul smells & makes the air fresher. Thus, for the first time, Asian Paints presents a paint that not only looks good, but also helps purify air and improve the air quality inside your home. You can even wash your walls before the autumn cleansing ritual without spoiling the paint. Certainly gets brownie points for wash-ability and durability. 

What’s better than purifying your home in the colors of your own choice! Let’s make a pure choice for clean, fresh and pure indoor air.  Let’s make it happen with #RoyaleAtmos. Visit https://www.asianpaints.com/atmos for cleaner details.


Picture credits- Free images from Pixabay

10 strict NO's for empty stomach

Often food and lifestyle define you and your personality. Eating right and at the right time has been the secret of good health. While there are several things you are advised to refrain from post meals, there are various other things you should also refrain from on empty stomach. Surprised? Don’t be. We will tell you what not to do on empty stomach so that you remain in good state of health and avert unwanted consequences.

1.       Drinking coffee/tea on empty stomach? Think again

 Addiction to bed tea or coffee shot for energy is not new but you need to stop doing that right away. Coffee is high on caffeine which if taken empty stomach causes heartburn and severe digestive problems. Consumed over a longer duration may lead to stomach ulcers, acid reflux or irritable bowel movement. The same goes for tea that erodes the lining of intestines and causes acidity and indigestion. In case you cannot do without your morning beverage, have breakfast along, add creamer to coffee or replace your normal tea with green tea.
   
2.       Never take medicines if you haven’t eaten anything

This piece of advice has been passed on through many generations. Apart from the pills recommended on empty stomach, all others are advised to be consumed only after eating something. This is because empty stomach lining is exposed to reactions from medicines that cause nausea, constipation, vomiting and intestinal bleeding besides reducing the effect of the medicines. To reduce the negative effects of pills on empty stomach, you can replace water with milk.    

3.       No food in stomach? Skip spicy food

Spices are good for metabolism but certainly not good until you have something in your tummy. Spices, especially chillies are pungent in nature which trigger indigestion and upset the stomach lining. It is hence important to mix something with spices to avoid such reactions. Perhaps something like bread can be consumed along.

4.       Alcohol is a big NO-NO

Haven’t we all seen people binging while boozing? Well, that’s because alcohol should NEVER be taken if you are empty stomach even if your last meal was three hours ago. One simple reason behind the same is that alcohol absorption rate in your body will be high and at the same time the breakdown of alcohol will be even slower. This takes a toll on your liver, heart, kidneys and needless to mention, a major hangover that follows. Advisable to eat and layer your stomach before you booze.

5.       Don’t go shopping on empty stomach


Hungry body is low on energy and glucose. To replenish it, your body demands food, especially sweets or those high on calories. Since your ability to concentrate and making decisions gets negatively impacted, you end up buying unhealthy food or junk that would instantly satisfy your hunger. Because the need of your stomach gets converted to stress, your brain sends wrong signals to your body leading to an overload of unwanted items in your cart, even in non food stores.

6.       Intense workout

The need for those flat abs and toned muscles make you work harder on your body. But have you been working out on empty stomach in morning or evening? That’s all wrong! Your body starts running low on energy during workout and lowers your performance. Also, working out hungry may cause loss of muscle instead of fat. The logic is low glycogen levels which burns muscles if you demand too much from your body while exercising. You hence need to fuel yourself before hitting the gym. Banana or fibrous salads are the most recommended foods before you work out.


7.       Avoid citrus fruits or juices

Ah, we know how a warm glass of lemon and honey in morning has been treated as a mantra to lose belly fat. Little did you all know that lemon will not harm your stomach since it is diluted in water. Citrus fruits should be avoided when you haven’t eaten, since fiber and fructose slow down your digestion, irritate stomach and cause acidity. Just like lemon, you can dilute the fruits in water to reduce the acidic level or else totally avoid till you eat something.

8.       Never sleep empty stomach

 Did you know that low glucose prevents from us from sleeping and lack of sleep triggers your hunger? Hence the next day you end up hogging more, because of increased hunger hormones. That’s one reason you should never sleep hungry. Secondly, it causes mood swings and stress. Good enough reason for you to not skip meals now? An alternative to eating is consuming milk with honey that keeps you full and helps you sleep better.

9.       Say no to chewing gums

 Can something as simple as chewing gums on empty gut, adversely affect your body? Yes, it can! Always remember, empty stomach is prone to attack on the soft stomach lining. When you chew gums, the digestive juices produced with saliva creates an acidic effect on stomach lining leading to gastritis. The sweetening effects of gum effects your food habits and leads to addiction of junk, instead of natural healthy food. Hence,  it is advisable to chew gums for not more than 10 minutes even if you are full.


10.   Dodge raw vegetables

Yes agreed, one should eat healthy and salads or raw vegetables are good source of vitamins. We know diet conscious ones often do that. We are sorry, you would be surprised that you had been doing that wrong. Consuming raw veggies on empty stomach causes an overload of coarse fiber which causes abdominal pain and accumulation of gas in intestines.

We hope the above tips proves to be useful and helps you to be healthy. In a busy and hectic lifestyle, we tend to ignore these little things that eventually harm our body in the long run. All you need is a little bit of precaution and willingness. 

What happens when you skip meals?

A shapely sexy figure and flat abs is a dream that every girl sees. They work out, give up junk and follow healthy diet. Do all girls do that? No, they don’t. In an attempt to lose weight or inches quickly, often many people are seen fasting. Little did they know that skipping meals is no time saver and can pose bigger problems than they imagined. When skipping meals becomes a habit or a part of a dieting plan, it has serious long-term implications on the body like development of some chronic conditions or even gaining weight instead of losing.

Here are scary things that might happen if you skip meals regularly:

Low glucose level: Your blood glucose level rise after meals. It remains constant if you don’t exercise (hence recommended to work out if you want to control the level). A long gap of fasting causes your blood glucose level to fall, leaving you feel sleepy, tired and exhausted. Mind you, glucose is the source of energy for blood.

Low metabolism: Low glucose means low metabolism. Its simple. A low metabolism leads to dip in energy, imbalance in body and metal activity and improper eating patterns as you tend to eat more the next time.

Poor performance. As scary as low metabolism sounds, equally scary is poor performance. Not only you become physically slow but also mentally you are unable to concentrate and make quick decisions. Hampers your professional and personal life majorly!

Overweight:  Those who skip meals to reduce weight, rather tend to gain weight. If you eat less number of times you typically should, your brain signals you to eat more when you get food loading your body with calories which are not required at that moment. This leads to slow digestion and bloating of stomach. Ouch!

May lead to diabetes or excess calories: Ignoring the hunger pangs of your body will drain all glucose of your body leading to low level of energy and high stress. It’s your body’s natural tendency to hog sweets or junk food to replenish the loss of glucose. This also happens when stress level is hgh. So, this leads to excess of sugar or calories in your blood. So much for skipping meals yeah?

Acidity: You may experience acid reflux or nausea if your stomach is empty for too long. An old long habit of staying hungry may cause heartburn, acidity or dry cough. Skipping meals gets scarier hence.

Brain drain. The brain’s exclusive fuel, glucose, is compromised within four to six hours if you have not eaten. That’s because the glucose stored in the liver as glycogen, runs out during this time period. The liver is like a traffic cop for blood sugar. When blood glucose dips too low, the liver converts glycogen into glucose and releases it into the blood. But if its glycogen has been depleted, the body turns to less efficient fuelling methods resulting which you start to feel anxiety, depression, have mood swings or always hungry.

Bad breath: Your tongue produces saliva as you chew food. Long breaks of skipping meals make your tongue dry and create a breeding ground for bacteria, hence causing bad breath. Remember, the same happens when you fall ill?

 

Few tips to stay healthy and lose weight without skipping meals.

      

1. Eat small frequent meals instead of one large meal. Recommended to eat in an interval of every 2-3 hours
2. Include fruits, veggies and whole grains in your food. Chuck junk for good. Replace refined/processed sweets with natural sweeteners like dates or fruits.
3. Water intake should be 8-10 glasses every day.
4. Drink water before meals, not during meals. Avoid drinking water immediately after meals.
5. Exercise daily for atleast 30 minutes. Hitting the gym is not possible we understand. So go for brisk walk, ditch the elevators and take stairs or exercise indoors.

Image courtesy- Pixabay

Coding to Fitness Athlete: Shweta Mehta breaking the stereotype

Meet Haryana girl Shweta Mehta, known as a fitness athlete as well as the recent winner of the popular reality show Roadies Rising. Breaking the stereotype, Shweta took the risk of quitting her cushy job as software engineer to pursue her interest in body building.

 

Born in a small town Fatehabad, in Haryana, Shweta is the only girl among her four siblings. Her mother, headmistress of school and father a property landlord, had defined her priorities of education. Hanging around with her brothers, she didn’t have girl-friends in her childhood. Perhaps it was them who made her strong and tough.

Being a geek, she pursued B.Tech and moved to Bangalore as a software engineer where she worked for 5 years. Switching career to body building was not on her mind until she joined a gym for general fitness.

 

The push

Soon Shweta learnt about fitness competitions and researched on the fitness categories. She continued working out and prepared her body along with her job. Taking the step towards becoming a professional body builder and figure athlete was no small task. The tag of “small town” undoubtedly creates immense pressure in case of such career choices. When Mehta summed up courage to speak to her mom about her change in career and her willingness to compete internationally, her mom’s response was disheartening. Shweta was asked to delete her Facebook page showcasing pictures from her gym and stage practice. Scared of what her father’s response would be, she openly spoke to him about her career choice. He supported her, appreciated the pictures and encouraged her move.

 

The struggle

 

Focussed on being a figure athlete, she did not look back. The rigorous training and exercise came with not just massive hard work but also a lot of risks. Shweta realised she had a lot financial crunches to squeeze out of in order to compete. With no sponsors aiding her, and the bills for clothing, gym, food, competition preparation piling up, Shweta decided to take the big risk and spend her savings for her passion.

The silver lining

 

In March 2015, she appeared in her first competition as a Figure Athlete. In a span of a year this dimpled girl managed to secure a Gold in Jerai Women’s Fitness Model Championship 2016. Later she signed four brands in two years including Adidas, Neulife and Procel. In 2017, Shweta added another feather in her cap by winning MTV Roadies Rising, a popular TV show. She had instantly grabbed eyeballs during Roadies auditions when she did full squats with Harbhajan Singh on her shoulders and did pull ups better than anybody. The show demonstrated her strength and ultimately she emerged as the winner, crossing all hurdles and beating stronger male contestants.

 

Inspiring women

Shweta proudly says if she being from a small town could do it, so can anybody. Owing her success to her father’s support, Shweta asks people to believe in their dreams and never lose focus.

Talking about her future plans, Shweta wants to be a successful athlete first and later start a Fitness Food Truck that would serve only healthy food. Her long term plan includes setting up a gym.


Kudos to the fearless girl for following her dreams and inspiring women to never give up on their passion.

No country for women

On 4^th July 2017, a 16 year old school girl went missing while returning from school. Two days later, on a jungle trail, she was found dead subsequent to a brutal gang rape.
Himachal Pradesh lost its credibility of once known as a safe place after this heinous crime.

The girl took the usual route from school to home every day accompanied by her younger brother. Unfortunately, that day her brother stayed back in school for an event while she headed home alone through the forest. A gang of people, few with familiar faces, offered her lift in a car they were driving. Her dead body was found on 6^th July from Halila forest of Mahasu. The post mortem report confirmed rape and death by strangulation, along with deep injuries all over her face and body.
So common have rapes become in our country that our authorities fail to take it seriously. But hey, did anybody check on her clothes? Well, so this innocent girl deserved to die, for she provoked those drunken rapists in her knee length skirt? Oh, why did she cross that path alone without being accompanied by her brother? Girls are not supposed to venture out alone you see. Nope, men are not to be blamed, as they were under the influence of alcohol. Minor crimes like these happen in a country of billions.

Damn!
Such are the damned reactions of retard minds when a girl is raped and murdered. So cheap is a woman’s life in this society that “dignified” morals outweigh the gravity of crime. As we hang our heads in shame once again, we see how little has been done for women safety, exposing them to crime even in broad day light. A country that worships goddesses as a symbol of power and knowledge has nothing for the women living here. Not even a strict law against rape! Had stringent law reforms been made post the infamous Nirbhaya rape in December 2012, crimes would have minimized, if not ceased. We don’t see any difference since then even when the whole country went on a rampage protesting against Nirbhaya case demanding justice for her. On the hind side, there has been an upsurge in the number of rape cases from 706 in 2012 to 2199 in 2016 in Delhi alone.

The devastated father said how he had always warned her about wild animals, especially bears on the way and she would say, ‘Relax, papa, no one can harm me’.
“I wish I had warned her about men who are worse than beasts,” he said helplessly.
It would not be wrong to say we failed as a country. We failed as a society that could not teach men the values of respect and dignity of women. To the world we portray ourselves as regressive mind sets that feel sorry when rape happens and move on, but not build a culture to prevent the next. We feel okay to coach women on how to dress, stay indoors, not wear makeup, not talk on mobile phones, et al but not train men to treat women with respect.

Any woman, irrespective her age, is so vulnerable in our society that it feels a crime to be born as a woman. Be it the case of two year old Baby Falak, a victim of child trafficking brought to AIIMS trauma centre with fractured skull and bite marks all over her body (2015), or the 11 month baby who was raped for nearly two hours in Delhi’s Vikaspuri (2016) or the gang rape of 4 women travelling with family member to Bulandshahar from Noida (2017). Where has humanity gone?

As a country, we see the authorities make an issue out of every case, play political blame games, demand resignations from ministers, but what steps do they take to prevent such cases in future? How many more rapes will it take for the authorities to learn? A shudder passed through my body when I heard of this case. My eyes brimmed up as I was writing this, thinking what pain the girl must have gone through. She was not my relative or friend, yet I feel the pain and anger. Had it been a high profile case, would authorities leave any stone un-turned to nab the criminals and punish them? Which means we might have to wait for another rape, from a politician’s family may be, for a reform in law. (God forbade).

Under immense public pressure, the police arrested 6 suspects claiming to solve the case. Suspecting loopholes in police theory and custodial death of one of the accused, the case has been handed over to CBI for further investigation. More public outrage happened, when one of the culprits was murdered in police custody. Himachal High Court has directed CBI to file a fresh case to the case and custodial death of the suspect.

 Meanwhile, massive support has poured in for the aggrieved family, setting up financial support and demanding justice for the deceased girl. May her soul rest in peace and may the country wake up soon.