Mango Icecream(Kulfi) & Agave Nectar is it good or not??

I prepared this mango kulfi during the summer months without using any refined sugars. I use refined sugars very rarely in my cooking. I prefer natural sweetners like Jaggery(Panela), Raw Honey, Maple syrup and quite few times have used Agave Nectar also. I came across lot of debate going on about Agave Nectar if it is good for you or not.  Agave is it good or not, i am leaving it for your to decide and if you know more about it please let us know.



Agave nectar (sometimes called agave syrup) is most often produced from the Blue Agaves that thrive in the volcanic soils of Southern Mexico. Agaves are large, spikey plants that resemble cactus or yuccas in both form and habitat, but they are actually succulents similar to the familiar Aloe Vera. Agave syrup consists primarily of fructose and glucose. Due to its fructose content and the fact that the glycemic index only measures glucose levels, agave syrup is notable in that its glycemic index and glycemic load are lower than many other natural sweeteners on the market. However, the extremely high percentage of fructose (higher than that of high-fructose corn syrup) can be deleterious and can trigger fructose malabsorption, metabolic syndrome, hypertriglyceridemia, decreased glucose tolerance, hyperinsulinemia, and accelerated uric acid formation. Yes all natural sweetners, even fruits anything sweet contain fructose so moderation is the key. So let us know what you think about this sweetner and which do you think is the best natural sweetner.



Now coming to the recipe, greek yogurt is a good source of protein and calcium and i use it as a substitute for whipped cream in fruit salads, as a vegetable salad dressing and so on. I substituted half of the cream with greek yogurt and  it had really turned out nice. Instead of buying store made icecreams with so many preservatives, it least i was feeling glad that this is free of any additives, refined sugars etc.



Ingredients



Cream - 1 Cup

Strained Greek Yogurt - 1 (I Squeezed out the excess water from Greek Yogurt)

Evaporated Milk - 1 tin(140z)

Mango Puree - 1 and 1/4 cup

Chopped Nuts - 1/2 cup(Almonds, Cashew and Pistachio)(This is optional)

Raw Honey - 3 Tbsp or as per taste and the sweetness of the mango puree

Cardamom powder - 1/2 tsp

Saffron few strands



Method



1) Whip the cream for around 15 minutes till it becomes thick.



2) Now add the mango pulp, greek yogurt, honey, evaporated milk, nuts, cardamom powder and saffron strands and mix them thoroughly.



3) Pour into kulfi moulds or into plastic containers and place in the freezer overnight.



4) Dip the container in hot water for a few seconds, loosen the ice cream and enjoy.

Event Participation



1) I am sending my favorite ice cream to Cook for yourself event hosted by Radhika of Food for 7 Stages of Life.



2) This goes to Fall in love with Fruits for this Season hosted by Sanghi.

Read more »

Veggie Filled Multi Grain Rolls/Buns

Know what you Eat - Barley is an excellent source of fiber and a good source of Niacin, a Vitamin-B that provides numerous protection against cardiovascular risk factors. Millet is a very good source of Magnesium and try to include this in your daily intake as magnesium is the key factor for a healthy heart and diets rich in magnesium help in reducing migraine attacks and childhood asthma. Oats are an excellent source of iron, dietary fiber and thiamin. They also contain antioxidants that are believed to protect the circulatory system from diseases such as arteriosclerosis, which affects the arterial blood vessel. Whole wheat is rich in dietary fiber and is a good source of iron.

Instead of having your bread varieties from single grain, go for multigrain to get all the nutrition and health benefits. Try this Veggie Filled Bun for a breakfast with a smoothie, snack or with Soups & Salads for Lunch or Dinner.

Preparation Time - 20-30 mins

Cooking Time - 20 mins

Makes - 6 buns

Ingredients:

Whole wheat flour - 1 cup

Barley flour - 1/3 cup

Millet flour - 1/3 cup

Oat flour - 1/3 cup

Wheat Gluten - 1 Tbsp

Yeast(for whole grain) - 1 1/2 tsp

Warm Milk or Water - 1/4 cup

Salt - 1 tsp or to taste

Sugar - 1/4 tsp

Butter or Oil - 1 tbsp(room temperature)

Oil(Olive/Canola/Sunflower) or Melted Butter - 1 tbsp



For the Filling



Onion - 1 medium sized

Carrot - 1 Grated

Bell Pepper - 1 small size chopped into fine pieces

Beans - handful, chopped into fine pieces

Peas - handful(thawed)

Paneer/Cottage Cheese - grated handful

Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp

Red Chili powder - 1/2 tsp or to taste

Salt - 1 tsp or to taste

Oil - 1 tsp

Pav Bhaji Masala or Garam Masala(Optional) - 1/2 tsp

Method:

1) Soak yeast in warm milk along with sugar and let it sit for 15 minutes to foam and rise.

2) Once the yeast is activated mix the Wheat, Oat, Barley, Millet flour, Salt,  butter and the yeast mixture.

3) Knead and make it into a soft dough.

4) Cover and leave it in a bowl for about 1 hour till the dough doubles in size.

5) Heat a pan, add a tsp of oil and then add the onion, carrots, beans, peas, beans, salt, turmeric powder, chili powder and saute them till they are tender. Now add the grated paneer, garam masala or pav bhaji powder and stir on high heat and switch of the stove.

6) Let this veggie filling cool down.

7) Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

8) Now knead the dough one more time and make it into small balls, flatten and slightly stretch the dough with your palm, spoon the veggie filling in the center and cover  it up with the stretched dough and keep in a baking tray covered with parchment paper.

9) Brush the top with oil and bake till a knife inserted comes out clean.

10) Enjoy

Event Participation



1) This goes to Whole Grain Baking even (Barley) hosted by Madhu.



2) This goes to Susan's Yeast Spotting event.



3) This goes to Cooking for Kids-Veggies & Fruit event hosted by Lakshmi and started by Sharmi.

Read more »

Spinach, Chick Pea, Fruit & Veg Salad and Almond Milk for brunch

During school days, my kids have to be woken up really hard. But in the week ends, they get up by themselves earlier than school days and we are all up and running early in the morning. My husband sits with them and make them do little yoga and exercise and I am off to the kitchen making an elaborate breakfast for the special Sunday. So we have full breakfast and lunch(in fact a little elaborate than the weekdays) on the week ends too. But unusually I ended up having brunch on a Sunday morning few months back. This salad I prepared for brunch on one of those Sunday's for myself when my husband was travelling out of country and my elder one had gone to his friend's place for a sleep over and stay. Only me and my younger one were at home, lazing around we both read for some time, watched tv for some time. Being a picky eater I had prepared things which my younger one normally eats and for me  had a little bit of everything in my refrigerator. Little lazy to cook just for me, I prepared this healthy & filling salad.



Know what you Eat - Spinach is an excellent source of vitamin C and vitamin A, Spinach is also an excellent source of folate. Folate is needed by the body to help convert a potentially dangerous chemical called homocysteine that can lead to heart attack or stroke if levels get too high, into other benign molecules. In addition, spinach is an excellent source of magnesium, a mineral that can help to lower high blood pressure and protect against heart disease as well. Chick Pea(Garbanzo) are a good source of Protein, folate and also contain the following minerals Calcium, Iron, Potassium and Magnesium. Eating diets rich in fresh vegetables help in weight loss and are good for people with diabetes and for the healthy people to remain active throughout the day. Source - Whfoods & Nutritiondata.



Preparation Time - 15 mins

Cooking Time - none

Serves - 2

Ingredients

Spinach - 1/2 bag(I had  half of 5 oz bag)

Cooked Chick pea - 3/4 th cup

Iceberg lettuce - 1/2 cup(chopped)

Carrot - 1(Peeled & cut into thin strips)

Beet root - 1(small)

Cherry tomatoes - 10(cut into half)

Black grapes - 10(cut into half)

Red raddish - 5(cut into thin slices)

Cucumber - 1/2(cut into thin slices)

Orange - 1/2(cubed)

Red bell pepper - 1/4 (cut into thin slices)

Toasted walnuts - handful

Shredded Cheese(vegetarian) - handful

Dressing

Extra virgin olive oil - 1 tbsp + 1/2 tsp

Orange juice - 1 tsp

lemon juice - 1 tsp

Salt - 1/2 tsp or to taste

Freshly ground black pepper - 1/2 tsp or to taste

Method

1) Peel the beetroot and cut into small cubes, add 1/2 tsp of olive oil and put in a toaster for 2-3 minutes.

2) Remove it and once cooled, add the spinach, lettuce, chick peas, carrots, raddish, cucumber, grapes, tomatoes, orange, bell pepper strips, toasted walnuts and cheese.

3) Whisk all of the dressing ingredients together and add it to the salad ingredients and serve.

4) I had this salad with Almond milk and believe it, this is a very nutritious and filling lunch.

Almond Milk





Ingredients



Almonds - 12 nos

Raw Milk - 6 oz

Ice cubes - few

Honey - 1 tsp

Cardamom powder - pinch

Saffron - pinch



Method



1) Boil the almonds in little bit of water for a few minutes and set it aside to cool.

2) If you press the almonds between your fingers, the almond peel will come off.

3) Grind the almonds into a smooth paste and then add milk, ice cubes, honey, saffron and cardamom powder and blend them together and serve.



Event Participation



1) Taking the Salad & Almond Milk to Monthly Mingle Brunch hosted by Meeta of What's for Lunch Honey.



2) This also goes to No croutons required-November theme root vegetables hosted by Lisa.



3) This also goes to Yasmeen's healing foods event.

Read more »

Veggie-Bean Quesadilla & questions for you all on, Flu/Swine flu Shots

The flu season is here and i was thinking of sharing with you all about the flu shots for quite some time, and this was lying in drafts but for some reason was getting postponed. Few years before even with flu shot, i still got the flu ever since we have stopped taking it neither giving it to our kids.  But every year one of us will start with the flu and the others will follow. But since last year we all have started taking Vitamin D supplement and except for my younger one who is very very deficient in Vitamin D(she is also on lot of supplements and i am sure once her body has the optimum level she will be ok), none of us had flu or any sickness.  When i came across this article in Mercola and LewRockwell, i was happy for our decision not to go for flu shots. I am just giving you the gist of the article and do go and check out for yourself. Please do let us know your opinions and what is your stand on the flu shots and vaccines. Your opinions, suggestions are very much welcome.
1. This is the first year mock vaccines have been used to gain FDA approval. Mock vaccines are made to gain approval of the manufacturing method and then the prevalent virus strain in circulation is added just days before it is actually placed into use. Don’t subject your children to experimental vaccines. Yes, these vaccines have been tested on healthy kids and adults, but they are not the same vaccines your children will be given. Those children with asthma, allergies, type I diabetes, etc. are at greater risk for side effects. Children below the age of 2 years do not have a sufficient blood–brain barrier developed and are subject to chronic brain infections that emanate into symptoms that are called autism. Toddlers should not be subjected to injected viruses.
2. The vaccines from different manufactures possibly come with different additives (called adjuvants) and manufacturing methods. The two flu inoculations may be derived from a multi-dose vial and in a crisis, and in short supply, it will be diluted to provide more doses and then adjuvants must be added to trigger a stronger immune response. Adjuvants are added to vaccines to boost production of antibodies but may trigger autoimmune reactions. Some adjuvants are mercury (thimerosal), aluminum and squalene. Would you permit your children to be injected with lead? Lead is very harmful to the brain. Then why would you sign a consent form for your kids to be injected with mercury, which is even more brain-toxic than lead?
3. Over-vaccination is a common practice now in America. American children are subjected to 29 vaccines by the age of two. This means a little bit of disease is being injected into young children continually during their most formative years! Veterinarians have backed off of repeat vaccination in dogs because of observed side effects!!!!. Modern medicine has no explanation for autism, despite its continued rise in prevalence. Yet autism is not reported among Amish children who go unvaccinated.
Now getting back to the recipe of Quesadilla,

A quesadilla is a Mexican snack food made of cheese (and occasionally other ingredients) on a folded corn tortilla and cooked until the cheese melts. The word comes from Spanish, and literally means "cheese tortilla".
I used brown rice tortilla which is gluten free and whole grain, and used kidney bean, onions, green pepper and some firm tomatoes. This is just not a snack, but is a very kid friendly lunch box dish. You can substitute the kidney bean to black bean or anything of your choice.
Ingredients
Tortilla – 2(I used brown rice tortillas)
Onion – 1 small(chopped into small pieces)
Bell pepper – 1 small(chopped into small pieces)
Plum tomato – 1
Cooked kidney bean or black bean – 1/2 cup(I added salt to this when cooking for a better taste)
Red chili powder – 1/2 tsp or to your taste
Cumin powder – 1/2 tsp
Vegetarian cheese(without animal rennett) – 3/4 cup
Oil – 3 tsp
Method
1) Heat a pan, add a tsp of oil and saute all the vegetables in high heat adding red chili powder and cumin powder on high heat for 3 to 4 minutes and remove.
2) Heat a iron griddle, apply a tsp of oil on both sides of quesadilla and cook one side.
3) Now place the other uncooked side on the griddle, and spread half of the cheese throughout the tortilla.
4) Once the cheese melts, add the cooked veggies and fold the tortilla mid way to form a half circle and remove from heat.
5) Using a pizza cutter, cut  midway to form wedges and serve with salsa of your choice.
Note – Instead of folding the tortilla mid way, you can cover the tortilla with veggies and cheese and another tortilla and turn and cook the tortilla which you had used for covering. But i find the method described in 4 easier than using two tortillas in the busy mornings.


Event Participation

1) This dish goes to Say-Cheese event hosted by Saraswathi of Sara's corner.

2) This also goes to MLLA-17 hosted by SRA  an event started by Susan.

3) This also goes to Cooking for Kids-Veggies & Fruit hosted by Lakshmi and started by Sharmi of Neivedyam.

4) This also goes to Food for 7 Stages of Life - Kids Special Event hosted by Radhika.

Read more »