Haul Your Metabolism

Forget wonder foods, foods we consume everyday can immensely boost your metabolism. A fast metabolism aids in weight loss and better digestion even if you are not active. Good news is that even though your metabolism rate is hereditary, you can manage to accelerate it with help of foods in your kitchen.

Better metabolism means more energy, especially in the summer. So here goes:

1. Green Tea : Switch your brew of the day to hot or cold green tea. Pick your flavour and give your body the ‘pick me up’ it needs. Increasing your intake of green tea will ensure that your metabolism is going well and your food is better absorbed.

2. Melon : Summer is here and so is melon, honeydew and cantaloupe. These fruits are low in calories and hydrate the body.

3. Oatmeal : Oatmeal is such a food that can be added to almost anything and can be had in any form. Add it to your smoothie, homemade bread, breakfast cereal etc and satisfy your body’s need for fibre. More fibre means better digestion which in turn is a sign of good metabolism.

4. Spinach : Popeye, the sailor man, was so active and strong because his metabolism did not hold him back. He would have been just another guy with wonky arms if he didn’t digest his food as well as he did, thanks to spinach.

5. Fruits: In the summer season, you don’t need a reason to gorge on fruits. Given the heat, the body craves for a cooling and hydrating feeling that fruits can very well provide. Fruits such as strawberries, apples, oranges, raspberries and bananas are easily available so you have no excuses for being sluggish.

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6. Cold water: There’s no better time to load up that glass of water with ice cubes and keep yourself hydrated. Cold water forces the body to warm up so it can come back to its normal temperature, thus revving up the metabolism rate.

7. Ginger : Since it is summer season we are cautiously suggesting to consume ginger in any form you like. Ginger not only enhances the flavour of your food but aids in better metabolism. Having stir fry for dinner? Sprinkle a few extra ginger julienne on your plate and chomp away. And just in case you were wondering, ginger flavoured lozenge does not count.

8. Cucumber : We cannot get enough of cucumbers. Summer is synonymous with salads and sandwiches. Ssssssso… load up on cucumbers - they are fibrous, hydrating, cooling, crunchy and delicious. You don’t need more reasons.

Be sure not to over consume any particular food item lest it interferes with any health condition that you may have.

content source:
www.epicurious.com
www.bembu.com

A Lazy Person’s Guide to Diet Hacks

We’ve all been there, done that. If a diet is not working for you, it won’t work for you next month or the month after that. The bottom line is that you are not a ‘diet person’. This leaves you with one choice that is to opt for some diet hacks that might actually work for you. There’s no harm in trying!

Food replacement hacks:

1. Opt for popcorn instead of potato chips especially on weekends when your limbs don’t function and your eyes are stuck to the television.

2. If you are craving for rich, oily food items like fries opt for milk, cheese or green leafy vegetables. Craving for oily food is your body’s way of telling you that you need calcium.

3. There’s no telling when you will get a sugar craving, so always keep in handy sweet alternatives such as raisins, fruits and dried fruit and nuts.

4. Bake for your health’s sake: Always go for food that is baked instead of cooked in oil or worse – fried. It may still be full of carbohydrates and fat but more nutritious and better for those taste buds.

5. Having salad for lunch? Great. Just top it off with extra virgin olive oil. Include olive oil in Mediterranean and continental diet as often as possible. Olive oil is a healthy fat and is well known for regulating good metabolism.

www.ditchthecarbs.com 

6. Eat breakfast like a king: Oh if we had a rupee for every time we heard that… Just eat an awesome, wholesome breakfast, OK? Did you know that eating a heavy breakfast aids weight loss and reduces hunger pangs?

7. If you are a sportsperson and a sparkly sports drink is your holy grail product post workout, may we suggest carrying a bottle of fresh coconut water instead? Coconut water is cooling for the stomach, is low on sugar and more potassium than a sports drink.

8. There is nothing wrong in having a fruit juice – as long as it is a fresh fruit juice with fiber and all we will not sue you. But the second you grab a tetra pack sitting fancily on the supermarket shelf, the nutrition goes out the window. When God created fruit, he meant for it to be eaten as it is. So let’s just do that instead of passing it off as kitchen waste.

9. Include a side of salad with each meal even if it means chomping on four sticks of carrot or celery.

10. The most important diet hack is a simple one – make changes in your eating pattern one food at a time. If you are a foodie, a sudden and drastic change can be overwhelming and can make you more prone to go off of your diet as soon as you begin.

Hope these tip motivate you to get healthier and make more informed changes in your diet, if you are on one. Don’t hold back, just become more intelligent food wise.

Content source:
http://zenhabits.net/top-15-diet-hacks/
http://www.swansonvitamins.com/blog/natural-health-tips/food-replacement-hacks

Salute the Sun

Times are tough and fast-paced but health is valuable and fragile. Enter Suryanamaskar or Sun Salute – a yoga sequence that promises good overall health and flexibility. An ancient form of a complete body workout, suryanamaskar is popular in Western countries as well.

Suryanamaskar is a single mantra to fitness when you are in a time crunch. Who isn’t? You only need to do 12 sets of these 12 asanas or postures to keep your mind calm and body fit.

It is also believed that by doing suryanamaskar consistently over a period of time, one can lose and maintain their weight. Yoga unlike cardio or aerobics takes its time to show effects on the body. Hence a lot of patience is required while doing the asanas and like any other exercise it requires proper technique.

This workout comprises of the following twelve asanas: 

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1. Pranamasana

2. Hastauttanasana

3. Hasta Padasana

4. Ashwa Sanchalanasana

5. Dandasana

6. Ashtanga Namaskara

7. Bhujangasana

8. Parvatasana

9. Ashwa Sanchalanasana

10. Hasta Padasana

11. Hastauttanasana

12. Tadasana

You can begin the workout with either leg and repeat with the other. One round of suryanamaskar comprises of these exercises or asanas done twice, one with each leg in posture 4 and 9. 

With 12 asanas laid down, let’s go through 12 benefits of suryanamaskar and yoga in general:

1. It helps to lose weight

2. It lowers one’s stress levels

3. It makes the body flexibility making you less prone to muscle wear and tear

4. It lowers the blood pressure and sugar level in the blood

5. Yoga helps to cure back pains

6. Yoga lowers the risk of heart disease

7. When done in the morning, it helps to calm your nerves and give mental clarity

8. Yoga helps you relax and as a result sleep better at night

9. If you are an athlete, yoga improves your athletic performance

10. Yoga is beneficial even for the children as it helps to gain good body balance

11. Suryanamaskar targets almost every part of the body and releases tension in that part.

12. Suryanamaskar regulates the thyroid glands and keeps its activity normal.

Suryanamaskar, as the name suggests, is best done in the morning as it releases energy in your system that helps you get through the day with maximum productivity. One should do it on an empty stomach and if possible take a bath with cold water prior to doing the exercise. With time, you will feel your joints and muscles loosening up which might make you go faster. Try and go slow when you do yoga as it will allow you to enjoy each asana and revive your spirit.

Content source:
1. www.m.huffpost.com
2. www.ommmm.com
3. http://www.healthandyoga.com/html/news/surya.aspx
4. http://www.artofliving.org/in-en/yoga/yoga-poses/sun-salutation
5. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/life-style/health-fitness/fitness/Surya-Namaskar-12-Yoga-poses-for-weight-loss/articleshow/22326709.cms

A Busy Person’s Guide to Quick and Healthy Breakfast

The two words - quick breakfast is sweet music to one’s eats, especially on Monnday mornings. We bring you not only fast and easy but also healthy breakfast options that you can whip up in the matter of minutes or make ahead of time.

So let us plan your breakfast for the week – all you have to do is ensure that you have these ingredients in the pantry.

1. Breakfast muffins – Mix together two eggs, chopped capsicum, tomatoes, onions and cilantro. Add a dash of salt, pepper and paprika. Put into cupcake moulds and bake for 20 minutes until puffed up. Top with ketchup and eat them on the go. You can bake and freeze the cupcakes – heat and eat as needed. Until they bake you can use the time to get ready and make your to-do list. You can add leftover spinach, broccoli, sausages or potatoes as per your liking.

www.eat-drink-love.com 

2. Breakfast smoothie – Blend together roughly chopped spinach leaves, a whole apple (roughly chopped), half a cucumber with some ice cubes and a little water to a smoothie consistency. You can add some lemon or orange juice to add zing to the taste. Chug it down in a matter of seconds and you are set until lunch.

3. Pancake – Pancakes can make the world go around. Simply mix a cup of each ingredient – oats, whole wheat flour and milk. Add one egg, a tablespoon of sugar, a teaspoon of baking powder and a pinch of salt. Mix into a smooth batter and eat them fresh with plain honey and a glob of butter. The pancake batter minus the wet ingredients can be made the previous night and stored in the fridge.

www.rachelschultz.com

4. French toast – Got leftover bread or buns? Break an egg, add some milk and sugar and whisk well. Dunk the bread slices in the mixture and using oil or butter, cook evenly on both sides in a pan. You can use a waffle iron or a sandwich maker to make this quicker and crispier. Top the bread with maple syrup, honey or chocolate sauce.

5. Oats parantha – This recipe has been inspired from Chef Vikas Khanna’s version of oat-stuffed parantha. Roast plain oats in the pan with spices or dry herbs. Once they are brown in colour, add salt, paprika or red chili powder, chopped onion and cilantro or parsley and cook for a minute or two. Stuff this in a roti or flatbread and flatten it out. Roast it on a pan with butter (optional) and eat it with a bowl of cold yoghurt. The stuffing mixture of oats can be made ahead of time and stored in the fridge.

6. Breakfast salami cups – Instead of the usual way to eating cold meats, why not bake them for breakfast? Place one slice of salami in each muffin or cupcake mould. Add one whisked egg, some cheese, a pinch of salt and pepper and a chopped green onion. Bake for 15 minutes or until done. Eat with ketchup or mustard. 

 www.recipe.com

content source:
1. http://juliasalbum.com/2015/02/breakfast-egg-muffins-with-bacon-and-spinach/
2. http://www.fitfoodie.in/recipe/paneer-paratha-saffola-masala-oats
3. http://foodgawker.com/post/2014/12/23/418865/

‘Eat More Vegetables’ Week

As the U.K. observes the ‘Meat Free Week’, we thought it is the best time to bring you some suggestions on how you can include more protein and iron through vegetables. What is MFW? Started in Australia and now spread to the U.K., MFW is a week long campaign which brings awareness to consumption of meat and the impact it has on one’s health, the animals and the environment.

So for all our large-hearted, environment-conscious readers these recipes guarantee to replace protein that you would consume from the meat through vegetables (in case you do decide to abstain for a week or longer). If you listen carefully, you may hear vegetarians kicking their heels and breaking into peels of excitement!

www.healthessentialists.com

Non vegetarians need not worry as we will help bust a few myths about vegetarian food:

· Nuts, legumes and lentils are just as rich in protein as meat.

· Red meat can be replaced with dried beans, green leafy vegetables and nuts to supplement iron.

· You don’t need to include heavy amount of meat to complete your diet. Excess meat can lead to digestive and heart problems. Plants being the primary source of energy are quicker than meat i.e., secondary source when it comes to providing energy in your system.

Meat-eaters will argue as to how one can replace a succulent piece of meat with dreary vegetables. These recipe suggestions are packed with the comfort that you will want to come to at the end of the day – no compromise on taste. With that thought here are our suggestions:

1. Bhel - Yes, the one that brings water in your mouth and makes even the ‘most sophisticated’ man and woman wait in line. (click HERE for recipe)

2. Pav Bhaji – Can it get better than that? What can possibly top off Pav Bhaji? (click HERE for recipe)

3. Mushroom-Garlic pizza – Forget the overcooked and unhealthy toppings and the floury dough. Make your own base using shredded zucchini and top it off with mushroom and garlic. This is what we call, healthy to the core! (Click HERE for recipes)

For zucchini crust base click HERE

4. Spanish Potato Omlette (Click HERE for recipe)

5. Rajma Masala – Enough said. (click HERE for recipe)

6. Hummus and whole wheat pita bread – No one can eat just one! (click HERE for recipe

7. Black bean beet burgers – Add walnuts and quinoa to the mix and even a devout non-vegetarian will mistake this for a juicy sloppy jo. (click HERE for recipe)

8. Potato and zucchini frittata (Click HERE for recipe) 

9. Tofu (or Paneer) and veggie stir fry (click HERE for recipe)

10. Dal Palak or in fancier terms ‘Red Lentil Curry with Spinach’ (click HERE for recipe)

So there you have it. We promised comfort food and we kept it.

Content source:
http://www.bhg.com/recipes/vegetarian/high-protein-vegetarian-recipes/
https://uk.meatfreeweek.org/recipes
http://www.buzzfeed.com/deenashanker/more-to-life-than-pasta-maybe#.gbDZMen2rV