Wordsmith at work

  Zucchini se milo Tender, mild-flavoured and healthy, Zucchini has since of late become a popular wellness food. Zucchini is a summer squash also called courgette or baby marrow. It belongs to the Cucurbitaceae family along with melons and is referred to as a vegetable, though it is really a fruit. Zucchini resembles a cucumber in colour and shape. Zucchini may be pale green, yellow, striped or orange.  The inside of the fruit may be a pale yellow or a pale green and contains seeds. The fruit is harvested before it ripens because it is then that it offers the best flavour. Zucchini is a summer vegetable. It is well suited to the Indian summer as it is nutrient-dense and high in water.  In recent years Zucchini has been used as a healthier replacement for pasta or independently. Vegetable spiralizers are used to cut Zucchini into thin long strips that resemble noodles that are then called Zoodles. Zucchini is a popular ingredient in Mediterranean, European, African and Mi...

  Yellow Capsicum - Go yellow! Yellow Bell Peppers are simply green bell peppers that have matured. The difference in colour of red green orange and yellow bell peppers is on account of their maturity and ripeness. The green peppers are the unripe ones, being plucked prematurely. Red peppers are the ripest of all. They require more time to grow and thus are also priced highly.  the yellow ones fall somewhere in the middle. Red and yellow peppers contain twice the amount of vitamin C than their younger sibling, green pepper. As they ripen, peppers vary in nutritional content.  Yellow peppers are botanically called Capsicum annuum and belong to the Nightshade family. They are native to Tropical America, growing since ancient times. The Spanish and Portuguese explorers brought Yellow Peppers to Asia and Europe around 1493. Besides the element of crunch that they add to food, they are loaded with vitamins and antioxidants they are said to have a higher number of nutrients th...

 Xmas cake with a twist A lot of work goes into a  traditional  Xmas cake, but the end result …" you can't stop eating. All your hard work pays off.  Health forced me to forego the pleasure of partaking in this cake feast and I was sad. However, now knowing how much harm certain foods can do, and at the same time not wanting to be deprived of the pleasure of eating cake at Xmas, my husband and I together with guidance from the nutritionist have tweaked the Xmas cake to suit our needs.  Almond flour/ banana flour replaces refined flour, cold-pressed coconut oil stands in for rich butter, and jaggery takes the place of sugar. We have ditched the preserve and go with some amount of nuts and dry fruit. Eggs are in, but the free-range kind. Believe me, the cake turns out delicious and you miss out on nothing. This cake is baked on festivals and family occasions.  This post is part of the Blogchatter A2Z2023 challenge. 

  Watermelon is the word! The watermelon plant( Citrullus lanatus ) bears fruit annually and grows well in hot climates. The vines are prostrate with branched tendrils and deeply cut leaves. Single flowers either masculine or feminine grow at the axil of the leaf. The fruit is a type of berry botanically known as Pepo. Watermelon is part of the Cucurbitaceae family and is related to pumpkin, Zucchini, Cantaloupe and Cucumber.  Watermelons are either oval or spherical in shape and are dark green or maybe green with white stripes. The sweet juicy flesh is either reddish or pink and holds pips that are either black, brown or white in colour. Watermelons weigh anything between 2kg to 20kg and the number of fruits per vine varies between 2 to 15. Native to Africa, watermelons also grow in the Middle -East, USA, India, Japan and Europe. China leads the world's production of watermelons producing almost 60% of the production.  Nutrition:  The  watermelon is low in cal...

  Vitamins Are Vital for Your Health Vitamins are organic compounds needed by our bodies in small quantities for the maintenance of our health. Our bodies do not produce vitamins, so we must obtain them from food and pharmaceutical preparations. There are 13 vitamins in all. Eight of them belong to the B group. Vitamins can cause toxicity if consumed in large amounts. At the same time, a lack of adequate vitamins will also cause ill health.  Although they do not give us energy, they help us get energy from carbs, proteins and fats, also known as macronutrients. different vitamins serve different purposes.  Vitamin A : Vitamin A is obtained from animal and plant sources. Vitamin A aids vision, especially night vision, makes red cells and fights infections. Good sources of vitamin A include oranges, sweet potato, spinach, and other greens, dairy and seafood like salmon and shrimp.  Vitamin B - This group of vitamins turn energy-giving nutrients like carbohydrates, fat...

 Urad Dal - versatile and nutritious.  Black gram or urad dal Vigna Mungo is a bean grown in South Asia where it has been cultivated for thousands of years. Urad dal is a very popular ingredient in Indian Kitchens because of its versatility. The crop is grown both as a Rabi and Kharif crop in India and is grown extensively in South India, the  Northern part of Bangladesh and Nepal. It is a good food for vegetarians and vegans as it is rich in protein.  Urad dal is available in different forms:   As a split white lentil whole round unsplit black lentil Split lentil with the black skin still on.  Health Benefits of Urad Dal: Urad dal is rich in both soluble and insoluble fibre which aids digestion. Also supports liver health.  Urad dal is loaded with fibre, magnesium, and potassium which support heart health. Potassium is said to improve blood circulation.  Urad da l has a high content of iron which boosts energy levels and stimulates the producti...

  Tomatoes are terrific! Tomatoes (solanum lycopersicum) is a fruit from the nightshade family native to South America. Botanically the tomato is a fruit because it fits the botanical description of a fruit. It is the fleshy part of the plant that surrounds its seeds. However, for nutritional and culinary purposes, the tomato is a vegetable.  (Nightshade is a family of plants that include tomatoes, peppers, potatoes and eggplant and tobacco) Nightshades contain small amounts of alkaloids. Alkaloids are chemicals found in plants. While some alkaloids will have a positive effect on the human body, others, like the ones present in tobacco will have a negative effect,) Tomatoes generally turn red when they mature they are also available in a variety of colours including yellow orange, green and purple.  Tomatoes are 95%  water and 5% carbohydrates and fibre.  Tomatoes are often harvested when green and immature and ripened artificially. This may adversely affect t...

  Saluting the Sweet Potato The sweet potato (Ipomoea Batatas) is a sweet and starchy,  tuber belonging to the Morning Glory family of plants hat that varies in size and colour which include orange, white and purple. It is different from a potato which belongs to the Nightshade family of plants.  Sweet Potato is native to the tropical regions of America, the Caribbean islands, the warmer islands of the Pacific, Japan and parts of Russia. In Japan, the crop has long been grown for the manufacture of starch and alcohol. Sweet Potatoes grew in Peru, as early as 750 BC. Native Americans were growing sweet potatoes in 1492 when Columbus landed in America. Sweet Potato is grown in the Northern and Eastern states of India namely, Jharkhand, Bihar, Chattisgarh, West Bengal and Uttar Pradesh.  Health Benefits of sweet potato: Sweet Potatoes a re high in beta -carotene which gets converted into vitamin which in turn supports vision, immunity and embryonic growth Sweet potatoes...

 Ragi -The superfood in your kitchen Ragi, also called Finger millet or Nachini is an extremely nutritious millet, that resembles mustard seeds. The common English name of Ragi is Finger millet because the plant bears a head of grain comprising five spikes which resemble 5 fingers attached to the palm of the hand. The straight or sometimes curved branches contain seeds which are brown, red or purple in colour.  The hull of the ragi grain is indigestible and hence the grain is hulled before use. .This process does not damage the germ and therefore its nutritive value remains intact. The grain is decorticated, ground into flour and put to numerous uses. Ragi requires less water than other crops and grains and therefore is a sustainable crop. The botanical name of ragi is Eleusine coracana. Ragi originated in Africa and was cultivated in Uganda and Ethiopia for thousands of years. The crop came to India about 4000 years ago and has been found in archaeological excavations in the ...

  Quinoa - A healthier alternative.  Quinoa pronounced as "Keen - wa" is a seed from the same family as spinach, chard, amaranth and beet. In recent years Quinoa has taken the world of health and nutrition by storm because of its many health benefits and versatility in the kitchen.   Quinoa is a gluten-free alternative to starchy grains. Rich in protein Quinoa is also a source of all 9 essential fatty acids. Quinoa acts like whole grain and is the more expensive of whole grains. It is often classified as a cereal grain like oats and barley but in fact, is a pseudocereal grain. In others words Quinoa is a seed that is prepared and eaten like a grain.  Quinoa has been growing in the South American countries of Bolivia, Peru and Chile for thousands of years and formed the staple diet of the Incas and their descendants. Its cultivation has now spread to regions of North America, Europe and Asia.  Why is Quinoa good for you : Quinoa is loaded with nutrients...

Nuts that don't drive you nuts Nuts are nutrient-packed edible seed kernels encased in a hard shell and include almonds, hazelnuts, pistachios, cashew nuts, pine nuts, pecan, macadamia and brazil nuts. They make a healthy snack offering a wide range of health benefits. Peanuts are legumes like peas and beans because they are edible seeds that grow in pods.  Almond s : Packed with heart-friendly monounsaturated fat, fibre and vitamin E almonds have the highest calcium content, so required for our bones, nerves and muscles. Almonds with skin promote gut health and have antioxidant benefits. Almond flour works very well as a replacement and gluten-free flour for refined flour in cakes.  Brazil nuts : Brazil nuts are native to a tree in the Amazon and are one of the richest sources of selenium,a mineral that supports immunity, acts as an antioxidant and helps wounds heal. .1to 3 Brazil nuts a day is enough because we require very small quantities of the mineral. Brazil nuts are ri...

  Powerful is the Pomegranate The Pomegranate is one of the most ancient fruits in the world. It most probably originated in Persia and then its cultivation spread through the Mediterranean,, Arabia, Afghanistan, India and China. The Pomegranate is a red and round fruit with leathery skin. It bears a white flesh that is tightly packed with crunchy and juicy edible seeds called Arils.  The word Pomegranate is derived from the medieval Latin, "Pomum Granatum" meaning apple of many grains and seeds. It has a symbolic significance in many cultures because of its appearance and seed clusters and is mentioned in many ancient religious texts, poems and Ayurveda.  Pomegranate has a large number of health benefits and including them in your diet would be very beneficial to your health.  How Pomegranates help your health: Pomegranates are low in calories and fats and high in fibre, vitamins and minerals and contain some amount of protein in them. Eating whole fruit is more b...

  Oil from the well of good health .  I grew up on Postman refined oil and continued to use refined oils until 4 years ago when in the course of a health care programme that I was taking, I was asked to switch to cold-pressed oils. Why the healthier alternative?  The oils that we use to cook our foods are extracted from seeds, nuts and vegetables. When the oil is extracted through the cold-pressed method, it is done without applying extreme heat and therefore the oil retains much of its nutritive value.  How are cold-pressed oils manufactured? Cold-pressed oils are obtained by simply crushing seeds and nuts in huge cylinders using minimum heat.  The seeds and nuts are placed in a huge cylinder where they are rotated and crushed until all the oil is extracted. The temperature of the heat released does not exceed 49 degrees centigrade.  Oils extracted in this way are totally free from hazardous chemicals and preservatives. They are naturally aromatic, flavour...