The goodness of tomatoes...

Is tomato a vegetable of fruit? We, the Indian generally treat tomatoes as vegetables and use them generously in our day to day cooking, especially for color and also for the tastes and nutrients. In our country this vegetable is generally available in the winter.

Tomatoes contain vitamin C, and a significant amount of Vitamin A and vitamin B including niacin and riboflavin, magnesium, phosphorous and calcium. These are also a good source of fiber.

Recent studies found a very essential element lycopene in tomatoes which has certain diseases like prostate cancer fighting abilities.

Lycopene is basically a red colored carotene and carotenoid pigment found in red colored vegetables like tomatoes, carrots and ripe papayas. Unlike other vegetables, processing of tomatoes actually increases the bioavailable lycopene concentration. So products from processed tomatoes, such as tomato sauces, tomato soup etc. are always preferable than fresh tomatoes. As lycopene is fat soluble, using tomatoes in oil-rich dishes greatly increases the absorption of lycopene into the blood stream.

A very easy but delicious Chutney made from tomatoes:
Ingredients: 2 large tomatoes, 1/2 teaspoon garlic paste, 1 chilli (optional), coriander leaves, salt and sugar for taste.
Wash the tomatoes well and with the help of a spoon or any sharp object make a hole at the top of them. Put the garlic paste in one of them and the chilli to the other through the hole. Now roast the tomatoes directly on to the flame or use a pan, put a little oil, and roast them covered with a lid. When the skin of the tomatoes become black and soft, they are ready.
Mix the flesh of the roasted tomatoes well with the chilli and garlic. Put some salt and a little sugar, add some coriander leaves and serve with roti or chapattis. It's delicious.

HAPPY NEW YEAR

Wish you all a very happy and prosperous NEW YEAR 2010.

May the new year brings new hope and happiness in your life.
(Pic was taken by me on 29th December, 2009)

Hummus...

Hummus is an Arabic word which means chickpeas. It is a dip or spread which can be eat either with raw fresh vegetables or with any kind of sandwiches, pita bread or something fried.

Hummus is an oldest food that can be traced back to the old Egyptian age. It tastes different in different places as one can use various ingredients to make this spread.

I am giving you the recipe of Hummus with roasted garlic, which is very easy to make.

Ingredients: 1 cup chickpeas (keep it in water overnight and use when it becomes soft); 2 tablespoon roasted garlic; 1/2 tablespoon lemon juice; 1 tablespoon olive oil; 1/2 teaspoon oregano (or ajwain, I think this will also do fine instead of oregano).

Method: In a blender put all the ingredients and blends until it becomes a paste of thick consistency. If required add one more spoon of olive oil.

As the hummus looks very bland, always add some chopped parsley leaves (or chopped coriander leaves)with it, spread some red chilli flakes on it and serve it in a very colorful dish. It not only needs to taste good, it needs to look good and attractive at the same time.

You can preserve it in your refrigerator for 2-3 days in an air-tight container.

Reasons to eat Walnut...

For healthy snacking walnut is an excellent choice.
Walnut contains omega-3 fatty acid. It is a good vegeterian source of this essential fatty acid which helps to promote cadiovascular rates and reduce inflammation.

It also contains ellagic acid, an antioxidant compound that helps to maintain a healthy immune system.

Walnut is also helping to maintain a healthy blood pressure.

So try to add walnut to your hot or cold breakfast and also as a snack. Use walnut oil as salad dressing.

Phentermine-the weight-loss pill

Phentermine is the main ingredient of a particular type of diet pill. In 1990, the FDA of USA has approved the use of phentermine together with another drug fenfluramine and uses this cocktail drug as a weight loss pill. It had created a huge success. But it has been discovered that the ingredient fenfluramine was causing heart valve failure among the users. So from then on the cocktail drug has been banned, and instead of fenfluramine, only the phentermine is used in this weight loss pill.


It has many side effects such as dry mouth, diarrhea or constipation, restlessness and others which are not so serious. Some serious side effects may also occur. So before using this drug, always consult your doctor and last but not the least try to maintain a controlled lifestyle so that you will not require using this weight loss pill at all.

Fast Weight Loss-Effortlessly Remove Unwanted Belly Fat!

When you decide to loss weight, you may choose any of the three following three categories, such as: fast & effortless weightloss, permanent weightloss and low cost weightloss.

If you choose fast weightloss, it is simply not going to happen. You may loss unwanted belly fat also, but for this you need either a hospital surgery, or a slow and steady weight loss program that’s healthy for you. You didn’t gain the belly fat over three beers, you won’t get rid of it that quickly either.

For this you need a good low-carb diet … and the understanding that you have to be prepared to eat low-carb the rest of your life. Too many people think that a diet is some sort of temporary restriction, binding you only as long as needed to drop the weight. But how do you expect the weight to stay off if you go back to the eating and exercising lifestyle that put it on in the first place?

As Albert Einstein put it: "Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results." If your previous lifestyle got you fat, you can’t go back to it and expect a different result. So whatever diet & exercise routines you settle on – just be sure to understand that it’s for life, not for just a few weeks.

You want to get rid of unwanted belly fat? It’s going to come off as you lose weight with any good diet plan – there isn’t any method to take off weight only from a single desired spot on your body. (Sort a like looking at a glass of water, and saying “I only want to drink the water in middle”… the fat in your body may be more visible as belly fat – but trust me, it’s all over your body!)

Fast weightloss is a myth that is advertised to suckers to separate them from their money… plan a change in your lifestyle, and you’ll drop the weight naturally and permanently.

Benefits of consuming green tea...

Do you know consuming green tea 4 or more cups per day may actually helps to reduce weight of your body? It actually does.

Our day time activities may actually helps to burn 8-10% of calories and body's own calorie burning process is called thermogenesis in medical terms. Drinking of green tea with every meal contribute 4% more to this calorie burning process which would add up to 37-40% total calorie burning. Green tea may also reduce the risk of heart diseases and certain types of cancers.

So drink green tea. Always buy tea from a reputed brand. Thyroid patients, avoid drinking it without consulting your doctor.

The goodness of olive...

Olive oil is the only kind of edible oil whose 70% of fat is mono-unsaturated. Oil is extracted from oil and the quality of olives greatly determines the quality of oils. There are about 700 types of olives grown in wolrd. Different grades of olive oil has different quantity of anti-oxidants level. The quality of olive-oil not only depends only on the quality of olives, it also depends on the extraction process.

Those suffering from diabetes and coronary heart disease do benefit from consumption of a MUFA rich oil in the prescribed amounts. There is some new evidence regarding the benefits of this oil. It seems that olive oil has a role in getting rid of Helicobacter pylori infections, which is a common bacterial infection of the gut with symptoms such as heartburn, acidity, pain in the abdomen.

There are also some studies to show that consumption of olive oil may retard gallstone formation. All in all, a good oil to use in its pristine and virgin form! ......Neelanjana Singh, Senior Nutrition Consultant PSRI,New Delhi.

A very easy and delicious recipe for you. It is from my mother's recipe book. Just boil the fresh olives till they become soft. After cooling, make a fine paste of them, add sufficient quantity of sugar and small amount of salt to it. You may discard the seeds. A delicious sweet dish is ready for you. Take it after a heavy lunch or dinner.

Aloo (Potato) Pakora..

A very quick and easy recipe for you all knowing that most of you are already aware of this one.

Ingredients: 3-4 big potatoes, 2 eggs, 1 teaspoon ginger paste, 2 tblspoon onion paste, 3-4 green chillie paste (optional), salt and oil to fry.

Method: Boil potatoes and peel them. Mashed the potatoes smoothly and mix eggs, ginger paste, onion paste, chillie (optional) paste and salt with it. Take a small portion of this mixture with your hand, make a flat round shape and fry till red in a fry pan with a little oil.

Serve while hot with any sauce or chutney. It's delicious!!!

Singapore food

A very nice blog on Singapore food. We the people of other countries actually know nothing about this country, especially about the food. We actually don't know that this country has a special kind of food, as this city-state is occupied by the people from all over the world. He himself explained it clearly that the Singaporean food consists of the foods of Malaysia, Indonesia, China and India.

The template of the blog is very nice and attractive and pictures are also very good. The preparation of an item is well explained. He also post a recipe of 'Chicken Bumbu Bali' with video.

You must visit this site to know everything (food) about Singapore.