Tea Time....

What an awesome weather outside.... Bright sunlight striking the white snow laden rooftops..... In the midst of this beautiful scene... I get a call from my husband ( work from home status): "can I have a cup of tea"...... 

Well, personally not being a tea lover, over a period of time being a part of tea loving family I have understood one fact that when it's a call for tea time...... Get alert.... It's time for you to show your cooking skills. Sipping hot tea without any snack is ideally incomplete, despite of you being in any part of the world. 

Tea itself is of so many colors and moods...... Sounding strange.....no it's a fact..... You have black tea, green tea, mild tea, strong tea, white tea, lemon tea.......sooooo on...... But one thing that compliments tea is.... Snacks!!!

Now being little health concious, I actually have to focus on taste as well as the health part of the snack taken along with the tea. Usually what we indulge along with tea is snacks like fried pakoras, dark chocolate muffins, flaky pastries..... I just realized my mouth has started watering...... Control your emotions dear.....

These are not just the options with you. Just move your eyes around, give your own twist to it and you are ready with a new innovative yet healthy snack option to compliment with your tea.

I have one snack recipe ready for today.....  Cucumber avocado tea time sandwich...

Potion size: 2

Cooking time: 15 min

Ingredients

Brown bread: 4 slices

Yogurt: 2 tbsp

Cucumber slices: 1 small peeled and thinly sliced

Avocado slices: 1 peeled and thinly sliced

Baby sprouts: 1/2 cup boiled

Salt, pepper to taste

Method

Mix all the spices, salt,pepper and baby sprouts in the whipped yogurt and keep aside. Prepare your canvas in the mean while.... I mean trim the sides of the brown bread and spread the yogurt mixture on it. After that place the slices of cucumber and avocado on it. Cut the slices into triangular shape and serve immediately. 

You are ready with your simple and finger licking sandwich..... All full of health and taste.....

So, guys get ready for your tea time!!!!!!

A cup full of health...

Have you ever wondered that just a cup of tea will make you take a leap for health. Yes, it's about green tea.... a sip full of antioxidants.

Many studies have been carried out stating that "antioxidant" are chemicals that are required to scavenge the free radicals in the body, thus preventing any damage.

Most common examples of them are beta-carotene, lycopene.  These are found in colored fruits and vegetables like carrots, tomato, beetroot, bell peppers etc. Our body probably makes some amount of these antioxidants but majority of the time we derive them through diet and sometimes we need some dietary supplements.

Green tea is one way to replenish your source of antioxidants.  It provides you with an expanded line of benefits like:
- weight loss
- lowers cholesterol
-controls blood sugar
-lowers blood pressure
- lowers risk of cancer

But the question arises that what should be the amount to be taken? I would suggest to bring it in your habit, by limiting it to 2-3 cups a day after meals ( helps in digestion and aids in fat oxidation). But caution should be taken that as it contains "tannins" the enemy of iron and folate.... watch for them and do not club your meals and green tea together..... a gap of 30 minutes will help.

So guys watch what we are drinking.... is it a can of calories or a sip of optimal health...

Walnuts: The wonder nut

I still remember my childhood days, when my mother used to give me a fist full of brown rust colored nuts.... Walnuts!! I so used to unlike the taste. But today, I am thankful to her.

It's like every food we eat benefits us in some way or the other. Walnuts, are classified as nuts and oilseeds in the world of nutrition. 

As it has the name.. it creates a wall of immunity in our body and protects the pump machine...Heart... against the bad cholesterol (TRIGLYCERIDES). It is a store house for good quality protein, vitamin B6, minerals like calcium and potassium, polyunsaturated fatty acids,  omega3 fatty acids.

The latter that I mentioned is the key component of this nut. To understand it simple, we require two kinds of fatty acids in our system: omega3 and omega6. The former is important to cut down your cholesterol levels in the body and protect our heart. An ounce (28g) of walnuts provides 2.6g of ALA (precursor of omega3) which gets converted into the active and absorptive form in the body.

Not only your heart but it is essential for your brain, skin and hair. Just a fist full of this nut will help you become more wise, look younger and of course give you a healthy and happy heart. So grab a fist full of optimal health....