Low calorie Creamy Palak Paneer

Creamy Palak Paneer (low-cal version)

Here's a low-fat version of Creamy Palak Paneer:
Ingredients:

• Palak: 4 big cups or 250 gms
• Tomatoes: 2 big
• Garlic: 4nos.
• Ginger: 1"piece
• Green chilies: 2-3 (or according to taste)
• Paneer: 250gms (cut into cubes)
• Skim milk: 1 1/2 cups
• Whole wheat flour: 1 tbsp
• Cumin seeds: 1tsp
• Hing(asafoetida): a pinch
• Bay leaf: 1
• Turmeric powder: 1/2tsp (or 1 tsp curry powder)
• Coriander powder: 2tsp
• Red chili powder: 1-2 tsp
• Garam masala: 1/2 tsp
• Salt: to taste
• Oil: 3tsp

Method:

1. Puree the tomato along with the garlic and ginger.
2. Bring some water to boil and then blanch the palak leaves for 3-5 minutes. Take out the leaves and puree when cool.
3. Heat the oil in a saucepan, add the bay leaf and cumin seeds, when they start to brown add the hing.
4. Then add the tomato puree, garam masala, coriander powder, red chili powder, turmeric/curry powder and stir fry till you see the oil separating out.
5. Then add the palak puree and mix well.
6. Cover and cook for 10 minutes stirring in between.Add salt to taste.
7. Mix the wheat flour in the milk and add to the saucepan. Mix well and then cover and cook for about 5mins.
8. Add the paneer pieces and mix. Cover and cook for another 5-6 minutes while stirring gently in between.

Serve the creamy palak paneer with phulkas or plain rice and dal.

Note: You can further reduce the fat content of the dish by making your own paneer from low-fat or skimmed milk. Tofu can be used as a substitute for paneer for those who want a vegan recipe and it tastes equally good!

Tips for A Healthier, Fitter Family

Image Courtesy: bbc.co.uk

 The old saying that "A family that eats together stays together" not only holds good even today but needs to be tweaked a little to suit today's health conscious world . It should now read as "A family who eats healthy and exercises together stays fit forever!"
As a dietitian my goal is not only to get my client on the right 'eating' path, but also to extend the benefits of healthy eating and regular exercise to his/her family. Many a times clients (mostly women) give up as it gets difficult to make two different menus-one would be the regular food for the family and the other for themselves. My solution-if the present food and eating habits has resulted in weight gain and other related health problems,then it is advisable to change it not just for yourself,but also for the whole family.  To do that you need to make subtle changes not just in the cooking but also in the family's outlook towards health. Here's how you can bring about a change in your and your family's health:

1. Reduce oil used for cooking to half of your currant usage. 
2. Avoid making or buying fried foods like chips, pakodas, fried chicken and such on a regular basis.
3. If you must, then buy the smallest available packs/size of fried foods,sweets,chocolates, cakes-that way there won't be any left overs for snacking on later.
4. Use whole grains like brown/semi-polished rice, whole wheat flour, whole wheat pasta, 100% whole wheat breads and locally grown millet and grains like ragi/nachni(finger millet) and jowar(sorghum).
5. Switch to eating fruits for desserts on a regular basis.
6. Buy skimmed milk, low-fat cheese, non-fat plain yogurt
7. Munch on healthy snacks like fruits, salads, a handful of nuts, edamame salad or other cooked beans/pulses like a chickpea salad.
8. Drink water when you are thirsty and with your meals instead of juices, aerated drinks, beer or energy drinks.
9. Buy only 100% fruit juices( or you could make fresh juices at home) instead of those loaded with sugar.
10.  Include a variety of seasonal vegetables (and not just potatoes) with every meal.
11. Avoid red meats like beef, pork, mutton(goat meat) and instead have fish or poultry.
12. Eat your meals together as a family and not in front of the television.
13. Try to inculcate the idea of physical fitness by including the whole family in outdoor fun activities like walking, trekking, hiking, biking, swimming or even playing outdoor games together.
14.  Include kids and/ or your spouse when cooking so that the resulting meal is a family effort.

Old habits are hard to change, the trick is to be persistent! Try introducing one or two changes every week, that way the changes may actually go unnoticed. Just bear in mind that IMPOSSIBLE can easily turn into I'M POSSIBLE!!

Is Your Child Getting the Right Nutrition?

A common complaint that most parents have is that their child doesn't eat (enough). The question that then arises is whether the child is getting the right amount of nutrition that is required for growth. There are even instances of parents requesting the pediatrician to prescribe some supplements or health tonics.
Most of the times these are not required as parents just wrongly assume that their child isn't eating enough just because the portions they eat are too small. Keep in mind that they are kids and will not be able to eat as much as an adult. One way of knowing whether is to check the child's growth records. If the child is around or above the 50th percentile,then he/she is getting enough calories to grow. If at any point, the percentile keeps dropping below the 50th percentile in terms of weight and the height doesn't seem to be increasing too much over a period of time, then that may be a sign of under-nutrition.
Sometimes, just getting sufficient calories for growth is not enough-the child may be eating and drinking the wrong foods (chips,candies, cookies, soda/aerated drinks , chocolates and such) most of which which provide nothing other that empty calories.
To ensure that a child is getting adequate nutrition through his/her diet, here are some guidelines:

•  Make sure that the child eats at least 3 meals (breakfast, lunch,dinner) and has 2-3 small snacks in between. 
• Serve the meals and snacks at the dining table and not in front of the TV. 

• Ensure that the child gets a helping from all the food groups at meal times:

Grains: Rice, breads, pasta, roti/chapathi, or ragi/jowar
Protein:Pulses/lentils/beans(e.g dals, mung,rajma,soy, etc) eggs, chicken, fish.
Vegetables: make sure the child eats a variety of veggies and also green leafy vegetables (palak/spinach, amaranth, collard, chard,etc). Limit using only potatoes as a vegetable.
Fruits: can be served at the end in lieu of dessert. Here again choose fresh seasonal fruits rather than canned fruits(which can be loaded with sugar).
Dairy: Yogurt/curd, skimmed milk, low-fat cheese, soy milk are also excellent sources of calcium. These can be served separate or mixed with the meal-cheese sandwich, curd/yogurt rice.

• Serve water instead of juices with the meals.
• Healthy snacks can also contribute to the child's nutrition. Avoid foods like cookies, pastries, jello, chips, chocolates. Fruits, cheese sticks, fruits in yogurt, fruit smoothies, mini sandwiches(with cheese, guacamole, almond/nut butter), dhoklas, mini-uttapams, mini-burritos(with cheese/scrambled eggs,pulses ) nuts and dry fruits, coin idlis, sukha bhel, popcorn(with less butter/oil), etc. Use your imagination and make the snacks more attractive when serving. A glass of skimmed milk/ soy milk or 100% fruit juice can also be served with the snacks. 
• Make sure there is at least a gap of 2 hours between snack time and regular meal times, otherwise the child may not be hungry.

Moreover, keep the child engaged in some kind of physical activity (outdoor play, swimming, cycling, etc) for at least an hour each day. This will not only keep the child occupied instead of sitting glued to the T.V or video games, but will also increase the appetite.

Banana Raitha

Banana Raitha

Banana Raitha used to be a hot fave when I was a kid.Made along with a festive lunch [I always wondered why they wouldn't make a festive spread daily ;-)],with all the other yummy stuff that the festival calls for,I would have a hard time deciding what to eat first! Whenever mom made Banana Raitha on regular days,I would polish it off with hot 'phulkas' without touching the other curry's! This year on 'Ugadi' I made banana raitha and again for lunch on Easter. It's a subtle mingling of all tastes (sweet,salty,sour and a touch of spicy) and can be eaten as such or with phulkas.
Ingredients:

• Yogurt/curd-1 cup(preferably homemade)
• Low fat milk-1 cup
• Bananas- 2 very ripe
• Sugar-6 teaspoons
• Salt-1/2 teaspoon(or to taste)
• Mustard seeds-1/2 teaspoon
• Zeera/Cumin seeds-1 teaspoon
• Dry red chillies-1-2(broken)
• Curry leaves-2-3nos.
• Oil-1 teaspoon

Method:

1. Blend half cup yogurt/curd and half cup milk along with one banana,sugar and salt.
2. Pour into a bowl.Add the rest of the yogurt and milk and mix well.
3. Chop the other banana and add to the raitha.
4. Heat the oil,add the mustard and cumin seeds.When the mustard splutters,add the broken dry red chillies and then the curry leaves.
5. Pour this over the banana raitha and mix.
6. Serve the banana raitha chilled with hot phulkas (or eat as a snack).