Who will LOSE (weight)on Dancing With The Stars this season?

That’s right-while most people are interested in knowing who will win the ‘Mirror Ball’ trophy, I’m more interested in seeing who will lose weight this season.
Dancing With The Stars (DWTS) has become a platform for the stars not only to show case their dancing talents, but also their weight loss through dancing. In the past seasons, stars like Kristie Alley, Kelly Osbourne, Rob Kardashian, Ricki Lake, and Nancy Grace have lost the trophy but walked home slimmer, trimmer and a lot fitter than when they started the show.
Dancing is an excellent way ‘to keep your body moving’-the mantra for everyone today! It can burn anything from 200-500 calories and is known to aid weight loss, increase cardiovascular performance, muscle mass, flexibility and improve balance. The advantage with dancing is that it does not feel like exercise.
This seasons DWTS has an interesting star cast which has actors, singers and sports stars like Super Bowl champion Donald Driver from the Greenbay Packers and the tennis legend Martina Navratilova.
So instead of sitting back and enjoying the show, this time, put on YOUR dancing shoes and groove away to the music. Who knows, you may be the BIGGEST loser when the show ends!

Are you ready for an Oscar Party?

How about throwing an Oscar party?
After Super bowl Sunday, here is another Sunday that will have millions of Oscar fans glued to the TV. This year’s Oscar has all the ingredients for a best seller. Here’s who I am supporting this year:
Best picture-The Descendants, Hugo or Moneyball? My money is on “Moneyball” (as that’s one of the few Brad Pitt movies that actually held my attention) though ‘Hugo’ seems to be a front-runner for the award.
Best actor-hmmm, that’s a tough choice! I would say George Clooney for ‘The Descendants’ (yes, yes-you guessed it right, I am a HUGE Clooney fan!).
Best actress- Meryl Streep for the “The Iron Lady”! I haven’t seen the movie-but let’s face it,the lady is made for the Oscars!
Best animated feature film-Kung Fu Panda 2 or Rango (both were such fun movies).
Best Director- Michel Hazanavicius for daring to be different! ‘The Artist’ is an amazing black and white silent movie set in the Hollywood of the 1920’s.
Get your list ready and you can throw a fun Oscar theme party this Sunday (26th February) while watching it live on T.V. Make it more fun by asking your friends to dress up like their favorite actor/actress from this year’s nominees. To suit the theme, you could put healthy snacks on the menu that Hollywood celebrities eat to stay in shape. Name them after the stars and watch your guests gobble them up without as much as a whimper! Here are some fun (and healthy) snacks for your Oscar party:
1. Katy Perry chicken-the singer loves grilled chicken which is a great party snack. Grilled chicken or even tandoori chicken has all the protein needed to fill up your hungry guests while also being low in fat.
2. Go nuts with Rene Zellweger- the actress included nuts as a part of her weight loss regime to achieve stunning results. Not only are nuts packed with vitamins and minerals, they are also a good source of healthy fats and the protein in it gives a satiety feeling.
3. Jessica Alba smoothie- the 30 year old actress maintains a stunning figure post-pregnancy with frozen yogurts and dried fruits in her diet. Mix some medjool dates and dried figs in some Greek yogurt and make a smoothie for the guests.
4. Jolie sandwich- Angelina Jolie sticks to fish and lean protein to maintain her svelte figure. Make some mini-tuna fish sandwiches (100% whole wheat bread) and put a little toothpick through it and serve as appetizers.
5. Demi Chai-Welcome your guests with Demi Moore’s favorite drink-herbal tea. Not surprising as green tea is also known to rev-up the metabolism. Serve them in stylish shot glasses with a dash of lemon instead of the regular tea cups.
6. Aniston guacamole- Jennifer Aniston loves Mexican food and what can be better than fresh home-made guacamole with baked tortilla chips for a party.
7. Potter Popcorn-Kids love Harry Potter and popcorn. Besides who can resist the smell of fresh popcorn? Make it with half the amount of oil and you have a healthy snack for all.
8. Madonna Mocktail-make your own non-alcoholic drinks with fresh fruits (or 100% juice for those who don’t have the time) and top them with some fruit ice cubes. Kids will love the fruity ice cubes which can be made using some of the blended juice(or the 100% juice) .If possible choose a different coloured fruit for the ice cubes so that it stands out rather than blending with the drink.
9. Brad Pita wraps-a whole grain fan, Brad Pitt makes sure to include whole grains like brown rice, 100% whole wheat breads and wraps in his diet. Use whole wheat pita/roti/tortilla with some grilled chicken/tofu or kidney beans (rajma)/ garbanzo(kabuli channa)beans as a filling with freshly made homemade salsa.
10. Holly dessert- what better dessert to round off the Oscar party than a big bowl of freshly cut fruits? Most Hollywood celebrities can’t do without these sweet treats in their diet-so why should you be an exception? Chop some seasonal fruits and mix a few exotic fruits, try your hand at carving some shapes (or at least use a scooper to make some fun shapes) and you have an eye-catching dessert!
If you want to look like ‘the stars’ you need to learn to ‘eat like one’ too! So, now that you have the theme and the menu for the party, sit back, relax and enjoy, for “the Oscar goes to………”

Palak Chutney(Spicy spinach chutney)

Palak Chutney (Spicy spinach Chutney)

The original recipe uses tendli/tondli(ivy gourd) leaves,but since that isn't available everywhere, had to substitute with palak.The resulting Palak Chutney was quite close to the 'tondekai/tondli chutney' that I remember. Here are the ingredients for the Palak Chutney:

Ingredients:
Palak(baby)/Baby spinach-2 cups chopped
Garlic-5 cloves(crushed)
Ginger-1" piece
Cilantro/coriander leaves-1 cup
Green chillies-6-7nos(or according to taste)
Roasted channa dal-2 tbsp
Roasted groundnut-2tbsp
Hung yogurt/curd-3tbsp(sour)
Salt-to taste
Oil-1tsp

Method:
1)Heat the oil in a pan,add the garlic and green chillies and saute for a couple of minutes.
2)Add the chopped baby spinach and saute till they are cooked.Let it cool.
4)In a mixer grinder-add the channa dal,groundnuts,cilantro,ginger,salt and the cooked palak.
5)Make a fine paste.
6)Pour the palak chutney into a bowl. Add the yogurt and mix well. Test for salt.

Palak chutney tastes great even without the addition of the yogurt/curd at the end(add a little tamarind). I just love the creaminess that the yogurt adds to the palak chutney.
Serve the palak chutney with idlis/dosas, as a spread for sandwiches,a dip or as a side with your meal.

You know it's time to lose weight when.............

1)You think twice before sitting on plastic garden furniture.
2)You bend over to tie your shoes and your stomach gets in the way.
3)You put frosting on an aspirin.
4)Your daily exercise program consists of the one sit-up you do getting out of bed.
5)You can't stand up from an armchair without using your hands.
6)Your driver's license says, "Picture continued."
7)Your refrigerator door gets more exercise than you.
8)You try to do a few push ups and discover that certain body parts refuse to leave the floor
9)You get tired just saying the words "ten-kilometer run."
10)You go to the zoo and the elephants throw you peanuts.

(Got this as an email forward-thought it was worth sharing)!