The Nutrition overhaul!

Snack menu for school days…

Monday- cheese and carrot parathas.

Tuesday- oats and walnut cupcakes.

Wednesday- mayo broccoli and corn sandwich.

Thursday- Nutella and dates crêpe

Friday-  Mixed sprouts Bhel.

One of the biggest challenges a parent faces is trying to get some nutrition into their little monsters. My child loves his vegetables, said no mom ever. So the only option we are left with is disguising health with a bit of a bait.

It’s a constant struggle.. the dinner table feels like an Arnab debate where we contemplate the future of the multigrain- Dal khichadi on his McQueen racer plate. Negotiations & connotations feel like they go on for an infinity.

Milk, the wonder food is a whole separate challenge.

7.45 am - We are in a race against time. The son needs to be dressed and fed all in time or we miss the bus, which translates into another 40 minutes wasted beating the mad morning rush to school. This morning dash is made worse when my son staring at the glass of Milk un-interestingly announces MILK IS YUCK!

I reckon children are programmed to hate milk or for that matter anything with truckloads of nutrition.  ‘Creative ways to feed a picky eater’ is am sure the most Googled topic by all conscience  parents.

In my conversations with lots of parents I always love to find how they get their kids to love food. Last year I was at a cook off with Rushina, a chef and celebrity food blogger and she shared how she always got her kids involved in cooking. Her 5yr old hated carrots.. So instead of forcing it down her throat, she got creative. Together they made fun carrot carvings, shaving of carrot that were called carrot pasta, baked some carrot cup cakes… the works. She slowly took a liking to carrots.. A hallelujah moment for Rushina!

I took my cues from her and started incorporating the fun back in the food. Milk has been one of my biggest challenges so far.. But I came up with ways of making Milk more fun..

#1One of the house favorite is the milk and fruit popsicle that we make. This time around strawberries are in bloom. So we chop a few and churn the rest with milk and let them freeze away to whole milk popsicle glories… You can substitute this with any fruit of your choice.

#2Another one of my sons favorite treat after football practice is Brown Sugar and Vanilla milk shake. Brown sugar beingl less refined then wihite is s good option, also make sure you only use pure vanilla extract only. I serve it in chic mason jars and add a dollop of ice crème as a special treat.

#3But for days when I just don’t have the luxury of time on me, I safely reach out for Sipahh. All it needs is a glass of cold milk, and he sips away at a flavor wonderland. With zero preservatives, natural flavor and only half a tsp of sugar per serving, I don’t feel guilty when I indulge him in some Okey-Dokey Cookies and crème goodness.  

turning plain milk into Strawsome!

As long of you find ways to make meal time more fun.. The dinner table will be a much more happier place… Got a creative spin on something healthy? 

Share your ideas in the comments below. 

You might just save a mom from her Milk misery.

*the images have been linked to their sources.

From Nonna's Kitchen - Farfalle Al forno.

Last fall, I was in a quaint little ski town of Zell Am See falling in  the Salzburg region of Austria. Bag packing across central Europe this sleepy little town provided the little RnR I badly needed.

           

My last afternoon in Zell Am See and the weather was being unkind. It pored through the day and my plans to hike along the Schmittenhöhe were ruined. Left with no other option I decided to stay in. Seeking the comfort of some warm coco I went looking for my pension owner Petra.

Petra was out for the day and wasn’t expected before sundown, I was informed by a wrinkled old lady in her heavy Italian accent. The thought of spending the entire afternoon with only some German TV to keep me company was not the Zell Am See experience I had in mind. I tried to make small talk with the lady to see if she can fix me up some coco or may be indulge me in some small talk.. I was bored and desperate.

I went in looking for a small talk, but what I got in turn was a close insight into the Italian way of life. Turns out, she was Giulia, Petra’s Nonna, who was visiting her from Maratea, a small town from southern Italy. Sensing my boredom she extended her hospitality by inviting me over for dinner for the night. 

How often do you have an Italian grandmother cooking for you? Now that's what I love about travel, a surprise awaits you at every turn.

Over a glass of wine, we discussed cultures, cuisines and flavors. Time flew by, as witnessed her cook up a storm. I closely took notes as she shared secrets of Italian cuisine, men and marriage. An hour and a half in and our Al forno was already bubbling away in her humble oven. The room was filled with aromas of toasted herbs and fresh basil. My senses get tinted even today as I relive that day. There are meals and then there are experiences. This Pasta Al Porno is one such experience….

A prompt form Del Monte and the motivation for a chance to ride along the Tuscan sun was enough to compel me to document my rendition Nonna’s Al Forno. Keeping all her rules in place I tweaked it a little to suite my palate. 

Use fresh ingredients, never compromise on quality, use sparingly but only use the best, those are rules of Italian cooking. And working with Del Monte meant I stuck to them. The pasta from Del Monte held its texture and was easy to cook. It’s at par with the Gourmet range of pasta from Italy and is made from the best of ingredients. If Nonna was to try my Del Monte Al Forno, she would be proud of the results, for sure..

  

Farfelle Al Forno,

Is nothing but a pasta dish that is twice cooked. Pasta that is once boiled and then tossed into the sauce with addition of proteins or vegetables of choice and baked to gooey goodness. I particularly love this Pasta recipe as it suits the Indian palate perfectly. Plus its versatile, as long as you stay true to the flavors. Just remember to follow the tips to the T and you will do just fine…

Farfalle Al forno with a piquant crème tomato sauce and roasted peppers.

Feel free to download these retro style Recipe cards and share them with your loved ones...

best viewed in a PC or a tablet, if accessing through a cell phone kindly click on each card to enjoy a better view.

*Nonna’s mixed herbs

Like garam masala is to Indian cooking, mixed herbs are to Italian. Every kitchen has a different a permutation and combination of the herbs to suite their liking. Nonna’s combination was just perfect and as was I departing from Zell Am See she handed me a recipe of her secret herb mix. Here you have it....

Below is the video of the recipe to give you a quick idea of how it all comes together…

P.S. this was my first time editing the videos by m self, after a huge let down by my service provider yesterday and some bizarre glitches with my movie maker I managed to get it right, but not before I so embarrassingly published two bloopers...  

The Final Video, the one with everything in place:

#FacePalm1
The video where the Clips got exchanged
the narration Miraculously vanished:

#FacePalm2
And where the sound was just fine but the 

Clips disappeared :

well you learn something new everyday....

Italian food is all about experiences. Slowly savoring amazing food over good company and great conversations. Hope this recipe brings you closer to your loved ones and you make memories for life…

A Kings breakfast with a Kellogg’s twist

Hunger pangs,

It’s the moment when you are most likely to sin. A snack full of sugar and salt, deep fired goodies etc. is all what you feel like reaching out for. Don’t let yourself get to that stage... Always fuel up before those rats rumble, not to mention before the migraine takes over.

There are bazillion myths around breakfast and snacking. Either we skip it completely or we load it with all the wrong food. The best advice that has stayed with me is by Dr. Phil when I saw him on the Oprah show. He said, when after a full night’s sleep your stomach is empty and craving for fuel. When you skip breakfast your body goes in to an overdrive and the organs feel that since they are starved, they are dying. So now your body is in a survival mode, so the next bite you eat, gets stored as fats. This is because your body is saving up for survival.

Imagine putting your body through it every morning. No matter if you eat a healthy lunch that salad isn’t going to do you any good as your body will store it as fats. A strong building needs a strong foundation, and that is only possible if you start your day with a healthy wholesome breakfast...

But who has the time???

Am sure we all are guilty of putting our priorities ahead of our breakfast, there is always a school bus that is waiting, the presentation that isn’t finish and the 8.30 local that we just can’t miss. Where is the time??

Make time; get up only 15 minutes early than your usual time. You don’t need anything fancy, just simple things that you can put together in a jiffy. Trust me your gut will love you for this. Prep up at night, make mental note of the menu for the next day, so that you don’t waste your time puzzled. And if you are still looking for inspiration, why not log on to Kellogg’s you tube channel?  https://youtu.be/XzB1mruGC78

There they have a whole list of recipes that you can whip up in a jiffy and are loaded with goodness. The best part of the video are that they are simple, can be made form ingredients found at home but also do justice to your palette.

My personal favorite was a smoothie made with cornflakes. Such a perfect breakfast on the go, for the days when you really are in a rush. With so much information available at your finger tips, you just have no valid excuse to miss the most important meal of the day. Log on to: https://www.facebook.com/anaajkanashta and start planning...

Make sure you hit me back with a list of your favorite breakfast recipes from Kellogg’s.

Happy snacking!