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Showing posts with label Healthy Fast Food. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Healthy Fast Food. Show all posts

Friday, March 12, 2010

Roundup: Food for 7 Stages of Life - Healthy Fast Food & Winner Announcement

Posted by RV @ Food for 7 Stages on Friday, March 12, 2010

I apologize for publishing this round up really late. I was down with flu and in between had to undergo two strenuous and painful dental procedure which screwed me up badly. I have recovered now and feeling much better.
Healthy fast food, does it sound impossible to you? I know you have this question in your mind now, how come fast food can be healthy. If you think I am kidding, then read on. You will find recipes that you could be prepare quickly at the same time make it healthy too.  I hope this roundup gives you many ideas to cook a healthy fast food meal for your loving family. I thank all the Bloggers who sent it their contributions. But for you this post  would n't have been published.
The roundup is categorized in to two categories - Recipes that can be cooked under 30 minutes and those under 15 minutes. Does it impress you?

Less than 30 Minutes

 Less than 15 Minutes

Winner
   Let the drums roll, the winner of the Healthy fast food event are the beautiful ladies who blog at Adukalavishesham. They came up with Oven baked fries, a healthy replacement for the regular fries deep fried in oil. This what they have to say about them and their wonderful blog:

Adukalavishesham means "News from kitchen" in Malayalam and this is a venture we started, almost a year ago without knowing much about the blogging world, a decision we are thoroughly happy about. We are friends cum home makers and more than that  passionate foodies  who enjoy making n trying new things each time.  We both hail from North Malabar and the recipes on our blog space do see an influence of that. We hope to continue our  efforts in sharing all our classic  family recipes and many more we create in our little kitchen.

P.S: If you want to know what you are feeding your family, then watch Food Inc. It is a must watch documentary movie.
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    Friday, February 26, 2010

    Blackberry, Strawberry & Carrot Salad with a hint of crushed Almonds and Peanuts

    Posted by RV @ Food for 7 Stages on Friday, February 26, 2010
    When I think about writing a post, lots of ideas pop up in my mind. But when I sit in front of my Mac it gets really hard to put them together. Even this time I have 3 different topics that I could share with you. But then I have a 'Writing Syndrome' which makes the whole thing very very complicated. I sometimes feel J when I read some of the blogs. They have never ending list of words that they play around with and put their thoughts and emotions easily into their writing. I seriously wish that God blesses me with this 'ABILITY' to write seamlessly. So should I wait until God blesses me or should I take some initiative. Having known the Inner me, I would opt for the first one ;-) but then my god damn IT mind pushes me to take some initiative(s)... sobs....with all the learning I hope someday I can write a book on 'HOW TO WRITE?' The same thing happens to me when I start thinking about what I should cook, though I have lots of complicated recipes I often opt for the easy ones like this salad. It is a simple and highly nutritious salad filled with lots of Antioxidants from the berries. Also I have used a hint of Agave to sweeten the salad. You can use Honey if you don't have Agave at home.
    Agave (source:wholeandnatural.com)
    Agave is natural sweetener used as a substitute for Sugar and Honey. This nectar is extracted from a Cactus plant predominantly grown in Mexico. The sap of this plant is taken and heated in low temperatures to get the sweetness in the syrup. Basically some chemical reactions occurs which makes the carbs to break into fructose.
    - Thou the promoters of this product say that it is good for Diabetic patients, researchers say that it is rich in fructose which is big No No for this patients.
    - Agave has low Glycemic index and we use them in small quantities. Hence our calorie intake is less compared to those sugar filled dishes.
    - Agave is Organic and Kosher certified also it is allergen and gluten free which makes it very famous among the Raw food eaters.
    Culinary Use:
     - 1/3 cup of Agave syrup = 1 cup Sugar. So substitute in your recipe accordingly.
     - Reduce the quantity of liquid in original recipe as agave has some moisture content in it.
     - Reduce the oven temperature by 25 F if your recipe requires baking.
     - Agave is a bliss to Vegans as they can replace honey with this syrup.
    How it tasted?
            It can be prepared in jiffy and served as a side salad with a regular meal or just as a evening snack. I had it before my dinner meal. It was hearty and very light to my tummy. I loved the concoction of Agave and almonds with the fruits. Carrot and Nuts gave some crunchiness while the berries just melted in my mouth. TH doesn't eat berries much, but he loved this salad and said he liked the sweet thingy(Agave) in it. He definitely wants me to make this again for him :) I knew almonds and peanuts will make him go nuts about it :) but didn't know he will fall in love for Agave.
     
    Serves 2 as a side salad - Preparation Time : 10 minutes

    Ingredients 
       Strawberry - 8 sliced
       Blackberry - 12
       Carrot - 3 tbsp sliced
       Almonds - 4 (Yields 1 - 1 1/2 tbsp when crushed)
       Peanuts - 4 (Yields 1 tbsp when crushed)
       Organic Blue Agave (Natural Sweetener) - 2 - 3 tsp as per your taste bud (Alternate Ingredient: Honey)
    Method
        1. Cut strawberries in to thin slices. Start from one end and cut it vertically. It will look like a heart symbol on some perfectly shaped strawberries.
        2.  Decorate it on a plate or place the fruits and sliced carrots in a large salad bowl.
        3.  Crush the almonds and peanuts separately using a pestle n mortar or if you don't have one use your blender and run it for couple of seconds until they become small chunks. Do not powder it. Sprinkle the crushed almonds and peanuts. Add 1 or 2 tsp of Agave and Serve it immediately.


    Have you recently posted any recipes which you could pack them up for lunch, then why wait, pack them up for my Tiffin Box event in FF7SL series. Deadline is 5th March 2010. Looking forward for your contribution.






    Events
        - This colorful salad is being sent to PJ for her No Cook Event...
        - This is my family's favorite salad, hence it found its way to Shama's  Family's Favorite Food event.
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    Saturday, January 16, 2010

    Sweet Potato Methi Cutlet (Baked)

    Posted by RV @ Food for 7 Stages on Saturday, January 16, 2010

    OMG... this cutlet tastes so divine. I was little skeptical when I picked up the sweet potatoes from the grocery store. But I knew what I had to do with this. I thought of blending the orangish and sweetish sweet potato and the bitterish and greenish methi leaves(fenugreek leaves/vendhaya keerai) with some flavorful Indian spices and bake it in the oven to make luscious cutlets. Sounds mouth watering isn't it?
    How it tasted? 
    If you want to know how it tasted, the cutlets you see in the pic are the last 3 pieces that I saved it from my hubby to click pictures during daylight. They tasted super delicious and we literally licked the plate :) I would say it was a concoction of different taste: hotness from green chili, sweetness from sweet potatoes, bitterness from fenugreek leaves, tanginess from Amchur Powder, sweet and pungent taste from fennel seeds. It also smelt like parupu vadas due to the presence of fennel seeds. You can avoid using fennel seeds if you don't like to chew it in your cutlet. But I loved the flavor of baked fennel seeds. Trust me it had an awesome flavor. Also I guess baking and presence of sweet potatoes helped to reduce the bitterness of Methi leaves. The bitterness was only a background taste.
    Events
       This goes all the way to Siri's blog for the JFI-Fennel Seeds event. JFI is the brainchild event of Indira of Mahanandi and it stand for Jhiva for Ingredients. This cutlets are apt for this event as I have developed Jhiva for Fennel Seeds and Sweet Potatoes.
    Ingredients Trivia 
    Recently I read a wonderful article on Fenugreek in DK's Chef in you blog. Check out her space to learn the basics, benefits and how to use the various forms of fenugreek in your everyday cooking.
    For the uses and benefits of Sweet potatoes, check out this link.
    Ingredients 
    Sweet Potato - 2
    Methi/Fenugreek Leaves/Vendhaya Keerai -  3/4 cup
    Onion - 1/4 (medium) finely chopped or Shallots - 6-7 chopped
    Green Chili - 2 finely chopped
    Amchur Powder/Dry Mango Powder - 1/2 tsp
    Chat Powder - 1/2 tsp
    Fennel Seeds/Saunf - 1/2 tsp
    Cumin Powder - 1/2 tsp
    Cilantro/Coriander Leaves - handful
    Bread Crumbs - 1/4 cup (add more if needed)
    Ginger - 1 tsp chopped
    Asafoetida/Hing - 1/8 tsp
    Pepper Powder - 1/4 tsp
    Salt to taste 
    Oil/Cooking Spray
    Method
    Boil Sweet Potatoes
     In a pressure cooker, add salt and water to cover 1/3 the length of sweet potato and cook it for 3 whistles. 2 whistles should be good if you don't want it to be very tender. Once the steam releases open the lid, drain the water and allow it to cool. Then peel the skin off.
    Baking
    Preheat oven to 350 F.
    Take a large baking try(I have used cookie try) and drizzle some oil or cooking spray. Spread it all over.
    In a large bowl, add sweet potatoes and mash it with your hands or a potato masher.
    Add finely chopped onions/shallots, methi leaves, green chili, salt and mix.
    Add rest of the ingredients except bread crumbs and oil. Mix it well.
    Divide it in equal parts and make small lemon size balls.
    Take 1 ball at a time in your hand and spread it into a circle with your thumb. If you find this difficult, take a small plastic bag or ziploc, place the ball on it and slowly spread it in to a small circle without breaking it (3-3.5 cm). Then coat both the sides with bread crumbs and also along the circumference of the cutlet and place it on the tray.
    Again spread it little bit and even the sides with your finger or a knife. I have used my beautiful fingers ;-).
    Don't make it too thin or too thick, around 1 cm thickness should be good.
    Sprinkle 1 or 2 tbsp of the remaining bread crumbs over it and bake it in the oven for 10 minutes.
    Remove the tray and slowly flip the cutlets and bake it for another 5 minutes. Then broil it for 2 minutes and turn off the oven. Let it stay for a while.
    Serve it with ketchup or with a dip of your choice.
    [OPTIONAL] If you would like some smoky flavor and steak like presentation, place the baked cutlet on the chappati maker/grill and toast it for a minute or two. Ensure that you don't burn the cutlet.
    I liked the smoky effect on the cutlet, it was absolutely delicious.
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