I’ve been working out for the past few months. My workout includes strength, cardio, functional and sometimes aerobics or bhangra workouts. It’s minimum 5 days a week workout schedule. With this intense without I need to keep my body composition up to mark. Hence the increase in protein intake. I’ve tried oats smoothies and protein bars. To be honest, not a fan of either. So recently I decided to add protein through chicken. A simple, quick, easy, healthy recipe to compensate my protein requirements.

All you need:
Boneless bite size chicken chunks
Curd
Salt and pepper
Garlic or garlic powder
Oregano

Lemon juice
Oil

Marination:
Mix 2 spoons of curd, garlic powder, salt and pepper in a bowl. Put the chunks in the batter and flip until nicely covered. Let it sit for 30-40 mins.

Cook:
Heat 1 spoon oil in a pan (I prefer less oil, you can adjust according to your cooking style). Put the chunks in the pan. Keep it covered. Flip when one side turns golden brown. Let it cook for a few minutes. Transfer to your plate and, add a dash of lemon juice and sprinkle oregano

See! Simple and yummy.

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Sooji pasta in (veggie) broccoli and Bell pepper sauce. A simple, healthy snack for toddlers.

Ingredients

-Semolina Penne Pasta 1 cup
-Broccoli and Bell pepper
-Garlic 2 cloves
-Milk 1 to 1.5 cups
-Atta 1 spoon
-Ghee or butter
-Salt and pepper

Boil pasta.
Chop Broccoli and Bell pepper.
Lightly saute Broccoli and Bell pepper.
Let it cool.
Put it in a blender and make a soft paste of it and keep it aside.

In a pan add some butter and lightly saute the chopped garlic.
Add wheat flour and roast until light golden.
Add salt and pepper to taste.
Add milk and stir continuously to avoid lumps. Add the veggie paste.
Add penne. Stir and let it sit for 30 seconds.
Add seasoning as per your liking.

You can substitute the veggies to your preference.
I alternate with mushrooms, zucchini, capsicum, etc. Usually with seasonal veggies.

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Make summers fun with drinks for kids to beat the heat and the sweltering, mercury-busting temperatures with home-made healthy drinks.

Sharing with you all my top 5 favorites, easy to make, loved by kids “drinks”:

**These drinks are recommended for toddlers and kids. Some fruits are a strict no=no for children under one. SO be sure to check with your pediatrician before trying.

1. Lemonade – Nothing beats the good old lemonade. It is called the official drink for summers for a reason. Not just refreshing but also nutritious. You can add a twist to it by adding different ingredients to it like:
   • Mint
   • Edible lavender
   • Orange
   • Ginger
2. Smoothies – Be it breakfast, snack or dessert, smoothies not only keep you hydrated but is also filling.
   • Banana Smoothie – Easiest and toddler approved. Add diced banana and milk (you can use soy milk too) to a blender. Blend until the ingredients are combined and smooth. And tada..! Its ready to be served. Depending on your child’s taste buds, you can add your choice of sprinkles. To make variations of this smoothie, simply replace the fruit with another.
   • Mango smoothie
   • Strawberry + raspberry Smoothie
   • Mixed Fruit Smoothie
3. Aam Panna – Kids love mango and what better way to enjoy summers than home made aam panna. This recipe requires raw mangoes, which need to be pressure cooked. Once done, let them cool, peel them well and remove the pulp. Mix pulp with a little sugar and salt. Ass a dash of little cumin seed powder and blend the mixture in a blender. Kids will love its tangy, sweet-salty taste. You can substitute honey instead of regular sugar to make it extra healthy.
4. Juices – I am not in favour of packaged drinks, no matter what the brands claim. And I do not trust the local vendors to use hygienic ways of serving the drink. I prefer extracting the juice at home with a manual juicer or a food processor. Our favourites are:
   • Watermelon juice – Best thirst quencher
   • Pomegranate juice – loaded with anti-oxidants
   • Orange juice – daily dose of Vitamin C!
5. Lassi – Rey is a curd lover! So i had been looking for a recipe that I could prepare for him. I came across this simple yet awesome recipe. https://gkfooddiary.com/plain-lassi-for-babies/All it takes is 5 minutes and best served fresh!
6. Coconut water / Nariyal Paani – Yes, I know I said 5, but I just couldn’t leave this one out! Nariyal paani or coconut water is low in calories, delicious to boot and perhaps the healthiest natural drink you can indulge in on a hot, scorching summer day. It is our go-to-drink when we are traveling within the city. Even better than bottled water. To read of the many benefits of this refreshing natural drink, click here 

Do you have any toddler-approved, favourite summer drinks?

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My son loves pasta. I guess most kids do. That’s the only one thing he’ll ever ‘demand’.. if ever. So once a week I prepare it for him. I’ve tried various combinations and ingredients. Sharing with you all one of the recipes which was an instant hit with him. It’s super easy, simple and delicious.

Ingredients:

• Butter or ghee
• Semolina pasta or macaroni
• Chopped garlic
• Salt and pepper to taste

Sauce

• Butter/Ghee
• Dal (pulses)
• Milk

Time to cook

• Boil pasta in a pan.

(Tip: Add a teaspoon of butter or ghee to the water. It ensures the pasta doesn’t stick together. Add a pinch of salt. It tastes better once you add it to the sauce)

(Tip: Run it through cold water once done (it again ensures the pasta doesn’t become sticky)

(Tip: You can even use a pressure cooker to steam the pasta, it’s faster and gives the same result)

Sauce:

Preparation:

• Take any two pulses (that go well together) of your preference.
• Wash it thoroughly and let it dry.
• Once completely dry, dry-roast the pulses
• Grind the pulses together.

(Tip: You can prepare extra pulse powder and store it for future use. I keep the powder sealed and refrigerated to keep it fresh and free of worms)

• Add butter or ghee to a pan. Add chopped garlic and sauté lightly.
• Add the powdered pulse (usually two scoops are good enough) and saute
• Add salt and pepper to taste.
• Add milk (slowly and gradually) and constantly stir to avoid lumps.
• Let it simmer till you get the desired consistency of the sauce
• Add the boiled pasta and stir.

Optional:

• Sprinkle grated cheese and oregano.

Simple, quick and healthy. If you follow me on Instagram or Facebook , you probably already know how much my son loved this pasta dish.

I’d love to hear if you tried this recipe and how it turned out to be. Do share!

Cheers!

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