As I am inching closer to 40, Oh I so dread that, gosh! But ya that’s a truth you or I cannot overlook. As a natural precursor to that, I have been inching closer to a healthier lifestyle year after another. Moving up from being a 15min-walk-is-my-workout to 1 hours strength training, thrice a week, I have also almost halved the intake of processed food in my diet.
Surprised? Halved ? YES and let me tell you it’s not difficult at all.
So say, I love orange juice with omelet and toast. It feels so restaurant styled and refreshing. Now, instead of pouring it from the carton which comes loaded with added sugar, preservatives, additives and stabilizers, I have trained my maid to juice it out fresh. The catch here is to have a maid who can do this, but yes look at the benefits that I and my whole family is reaping. Totally worth it. We also vary orange with other season fruits like pomegranate, apple and watermelon.
Maida, oh we have totally banned it from our kitchen. And I bake my own tea cake, with whole wheat, and sometimes I also substitute sugar with jagerry powder. You may find this really useful Baking Basics – All you need to know as a first time baker . Atta kachori, mathris, paratha, everything is made with whole wheat atta instead of maida in my kitchen.
How can I not tell you the super easy way to make dosa batter at home – sans baking soda, sans preservatives? I bet, you can easily adopt this ONE change.
From time immemorial I have been a big fan of hot & sour soup. I love the tanginess of this soup so I had been picking tonnes of those soup sachets from supermarket. It’s only recently that I have mastered the art of making mouthwatering fresh soups at home and I had had to never look back even once! You may wanna try this really unbelievable soup! Go ahead, give it a shot, atleast once.
Sweet And Tangy Beetroot Soup Recipe That My Kids LOVE. Can’t Believe, Try It Yourself
Maggi, ah isn’t that impossible? It is so damn addictive. But guess what, masala oats comes really really close in taste. And its oats vs deep fried maida ! Taa-daaa
There are many more processed foods that I have ditched and starting preparing at home. I could go on and on, but these are top of my mind recall. I hope you found this useful and relevant.
What changes have you made in your kitchen? I would love to read them in the comments.
Thank you Mahak of BabyAndBeyond for introducing me to this blog party. Mahak calls herself a cloth diapering, babywearing, lactivisim advocating, gentle parenting, cosleeping, mommy-baby yoga practising, DIYing supermom. Coming up from her is an insightful post. Stay tuned.
I would also like to introduce Maria Islam of The Lyrical Momma She equates babies with hyms of the purest forms. Stay tuned to read about her next post.
Image Courtesy: happenings
I am participating in the ‘Get Fit, Stay Fit’ blog party with Bon Happetee!
Hosted by
First Time Mommy
Aesha’s Musings
Kreative Mommy
Sirimiri
An Urban Nomadic 
I am going to check out all these recipes. Dosa batter sans baking soda is awesome. i will check that out surely.
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Thrust me, you wont find any difference. Make sure to use the par boiled yellow-brownish rice.
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That’s a lovely post, Mandavi. I make dosa batter at home, so no baking soda for me too. Tea cakes, now that’s lovely. I love homemade cakes too. And I so agree with you on maggi! 🙂
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Wow, thank you Anshu. I stared baking this year infact, for it was so difficult to resist those when out at the supermarket. It was such a good decision to learn baking, I am much easier on store bought maida-teacakes now
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Replacing packaged foods with healthier options at home is a great idea. I always insist on eating raw fruits or only fresh juices. Maggi and maida are easile replaceable too. I want to know more about tea cake!
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You gave up on Maggi! Why? But I guess I know why and I am myself sitting on a time bomb where I know I will have to denounce this addiction very soon. All the best on your fitness journey
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I like the recipe of Sweet and Tangy Beetroot Soup. Your tips are too good. Will surely try it.
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Great ideas. I cannot imagine eliminating maida in Indian cooking..that’s a huge change. Well done!
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Seriously easy to do so. Just try one of these and you may be surprised how easy it is.
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A great post Mandavi. I have completely banned maida too. Atta cake, homemade bread, homemade jam, sauces, marinades, homemade pastas, of course being a south indian idli dosa batter is always homemade, also make homemade butter, wholewheat pancakes and burger buns too…It’s nice knowing someone with similar idealogies.
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Such a useful post and never really thought about the processed food we use and how simply it can be prepared at home. Thanks for sharing!
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These small changes make a lot of difference, your post shares the same fact of health and nutrition.
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It is always better to cook oneself than to use canned food or juices. It is easy enough to make orange juice, or lime juice using the mixer. And we can be sure it is hygienic too.
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Way to go, Mandavi!
These small changes are in fact BIG lifestyle changes. Oh yes, I too keep my dosa batter to ferment all night; so no baking soda needed at all! And it’s been more than 5 years I had my last Maggi. 🙂
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Wow that’s great, and you know I loved baking and happy to see my girl eating the home bake Goodies
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Loved the tips.So simple and practical.
I too have banned maids a long time ago from the house.
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Definitely, cooking dishes ourselves is so much better. We can eat processed foods only for a while before we get tired of it. Fresh juice is always more delicious and easy to make
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