MIMM : Weekly Meal Plan

Happy Monday to all !! Its good to be back in routine after my 3 week vacation.

We brought couple of decorations for the home from India and still in the process of putting them together along with the Holiday Shopping. We have been thinking to buy the Christmas tree for few years and since this year we bought a home, we decided to buy it. The tree should be finalized by next week and thinking to put it up along with the decorations by Thanksgiving weekend.

Katie of Healthy Diva Eats hosts Marvelous in My Monday and  I am linking up this post.

On Saturday I baked some chocolate chip cookies with this cute helper. She is interested a lot in helping me with cooking.

Now time for the Weekly Meal Plan.

Monday : Leftover pasta for Lunch / Mixed vegetable curry, Roti for Dinner

Tuesday: Leftover Curry, Roti for Lunch / Idli, Chutney for Dinner.

Wednesday: Bittergourd Sambhar, Broken Wheat for Lunch / Brown Rice, Tindora Curry for Dinner

Thursday: Spinach Curry, Broken wheat for Lunch / Roti, Dal-Tadka for Dinner.

Friday: Beans Curry, Brown Rice For Lunch / Movie Night??

What was the marvelous thing about your weekend??

MIMM : Weekend Recap & Weekly Meal Plan

Hey How are you all doing?? Sorry for the late post I am so busy from morning with work. Its Monday so its to time to link to Marvelous In My Monday post hosted by Katie of Healthy Diva Eats.

Saturday was spent mostly in home, skyping with parents, and in laws. Later did some lawn moving, washed and vacuumed the cars. Went over to Jcpenney for some clothes shopping for my nephews.  Our friends came over in the evening and had awesome night with great food ( roti, pasta, chole).

Sunday morning again skyping more with in laws and sister in law and then headed over to the mall for the other items needed for the vacation in October. While shopping we grabbed some frozen yogurt  and some much needed sunglass shopping for hubby and me.

Also time for my weekly meal plan.

Monday : Leftover Chole / Rice for Lunch , Cabbage Masala / Roti for Dinner

Tuesday : Leftover Veggie Bean Soup for Lunch, Raddish Paratha for Dinner

Wednesday : Eggplant Curry / Broken Wheat for Lunch, Salad with grilled veggies

Thursday : Green Papaya Curry / Broken Wheat for Lunch,  Idli, Chutney for Dinner

Friday : Zucchini Bell Pepper Curry / Brown rice for Lunch, Potato Korma, Roti for Dinner.

I am not planning for Saturday and Sunday as I tend to use any vegetables which are unused during the week. So it will be a random dal / curry.

What was the marvelous thing about your weekend??

 

Spinach Rice ( Palak Rice)–Step By Step Recipe

Hi guys !! Today I have an awesome rice recipe made by my friend Meenu. She prepared the recipe and her hubby Phani clicked the step-by-step pictures. So here goes the recipe in their own words (and pictures ).

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Are you a rice lover..?! Well, then you are on the right page. Are you worried about the guests you invited for dinner? You are struggling to find recipes which make them happy and healthy? It’s not a problem anymore…!

Palak rice(Spinach rice ) is one good dish which address all the above mentioned concerns, so let’s see the preparation procedure.

Ingredients:

Onions  – 1  chopped

Garlic – few cloves

Ginger – 1/2 inch

Green chillies( or jalapenos)  – adjust to taste.

Cumin Seeds (Jeera) – 1tsp

Palak (Spinach) – 2 cups

Soya chunks – 1 cup

Mushroom – chopped – 1 cup

Green peas – 1/4 cup

Rice (Basmati) –  1 cup

Ghee/ Butter/Oil – 2 tbsps.

Cashew Nuts – handful

Procedure

Finely chop the garlic, ginger and onions.

Finely chop some more garlic for garnishing

Now take mushrooms in a bowl and wash them with hot water. Later then, soak them in a bowl containing hot water with a pinch of salt added to it. Once they are clean, chop them as show below

Clean the Spinach(Palak) with some hot water.  Later then, soak them in a bowl containing hot water with a pinch of salt added to it for almost 10-15 mins. Once they are clean, chop them as show below

Now it’s time to think on how spicy the dish should be? Accordingly, take green chillies and chop them as shown below

Heat the pan with some oil/butter. Fry the chopped onions, garlic, ginger, spinach & chillies for about 10-12 mins. Once they are fried properly transfer the content to a blender and grind it by adding little water (correct amount of water is added to prevent it becoming watery)

Take soya and green peas in separate bowls. Wash them properly & soak them in warm water for 15 mins.

Now take a pan and fry the chopped mushrooms by using 2tsp spoon oil for 10-15 mins.

Meanwhile wash the rice and soak it in water for 10 minutes. Later filter the water from the rice.

·Well, we are almost there…! Now we have all ingredients kept ready, so take a cooker and drop some butter/ Ghee/oil in it. Add the cashew nuts over ghee. Fry them for 2-3 mins till it turn golden brown color. Then add some cumin seeds (jeera) and let them splutter.

Then add the green peas and soya chunks. Fry them for couple more minutes.

Now add the spinach (palak) gravy, followed by rice to the cooker. Stir well.

Add the required amount of water and cook it.  Once the rice is done add fried mushroom & coriander as topping.Serve the rice with vegetable raita or yogurt for better taste. Enjoy !!

** For gluten free/diet control/carb control please replace white basmati rice with brown basmati rice.

Healthy Living Survey

Good Morning Everyone. I came across this survey while reading some old blog posts on Road to RD.  So decided to try it out for fun.

1. What did you eat for breakfast?

I had Greek Yogurt + dash of honey + Love Grown Granola + Flax Seed + Blue Berries. I love Greek Yogurt

2. How much water do you drink a day?

I drink about 64-72 ounces of water daily. I have a Contigo Water bottle which is 24 oz capacity and I love it.

3. What is your current favorite workout?

Currently I am doing the Xtreme Summer Shred by nHerShoes. I love all of the workouts especially the abs/arms workouts.  Apart from this Zumba is my all time favorite workout.

4. How many calories do you eat a day?

I have been tracking the food on MyFitnessPal for more than a month now. According to it I eat about 1600 calories a day, some times  I eat less and a few days I eat more. But this app helps me in keeping track of the portions I eat.

5. What are your favorite healthy snacks?

•    Whole wheat toast with almond butter
•    Baby carrots with hummus
•   Greek yogurt + berries + granola
•   Homemade energy bars
•   String cheese
•   Nuts and fruits ( especially plum, cherries, peaches).

I have blogged a while ago about healthy snacking. Check it out here.

6. What do you usually eat for lunch?

I try to cook fresh meals daily for lunch and dinner.  Some times  I prepare a huge meal for dinner and have the left overs for lunch.  Typical lunch consists of roti/ cooked broken wheat/ brown rice with a curry.

Brown rice, avocado, sauteed squash and mushrooms

7. What is your favorite body part to strength train?

My abs and arms. I have great upper body strength and love to train them. I am in love with all of the strength train workouts in the Xtreme Summer shred.

8. What is your least favorite body part to strength train?

My legs. I hate to do squats, burpees.  But to be consistent in training the whole body I try to push myself.

9. What are your “bad” food cravings?

I love chocolate , cake pops, muffins.

10. Do you take vitamins or supplements?

Yes. I take a multi vitamin daily along with Hair Skin and Nails Vitamin.

11. How often do you eat out?

We usually go once in two weeks. I love to try new cuisines and restaurants.

12. Do you eat fast food?

I have stopped eating fast food totally when I started eating healthy and clean.

13. Who is your biggest supporter?

My family, hubby, my daughter and friends. My daughter motivates me to workout even when I don’t feel to. I am lucky to   have such a great family.

14. Do you have a gym membership?

Currently No. I workout at home, do occasional runs and some times use my clubhouse gym.

15. How many hours of sleep do you get at night?

It depends. Mostly I sleep for about 7 hours and some times during weekends I sleep for 8-9 hours (only if my daughter doesn’t wake earlier ).

16. Do you have a “cheat” day?

I tried to have one every weekend but I was craving for more during the week. So currently I have my cravings when ever I want.

17. Do you drink alcohol?

No. But love to have non alcoholic margarita. Its my favorite.

18. Do you have a workout buddy?

No. I workout most of the time at home. Would love to have one though ( Hope hubby reads this ).

19. What is the best thing that has changed about your life since committing to Healthy Lifestyle?

I have more energy now. Previously I used to find excuses to workout but now I love it. My day is incomplete with out any form of exercise. I count my calories, watch my portions and eating more fruits and veggies.

20. What was the last healthy thing you did?

I did Zumba for 50 mins and ate a healthy breakfast.

What is the best thing that has changed about your life since committing to Healthy Lifestyle?  What was the last healthy thing you did?

WIAW : Single Eats

Its time for another What I Ate Wednesday hosted by Jenn.

Breakfast:

I had Breakfast Smoothie which I have posted in the morning. It was so creamy and nutty, kept me full till afternoon.

Snacks

I had mozzarella string cheese and a peach in the afternoon. Loved the string cheese and should have it more often.

 

Lunch

Its Brown Rice Dosa with Coconut chutney and vegetable Sambhar.

 

I had a pretty bad headache so had some green tea.

 

Also I had a piece of the energy bars which I made yesterday night. Recipe soon on the blog.

 

 

 

Dinner

Hubby was busy whole day with some office meetings and hence its me for the dinner. So I made brown rice, sauteed some veggies with spices and an avocado. The dish came pretty good with the nutty rice, spicy veggies and creamy avocado.

 

Have you tried any home made energy bars??