Midway through South Beach Diet....

OK. I cheated on Sunday. Or more so over the weekend. Not a good sign. But determined not to give up in the middle and to see this Phase 1 through to completion.

On Saturday we attended Satya Narayana Puja at a friend's place resulting in a bit of cheating. Had a cup of rice alongside sambhar, vegetables, curd etc. That was not bad. But on Sunday which happened to be Karthigai Deepam hogged on 2 Puris with channa, rice with rasam and cabbage and tomato pulao. And tempted with sweets a friend brought from India ended up eating a badhusha and 2 unniappams made for Karthigai deepam. So a lot of cheating in one day ;-)

Weighing machine shows me at 157 lbs which is good news!

Sunday's menu:
Moong dhal dosa
Unniappam, pori urundai(for karthigai Deepam)
Tomato pulao, raita, rice, rasam, cabbage thoran, vaazhaka fry
Badsha, tea
Moong dhal dosa

Monday's menu:
Omelette with eggs/onions
Leftover quinoa, moog dhal with methi leaves, raita, pickle
Broken wheat, urad, whole moong dhal kanji with brinjal pepper kootu, kovakkai fry

Tuesday's menu:
Chickpea sundal
Leftover Broken wheat, urad, whole moong dhal kanji with brinjal pepper kootu, Yu Choy in tamarind sauce
quinoa, winged bean salad, rasam, fuzzy melon kootu, eggplant in garlic and red pepper

South Beach Diet again!

Okay, so I have fallen off the wagon and determined to lose those extra 20 lbs that seem to have creeped in since August 2012. The solution that comes to  mind first - Exercise! However I have not been able to do justice to that. think. Think. Think. Voila! South Beach Diet! Now with the added challenge of doing it vegetarian! Thanks to Google found a list of vegetarian options besides salads and soups that make up a carb-free Phase 1 menu. Long list of shopping done in the Indian store for veggies, beans and lentils. Another big shopping in the Asian store for vegetables and greens. (Some fun new items - wait till I post on them) So this is Day 1 of South Beach Diet - Take 2.

Day 1:
1 cup coffee with1 tsp  sugar (Cheating!)
Breakfast: 2 eggs with onions, green chilles, red peppers, broccoli, salt and pepper
Morning snacks: 1 cucumber
Lunch: Cabbage soup with cabbage, zuchinni, leeks, green onions, mushroom and lots and lots of tomatoes
Afternoon snack: 10  almonds
Late evening snack: Tea with 1% milk and sugar substitute
Dinner: Horse gram sundal tempered with ginger, green chillies, (coriander seeds, red chilly) – roasted and ground. Adai with coconut thogaiyal. Have  more soup if u feel inclined.
Late night snack: 8oz warm milk 

Baingan Bharta

A memorable day at NASDAQ Times Square!

Last week was a whirlwind week. A quick trip to NYC my old backyard, brought back nostalgic memories but this time we were there for an exciting and bigger reason than just to visit Times Square. our company Tradier(that 5 of us founded late last year - 2012) was ringing the closing bell at Nasdaq stock exchange along with Nasdaq OMX and Amazon to celebrate our partnership. June 18, 2013 was a big day. It gave us all the incentive to be doing what we do everyday. A moment to celebrate and to be thankful...Here is it in pictures...

Welcome summer with salads!

This summer has been weird of sorts....Hot and wet and windy at times...but I am not complaining. As long as you give me any weather with rain now and then I am good :-)

I'd love to share this salad with you. It is simple, makes a fine presentation and shoo-s peoples' inhibitions about eating a salad. I have come to realize that one way to make eating salads fun is to keep varying them every day. A different vegetable, some bright colors, a secret ingredient...Keep 'em guessing. And its half the battle won. And accolades will follow!

I am not giving a detailed description of this salad. The picture speaks for itself. Try it without any dressing or your favorite light vinegar dressing. Enjoy!

Bon apetit!

For those of you who have tried South Beach Diet, trying it now or thinking of trying it - I'd like to share my experience with it. I tried it back in 2010 and lost almost 32 lbs on it, combined with exercise and a healthy lifestyle.

The reason I am reviving this thread is because I myself am thinking of going on that diet now as I have  not been good to myself between 2012 May and 2013 May - in the process putting on almost 20 lbs back again. I am going to maintain this blog as a diary to my South Beach Diet journey with the hope that it will keep me in track and helps others too in the process.

I am going to begin my 2 weeks with no carbs starting Saturday June 22, 2013.

Its good to be back!! While I was away I did try a lot of new recipes and cant wait to blog about them...I am trying to blog regularly as it helps me channel my thoughts and aspirations :0

Dried Shrimp and Squash curry

As much as I love fresh/frozen shrimp, I always keep dried shrimp handy in my pantry to give that extra kick to simple vegetarian dishes - be it green beans thoran with a bit of dried shrimp thrown in or something that needs a bit more effort like this dish - It has 2 ingredients I love - shrimp and coconut. I am happy!

Ingredients:

A handful of dried shrimp cleaned

1/2 c coconut

red chillies 2

turmeric powder 1/2 tsp

curry leaves

Jeera - 1 tbsp

pearl onions - 5

green chillies - 4

ginger - 1/2 inch slice

Tomatoes - 1

Onions - 1 small

Any type of squash - 1 (I used bottle gourd)

coconut oil - 2 tbsp (optional)

Grind together coconut, green chillies and jeera seeds to a fine paste. Boil dried shrimp with water and turmeric powder. In a vessel fry the thinly sliced onions in a little oil. Then fry the tomatoes alongside. Add sliced suqsh to it and cook till squash is  almost cooked. Now add the shrimp and the water used to cook it. Add the coconut paste also. Cook for a few more minutes till the ingredients have mixed well and flavors blended well. Temper pearl onions in a bit of coconut oil and add it at the end for enhanced flavor. Enjoy!

Turkey Chilaquiles - As tasty as leftover turkey gets

Sweet, spicy and tangy cranberry chutney

I love the tartness of cranberries, sweet tartness of oranges and the spiciness of ginger. Combine them altogether and voila! You have a culinary masterpiece that keeps well in your refrigerator and be your best buddy and can go with anything - rice, sandwich, crackers. Why, I even use it with my oatmeal sometimes...So versatile! And u don't have to wait for Thanksgiving to do this. With canned cranberries you can have this all year round.

Ingredients:
1 can whole berries - cranberries
1 orange - take the zest
1 cup orange juice
2 tbsp brown sugar
2 tsp red pepper flakes
1 tsp ground cinnamon
2 inch fresh ginger
2 tbsp balsamic vinegar (if u like urs with a kick)
1 large shallot finely minced
Salt to taste

Combine the above in a thick bottomed vessel, let the ingredients come together and simmer for a while till it gets to the consistency of chutney. Bottle up the rest and Enjoy!

New look and Thxgiving memories

Changed my blog templates as I was in the mood today. I hope y'all had a wonderful Thanksgiving and were blessed to give Thanks! I love this holiday as it is so meaningful!

Thanksgiving is over but I still am left with leftovers some of which freeze well...I am planning to post some recipes from my Thanksgiving meal and some recipes for leftovers as well..A small glimpse of my modest Thanksgiving table. I shared it with a friend and his 2 kids. My only attempt so far with turkey was a disaster(1998) and from then onwards either I am somebody's guest for Thxgiving or serving cornish hens. This time I opted for roaster chicken breasts which turned out to be better than cornish hens as they are meaty! My menu included Masala roaster chicken breasts, lemon rice, cranberry-ginger-orange chutney,mashed potatoes, boiled sweet potatoes, gravy, mushroom zuchini stir fry, radish pachadi, blueberry pie and persimmon cinnamon drink!

Masala roasted chicken breasts

Lemon rice

Simple but yummy! This probably is the meal u had on picnics back home in India, on train journeys and even for school lunch. There is something about lemon rice/tamarind rice with potato chips that appeals to me anytime!

Turkey quesadillas - Yetannuder leftover dish

Yet another delish way of eating leftover turkey!

Ingredients:

Leftover turkey - 1 cup

Red/Yellow peppers - 1/2 each

Onions - 1.5 cups thinly sliced lengthwise

Black olives - 10

Chipotle chillies in adobo - small can

Cilantro leaves - a handful

shredded monterey jack cheese (or any cheese of ur liking)

salt

1 jalapeno diced(if u like urs hot like I do)

 

In a saucepan, fry onions, add red/yellow peppers, turkey, salt and chillies in adobo along with the sauce and cook till all flavors have blended well. Then spread shredded monterey jack cheese generously. Finish off with cilantro leaves. Now butter one side of tortilla and spread the tortilla in a grill pan or griddle woth butter side down. Spread the turkey mixture on the tortilla. Butter another tortilla and place butterd side up to cover the mixture. After the lower side has browned and the cheese half melted,  flip the tortilla over. Its a bit tricky of its a big size tortilla as I found out. So use small tortillas that are easy to handle. And use 2 spatulas to do the flipping. When the other side has browned and the cheese fully melted, remove and serve after garnishing with cilantro.

Tender green asparagus!

Carrot and Beans thoran

Kappa, ulli neeru and Fish head curry - Yum Yum Yum

Chicken drumstick fry

Shrimp, Prawns and et al

I love crustaceans! I don't like crabby behavior but I sure do love to eat' em.

Here is a shrimp recipe I do quite often as its quick and easy and deeelicious!

Set 1:
Prawns/Shrimps (I use large ones, medium is too small and extra large is too big)
Dry garam masala - cloves, cardamom, cinnamon 2 each
Fennel seeds - 1 tsp
Ginger Garlic paste - 2 tbsp
Curry leaves - 4 or 5

Saute all ingredients in Set 1 with the exception of Prawns till the raw smell goes away. Don't let garlic burn though.

Set 2:
Red onions - 1 OR
Shallots - 8
Tomato - 1 thinly sliced or tomato puree or paste or sun dried tomato(each of them gives diff flavor)
shredded coconut - 1/2 cup (optional)
Green chillies slit - 5 or 6 (adjust per taste. I love more of these than chilli powder)

Now add all ingredients in set 2 and continue to saute.

Set 3:
chilli powder - 1 tbsp
coriander powder - 1/2 tbsp
Black pepper powder - 1 tbsp
garam masala - 1 tbsp

Add the prawns now to the mixture and also the ingredients in Set 3 and saute till prawns turn pink. U can add a little water if mixture is too dry but don't add too much as it will not be good. This has to finally be a semi-dry dish and remember that prawns ooze out a bit of liquid too.

Leave covered till prawns are cooked. Adjust salt. In a small pan add 2 tbsp coconut oil, about 5-6 sliced shallots and curry leaves, saute and add to the prawns. U can skip this step if u are not used to coconut oil, but it sure makes the dish tastier. Don't forget to sprinkle coriander leaves. Enjoy.

Yummy Crab Roast

I started this blog with the idea of sharing my enthusiasm about weight loss and food.. My principle - To eat well and exercise well. I don't believe in depriving myself of all the yummy foods God has provided us with...Just like this one...I've always eaten crabs in seafood festivals(I wait every year for these festivals soon after Spring arrives), Red Lobster and Maryland trips...Never cooked it at home until last year...




First attempt - I got over confident and got live blue crabs 6 of them from the Chinese supermarket and successfully got them home. Then came the ordeal. I tried holding onto one with a towel and whack it with a cleaver. The crab got smarter and it clawed me..I tried shaking it off, but found that another crab was clawing onto this one and another to that one and here i was trying to shake off 3 crabs...What a nightmare! I screamed against all my claim that I don't scream under any circumstance! A friend finally helped cut them up...I made crab coconut curry and it turned out okay....Recipe will be posted sometime soon. Above are pics of the blue crab I was talking about. I still have the bite mark on my right wrist.



And then I read a few blogs about home cooked crab meat (the bigger crab legs this time, from the the freezer) was encouraged by them and tried this one. It was a smash hit. I made it for my mom who is visiting and tried it a second time as she loved it too.

I know some people are mindful of the fact that eating a lot of crab is not good for cholesterol...so I took the advice of the blog and added a lot of black pepper...I made my own twist to the recipe as i always do...

Ingredients:
Set 1:
Snow crab or Dungeness Crab legs Frozen ( 1 to 1.5 lbs)
1 large red onion sliced thinly
1 tomato thinly sliced
turmeric powder - 1 tsp
chilli powder - 1 tsp
black pepper powder - 2 tsp
green chillies - 5 or 6
minced garlic - 3 pods
minced ginger - 2 tsp
salt

Boil the crab with the other ingredients in Set 1 and once it comes to a boil, simmer it.

Set 2:
shredded coconut - 1 cup
shallots - 2 or 3
perunjeeragam - 1 tbsp
black pepper - 1 tbsp
red chillies - 3 -4 nos
coriander seeds - 1 tbsp
curry leaves - 3 or 4

Now roast the ingredients in Set 2 and then grind them well together.

Add the ground paste to the crab and increase the heat and let it all come to a boil. Add 1 tbsp garam masala powder to perk up the spices. Simmer to necessary consistency/thickness.

Set 3:
coconut oil - 2 tbsp
sliced shallots - 7 to 8 nos
mustard seeds
curry leaves - 5-6

In a small frying pan, take some coconut oil and fry ingredients in Set 3 and once the aroma comes out add to crab mixture..Adjust for salt and add coriander leaves as garnish. Tasty crab ready. You can eat it right away as we all did!

I will definitely suggest getting king crab legs or dungeness crab legs instead of the small live ones as you don't have to struggle with them and the meat is also in abundance in the former types. I slightly break 'em up with the cleaver and sometimes pull out out some meat out of the shell so all spices marry well with the meat.Here is a picture of the entire meal - served with another favorite of mine - Asparagus!