Maida Biscuits ~ Deepavali Sweets!

I wish my readers a Very happy Deepavali!

I know Deepavali holds special moments for every kid. And I remember my childhood with vivid clearness. Its almost like just yesterday! And every season, Amma would plan for something new sweet or snacks along with the favorite old ones. These maida biscuits are something she did one season. And then we completely forgot about it. This time round, my Athamma was telling me of this biscuit and I was wondering remembering it from somewhere. This is normally done with eggs but since we make it for pooja, we replace it with ripe banana. And those ripe bananas were just what Athamma wanted to make these for Konda. There were done in jiffy and were a great hit with the kids. All three of them were taken in by the shape and the taste of these.

The heart and the car molds are Konda's playthings, which we thought would serve us better. The kids have a thing about eating snacks presented in lovable forms. Best thing about these biscuits are that they are easy to make and not consume lot of oil. The whole sugar adds a different taste as you get to munch on them.

Ingredients Needed:

Maida / All purpose flour - 1 cup
Wheat flour / Atta - 3 tbsp
Grated Coconut - 2 tbsp
Sugar - 1 cup
Sesame - 1 tsp
Oil for deep frying

Method to prepare:

Shift the flours in a bowl. Mix in sugar, sesame seeds and grated coconut. Slowly add the water to knead a stiff dough.

The roll it out in 1" thickness as chapati. Press the shape over it, until you complete the dough.


Heat oil for deep frying. Gently drop in to deep fry these. Turn on both sides and cook on sim.

Remove to a kitchen towel. Store in an air tight container.

These snacks are on the way to the following events!

Sunday Snacks: Fry it hosted by SnackoRama.
Yummy Festival Feasts hosted by Pallavi.
Festive Food: Diwali hosted by Priti
and JFI: Festival Treats hosted by myself!

Testimonials for The Diet Solution Program

"I always considered myself to be in decent shape, working out 5 days a week, but still had some weight I wanted to lose. This program really opened my eyes to the mistakes I was making in my eating and the results were amazing! I only really needed to lose 10 lbs but the most amazing part was the 10.5 total inches I lost from my waist, hips and thighs. Even better, I saw quick results and finally 'learned' how to eat. I never felt unsatisfied or hungry on the program. I am so grateful my best friend forwarded me Isabel’s website! Thanks Isabel! I am so happy I decided to do this program." - Ms. Tani Brown

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"Not only did I lose weight on the Diet Solution Program, I gained an incredible amount of energy. I love the changes I see in my body and, of course, love the reactions I get from my friends and family when they see me. No other weight loss plan has given my body more definition and curves, losing weight from all the right places. These meal plans were so realistic for me and easy for me to follow. Thank you Isabel for giving me the tools to feel so great!" - Mrs. Sandra Bunting

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"Isabel's Diet Solution Program is the first nutrition program that I've found that I actually agree with 100%. Most 'diet' authors are misinformed about certain aspects of nutrition, but in my opinion Isabel is one of the most knowledgeable in this field, which is so heavily crowded with conflicting information and gimmicks or fads....If you care about your health (and your loved ones) and about getting a lean fit body for life, this program is an absolute must read. But don't just read it... take action!" - Mike Geary, Author of The Truth About Abs

Isabel De Los Rios' weight loss guide, The Diet Solution Program, is a healthy diet plan for anyone!

Channa 65 ~ Chole 65!

This was such a delicious snack and you know what Konda was insisting she does it. Yeah Athamma and she happened to come across this recipe and ever since then, she has been after Athamma to make these for her. Finally after a long time, they managed to get doing these.

Konda wanted to mix and deep fry these herself. As I have said, I get scared letting her near the stove. But she was asking for it so long, that I thought she will take care of standing at a safe position. When we have the Kadai ready with oil, she stood few yards away and stretched out to drop the channa into the oil. And asked if the distance was fine. Anyway finally everything was fried.

But before that Peddu and Chinnu saw these and they also wanted it. So after an episode of trying to keep them away, these got done.
They make an excellent evening snacks for Kids and since its protein rich, you shouldn't bother about deep frying!

Ingredients Needed

Channa / Chickpea - 1 cup
Ginger Garlic paste - 1/2 tsp
Garlic pods - 2
Chili powder - 3/4 tsp
Salt to taste
Maida / All purpose flour - 1 tsp
Besan / Gram Flour - 1 tsp
Rice flour - 1 tsp
Garam Masala - 1/2 tsp
Ajino Motto - a pinch
Oil for frying


Method to prepare:

Pressure cook Channa till its cooked. But ensure its not soggy. Drain and take them in a bowl.

Mix all the other ingredients to the channa. Make sure you loosen the outer skin of garlic, less it might burst when you drop it in hot oil.

Heat a kadai with oil. Once its hot, gently drop the masala channa intot he hot oil and cook in sim, till its done.

Drain them to a kitchen towel.

Makes it an excellent evening snack for Kids.

Sending this to Sra, who is hosting Fourth Helping of Susan's My Legume Love Affair.

Exclusive Interview with Isabel De Los Rios of The Diet Solution Program

I'm very pleased to talk to Isabel De Los Rios whose recent book, The Diet Solution Program, has not only been getting great reviews but great results for clients as well. A certified nutritionist and exercise specialist, Isabel De Los Rios is also owner of New Body – Center for Fitness and Nutrition in New Jersey. She not only teaches her clients the principles of natural weight loss with good nutrition and a healthy diet plan but inspires and motivates them to achieve their goals and live a life of health and vitality.

1. Isabel, I just finished your ebook, The Diet Solution Program, and get the sense of an interesting and diverse background. Can you tell a bit about yourself?

The Diet Solution Program is really a culmination of my search for answers to my own weight loss and health problems. I can remember going on my first 'diet' in the 7th grade. You name the diet and I tried it. Not until I found the true answers to weight loss and how to keep it off was I able to finally reach my own ideal weight and level of health that I enjoy today.

It was also my mother's and my grandmother's struggle with obesity and type 2 Diabetes that led me to research how blood sugar affects our ability to lose and gain fat. As I studied Diabetes more and more, I found that the same principles that could be used to control a diabetic's blood sugar were the same principles that all people needed to use to lose fat and keep it off. Once I figured this out, I was almost amazed at how easy the answer was the whole time and couldn't believe all of the past unhealthy plans I had attempted with no success.

2. How did you happen to get into the Nutrition industry? What were the deciding factors?

As I continued to work on my own health and weight struggles, I became fascinated by the human body. I was truly amazed by the discoveries I had made in regards to weight loss and blood sugar control and could not believe that this information wasn't main stream. Even worse, I could not believe that doctors and food companies were actually recommending the exact opposite of the information that I had discovered to be the only way to lose weight. This led me to be as passionate as I am now about communicating this exact information to the world.

3. It looks like the ebook is getting great reviews - what has been the response so far?

The response has been incredibly positive. People have been emailing me and telling me what an eye opening experience it has been for them. They also just couldn't believe how simple weight loss could really be with all the right tools and information on hand. After the first 2 weeks, people tell me they have lost weight that they have been struggling with for years.

4. What was your inspiration for The Diet Solution Program? Did you follow some other diet or fitness guru's before your own ideas developed?

Writing the Diet Solution Program was inspired by seeing hundreds of clients in my private nutrition practice in New Jersey. All of the nutrition principles that I would teach my clients was a combination of several books, classes and seminars that I had read or attended and grabbed the best principles taught in each. I knew there had to be a way to put all of this great information together in an easy to read, easy to follow program. Don't get me wrong. Actually putting the information together and laying it out in a way that would be easy to understand by all people was not an easy chore. But once it was complete, it really was a culmination of 15 years of research and study.

5. Getting into the diet and nutrition industry can have a ton of positive benefits - has there been a downside at all?

No, I wouldn't call it a downside. But I will say that I do encounter a lot of resistance to my not very mainstream ideas. I tell people "If you have been following the same nutrition and diet principles with no results, isn't it time to take a new approach?" When people see the kind of results my clients get, they realize that a new approach may be the only way they will successfully lose weight.

6. After reading The Diet Solution Program I discovered that I am a serious 'Protein Type' - what the main thing I should do to increase my energy?

The main thing is not to be afraid of eating healthy fat and healthy proteins. Everyone thinks chicken breasts and egg whites is the only way to lose weight but, especially for a protein type, that is not the case. Actually a protein type may gain weight by only eating low fat proteins and a low fat meal plan. Someone like you needs whole eggs, dark meat poultry, beef, and healthy fats.

7. What is your advice for someone just starting your Diet Solution? Can anyone do this?

Absolutely anyone can follow and succeed on The Diet Solution Program. My mother started following the program at 63 years old after a kidney transplant. In 6 months, she lost 40 lbs and has never been healthier or felt better in her life. Not only has she lost a significant amount of weight, but she has greatly reduced the number of medications she was previously taking. If she can do it, anyone can do it!

I would start by incorporating one principle at a time. People get very overwhelmed and think they need to completely overhaul their life all at once, but this is not true. My own nutrition changes took almost 3 years. Now you may incorporate these principles sooner than I did, but remember that getting to your health goals at a pace that is do-able for you is much better than not doing anything at all.

8. If there was one Diet Solution secret you could share with everyone what would it be?

Just one? Oh that's tough. I guess it would be to learn your metabolic type and follow an eating plan that is specific to that type. Without this information, you may actually be following a healthy eating plan but one that is not specific to your metabolic needs. If it's not what your body needs, you will not see the results you're after.

9. Any exciting new plans for the future?

Of course. We are now in the process of recording The Diet Solution Program as an audio program so that you can listen to the entire book in the car or on the go.

I am also in the process of putting together The Diet Solution for Children and The Diet Solution for Diabetes. Lots and lots of exciting projects in the works.


Thanks so much, Isabel, for sharing your inspirational success story! You can pick up a copy of Isabel's ebook at: The Diet Solution - Start Eating and Start Living

Potato Cumin Bread Roll!

The Ninjas decided that they are going to bake something on account of the World Bread day. And this Ninja not being in a position to bake nor do anything else, could only come up with this teenage fantasy, that gets done in a jiffy. This was something I used to make so very often and completely forgot about it, until faced with a challenge!

Its very simple to make and its a kid's delight. Well as I kid I loved it. Beauty of it was, I used to make it myself with sweet and spicy versions. I can still remember the jam that used to go into it most often. I used to roll out and then freeze and then roast! Wow, I was able to bring back those lovely memories by making it again. And I should thank my fellow ninjas for initiating this.


Ingredients Needed

Potatoes - 2 medium
Cumin Powder - 1/2 tsp
Chili flakes/ Chili powder - 1 tsp
Salt to taste
Bread Slices - 4
Ghee for roasting

Method to prepare:

Boil Potatoes till tender. Peel the skin and allow to cool.

Then add cumin powder and chili flakes/ chili powder, Salt and mix well.

Trim the sides of the bread and roll it out flat using the rolling pin. You will get a thick, thin slice.

Place the potato filling on one side and roll it tightly towards the other side. Apply some water to the fag end that you are going to cover and stick together.

This is ready to be roasted but if you want, you can freeze it for 5 mins or so. I used to freeze the sweeter versions but not the potato filled ones.

These are ready in flat 5 mins. Then heat a pan with ghee and roast this till crisp on both sides.

This is my simplest way of appreciating the goodness of bread to mankind! But this is something that works magic on kids and very simple to be made by Bachelors too.

But be sure to check out the awesome creations that my fellow ninjas are going to dish out!

Lakshmi, Divya Vikram, Anu, Raaga, Dhivi, Siri, Ranji, Bhags and Swati are sure going to charm you with their creations!

Since this will be a great party food, sending this to WYF:PArty Food hosted by EC

Getting Kids interest with attractive Cutleries!

Getting kids to eat is always a challenge. Be it a toddler or a kindergartner, they invariably fuss over eating. Most kids get used to being fed and it becomes a habit that they don't want to overcome. Many times, it so becomes that they don't know how to eat using their hands. Especially when it comes to eating rice, kids don't know how to take even gather the morsel, for a feed. You will find them picking around and tossing the grains here and there.
With the daughter, its been the same. Its important when you introduce them to eating their own food. This should actually start quite early. We saw the vast difference in the eating habits between kids, who are fed and kids who are given their plates to themselves. I was feeding my daughter until she was almost 5 years. Only now she has started eating on her own. Still she eats with disinterest. On the other hand, my SIL started giving the plate to my niece, when she was 11 months old. It used to be either chapati or rice. She used to spill most things down, but you should be ready for it. They will be messy, but if you think you are going to help them, well you are wrong. They only tend to think, that they will get help all the time.

Result, my niece is a better eater now than my daughter. She eats fast, and with more interest. Not that she isn't fed at times, of course, being a kid that want or need to be taken care, will always be with them.
So of the best things that has worked with me, is to get attractive plates and bowls for the kids. Konda for sure gets excited, seeing these new plates and her interest in eating food stays for a while. The point is, you shouldn't use the same plate everyday. Its got to change according to mood and content. Of course, you can't spend too much on these things, as the plates may not be used frequently. And there is always the space constraint.
These attractive plates were what we got for Konda and the twins.

Eat more and Do Less Cardio to Lose that Unwanted Weight - Part 2

Continued from Part 1...

3. Rory ate a lot of food all day long. Rory couldn't believe his meal plan when I laid it out for him. He was going to be eating more than he was currently eating and couldn't believe this was actually going to help him lose weight. The biggest difference would be what foods he would be choosing. Every meal was comprised of a healthy protein, carbohydrate and good fat. Lots of eggs (whole organic eggs, not whites), poultry, meat, fruits, whole grains, vegetables, olive oil, and raw nuts and nut butters. In order for his body to burn fat, it had to believe it wasn't starving and the only way to do that was to feed it well.

So what can you do to achieve the same great results?

Incorporate both a good strength training routine and interval cardio routine to your workout regimen. Don't just do one all the time. Your body needs muscle to keep your metabolism high, and it also needs cardio to keep your heart strong, so find a good balance between the two.
Incorporate a strength training routine that focuses on whole body movements. No sitting on machines, please. Unless you are rehabilitating an injury, you want to keep your body moving the whole time. What do you think burns more calories, a squat with a shoulder press combination or sitting on a leg press? Just try to squat and raise your arms overhead a few times and you'll see how quickly your heart rate goes up. Keep your body moving through the whole workout and you'll be sweating just as much as during your cardio.

Eat consistently throughout the day. We've all heard it before: Eat five meals a day to lose weight. Well, guess what? It works, as long as those meals incorporate healthy food. Eat a protein with each meal. That is the biggest mistake I see. People are not feeding their muscles with enough protein. Remember, you want to keep your metabolism cranking all day and the best way to do that is to feed your body and to keep your muscle mass high.
Hopefully, this will help you to reduce those countless hours on the treadmill and stop starving yourself to lose a few pounds. I don't know about you but if eating all day and doing less cardio is going to keep me at a healthy weight and in shape, I say AMEN to that!

Learn "The Top 5 Essential Truths You Must Know Before You Go on Any Diet Ever Again" from Isabel De Los Rios at The Diet Solution Program. Isabel is a nutrition, exercise and lifestyle coach who has helped hundreds of people lose their unwanted weight and take complete control of their health. She is the author of The Diet Solution Program, a complete and comprehensive nutrition program that is helping people all over the world finally reach their ideal weight. For more information on The Diet Solution Program and how it can help to change your life, visit thedietsolutionprogram.com.

Eat more and Do Less Cardio to Lose that Unwanted Weight - Part 1

Is the above statement too good to be true? That's what Rory DeLuca thought. The 42 year old New Jersey resident, husband and busy father of 3 couldn't believe what I was telling him when he came to see me in January 2006. Like most people, after the holidays, Rory was frustrated with his increased weight and was even more frustrated that his previous "weight loss" efforts were not providing any results. He told me he was trying to eat less and run 4 miles every day, but every time he tried to stick to that routine, his back would hurt because of the running and he would end up starving at the end of the day. You can imagine his surprise when I told him that he would have to eat a lot more and do less cardio to achieve the results he was looking for.

Now, 3 months later, Rory has lost a total of 30 pounds and 9 inches off his body. Hi back no longer hurts and he is not starving. He eats tons of food all day and exercises less than an hour 5 days a week. So what is the secret to his success? Three very important weight loss principles that we can all incorporate.

1. Rory started strength training 3x's a week. The key here is Rory was doing the right kind of strength training for his weight loss goal. He was not going from one machine to the next, doing 3 sets of 10 reps on each one. His strength training routine incorporated exercises that used his whole body so his heart rate was up the whole time. Try doing 3 exercises, back to back, using only free weights, stability balls and your own body weight, and you'll see how quickly your heart rate goes up. No sitting on a bench and chit chatting in this workout. We keep the intensity high the whole time and the workout is complete in 45 minutes.

Incorporating strength training and reducing the amount of aerobic cardiovascular training was integral to his success. The ONLY tissue in the body that burns fat is Muscle. So the more muscle you have in your body, the more fat you're burning at any given time during the day. The amount of muscle you have in your body also greatly affects your metabolism. So someone with more muscle mass will have a higher metabolism (This is why most men can eat a lot more than women). For example, one pound of muscle in your body requires approximately 50 calories per day. So if I had two people, both weighing 150lbs, but one was comprised of 100lbs of muscle while the other was comprised of 120lbs of muscle, the one with the more muscle mass is burning more calories all day long. That means that this person can eat more during the day and still maintain their weight and will also have an easier time losing weight. Aerobic training does burn calories while you're doing it, but it does not do anything to increase the amount of muscle in your body, thus it does not help you to continue to burn calories when you're done

2. Rory only did aerobic cardiovascular exercise using interval training. This concept could encompass a whole article unto itself, but basically, your body becomes accustomed to anything that you expose it to for long periods of time. Aerobic cardiovascular exercise makes your body more efficient at burning fat. But that's exactly what you don't want (If your car was more efficient at burning gas, you'd use less of it). Same with your body. If your body becomes efficient at burning fat, you burn less of it for the same amount of work. So instead of burning 200 calories for your 2 mile run, you may burn 150 calories for the same distance in 2 months. So you'll have to increase the distance and continue to do this, just to burn the same 200 calories. This can eventually turn into running for an hour just to burn the same number of calories! I don't know about you, but this is exactly what I don't want to do.

Interval training refers to a series of intense activity separated with short rest periods. You want to make sure that you are constantly changing the intensity of your cardio workout during the whole workout, alternating from high intensity to low intensity. So a typical workout on an elliptical machine would be 5 min warmup, 1 minute at a high intensity (level 9or 10), then 2 minutes at a lower intensity (level 3 or 4). You would repeat this 3 minute round 3 or 4 times, gradually increasing the intensities once you feel like it's getting easy. Cool down for 5 minutes, and that is a total of 19-22 minutes of cardio, not 1 hour! Keep your body guessing the whole time and it will not become accustomed to the same cardio workout.

Stay tuned for Part 2

Guava – The wonder fruit for Diabetics and Dieting!

Fruits are always great to eat. Especially if they grow right off your garden. Living in a city, having a garden with lots of fruit trees are such luxury! I remember those days, back in those smaller towns having these lovely guava trees, banana and mangoes, including many other delicious fruit bearing trees.

When it comes to fruits, guava undoubtedly tops in taste if you get the right one! It is especially recommended for people who are on diet or for diabetics.

Guava controls diabetes and it is good for constipation. Guavas are high in vitamin A and vitamin C and contain high amounts of dietary fiber. This fruit is a reasonably good source of potassium, which can assist in regulating blood pressure.

Scientists in India have come to the conclusion that guavas consumed with the skin can actually raise blood sugar levels almost immediately. For people suffering from diabetes, it is best to peel off the skin.

Nutritional value:

This is a relatively inexpensive fruit and is a rich source of vitamin C. It has maximum amount of vitamin C compared to other fruit except Indian gooseberry. It contains four to ten times more vitamin C than do some citrus fruits. The vitamin C is an antioxidant helping to neutralise potentially harmful free radicals. 100 gms of country variety of guava provides 212 mg of vitamin C where as hill variety have only 15 mg of vitamin C per 100 gm. The guava contains very little vitamin A or carotene but it is fairly rich in most other mineral elements. Even though country variety have small amount of carotene (pro vitamin A) it is of alpha type (poor variety).

Country and hill varieties of guava give 51 kcal and 38 kcal of energy per 100 gms. The relative less content of calories in guava makes it suitable for diabetes and weight reducing programmes.

Gauva is the only fruit that can be had by Diabetic patient on daily basis.

Source: Nutritional values taken from Internet.