Delicious and easy- to- make Brown Rice recipes

Pak Choy Brown Rice, Chinese style

Instead of eating with guilt each time that you have a spoonful of rice, it is very important to have your thoughts clear on this. That, to keep your blood sugar levels under control, you will not touch white, polished rice, come what may. And that, you will still enjoy eating rice by opting for unpolished rice or brown rice. Once you commit yourself to this, you will develop taste for this rice. In fact, brown rice is so superior to taste that you easily wean off white rice. One of the common complaints against brown rice is that it takes longer to cook. Circumvent that by soaking the rice for an hour or two, In fact, the Ambemohar variety of brown rice that I use, does not need soaking at all. Secondly, make a larger quantity or brown rice than required and store it in the fridge. This way, you need not go through the hassle of making it everyday. And instead of having it plain, you can make nice recipes out of it. Remember, do not stuff yourself too much with  rice. Add in lot of vegetables so that the percentage of rice consumed is less, overpowered with vegetables.
So, here are some recipes, that makes your rice that much more nutritious and delicious.

Pak Choy Brown Rice

Ingredients
Brown Rice - two cups (cooked)
Pak Choy - one bunch 
Soya Sauce (as per your taste) 
Green chilli sauce (as per your taste)
Pepper powder
Til (Sesame) oil or any other oil you use for cooking
Salt to taste

Method
Chop Pak Choy into strips including the stems. Heal oil in a pan. Add Pak Choy. Stir for a minute or two. Add Brown Rice and all the other ingredients. Mix thoroughly and cover for a couple of minutes. Your delicious Pak Choy Brown Rice is ready to eat. Pak Choy is also called Bak Choy - it is a kind of a Chinese cabbage. It has very little calories it it and has the goodness of protein, fibre and other nutrients. Great for weight loss too. (In case Pak Choy is not available you can alternate with Leeks or Spring Oninons).


Soya Curd Rice

Ingredients
Brown Rice - Cooked - 2 cups
Soya Curd - 2- 3 to tablespoons
Coconut milk -  1/2 Cup
Salt to taste

Method
Take the cooked Brown Rice in a dish. Add Soya Curd and mix well. Add coconut milk to it and again mix well. Add salt as per taste. And there you are - your Curd Rice is ready! You can easily replace the traditional Curd Rice which you make our of milk curd. 

Split Green Moong Dal-Brown Rice Khichadi

Ingredients
Brown Rice - 1 cup uncooked
Split Green Moong Dal - 1/2 cup uncooked.
Green Peas - 100 gms
Tomatoes - 2
Garlic-Ginger paste - 1 tspn
Corriander Powder - 1 tspn
Fresh Corriander leaves - a fistful
Curry leaves - 10-15 leaves
Fresh coconut grated - 2 tbspns
Mustard seeds, cumin seeds (jira seeds), asafoeida (hing) powder, turmeric (haldi) powder, Red chilli powder
Salt to taste

Method
Wash the Brown Rice and Split Green Moong Dal (Chilkewali Moong Dal) and soak for a couple of hours. Cook directly in the pressure cooker. Heat oil in the pressure cooker. Add mustard seeds. When they splutter, add jeera, hing (asafoetida),haldi (turmeric powder), curry leaves and the garlic ginger paste. Stir for just a minute. Drain water from soaked Rice and Dal and add. Stir continuously for three to four minutes. Add tomatoes, coriander powder, red chilli powder and again stir for 2 to 3 minutes. Add green peas and stir for a minute or two. Add four and a half cups of  boiling water (you may add 5 or 6 cups if you want your Khichadi to be semi-solid) and put on the pressure cooker lid. Two whistles on high flame and six to seven whistles on low flame should be enough for your Khichadi to cook. Before serving, garnish with chopped coriander leaves and freshly grated coconut.

Palak (Spinach) - Brown Rice

Ingredients
Palak (Spinach) chopped - 2 cups
Brown Rice - 1 cup cooked
Tomato - 1 big size
Onion - 1 small size
Garlic-Ginger paste (as per your taste)
Green chillies - 1 or 2 pieces

Method
Pressure cook chopped Spinach, chopped Tomato, chopped Onion and chopped Green Chillies together. Just one whistle on high will do, Pour it out in a dish. Let itcool. Run it through the grinder so that it becomes a paste (need not run it through the strainer). Keep aside.. Heat a pan and add brown rice. Add garlic-ginger paste and stir. Add the Spinach paste. Add salt to taste. Stir nicely. Cover it for 3-4 minutes. The green  coloured Pala-Brown Rice is ready to eat.


Note: You can innovate on these recipes by adding different kinds of vegetables. 

Is stress, one of the causes of Diabetes?

Chanting of `Aum' is a great way to start your day

Happy Diwali readers. 
I know it is the time for temptation; the hardest time to stay away from Diwali goodies. However, you will be surprised to know that if you continuously have your Green Smoothie, Nitric Oxide salad and are completely off wheat and wheat products and milk and milk products, your mind starts to become strong enough to look at ladoos and karanjis indifferently. However, a bite or two of these goodies is fine. Preferably eat a bit of them when you are hungry. That's the trick that I have discovered - when you are very hungry and you chew your food and eat, digestion is at its best efficient level. It is very important in Diabetes not to load your stomach when not hungry. Otherwise, I experienced that the correct kind of food too becomes a burden to the body.

Yesterday my friend called me up to say that ever since his breakfast of Nitric Oxide salad, his fasting sugar levels have been around 97. However, he is on medication. So, he had his Nitric Oxide breakfast and had lunch after a long gap (more than 5 to 6 hours) and he almost had a blackout. His sugar levels really dipped. It is very important here to mention that if you are on medication and pursue this diet, you need to continuously watchful of yourself or be in dialogue with your doctor.  More importantly, carry a small snack along with you always. I carry Rajgira (Amarnath) flakes with me in a small bottle and keep having it whenever I'm slightly hungry (and it'snot meal time) or feel low in sugar. You can carry chanas and peanuts too. Or my friend said you could carry glucose tablets. I even have a banana or guava in case I feel I need something more filling - however, you may take a call on that.

So, does stress cause Diabetes? Doctors tell us that stress is one of the causes of any lifestyle disease. It is true that some people have temporary Diabetes when they are stressed or their blood pressure rises temporarily, so perhaps it is one of the causes. However, I believe that when you take such a vague thing seriously, you get more stressed. And you start feeling negative. You start cursing your spouse who you attribute to your stress, or your work or your children and I know of women who are also stressed because of cooking! I feel that what is life without stress? Even waking up and making your Smoothie is a stress, for you have to ensure that your ingredients are in place. Getting ready for a party is also a stress for you have to take efforts to look good and wear good clothes, For me, journalistic writing is a stress each time I have to meet a deadline. I feel, for the sake of justice you MUST argue with your spouse. For bringing up children well you MUST take pains to tell them what is right or wrong. And yes, if you lead a passive life, even then you are stressed. So, I believe that stress is a beautiful thing - it inspires you to be positively active. It is only when you take stress negatively that you are stressed in the wrong away. 

Therefore, I believe, the thought that your sugar levels are not normal is the biggest stress to your mind. Sugar levels going haywire can grip you with unknown fear and nervousness. That's because doctors put before you the serious repercussions of Diabetes - you are liable for blindness, kidney failure, gangrene, heart attack, strokes and what not! ERADICATE all these thoughts. Is our body was damn weak that it will succumb so easily? No definitely, not. Dr Pramod Tripathi and Dr Biswaroop Chowdhury have shown that they have controlled/cured chronic Diabetes in people who follow their programmes, so scientifically designed. Dr Tripathi is celebrating `Muktotsav' (liberation from Diabetes) event on the 20th of November to felicitate patients who have passed the GTT test (Glucose Tolerant Test) and have driven away Diabetes from their lives. So, please do not fear Diabetes. You need to have a strong mind meaning do not get stressed with Diabetes.

So, what are the ways you can make your mind strong in order that you do not get nervous about Diabetes. Here are a few stress-buster tips:

* Take the formula from Aamir Khan's Bollywood movie, Three Idiots and keep chanting, ``All is Well.'' I add to it, ``All will be well''. It will bring positivism in your mind.
* Please do not get obsessed with checking your blood sugar more often than what the doctor has instructed you. In fact, I go a step beyond - I only, only check it once a week. However, I',m not a medical expert to advice anyone but I would appeal to you not to revolve your life around the sugar level numbers. Whatever they may be, continue your good diet and exercise.
* Chanting God's name with Rosary beads builds up stability of mind.
* Meditation for a few minutes in the morning is useful. Frankly, I find it hard to meditate by being silent and by being in a state of thoughtlessness. I think of all the worldly things particularly my writing deadlines and some event that may have taken place the day before. I mean thoughts keep coming to me, so instead of pretending to meditate, I say `Aum' 21 times in the morning. An Ayurvedic doctor, Dr Limaye recommended this and it truly works wonders. Do try it. It energises and rejuvenates you. 
* Do not have extreme expectations of yourself or of others. That's the biggest stress. Recognise that each one is differently made. I am very inspired by Swami Parthasarthy who mentioned in his lecture that we can differentiate animals as they are physically made differently. Thus, we know that a tiger roars so we do not expect it to bleat. A lamb is so petite so we do not expect it behave wildly. However, human beings all look the same but carry different traits within them (hence those Zodiac signs and Chinese year dedicated to different animals, I guess). So, let each one be what he or she is and let us see their good points and enjoy a socially integrated life.
* Breathe in oxygen every morning through Pranayam, walk or any other light exercise. That is the best way to drive away your fear and to bring in a positive outlook to life.
I may add that all that I say here, is based on my learning experience of life. It is no preaching. I have tried all that I write here.
So let us enjoy the Diabetes Challenge. It is a great opportunity to tone up your physical and mental health.

Tomorrow: Delicious Brown Rice recipes

Constipated? It's never good, more so if you have Diabetes

Remember, having medicines for Diabetes is a narrow way of counteracting it. The idea of this blog is to spread the word about the wholistic approach to control sugar levels and in a natural way. I reiterate that if you bring your sugar levels down by laying emphasis on-eating natural foods and ones that are sugar-free, dairy-free and wheat-free, you can help your doctor with prescribing lesser and lesser doses of medicines for you. Your aim should be to get off those medicines and it is possible! I am not a medical expert or a professional researcher but I write this blog as a patient of Diabetes who has experimented 100% on diet alone to keep the sugar levels normal and for most part of the time, it works. So, I want to share my experience so that you can get tips on how you can go about it.

I don't get rattled if once in a while my fasting sugar which is generally between 94 and 110, very, very occasionally becomes 130. All I do is try and remember what I had eaten and whether my activity was sluggish. I work a bit harder to getting back the numbers that have been dictated by the medical fraternity as  `normal.' Similarly, most of the time my PP is between 97 and 130. Sometimes it is 94 also. I have experienced that Nitric Oxide salad breakfast, recommended by Dr Biswaroop Chowdhury (I have given the recipe in my earlier post) and the Rainbow Salad lunch (recipe given) is really effective to keep your blood sugar levels normal. I don't get rattled if my sugar is low; the body tells you it wants something more. Immediately have an apple or a light, protein-based food. The main reason is the scare of numbers - whether your numbers are high or low, you are told to get them back to that perfect level and that is the biggest stress for you. And to know that you have indeed got back to the perfect level, you are told to prick your finger and test it, sometimes twice or thrice a day. I just cool it, I work on those numbers through the right diet and then check my numbers after a week. I believe in not getting paranoid about this. 

Besides the food that you eat, getting properly digested, the elimination process of our body is of utmost importance. This reminds me of the Bollywood movie`Piku' which shows Amitabh Bachchan as a senior citizen, who is traumatised with his constipation, much to the consternation of his daughter. It reminded me of my dad who was such a fanatic about his toilet regimen that when he became old, he would irritate my mom because of his chronic constipation. Definitely, your elimination system should be in good order and that is very important for countering Diabetes. That's because, if toxins are not flushed out, they sit inside your system and bother your sugar levels. Is there a scientific evidence to this logic? I don't know, perhaps there is none, but I have experienced the importance of not having constipation, to keep the sugar levels in control.

Oil is a necessary component: However, do not panic, like Amitabh Bachchan in `Piku.' I have realised that a diet which is oil-less or without oil does not make your bowels move fast. Thus, you suffer from constipation. Which does not mean that your diet should be heavily laden with oil and fried stuff. Moderate amount of oil is necessary in your meals. I go by Dr Nikhil Mehta's prescription which has really suited me. He says oil must be included in your diet to drive away flatulence and to lubricate the system inside. This helps in the smooth flush-out of your bowels. So, I add Til (sesame) oil or Flax seed oil to my salad and soup. Besides, of course having it in the daily course of cooking in vegetables and dals, as tadkas form an integral part of Indian cooking. Sometimes, I indulge in fried Moong Dal or Besan pakodas too.

Exercise is necessary: Sedentary lifestyle also brings in constipation and you cannot afford that if you have Diabetes. You got to make your body active and moving from the time you wake up. As mentioned in my earlier posts, it is very important to exercise the abdomen region. This can be done through Yoga, Pranayam (breathing exercises with particular emphasis on Kapalbhati Pranaayam recommended by Swami Ramdev), walking up and down the stairs, cycling and so on - basically any exercise which exercises your abdomen.

Importance of water: You can suffer from constipation if you do not have sufficient water. This does not mean you go on a water drinking spree but you must have enough water that your body asks for.

Have a fibrous diet: I quote from an article in Huffington Post, wherein a nutritionist and lifestyle consultant states this about fibrous diet, ``"The standard western diet is one that is high in animal products, such as meat, cheese, and milk, and refined grain products," said Selene Vakharia, a holistic nutritionist and lifestyle consultant. "These foods are not adequate sources of fibre." When we've filled ourselves up on these low-fibre foods, we haven't left ourselves much room in our stomachs — or on our plates — for high-fibre options, explained Vakharia...So why is it that fibre so important to include in our diets? Fibre is key to the processes we use to eliminate waste and toxins, Vakharia said. "It helps to sweep the colon, feed our healthy intestinal bacteria, and slow the digestion of food so that we stay full longer and our blood sugar remains at a healthy balance. Low fibre diets are associated with constipation, hemorrhoids, diverticular disease, heart problems, and weight gain.'' 
I get the fibre from Jowar and Bajri rotis, brown rice, apples, Flax Seeds. You can look up for foods with fibre from Google.

Remember, do not panic about constipation. Work towards eliminating it in a calm and composed manner. I have found the oil therapy of adding 2 teaspoons of Til oil or Flax seed oil in your salad and soups very, very effective. Once your bowels are regulated, they will help in your sugar levels being in control.

Cheers.

What to eat in a restaurant or at a party? That is the question

Come on, just because you have Diabetes, it is indeed boring to think that you have to lead a hermit's life - stay away from the dazzling restaurants and social gatherings with friends, so that you do not indulge in eating the wrong food. Most of us love to party, go to restaurants. Of course, there is no harm in eating out. Only, if you have Diabetes, you have to be very alert about what you eat when you go for such social dos or visit restaurants with your family and friends. I, for one, has developed certain strategies which I am sharing with your here. They are suggestions which many of you maybe adopting if you are on a diet to lose weight too. Remember, eating out has the highest possibility of giving you indigestion or acidity and therefore it is detrimental to your Diabetes. 

* Fellowships: Sometimes I am invited by social organisations like Rotary or attend seminars. Invariably, you have tea/coffee and biscuits before the start of  such events. Ensure you avoid eating these. I look out for Black Coffee/Green Tea/Black Tea. Not available? I just skip it and sip into a glass of water

* Welcome Drinks: Particularly, at weddings, engagements and Birthdays or in high profile hotels when you holiday, you are served welcome drinks that invariably have very high content of sugar. Avoid them at any cost. 

* Drinks: Partying often means social, if not habitual drinking. Stick to  salted fresh lime soda/water. Nothing else will do. No wine, no hard liquor can be called safe - they are bound to affect your sugar levels. It is an effort in futility if you otherwise stick to your diet but indulge in hard drinks/wine even if it is once in a while. Believe me, once you have mind control, you will realise you are pretty fine with that Vitamin C laden lime drink. 

* Soups: It is a good idea to start with a soup but the only problem is that most of the bases of soups are made of cornflour which is again not good for controlling your sugar levels. These are specially prevalent in Chinese soups where even noodles are sometimes  included (made of maida, and therefore a no, no). Creamy soups contain milk/ milk cream. Tough na? Go in for clear soups. 

* Starters: This is the most tempting part of a party and comes at a time when you are generally hungry. Sometimes, people get irritated that starters are not flowing in, in abundance. I take it as a blessing in disguise as it gives you an opportunity to eat lesser. Jokes apart, most of these starters are wheat-based or potato-based. I settle for a chicken or a fish tikka - mostly fish tikka as I have realised fish is more digestible at night than chicken. For vegetarians, pakodas (as they are made out of besan) is the best option, if available. Otherwise, salads, sprouts, peanuts, maybe at best cashewnuts. Mushroom based starters are very popular. However, it is very difficult to chew on mushroom pieces. You just tend to gulp them down - so these days I avoid, beside the fact that they are coated with cornflour. All starters must be had in very modest quantity and to be thoroughly chewed. Don't gulp your starters just because you are in amidst of a heated or interesting conversation. Don't over-indulge in your tikkas - having a large quantity of starters too is not good if you have Diabetes. Also, make your starters, the main meal.

* Main Course: This is where you can go totally awry with your choice so do intelligently choose what you eat. If your stomach is full because of starters, better to avoid the main meal completely. Otherwise, have it in very small quantities. Totally avoid rotis of all hues and rice of all hues. Avoid paneer and any milk-based dishes. I avoid salads too most of the time, as you know not the hands hat have gone into cutting it and hygienic conditions before they finally come to your table. You can have just a tablespoon or two of an array of dishes like  Lasuni Palak, Bhindi, tawa vegetable, green peas based vegetable, fish curry, grilled or even fried fish. The problem is if you over stuff yourself, even if you have the right kind of food, your sugar levels will fluctuate. Most of the times party means eating beyond 9 p m and 10 p m and such late eating is not recommended for any person, whether a diabetic or not. The best is to eat at home and have a soup at parties. That's like really tough. I have yet to achieve that. But I know of one person and that is Seema Malhotra, who for fitness reasons, never indulges even an iota of party food since the last 25 years that I have known her. She will however attend social gatherings like weddings, birthdays and other functions and cheerfully mingle around but I have never ever seen her taking a plate. She is so joyous about herself and you can make out that it is her conscious decision to avoid this food and she is so confident and proud of it. I really, really admire her. In conclusion, eating at late hours is a very bad idea. So, the nation should switch over to early partying! 


* Restaurants: If you go to a Udipi restaurant, best is to stick to Medu wada (it is made of udid dal) - nothing else will do as all other dishes have rice in it be it idli, dosa or uttappa. I love medu wadas so I am fine with it. if you are going to a dinner place, the same applies as mentioned in the `main course.' For Buffets, choose carefully - no dairy based dishes, no wheat, no white rice and of course no sugar. I have learnt to enjoy my food with these limitations and most importantly limitations in quantity too. 


Eating only when hungry, chewing thoroughly while eating and eating without over-stuffing your stomach is the main key to deal with Diabetes.

Cheers!

Vegetable recipes so easy to make

I am so deeply touched by so many responses to my blog, through WhatsApp messages and phone calls too. Here are a couple of them, posted in `comments' in this blog.

Meenal writes: 
Superb ! I am in US presently & we have already decided to carry Nutribullet to India! The green juice tastes much better in it. As I said , a new chapter begins for us. Thanks
Prakash Savekari writes:
Your series on diabetes is really very good and informative. Perhaps after you cover all topics you could publish an ebook, which would be very beneficial to all. I am a diabetic for last 20 years. Now I am 64, but I always feel that I have lost the battle to control my diabetes. Your article has given me new hope.
Thanks for the wonderful write ups on diabetes. Looking forward to read more on diabetes.

Thank you, Meenal and Prakashji. It inspires me to share my experiences with you, more enthusiastically. Readers, this blog is not to give you any gyan but to narrate my journey of how Nature's Bounty is bountiful enough to drive Diabetes away - not only Diabetes - but even it is a great one for weight loss -I have lost 10 kgs ever since I have adopted this diet. These tips could help you too. 

When you have pills, you will not make effort to switch over to a new and wonderful lifestyle comprising the right kind of diet and exercise. You will become chronically dependent on pills and your doctor, for, even with pills and insulin, sugar levels fluctuate. The worst part is nervousness and a sense of helplessness with fluctuating blood sugar levels. There is no need to panic. Bring in the right diet, go tight on your diet and there you are - your blood sugar levels come back to normal. Now, I am no authority to recommend that you should give up pills. I say, if you have the right kind of food at the right time, chew and ensure your digestion and elimination is at its best, your sugar levels will fall and the doctor will be inspired to reduce your medicines. So, help your Doctor  And then, eliminate pills from your life. I have had pills only for 5 weeks after I was diagnosed for Diabetes in 2014 - thereafter, I have struggled (happily). Sometimes my numbers would go up - I never even considered having even half a pill. I worked towards bringing back to normal. It did. Once it took seven days - I didn't panic. Anyway, with medicines also, it is a trial and error method. So, why not with food? Be strong in your mind and heart. Jiyo toh shaan se...how dare these bitter pills make us weak in the knees? Damn them, Dare the Disease - take it on by its horns, never mentally succumb to it. Diabetes has been demonised by Modern Medicine. Hence, we get scared. To wean away from medicines and insulin, either you experiment on your own like I did or I highly recommend that you should join Dr Pramod Tripathi's programme. 

In these days of fast food and restaurant eating, we tend to have a leaning towards spicy, gravy-laden and exotic cuisine. We are tempted to try cuisine of not only regions of our country but cuisines across the world. There is no harm in that, except that exotic and complicated food in everyday life does not really help conquering obesity especially fat-belly and any lifestyle disease including Diabetes. The good news is that many cuisines in different parts of the country and the world have dishes that are simple, healthy and tasty. Pick those to add to your recipe collection. Eat simple food. You should not waste your time in the kitchen making complex dishes that serve no good purpose to the stomach (sorry, foodies). My mother-in-law used to say, ``there are so many other exciting things to do in life, pursue those,'' - both of us would enter the kitchen one hour before lunch and dinner, cook, serve and eat! She is the one who inspired me to pursue journalism. I have so much to thank her (and my husband) for their relentless support.

So, here are a few easy to make vegetable recipes just to remind you that there is fantastic nutrition laden in these colourful vegetables. I shall post photographs as and when I make them. I am unable to locate the pics that I had earlier clicked and kept in a folder.

Vegetables come in so many lovely colours, stuffed with nutrients - savour them in generous quantities

French Beans & Matki sprouts vegetable

Ingredients
French Beans - 250 gms
Matki sprouts - 50 gms
Green chillies - 1
Garlic cloves - 2 to 3
Crush garlic and green chillies together and keep aside
Corriander leaves and freshly grated coconut - for garnishing
for the tadka - mustard seeds, jeera, hing (asafoetida), haldi,
Salt to taste
Method
Cut french beans (not too finely).
Pressure cook (or steam in a pan) both, french beans and matki sprouts together. Just one whistle - it should not get overcooked.
Heat 1 or 2 teaspoons of oil (please use filtered (and not refined) groundnut, til or coconut oil), add mustard seeds. When they splutter, add jeera, hing powder and haldi. Add the crushed garlic and green chillies. Then immediately add the steamed french beans and matki sprouts. Add salt. Stir nicely. The vegetable is ready. Garnish with freshly grated coconut  and coriander leaves. 

Yellow Pumpkin & Capsicum vegetable

Ingredients
Yellow Pumpkin - 250 gms
Green Capsicum - one big sized or two small sized
Roasted groundnut powder or roasted til powder - 1 tspn
Kadipatta (curry leaves) - about 10
Tejpatta (indian bay leaves) - one small leaf
for tadka - mustard seeds, jeera, hing (asafoetida), haldi, methi seeds - half tspn
Corriander leaves and freshly grated coconut - for garnishing

Method
Heat oil in a pan. Add mustard seeds. When they splutter add jeera - let it brown, add hing, haldi, then curry leaves, tejpatta and then methi seeds (do not allow them to get black). Add capsicum pieces. Stir for a minute. Add pumpkin pieces. Add groundnut or til powder, salt, red chilli powder and stir. Add just one tablespoon of water. Cover it and let it cook. Garnish with freshly grated coconut and coriander leaves.

Tuvar (Ridge Gourd) & Chana Dal vegetable

Tuvar (Ridge Gourd) & Chana Dal vegetable

Ingredients
Tuvar (Ridge Gourd) 250 gms
Chana Dal - two tablespoons (steamed)
for tadka - mustard seeds, jeera, hing (asafoetida), haldi, 
Dhania powder - half tspn
Corriander leaves for garnishing

Method
Steam the chana dal. Keep aside. Heat oil in a pan. Add mustard seeds. When they splutter, add jeera, hing and haldi. Add the cut Tuvar (skin it a bit before cutting). Cover and let it cook. Remove cover. Add chana dal,red chilli powder, dhania powder and stir well. Garnish with corriander leaves.

Cauliflower & Moong Dal vegetable

Ingredients
Cauliflower - 250 gms (cut in very small pieces)
Moong Dal - 1 tablespoon (soaked for an hour)
Green chillies
Garlic and ginger paste.
For tadka - mustard seeds, jeera, haldi
Corriander leaves 

Method
Heat oil in a pan. Add mustard seeds. Let them splutter. Add jeera and haldi. Add the soaked moong dal and cover it for it for two to three minutes. Add the cauliflower pieces. Add the garlic and ginger paste, salt and corriander leaves, chopped. Stir for a while till the ginger-garlic paste properly mixes with the vegetable. Cover until it cooks. You should not overcook the cauliflower.

All these vegetable recipes are very quick to make, taste delicious and have loads of nutrition. Make them a part of your daily cooking. 
Please post similarly easily and nutritious recipes.
Cheers

Tomorrow: What can you eat when you go to a restaurant or when you go for a party so that your sugar levels do not go haywire

Can bhindi (ladyfinger) or methi seeds control your sugar levels?

When your near and dear ones come to know that you have Diabetes, you will get a lot o advice on having various foods that can bring down your sugar levels. Methi seeds, Bhindi, (ladyfinger), Karela (bitter gourd) top the list. Soak the bhindi in water overnight and have that water in the morning. Sprout methi seeds or just have a spoonful of it, powdered or otherwise. Consume Karela juice and so on. If you google, you will find a lot of researched articles too on these foods and one should definitely include them in the diet (I do) but on their own, they are not capable of keeping your sugar levels continuously at normal levels. They may partly aid you. 

Here's why.

From my experience, I can say that there is no particular food that can reduce your blood sugar levels. It is what you eat and how you digest it, that forms the crux to keeping your Diabetes at bay. You indulge in a couple of pegs of hard drinks and then have methi seeds, will it work? You gulp your food or get tempted to have food comprising complex carbohydrates and then have karela juice, will it work? No.

There is no miracle cure for Diabetes - not even those pills. But there is the wonderful hope that yes, the right kind of food can indeed control, lead to several months of keeping your sugar levels normal, leading to cure your Diabetes. I have deliberately used the word `cure.' The medical fraternity will not accept this (though I shall tell you in my subsequent posts about one part of the medical fraternity that is thinking on this lines). My line of thought is this: it is agreed upon that your common cold is cured - it comes back though, now and then. Your stomach is upset due to some food allergy or contaminated food and that is cured - but it comes back if you have food that is allergic to you or eat contaminated food. I consider Diabetes with the same yardstick - right food and food habits will finally cure your Diabetes - if you go back to carbohydrate-rich, fat-rich, dairy-rich, gluten-loaded foods, bad lifestyle you are bound to have your sugar levels go haywire once again. Someone said to me - oh, so you have to be on this strict food all your life. Firstly, it is not strict - you can enjoy your food, only you are keeping the bad food away. Diabetes is not a miserable disease - it is a blessing in disguise to reform your food and lifestyle habits. I feel so good starting my day with coconut milk tea, banana smoothie, Nitric Oxide salad. Earlier, I used to have the tea with the toxic milk, the worst processed food called Bread...triggering off acidity in the first part of the day.

Stock up your fridge with lots of vegetables and greens:
So, what are the foods you should be having? Lots of vegetables, for sure. When I once interviewed Swami Ramdev, asked him what his daily diet comprises, he had said he has more of vegetables for his lunch. For that, your fridge has to well stocked up - if you want to have healthy food, then organising it is very important. It is easy to rattle off a recipe of Green Smoothie but to accumulate the ingredients together needs thorough planning otherwise half of the time you would be forced to skip this vital food. I have brought a range of air-tight good quality plastic boxes to store all ingredients - please do the same. Unless you organise your fridge well, it is not possible for you to have the right kind of food.

Earlier, my fridge used to be stuffed with butter, cheese, curds, milk, pastries, ice-creams and processed foods. Now, it is decorated with so many greens and an array of vegetables. Because if you are having smoothie everyday, you need to have your betel leaves, curry leaves, corriander leaves, palak leaves, corriander leaves and bananas - all right there! If you are having Nitric Oxide salad everyday - you gotta have your tomatoes, beetroot, sprouts, lemon, coconut (freshly grated) all in place, beforehand! If you have Rainbow Salad (which I have very often for lunch) then you must have your capsicum, french beans and tomatoes readily available in the fridge. Then if you have Dudhi (bottle gourd) and carrot soup before your dinner, then you must have dudhi and carrots in place (I have this soup before dinner with two teaspoons of flax seed oil or til oil in it). Besides, I ensure green leafy vegetables are included in the diet. So, you must have a couple of green leafy vegetables available in your fridge. I buy different kinds so that you get different kind of nutrition. By this you can see that how heavily my fridge is loaded with vegetables. I also include Pak Choy leafy vegetable (which is so tasty) once or twice a week in my diet (look up google for its fantastic qualities). I include Leeks but don't get them very often. 

Besides these, please do not restrict your diet only to bhindi, cauliflower, cabbage only. Potatoes are a NO NO but you can have sweet potatoes. So stuff your fridge with the following vegetables which are rich in nutrients and please try and make simple vegetables - do not make too much of gravies. Enjoy the individual taste of each vegetable instead of currying it - of course you can have the gravy ones too once in a while but during your working days try and keep your meals, simple. So, do ensure you buy the following vegetables and stock up in the fridge:
Bottle gourd, Snake gourd, Yellow pumpkin, French beans, Flat beans, Cluster beans (gavar), turai (ridge gourd), Suran (yam), sweet potatoes, bhindi (lady finger), cauliflower, cabbage and so on.

Giving accent on eating greens and vegetables is a great way to beat Diabetes. But remember - if you do not chew properly then even these vegetables will not get digested and as I have found out by my experience and I will keep mentioning this - indigestion also spikes your blood sugar levels.

Now, if you have lots of such vegetables and greens included in your diet, then having methi seeds or karela juice will help you further in your mission to drive away Diabetes. Poor things, they can't do it on their own - help them by bringing in their other friends. (chuckle).
Please check your fridge everyday
Last but not the least - Please clean your fridge off stale food. Like a house which has so many unwanted things lying in storeroom and shelves, you will find stale and even spoiled food occupying corners of the fridge and people not bothering cleaning it everyday. Please make it a habit to check every shelf of the fridge everyday - I do that before the cook comes in 7 a m. Firstly, do not make too much food. If you do, like for parties, then store it with care. Remember, too much stale food stored in the fridge is detrimental to your health. If you have Diabetes, you have to take care on many fronts and one of them is having fresh food and natural food most of the time, if not 100% of the time.

Tomorrow: Simple and delicious recipes of vegetables





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Ideas for Easy Exercises

Stretch, stretch, stretch your body to activate it

That exercise is very important to keep your blood sugar levels at bay, is known to everyone and it would seem silly to write a blog on this. However, through reading and analysis I have come to the conclusion that exercise does not mean only going for a 45 minute walk or doing yoga. It means that you have to be active throughout the day and you are actually exercising through various activities that you go about during the day. Though, the lovely fresh air during a morning walk is exhilarating and can  add to your positive and cheerful attitude through the day.

 It would interest you to note that (as I have found out), if you eat the right kind of food in the right quantity, chew it thoroughly, do not indulge in eating when not hungry, your digestion process becomes so effective that you automatically start slimming down, get that fat out of your way - yes that one specially in your belly. Thus, even if you spend 5 to 10 minutes a day in the morning for some light exercise, it is just fine. Obesity and that belly (even if you are not obese) is bad, bad, bad for Diabetic patients. Remember, your chest should swell with pride and not your stomach that you make it swell with, inflammation, flatulence and toxins (not only fat).

. Many of us are unable to keep up that 45 mins regimen of gym-ing or walking. As I had mentioned in my earlier blog, my right knee pained for some 1.5 years and thanks to Dr Nikhil Mehta's oil therapy and Dr Sumita Satarkar's acupuncture therapy, it has been healed, meaning I have no pain or limp. However, funnily, I can climb up the Parvati but after about 15 minutes brisk walk I find that right knee getting stiff. So each one has certain physical limitations so we need to programme ourselves in a way that your body is peaceful and not tired and strained due to too much exercise. I have experienced that the first importance should be given to your food and eating habits to combat Diabetes 90%. the remaining 10% should be given for exercise. Remember, most of us get Diabetes, well past the middle age (though junk food has ensured that youngsters get it too these days). So, we cannot do a Jane Fonda or a Zumba to keep Diabetes at bay - we can however control our wrong eating, which fortunately does the trick to a large, large extent. Physical activity through various kinds of activation of body or exercise is important for breathing in that extra oxygen

Very important to remember - you need to exercise, not so much your limbs, as much as your stomach portion. The belt below the diaphragm and the line below your stomach is the most important region that should be exercised. I remember Osho saying  that and also whether it is Sri Sri or Swami Ramdev, the accent is on deep breathing and pranayam like kapabhati as they move that region and supply you more Oxygen. 

So, here are some ideas to activate your body and you can keep changing the pattern of these exercises which I call activation of the body to maintain your sugar levels. Warming up is very important before any physical activity so you can do a minute or two of Kapalbhati pranayam or stretch yourself in bed before waking up or after just waking up

* Dance for five to 10 minutes to any of your favourite song or music. I always put on the number `Radha teri chunari' from the Bollywood movie `Student of the year.' Shreya Ghoshal's voice rejuvenates your spirits. Dance with your eyes closed and indulge in steps that will not unnecessarily strain your legs, knees or your neck. You can play this number twice, followed by sitting with closed eyes till you get your normal breath back.

* Wash the bathroom. Unbelievable how it activates your body as you scrub the floor (with broom or brush, whatever), scrub the sidewalls the wash basin - it helps you give your bit for the cleanliness of your home too.

* Rigorous oil massage by yourself before a bath: Massage your hands,legs and stomach rigorously: If you have had no time to exercise, before you have a bath, take coconut oil or til oil. Massage while  in a standing position. Applyoil on your hands and rigorously massage  up and down and in twists too. Then apply on your legs and with massage with your hands as you move up (standing) and down (bending). Then apply on your stomach in a clockwise way. Even if you do this for five minutes, you will hear heart beating fast. 

* Use a scrubber when you have a bath - it activates blood circulation. The scrubber made out of dried gourd (tuvar) is the best.

* After dinner, do not go to sleep immediately. Instead clean up one of your cupboard shelves, do some after-dinner cleaning in the kitchen.

* Do not order groceries and vegetables online. Physically walk there and get them. Find every reason to walk for some chore or the other. Instead of a lift, climb up the staircase whenever you can. 

* When on the computer, intermittently keep doing stretching exercises (google and find out those that you can do). Walk around intermittently. For this, keep your mobile phone away from your table. Walk towards it each time it rings or you want to send a message. The action of getting up from the chair and going towards it activates your body

* If you are a grandparent - indulge in playing with your grandchildren, carrying them around - do not say that I have done my bit as a parent and now it is time for your to relax. No, God gives birth to the next generation so that you remain young by attending to them. Just keeping up with their playfulness burns your calories and makes you smile. So, come on, become an active grandparent!

* Kapalbhati pranayam can be done so easily. You can get up from your bed, do it and then go about your day. It activates the stomach region. I do it for five minutes at least. Anulom Vilom pranayam ensures more oxygen penetrating into your body.

* Climbing up the steps, climbing up the hill is great at least once or twice a week, if you can do it. If you can't don't feel bad - find other ways. Like I told you, activating that stomach region is so, so, so important. 

* Yoga of course is very, very good and effective.

* In the gym, I spend just 15 minutes, followed by 5 min stretches.

* Chanting `Aum' 21 times in the morning is great for that bountiful amount of Oxygen getting into your body.  

* Laughter is the best way to activate your stomach. Laugh till your stomach hurts. These days such laughter is rare because we have kept our heads heavy with tension, ego, arrogance and pride. Be like a child and see how you are able to laugh at every little thing.

Earlier, I used to walk the fastest in my neighbourhood garden. Now, I cannot but I seek every opportunity throughout the day to be active.

So innovate to activate your body, so that you can do what suits your physical self and the time that you can spare. Do everything to get that larger amount of Oxygen get into you.

(These tips on exercises are as per the routine I follow and with effective results. Use them as tips only and  create your own programme as per what suits you or under your doctor's guidance).

Don't be nervous about your sugar levels. Here's why

The most bitter and fearful factors of Diabetes are results of your sugar levels - fasting and PP. Your mood depends upon the numbers and I would say from my experience, if your numbers are high, they psychologically affect you - sometime mentally wreck you! 

You start wondering why your sugar levels have not reduced despite medicines and sometimes despite insulin injections. You start wondering where is this disease going to lead you to? You think of the worst things that can happen to you. Then you will have your doctor, friends, Google  telling you that the worst part about Diabetes is that it starts gnawing you from inside - however, it does not show from outside. And that's the dangr of having Diabetes. Many doctors immediately prescribe you Blood pressure tablets as a precaution, for they say it is connected with your Diabetes; your kidneys may fail, you may ultimately get gangrene, you may get heart disease, you may get blind - I mean the picture is so bleak and so densely cloudy that automatically you become glum and worried from inside. That little Glucometer rules your damn life! That bloody prick on your finger dictates you - you may be the King or a MD, CEO of a company or a celebrated star but boy, that little machine called the Glucometer is who you have to kneel down to.If you have controlled your sugar levels, you feel elated throughout the day.

PLEASE NOTE:This blog is not to suggest that you should not check your blood sugar levels. Please go by what your doctor tells you regarding the frequency of checking them. This blog is also not to suggest that you should not heed your doctor's advice regarding medicines and insulin. This blog is a narration of my own experience - to tell you how you can reduce your sugar levels with diet alone and of course exercise.Help your doctor to prescribe you lesser medicines and simultaneously through self-study and experiment try to get rid of medicines to the largest extent possible, ideally, completely - and it is doable. I write here what I do, which has immensely benefited me, hence I would like to share my knowledge and experience as being a journalist for the last 27 years and RTI columnist and activist for the last 10 years, I believe in transparency and that you should share what will personally and socially benefit those around you.

I check my  sugar levels ONLY once a week - every Friday, except when I come back from a travel. Not to check sugar levels because you think your diet is working for you is also not the right thing to do. You must get your sugar levels under control - and once you practice and with dogged determination have the right things to eat and exercise, you will be on a path to reversal or diabetes. It will take you one or two years though of sustained self-control to the extent that it becomes a way of life. There is no magic. 

My first sense of relief came after reading this from Dr Chowdhury's book. (Please note: I believe in what he has researched; it is up to you to believe it or not. Here, I am not contesting the knowledge of Allopathy - as a journalist I research and spread that which I think is convincing. After all, this is the age of information explosion - like a teacher who can no more use a chalk and blackboard and insist on what he/she writes there is the ultimate knowledge (students may know more than him thanks to Internet) similarly, in the Doctor-Patient relationship, a patient has access to information on Diabetes - to read, study and analyse (not of course blindly believe in whatever one stumbles on the Internet, but use one's common sense to understand the written word in cyberspace and to read between the lines). 

Dr Chowdhury, in his book writes, `` Till 1997 fasting blood sugar of 140 mg/dl was considered to be normal and healthy, then an expert panel revised the guidelines and reduced the limit from 140 mg/dl to 126 mg/dl. This means if you have fasting blood glucose more the 126 mg/dl, you have diabetes. So, anyone who had a blood sugar between 126 mg/dl and 140 mg/dl which previously used to be considered normal was now a diabetes patient. 
``Further to make the situation worse, ADA (American Diabetic Association) pushed the fasting glucose standard from 126 mg/dl to 100 mg/dl in 2003. As a result, suddenly the number of diabetes patients in India increased from 1.3 million to 20 million in 2003 (in India three times more patients were diagnosed with diabetes since 2003) in the age group of 40 - 64 yrs and today more than 60 million Indian population is being recognized as diabetic patients.'' He attributes this to alleged marketing profits as the expert committee comprised professionals and entrepreneurs of several multinational pharma companies. 

So here's what your attitude towards your sugar levels should be:

1. FEAR NOT: There is no need to fear any upswing in your blood sugar level. I have noticed it is directly related to what you eat. Some lovely wine in the previous night's party can also spike your numbers. I cannot find that research to share it with you but it says a study found that after eating two slices of bread, sugar levels spiked considerably. So, just tell yourself - okay, I go on a strict diet for the next two days. Go dairy-free, wheat-free and of course sugar-free - ekdum, strict, strict, strict. Some doctors also prescribe going on a fast - for 16 hours in a stretch - like say if you have your dinner at 8 p m - you don't have anything until next day 11 am. You go on juices for a day - though I tried that once and had a splitting headache by 4 p m. Felt so ravenously hungry that i ate bhakri-pithla. So, do what is doable for you but definitely go on a strict, strict, strict diet for the next 48 hours or perhaps another 48 hours.

2. DO A BIT OF EXTRA EXERCISE: Dr Tripathi recommends climbing up the staricase for seven minutes and I have experienced that it brought down my sugar level by 60 to 70 points. If you are too bored with the staircase, you can go hill climbing. Being in Pune, I climb up the Parvati Hill or the Chatuhshrungi temple - once or twice a week or sometimes even once a fortnight, depending on the time I get. If your sugar levels are on the higher side, do check out this exercise. Though I must add, not everyone can climb - knees may hurt, legs may pain. So, you device your own strategy to exercise (tomorrow I shall write about all that you can do for easy exercise). It greatly, greatly helps. Now, you cannot be lazy when you are diabetic - God is giving you a chance to be active again. 

3. BE HAPPY AND CHIRPY. The main thing when your sugar levels are high is to be happy and chirpy. Keep saying ``All will be well'', chant in the name of God silently throughout the day, make fun of your numbers. Just tell your body that it HAS to get rid of that extra extra sugar within the next 7 days- set a deadline for it - and it works! The problem with only medicine or insulin dependence is that you turn to that poison to help you reverse Diabetes, so you feel lazy to make enough efforts to enhance your food and exercise habits. In the natural way, you turn to Nature and to the immense power that your body has to be your best Doctor! 

4. BE COURAGEOUS: Don't get weak on your knees if you have Diabetes - get stronger for you have to overpower that demon. Nature has given you in abundance to overpower it through natural foods and fresh air; God has given you immense will power and mental strength to counter it

5. ASK YOUR DOCTOR, QUESTIONS - the modern man has fallen trap to the money-spinning pharmaceutical industry. Tell yourself that you will make all efforts to reduce your medicines and insulin - that should be your first step of victory. Question and grill your Doctor - now the system is such that your many doctors consider you more as a client than a patient, then why shouldn't you the client, behave like a perfect client and know exactly what he is prescribing to you? Why should you become a permanent client for any lifestyle disease? What does he think of natural foods for reversal of Diabetes? What does he think about the present day milk that is often recommended to you as an integral part of your diet for Diabetes despite the fact that it is polluted with urea, antibiotics, hormones etc? If you ask questions, the Doctor will give you the right answer. Patients hesitate to ask questions. Often, even if the Doctor is prescribing the right food and exercise, patients will ignore that and count on the medicines that he gives, so that's how dialogue between doctor and patient has stopped.
If you come down from 3 tablets to half a tablet with natural foods and diet - isn't that the first step of triumph? Don't cow down to the disease - pick up your courage and courage of conviction.

5.DISCUSS YOUR DIABETES - it is very important to be frank about any lifestyle disease you have. You need not keep under wraps. It helps you in easing your mind - for anything you hide, gives you tension. 

Tension nahi lene ka - it does not help you in anyway. Keep smiling through your efforts to beat Diabetes. It's a great reason to reform yourself - physically, mentally, spiritually, emotionally!

Tomorrow: Ideas for easy exercises

Some Breakfast Recipes (dump that bread)

It is inconvenient and difficult to wean off bread - the staple and most convenient food for breakfast. However, if you have to drop your sugar levels, you need to avoid bread by all means. Even if you have it occasionally, your sugar levels rise. Once you decide to go beyond bread, you will automatically search for better alternatives. I spent my childhood in Odisha. I remember there used to be just one bakery selling bread in Bhubaneshwar. My mother once bought the bread and found a big sized black ant in it. She also came to know that the workers kneaded the dough with their feet. And that was it. We never had bread for years after that. She introduced it, once in a while, much later. So, our staple breakfast was piping hot chapatis with shikran (bananas crushed in milk). Being a voracious reader of Enid Blyton books, where you had descriptions of English breakfast, I used to dream of breakfast comprising bread, butter, marmalade and so on!! I remember, a senior citizen who was 90 years of age and would often visit The Indian Express office. He was so fit and alert at his age. Once, he saw me eating a sandwich. He came to me and said ``tu bread khala tar bread tula khayeel'' meaning ``if you eat bread, the bread will eat you.'' At that time I laughed at what he said, but now that sentence rings in my ears. Pune is a hotbed of bread - there are bakeries in every galli and sometimes the aroma of baked bread simply overpowers you. In life though, sometimes you have to make sacrifices and I found, giving up bread was a blessing in disguise as I keep looking out or concocting new recipes. Of course, I have settled down with Nitric Oxide salad breakfast, but if I feel hungry a couple of hours after that, I have the breakfast that I make for the family.  (I will post photographs of all dishes soon). Your blood sugar levels also depend on the quantity you eat. To get the right balance of what actually works for you takes you a year or two of constant efforts.

Besan-cucumber dosas

Ingredients
Cucumbers - 2
Besan (as much as can be accommodated)
2 cloves of garlic and a green chilli
Salt to taste

Method:
Wash cucumbers thoroughly and grate them along with the skin. Add crushed garlic and green chilli and keep on adding Besan (gram dal flour) as much as it takes to make a batter like consistency, for a dosa (for 2 cucumbers it would be around 2 tbspns of besan approximately). Do not add in a drop of water. Heat a non-stick fry pan or tava, adda tspn of oil and neatly place the batter (you cannot spread it easily like you do to a dosa batter). Cook on both sides till crispy brown. Serve piping hot with any chutney or soya curd (the recipe I had posted earlier - blending the  curd with mint, garlic and salt in a mixi).

Suran-Tofu cutlets

Ingredients
Suran (Yam)  - 250 gms
Tofu - 50 gms
Fresh cocum or amchur - crushed 2 pieces of cocum or amchur as per your taste
Salt and chilli powder to taste

Method
Steam Suran (Yam) and crush it. Grate or crush Tofu and add to the Suran. Add fresh cocum crushed or amchur, chilli powder and salt. Mix together. Shape the mixture into cutlets. If you find the mixture not thick enough to shape them into cutlets, add besan (gram dal flour). Keep them in the fridge for an hour or so before frying. You can shallow fry too. Serve with chutney. (Suran has less GI than potatoes - it is supposed to help in lowering your sugar levels)

Chilke wali Moong Dal (split green moong dal) dosas

Ingredients
Chilke wali Moong Dal - 2 katoris
Garlic - 3-4 cloves
Green chillies - 2 (or as per your taste)

Method
Soak the dal overnight. In the morning, blend it in the mixer (without adding any water; in fact, drain out the extra water that you have soaked the dal in) with garlic, green chillies and salt. You may add only a tbspn or two of water if you like while blending in mixer, if you think it is too thick.
Make dosas - cook on both sides nicely.
You can add cut palak, tomatoes, onions etc - as per your choice.

Instant Matki Misal

Ingredients
Matki sprouted - 100 gms
Onion, cut fine - 2
Tomatoes, cut fine - 2
Goda masala (optional)
Lemon
Corriander leaves
Sev (made out of besan)

Method

Steam the sprouted matki until soft. Heat oil in a pan. Give tadka of mustard seeds. After they split, add jeera. Then add  half of the cut onions and saute for a while. Add half of the cut tomatoes and stir Add 1/4th tspn turmeric powder, one tspn goda masala or if you don't have it, then use corriander powder. Add, salt and red chilli powder. Cook well. Serve the matki usal in a bowl, garnish with onion, tomatoes, corriander leaves, lemon and sev.