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In the previous post, I told you how I rearranged my refrigerator.. In this section I am going to tell you how to alter the kitchen pantry.. If you are puzzled why I am writing a post on this, I would answer you as follows.. No one can think about weight loss after stocking Chocolates, Ice Creams, Sweets and Oil fried snacks in home.. So I thought I must write on this..

C'mon lets walk-through my kitchen cabinets..


This is a cabinet in which I usually store health drinks, coffee, tea like stuffs.. Now I have stocked it with the following items
  • Honey - For making lemon and honey
  • Raw Sugar/ Brown Sugar - I substituted regular refined sugar with raw sugar.. You may question me, why do I use sugar when trying hard to loose weight.. I use it in fruit juices and coolers
  • Palm Sugar and Dry Ginger Powder - for making masala milk
  • Green Tea - you all know a lot about green tea than me :)


These are the items I keep in my kitchen without fail.. I told you already that I am fond of millets.. Please do not think that I am advertising on brands or so.. These are the store bought items.. Whichever brand you feel the best, buy and use that brand.. I just wish to list the items, nothing else..
  • Whole Wheat Flour
  • Ragi Flour/ Finger Millet Flour
  • Bajra Flour/ Pearl Millet Flour
  • Red Rice Aval/ Red Poha
  • Ragi Semiya/ Finger Millet Semolina
  • Samba Wheat Puttu Powder


These are the spices I include in my regular diet.. These items help out in digestion and have a lot more benefits..
  • Pepper/ Milagu
  • Fenugreek/ Venthayam
  • Cumin Seeds/ Jeeragam
  • Mustard Seeds/ Kadugu
  • Carom Seeds/ Omam/ Ajwain
  • Cinnamon/ Pattai


These are the gram/bean items I feed myself with.. I never fail to take one bean/gram per day.. I have a variety like
  • Green Gram
  • Chick Peas
  • Black Eyed Peas
  • Red Beans
Here I have missed an interesting entry.. "OILS and FATS".. I am still confused to decide which oil to use and which to eliminate.. I use coconut oil, olive oil, sunflower oil and gingelly oil
  • Olive Oil for Sauteing Vegetables
  • Sunflower oil for Frying (not for me :(.. this is for my husband and baby)
  • Gingelly Oil for all kind of Dosas
  • Coconut Oil for Vegetable Curries.. (Still I am puzzled whether to continue the use of cocnut oil or skip it continuously.. I should consult a my dietitian before that )
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Simple alterations in your kitchen pantry can help yourself to loose more weight.. I have gained a little more weight of 4 pounds and I am trying to lose those extra pounds now.. One step in such a journey is altering our kitchen cabinets and refrigerator with items those will help you to loose weight.. Yesterday, I went for shopping and have packed a few items in my kitchen..

I am going to show you my refrigerator trays.. You try to take the tips and make a few modifications as per your wish..


I stock the vegetable tray of my refrigerator with
  • Lemons - for making lemon and honey in morning
  • 2 or 3 watery and leafy vegetables like bottle gourd, radish and cabbage - I consume only leafy and watery vegetables, as they favor weight loss
  • Ginger - for making coolers like Ginger Lime, Ginger Grape, Ginger Orange and Ginger Pine..
  • Mint - for making mint coolers like Lime Mint, Ginger Mint and Orange Mint.. I consider coolers as my fat molters and tummy fillers.. 

This is my fruit tray and it has items like
  • Apples - Right from the day I started my weight loss, I am feeding myself with apples.. 
  • Raw mango - For making salads tasty
  • Carrots - Again, for making salads..

This is another rack, which I use for storing snacks.. And my snacks include
  • Sweet Corn - I usually have half a boiled or grilled sweet corn.. This happens occasionally.. 
  • Shredded Pomegranate - It is really a good habit to store some shredded Pomegranate.. Whenever you feel like having something sweet, you can have some granules..

This may look like an extra item..
  • Carnation fat free evaporated milk - I make soups out of it once in a week.. Soups like creamy tomato, cream of broccoli or cream of spinach.. 
I hope you all have guessed what to have in your refrigerator and will buy those this weekend.. Have a happy weight loss..
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I am back after a week of sabbatical.. We had a very nice Diwali this year.. Successfully I adapted to a pre-weak diet and workout plan.. This helped me a lot to manage weight during this festival season.. I tried a few recipes that would suit for this blog.. I have started to blog again..

A friend of mine gave me the recipe for this Wheat Rava Laddu.. It is quit simple recipe and my little girl likes it a lot.. It is rich in fiber and makes us feeling full.. I have put it in my weight loss diet menu.. This is a very healthy weight loss diet.. Yes, it required very little amount of sweetness and no other additives.. C'mon lets see the recipe..



Wheat Rava Laddu

Wheat Rava Laddu - A Healthy Snack

Recipe Source: Neighbor 
Preparation Time: 30 minutes for 10 laddus
Calories: 70 to 80 per laddu

Ingredients

Wheat Rava/ Godhumai Rava1 cup
Grated Jaggery¼ cup
Roasted Grated Coconut2 Tablespoons
RoastedCashew nuts1 Tablespoon
Roasted Groundnuts2 Tablespoons
Cardamom powdera pinch
Ghee½ Teaspoon

Procedure

Take wheat rava in a blender and pulse it twice or thrice
Sieve the broken rava to remove large pieces.. for this use rava sieve with little large holes..
Dry roast the sieved rava till it gets heated up
Remove it to a wide mouth vessel for binding
Add roasted nuts, coconut and cardamom powder
Heat jaggery with 2 Tablespoons of water and let the jeera come to one string consistency
Switch of the flame and add 1/2 teaspoon of ghee..
Add the jaggery to rava mixture and stir well
Make the mixture to laddus.. If the mixture starts to dry up in the middle, heat it little bit..

Step-wise Pictures

Take required ingredients.. Take wheat rava in a blender and pulse it twice or thrice..


Sieve the broken rava to remove large pieces.. for this use rava sieve with little large holes..Dry roast the sieved rava till it gets heated up  


Remove it to a wide mouth vessel for binding.. Add roasted nuts and coconut..


Mix well.. Heat jaggery with 2 Tablespoons of water and let the jeera come to one string consistency..

Switch off the flame and add 1/2 teaspoon of ghee.. Switch off the flame and add 1/2 teaspoon of ghee..


Add the jaggery to rava mixture and stir well


Make the mixture to laddus.. If the mixture starts to dry up in the middle, heat it little bit..Here we have the delicious laddus..



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spicy grilled pineapple

Weekends have always been special to me. I usually make up a full course meal in weekends. After being more concsious about my weight, I started searching for low calorie and low fat starter recipes. This spicy grilled pineapple is one among them. It is something hot, spicy and crunchy.. Its quite easy to make.. The taste is really good.. This is definitely a very good appetizer to add in your weight loss diet.. Low in calories, low in fat.. Zero Oil, of course..

spicy grilled pineapple

Spicy Grilled Pineapple

Prep Time : 10 mins
Cook Time: 3 mins
spicy grilled pineapple
Yield: 2 servings
2 slices
Svg Size:
1 slice

Average Rating:
5 for 5
Calories per Serving:
40 to 50
Posted By:
Cuisine:
Indian

Ingredients
  • 1 thin round slice of pineapple
  • 1/4 tsp cumin powder
  • 1/4 tsp chilli powder
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp sour cream
  • mint leaves for garnishing

Quick Procedure
  • Cut the round pineapple slice into two equal halves. Clean them well.
  • Sprinkle salt, cumin and chilli powder on top of it. Spread them over the pieces. Let is stay marinated for 5 to 7 minutes.
  • Heat a pan. Grill the pineapple slices on both the sides. Maximum one minute is enough for a side.
  • Serve it garnished with mint leaves and some sour cream

Stepwise Pictures
Cut the round pineapple slice into two equal halves. Clean them well.
recipe

Sprinkle salt, cumin and chilli powder on top of it.
recipe

Spread them over the pieces. Let is stay marinated for 5 to 7 minutes
recipe

Heat a pan. Grill the pineapple slices on both the sides. Maximum one minute is enough for a side.
recipe



Serve it garnished with mint leaves and some sour cream. Here you go..
spicy grilled pineapple
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I have been to my favorite doctor Dr. Krishna for consulting and getting tips for weight loss. She is from Kerala. The initial diet plan she gave me was completely in kerala style. I just consulted a dietitian to get it converted in tamilnadu style.

As my friend Asha for this diet chart, I thought of sharing it in the blog. It might be useful. This is a general chart. It is an outline and you need to modify it as per your taste and health conditions. Always consult a proper dietitian, if you can.

Kerala Diet Plan for Weight Loss
Some General Tips
  • Drink 3 to 4 liters of water. Although it is tough in this winter, we can never achieve a weight loss without drinking enough water. Jeeraka vellam can also be included.
  • Cook using pure coconut oil or olive oil
  • Avoid fried items like chips and appam
  • Avoid Achar or Pickle
  • Avoid Bakery items, ice creams and parottas 
kerala diet plan for weight loss

Now let us see the sample diet chart for Kerala Style Diet Plan

Kerala Style Diet Plan for Weight Loss

Early Morning
  • Katang Chaya with Sugar -OR-
  • Inji or Elakkai Tea

Breakfast Include any one from the following option
  • a small piece of gothambu puttu or ragi puttu with 1/2 cup of side dish -OR-
  • red rice idli or dosas with chutneys -OR-
  • 1 cup red rice kanji with payaru kari -OR-
  • 1 cup samba godhumbu upma 

Mid-Day Snack
  • Apple or Biscuits or Tender Coconut

Lunch any one from the following option
  • 1 cup matta ari or red rice with sambar or pulissery, any 2 vegetable side dishes, no chammanthi or theeyal -OR-
  • 1 cup matta ari or red rice with fish kuzhambu, grilled fish and keerai thoran -OR-
  • 2 chapathis with vegetable curry with a small salad

Evening Snack
  • Coffee or Tea with Half Sugar and 2 Fiber Biscuits -OR-
  • 1 bowl of soup -OR-
  • 1/2 cup Sundal

Dinner Include any one from the following option
  • 1 appam with stew -OR-
  • 2 idiyappam or nool puttu with stew -OR-
  • any millet dosa with chutney -OR-
  • 2 idlis with rasa vada

Note: Men could add 1/2 cup of more rice, 1 Dosa or 1 Chapatis in addition, 1 Biscuit in addition


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The most important thing to worry about, when dieting is "Hair Loss".. It seems to be a silly issue.. But whoever experience it would accept the truth..

In my previous(first and quick) weight loss journey, I followed a strict diet and was successful.. I never noticed my hair loss, till a friend of mine spot it and asked me "why ??" My hair has always been with medium length and very thick. Right after that rapid and unhealthy weight loss, it became as thin as a quill.. It made me worry a lot and I started consulting doctors for the remedy.. I was advised that if I try to follow a protein-rich and iron-rich diet regimen, I would regain the lost hair..

It is true.. When I altered my maintenance diet with protein-rich and iron-rich items, I was able to regain that lustrous hair thickness, but not like the previous one.. Meanwhile, a pregnancy and healthy diet associated with it gifted me a good hair thickness.. Even a year after my delivery, I was able to maintain the same.. When I planned to lose weight the second time, I was very particular that I should not lose much hair along with that.. I included a few food items to increase my hair growth.. I will be listing those for your reference..

1. Never get stressed to see your thin hair..
Nothing can make you lose hair as like STRESS.. It is the rival to our health.. So please don't get stressed to see your thin hair.. Whenever I cry seeing bunch of hair in my comb, my mom used to advice like this.. In trees, old leaves will fall and new leaves will grow from the papillary.. Likewise, whenever hair falls, there will be a new hair grown.. We should never upset the new comer with our stressful face.. Let us welcome the new comer happily.. I am supposed to accept her advice.. She is 49 and still with a thick, black and lustrous hair :)

2. Every time you brush your hair or see the mirror, tell yourself that you will regain the previous hair thickness..



I got this advice from an aunt, who is a cancer survivor.. It was ten years before I saw that situation..  Our neighbor Aunt Stellamma, who is known for her superb hair, losing it completely in Chemotherapy.. It was really pathetic to see her with a shaved head.. We never thought that she would come back as before.. She in turn keep pacifying us with her more confident words "I will regain my hair.. Let the strength of medicines go out..".. Days passed and  everyone got busy with their own work.. This Aunt never seemed to use VIG or something to cover her head.. In next 10 months, she was found with little little hair.. I went to college hostel and was not able to see her frequently.. When it happened to see her after two years, I was surprised.. She got her hair back, may be with a shorter length.. Yep.. I started following her advice right from there.. We have a lot to learn from others..

3. Eat 5 almonds a day



Many if you would have hear this.. almond is nothing but a protein supplement.. For a weight watcher, almonds keep away from hunger and supplies essential fatty acids..

4. Include Salmon Fish and Sardines in your diet



Both are Protein and Omega fatty acid, supplements..

5. Try to have 2 Gooseberries per day




They enrich you with Vitamin C, which is needed for Iron assimilation..

6. Try to have 2 Dates per day


No Iron Tablet can replace this natural supplement.. This easy Iron bomb has a number of benefits other than preventing hair loss.. 

7. Eat Sprouts, once in a week



Only a Sprout can provide, Revitalization.. There is no other equivalent.. Don't cook.. Have it as a Salad.. The nutritional value is higher..

8. Apply warm coconut oil to the scalp, at night time... Massage well


Only inner nutrition is not enough for a healthy hair.. So apply warm coconut oil and massage at night.. It will reduce the body heat and makes you feel cool.. 

9. Perform any Pranayama, weekly thrice



This is something you can do to relax yourself.. This will improve blood circulation and in turn hair growth..

10. Laugh Loudly, it relieves your stress



Laughing loudly cures a number of diseases.. Hair loss is one among them..

Note: Other than hair losses because of hereditary, diseases or hormonal disorders, you can prevent or rejuvenate you hair loss with the above steps.. 

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Author

authorHi. This is Sabari. I am the author of this blog. You can check out my weight loss story and more about me here.
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