Indian Breads

Since the Stone Age men have been making bread. Most of the early breads were mainly unleavened with different grains, thickness, shape, and texture varied from culture to culture. Being one of the oldest civilizations in the world, Indian breads are mainly unleavened and are grilled on a tava (flat pan) or fried rather than baked. Roti, Naan, Dosa are some of the most popular Indian breads. Breads are normally eaten with curries, lentils or chutneys. Based on the local ingredients grown in each region the bread differs.

In North India, the breads are mainly flat are made from wheat flour. The dough is made and then using a rolling pin or by hand the dough is shaped in a circular fashioned. People normally add a layer of stuffing which can be vegetables, Paneer (Indian cottage cheese) or even minced meat to these breads. Some of the popular North Indian breads are:

Chapatti (soft and circular) eaten on a daily basis in most Indian house holds in North India.
Parathas (thick and flaky) served with Indian gravy. There are several versions of stuffed Paratha most common ones are Aloo Paratha and Gobi Paratha.
Naan (thin crust flat bread) this bread is cooked a in a traditional tandoor oven. This bread is normally topped with cheese or garlic, etc.
Poori or Puri (Deep fried) best eaten hot and a perfect accompaniment for Chole. Popular for kids.
Kulcha (thick and circular) – The flour in knead into circular shaped bread and baked in an earthen oven. The bread is piped with homemade butter

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What People Around the World Eat For Breakfast

Throughout the world, ‘breakfast’ is an important cultural tradition associated with the start of a new day. Because ‘breakfast’ is such an important meal, many countries have developed their own unique culinary delights to begin each day.

Breakfast in America: Eggs, English muffins, toast, cereal, tea, coffee, milk, bacon or sausage, hash browns, and fruit and fruit juice.

Breakfast in Canada: Pancakes and Canadian maple syrup, Canadian bacon, eggs, English muffins, toast, cereal, tea, coffee, milk, hash browns, and fruit and fruit juice.

Breakfast in the United Kingdom: Tea and coffee, toast, bacon, sausage, grilled kidneys, eggs, grilled tomato and mushrooms, oatmeal or cold cereal, smoked fish, buns, crumpets, and brown bread with butter, honey, jam, or marmalade. Continue reading “What People Around the World Eat For Breakfast”

A Few Healthy Snack Ideas for Toddlers

Snacking between meals is important but it is also important to eat the right food and not binge on empty calories. It’s not easy to please a child, especially when it comes to food. Snack is a small portion of food that is served in between the meals to keep the kids energetic and refreshed. Here are a few healthy snack ideas that can be easily incorporated in a 2-year-old baby diet chart:

Baked Sweet Potato:

Ingredients: Sweet Potato, salt and butter

Method: Wash and clean sweet potato. Cut each sweet potato in half lengthwise and then cut the potato halves into 1-inch-wide wedges. Melt butter and brush it on all wedges. Sprinkle salt. Preheat the oven and cook until soft. Let it cool down a bit and serve warm with ketchup on the side.

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What Type of Food is in Venezuela?

Venezuela has a touch of marine flavor when talks about food place. Fresh fish and shellfish generally are a part of typical fare. In fact, you can get fresh fish and shellfish in practically any part of the country. However, ‘pabellon’ is known as national food of the country. Pabellon is a meat dish that is prepared with meat, rice, black beans and banana.

“Arepas”, a kind of bread which is prepared with corn flour, salt and water, is demanded all the time everywhere. A bite of it with jam or cheese tastes wonderful. Arepas, with different methods of preparation and various implementations, is served by almost all the restaurants in Venezuela.

Few types of food that are commonly eaten in Venezuela are as follows:

* Pabellon: This is a delicious preparation of stewed and shredded meat with banana and black beans. Continue reading “What Type of Food is in Venezuela?”

Don’t Say Banana – Say Matoke

Uganda is probably the banana basket of east Africa. There are so many types of banana, that there is not one general name for banana in the local language. Here is an introduction to some types of banana from Uganda.

The king of bananas in Uganda is definitely matoke. The term matoke is a generic name for a family of banana that are similar in characteristics. The matoke banana is a small, green banana which grows tightly on large bunches. It is a cooking banana. Ripe matoke bananas are also edible – as a last resort, instead of throwing them away.

The matoke banana tastes best peeled and steamed in banana leaves. It then develops a rich yellow colour. Matoke also tastes good roasted, as a snack.

Its soft, neutral taste is ideal as an accompaniment to fish, meat, groundnut, vegetable and pulse sauces.

Although the matoke has a reputation of not being particularly nutritious, it is very much beloved. It is often preferred to maize meal bread (posho), millet meal bread (kalo), rice, or boiled cassava, sweet potato, yam or arrow root. However, since matoke is expensive, it is often served with one or more of the above. Continue reading “Don’t Say Banana – Say Matoke”

What To Do When You Don’t Like Chia Pudding

What should you do when you don’t like chia pudding?

As versatile as it is, not everyone’s going to like the texture of chia pudding. This popular snack/dessert/breakfast item is made when chia seeds are hydrated with various flavored liquids and put in the fridge. Because of the seed’s super high soluble fiber content, they’re able to absorb 9 times their weight in liquid, and hold it on the outside of the seed shell in a drop of gel. Get enough of this gel together, and you’ve got a thick pudding. It can be flavored with almost anything from your favorite fruits to chocolate, peanut butter, coconut, cashew and much more. Of course, many of the pudding types are attractive to look at in food photography, so you’ll see them all around the web and on blogs and pin sites too.

But what if the texture’s just not for you?

Of course, since chia is a seed, the pudding, when made normally, will be ‘pebbly’ in texture. Not everyone’s going to like that. Then, soluble fiber can have a ‘gelatin’ like feel, as in it’s always wet and a little slippery. So if you try the pudding, and just can’t get past the texture because it’s too reminiscent of tapioca dots, can you still enjoy the health benefits of chia seeds? Continue reading “What To Do When You Don’t Like Chia Pudding”

10 Healthy Breakfast Ideas for Kids

Eating a substantial, healthy meal within the first few hours of waking up is much needed for everyone, especially your children. Hence, breakfast is considered to be the most important meal of the day. It is the meal that fuels the beginning of an active day. After a rejuvenating night of sleep, you and your kids’ brain and body need fuel to operate.

And what is the best way to get the engine revved up than to incorporate the wonder nut – almonds. These nuts are rich in protein, vitamin E, fibre, riboflavin and other essential nutrients that can contribute to a wholesome and healthy life for your kid.

For children, a healthy breakfast is even more important as it helps improve performance and concentration through the day: whether in school or for those extracurricular activities. Giving healthy breakfast to children not only ensures supply of proper nutrition but also helps in forming and establishing good eating routine. However, there will be days, when you might be pressed for time or busy getting children ready for their day, for those times, almonds can definitely be your go-to ingredient for a healthy breakfast. You can either sprinkle sliced almonds over your cereal or consume them whole; almonds can add a nice crunch to your breakfast. Continue reading “10 Healthy Breakfast Ideas for Kids”

Weight Loss Vitamins – Cayenne, L-Glutamine and Cinnamon Extract

Everyone knows that the best way to lose weight is through a healthy diet and adequate exercise. Calories ingested and calories burned are the two main components in the ideal equation. Something that not everyone knows is that vitamins and extracts may aid in the battle of the bulge, as well. People are starting to talk about the benefits of adding cayenne pepper, L-Glutamine and cinnamon extract to their regime.

Cayenne pepper is a spicy red dried vegetable which has been used to flavor dishes for years. Cayenne pepper has medicinal properties, too. Not only has it been shown to clear out arteries and help with heart disease, it also helps with stomach and intestinal tract issues. This spice actually helps to regenerate new tissue in the stomach lining which is a big help for ulcer sufferers.

The way it helps with weight loss is that it aids in digestion. The more properly food is digested and eliminated, the more successful the weight loss will be. The pepper also helps to stimulate saliva which naturally has the effect of slowing down the eating process, thus allowing one’s stomach more time to reach the feeling of fullness which is also the message to stop eating. Continue reading “Weight Loss Vitamins – Cayenne, L-Glutamine and Cinnamon Extract”

Very Simple Banana Bread Recipe

We all love bananas right? They are a popular and highly nutritious fruit that can be found in pretty much every country around the world. They are the second most exported fruit across the globe after tomatoes, if you can really class them as a fruit in the conventional style. There are hardly any calories in a banana to worry about and they taste delicious, but eating them on their own all the time can get a little boring, even for the biggest banana fans out there.

With this in mind I thought that I would share a very quick and easy banana bread recipe that I picked up over the weekend when staying with some friends. Trust me you do not need to be a Gordan Ramsay in the kitchen to be able to make this, and I would like to make the point that if I can make it, then anyone can!

Ingredients for my very simple banana bread recipe Continue reading “Very Simple Banana Bread Recipe”

Things to Eat Or Drink to Help Bring Fertility Back – I Want to Get Pregnant Now!

There is not any one magic food recipe that will guarantee conception, but what you eat can increase your chance for conceiving. One thing you have to do is start eating healthy. Start by eating less meat and more vegetables. You should be eating a lot of green vegetables. If you are not big on vegetables, you can chop them up real small and add them to your meatloaf and you probably won’t even taste them.

Things to Eat Or Drink to Help Bring Fertility Back

It is good for you to drink plenty of green tea and Vitamin C too. Studies have shown that women who make these a part of their diet are more likely to become pregnant. Trans fat is something that you want to avoid whether you are trying to get pregnant or not. Trans fat is found in all kinds of foods. Here is a list of the top seven Trans fat foods.

1. Margarine – is loaded with trans fats and saturated fats, both of which can lead to heart disease. Look for soft-tub margarine because it is less likely to have trans fat. Continue reading “Things to Eat Or Drink to Help Bring Fertility Back – I Want to Get Pregnant Now!”