Food And The Body

I started reading this beautiful book “The Soul Of A Chef – The Journey Toward Perfection” written by Michael Ruhlman (2001).  What a genuine book to read!  This book gives some important facts, history of American cuisine, and insights on food writing.  I am still reading the book and will surely share more interesting details in my future blogs.

Who is not obsessed with food? We work for food and we all eat to live.  Hunger is a natural process of the body and our body requires energy to perform its various functions.  There are many functions of our body that is purely dependent on the nutrition that we get from our food.  Have you ever imagined how many people in our world go to bed without eating food?  According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) 793 million people across the globe suffer from chronic hunger.  FAO defines chronic hunger as “undernourishment caused by not ingesting enough energy to lead a normal, active life”.   

I usually don’t skip my meals and I strictly follow a disciplined meal regimen.  Though I am a non-vegetarian I prefer to have veggies in my food.  Dark green leafy vegetables attract me the most and of course many other vegetables are my favorite.  I don’t believe in dieting and I’ve never dieted in my life.  Contrary to that I eat what I want to eat and stay away from junk and fast food as much as possible.  I was never skinny and I don’t desire to be.  A lot of my physique and body structure comes from both of my parents who have been healthy.  However I am very particular about my yoga, exercises, and my regular walks.

A balanced food, good sleep, regular exercise, and an active life keeps a person glowing not only from outside but also from inside the body.  All these things are interlinked and either have a positive or negative effect on our personality.  Make-up can only hide our blemishes but will not remove impurities from within us.  It is very important to detoxify and cleanse our body from inside to remove toxins that enter our body through various channels such as food, water, air etc.  Water and fiber rich fruits and vegetables are a good source to detoxify and cleanse our body.  Many of us don’t have access to all these sources for various reasons but believe me use the resources that are within our reach and use whatever is available.  There are some simple ingredients in our kitchen that can do wonders.  Few changes in our dietary and food habits can have a longer and positive impact on our health, body, and lives. 

Very recently I learned to make garlic bread.  It was just delicious and I still remember its flavor.  Do you know garlic has many health and medicinal properties? It is nutritious, can combat common cold, reduce blood pressure, improve cholesterol levels thereby reducing risk of heart diseases, it is an antioxidant and can detoxify heavy metals from the body, it improves bone health and has many other health benefits.  However it should be taken in a limited quantity as it can have an adverse effect.

How to make garlic bread?

Ingredients:

A Long bread of your choice

Garlic oil (which has chopped/minced garlic in it)

Butter

Olive Oil

Cooking time (10 minutes):

Cut the bread horizontally from the centre and open both sides.  On the inside part of the bread apply olive oil with a brush, put some garlic oil (with some garlic), and spread some butter.  Close the bread, wrap the bread in an aluminum foil and place it in a pre-heated oven (350^o F) for 5-10 minutes.  Remove from the oven and slice the garlic bread according to desired serving size pieces and enjoy with your meals or favorite soup.  It is easy to make and the taste and flavor is just awesome.   

See you soon with few more food experiences and also a quick and simple recipe. Till then eat healthy and stay fit!

Shabeena Saveri

The Pleasure of Cooking!

Who likes to eat fast food? Do you consider it healthy? Well there are various theories that critique the negative effects of fast food on our health.  A couple of decades ago a new movement has emerged around food.  The “Slow Food” movement!  This movement is an alternative to fast food.  Right now I am not discussing too much in detail on the Slow Food movement but today’s fast-paced life has left less option for many of us other than to rely on fast, packaged, and processed food with preservatives added to it.

Personally I am not a big fan of fast food.  I prefer to cook and eat my food when I am at home.  I get a chance to eat what I want to eat and it also gives me an opportunity to concentrate my attention and relax.  When I am cooking, I am with the food and I only think about cooking and the food.  At least I know what is in my food and I am aware what goes in my mouth and stomach.  Last week I ate a new dish, Polenta.  Polenta is a famous Central European dish.  It’s origin is from Northern Italy, France, and Switzerland.  I liked this dish as it is simple to make and tastes good.

Polenta is made from corn.  Cornmeal is made thick by adding it to boiling water.  To me it first looked like semolina (rava in Hindi).  Initially it also tasted like semolina made in an Indian style.  While in India I ate semolina either salted (upma) or sweet (sheera).  In India salted semolina is made with onion, green chili, ginger and garlic paste, coriander leaves, curry leaves, mustard seeds, water, salt, and oil.  Whereas sweetened semolina and is made with clarified butter (ghee), sugar, water, milk, dry fruits, and some spices can be added to increase the aroma and flavor.

How to make Polenta?

Ingredients:

One cup Polenta

Three cups of water 

Olive oil (for greasing the tray/utensil)

Salt

Cooking time (10-15 minutes)

Boil water add salt and add Polenta as the water boils.  Keep stirring to avoid lumps.  Once the water is absorbed and Polenta is cooked remove it in a tray/utensil greased with olive oil.  Spread cooked Polenta in the pan and top it with your favorite cheese and tomato sauce.  The Polenta dish that I ate was topped with Mozzarella cheese.  With this I had sides such as cauliflower and oven cooked meatballs in tomato ragout.  Polenta with cauliflower and meatballs was an entrée dish.  Of course I started my meal with a greens salad. 

This dish was healthy, nutritious, and gave me the required calories.  It also gave an opportunity to learn a non-Indian dish.  In my next blog I’ll introduce you to the concept of food and some basic tips on hygiene in the kitchen.  Don’t forget to cook food and eat whenever you get time.  Till then eat healthy and stay fit.  

Shabeena Saveri