Yogurts ---- Dessert , Meal  and a Snack

Milk and milk products, the name takes me back to my childhood days, when my Mum had this name always on her agenda. As kids, we heard all the good things about milk and like many other people, even I just heard it and never understood. Slowly, and gradually I just moved away from the world Milk but the benefits always remained somewhere in my mind. However , I always enjoyed another variation of it Curd. Any form of it was good for me. Very common name in the Indian household is Raita, served almost in every meal in different forms. Be it plain curd flavored sweet/ salty with parathas or Tomato/ Pineapple or Cucumber Raita.

However, while on my food journey, I realized that people have customized this food version to health foods too. Introduction of low fat yogurts and different versions of the Yoplait, do not confine it to meals anymore. Yogurt makes for a healthy snack or a breakfast. Vanila  yogurt is good with fruits and honey and can be consumed as a healthy dessert, and most important without any guilt. J

Some health benefits include, increased immunity, stronger bones and teeth, and good skin. Making it a part of your daily diet, helps solve many health problems and ensures a healthy body.

Different flavors include Strawberry, Key lime, peach and many more. The yogurt itself comes in variations like Greek Yogurt, which is my favorite these days. It just gives a fresh and contended feeling everytime I have it and it serves my sweet tooth just right. J It is served in various forms, one of them being frozen yogurt, which tastes and looks quite similar to the icecream.

So just a liner from me, try consuming the milk cousin, I am sure you will start enjoying it too , if you don’t do it right now. !!!!!!

Tea , Chai as they call it...

Did you know that people celebrate World Tea Day !! 

Surprised ? Yes, even I had the same reaction when I first heard about this not so common celebration. I did not have any great affinities for tea, and how important it was to people. But yes only when I saw that my husband loved tea, he could have it anytime of the day. And that was my actual introduction to tea so closely, inspite of having grown up in a country where every street corner has what we call it “Chai ki Tapri “ ( a place where a street vendor sells tea). Soon I realized that because I had never tasted that beverage I could not understand when they say, it needs to be boiled a little more, and a little less and the colour needs to be so and so..I wondered how a drink which just had tea, sugar, water and milk could have so many specifications.

Then living in the health conscious nation, I discovered the world of green tea and its benefits. Though I heard about it before too but people actually survive on it, this was quite new to me. And then on I had been exploring the world of teas. Starting from the health benefits green tea offered to the kick our Indian Chai gave.  

Only when I was on my exploration, some Chinese friends introduced me to Rose Tea and Chinese Tea, which do not use milk, and you can substitute sugar with honey. Just like the rose tea, there are some other  flavors of tea like Honey- Ginseng, Peach tea, Mango tea and you name it. All the fruit based teas are caffeine free. They have various benefits, that range from good hair, good skin to being stress relievers. The most recent one I found was the sleep time tea, which helps you get a good sound sleep after a long day !! Not forgetting, the numerous health benefits, that “Adrak Chai” (Ginger tea) offers and was one remedy every granny had to offer if someone had a headache, cold, sore throat or fever.

Now, I definitely have a different definition of the whole tea concept, and I love some of these flavors and try a different one each time…!!!

So, get up and quickly grab a cup of tea to refresh yourself !!! J

Happy Delicacies 

This is for all my readers who have a sweet tooth, like I do. Only we can understand what it is living without chocolates, ice creams and desserts. I often hear people saying , “oh I am consuming calories”. Well, may be they have some extra calories, that add on to those extra pounds but they have some good things too which help simulate happy hormones J , they can pump up your mood even in those boring afternoons at work !! Lets talk some good things about the yummy ice creams  J

Ice Creams:

·         Frozen Dessert made from dairy products.

·         Flavourings and sweetners such as sugar

·         Frozen Custard, Ice Milk and other similar products

Dietary Facts :

• ·         Minimum Of 10 % milk fat
• ·         9 %-12 % milk solids
• ·         12 %-16 % sweeteners
• ·         0.2 %-0.5 % stabilizers and emulsifiers
• ·         55 %-64 % water that comes from milk solids and other ingredients

Now that these are some cool and relieving numbers, I am sure my friends who thought calorie intake is high, should agree with me that it isn’t a bad idea to have it sometimes..:)

As I discussed, different cuisines in my last post, Ice cream too has different variations in different countries, but primarily made up of same products like milk, sugar and flavorings.

Italy :- Gelato made with whole milk, eggs, sugar and flavoring.  Dessert having a lower milk fat content than ice cream.

Arabia:- First to add sugar and used chilled syrup or milk with fruits.

India:-  Kulfi, today also sold by road side vendors and posh restaurants.

Malaysia and Singapore :-

Ais Kacang, made from shaved ice, syrup, and boiled red bean and topped with evaporated milk.

United States Of America :-

• Snow Cones, made from balls of crushed ice topped with sweet syrup served in a paper cone.
•  Kosher, non-dairy frozen dessert established in 1969 in New York.

These were some cool facts about ice cream.. Watch calories, and enjoy ice cream !!

Tastes………..

The blend of spices, gravies, and vegetables, is what makes a delicious meal. Different parts of the globe combine these three ingredients in various styles. Having travelled from the Asian continent all the way to North America, gave an opportunity to try out cuisines from China, Thailand , Mexico all the way to Ethiopia.

 Grew up eating the spicy Indian food, I always liked experimenting with food. India has variety of food from north to south. But trying out food from other countries was a different experience.

Starting with food from India’s neighbor, Chinese food is very similar to Indian food when it comes to spice. The Indo-Chinese food, street food in India, is a blend of the Indian and Chinese food. Chinese food has some special types of non vegetarian recipes that are specific to the cuisine. Orange Chicken, Kung-pao chicken and mandarin chicken are few entrees that have sweet and a tangy taste , and cooked in a special sauce. All these are generally served with steamed rice.

Thai food on the other hand is relatively spicier than the Chinese or Indian food and consists of colourful curries and includes mainly rice and noodles. Green and Red thai curry are two special types of pastes used to make curries and rice. Also, a must try is the panang curry and thai fried rice.

Moving on to the African continent, Ethiopian cuisine is what everyone should try once in a lifetime, chicken smeared in honey gravy served with a special type of bread, and the presentation just boosts the appetite.

And now to the Hispanic food, which would consist of variety of burritos and tacos available in vegetarian and non vegetarian varieties, are an addiction to the taste buds. After having tried all these foods if you are worried about the extra pounds , the very own American food will work wonders, which includes an extensive range of salads. Helps keep a track of calories, and  you wont regret the quantity of intake.

Last but not the least, a meal is never complete without a dessert , pastries all the way from France, yes I am talking about the French pastries, a must have for complete dessert experience.

I will get back to you on more varieties of foods and desserts, till then BON Appetit !!