Nourishing Spoon

Gluten-free Steel Cut Oats with a Yummmm Aroma and Delicious Crunch! "Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince, and dinner like a pauper."   Adelle Davis Once that alarm goes off in the morning, some of us hit that snooze button while some of us jump out of bed and start our monotonous daily routine or RAT RACE!  Be it scrummaging for a pair of clean, matching socks or pair of pantyhose with no runs, putting on a tie, looking for the back of a favorite earring, or the car keys, while stuffing a piece of toast in our mouth and sipping hot coffee out of those new Dixie cups (that we see the commercials for), little do we realize that we are gulping down the most important meal of the day - BREAKFAST!  Breakfast is the meal you consume to break the fast that you have maintained since last night's dinner (Oops! Excuse me - midnight snack)!  Breakfast is the meal that sets the "thermostat" for your body. Hence, the saying "Eat breakfast like a king...

Super Bowl Sunday!  While most people were busy preparing delicious edibles for half-time for their Super Bowl party, I was a giving a workshop on sugar. The audience was truly amazed to see how much sugar there is in a 2-litre bottle of Pepsi!  56 tsps!!!  I doubt if anyone who attended today's workshop had soda at their Super Bowl party! When checking out nutritional labels, often times we rush and don't realize that the grams of sugar listed are for a single serving and not for the entire product.  4 gms of sugar are equal to 1 tsp of sugar.  Next time you reach for something from your pantry or refrigerator, look to see how many grams of sugar it contains.  Soon you will be a math wiz - an expert in dividing things by 4 'cause you'll want to know how many teaspoons of sugar you are consuming.  We consume approx. 150 lbs (30 five pound bags) of sugar each year!  If you want to lose weight, try becoming "refined s...

Happy, Healthy 2010!  Each new year's eve we make resolutions.  As we turn over the page in our new calendars, we try to turn over a new leaf.  We desperately try to exercise more/eat less junk food/keep our homes clean/hang up all our clothes/do the laundry at least once a week......the list goes on and on.  At the same time, we also start another chapter in our lives. What were your resolutions?  Have you been successful with them?  Tomorrow, we start the second month of the year - have you given up on any of your resolutions?  If so, why? For this new chapter in your life to be one of the best or most memorable, why not write down your goals in a notebook or diary?  Give these goals life - bring them out and put them in ink, say them out loud - let the universe know what you desire and start the drum roll, start making them a reality.  Take baby steps, one tiny step at a time to get to your destination!  Like t...

When I visited a local farm, I couldn't resist taking this photograph. The two seem to be happy with each other's company and so relaxed among the others on that lazy Sunday afternoon.  Like a swan and her companion in total bliss. Autumn brings us such a wonderful hue of colors. I admire the beauty of the shimmering golden leaves on the trees and love the warmth of the sun on my face as it peeks through. The smell of apples and cinnamon fills the air....oh, how I very much enjoy this .... Let us savor the moment and appreciate everything that passes our way.

As far as I can remember, back to when I was a little girl, we were always vegetarian on Mondays.  Monday is Lord Shiva's Day and worshippers of Lord Shiva abstain from eating meat, fish or eggs on that day. My mother is a true believer in Lord Shiva and she was blessed (?) with me on Mahashivratri, which is Lord Shiva's birthday! Growing up, if it was Monday, it meant dahl rice (lentil soup with basmati rice) and potato tikis (similar to latkes)! When I first came across "Meatless Mondays," I was curious about the site and read more about it -  http://www.meatlessmonday.com/ Meatless Mondays is a non-profit initiative in association with John Hopkins' Bloomberg School of Public Health. I encourage you to become meatless on Mondays for improving your own health and the health of the planet. Byran Walsh's article in the Times  mentions that "The meal plan of the average American family accounts for 2.8 tons of C...

Last Thursday, when I got back from my meditation class I was absolutely famished!  I walked straight into the kitchen, and without taking my coat off, I started opening and closing the refrigerator and pantry doors a few times - it's a little salsa dance in sync - you open the refrigerator, then you close it (disappointed), you open the pantry, then you shut it (clueless), then you go back to the refrigerator - one, two, close and open! Finally, my eyes caught hold of the corn and lemongrass soup which I had bought from Whole Foods.  I love Thai food and was excited when I saw that they had a gluten-free corn soup with lemongrass! Yum! Love that lemongrass!  While it was warming up, I took out the boiled corn cob that I had in the refrigerator and started removing the corn from the cob. I love texture and the extra corn made it taste more homemade. After I added the corn, I noticed on the side of the box a suggestion to serve with noodles!...

Welcome to my blog!  I am Jyoti, a certified health counselor, and I am really excited about sharing some quick tips that have made a difference in my health and will hopefully do the same for you! Since this is my first blog, I would like to start by talking about coconuts, which are very auspicious and used in opening ceremonies, weddings and other religious services. Coconut water is extremely nourishing.   It is a natural isotonic beverage and has very little sugar (natural).  After exercising at the gym or a tennis game, reach out for a packet of coconut water to replenish your body fluids; after all, it has more potassium than most sports drinks! Whenever I feel dehydrated or sick, I quickly get some coconut water from a nearby health food store. It's great for the immune system.  There are many brands, my favorite is Zico!  Click here for more information. I always have a tough time when I visit Chinatown –...