Women Lines

 The act of preparing food is known as cooking and every female is related to this activity throughout her life!

Cooking can happen with choice or without choice. Some ladies have passion for cooking and they love trying out new recipes, doing experiments with different types of cuisines, and creating out new recipes with various experiments.

I don’t want to expand about food and cooking habits, and healthy food or cooking but I want to share about the sacred aspect of food which we are forgetting in this rush of life.  In today’s hectic pace of life food has become just source of strength and intake has become a rush in activity as we all are always in crunch of time. We never realize activity which should be given required time and should be taken as the most important activity of the day is the most ignored one!

Recently I met Mr. Suresh Krishnan, manager for Annalakshmi restaurant in Singapore and had an enlightening discussion with him about the sacred nature of food which we always take for granted. Annalakshmi ,as most of us know, is an expression of India’s   great cultural heritage which brings together the knowledge of taste, flavors, nutrition and health in the wholesome manner for the benefit of diners. Uniqueness of the restaurant lies in the way it works. Almost all Annalakshmi outlets world over runs on this concept of “Eat as you want, Give as you Feel”.  Have your meal first, and pay whatever comes to your mind . 

 Mr Suresh Krishna shared that “Any food or drink prepared lovingly, selflessly is delicious and nourishing, not because of its recipe and rich ingredients, but because a self-less heart was at work. There was an absence of ego-principle acting and expecting something in return. Perhaps, that is why we sometime compliment our hosts for a “homely meal”, just like mother’s cooking.”

When there is harmony, selflessness, joy and cheer in the kitchen devoid of anger, hatred and worries, the food thus prepared and served has the power of reaching the very depths and nourishing the entire being, rather than superficial satiation of body hunger. Such food makes our body—light, mind-calm and intelligence—dynamic.

Eating is a sacred ritual, everyday in everybody’s life as the prayer goes — “thank you for today’s bread”. Human intelligence is helpless the moment food is pushed down into the gullet. Some other higher intelligence takes over the digestive and other processes nourishing the trillions of cells in our body. In fact, after the primary cooking in external fire, a secondary level cooking takes place inside our stomach with “digestive fire—Jataragni” of acids and enzymes.  

 It was really thought provoking discussion as I realized how sacred is the whole process of food prepration and food intake. If we really follow our ancient philosophies and way of living then there will be less prevelance of diseases around us.So friends lets pledge to give importance to food in our life, lets follow the right way of preparation, right time of food intake, and right type of food intake as our body allows. After all  health is wealth!

Go Green in every sphere of life. Why not kitchen!

Whole world is talking about saving environment in order to save your future generations. Facts reflect that how badly we will be affected by our mistakes which we are making today. In order to safeguard environment for our future generations why not start taking small steps today. We as a home manager can follow some steps religiously to contribute in greening the world around.

          I have searched out 7 steps, from different resources and websites, which I think are must to be followed by any aware homemaker-

1.        Take out the print out of this chart http://www.eldr.com/files/ELDR_GreenKitchenChart.pdf

And paste it somewhere in your kitchen. It will act as a reminder about different ways by which you can go  green.

2.        Microwaving is a good option to save energy.  On average, you’ll reduce your energy consumption by two-thirds if you cook stuff in the microwave rather than in the stove (even if yours is gas). It’s not a good idea, for many reasons, to eat only microwaveable meals, but if you’re reheating leftovers—especially small amounts—microwaves are much more efficient than the stove top. You’ll also help keep the kitchen cooler, which is a bonus in hot summer months.

3.        Go for a good cast iron or stainless steel skillet. Don’t go for cookware with non-stick surfaces. Choose sturdy utensils rather than cheap ones as it can be harmful to you. Most nonstick cookware these days is coated with Teflon, which contains chemical. Cooking with Teflon has also been shown to kill birds. Cast Iron is a great alternative, providing precise temperature control and good browning. 

4.        Stock your fridge. A full  fridge uses less energy than an empty one: Every time you open and close the door, the fridge has to kick in to re regulate its temperature. If there’s food in there already, there’s less outside air introduced, therefore less outside air that needs to be cooled. And don’t ever refrigerate uncovered food: Not only does it make it taste gross, but it also humidifies the air makes the motor work harder.

Purchasing from the bulk bins mean less packaging, and fewer trips to the store, and can also mean financial   savings

5.        Stick with green cleaning, rather than using chemical versions in the kitchen. Make your own cleaning products if you feel up to it. There are a lot of innovative ways to capture the cleaning power of vinegar, lemon juice, and baking soda. For example:

·          Scrub your toilet with vinegar and baking soda.

·          Cut through greasy counter tops with the power of baking soda.

·          Use baking soda to get rid of grease and freshen laundry.

                   Vinegar can clean the bathroom, kitchen, and other rooms throughout your home.

                  6.        When it’s time to buy new appliances, look for the Energy Star label to save on the amount of energy needed to        run the equipment.

Kids having good food habits are rare to find in today’s times!

School authorities are also concerned about the Kid’s lack of interest in healthy food.I attended a talk on healthy food habits in kids, organised by my kids school authorities. I am really grateful to the Counsellor who delivered the talk and shared with us amazing tips to improve eating habits in your kids-

1.Focus on when they eat and not on when they refuse. Praise the child when he is eating. Reinforcement on the positive things lead to positive results.

2.Involve kids in food preparation. You can always take help of your kids in mixing, sprinkling, stirring processes. This will help kids in relating themselves in process of food preparation, and thus they will love to eat it.

3. Prepare menu for the week and involve kids in its planning.You can put that menu or timetable around fridge and keep on discussing, and planning with your kid. Take out some time to discuss about the different component of food like protein, fat, carb.Put photographs of different sources of food which provide you those components. Paste picture of those food around the menu chart. This will help you in discussing the sources with him directly emphasizing the need and benefits of it.

4.Arrange some food around the corners of the kitchen or dining table tops so that when kids come around hungry they can easily take out the food themselves.

5.Provide various type of foods to your kid. Put some effort in doing experiments. Let him have the feel of all types of food, taste and noise, etc. Sensory play can help them a lot to do experiments with different kinds of food.

6.Seeing is believing. They will follow your footsteps. Try to be dramatic in front of them while taking your food.Say I love my food, I love the taste, aroma.Make it interesting for them.

7. Provide small portions and provide variety of food. Substitute other milk products to milk like yogurt, cheese. Provide lots of protein to your kid as it will enhance his alertness.