Blueberry Smoothie

Holidays are in the air. Everyone is talking about cookies and cakes, pies and puddings, roasted turkey and roasted veggies!

Let me share with you my recent favorite dessert, which you might prefer this holiday, if you are on a weight loss spree like me.

Less ingredients, less calories,  and super easy to make. It takes less than 10 minutes. It's a great choice to include in your breakfast.

All you need is-:

• Frozen whole blueberries - 1/2 cup
• 1% milk/ soy milk - about 2 cups
• Non-fat yogurt- 1/4 cup
• honey - to taste

Mix all above in a grinder and beat to a smooth consistency. That's it. Pour in to the glasses and enjoy!!

oh.... and HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!!

Scallion / Spring onions/ green onion pancakes with guacamole dip

I was being really lazy to post this one. This one was made sometime in September. 

Scallions/ green onions/spring onions are not a common item in my grocery shopping.  We went to the Pike Place Market, and found a big bunch of scallions just for a couple of bucks. Grabbed them immediately..:)

Scallion Pancakes

The recipe I followed- http://www.loveandoliveoil.com/2010/07/scallion-pancakes.html

 I made some changes in the dough. First off, I used whole grain wheat flour instead of all purpose and I added some Indian spices in the dough to make it more tastier. 

Using the wheat, I think affects the elasticity, all purpose might have made them taste better and why not!!

So here is what I used to make these tempting pancakes-:

• whole grain wheat flour
• cumin powder
• chili powder
• turmeric powder
• Ajwain seeds
• salt
• canola oil
• warm water to kneed the dough
• and lots of chopped scallions.

Just eyeballed the ingredients. 

Kneaded the dough with warm water and all the spices, with salt and some oil. Dividing them into small balls, rolled them, sprinkled the scallions and rolled them again to make nice round shapes. Shallow fried them over the stove top on a skillet. Served hot with homemade guacamole dip.

Here is the procedure with the step - by- step pictures. Hope it helps.

Guacamole dip

• Avocados
• Cumin Powder
• Lemon
• Salt 
• Cilantro spring

Cut the avocados in to cubes, add salt, cumin powder, chopped cilantro, and then squeeze some lemon juice on top. Mash the avocados and mix everything together. 

I didn't add garlic and tomatoes, which traditional recipe usually asks for. I thought I will keep it simple. It still tasted great.
Make the wedges out of pancakes and use the guacamole as a dip or simply eat it like paratha with guacamole as a chutney. So try this great combination and leave a comment if you like it.

I am sending this entry to Only Greens Event hosted by Sara's Corner and Foodelicious. What a great event!

Rice with soy chunks

One more healthy yet tasty post!!
No specifics, it's a very versatile rice preparation, which gives enormous opportunities to your creativity. I made just some additions to the the traditional jeera rice and came up with the name Rice with soy chunks.
Soy chunks being extremely nutritious and meaty in texture is a good substitute for someone who wants to shift to a vegetarian diet.

This is what you will need-:

Mushrooms

Diced ginger

Diced green bell pepper

Scallions

Soy Chunks

Oh... and Cumin seeds..and olive oil ...and rice....a picture of which is I think waste of space..:P

Heat some Olive oil in a pan and add cumin seeds. As they splutter, add ginger, saute for a minute and then add mushrooms. The washed rice goes next, saute for another couple minutes and add the water. The rice, water proportion is 1:2. Bring water to a boil and then lower down the heat to low, add the salt and let it simmer for about 10-12 minutes. Keep checking in between. Time to add the cooked soy chunks (cook the soy chunks by adding some water and salt and boiling the soy chunks for about 10 minutes, squeeze the excess water and drain the chunks) and the scallions. No need to cook the scallions. Turn the heat off as soon as you mix everything together.

This is the end result-:

Give it a try and let me know...:)