5 Healthy and Nutrition-packed Vegetarian Breakfast Dishes

To raise a toast to a healthy and nutritious lifestyle, we thought of compiling a list of some of the easiest dishes that you could make for breakfast. Not only are they tasty but super healthy too. The best part about most of these dishes is that they can be made with the simplest of ingredients, readily available in any vegetarian kitchen.

1. Peanut Butter and Banana Smoothie: Blend together frozen bananas, a generous dollop of peanut butter, skimmed milk, honey and some ice cubes to create one of the most delicious and healthy morning shakes. Relish this chilled wholesome smoothie with some oatmeal cookies and loads of love!

2. Tofu Sandwich: An extremely tasty and healthy delicacy that not only allures children but elders as well. Apply some green chutney (made by blending together coriander leaves, mint leaves, green chillies, garlic, onions, ginger, salt and a dash of lemon) on a slice of whole wheat bread. Place a slice of fresh tofu, rings of onion and bell pepper on this slice. Sprinkle some crushed black pepper on this and place a plain slice of bread on top of this. Toast this on the grill/tawa for a few minutes and there you go! This high-on-protein snack is ideal for breakfast with some orange juice.

3. Quinoa Fruit Salad: Glamourize the plain quinoa with some fresh fruits, honey, lime and fresh herbs to enjoy a really healthy and delicious breakfast dish.

4. Kaandha Poha (Flattened Rice Flakes Upma): This Maharashtrian delicacy takes just a few minutes to prepare and is packed with taste and nutrients. Cook soaked poha, onions, green chillies, cumin seeds in some oil. Garnish with roasted peanuts, coriander leaves and a good squeeze of lemon juice. You have a hot and happening dish ready to eat!

5. Banana on Toast: You absolutely need no skill and time to prepare this super nutritious snack. The name is self-explanatory when I say banana on toast - literally place slices of a banana on toasted wheat bread with peanut butter spread on it and drizzle some honey on top. You just made yourself an amazing dish for breakfast!

Treat your taste-buds to some nutrient-packed recipes and celebrate a healthy lifestyle in the most apt manner. Share some of your ideas to living a healthier life through food and beyond!

"Cool" Tips to Beat the Heat!

The sun is shining brighter than ever and there are many side effects of these unpleasant rays falling on our skin. As it is rightly said that prevention is better than cure, it is imperative for us to follow certain key rules before stepping out in the sun. Here's a graphical way of representing the care that you must take to stay protected.

Stay Protected, Stay Pretty!

Guilt-free tips for a healthy and fit vacation!

It's holiday season and we all have our dates marked in the calendar for that annual vacation. Unfortunately, with memories we also pile on a lot of calories while traveling. We work so hard throughout the year for that perfect and fit body just to lose it all in one single trip. That sounds too harsh. Doesn't it. Well, you could take things under your control with a few of my traveling tips for that health-freak in you.

1. Have healthy items on the complimentary breakfast menu:

In case you are staying at a hotel that offers complimentary breakfast (which most hotels do these days) then opt for healthy dishes like cereal, fruit bowl, boiled eggs with salt and pepper, salads without mayonnaise, toasted wheat bread with peanut butter, baked beans or oats. Have healthy fruit juices instead of milkshakes. Don't even think about touching the french toast, maple syrup, muffins, puddings, hash browns and other fried items.

2. Have a hearty meal once a day:

Assuming that you have had the complimentary breakfast in healthy style, you are permitted to have a nice sumptuous lunch at a fancy restaurant. It would be ideal for you to stay moderate instead of going overboard with everything. For your daily dinners, pack some masala oats packets that only require the addition of a hot glass of water, or buy some wheat bread and ketchup/diet spread from the nearest 7/11 store and enjoy the meal in your room watching some good shows on TV.

3. Walk or cycle while exploring the new place:

Always prefer to walk or rent a bicycle to explore the new vacation spot. It gives you a good opportunity to burn all those extra calories that you collected the previous day. Additionally, it is an inexpensive and interesting way to discover stories of the destination that you have selected.

4. Have desserts, but share:

We all know that sharing is caring. In this context, you are caring for yourself. I know it's a crime to go all the way to Paris and not have the raspberry crepes there, or return from Switzerland without having that large slice of Black Forest Cake! So go ahead and have a bite of each of the desserts you feel like having, but do not binge on them.

5. Lose the key to your hotel room's mini-bar:

Your room's mini-bar usually will have the tastiest yet unhealthiest goodies stored in it. Do yourself a favor and never think about touching any item in it even once. 

6. Drink warm water always:

Prefer to ask for warm drinking water, whenever and wherever possible. Warm water helps in digestion of food and keeps your metabolism rate intact instead of making it haywire. 

7. Watch your poison:

You definitely have to booze while you are on a vacation. But ensure that you don't stuff yourself with too much alcohol. Its the most calorie-rich item that you need to keep a watch on. 

Have an amazing and healthy vacation with these interesting and fit tips for you to not cheat on your diet. In case you need assistance to book tickets for your travel, you could look-up here.

Tips to shed weight without shedding money!

Weight loss has become such a common thing nowadays that everyone uses it as a conversation starter with strangers. It has grown to become more popular than gossip or news. So while everyone out there is discussing about going to the gymnasium or switching to organic diet or even enrolling for Zumba classes, I have some really easy and effective tips that you could do use in your lifestyle without altering it much. Trust me, this definitely works.

1. Walk whenever possible

If you've to go to a store nearby, don't take your car or bike, just walk on your feet or cycle your way through. This gives you an opportunity to flex your muscles and stay fit while also giving you some time to talk to your close ones. 

2. Take the stairs

Never opt for escalators, travelators or elevators if and when possible. Another quick tip that most of you may not be aware of is that you should climb stairs on your toes and not the whole foot. This is a secret that not many know.

3. Drink hot/warm water always

Completely stop drinking cold water. Start having warm water always. This improves your metabolism thereby helping your food get digested better and faster. It also enhances blood flow throughout your body keeping you active for a longer time!

4. Say no to junk food

Exterminate french fries, burgers, onion rings, frito lays, cookies and other unhealthy eatables from your life. This step itself is enough to cut those extra calories and keep your weight under control.

5. Eat less but more often

Reduce the time between your meals. You must have something healthy to eat every 2 hours, but in lesser quantities. Earlier, if you used to have 5 slices of bread at once, make that 3 and after 2 hours have another 2. This way, you give time for your system to digest the initial 3 slices completely before you have the other 2. 

6. Exercise at home

You must do simple exercises at home like stretching, squats, cycling in air while lying on your back, twisting your body with your feet firm on the ground. You need not dedicate an hour for this. Just try doing sets of 10 each whenever you can, throughout the day!

These tips seem too good to be true. But believe me, they do work. Try it yourself to know it. 

Healthier Substitutes in your Daily Diet!

Healthy is the new trendy; we all are aware of that. But what exactly are we doing to be trendy? If you think switching to a snack that has "Healthy" printed on it is actually healthy, then you may need to open your eyes to the real world. I tried substituting my daily diet with some healthier and natural options (not packaged as healthy) for the past 11 months and found a drastic change in my appearance and fitness. Today I am going to share some of my hacks that actually work. Try them yourself to believe it!

1. Whole wheat bread instead of white bread

Whole wheat bread completely eliminates the processed white elements of normal bread made with flour. Taste and flavors were also enhanced for me. 

2. Two egg whites instead of a whole egg

A single egg yolk carries more than half the prescribed amount of cholesterol for a healthy adult. This reduces the cholesterol while increasing the protein content which is an ideal thing to do.

3. Quinoa as a substitute for white rice

Quinoa is a whole-grain superfood that is totally packed with nutrients and proteins as against rice that is just filled with unwanted carbohydrates.

4. Avocado instead of butter

Replace butter in your baking with avocado puree that adds minerals, vitamins and healthy mono-saturated fats.

5. Mashed cauliflower as a replacement for mashed potato

Mashed potato is filled with unhealthy carbs that could easily be substituted with mashed cauliflower that has just a fraction of the calories of the former and tastes equally yummy.

6. Dark chocolate instead of milk chocolates

Dark chocolate, by nature, is a little bitter because of the fact that it contains less sugar and more of cacao in its constitution. That says enough why you should choose the dark variant over any other. 

7. Mashed frozen banana instead of ice cream

Avoid milk, cream, sugar and everything unhealthy by substituting your ice cream with frozen banana that's been mashed to the same creamy consistency as a scoop of ice cream.

8. Honey instead of sugar

Take your tea, coffee or milk with honey instead of sugar on a daily basis and you will see the difference in no time.

9. Sweet potato fries instead of traditional french fries

If you must have fried food, and you just can't control that urge, opt for sweet potato fries instead of the traditional fries as the former adds a lot more fiber, vitamins and minerals to your diet while simultaneously reducing the carbohydrate content that the latter adds.

Hope you benefit out of the healthy switch! Write your observations and experiences here to spread the success stories.