mayurisjikoni

A Healthy Way of Life       Women constantly have to worry about weight issues. How many times have you heard men discussing about their weight problems? The world's general conception of a perfect figure, ideal weight, right curves in the right places for women is colossal. Men seem to just lead a happy, eat all you can sort of life without any issues. Not saying that there are no obese men, there are many with this fast pace and fast food era that we are living in. I've battled with weight issues ever since I delivered my twins. Have not managed to get back to my ideal weight. Being a food blogger really doesn't help, but I've been through all the programs and diets that most women try out... moong dal diet, salads and soups only, detox diets, yoga, fast walking, gyming, cross trainers, treadmills, calorie counting etc etc. However, one thing that I lack is consistence as I get bored with a fixed routine very easily.      Now that I'm in my 50s, I just ca...

Hey anand umang bhayo, jai ho Nandlal ki, Nand ke anand bhayo, jai Kanhiya lal ki         Hindus all over the world will celebrate Janmashtami, Gokulashtami, Krishna Jayanti, Ashtami Rohini as its known on Thursday 25th August this year. What is Janmashtami? Janmashtami is the birthday of Lord Krishna. Lord Krishna is the eighth avatar(incarnation) of Lord Vishnu. He took the human form and came to this earth over 5000years ago, 5243 to be exact to vanquish evil and bring back faith in religion. Its believed that Lord Krishna was born at midnight. He was the eighth son of Devaki and Vasudev(of the Yadava dynasty) from Mathura. His maternal uncle Kansa (Devaki's brother) ascended the throne by imprisoning his father King Ugrasena.King Kansa was a tyrant. After hearing a prophesy by the heavenly voice that the eighth son of Devaki would kill him, Kansa imprisoned his sister Devaki and her husband Vasudev. Kansa killed the previous children born to Devaki. It is be...

Only Bakes Challenge#1    I love baking mostly breads,cakes, muffins and cookies, a few pies and adding to the list a new passion, scones. To share my love for baking I started ONLY BAKES group on Facebook. I invited my family members, friends and a few blogger friends to join the group. I started the group in February 2016. Initially I had just a handful of people who joined the group. Slowly, some members and blogger friends like Saswati , Jolly , Nisa , Gayathri , Shobha , Avin , Latha began to post their bakes on the page. For a couple of months I thought,"Gosh, I've started a group and its got just a few members.' Then suddenly membership requests began to pour in and now there's no looking back. Right now as I write this post we have over 6000 members. I find that some members share really interesting bakes, some are very creative and some just want to collect all the recipes in the world.    At this point I would like to mention that even though we are memb...

Vande Mataram                          What does independence mean? According to the Cambridge dictionary it means freedom from being governed or ruled by another country. Independence means living a life without being influenced or helped by others. On 15th August, India will celebrate its 70th Independence Day or Swatantra din. India got its independence from the British Empire. With each Independence Day we are also reminded of the Partition of India and Pakistan. Every Independent country or State that looks after its citizens, makes its citizens to feel proud and patriotic. As an Indian born in Kenya, what are my feelings and thoughts for India? I am lucky to have a strong connection with India though having been brought up in Kenya. My mother was born and brought up in India. My father sent me to a boarding school in Mt.Abu when was only 12 (Uganda exodus scared all the Asian communities in East Africa). I got admiss...

Fatayer Jebneh#BreadBakers     Fatayer Jebneh  or cheese pastries are popular pastries sold in the Middle Eastern countries. They are called pastries or pies but unlike the western world pies which are made with flour and fat, these are made with a yeast dough. These pastries are popular street food served in Egypt, Lebanon and Middle East countries. The origin of these pastries is unknown as each country claims it as their own.    The yeast dough has yogurt and baking powder added to it to make it soft. The filling for fatayer can be cheese (Jebneh), meat or spinach. The shape too varies. They can be cigar shaped, round, triangle or boat shaped.    The cheese fatayers are usually filled with akkawi, a salty, chewy cheese that originates from Palestine mixed with a little bit of cheddar and kashkaval cheese. However if these cheeses are not available one can combine feta, mozzarella or ricotta with some cheddar cheese. Spices usually that are used to f...

Satvik Food   According to the Ayurveda(Indian traditional medicine), food is divided into 3 main groups, Satvik (Satvic), Tamasic and Rajasic. Food not only nourishes the body but affects the mind too. In this fast paced world our food is not only loaded with chemicals through fertilizers, canning, processing but we tend to overindulge in fast foods that are bad for our body, mind and health.We all get tempted by cheesy pizzas, delish bakes, silky chocolates.   Satvik foods are smooth, savory, easy to digest, light and fresh. Satvik foods encourage mental clarity, good health and peace.Foods belonging to this group are rich in Prana(life force). Foods included in this category are basically lacto vegetarian foods like fresh fruits, vegetables, fresh diary products, grains and pulses, natural sugars, nuts and seeds.Consuming these foods balances out the destructive gunas and keeps our mind calm, positive and healthy. Following a satvik diet eliminates the Tamasic and Rajasic g...