mayurisjikoni

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder    Every Tuesday, the members of Foodiemonday/ Bloghop group wait in anticipation to see what a fellow member will suggest as a theme for the coming week. We all take turns in suggesting the theme. For the #132nd theme Mallika who blogs at A Foodie Housewife had to decide the theme. She suggested Edible Food Art and also gave us some examples. So some of us said no to the theme and some of us immediately said yes. Usually the majority win. All who said yes immediately, slowly began sending messages that they are not artistic and have no clue how to go about this theme. I was one of them. What came to my mind first was a pretty shaped bread, but then I do that now and then. Then I thought of cookies and seriously couldn't go through the stress of icing in my super hot kitchen... yes its just too hot in Mombasa! Finally, I decided to challenge myself with a nicely arranged food shapes which normally all mothers do to make their kids eat. ...

MEGA BLOGGING MARATHON -SEPT 2017 #80TH BLOGGING MARATHON THEME: PROTEIN RICH DISHES DAY:19     When I was planning what protein rich dishes I was going to make, peanut butter was on top of the list. I was planning to make a peanut butter and banana sandwich, but then I came across this delicious pudding recipe. It was also full of chia seeds so one recipe took care of both the protein rich ingredients peanut butter and chia seeds. What I really like about this pudding is that one can even have on days that you are fasting. I know many people fast all 9 days of Navratri without consuming grains, pulses, salt and vegetables. So here's just the right kind of pudding to energize you and make you feel full too. Just replace the normal salt with rock salt or omit it.    One should be a bit careful about the quality of peanut butter we buy. Many of them have transfat added to them to make the whole process of processing the nuts faster, also add...

GUEST NO. 5 ON THE BLOG   I'm trying to feature my family and friends on my blog weekly. However, last week I couldn't feature any guest as I was down with a bad flu and fever. Still getting over the nasty cough, its very persistent.      This week my guest is my sister in law Arti (my brother's wife). When I asked her to write a recipe for the blog, her immediate reaction was 'ahahhaa that's not me Mayuriben that is something you do! I don't measure and cook, I don't know what to make' and the excuses kept on coming. I suggested that she should make her famous cranberry pickle but immediately realized that its not cranberry season. (shhh we'll get her to give us the recipe when cranberries are in season ;)) Anyway I left it up to her to decide what she would like to make and of course measure (she hates that). After a few weeks, my whatsapp is busy "toinking" away. I check my mobile to see who is persistently sending me messages and its Ar...

HAPPY NEW YEAR     Write it in your heart that every day of this new year is the best day.           A new year has begun, time to reflect on what we achieved last year, what we didn't and  what we would like to achieve. Like every year I continuously make a resolution to lose weight, which so far I haven't; not get so emotional if my kids don't call regularly, which is pretty difficult to stick by and have more patience with my hubby's weird, out of this world ideas. However, I still get angry and try to retaliate them with all my energy :)     This year I've not made any resolutions as I forget about them even before the 15th of January. Desserts, chocolates, good fried food, chaats still tempt me to no end. Perhaps I will try and take baby steps or make small mindful changes every day. However, it can only work if I continue with the change and not forget about it after a day. Lets see how it goes.    But changes I...

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...

    Easy communication      WhatsApp has improved communication tremendously. You just need to be connected to an internet or wifi and voila... you're good to go. Its become easier to communicate with friends and family who are far from us or when we are travelling. So the typical messages sent are  'leaving for the airport', 'reached the airport', 'done with security and immigration', 'having coffee', 'boarding plane', 'boarded'. Then for a while its peace and quiet. As soon as one lands, the first task is to find out if there is free wifi at the airport. If there is messaging begins again. 'Lovely airport', 'immigration line very long', 'waiting for baggage', 'reached our destination', etc etc. While for most of this is really good because we can keep in touch with family and friends, sometimes whatsapp can turn out to a be a huge nuisance. If you are part of several groups, then your mobile is certai...