Smart snacking series I - Sprouts salad

Snack time is often the time when  we are  tempted to binge  on unhealthy  stuff.

Whether you are at your  work desk  or at home chatting with  friends or   catching up with the latest book , you often look for the perfect snack to give you company .

Remembering to eat healthy even when giving in to ur urge to eat is the idea here. Therefore, we bring to you a snack series wherein we will discuss some healthy yet tasty snacking ideas.

Here goes the first one - sprouts salad. Its not just tasty but is loaded with necessary fibres and can be put together very easily. You just need to remember to soak the ingredients overnight.

Ingredients :
1. 1 cup black fram or chana
2. 1 cup whole moong
3. 1 cup matar
4. 1 onion ( sliced )
5.  2 tomatoes ( sliced )
6. 1 cucumber ( sliced )
7.  2tsp chaat masala
8. Green chilies as desired
9. Juice of one lemon

Method :
1. Soak the chana , moong and matar overnight to get  the best results. 
2. Mix all the sprouted pulses  together . 3. Add in the onion , cucumber, tomatoes together
4. Add the lemon juice , salt   and chaat masala
5. Mix well and the sprout salad is ready to serve
6. You can add chopped coriander leaves also for added flavour.

This salad is loaded with proteins , fibres and vitamins . This helps in lowering cholesterol levels too. Its a favourite with people who want to lose weight.

Mango Juice - quick yet yummy !!

Hey there ! The season of mangoes is here !!

Mangoes are not only tasty, they help you to keep your cholesterol levels in check as well.

The high levels of fiber, pectin and vitamin C to lower serum cholesterol levels, specifically low density Lipoprotein (Bad cholesterol) 

For some other interesting health facts about magoes, try this link: http://www.care2.com/greenliving/10-health-benefits-of-mangos.html
Try this delicious mango Juice recipe to tantalize your taste buds on a sultry summer afternoon.

Ingredients:

Sliced Mangoes - 1 cup
Water 1/2 cup
Sugar / Honey - according to the sweetness of the mangoes

Process

Combine all the ingredients in a blender and process 

And, the yummiest mango juice will be ready in seconds !

Eating your breakfast - why is it so important ?

People on the go usually skip breakfast to save precious time in the morning. Some even think that skipping breakfast cuts down your daily calorie intake.
However, research proves that it is the most important meal of the day.

Breakfast as the name suggests is the meal which helps us break our night long fast. Breakfast is the meal which helps us refuel our body to meet all the needs of the present day and therefore, it should be a hearty and healthy meal. Ideally, breakfast time should be within 2 hours of a person's waking up time. 

It kick starts your metabolism for the day: 
It send information to the brain that it needs to start the metabolism process for the day. Therefore, it helps to burn the excess calories A good breakfast provides the necessary carbohydrates to the brain to start functioning and helps us with our concentration levels and makes us stress free.

It helps you to keep a tab on binge eating:
If you do not have a proper breakfast in the morning, chances are that you will feel hungry much earlier in the day as the body need energy to function. There are high chances that you  resort to food which have a high fat content rather than smart snacking.


Having a good meal at the start of the day peps up your day and adds that extra energy that you need at the start of the day. Not eating a proper meal makes you sluggish and has a negative effect on your day.As it helps in the functioning of the brain, it also keeps you in a good moos.

Therefore, one should take special care about a person's breakfast menu. A little imagination can help you to come up with tasty breakfast ideas.

Elvis Presley's Favourite Pound Cake

Are you a fan of Elvis Presley???? I AM!!! Yes, I AM a big fan of Elvis Presley… Who else??? Wow, clap, clap , clap!!!! I can see all hands are high high up!!! Ok, ok, ok…. I see all your hands…! Yes, I think it’s almost impossible to see anyone, who is in that era, not a fan of Elvis Presley. He’s our evergreen idol but too bad, he left us at the age of 42 on August 16, 1977 in the bathroom of his Graceland mansion in Memphis, Tennessee.

With compliments from Shane Lee :)

We all enjoy Elvis Presley’s music but what about his favorite cake? Well, thanks to my friend, Shane Lee. He seeing my new interest in baking, gave me a recipe to try out.

It was Elvis Presley's favourite pound cake, baked by his mom, Gladys, and later his personal cook.

Overall, the cake was simply delicious and great to have it with a cup of hot coffee and it was even more delicious the following day!

It's just simply delicious

The bottom of the cake doesn't look that nice.

So here's Elvis Pound cake, with Shane Lee’s compliments

ELVIS PRESLEY'S FAVOURITE POUND CAKE
- 3 cups granulated sugar (I used 2 cups only)
- 1/2 pound butter, softened
- 7 eggs, at room temperature
- 3 cups cake flour, sifted twice, divided
- 1 cup whipping cream
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract (I used vanilla essence)

Method :
1) Butter and flour a 10-inch tube pan.
2) Thoroughly cream together sugar and butter.
3) Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.
4) Mix in half the flour, then the whipping cream, then the other half of the flour.
5) Add vanilla extract. Pour batter into prepared pan.
6) Set in a COLD oven and turn heat to 350 degrees F. (I set at 160 degrees Celsius as my oven heated quite fast. So, adjust the temperature accordingly ).
7) Bake 60 to 70 minutes, until a sharp knife inserted in cake comes out clean.
8) Cool in pan 5 minutes. Remove from pan and cool thoroughly.

Wishing all of you a very happy and wonderful week ahead :)

Do take note that I am experimenting taking pics with 2 different camera. That's why you can notice the difference tone of the images. Which one do you prefer?

The clear sharp images or....

the special effect with blur background images? 
Your opinion is highly appreciated :) Thanking you in advance!

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