Summer Salad

It is the first official day of summer!!! What this means is that not only will it be super hot, we will be spending more time outdoors than indoors!!! There will be trips to the beach, lots of picnics, barbecues.. what better side than an easy to put together salad!! Summer time you drink more than you eat..
Therefore salad makes for a perfect meal, be it lunch or dinner. You can make ahead and keep it and use the dressing at the last minute!You can use any kind of dressing with this one. This salad goes perfect with a basic vinaigrette as it has fresh mozzarella cheese and watermelon in it!  Sometimes I use a fruit-based vinaigrette such as raspberry vinaigrette.Actually, it is one of my favorite ones. It just adds to the flavor. Try different permutations and combinations and choose the one that works best for you..

Servings: 5-6

Prep time: 15 minsCook time: 0Total time: 15-20 mins 

Ingredients: 

Romaine lettuce: 1/2 head 

Sweet peppers: 3-4 

Persian cucumbers: 2-3, sliced thin

Cherry/grape tomatoes: 8-10 sliced into halves

Watermelon cubes: 1 cup

Bite-sized mozzarella cubes: 1 cup

Dressing of your choice on the side.

Method: 

Wash, clean and chop the lettuce into bite sized pieces. Add this to a bowl. 

Slice the peppers thinly. Add to the bowl. 

Add the tomato halves and the cucumber slices. 

Top it with watermelon cubes and mozzarella cubes. 

Serve the dressing on side. 

Once served into individual plates/bowls, just  before eating, add the desired amount of dressing. 

Mix and eat. 

Enjoy! 

Cooking made easy:

You can add sliced red or white onion, craisins, walnuts and or sunflower seeds if you wish. You can also add other fruits such as pineapple, green apple, strawberries and blueberries if you wish..

Tip for healthy living:

Use as less dressing as possible with your salad. Using a low fat dressing like a vinaigrette is much healthier than a high fat dressing like ranch or Cesar.

Please do share your thoughts. Your opinion matters!

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Agua Fresca ( Watermelon lemonade)

The last few days have been unusually warm for October!! It seems like we are having a hard time leaving summer behind! Everyone at home has been looking for something cooling to drink. I had the last of the season's watermelon left, so I made Agua  Fresca. What is Agua Fresca?? In Spanish, "Agua" means water and " Fresca" means fresh. So, Agua Fresca translates to Fresh Water. This drink is popular in Mexico where it is made with fresh fruits. What I have here is basically watermelon lemonade. In case you dint feel like calling it Agua Fresca, just call it Watermelon Lemonade. I came across this refreshing, low calorie drink at a friend's place during the summer. I have been wanting to make this since then!! But every time I cut a watermelon, it is gone before I can make this drink!! When I saw the recipe on NY times, I was determined to make it. I, of course modified it slightly. You can find the original recipe here.  Finally, now, I got to make it and enjoy it!!

Once I had made it, the immediate feeling that I had was " why did I never know about this or make it before today!!" It is not only thirst quenching and refreshing, it is low in calories and a great make-ahead drink for parties!! There are so few ingredients required and you can use any kind of melon for this drink!

Try it.. You will most definitely like it!

Servings: 3-4

Prep time: 10 minsCook time: 0Total time: 10 mins

Ingredients:

Peeled Watermelon cubes without seeds: 4 cups
Honey: 1 tbsp ( agave or sugar can be used instead)
Lemon juice: 2 tbsp
Mint leaves: 3-4, extra sprigs for garnish .
Lemon rings: one per glass
Water: 1 & 1/2 cups
Ice cubes/ crushed ice : 2-3cups

Method:

Blend together watermelon, lemon juice, honey and water until smooth. Strain into a jar that has 2 slices of lemon and mint leaves.

Add ice cubes to the serving glass . Pour Agua Fresca on it. Garnish with a sprig of mint, a slice of lemon and a slice of watermelon if you wish!!

Enjoy!

Cooking made easy:

If you don't have watermelon, no worries, you can use cantaloupe or musk melon. Of course, the taste will be slightly different, but that is the individual Melon's individuality.

Tip for healthy living:

Consuming fresh home made drinks like Agua Fresca is much better than drinking processed/ bottled drinks. You can control the quality of the ingredients and the amount of sugar that goes into it.

Food for thought:

Always do your best. What you plant now, you will harvest later. Og Mandino

Cardamom infused Watermelon Crush ;Meatless Monday

Summers and watermelons go hand in hand. One seems incomplete without the other. Did you know that today is National Watermelon Day?? Well, I didn't know that either! But apparently it is. How do I know?? Thanks to Twitter. I am new on Twitter and it is growing on me fast. For the longest, I couldn't be bothered with Twitter but my dear dear blogger friends Sonal and Anu kind of pushed me to it. Now, boy, am I on a roll or what!! For one thing, Twitter keeps me updated on all the latest news quick and in only few words. No long drawn stories if I don't want to read it. Now did we lose the watermelon somewhere in all this chatter?? No we didn't. The watermelon is right here. DII get this humongous watermelon from Costco and believe it or not we manage to finish it within a week. One of the kid's favorite recipes is this cardamom infused watermelon crush.  It is perfect when they are playing in the hot sun and they come inside. You can eat the watermelon or slurp the juice, whichever way you want it. This was a recipe shared with me by my dear neighbor Sadia.I have modified it to make it healthier  by swapping the sugar with the honey and making it more flavorful by adding cardamom to it. It is perfect for those little bits of watermelon that you end up with while chopping watermelon. I didn't know what to name it and decided to call it watermelon crush. Try it, it is really super easy and absolutely refreshing!!

Servings: 2

Ingredients:

Finely chopped Watermelon: 2 cups
Crushed ice: 1 cup
Honey: 1 tsp
Cardamom powder: 1 pinch

Method:

Add  all the above ingredients to a jar and mix well. Serve chilled!!

Enjoy.

Cooking made easy:

You can vary the amount of ice used based on individual taste. I often time make it without any ice.

Tip for healthy living:

Fruits like watermelon are great for the body during summer as it has a very high water content and is cooling on the body. It is also fat-free, and has a relatively low glycemic index making it appropriate across almost all populations and age groups.

Food for thought:

There is no personal charm so great as the charm of a cheerful temperament. Henry Van Dyke

Strawberry-Watermelon-Kiwi Cooler ; Diabetes Friendly Thursday

Summer is here!Let us beat the heat and indulge ourselves with Diabetic Friendly Mocktails and Coolers with Team DFT.

Creating Recipes with a Cause!
I am a proud DFT blogger. 

To learn about DFT, read this link. 

To view more DFT recipes, Click here!

Summers are hot,making us hot and thirsty most of the time. Most people tend to indulge in soda which we all know is not good for anyone. If coke can clean toilets, imagine what it might be doing to your gut?? People often indulge in ready made,processed juice drinks that have several unhealthy ingredients like high fructose corn syrup and very little to no fruit juice in it!!  Some people make healthier choice by drinking fresh fruit juice or 100 % juice. But did you know that   drinking too much fruit juice is not good either!! Even in it is 100% juice!! The daily recommended amount of fruit juice is only 150 ml per day?? All other recommended servings of fruit should come from pieces of fruit and not in the juice or liquid form. Store-bought smoothies which are marketed as "healthy" were often found to be loaded with sugar and high in calories as much as 300 calories in a 12 oz serving! You can read more in the "footnotes".

It is of course without any doubt, best to drink water during summer to quench your thirst. However, if you insist on drinking juice, drink healthy, freshly made fruit coolers without any added sugars and a small amount of fruit in it.This can be easily made at home in a blender with just 2-3 fruits. Try this easy-peasy recipe below:

Servings: makes two 8 oz glasses

Ingredients:

Watermelon cubes: 1 cup
Strawberries, chopped: 1/2cup
Kiwi, chopped: 1/4 cup
Sparkling water: 3/4 cup
Ice cubes: 1/2 cup

Method:

Add all the above ingredients to a blender and blend for 1 minute or until slushy.

Pour into chilled glasses.

Serve immediately.

Enjoy!! I am bringing this to my dear friend Angie's Fiesta Friday where Loretta@Safari of the mind and Caroline@ Caroline's Cooking are co-hosting.

Cooking made easy:

This recipe can be made with any fruits ( that can be directly added to a blender) that you have available on hand. You can try different permutations and combinations.

Footnotes( Tip for healthy living):

It is recommended that one eats a total of 10 servings of fruits and vegetables everyday. Out of the 10 servings, only one daily serving should come in the liquid form. The recommended daily amount of sugar is  6 teaspoons and most store-purchased juices have half of this amount in each cup. A Dunkin Donut Coolatta has 25 teaspoons of sugar in one large cup!! One has to be very mindful while selecting a fruit/cool drink.

Strawberry is a nutrient-dense food that is rich in vitamins, fiber and antioxidants. They are among the top 20 fruits in antioxidant capacity and are rich in manganese and potassium.Just one serving of strawberries provides more vitamin C than one orange.

Kiwi is a super-fruit that is purported to promote healthy skin tone and texture. Amongst fruits it has the highest vitamin C levels per ounce than most other fruits.It also helps reduce blood pressure and prevent diabetes, heart disease and stroke.

We know that watermelon is healthy, low calorie and  cooling to the body. It has a high glycemic index of 72 but a low glycemic load of 4. This is because of the large amount of water that constitutes the watermelon. It is also loaded in antioxidants with high levels of vitamins A and C. It also contains lycopene, which is heart healthy.

Disclaimer:

I am not a nutritionist or dietitian. My knowledge and information is based on my research and reading from different resources. Please consult your doctor or dietitian before making any changes to your diet.

Go ahead and enjoy this summer sipping on some diabetic mocktails and coolers with team DFT. Check out the other recipes below:

1. Sonal's Jal Jeera.

2.Shailja's Java plum mocktail.

3.Prachi's aloe vera peach punch.

4. Swati's cucumber mint lemonade.

5. Anupama's green tea infused watermelon orange cooler.

6. Parvathy's orange iced tea.

7. Apsara's strawberry mint lemonade.

8. Chahat's grape pinapple mint fizz.

9. Vidhya's green tea spritzer.

Food for thought:

Excellence means when a man or woman asks of himself more than others do. Jose Ortega y Gasset

Watermelon Dosa ( Watermelon pancakes);GF

.

This is one of my favorites to make during the summer as there is plenty of watermelon lying around!! Yes, I had written this post during the end of summer but never got around to posting it!! Well, one is allowed to be nostalgic about the warm days on cold evenings! Also, in certain parts of the world like Australia it is summer ! Anyways, coming back to presents,when it comes to food, I hate wasting food. You surely have noticed that when we cut watermelon, we tend to throw out quite a lot of the red part of then watermelon with the peel/ rind. This recipe uses that part that you discard, the white fleshy part that you tend to throw out with the green peel. I also use the overripe watermelon to make this dosa. It gives it a nice, pretty pink color to the dosa which the kids absolutely love! This dosa is not only super-easy to make, it is a joy to eat! It is soft and fluffy with a hint of sweetness to it. You could pair it with a spicy chutney or eat it with honey/syrup/molasses like my kids do!

Servings: 4-6

Ingredients:

Rice: 1 1/2 cups
Urad dal: 2 tbsp
Methi( fenugreek seeds): 1/2 tsp
Watermelon rind and pieces : 1 cup
Beaten rice( poha):1/2 cup
Salt to taste.
Water : 3/4 cup for grinding the batter.( you may not use all of it).
Oil : to grease the tawa( skillet).

Method:

Soak rice, urad dal & methi together for 3-4 hours atleast or overnight.

Soak poha( beaten rice) for 10 mins ( just before you begin grinding the batter )and keep aside.

Grind the rice-dal mixture to a fine batter in the blender using watermelon pieces to it instead of water.Add water only as needed if it becomes difficult to grind.Once the rice is ground finely, add the soaked poha and blend it with the rest of the batter in the blender.

The batter should be slightly thick as in fermentation it tends to get a little thin..The batter has a faint pink hue.It is NOT bright pink or red in color!

Allow the batter to ferment overnight ( at least 6-8 hours).

Add salt  to the batter when you are ready to make the dosa.

Heat the skillet to medium hot, take a ladleful of batter and pour it on the skillet ( just like you would do while making pancake).

Cover with a lid, reduce the flame, and cook until you here a sizzling sound. Open the lid and see if you see any wet patches. If not, the dosa is done!

Remove from the skillet and serve hot! This dosa is cooked only on one side. DO NOT FLIP THE DOSA!

You can eat these soft fluffy dosas with wet or dry chutneys of your choice or with honey/ syrup/molasses!

Enjoy! I am taking these to Fiesta Friday as well, in case the Surnalis are all gone!

Cooking made easy:

Make sure that the flame is low while cooking this dosa or else the underside of the dosa will burn.

Once you have removed the dosa from the skillet, you can increase the flame to heat the skillet.Reduce the flame again, once the batter has been poured onto the skillet.

Tip for healthy living:

Not only is watermelon full of water and refreshing during the summer months, it also has several health benefits.It is rich in Vitamins A, B6 and C, lycopene, antioxidants and amino acids. It is also fat-free and low-calorie food. The lycopene in it makes it a heart-healthy and anti-inflammatory food.

Food for thought:

You change your life by changing your heart. Max lucado