Multigrain Crepe (contains Chia seeds, Flax seeds, Oats, Brown rice and lentils)

Multigrain Crepe (contains Chia seeds, Flax seeds, Oats, Brown rice and Lentils)

I am reinventing Adai as Multigrain Crepes. Adai is traditionally a fermented crepe using lentils and rice. Originating from the south of India, this crepe is different from dosa as it has more lentils in it and is thicker. Conventionally it is enjoyed with some jaggery however I prefer to eat it with the Idli Chutney powder/Gunpowder and sesame oil. This makes for a great breakfast or lunch/dinner option.

Cheese Corn Toast

Cheese Corn Toast

It was the end of the week, my groceries were well used this week and by end of it I only had some potatoes and frozen corn in my fridge. So I knew had to make something using these 2 as my core ingredients. I have made Supremely spicy Mushroom Toast and Hummus flavored Chickpea Toast before.

Oats and Flax Seed Idli

Oats and Flax Seed Idli

I am a South Indian, I have lost count on how many Idlis I would have had in my life. However I still crave for more and more. Guess it's now in my blood! Idlis are like staple food for us. We have it for breakfast, meals, when we sick, in weddings, when travelling long distance or just as a snack. We can have them anytime. They are mainly made of rice and dal. However over the years there have been many variations to this. We have added vegetable paste to make it colorful, tried to make it using brown rice instead of white and even used different flours to get similar results. Have you checked my Pink Idli recipe yet - Beetroot stained Idlis? However the cooking process remains the same. They are still steamed and enjoyed hot on the plate. They digest easily and they are just yum.

Mildly flavored Homemade Organic Almond Milk

Mildly flavored Homemade Organic 

Almond Milk

Recently while talking to a friend in Sydney, she mentioned that they have given up diary products completely. She told me that they now only consume store bought Almond milk. She has done some research on this and told me to only buy Carrageenan free brands, which also has fewer additives and sugar. Intrigued, we began doing our own research on Almond Milk. There were some brands here in the US which met the purpose, but still it was not completely free of sugar, additives and preservatives. Lot of articles that I read online had only one thing to say by the end - If you not happy with the ones you get in the stores, make them at home yourself.
Making it at home is the easiest and simplest way to obtain nutritious and delicious milk!

Mug Cake - A Power Breakfast made with Whole Wheat & Bournvita

Mug Cake - A Power Breakfast made with Whole Wheat & Bournvita

Want an alternate breakfast idea? Bored of the regular cornflakes, omelette or a smoothie? Why don't you try having a mug cake instead! It is not just healthy because of the ingredients in it but also yummy for the tummy. :) Also it is very easy to make and takes just few minutes to be ready. It is surely a welcome change to the breakfast routine for us.
I cam across this recipe on one of the food pages I follow on Facebook. That lady had made it with coffee powder. I  wanted to tweak it a bit by adding a chocolate flavored drink powder instead thus reducing the quantity of sugar in the bargain. It worked! KR ( I fondly refer to my husband as KR) and me were pleasantly surprised with the outcome. This is surely going to stay in my weekly menu from now on. Try it to believe it! ;)

Beetroot chilla stuffed with cottage cheese smeared in lettuce sauce

Beetroot chilla stuffed with cottage cheese smeared in lettuce sauce

I guess, most of us have had moong dal chillas at some point in our lives. It is one of the recipes for healthy yet tasty breakfast. However I wanted to experiment with the traditional recipe. Since beetroots blend in everywhere, I chose to add its puree to the chilla batter. Thus increasing the nutritional value of this recipe.

Since this was to be my lunch, I wanted to make it more filling. So I decided to stuff the chillas with some veggies available at home. Cottage cheese/Paneer make an excellent stuffing and contain good amount of protein in them. Since I had some paneer, green peas and corn, it formed my stuffing. I purposely avoided using potatoes as I wanted to keep this healthy and nutritious. :) This was even more special because I used our home grown green chillies

Omelette of an egg!

Omelette of an egg!

As we all know eggs are highly nutritious. They contain protein and vitamins. However the yolk also comes with cholesterol. However 1 egg a day is allowed. :)
Since I wanted to make this breakfast a healthy one like I mostly do, I chose to mix 1 serving of egg whites and 1 egg. This is a zero oil dish as I have used cooking spray. I love using flax seed powder in nearly everything as it doesn't really alter the taste but add to the nutritional value.
It's said that one must have breakfast like a king, keep it heavy yet healthy and gradually decrease the calorie intake by the day. So this is the perfect way to begin your day. You can enjoy this omelette with a glass of warm milk or 2 brown breads.
Omelette Nutritional value is - 150 calories containing nearly 15 gms of protein.

Oats Uttapam

Oats Uttapam

This is a very healthy breakfast option. Oats can be added to any batter - Idli/Dosa/Dhokla/Chila. Then blend in well and make the dish nutritious. Its high in fiber too.

Adai Dosai with Tomato Almond Chutney

Adai Dosai with Tomato Almond Chutney

Being a South Indian, dinners on Sundays usually was the famous Adai Dosai. My mom would keep making them while we would hog on greedily loosing count of how many we have eaten. While my dad enjoyed his adai with some curd and jaggery, I always loved to eat them with mulagapudi. There is a running joke in my family that I eat dosas and idlis just for the mulagapudi. It is more funny when one hears it in Tamil though ;). Anyways coming back to this recipe..this is one of my comfort food as it reminds me of home and my childhood. Obviously the taste is no where close to my mom's adai, however I manage to make my own version and enjoy it too. Over time, I have evolved as a person and so has my adai recipe. It has become more healthier while not compromising with the authentic taste.

Sprouts & Egg Bhurji

Sprouts & Egg Bhurji

I had intended to make bhurji bread for my husband the other day. However I just had 2 eggs at home. Now that is not enough to feed a man! So I raided my fridge to see what else I can add to this bhurji. There was little cabbage, carrots, spinach, tomatoes and cucumber. OK, tomatoes and spinach I could use..but I guess nothing else. Hidden below the cabbage was a small leftover packet of sprouts. My mind started running overtime. I thought to mix eggs and sprouts in a bhurji. When I excitedly told my husband about my plan, he smirked at me and said, "Sure, after all I am your guinea pig, bring it on baby!" Aha! That gave me confidence to try this combination out. Thankfully it was a super success. We both loved the final product and I secretly enjoyed 1 bread with this as it was only meant for him. I couldn't resist. :) So from now on, bhurji in our household will be made like this for sure! I highly recommend this combo. After all it is all about Taste bhi..aur Health bhi.. :)

Masala Dosa with Tomato Almond Chutney

Masala Dosa with Tomato Almond Chutney

Since it was World Sibling day yesterday, I decided to dedicate this dish to my younger brother whose favorite dish of all times is Masala Dosa! I am missing him as he is miles away from me right now. So I decided to make his all time favorite dish on this special day. He did get to see it in picture for now and the next time I see him, I will surely make it for him. :)

Hummus flavored Chickpea Toast

Hummus flavored Chickpea Toast

In my quest to find healthy and protein rich food, I keep trying different dishes. So far I have only had chickpeas in the traditional chole recipe or in the Middle eastern hummus. I was wanting to try something different with them. Since I hadn't done my grocery this weekend, I had to make do with whatever I had at home. I decided to soak the chickpeas overnight and worry about my dish in the morning. Sandwiches are usually considered as zero oil diet food. So I decided in the morning that I will make a sandwich out of this. I raided my fridge to check on what other ingredients I could use. I love hummus so I decided to surely add them in my dish. This is a very easy recipe and the prep just takes few minutes. There is not much chopping and can be a quick fix meal if you have the chickpeas ready. It is very filling and can be eaten as a meal along with 1 glass of buttermilk.

Supremely spicy Mushroom toast

Supremely spicy Mushroom toast

I was craving to have something very spicy for my breakfast. I had some leftover mushrooms I had got for making pasta,  which I made yesterday. Mushrooms are my favorite because of their unique taste, the flavor it gives to any dish and also that it is very easy to cook. Plus it also has its own health benefits. So I decided to make mushroom toast.

Healthy spinach & oats ka chila

                                             

 Healthy spinach & oats ka chila

Since yesterday I was contemplating what I should make for breakfast. The only criteria I had in mind was that it should be healthy. Of all the options I had, besan chila stood out for me this time. I wanted to make it. But how do I make the traditional besan chila more healthy? I came up with this recipe. A little bit of mix and match..and voila!! :)

Soyflakes French Toast

Soyflakes French Toast

"What should I cook for Breakfast?" This is a daunting question I am sure many of us face in the mornings. I am no different. After all how many times can one eat eggs, cornflakes, poha & the upmas in a week! So today morning I was in mood to make something new. My husband wanted to eat something healthy & light. Still in bed, as I kept pondering over what to make , a brainwave hit me. I had cornflakes, milk, egg whites & brown bread so I decided to make Soyflakes french toast..wahh!

Kande Pohe

Kande Pohe

You can call it Puffed rice with onions as well! This is a very authentic Indian breakfast, which is not only easy to make but also very good for the palette. Me and my husband enjoy this breakfast on weekends with a hot cup of coffee. Do try this out & let me know how interesting your weekend breakfast turned out to be!