Thursday, October 11, 2012

Healthy eating.... Quinoa

My cousin suggested me to replace rice and bulgur wheat with Quinoa as it is a healthier option. It has a slight nutty flavour (like Sesame seeds) and tastes better than rice and wheat. It has better nutritional value than rice and wheat.
Quinoa grain can help to lose weight . Quinoa is rich in protein, vitamins and minerals, and it leaves you feeling satisfied, not deprived. This is why quinoa is becoming popular as a grain alternative and weight loss food. 
Quinoa ( Keen-wah) is a pseudocereal  as it is not a member of the  grass family. Quinoa is closely related to species such as beetsspinach, and tumbleweeds is native to the Bolivia, Chile, and Peru. Quinoa means "mother grain" in the Inca language and considered sacred by the Incas. 
Quinoa is called a supergrain, as it is highly nutritious   Quinoa  is a source of complete protein. The protein quality and quantity in quinoa seed is often superior to those of more common cereal grains due to the presence of all 8 essential amino acids
Quinoa also provides starch, sugars, oil, fiber, minerals, and  vitamins, anti-oxidants,Vitamin E, Calcium, Manganese, Magnesium,folate, fiber, phosphorus, Iron and copper.Quinoa is also a source of calcium, and thus is useful for vegans and those who are lactose intolerant. Quinoa is gluten-free and considered easy to digest. Sodium content is low in Quinoa.Quinoa's glycemic index rating makes it a more stable source of energy.

     
Crop
% dry weight
Water
Crude Protein
Fat
Carbohydrates
Fiber
Ash
Quinoa
12.6
13.8
5.0
59.7
4.1
3.4
Barley
9.0
14.7
1.1
67.8
2.0
5.5
Buckwheat
10.7
18.5
4.9
43.5
18.2
4.2
Corn
13.5
8.7
3.9
70.9
1.7
1.2
Millet (Pearl)
11.0
11.9
4.0
68.6
2.0
2.0
Oat
13.5
11.1
4.6
57.6
0.3
2.9
Rice
11.0
7.3
0.4
80.4
0.4
0.5
Rye
13.5
11.5
1.2
69.6
2.6
1.5
Wheat (HRW)
10.9
13.0
1.6
70.0
2.7
1.8

Thursday, September 13, 2012

Tanvi's first year


                                                             Mommy in the labour room
                                           Tanvi Chandra Thalladi was born on 9th December 2010
                                                      Tanvi with mommy and daddy in hospital
                                                          Tanvi ready to go home
                                                                    Tanvi in her carseat
                                               Tanvi with mom and dad on 11th day
                                                               Tanvi on 11th day
Tanvi with mom and dad on 21st day
Tanvi on 21st day
                                                                Tanvi on 21st day
Tanvi  with mom and dad on 21st day
Tanvi's first new year (2011)
Tanvi 1st month
Tanvi 2nd month
                                                         Tanvi's 1st bhogipallu
                                                                     Tanvi 3rd month
  Tanvi 4th month
                                                                     Tanvi's 1st Holi
                                                                         Tanvi 5th month
                                                                      Tanvi 6th month
                                                          Tanvi grabs syringes (Annaprashana)
                                                                  Tanvi 7th month
                                                                  Tanvi 8th month
                                                                     Tanvi 9th month
Tanvi 10th month
                                                               Tanvi 11th month
                                                                   Tanvi 12th month
                                                                 Tanvi's 1st birthday
                                                                 Tanvi's 1st birthday
 Tanvi  cuts the cake on 1st birthday






Wednesday, August 22, 2012

Citrus Lane June 2012 box review




Woohoo, the wait is over and I finally got my June's box. 
Please Check out the contents of the box June's Citrus Lane box with the theme " Little artists"
1. Hohner kids Puppy flute
2. Eco-kids finger paints (2 pouches) and play dough (1 box)
3. Chronicle books Magical Menangerie
4. Babyganics Stain remover 
5. Putumayo kids cd sampler and 
6. A $35 gift card to Minted.com


She loved the puppy flute and started playing with it right away and danced to the songs in the Putumayo cd sampler. 
The Theme for the July's Citrus lane box is "Bon Voyage" and I Can't wait to get my box.

 http://www.citruslane.com/invitedby/shirisha.prodduturi
Order today and take 10% off the cost of your subscription with code SPRINGFUN. That's up to $25 off an annual subscription! 3-month and 6-month subscriptions are also available. 

Beet root laddu

Beetroot is a rich source of potent antioxidants and nutrients, including magnesium, sodium, potassium and vitamin C, and betaine, which is important for cardiovascular health.

Here goes the recipe for the yummy  Beet root laddu

Beet root        1 cup
Sooji               1/2 cup
Sugar              1 cup( add more or less according to your taste)
Cardomom  powder  2Tspns
Ghee               5 Tbspns
 Dried coconut powder 3 Tbspns
Cashew nuts


Roast Sooji  in ghee until it turns light  brown.
Now add the grated Beet root, sugar, dried  coconut powder and cardamom powder to Sooji. Mix and make small balls with this mixture. Top the laddus with roasted Cashew nuts and store them in an air tight container. Store them in fridge for a longer shelf life.

Sunday, July 15, 2012

Nature watch cruise in San diego

The unforgettable experience

Woohoo... it's the season for whale watching in San Diego. I decided to go on a nature cruise by San Diego harbor excursion. It's a six hour guided tour of  Islas Los Coronados and dead man's island where we get a chance to watch whales, dolphins, harbor seals, sea lions, orcas, sea gulls and herons in the mexican waters. I got  excited when they started boarding on Bright morning star at around 10am. We got seated comfortably on the top deck of the boat.  We had fun watching the schools of  Dolphins chasing the boat. We saw two humpback whales and the sightings were just for a few seconds and it was very disappointing. We  visited the luscious green  dead man's island. We saw many Sea lions and Seals basking in the sun. The water around the island is clear blue in color. The blue water hitting the island looks very beautiful  and its an unforgettable scene. Our next stop is Bird rock island where we saw many species of birds. The  white coloured rocks in the island were covered with feces of the birds.







On the way  back to San Diego, we walked around the cockpit and  talked with the Captain of the ship. It's a very wonderful day at the sea.

Noodles Omelette

An evening  snack for the hungry kiddos.

Here is the recipe

Noodles  100gms
Diced Tomato  50gms
Diced onion   20gms
Jumbo sized eggs 5
Salt to taste
A pinch of Garam masala




Cook the noodles in  water and drain the excess water. Keep aside. Beat the eggs, add noodles, tomato, onion, salt and garam masala. Turn on the griddle, spread a laddlefull of the above mixture and spread it. Let it cook for 2 mins. Flip the omelette over and let the other side cook for 2 min.  
Noodle Omelette is ready to eat now.

Friday, June 15, 2012

Roseola ......... scaryyyyyyy

Roseola, also called Sixth disease or Roseola infantum is a viral disease, generally mild and extremely common that affects children between 3 months and 2 yrs, caused by Human Herpes Virus 6. 
It is contagious and spreads when the child gets in contact with nasal secretions and saliva of infected children  when they laugh,talk, sneeze, or cough. 



It typically starts with a high fever (102-104) and ends with running nose and a  pink rash all over the body. The rash first appears on the trunk and then spreads to face, neck, back, arms and legs. The rash is pink and may have small flat spots or raised bumps. These spots may have a lighter halo around them and turn white if you press on them. The rash is not itchy or uncomfortableand contact with the rash itself doesn't spread the illness.  
The lymph nodes in the neck and at the base of the skull may also be a bit enlarged Other symptoms include  sore throat, stomach ache, vomiting, and diarrhea.  A child with roseola may appear fussy or irritable and may have a decreased appetite. 
Repeat cases of roseola may occur, but they are not common. Tanvi got it twice in a month.There is no specific treatment for roseola. Acetaminophen (Tylenol) and cool sponge baths can help reduce the fever. The disease usually gets better on its own without complications.
Oh my god..... the rash looks really scary. I donno where Tanvi got it from  (My gym or  Monkey Joes or the pool)?  :(

Thursday, June 14, 2012

Ways to keep your little ones occupied....

I am constantly in search for ways to keep my little darling Tanvi, occupied and away from trouble so that I can do my work.

The ways that best worked for me are


1. Stacking cups  -  I bought her a  set of  stacking and nesting cups in Ikea and showed  her  how to stack and nest the cups. The stacking cups are a big hit with her, so I bought one more set of the Bruin cups at Toys R Us.












2. Finger puppets - I got a set of finger puppets  for Tanvi  to play in the flight  when we were travelling to India. She loves to play with them.









3. Animal figurines -  Tanvi  got a set of small animals figurines  as a gift from her grandma. They are great as we can teach the names of those animals. They don't have small parts that come loose and pose a choking hazard to the toddlers.








                                                                                                                                                                                                               4. Lollipops - Although an unhealthy treat, the sugary suckers sometimes come to the rescue when the child is fussy.
















5. Balls and Balloons - Balls of different sizes and balloons of different sizes and shapes keep the child busy for a while.












6. Board books -  Tanvi loves to read  board books, so we go the local library to get some books and dvds.









                                                                                                 7. Ipad - I loaded my ipad with many apps for toddlers. She can unlock the ipad, play games, watch her photos and videos.

8. TV cartoons -  She loves to watch  cartoons on the TV. Lately i'm introducing her to Dora and Sponge bob cartoons. She loves the videos by Baby Einstein and Brainy baby.

 9. Doodle pad - She loves to scribble on the doodle pad and have fun.













10. Wooden peg puzzles - She got a wooden puzzle set as a return gift. She loves it and does it perfectly all the times. I bought a  set of 3 in Walmart.










Saturday, June 2, 2012

Senagapappu payasam( split chick pea pudding).......yummy..........

It's Sharath's B'day on May 30th and mom made this yummy Payasam,
Here is the recipe.

Split chick peas   200gms 
grated fresh coconut 50gms
sugar  100gms ( or as desired)
milk      500ml           
elaichi powder 1/4 teaspoon

Boil the split chick peas and grind 3/4th of it into paste. Combine with grated coconut, milk and elaichi powder and let the mixture cook for 10- 15 min and then add the desired amount of sugar and let it boil for a few more minutes. 
Senagapappu payasam (split chick pea kheer) is ready.....

Its very easy to make and yummy to taste.

Friday, June 1, 2012

Farmville, an addictive game on Facebook

When I was very new to Facebook, I started exploring the features on the webpage. I noticed a post from  one of my friends requesting for a gift in Farmville. Out of curiosity clicked on the post and  played the game. It was  boring for the first time. So left the game and forgot  about it. One fine morning when I was checking the Facebook, I again found a post from the same friend. Remembering the first time I played, unwillingly clicked on the game's link. After a few minutes, I realized that it was very interesting, liked the concept and then on started playing the game very often.




Farmville, by Zynga games is an addictive game on facebook, where one has to plant the crops, raise the animals, grow the trees  and harvest them for coins and cash, build the storage  buildings and then level up. Many items can be bought with the coins which we earn by planting the crops and harvesting the animals and trees. A few rare items can be bought with farm cash which we rarely obtain while leveling up and so need to buy the farm cash with real money... yes, real money. Zynga makes millions of money on Farmville, believe me.
I started playing the game and wasted many hours of useful time. I want to  sell my farm to someone for  real cash :) , so that  I can get rid of the addiction for ever and now the auction for 106th level farm in Farmville starts now..............

                                                               .
                                                               .
                                                               .
                                                               .
                                                               .
                                                               .

Starting Bid  USD 500 ..............
Come on............. friends its your turn in the auction............

My trip to the beautiful Alleppy in Kerala

                                                                                                                                                                                                             



While recalling my sweet  memories, I remember our trip to Alleppey by house boat. Alleppey  is a world famous tourist destination in India, known for its house boat cruises.



There are many beautiful houseboats, big and small in the Alleppey port.



 As soon as we reached the port, we were greeted by the captain of   the Angel Queen and offered a welcome drink and then the beautiful and memorable journey began.  We were amazed by the serene and  stand still water lagoons, flocks of Ducks, Coconut palms, little thatched houses  and people doing chores on the shore, boats carrying children to their school   as we cruised through the backwaters. We singed, danced  for sometime and enjoyed the nature while the  boat sailed slowly in the water and after  2 hrs in the backwaters, lunch with traditional Kerala dishes was served. After lunch, the captain stopped the boat near a small village. We walked through the paddy fields  enjoying  the fresh cool breeze and  chit chatted with  the local farmers about their life in Kerala. We returned to our boat, had dinner and spent the rest of the night in the boat. In the morning, we returned back to Alleppey port.



I highly recommend house boat cruise for a romantic vacation, especially for honeymooning..