Useful Tips

Discover Cooking Tips to make life easier!!!

Kitchen Tips

For soft Dosas, add some boiled rice to white gram and rice, while grinding. Put some neem and turmeric pieces or garlic flakes in the container where you store rice or grains, in order to keep away insects. To adjust salt in curries add roasted rice powder.  If the curd is too sour, add 4 cups of water to it. After half an hour, remove the water collected on top.  When you cook dal add some refined oil or garlic. It will reduce gas trouble. Keep rice flour and basin in a polythene cover in refrigerator when you want tem stored for a long time.  Add some vinegar in the boiling water before steaming potato. For crispy dosas, add a teaspoon of tur dal gram) and some fenugreek seeds while soaking rice. Add a pinch of corn flour to the jar of salt to prevent it from getting damp. While chopping raw bananas and potatoes, put the pieces in a bowl of water to avoid it from turning black. A bay leaf added to the flour container will keep the flour free from moisture. To peel garlic flakes easily, wash and soak them in cold water for about an hour. Green peas will retain their original colour, if you add a pinch of sugar while boiling. Leafy vegetables will remain fresh longer, if wrapped in newspapers when you are storing. If you don't have any cream to add in the soup or gravy, add a mixture of butter and milk. Apply some oil on the sides of the vessel in which you boil milk, in order to avoid it from overflowing.  After extracting butter from milk cream, add a little milk or curd to the residue and boil. You will get soft 'Paneer'.  For thick cream, cover the milk vessel with a thin muslin cloth and refrigerate overnight.  Barley powder will increase the taste of meat and vegetable curries. You can make tasty chapatti by mixing equal proportion of wheat flour and barley. While boiling eggs, put a hole with a pin on the rounded portion of the egg so that the shell won't break when boiling. Keep boiled eggs in cold water for 5 minutes, this will make removal of the shell easier.  Cut boiled eggs with a knife dipped in hot water to avoid breaking. Boiled eggs will last longer, if you store the shelled eggs in a bowl of cold water in a refrigerator. If the bread is too soft to cut into pieces, hold the knife close to a flame and then slice the bread with it. Adding turmeric will help pickles from getting spoilt. Stuff a miniature marshmallow in the bottom of a sugar cone to prevent ice cream drips. To keep potatoes from budding, place an apple in the bag with the potatoes.  General Health Care Heart burn symptoms and treatments Heartburn is a condition that arises due to the malfunctioning of a muscle in the stomach. Heart burn is a digestive problem. Heart burn is usually related to meals and posture and can often be relieved by consuming antacids. Heart burn is caused by a faulty muscle in the stomach. The burning or pain of heartburn can last as long as 2 hours and is often worse after eating. Sometimes standing in an upright posture helps relieve discomfort. There are various reasons of heart burn like. 1.      Consuming Spicy food 2.      Consuming high fat food that takes too long to digest. 3.      Smoking 4.      Pregnancy 5.      Irregular food habits 6.      Obesity   There are many over counter and prescribed drugs available for heart burn. A tea made of 'Fennel seeds' will also help relieve discomfort. Bananas have a protective action and can be had. Avoid consumption of spicy and oily food items like pickles, fried snacks, chocolates, pastries, fizzy drinks etc., Increase the water intake. Walking - Health Benefits Walking is a good exercise. It provides flexibility to the entire body. It is boon for weight watchers. Walking is the safest start towards exercise routine. Particularly for obese people walking is the most recommended start. To start with always stick to a comfortable speed in which you do not gasp for breath. One should never start to jog immediately take time and seek appropriate medical advice before jogging.  Sweating     Sweating is a cooling condition for the body. Sweating may sometimes occur due to stress and anxiety also.       Sweating or Perspiring is a cooling condition for the body. Once our body temperature increases beyond the normal level, 'Hypothalamus' the part of the brain that is responsible for controlling the body temperature sends signals to sweat. The sweat is excreted from the sweat glands in the body. The sweat majorly consists of water and traces of urea and salts. Sweating is your body's way of getting rid of excess body heat, which is produced by metabolism, working muscles, stress etc., Fat Facts Fat Facts Fat is essential for the human body. Dietary fats are as important as carbohydrates or proteins. 1. Choose your cooking oil: use sunflower oil. 2. Avoid excess ghee intake. 3. Do not reuse oil: these oils contain trans-fats which are bad for the arteries. 4. Avoid commercially prepared fried foods as they contain hydrogenated fats. 5. Avoid using vanaspathi. 6. Substitute fish for meat in your diet. Fish is rich in Omega-3 fatty acids which are good for the heart. 7. Do not consume more than one egg yolk/day.

General Body Care Tips

Body Care

•  Mix six-teaspoon petroleum jelly, two-teaspoon glycerine and two-teaspoon lemon juice. Apply this moisturizing lotion at least twice a week if you have dry and flaky, arms and legs
• Peel and grate a cucumber. Squeeze the juice to this, mix half-a-teaspoon glycerine and half-a-teaspoon rose water. Apply this on sunburns, leave it for some time.
•  If you have cracked heels, melt paraffin wax; mix it with little mustard oil and apply on the affected area. Leave it overnight. After 10 or 15 days, your heels will become smooth.
• Massage your body with a mixture of coconut oil and any of your favourite scented oils like lavender or rosemary.
•   For rough palms, use a mixture of glycerine and lime juice in equal proportion.
• For cracked heals, massage the foot with coconut oil and keep the foot in warm water for some time. Wipe the water off the feet and apply a mixture of hibiscus flower (10), Henna (1 handful) and juice of half a lemon. When dry wash it off.

Eye care

•  Dip wads of cotton in a chilled mixture of cucumber and potato juice. Keep this on your eyelids for 15 to 20 minutes and gently wash it off. Apply a little baby oil.
•   For long eyelashes.., apply a thin coat of castor oil every night. It strengthens lashes and cools your eyes.
•   Massage a few drops of coconut oil around the eyes to get rid of dark circles.
•  To reduce puffiness of your eyes, grate a potato; tie in a cloth and place the cloth over your eyes for about 15 minutes.
•   Add a small pinch of salt in water and wash for bright and sparkling eyes.
•   Mix tomato juice and lemon juice in equal quantity and apply around the eyes. After 30 minutes wash it off with cold and hot water alternatively.
•   Make a paste of sandal wood and nutmeg. Apply the paste around the eyes before sleeping and wash it off in the morning.
•  Crush a cucumber and take the juice. Add a little rose water and apply around the eyes and wash it after 30 minutes. 
• Place cotton wool swabs dipped in cold milk on closed eyes for removing dark circles.

Lip Care

•   You can mix one-tablespoon cranberry sauce juice with two tablespoons Vaseline for a delicious homemade lip balm.
•   Apply the juice of lemon skin for avoiding black colour of lips
•  Massage your lips with coriander leaf juice for soft and rosy lips.
• Eat plenty of fruits and vegetables.
•  Apply a layer of oil and leave it on for several hours. Best apply before   going to bed.
• Mix coconut oil and almond oil in equal quantity. Apply a coat of this on   the lips and leave on overnight. This has to be done daily for at least   two weeks for best results. 

Healthy Lifestyle

• Watch what you eat. Your daily meals should consist of a healthy diet with a good balance of nutritious foods. Knowing what your body needs, and not going overboard, or eating too little can help in determining a more balanced lifestyle. There are several resources to turn to in order to find what your body needs. Breakfast is the most important meal of the day, so it is important to incorporate a healthy menu to your breakfast every day!
• Fight addictions: This is in relation to eating or not eating foods, as well as over consumption of different things. This can imbalance your body easily and cause problems.
• Exercise: This should be done at least four or five times a week. This helps your body to build muscle in several different areas, helps you to lose weight and can prevent illnesses and disease. A good walk is relaxing and rejuvenating.
• Sleep: If you are sleep deprived, it causes your body to begin to shut down. Make sure that you feel rested and are getting the right amount of sleep. This will allow your body to work at a consistent and full speed every day. It is believed that the body goes thru a healing process during your sleep.  So, it is extremely important for your health to always get
• Take vitamins and supplements as needed. Paying attention to where your body doesn’t feel balanced is important as well. Once you have determined this, you can balance it out through vitamins and supplements.
• Stay motivated: Often times, it is easy to work on improving our health for two weeks, then to stop once we don’t immediately see results. The major part of improving your health is remaining consistent and motivated in doing activities. Do what you have to do to make sure your health is an everyday concern.
• Never stop learning: There are several different approaches to what improving health means. This doesn’t stop with diets, but also moves into holistic approaches that can be a part of your diet. Research and keeping up with studies about what works and what doesn’t, can help you in improving and maintaining your health.
• Consult: There are several health care providers and nutritionists that can help you. If you are uncertain about the steps that you need to take, get in touch with the right person to see what you need to do.

Always be aware that if you work towards a healthier lifestyle you will start to feel the changes at a physical and emotional level.  You will have a more fulfilled and balanced lifestyle. By knowing what you need to do and taking action, you can be assured that you will be able to have a more energetic lifestyle.