Manu's Medley

Though I explained about diet in my  last post , I wanted to elaborate more on the eating habits during pregnancy in today's post, as it has a significant impact on your baby's growth. Your little munchkin is eagerly waiting to absorb all the nutrients you are going to offer it. So let us go through few tips to have a healthy and well-nourished pregnancy.                                                     Tracking and maintaining nutritional needs seems to be overwhelming, but cannot be ignored as it is essential for both mom and baby. Ensure your food is rich in proteins, carbohydrates, fats, vitamins and minerals, which are required for the proper development of baby. Plan your meals to include fresh fruits and vegetables, low-fat milk products, healthy fats, whole grains, and protein-rich beans, fish and meats. Diary: Include diary products like milk, buttermilk, yogurt (curd), cheese and paneer to get your daily dose of protein and calcium. But choose low-fat version of t

Dry fruits are nutrient dense and have numerous health benefits. They aid in hair, skin, bone and heart health, help in weight management, reduce bad cholesterol, increase hemoglobin levels and the list goes on.  I am sharing a simple and delicious laddu recipe with dry fruits, without sugar or artificial sweeteners. I call them "Protein Bombs" as they are loaded with protein and healthy fats. Not only kids, but adults will equally love them.                                                    Ingredients: Almonds - 1 cup Cashews - 1/2 cup Walnuts - 1/2 cup Groundnuts - 1/2 cup Pumpkin seeds - 1/3 cup Sesame seeds - 1/4 cup Flax seeds - 1/4 cup Raisins - 1/4 cup Figs (chopped) - 1/4 cup Dates (chopped) - 1/4 cup Cardamom powder - 1/2 tsp Jaggery powder - 3 tbsps (optional) Procedure: Dry roast all the nuts individually on low flame and allow them to cool completely Powder them individually in mixer grinder, so that they have even consistency Grind raisins, figs and dates and a

Is baby on the way? As a mother, your responsibility of nurturing the baby starts from the moment you are expecting. The overall development of the fetus depends on your lifestyle. So it is imperative to make few changes to your habits. I am sharing few tips as what to do and what not as an expecting mother. This article is compiled based on what I learnt from my obstetrician, nutritionist and diabetologist.                                                         (Source:  "Pregnant Lady"  by  Worlds Direction  is licensed under  CC0 1.0 )                                   Eat healthy Baby's nourishment in the womb is wholly dependent on what you consume. So follow a well-balanced and nutritious rich diet. The food you intake should be rich in protein, folic acid, iron, calcium, healthy fats, complex carbohydrates, which are vital for baby's development. So ensure your diet includes legumes (i.e., dals), green leafy vegetables, lean meat, fish, eggs, multi-grains, dai

It's been a very long time since I read a romantic novel. I came across this book and looking at the title, felt it should be interesting. True to my intuition, "To all the boys I've loved before" written by Jenny Han , was an enjoyable read.                                                               Just to give a sneak peak into the novel, it is the story of a teenager named Lara Jean. She is the middle one amongst three sisters and has a habit of writing love letters to the boys she has a crush on. Instead of giving it to the boys, she secretly stores them in a hatbox in her room. One day her younger sister, posts all those letters to the boys. Amongst those letters, one was addressed to their elder sister's boyfriend. Rest of the story is how Lara handles the consequences and stops the impending damage to the relationship with her sister. The narration was very entertaining, filled with teenage innocence, friendship and romance. If you are looking for a li

Life with a baby is full of laughs, cuddles, kisses and hugs!!! This is just the brighter side. One who is planning to have a baby should be aware of the other side too. While the thought of having a new addition to the family is exciting, parenting is a long and exhausting journey. I somewhere read that "Parenting is a 20 year project", but I would say it is an endless project. At any stage of life, don't we lean on our parents for advice and assistance? Once we commit ourselves to parenthood, their is no turning back.         (Photo source: www.istockphoto.com) Lets go through few major aspects to consider before making the life's biggest decision. Physical readiness:  Every pregnancy is unique and so are the physical challenges. Morning sickness, carrying a child for 10 months, unlimited doctor visits and medical tests, long wait hours at the hospital, backaches, swollen legs, frequent bathroom trips, sleepless nights, pregnancy related medical issues (like gestati

Dil Bekaraar, is a comedy family drama series, released this November on Disney+ Hotstar. The trailer which appeared to be set up in 1980s background was compelling. It is the adoption of novel "Those Pricey Thakur Girls" written by Anuja Chauhan. These two reasons were convincing enough for me to watch the series.                                                      (Photo credit: Disney+ Hotstar) Directed by Habib Faisal, the story revolves around the family of retired Justice LN Thakur and his five daughters, based at New Delhi and love story between the protagonists.  The cast includes Raj Babbar (LN Thakur), Poonam Dhillon (Mamta, LN Thakur's wife), Akshay Oberoi (Dylan Singh Shekhawat, protagonist), Sahher Bambha (Debjani aka Dabbu - one of Thakur's daughter and Dylan's love interest), Padmini Kolhapure (Thakur's brother's wife), Chandrachur Singh (Health Minister). Dylan is a journalist, striving hard to prove himself by writing a powerful byline. H

    The moment a child is born, a mother is also born!!!                                                (Photo credit:  "Mom's hand"   by  Serge Melki  is licensed under  CC BY 2.0 ) When I was expecting my child, I was very nervous and had tons of questions in my mind. I heard lots of personal stories, advices, dos and don'ts from cousins, friends and colleagues; and read loads of content on the internet. Those who weren't new to the process, had better awareness and dealt their second pregnancy with greater confidence. Another thing I observed in common was that no one's journey was the same. It is this uniqueness that makes every MOTHER unique.  Mine too, was different than what I had learnt from all the wonderful moms I knew. So I always had this urge to share whatever I knew with others. In this series, I will be publishing weekly posts about pregnancy, postpartum and nurturing a baby. I wish my posts will be of some help for the expectant and new moms.

Hello Readers, I am sharing a very easy to make recipe today - "Banana Muffins". The entire procedure from "Prep to Bake" takes hardly 40 mins. This recipe doesn't contain all purpose flour and vegan friendly too.  Ingredients: Banana - 2  Wheat flour - 1 cup Oil - 1/3 cup (any oil with neutral taste)  Brown sugar - 1/3 cup Baking powder - 1 tsp Baking soda - 1/2 tsp Salt - a pinch Vanilla essence - 1 1/2 tsp Chocochips - 2 tbsp (optional) Follow me on  Instagram  and  Facebook   to read my latest articles!! Procedure: Mash the bananas well along with brown sugar in a bowl Now, add oil and vanilla essence to the mashed bananas and give a good mix Mix all dry ingredients - wheat flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in another bowl Add dry ingredients mix to the wet ingredients in 2 to 3 batches and mix slowly in a single direction, until there are no big lumps Finally, add two-thirds of the chocochips and mix the dough one last time Scoop in the dough and f

* This post doesn't include any paid promotion "Instant Pot" - It has become a household name and per survey, 1 in 3 houses in North America have an Instant Pot in their kitchens. Robert Wang along with his colleagues from Nortel, Canada designed Instant Pot in 2009. Since it was introduced in the market, varied models have been released and it combines multiple functions of pressure cooker, slow cooker, yogurt maker, steamer, food warmer, saute pan into one appliance, making it versatile. Few models include options for baking, air frying, sous vide.  Though I came across this appliance when I was in the US, I didn't really find the necessity to buy one. I use pressure cookers and rice cooker for my cooking needs. Recently, I wanted to upgrade to a 5litres pressure cooker and then thought why not give Instant Pot a try, to check if it is worth all the hype. During last week's black friday sale, I found Instant Pot Duo Gourmet (6 quart) at Costco for a special pric