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Manu

Review: Anex Monkey Smart Watch

Hello Readers, Welcome back. While browsing through a weekly flyer by Canadian Tire, my eyes got hold of a smart watch, primarily for its name - Monkey Smart Watch. It's original price was $89.99. On account of Father's Day, the price was slashed 70% and offered for just $24.99 (from June 9th to June 16th). As it was listed on Canadian Tire website, I thought the product should be genuine and googled to know more about the product. But there weren't sufficient reviews online. So I decided to try it myself and booked it online. This smart watch was launched in the last quarter of 2021 as Anex Monkey Smart Watch. Last year, it had been sold for just $19.99 as part of Black Friday deal. Even after 5 days of waiting, Canadian Tire didn't process my order. On the other hand, the stock was vanishing real quick and only 80 watches were available in our near by store. When checked with their customer service executive, I was told to cancel my online order or wait until they p...

Keep Rutabaga Fresh! Storage Tips & 2 Indian Recipes You'll Love

Stepping beyond our usual choices in kitchen can open up a world of exciting flavors and nutrients. All it takes is to try a new vegetable or a cooking style to add novelty to our daily meals. Rutabaga, a vegetable I haven't explored before turned out to be a delightful discovery. If you haven't read my previous article on rutabaga, be sure to check it out here . It gives you a wholistic look at this underrated super vegetable along with a lip smacking Indian-style Rutabaga fry recipe you won't want to miss. Apart from the fry, I prepared a flavorful Andhra-style karam pulusu and a comforting Tamil-style kootu using rutabaga. Surprisingly, both dishes turned out even more delicious than the fry! If I had to rank all the three recipes, the rutabaga pulusu would easily take the top spot—it was simply irresistible! How to store rutabaga for weeks? Rutabagas come in all sizes, but the smaller ones can be more bitter and the bigger ones could be woody and tough to cut. So go fo...

Recipe: Sakkarai Pongal (Sweet Pongal)

Sakkarai Pongal (Sweet Pongal), as it is known in South India, is a traditional South Indian sweet, prepared using rice, lentils, jaggery and dry fruits. Sakkarai Pongal is usually prepared as an offering to the Sun God, during Pongal/ Sankranthi festival and as prasad in temples around the year. Ingredients: Rice - 1 cup Moong dal (split green gram) - 1/2 cup Chana dal (split chick peas) - 3 tbsp Milk - 1 cup Water - 5 cup Jaggery - 1.5 cup diluted in 1 cup water Ghee - 1/2 cup Cashew nuts (chopped) - 2 tbsp Raisins - 1 tbsp Cardamom powder - 1/2 tsp Edible camphor - a pinch Procedure: Wash and soak rice and dals in water for half an hour In a pressure cooker, heat 3 tbsp of ghee and roast cashew and raisins and set them aside In the same cooker, add the soaked rice, dals, 1 cup milk and 5 cups water and cook until 5 whistles, so that it is mushy Meanwhile dissolve jaggery in 1 cup of water and strain to rem...

Did Kate Williams Read My Mind? My Review of How to Stop Trying

I am sure we all would have heard this statement more than once in our lives from our parents, teachers, siblings, friends, spouse or even a boss: “Try and try till you achieve your dream or target.” It could be finding the job of your liking, marrying the person you desire, or earning that long-awaited promotion. For many of us, these words become the script of our lives - pushing us to always chase the next milestone, to measure our worth by achievements. But what happens when the constant “trying” becomes exhausting? That's the side of the story untold. What is this book about? This is what Kate Williams’ "How to Stop Trying: An Overachiever's Guide to Self-Acceptance, Letting Go, and Other Impossible Things" talks about. The book isn’t about throwing away ambitions or giving up on our dreams. Instead, it’s about recognizing the hidden cost of endless striving - the burn out, the inability to rest without guilt, the constant sense of “not enough” and learning how t...

An Impromptu Nature Walk: Healing Hearts and Growing Minds

It's summer break and like many parents, I find myself navigating the ups and downs of having my child at home - full time. Recently, one morning stood out in particular - a moment that turned into an unexpected adventure. My son woke up feeling sad. When asked him he said he is unhappy as his friends don't call him a certain way. That feeling carried so much weight in his little heart and it was tough seeing him like that. I reminded him that we cannot control how others treat us or what they say about us. Instead we can focus on what brings us joy like "May be take a walk in the nature, or read a book, or ride your bike" I offered. To my surprise he immediately responded "Let's go for a walk in the nature" and so we did. We stepped out just with a bottle of water and my mobile phone. Initially I thought we would get some fresh air for few minutes to lighten his mood and head back home. But what we started on as an impromptu walk ended up with a wonderf...

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