Tag: nutritionist

Soaked Vs Raw Almonds: We Unveil The Truth

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Widely known for its numerous benefits, Almonds are seeds or nuts of a tree called Prunus dulcis. They are native to Iran and its surrounding regions but are cultivated worldwide. We have all been recommended to eat almonds at some point in our lives as they promote a healthy lifestyle.

Packed with vitamin E, almonds act as an immunity booster. Apart from being a rich source of proteins, nutrients, vitamins, and minerals, almonds are also one of the tastiest and most versatile tree nuts. 

Due to its versatility, people are often confused about the best way to consume almonds. There is often a debate regarding the benefits of having soaked almonds over raw almonds. Soaking almonds overnight for at least a period of 6-8 hours before having it is often recommended.

Here are 7 reasons why you should soak almonds before eating them.

  1. Eases Digestion: Almonds may be difficult to digest because of their hard texture. Soaking almonds overnight softens them making the whole process of digestion a lot easier [1]. Soaking almonds also leads to the release of the enzyme called lipase which stimulates the digestion of fats in the body. 
  2. Nutritional Content: Our body can absorb more nutrients from soaked almonds than raw almonds. The soft texture of the almond after soaking will facilitate chewing which in turn leads to the absorption of more nutrients. The outer brown peel of almonds contains a substance called tannin. Tannin is said to prevent nutrient absorption and inhibits the release of enzymes until proper sunlight and moisture conditions are reached. Once the almond is soaked in water, due to moisture the outer peel comes out easily allowing the nut to release more nutrients. Soaking almonds overnight also reduces phytic acid which inhibits nutrient absorption [2].
  3. Weight Loss And Aging: Soaked almonds are rich in antioxidants [3] which eliminate harmful free radicals from the body and prevents inflammation. Antioxidants like vitamin E delays the process of aging and help you maintain your younger-looking self. Soaked almonds also aid in weight loss. They are rich in monounsaturated fats because of which you can munch on almonds and satiate your midnight hunger pangs without gaining additional weight [4].
  4. Regulates Cholesterol and Blood Pressure Level: Soaked almonds help regulate cholesterol levels and blood pressure. They are rich in protein, magnesium, folic acid, potassium, which helps in combating heart diseases and reduces the chances of artery congestion [5]. Moreover, they help regulate blood sugar levels, which reduces the risks of diabetes [6].
  5. Better Taste: Some people prefer soaked almonds as they taste much better than raw almonds. Soaking the almonds makes it softer and gives it a better texture and taste. They are also easier to chew. Raw almonds are hard and have a bitter taste making it less appealing to eat.
  6. Skin and Hair: Soaked almonds can be blended with milk to be used as a face scrub and body moisturizer. This scrub acts as a great exfoliating agent and can also be used to treat skin inflammations. Using a hair mask with soaked almonds will give luster to your hair and help in preventing hair fall and hair damage due to their high nutrient profile.
  7. Other Health Benefits: The high content of folic acid in soaked almonds helps in reducing birth defects during pregnancy. They are often recommended to pregnant women as they are nutrient-rich and provide ample energy for the healthy development of the baby. Vitamin B17 present in soaked almonds helps to fight cancer and tumor growth [7]. Children are also encouraged to eat soaked almonds as they are said to boost their memory and act as a tonic for the brain. Constipation can also be treated with soaked almonds due to high fiber content.
    References:

    1. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2854608/
    2. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4325021/
    3. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4276397/
    4. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3898316/
    5. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5946253/
    6. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22296169
    7. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5986699/

Let’s look at a 2000 calorie Indian diet plan

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Diets didn’t work for you? Neither did drinking green tea? You didn’t lose a single pound. Furthermore, you are finding it extremely difficult to sleep and lose your cool for apparently no reason.

Extreme diets can do that to you – lead to disturbed sleep, mood swings and unhappiness.

At bon happetee we understand your frustration. Here is a sample plan to speed up your weight loss without compromising on your sleep, mental health and most importantly, taste.

Let’s look at a 2000 calorie diet plan-
 Continue reading →

6 tasty low carb Indian dinner ideas to make your weekdays interesting

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Low-carb dinners or keto meals is a popular trend with weight watchers. Also, those who feel a little bloated after eating dinner, they may want to reduce their carb intake in the evening meal. However, most first timers struggle with easy and tasty low-carb recipes. They are even worried whether it will fill their tummy. Or would they find the food to be bland and boring? Bon Happétee has put together 6 yummy and satiating low carb Indian dinner ideas.

But before we go into that, let’s understand why low-carb dinners work magic for shedding the flab. Continue reading →

Eat right this monsoon

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Goodbye, mangoes. And a warm hello to the kadak adrak chai!

Monsoon has arrived and so is your temptation for eating all foods steaming hot. The warm soup and hot chocolate you detested during summer become a comfort food in the rains. Similarly, the mangoes you devoured in the scorching heat lose their luscious taste with the first showers.

As the season changes, your eating preferences and habits should change to help you cope with the climatic changes. For instance, rains leave puddles and dampness that become the breeding ground for mosquitoes and insects. Also, the high humidity levels lower your immunity. Your digestive system is at its weakest in the monsoon. Thus, your favourite season spells trouble for your health. And of course, skipping exercise due to the downpour or the lazy monsoon mood and gorging on pakodas, bhajiyas and fried just add to the woes.

But before you get all worked up, Bon Happetee has sorted your health and weight issues.

We’ve compiled a list on the foods to eat so that you remain healthy and fit during the rainy season:

  • Salads:

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Salads are nutritious and you should eat them to ramp up your fiber and nutrient quota. But, as a nutritionist, I know monsoon’s not the best time to chomp on salads.

So here’s how I relish my salad – I throw in the cabbage and heat it for 25-30 seconds in the microwave. This practice kills all the germs and ensures I grab my dose of antioxidant. Cucumber and carrot kachumber is another favourite since peeling the skin lowers the risk of food infection.

  • Leafy greens:

A storehouse of nutrients, leafy greens are every nutritionist’s favourite. But during the monsoons, green leafy vegetables are swarming with insects and food infection. So avoid eating them raw.

However, you can savour by cooking as cooking destroys the microbes – palak paneer, aloo gobhi, palak khichdi, gobhi paratha are smart ways to relish your greens without falling ill.

  • Fruits:

Move over the mango and dig into the delicious monsoon fruits – pear, plum, peach, apple and custard apple. And before you start on how fattening custard apple is, let’s talk about its benefits.

Custard apple is bursting with the goodness of iron, Vitamin C, Vitamin B 6, magnesium, and potassium. These nutrients play a key role in promoting healthy hair, radiant skin, along with steady sugar levels and a happy heart. With 100 calories in a 100-gram serving, custard apple is a steal! And custard apple contains zero fat and cholesterol. So, it’s definitely not making you fat.

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The other fruits – plums, pears and peaches – are an excellent source of Vitamin C. Vitamin C activates production of white blood cells, the first line of defence for your body’s immune system. Thus, all monsoon fruits are loaded with iron and Vitamin C, nutrients that strengthen your resistance to infections and inflammations. Additionally, both these nutrients play a key role in keeping your tresses healthy and combat hair loss, a common problem in rains.

  • Sprouts/pulses:

Obviously, you can’t wolf down leafy veggies, the tinda, bhindi, and doodhi for lunch and dinner throughout the monsoon. You need variety. It’s time to eat pulse-based vegetables like rajma, chawli, chole and besan. What’s more, pulses are brimming with protein, a vital nutrient to boost your immunity; a strong immune system protects you from the monsoon-related illnesses. The easy-to-digest sprouts are a healthy addition to your monsoon diet. A treasure trove of B-complex and Vitamin C, sprouts make a great in-between snack, sabzi, or usal.

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And of course, dal khichdi with ghee makes for a perfect monsoon meal when you’re craving for something hot, quick and delicious.

Clearly, nature has the answer to all weather-related changes!

While we’ve discussed the food groups, there’s an important rule or two about staying fit during monsoons: eat light and fast.

With the constant downpour, sunlight is rare; these sunbeams play a key role in digestion. With decreased sunshine, your digestion power decreases drastically. That’s why go easy on the mouth-watering monsoon munchies – pakoras, bhajoyas, samosas, and kachori. And relish the khichdi, sprouts and custard apple and occasionally you can grab a bhajiya or a samosa!

Indigestion and stomach problems is also one of the key reasons why fasts are observed during monsoon. Most people observe the chaumasa (four months of fasting during the monsoon) or fast at least during the shravana month which sees the heaviest rainfall. By fasting, your vital organs get needful rest as they work hard throughout the year to keep you healthy.

And before we forget – have loads of ginger in the rainy season. Ginger is highly effective in improving food absorption and digestion. Also, it helps keep the cold and flu away.

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Have an awesome monsoon from team bon happetee 🙂

content writer - bon happetee diet plan appVishruta is a nutritionist by profession and a writer by heart. Content writing and menu planning have become her passions over the past few years. Love food, love life — is her mantra.

Easy & healthy tiffin recipes for kids

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The summer break is over; it’s time to go back to school. And as the new school year begins, every mother’s biggest nightmare is back: what to make for tiffin?

bon happetee indian food diet plan app

Now kids always peep into each other’s boxes while they sit together for lunch. The radiant smile when your child has the most delicious lunch is priceless – and every mother’s pride.

Managing your child’s nutrition and pleasing his taste buds during the vacation was easy. But once school starts, you can’t prepare wholesome and interesting meals in the maddening morning rush. And at the same time, you can’t give him the boring roti and sabzi every day.

That said you need not lose sleep over what to prepare for dabba. Bon happétee has some healthy and fun tiffin recipes you can whip up in a jiffy.

So here we go:

  • Bread uttapam:

Prepare a batter of suji, curd, finely chopped veggies, salt, and spices. Heat a griddle, add some oil and place a bread slice. Spread a layer of the batter on the bread. Ensure that the batter side is on top. Flip the bread and cook from the other side.

This uttapam is a smart way to sneak the fiber and antioxidant-loaded veggies in your child’s diet.

  • Baby corn and capsicum rice:

An international version of the Indian pulao, this rice preparation is a sure-shot hit. It entails freshly prepared/leftover rice, olive oil, diced bell peppers and baby corn, along with onion, garlic, tomato puree, ketchup, oregano, basil, salt and pepper. You can toss in a protein surprise by adding paneer cubes.

  • Hung curd sandwiches:

bon happetee indian food diet plan app

Mix finely chopped capsicum, onion along with grated carrot to the hung curd. Add chaat masala, salt, oregano, black pepper powder and mix well. Apply a thick layer of the mixture on the bread and grease it lightly with butter on one side. Grill it either in an oven, a sandwich maker or on a tava.

This easy-to-prepare snack will make your child’s tiffin box the most interesting one. As a mother, you can pat yourself for preparing a snack that’s rich in protein, calcium, antioxidants, and fibre.

A paneer bhurji sandwich is another interesting lunch box idea.

  • Chapati or paratha wraps:

The regular chapati and sabzi are boring. Time to give it a makeover.

In a pan, heat butter. Throw in some finely chopped onion, tomato, and capsicum with boiled potatoes, green peas, pav bhaji masala, salt, coriander leaves, and cheese. Now spread this mixture in the middle of a roti and roll it up. With such a delicious wrap, your child will flash his broadest smile. And you’ll be happy since you’ve wrapped all the five pillars of nutrition in a one meal.

You can always showcase your culinary skills by trying new fillings.

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  • Parathas:

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Parathas have been the most popular and versatile tiffin recipe. You can try different parathas – from a sprouts paratha to mix vegetable, gobhi, spring onion and cheese, paneer and the all-time favourite aloo paratha. You could add ragi, soya, bajra, or jowar flour to the whole wheat atta to up the nutrition quotient.

And yes, the home-made mint/coriander chutney is a healthier accompaniment to parathas than the preservative-laced ketchup.

  • Idli stir-fry:

A quick meal you can prepare with leftover idlis. In a wok, heat oil. Add sliced onion, carrots, capsicum and cabbage. Once the veggies get cooked, put in salt, noodle masala, and diced idlis.

This simple dish will win your child’s heart with its colourful appearance and scrumptious taste. Additionally, the fermented idlis and veggies will boost your child’s immunity.

  • Pasta:

This one’s special and coming straight from my mom’s kitchen. As a kid, I’d always be behind mom to make pasta for dabba. In fact , I still do 😉

She prepares home-made pasta sauce using dudhi, carrot, tomatoes, chilli flakes, oregano, basil leaves, salt, sugar and cinnamon the previous evening. In the morning, she heats olive oil/butter in a pan, adds the home-made sauce and durum wheat pasta. A grated cheese cube on top and my day is made.

Sometimes, she cooks white sauce pasta. She prepares the sauce using atta, not maida. She adds corn, capsicum, mushroom, and yeah, I can’t stop grinning.

Now you can heave a sigh of relief. You’ve taken care of your child’s nutrition and taste buds without running from pillar to post or worrying about what to cook.

Happy school day cooking from Team Bon Happétee 🙂

content writer - bon happetee indian food diet plan appVishruta is a nutritionist by profession and a writer by heart. Content writing and menu planning have become her passions over the past few years. Love food, love life — is her mantra.

How To Recover From The Weekend Party

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Bon happetee lose weight fast at home

“Saturday Saturday…” Remember the Alia Bhatt-Varun Dhawan-star number that soared in popularity charts. Because the mere thought of the weekend is enough to make you jump with joy. Weekends are usually all about meeting your favourite pals, shopping, watching the latest movie and hanging out at the newest café in town.

While the weekend is about having a blast, the one thing that takes the maximum beating is your weight. Whether it’s skipping breakfast, late dinners, erratic sleep hours, bingeing on fried foods and desserts, zero exercise, or downing a few drinks; Saturday and Sunday become speed bumps in your weight loss journey. Continue reading →

Bye-bye deprivation diets- Why we should go ahead and eat that cookie

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Food cravings salad cookies

I cringe every time I hear that someone is trying to lose weight through a deprivation diet. I wonder if it is the upshot of the foodie that I am or it is because as a trained professional I know what is exactly going to happen to your body. Of course you know someone who has transformed into a prima donna by going on a deprivation diet and you gear up to use the same strategy. How difficult can this be, right? It makes absolute sense that if you starve yourself then your body will use up the stored resources (a.k.a fat cells) to meet the daily requirements and that will burn all the mean accumulated fat cells and help you become a fabulous version of yourself.

Truth: It doesn’t work. If it did – not temporarily but permanently – weight loss would not be a 148-billion-dollar industry. Continue reading →

How to stay food safe this monsoon

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Monsoon, without doubt, is the most favourite season!  It relieves everyone from the scorching heat of the ruthless summer. Monsoon is also the season of food lovers! All the food items taste 100 times more delicious while it pours outside. Enjoying palatable snacks while it’s raining is a pure bliss. Isn’t it?Bon happetee best diet plan app

Garam kanda bhajias, adrakwali chai and bhunna butta are on everyone’s list. Not just food, monsoon makes you fall in love with nature as well! Puddles, drenching in the rain, paper boats, long drives to promenade and beaches, mini vacations or treks are activities everyone looks forward to.

But monsoon also has its share of problems, sadly. It is also considered by many as the season of sneezes, flu and virals. Therefore, apart from enjoying this season, you need to also take care of your immunity levels. One can catch cold, viral or flu due to body’s low immunity levels during monsoon. And hence one needs to be extra careful during this season.

Continue reading →

How to Indulge this monsoon ?

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Here comes the season of garma garam bhajiyas! The fried and spicy food items taste 100 times better during the rainy season, don’t they? And who doesn’t like digging into deliciously hot snacks while hearing the pitter patter of raindrops on their window pane? The pleasant aroma of these food draws us towards them during this season. Vada pav, samosa, bhajiya, pakoras, puri bhaji, adrak chai. The list of these mouth-watering dishes to relish in monsoon simply goes on…

But all good things have some drawbacks and our beloved season is no exception to this fact. Monsoon also increases the risk of falling ill, tremendously. And weightwatchers may even skip their gym sessions or daily walk due to the heavy downpour or simply the laziness that the season brings along. And this makes their weight loss goal go for a toss!

Now, how do we go about keeping our health and weight in check and not spoil the good vibes of monsoon? Continue reading →