Ever Healthy Spicy Mixed Cereals With Nuts

Know what you eat:

We all are aware of the nutrition facts in mixed cereals, well, its full of almost all the vitamins, minerals,protein,also it is low in saturated fat & cholesterol. Of course one should not forget the high content of vita E & antioxidants from all the nuts present in this recipe.

Preparation time: 15 mins
Cooking time: 15 minsServes: 4-6
Note:1. There are 6 different cereals in this Mixture "Chevdo" /"Chivda" Corn Flakes,Rice Crispies,Whole Wheat thins,Granola,Wheat Chex,Shredded Wheat Store Brands cereals should be fine too, make sure its not sweet/sugar coated. Any combination with corn flakes works fine. 2. Works best in breakfast / as a healthy quick crunchy-munchy snack whenever you want.

Ingredients:
2 C Corn Flakes
1 C Rice Crispes
1 C Whole Wheat Chex
1 C Shredded Whole Wheat
1/2 C Whole Wheat thins
1/2 c Granola

Nuts & Dried Fruits/Seeds (Any Nuts/dried fruits you like)
1 C Roasted Peanuts1/4 C Roasted Chana dal (dadia dal)
1 C Mixed Nuts (Broken/Sliced Almonds,Whole Cashew/Black Raisins/Cranberries/Dried banana)


Spices:

3 tsp Red Chilli Pwd
2 tsp Turmeric Pwd
3 tsp Garam Masala Pwd (any brand)
2 tsp Amchur pwd (Dried Mango Powder) OR 1 tsp Citric Acid
Brown Sugar & Salt acc. to taste ( My version is on the sweeter side)

For Tempering:
1-1/2 Tbsp Canola Oil
2 Tbsp Sesame Seeds
1 Tbsp Cumin Seeds
1 Tbsp Fennel Seeds
1 tsp Asafoetida pwd
Few Curry Leaves

Method:

1. Mix all the cereals with fingers in a disposable Aluminum tray, meanwhile heat oil in a kadhai/frying pan & add peanuts if they are not already roasted,chana dal. Let it become slight light brown, now add all the nuts, then add, cumin seeds, sesame seeds,fennel seeds,asafoetida, curry leaves, fry for a min, then add all the ingredients in "spices" EXCEPT sugar & salt, mix it well and switch off the gas. (Be carefull these spices shoundnt be over cooked)
2. Now add sugar & salt according to your taste over the mixed cereal kept in aluminum tray. Gently mix with fingers.
3. Pour the above prepared oil & spice mixture in already mixed cereal kept in the tray. Gently toss / mix with fingers.
4. The Spicy Cereal with nuts is all ready for you to digg in, You can also store it for future use in an air tight container, stays fresh for weeks.

l This is our entry for WYF Event hosted by EC.l This dish goes to 15 mins Event hosted by Mahimaa.
This dish goes to Show me your Breakfast event hosted by Divya Vikram.

This goes to EFM June Breakfast series hosted by Srish.

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No Bake Almond Date Energy Bar

Know what you Eat - Are you the kind of person who loves to snack on Energy, Granola or Cereal bar. Then try this easy to make energy bar and i doubt if you will go for the pricey bars at the store anymore. Filled with the goodness of Almonds, Dates, Coconut and Omega-3 rich Chia seeds and calcium rich Sesame seeds they are very easy to make, super nutritions and taste awesome without any additives.

Almonds are low in saturated fat and contain many other protective nutrients - protein, calcium and magnesium - for strong bones, vitamin E and compounds called phytochemicals, which may help protect against cardiovascular disease and even cancer. Dates are very good source of iron and one of the best natural sugar substitute anyone with a sweet tooth can go for. Chia seeds are very good source of Omega-3 fatty acids and sesame seeds are good source of calcium. The darker the seeds higher their nutrition profile is. Coconut is a good source of Iron, Vitamic C,  Protein and Calcium.

Who Should avoid Dates - Even though dates are very nutritious, large portion of its calories come from sugar. One pitted date contains 16gms of sugar, so if you are on a weight loss goal, portion this energy bar accordingly.

Cooking Time - 5 Mins

Preparation Time - 10 mins

Makes - 12-15 bars(depending on the thickness of the bar)

Ingredients

Toasted Almonds - 1 Cup

Dates - 3/4 cup Chopped and Packed

Grated and toasted Coconut - 1/4 cup

Chia Seeds - 3 Tbsp

Toasted Sesame Seeds - 2 Tbsp

Honey - 2 Tbsp

Method

1) Grind Chia Seeds into a fine powder.

2) Toast the Almonds for 5 mins in a toaster.

3) Now add Almonds, Coconut, Sesame seeds, dates (except for the honey) to the powdered chia.

4) In a food processor blend all the ingredients into fairly fine but still having some texture.

5) Add honey and process just long enough for it to blend in.

6) Press into a square about 3/4-inch thick on a plate or square pan and refrigerate for about an hour or more.

7) Cut into 2-inch squares and enjoy this guilt free snack.

Variations - You can use any combination of nuts also check out 10 Minute Peanut Raisin bars and No Bake Healthy Granola bars for other ideas.

Note - Since there is no baking involved, these bars will lose their shape when kept outside in very hot weather for a long time. When refrigerated they are good for atleast 2 weeks, they might be good even after that but it never lasts, no matter how much i make.

Event Participation

This goes straight to EC's WYF Time Snack.

Sending this to Food for 7 Stages of Life - Healthy Fast Food hosted by Radhika and Sudeshna.

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Oats Almond Macaroon ??

There are three things which i regularly bake -  Bean burgers, Vegan Oat Bar(will post the recipe soon), Cookies using Almond & Oats Flour.
Thinking of saving energy when using the oven,  i bake all these things on the same day.
This was one such day, i had the Oat & Almond flour, beans, Oats and nuts all sitting on my kitchen countertop and i wanted to finish all
the baking and cooking before my Kids come back from school. The vegan Oat Bar uses banana as the binder and i added two bananas to be pureed
to my food processor. Suddenly the phone rings and while talking in the phone i proceeded to finish the baking job. Distracted with the conversation
instead of adding the banana puree to the Oat bar, I added it to the Cookie flour and without realizing mixed it. Only after thoroughly mixing it, i realized
my mistake. Thus was born this Oats Almond Macaroon or suggest me a good name for this. When i baked them they were crisp on the outside and crumbly
in the inside, the next day they were all spongy. But before eating i put them in the toaster oven and toast for around 5 minutes and it gives a crunchy
texture on the outside  and of course they all tasted good. Why not, might be i might try making these once again when i have some ripe bananas
in the hand. Now let us get on to the recipe.

Preparation Time – 15  minutes
Cooking Time – 15 minutes
Serves – Makes around 2 1/2 dozen macaroon
Ingredients
Oats Flour – 2 cups
Almond Flour – 1 cup
Walnuts – 1/4 cup chopped
Coconut – 1/4 cup shredded
Maple Syrup – 1/3 cup
Clarified Butter – 1/8 cup
Ripe Bananas – 2
Cinnamon powder – 1/2 tsp
Baking Soda – 1/2 tsp
Salt pinch
Sliced Almonds – few(optional)
Method
1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
2) Combine Oats flour, almond flour, walnut, coconut, baking soda, cinnamon powder and salt.
3) In a food processor puree the banana without any lumps.
4) Add this banana puree, maple syrup and clarified butter to the flour mixture.
5) Line a cookie tray with parchment paper and drop the flour mixture into small balls leaving
enough space in between.
6) On top of the dough place a slice of sliced almond
7) Bake for 10-15 minutes till the macaroons are baked completely and slightly brown.


Event Participation
These go straight to Kitchen Mishaps hosted by Malar of Kitchen Tantra.

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Eggless Gluten free Oat & Almond Ginger Bread Cookies with no refined sugar

Wishes for a very Happy, Healthy New Year 2010.

Know what you Eat - Almonds are low in saturated fat and contain many other protective nutrients - protein, calcium and magnesium - for strong bones, vitamin E and compounds called phytochemicals, which may help protect against cardiovascular disease and even cancer. Oats are an excellent source of iron, dietary fiber and thiamin. They also contain antioxidants that are believed to protect the circulatory system from diseases such as arteriosclerosis, which affects the arterial blood vessel.

My kids love cookies, but one thing which scares me is the increased chance of cavities apart from all the other health problems when consuming refined sugar. This is one more experimental attempt by me to create a nutritious cookie without any refined flour, and by adding maple sugar, molasses and using xylitol(for icing) in place of refined table sugar.  This was a sure hit among mine as well their friends.

Preparation Time - 15 mins
Cooking Time - 10 to 15 mins
Makes around 6 to 8 cookies

Ingredients

Gluten Free Oats Flour - 1 cup
Almond Flour - 1/2 cup
Clarified butter(ghee) - 1/8 cup
Honey - 1/8 cup
Molasses - 1/8 cup
Baking powder - 1/2 tsp
Grated ginger - 1 tsp
Cinnamon powder - 1 tsp
Salt - 1/4 tsp

Method

1) Combine the Oats flour, Almond flour, salt, cinnamon powder and baking powder.
2) To this add clarified butter, honey, molasses and grated ginger.
3) Roll the dough and take a small ball and flatten it.
4) Using a cookie cutter cut out the desired shapes.
5) Pre heat an oven to 350 degrees Fahrenhiet.
6) Line a cookie tray with parchment paper and bake the cookies for 10-15 minutes till they are fully baked.
7) Once the cookies are well cooled stored in an air tight container.

For the icing

Cream Cheese - 2 Tbsp(Organic without animal rennett)
Butter - 1 Tbsp
Xylitol(powdered) - 2 tsp or to your taste

1) Beat the cheese and butter, to this add xylitol.
2) Fill a ziploc with the icing and decorate the cookies.

Event Participation

1) This goes to the Cakes & Cookie event hosted by Mahimaa .

2) This goes to the Oats Feast & Cakes-n-Cookies events both hosted by Sara's Corner.

3) This goes to It's time to Jingle hosted by Asankhana.

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Glutenfree Eggless Oats & Almond Candied Fruit Cookie

Know what you Eat - Gluten is a special type of protein that is commonly found in wheat, barley, rye, kamut, spelt and triticale, ut unfortunately most oat stock has been found to be contaminated with wheat because of processing methods. But you can find gluten free Oats in your health food store or online. These contain oat gluten but not the type of gluten that can harm people with Celiac disease or gluten intolerance.
Now coming to the nutrition in these cookies Almonds are low in saturated fat and contain many other protective nutrients - protein, calcium and magnesium - for strong bones, vitamin E and compounds called phytochemicals, which may help protect against cardiovascular disease and even cancer. Oats are an excellent source of iron, dietary fiber and thiamin. They also contain antioxidants that are believed to protect the circulatory system from diseases such as arteriosclerosis, which affects the arterial blood vessel. Preparation Time - 20 mins


I stick on to Oats because of their high fiber content and Almonds because of its high nutritional content. The cookies being a part of my kids daily snack , i no longer need to feel too guilty to give something with empty calories and they taste great too.


Cooking Time - 20 mins
Makes - Around 30 Cookies

Ingredients

Oats  Flour - 3 Cup
Almond Flour/Meal - 1 1/2 cup
Butter - 3/4 cup(room temperature)
Raw Sugar - 1/2 cup + 2 tbsp (if you want a more sweeter version otherwise keep it to 1/2 cup)
Tutti Fruity(Candied Fruit) - 1 cup
Almond Extract - 1 tsp
Baking Soda - 1/2 tsp
Salt - 1/4 tsp

Method

1) To get Oats flour in a food processor grind the Oats to fine flour consistency.
2) Add 1tsp of sugar to the Almond and grind to a fine powder, adding the sugar will prevent the almond flour from becoming sticky.
3) Combine the Oats flour, Almond flour, Salt, baking soda and the candied fruit pieces.
4) Cream the butter and sugar together and add the almond extract to it.
5) Slowly add the Oats and Almond flour to the butter, sugar mixture and make a dough.
6) Preheat an oven to 350degrees Fahrenheit.
7) Line a cookie tray with parchment paper.
8) Take a small amount of the dough, roll it and flatten it with hand.
9) Place them in the cookie sheet leaving enough space for the cookies to expand.
10) Bake for around 10-15 minutes till they are slightly brown and completely baked.
11) Cool them completely(this is must as they will be very crumbly even to touch) and transfer them to an airtight container.




Event Participation

1) This goes to the Oats Feast & Cakes-n-Cookies events both hosted by Sara's Corner.

2) This also goes to Eat Christmas Cookies event hosted by Susan.

3) This goes to It's time to Jingle hosted by Asankhana.

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Almond Cashew Brittle(Vegan)

Know what you Eat – Deepavali the festival of light is synonymous to sweets and celebration. But not all sweets are sinful this brittle made with toasted Almonds and cashews and made with Jaggery(Panela) not only tastes great, easy to make and very easy on your waist line.
Almonds which is high in monounsaturated fats, that is good for the body and is associated with reduced risk of heart disease. In addition to healthy fats and vitamin E, Magnesium and Potassium. Not only do cashews have a lower fat content than most other nuts, approximately 75% of their fat is unsaturated fatty acids, plus about 75% of this unsaturated fatty acid content is oleic acid, the same heart-healthy monounsaturated fat found in olive oil.  This nut is also rich in magnesium. Magnesium plays a very important role in controlling blood pressure and heart health. Jaggery (Panela) is a "natural" sweetener made by the concentration of sugarcane juice WITHOUT the use of any chemicals / synthetic additives or preservatives. It contains an enormous wealth of minerals / protein / vitamins and iron.

Ingredients

Almonds – 2 cups
Cashew – 1 cup
Jaggery(Panela) – 1 1/2 cup
Cardamom powder – pinch
Ghee or Coconut oil for greasing the tray
Water just enough to cover the surface of the jaggery

Method

1) In a toaster oven toast the almonds for 5-8 minutes stirring in between till they are crisp. Pay attention or they will brown or black quickly.
2) Toast the Cashews for 3-5 minutes stirring in between.
3) Once the Almond is cool enough to handle, chop them into small pieces and mix them with the cashew and keep it aside.
4) Now heat a pan add the jaggery and just enough water to cover it. Once the jaggery is completely dissolved, start stirring and heat it till the jaggery becomes thick and if you pour the dissolved jaggery with your spoon you will see threads coming out of it.
4) At this point switch of the stove and add the cardamom powder, the mixed nuts and  stir fast so that the nuts are evenly coated with the jaggery.
5) Immediately transfer the contents to a big greased tray and using a spatula even the surface out. Keep it aside for 5 minutes, once it is slightly cool, cut them into pieces and enjoy. Enjoy these guilt free snacks.



Event Participation:


Diwali Dhamaka 09 going on in Purva's Daawat
Sweet- Series in Mom's recipes hosted by Sireesha

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Almond Oats Chocolate Chip Cookie(Eggless & Gluten free)

Know what you Eat - Almonds are low in saturated fat and contain many other protective nutrients - protein, calcium and magnesium - for strong bones, vitamin E and compounds called phytochemicals, which may help protect against cardiovascular disease and even cancer. Oats are an excellent source of iron, dietary fiber and thiamin. They also contain antioxidants that are believed to protect the circulatory system from diseases such as arteriosclerosis, which affects the arterial blood vessel.

Our doctor is a firm believer of the Atkin formula, he advises us to stay away from Rice and Wheat(even whole wheat) as they are fattening. He sketched out a diet plan for us which consist of Finger Millet(Reinventing the wheel), black chick pea, green mung bean and Quinoa. Our staple brown rice and whole wheat(even though i love them i use it occassionally now) has been taken over by other grain & beans in the past few years. Being the staples replaced, now i am slowly working on replacing wheat with other grains in my baking too. This is one such cookie and it gave me lot of satisfaction as it contains the goodness of Oats and protein rich Almonds. Almonds are concentrated in protein. A quarter-cup contains 7.62 grams-more protein than is provided by the typical egg, which contains 5.54 grams. I tried using Almond flour(my ultimate target) alone and the taste was unmatched, but they were lot crumbly.

Preparation Time - 10 mins
Cooking Time - 10-15 mins
Makes - 18 to 20 Cookies

Ingredients

Oats Flour - 2 Cups
Almond Powder - 1 Cup
Semi sweet Chocolate chips - 4 oz (1/2 cup)
Butter - 4 oz(room temperature)
Agave Nectar - 2 oz
Baking Soda - 1/4 tsp
Salt - 1/4 tsp
Vanilla extract - 1/2 tsp

Method

1) Preheat Oven to 350 degrees Fahrenhiet.
2) Sift Oats, Almond flour, Baking soda, salt and chocolate chips and set them aside.
3) Combine Butter and Agave nectar and then add the vanilla extract.
4) Now add the Oats-Almond mixture slowly to the butter and combine without any lumps.
4) Line a baking tray with parchment paper.
5) Take small out of dough, make a ball and flatten them using your hand and place it in the parchment paper.
6) Leave enough space as the cookies will expand while baking and bake for around 10-15 minutes till they are slightly brown and completely baked.
7) Cool them completely(this is must as they will be very crumbly even to touch) and transfer them to an airtight container. Great for kids as a guilt free snack along with some fresh fruits.

Note - I have tried these cookies couple of times, it comes out very well. The consistency of the dough depends on the room temperature. Once i baked them on a very hot day and had to spoon the dough instead of flattening them, still it comes out well. I have tried the vegan version also with 1/2 cup of Canola oil and replacing agave nectar with 1/2 cup Maple syrup. With Maple syrup they are little bit on the crispy side.

Event Participation

1)This dish goes to Just not any other dish hosted by Dew drop in the Kitchen.

2)This dish a sure kid pleaser goes to Kids Delight hosted by Srivalli.

3)This dish goes to Eggless Baking Event Using Oats hosted by Madhu.

4)This also goes to CFK-Chocolate hosted by Hema started by Sharmi.

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Vegan Fruit & Nut Cake/Bar

Know what you Eat - Eating a handful of nuts daily may help prevent weight gain and possibly promote weight loss. The fat, protein and fiber in nuts help you feel full longer, so you may eat less during the day. By helping induce a feeling of satiety, nuts may help people feel less deprived and not like they're "dieting." Dates are a good source of dietary fiber, calcium, sulphur, iron, potassium, phosphorous, manganese, copper and magnesium which are advantageous for health. Raisins are rich in phytonutrient phenol which is an antioxidant and also a trace mineral, boron, a mineral that is critical to bone health. Apricots contain nutrients such as Vitamin A that promote good vision.

Eggless Cooking has so many wonderful recipes to be tried out. This one fit my bill with very less flour and lot of nutrients coming from the nuts. Madhu's recipe uses buttermilk and i wanted to fortify it some more and used the omega 3 rich Chia seeds as the egg substitute.

Ingredients

Whole Wheat flour - 3/4 cup
Baking soda - 1/4 teaspoon
Baking powder - 1/4 teaspoon
Salt - 1/4 teaspoon
Raw Sugar - 1/2 cup
Dried fruits(Dates, Raisins and apricots chopped) - 2 cups (The original recipe uses 3 cups)
Nuts chopped - 3 cups(Any nuts i used Almonds, Cashew, Pecan and Walnut)
Chia Seeds - 3 Tbsp(Instead of 3/4th cup buttermilk)
Water - 1 Cup + 1 Tbsp
Vanilla extract 1 teaspoon

Method

1) Soak Chia in 9 Tbsps water.
2) Preheat the oven at 350F.
3) In a large bowl whisk together whole wheat flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and raw sugar.
4) Now add the chopped dried fruits and nuts of your choice and mix thoroughly using your fingers to remove any lumps.
5) Take the chia gel and transfer it into a blender add the remaining water little by little and blend nicely to create a slurry. Now the slurry will be in white color. Now addvanilla extract and whisk it nicely.
6) Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix it well.
7) Spread the batter into a 13×9 inch pan lined with parchment paper.
8) Bake it for 30-40 minuter till a knife inserted in center of the cake comes out clean.
9) Once out of the oven, leave the pan on a wire rack and let it cool completely before cutting into pieces.
10) Slice them into smaller pieces for portion control and enjoy as a guilt free snack.

Event Participation

1) This dish goes to T & T hosted by Poornima originated by Zlamin.

2) This goes to Food for Seven Stages of Life - Pregnancy(Zero Hour) hosted by Radhika.

3) This dish a sure kid pleaser goes to Kids Delight hosted by Srivalli.

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Sweet Mixed Nuts Ball & Janmashtami Prasadams

Know what you Eat - Eating a handful of nuts daily may help prevent weight gain and possibly promote weight loss. The fat, protein and fiber in nuts help you feel full longer, so you may eat less during the day. By helping induce a feeling of satiety, nuts may help people feel less deprived and not like they're "dieting." Just limit your portion to a healthy handful.

I was running in a crazy schedule so couldn't post the recipes earlier, i know i am little late, but just wanted to share these recipes with you all. I didn't want to flood the dashboard with all the posts at the same time, so made the last 4 posts with the date of Aug 26. But don't know what went wrong, all of them got published as of today's date.

Preparation Time - 20 mins
Cooking Time - 15 mins
Serves - Makes around 18 balls

Ingredients

Roasted Peanuts - 1/2 Cup
Roasted Cashews - 1/4 Cup
Roasted Almonds - 1/4 Cup
Chopped Coconut Pieces - 1 Tbsp
Panela(Powdered Jaggery) - 1/2 Cup
Cardamom powder - 1/2 tsp
Water

Method
1) Roast all the nuts and keep them aside, remove the skin of the peanuts and chop the cashews and almonds into small pieces, combine and set them aside.

2) Now in a pan add the jaggery and add little bit of water just to cover the jaggery and heat it.

3) Once the jaggery is completely dissolved, start stirring and heat it till the jaggery becomes thick and if you pour the dissolved jaggery with your spoon you will see threads coming out of it.

4) At this point switch of the stove and add the cardamom powder, the mixed nuts and Coconut pieces and stir fast so that the nuts are evenly coated with the jaggery.

5) Set it aside for 5 minutes, now take small amounts of this mixture and make them into a ball and enjoy these nutritious guilt free snacks.



I also made Uppu Seedai(Fried Rice Balls), Whole Wheat Sweet Appam, Ulundu Vadai(Urad Lentil fried dumplings) and Doodh Peda.

Event Participation
1) This dish goes to the Janmashtami & Ganesh Chaturthi event hosted by Purva.
2) This dish goes to Cooking for Kids, evening snacks hosted by Divya started by Sharmi.
3) This dish also goes to Food for Seven stages of Life-Zero hour hosted by Radhika and co-hosted by Sudeshna.
4) This dish goes to Sweet & Savouries Event hosted by Sara's Corner.

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Powerpacked Multigrain Porridge(Kanji)

Know what you Eat -Finger millet(Ragi) is a very nutritious food with a complex carbohydrate profile and low glycemic index. It is especially valuable as it contains the amino acid methionine which is lacking on staples like polished rice or maize meal. Mung bean, Black chick pea, Broken and roasted bengal gram are very good source of protein. Quinoa is a complete protein food with all the essential amino acids in them. Oats and barley are rich in fiber. Chia seeds are good source of omega 3. Almonds are good source of Vitamin E.

Do you know even Kids experience stress? My elder one will be going to fourth grade from September. When he started preschool, before going to school he would refuse to have any breakfast. If we force him, he would throw up. I tried different things starting from pancake, waffle, toast, cereal, Idli and Dosa. He wasn't a fussy eater, but none of these things would work on a school day. I didn't feel quite comfortable sending him with a glass of milk and then the idea of giving this home made porridge stuck me. This porridge is made in lot of house holds in South India for years and even now. Many of you might me familiar with it , i just added few of the other grains to make it power packed. Now i give this porridge to my daughter every day for breakfast and i also have it some times to get some instant energy. To top it all, my Sister's younger one loved this porridge. She was visiting us with her kids for few weeks and i am posting this one especially for her as she wanted to make some for her toddler.

We got another lovely blog award today. Thanks Vidya for sharing this award with us. In the past few months of blogging we have made so many blogger friends. So can't share this award with five or ten but would like to share this award with all of them. We learn from each other and all of you are our source of inspiration and encouragement.




Ingredients

African Finger Millet (Ragi) - 4 cups
Whole green mung bean - 1/2 cup
Roasted bengal gram(Dalia) - 1/2 cup
Oats - 1/2 cup
Quinoa - 1/2 cup
Black Chick Pea - 1/2 cup
Almonds - 1/2 cup
Barley - 1/4 cup
Chia seeds - 1/4 cup

Method

1) Rinse, drain and soak ragi grain over night in water. Then drain them and tie in a fine muslin cloth. Once ragi starts sprouting, remove from the muslin cloth and spread it out on cotton cloth to remove excess moisture. Sun or shade dry till they are dried. Now dry roast this sprouted ragi till you get a sweet aroma.
2) Do the same procedure for Green mung bean and black chick pea, leave them to sprout. Dry them and roast them till they are well roasted.
3) Dry roast Roasted bengal gram(Dalia), Oats, Quinoa, Almonds, Barley, Chia seeds.
4) Combine all the roasted grains and in a food processor grind them to fine powder and store in a airtight container.
5) I normally keep some outside and all the excess porridge powder in a freezer.

To make the porridge

1) Take 2 tbsp of porridge powder and mix in 1/4 cup of water without any lumps, boil for 5-7 minutes till the porridge is completely cooked. Now add sugar or powdered jaggery and 3/4 cup of milk and mix thoroughly and enjoy.
2) If you don't want it sweet, add little bit of salt and some butter milk and enjoy.
3) To make a thick bowl of porridge add 4 tbsp of porridge powder and use 1/2 cup of water and cook it. Now add little bit of milk to the desired consistency.
4) You can also add roasted cardamom seeds and saffron strands and grind along with porridge powder to get a nice aroma.
5) The variations you can make or endless with this one.
6) This is good even for people with diabetes because of the complex carbohydrate profile of ragi and the power packed protein content of the other grains.

Event Participation

This dish goes to EFM June Breakfast series hosted by Srish.

This dish also goes to My Legume Love Affair - 13 hosted by Sunshinemom and started by Susan.

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Oats-Almond Meal Cookies with Strawberry Filling

Know what you Eat - Almonds are low in saturated fat and contain many other protective nutrients - calcium and magnesium - for strong bones, vitamin E and compounds called phytochemicals, which may help protect against cardiovascular disease and even cancer. Oats are an excellent source of iron, dietary fiber and thiamin. They also contain antioxidants that are believed to protect the circulatory system from diseases such as arteriosclerosis, which affects the arterial blood vessel.

My Uncle passed on this recipe from some Online Vegan forum, ever since i got this recipe i have baked these several timeswith different combination of fruit spreads. It just comes out very well and the best part is it doesn't have all purpose or evenwhole wheat and has the goodness of Oats and Almond with out compromising on the taste. I am trying various variations with this base recipe using Pistachio ,Cashew etc. If successful will post soon.

Cooking Time - 15 mins
Preparation Time - 10 mins
Yields - Around 18 cookies(depends on the size you make)

Ingredients

Oats(Quick Cooking not instant oat meal) - 2 cups and 1/4 Cup
Almonds - 1 cup
Honey - 1/2 cup
Strawberry spread/jelly/preserves - 1/2 cup( Or any fruit of your choice)
Sunflower/Canola Oil - 1/4 cup(2 oz)
Salt - 1/2 tsp
Cinnamon powder - 1/2 tsp

Method

1) Measure 1 1/4 cup of Oats and grind into flour in the processor.
2) Transfer all the almonds to a food processor and grind into a powder, this need not be a fine powderbut can be little coarse Almond meal.
3) Combine the grind Oats, Almond and the rest of the ungrind Oats, Salt and Cinnamon powder
4) Add Oil, Honey and mix thoroughly and form a dough.
5) Preheat Oven to 350 Degrees Fahrenheit.
6) Grease a cookie tray
7) Roll the dough into small balls and flatten them in your hand, make a small depression in the middle andplace them in the cookie tray one after another leaving enough space between the cookies as they will expand.
8) Fill the centers with Jelly of your choice.
9) Bake for 10-15 minutes until well baked, they get baked quickly so keep a watch on them otherwise you will get brown or burnt cookies.
10) Cool them and transfer to a airtight container. They are sweeter the next day.

Note - The original recipe uses Maple syrup, when using maple syrup use 1 cup of Oats flour and 1 1/4 cup of Oats.When using honey the texture becomes little soft and crumbly so i tried to change the proportion and it did work well.The original recipe uses 1/2 cup of jelly, i make it 1/4 when making for our family as this 1/2 cup is too sweet for us. But if you have a sweet tooth this
1/2 cup will be just right or may not be enough.

Event Participation

1) This goes to Low Fat Eggless Baking event Hosted by Madhu.

2) This dish goes to My Kitchen Treasures for the Strawberry Event .

3) This dish goes to Fruit & Nut event hosted by Mansi.

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No bake Healthy Granola Bars

Know what you Eat - Oats, via their high fiber content, are already known to help remove cholesterol from the digestive system that would otherwise end up in the bloodstream. Now, the latest research suggests they may have another cardio-protective mechanism. Antioxidant compounds unique to oats, called avenanthramides, help prevent free radicals from damaging LDL cholesterol thus reducing the risk of cardiovascular disease. Almonds the health nuts - 90 percent of the fats in almonds are unsaturated, and the nuts are high in protein, fiber, calcium, magnesium, potassium, vitamin E, and other antioxidants. Almonds help prevent osteoporosis and they regulate blood pressure. Chia(The Magic Seeds) - The chia seeds may have great benefits for diabetics so they are considered as magic seeds. Eating the seeds helps dieters by making them feel fuller faster so they will be less hungry.

I just love granola bars, but the store bought ones are too sugary and lot of additives like partially hydrogenated oils, high fructose corn syrup etc. I have made several attempts to bake one very unsuccessfully. The sides will be burned and the inside will be fine and i will end up eating the burned sides, because there will be no takers and i won't feel like throwing so much hand baked in the trash. This recipe does work and make sure the peanut butter is creamy and not solid and lumpy.
Preparation Time - 10 mins
Cooking Time - 5 mins
Serves - Around 20 bars


Ingredients

Oats (Old fashioned or Rolled Oats with extra thickness) - 1 cup
Oats Quick Cooking(Not instant) - 1 cup
Peanut Butter - 1 1/2 cups(Unsalted & new with a creamy texture)
Whole Almonds(not silvered) - 1 cup
Grated Coconut - 3/4 cup
Chia seeds - 1/2 cup
Honey - 1/2 cup
Dates - 1/4 cup(Chop them finely)
Raisins - 1/4 cup
Oil(Sunflower or Canola) - 1/4 cup
Salt - 1/2 tsp
Cinnamon powder - 1/2 tsp

Method

1) Dry roast Oats both old fashioned and quick cooking separately (do not mix them) in stove top till the raw smell is gone.
2) Dry roast grated coconut, chia seeds and almonds till it slightly browns(make sure they don't become black and slightly brown) or in a preheated oven bake combine the old fashioned oats, chia seeds, coconut, almond for, 350 degrees 7-10 minutes stirring in between till they are roasted and the quick cooking oats 3 minutes till the raw smell is gone.
3) Grind the quick cooking oats to a coarse powder.
4) Crush the almonds into small pieces. (Wrap them in paper towel and use a pounder or put them in plastic zip loc and use a thick bottomed pan to crush it).
5) Combine Oats, Oats powder, Almonds, Chia, Coconut, Dates and Raisins and keep it ready.
6) Combine honey, oil and peanut butter in a pan, add salt and cinnamon powder and heatit till the peanut butter melts and everything is well combined.
7) Now transfer the Oats mixture to the above and switch off the stove.
8) Mix everything thoroughly and transfer the contents to a greased pan and use a spatula to even it out.
9) Now put it in the refrigerator and leave it for 2-3 hours, once the bars are well set, take it out and make bars with a knife and store in a airtight container in the refrigerator. Enjoy these bars as a quick breakfast on any busy day or as a guilt free snack anytime of the day.

Event Participation
This dish goes to Show me your Breakfast event hosted by Divya Vikram.
This dish goes to Original Recipes - Monthly Round up Event hosted by Lorie.



Sending this to Food for 7 Stages of Life - Healthy Fast Food hosted by Radhika and Sudeshna.

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Healthy Granola Cereal with magic seeds

Know what you Eat : Studies show that eating chia seed slows down how fast our bodies convert carbohydrate calories into simple sugars.The chia seeds may have great benefits for diabetics so they are considered as magic seeds. Eating the seeds helps dieters by making them feel fuller faster so they will be less hungry. Oats an excellent source of iron, dietary fiber and thiamin. They also contain antioxidants that are believed to protect the circulatory system from diseases such as arteriosclerosis, which affects the arterial blood vessel.


Cooking Time : 20-30 mins
Preparation Time : 5 mins
Serves : 4 to 6

Ingredients

Extra thick rolled Oats - 2 cups
Almonds - 3/4 cup (Crush or pound them)
Grated Coconut - 3/4 cup
Chia(magic) seeds - 1/2 cup
Wheat Germ - 1/4 cup (You can use wheat rava with small pieces of broken wheat & bran)
White Sesame(Til) seeds - 1/4 cup
Raisins - 1/2 cup
Brown sugar - 1/4 cup (If not using brown sugar, substitute it with honey)
Honey - 1/4 cup (Increase this if you want the granola to be sweeter)
Oil - 1/4 cup
Cinnamon - 1/2 tsp
Salt - 1/2 tsp
Water - 1 tbsp

I love granola but the store bought ones are too sweet, so i thought of making them at home as you can control the amount of sugar and add the ingredients you want and like. You just can put it in the oven, stir once in while and get on to your other things and a healthy breakfast will be ready in a few minutes. Now let us get on to the recipe.

Method

1) Preheat oven to 35o degrees F.
2) Crush or pound the almonds with a thick bottom pan or hammer, rolling them in a paper towel and putting them in a ziploc bag.
3) Combine all of the above ingredients except the raisins and bake till the oats slightly browns and the rest of ingredients are crunchy.
4) Remove and add the raisins and serve with milk and fruits of your choice.
5) During the bake time keep stirring and keep a close watch so that it doesn't get overcooked.
6) Do not forget to crush the almonds as smaller kids will have harder time to chew and eat them.
7) You can mix and match any ingredients, add baked sweetened banana chips, cranberries, apricots, dried apples, walnuts, cashew, dates, Peanuts etc. Don't add the dry fruits when baking but combine after baking.
8) With the addition of chia seeds, this keeps you filled up for hours.

Event Participation

1) This dish is our contribution to Srivalli's Mithai Mela hosted by Cooking 4 all Seasons.
2) This dish is our contribution to WYF Quick Meals event hosted by EC.
3) This also goes to Show me your Breakfast event hosted by Divya Vikram.
4) This also goes to Original Recipe Monthly Round up event hosted by Lorie.

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Bhugga Khoya/Ricotta Cheese Sweet

Know what you eat:

Sesame seeds contain two unique substances: sesamin and sesamolin. Both of these substances belong to a group of special beneficial fibers called lignans, and have been shown to have a cholesterol-lowering effect in humans, and to prevent high blood pressure and increase vitamin E supplies in animals. Sesamin has also been found to protect the liver from oxidative damage.

Cheese: Cheese is a very good source of protein and calcium. It is also a good source of phosphorus, iodine and selenium.

Ingredients:
1 cup part-skim kosher ricotta cheese (or mawa/khoya)

1/3 cup brown sugar (use more if you prefer)

1/2 cup sesame seeds

1 Tbsp chopped almonds

1 Tbsp chopped pistachios

1 Tbsp raisins (optional)

1 Tbsp dry coconut powder/shredded/grated

1 green cardamom powder

4-5 strands saffron threads

Method:

1. Powder sesame seeds coarsely and keep aside

2 .Pour ricotta cheese in a non stick kadai/pan. Keep stirring on a very low flame till the moisture is entirely evaporated. It may take about 25-30 mins.

3. Add sugar and powdered sesame seeds. Keep stirring for another 7-9 mins.

4. Switch off the gas.

5. Add dry fruits, saffron, cardamom powder. Mix together.

6. Let it cool down. Make balls of the mixture and if you have a mold like I used, best it will save some time plus each portion would be same.

Note:

1. This recipe can be refrigerated for upto 2 weeks.

2. You can use white sugar instead of brown sugar.

3. Ricotta cheese gets reduced in quantity after the water is evaporated.

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Figs & Almond Vermicelli Kheer (Pudding)

Figs & Almond Kheer (Pudding)

We have already tried vermicelli kheer made in a "traditional" way, now try figs vermicelli, "something different"& yummy.

Know What You Eat:

Prep time: 5 mins
Cook Time: 20 - 25mins

Ingredients:

1/2 cup - Seviya or Vermicelli (variety wheat or rice)
1 tbsp - Ghee
2-3 cups - Low fat Milk
1- 8oz Evaporated Milk
1/2 cup - Sugar (or according to your taste)
2 pods - Cardamom, powdered
4-6 nos. Figs (anjeer)
5 - 10 nos - Cashew nuts

Optional Ingredients:

4 - Pista, blanched and chopped
4 - Almonds, dry roasted
3 Tbsp - Condensed milk

Method:

1. Pour the milk into a saucepan for boiling. In the meantime, heat another saucepan with 1 Tbsp of ghee and roast the vermicelli till it turns light brown in color.
2. Roast the cashew nuts, almonds till golden brown and add to the payasam .
3. Now add diced figs (anjeer).
4. When the milk boils, add evaporated milk ,simmer it add the seviya and let it cook on low flame for 2-3 minutes and add the sugar and stir well.
5. Let it boil and then simmer till it start getting thick. Now add the condensed milk and turn off the gas when you feel the right consistency has reached.
6. Add the cardamom powder and stir.
   Now add the blanched pista.
7. Sprinkle the saffron strands and mix well.
   Serve hot or even chilled.

Note: It may thicken when it cools down, so add boiled hot milk to loosen it up. Also make sure you adjust the sugar as you will be adding condensed milk which is already sweet.

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Badam-Carrot-Moong-Pumpkin Kheer

Nutritional Info - Pumpkin is rich in potassium a nutrient that helps maintain blood pressure and kidney function.

Cooking Time - 20 min

Preparation Time - 2o min

Serves - 4

Ingredients

Carrot - 3 (big ones)
Pumpkin chopped – half the quantity of the chopped carrot pieces
Badam/Almonds – handful
Moong – handful
Saffron – pinch
Elaichi powder – pinch
Jaggery – ½ cup
Milk(Boiled and cooled) – ½ cup
Ghee – ½ tsp
Broken cashew – 1 tsp
Water

Method of Preparation

1) Place moong, almonds in a vessel and pour little bit of water just to cover these two. On top of moong and almonds place the carrot and pumpkin pieces, pinch of saffron and pressure cook for 3 whistles.
2) Switch off and once it is cooled transfer it to a blender and blend them into a puree adding little bit of water.
3) Pour the puree in a vessel along with water to the desired consistency, jaggery powder and elaichi powder and simmer them till the jaggery is thoroughly combined.
4) Switch off and pour the boiled and cooled milk.
5) Chill and before serving garnish with ghee roasted cashew and serve.

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