If they look like cookies, smell like cookies, they must be cookies...
I have been wanting to create a healthy substitute to cookies or in general some dessert like thingy ! This is what I came up with.

1. Take equal parts of flour - buckwheat / quinoa / barley/ oats and mix them up dry
2. Roast  the mixture on a skillet at low/medium temperature while constantly stirring it to avoid the flour burning.
3. Keep roasting till medium brown/golden color
4.  Switch off gas stove and let the mixture cool to room temperature.
5. This mixture after cooling down can be stored in glass containers inside a fridge
6. Soak whole grain amaranth in cold water for about 24 hours till the amaranth soaks in the water and becomes soft.
7. After the soaked amaranth softens up , decant the water and store it in the fridge
8. To create healthy cookies : These cookies can be created when you want it and in as small quantity as possible. No need to premix. No need to create large quantities. To make 4 cookies (of say diameter 3 inches) 
• Take 2 tablespoons of water softened amaranth
• Add 2 table spoons of roasted flour
• Add Splenda to your taste
• Add water and mix till the consistency seems like mixed hot chocolate fudge ! 
• In general don't make the mix "Amaranthy".
•  Heat a "non stick" pan on a stove turned to Max
• Wait till pan becomes hot
• With a nonstick compatible spoon pour out 4 cookie portions on to the pan.
• Flatten out the cookies as much as you can with  the spoon 
• After a few minutes when its easy to flip them over, do that
• Check to see that the cookies are not burning
• Remove cookies with a flat spoon and serve   

More Tortilla and snack bar options

Last few days I have been successfully experimenting with many different kinds of flour to make tortillas and snack bars

Amaranth and Dates Snack
Roast Amaranth flour (available in many health food stores) in a pan or a skillet over a medium fire till about golden brown. Make sure you are standing next to the gas stove stirring the flour so that it does not burn. After its nice and roasted, switch off the gas stove and let the  roasted flour cool down. Next take a box of medjool dates (available in Costco) and first remove the seed from each date. Then mash them till they become a uniform paste. Keep 1/4 cup of flour aside. We will use this  to powder the snack bars After the amaranth flour cools down, mix the mashed dates and flour till its well mixed. (If you don't mind nuts then you can add slivered almonds and walnut pieces into the mix, but that increases the calories as well !). I roll them into small balls(called "laddus" in India). Then I roll the snack balls in flour kept aside to make sure they get a dry coating on the outside and don't stick to each other. Put the snack balls in a box and refrigerate them. Take them out when you feel hungry and eat and enjoy !

The next step - The "no-added-salt" diet

After I successfully conquered the temptation of overdosing with food, I looked around...Ah there I saw...Salt...another thing I was (kind of) loving and overdosing on. Less salt is a healthier option and soon I realized a tastier option as well. I have started taking baby steps towards no-added-salt diet. And I avoid salt substitutes like potassium chloride added salt. I resorted to spices for help. Here is an example of a breakfast food if you enjoy omlettes for breakfast.

1. Beat two eggs.
2. Sprinkle a little Rosmary and  Thyme into the eggs and mix(I use the ones from Trader Joes)
3. No salt to be added
4. Cut up 1 slice of bread (I love SF Sourdough) into about 15 pieces
4. Keep a non stick pan (8" diameter) on the stove. Dont light the stove yet.
5.Pour the beaten eggs into the pan.
6. Place the pieces of bread on the surface of the beaten eggs
7. Light the stove and keep it at the bare minimum heat.
8. Cover the pan with a glass top dome. The steam generated will cook the top of the omlette.
9. Set a timer  for 15 min.
10. After 15 min pry the omlette with a wooden or teflon spatula and turn the omlette. The bread would have now firmly attached themselves to the omlette.
11. Switch of the stove.
12. Wait for about 5 minutes.
13. Serve and enjoy. PLEASE....NO KETCHUP. It will most certainly ruin the taste.
14. See how good an omlette tastes...without added salt and ....ketchup

Maintaining ones weight during a months vacation in India

Long time since I wrote so here goes.

As we all know its very easy to let loose in India and just pig out and gain weight and often fall sick of an eating overdose. I can speak for myself and I can tell you that my stomach size has definitely shrunk...maybe not physically but I cannot stomach four parathas for breakfast and follow it up with another four for lunch. eating right and less is still the key that will work here.


I found my sponsor right at home. My mom...never forces me to add ghee to daal and rotis. Never forces me to eat sweets. But when i go home I definitely relish the things that mom prepares absolutely the best tasting in the world. [1] Idlis [2] Bhakris [3] Murukkus [4] Coconut Barfis


The secret is to still control quantity and select the time of the day when I would have these. All my breakfasts were the following choices
- Fruit  (Mostly bananas)
- Cereal
-  Poha
- Idlis

I would have the Bhakris always for lunch. Often a coconut barfi after lunch.

I almost always had a 1-2 murukkus a day at tea time with my tea.

Dinner was frugal with some home made porridge and milk

Another thing to do is to take as many opportunities to walk as possible, at least in the internal routes. To keep that little bit of exercise going.

While going out to eat at restaurants or at people's houses, just stay with munching carrots and salad and some lemonade. I used to eat prior to going out so that I don't feel attracted to nice smelling foods. I have better control over my tongue now but for a newcomer to this lifestyle its difficult.

And remember don't believe people when they say "Its holiday...You can pig out with no restrictions."

All this frugal eating, does it cause low energy ? Most certainly NOT. In fact in this present visit to India, I was working four to five hours a night to stay current with my office stuff. So less food translates to an alert mind. Also staying awake each night helped to beat the jet lag on my return. I never really changed my mental clock.


And another thing...India is often too warm to have a scotch or wine if u prefer these drinks and could often mess up the system. A beer is a better drink for the weather if u must let down your guard and get that C2H5OH in your system :-)

Very tasty and nutritious of the shelf breakfast cereal

I have been having this with my morning tea for the past two weeks. I found it in Trader Joe's. Its called High Fiber Cereal. 

A (almost) buttered toast thats delicious and not that many calories

So once in a while a (almost) buttered toast is a treat and also a nice mid day snack or a snack before I go to the gym. This is what I use for making it. I toast a slice of Sprouted Barley bread (Trade Joes) thats about 70 calories. Spread a teaspoon of 2% fat sour cream on it. Think of it like old fashioned freshly made white butter but far less calories. Sprinkle some salt and pepper and enjoy every bite.

Another great veggie protien source

I used to always love eating Rajgira laddoos which are available easily and are very popular in the state of Maharashtra in India. As I was eating them (at first guiltily because these ladoos contain sugar/jaggery) I decided to read more about them and learnt that Rajgira is called Amarnath. 100g of this cereal comtains 15g of protein. Thats impressive.
Well, I am going to start getting this flour and seeing I can make tortillas or dosas out of this.