Favorite Five
5:32 AM
"Snacks can make or break your diet"
Well all you fitness enthusiasts already know this. We all swear by it. We work on it. We count our macros and portions right. Just when we think we are doing everything right the whole process of eating/ preparing the "right" snacks becomes tedious. The monotony sets in and before you know it you are grabbing that on-the-go sandwich with bazillion calories in it.
The cafeteria at my workplace sucks. Even if you tried you wouldn't be able to find one right thing to snack upon. Most of my colleagues go for the diet options which are even worse. Every weekend laboriously I plan my snacks for the week ahead. In my world eating fruits is not the only healthy snacking option. It is good to eat fruits but somehow I can never satiate my hunger pangs. I need things which are substantial and also have a bit of proteins since I rely on natural sources.
So I decided to compile my current favorite snack ideas:
1. Gram flour pancakes ( or called besan ka chila)
- Besan (Gram flour) - 1 cup
- Ajwain (Carom seeds) - ¼ teaspoon
- Garam masala - to taste
- Salt - to taste
- Onion - 1, finely chopped
- Spinach - 1/2 cup, finely chopped
- Carrot - 1, grated
- Yogurt - 2 Tbsp
- Water - 1 cup
- Oil - to shallow fry cheela
Add
all the vegetables and mix well and then add yogurt.
Add
little water at a time and make batter thick enough to coat the back of spoon. In case it in lumpy add a little more water.
Heat
the pan on medium heat. Add
oil and with wooden spatula spread it on evenly to coat pan.
Once it is hot, pour the batter
and spread it to make a round shape pancake. When done flip it over to cook the other side
2. Apple Peanut Butter Grilled Sandwich
- Apple slices finely cut length wise
- Peanut butter - 1 Tsp
- Maple Syrup/ Dates Syrup/ Honey - 1 Tsp
- Bread - slices -2
3. Roast Tomato and Mozzarella
This one is my favorite these days. I place the tomatoes, cut side up, in a single layer on a well greased cake pan I place some peeled garlic pods also. I drizzle the pan with the olive oil and sprinkle with the rosemary. I then roughly roast it for 40 minutes at a high temperature. The tomatoes caramelize and garlic flavor gets infused. I love to spread the tomato on a multi-grain cracker and have it with a bit of mozzarella cheese. When I pack it for work I just place the tomatoes and add mozzarella chunks. To add more flavor I cut chicken salami pieces really fine and make a nice little tangy salad..
4. Rice-Paper rolls
This one is pretty simple. I pulse cabbage, sweet corn and carrots together for a coarse mixture.
I mix in Soy sauce and chili sauce to the vegetable mixture. For other vegetable combinations you might need to saute or pre-cook the veggies a bit
I use this mixture as a filling for the Thai rice paper rolls.
5. Yogurt
I love to eat yogurt as a snack, dessert or side dish. I love it in every form.
There are times when I pulse pineapple and yogurt together and freeze it to have chilled fruit yogurt
I love mixing berries and cocoa with my yogurt too. This combination works like magic for me.
It is so convenient to carry to work in a small box . I normally buy packaged yogurt which has thick consistency since Greek yogurt is not easily available here. I then make my own flavored yogurt and pack it as a snack. I also tried mixing pumpkin puree and vanilla extract and loved the combination.
So what do you think? Please share your ideas and I would add more to this..
Ciao..
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