Day 4 Breakfast

Day 4
Its been warm these few days , so thought why not make some juice and  smoothie. Planned to make the  smoothie  using dates, as a good protein. 
 Lets start with some deep breathing and yoga.
Today we are doing Yoga pose #2 its called the Soldier pose and Pose #3 Mountain Pose.
Soldier Pose Stand straight, tall with legs about a  feet apart, facing straight. Starting with the right leg,turn right foot  90 degrees with the toe of the right foot pointing outwards,keeping you left foot straight, extend your arm to the sides, with palms downwards. Bend the knee of the right leg slightly but not past the leg. Focus over your arm, deep breadth and then repeat by switching sides. 10 times breadths each side. In yoga and during the exercises, always focus on your breadth.
This pose greatly helps not only to focus,but a great stretch to the legs, ankle and upper body.It helps strengthen the chest area.

Mountain Pose
Another very effective pose in yoga. For this pose  stand tall, with feet together and hand folded in Nameste. 
Take a deep breadth, raising your hands overhead, reach up to the sky. Feel the stretch in your arms.
As you breadth out , lower the arms back to the side. Repeat 10 times.


Dates with Almonds smoothie
This is an energy drink, saw a recipe on cooking show and am going to try it out.
Dates as we all know have lot of nutritional value, without the cholesterol , they make a good snack. Also they are loaded with fiber. Making this is as easy as saying 123, simply add the pitted dates ( make sure to take out the seed), almonds, milk,few drops vanilla essence, 2 tspn honey and blend together, adding few ice cubes. I loved this drink and I'm sure you will enjoy it too.

Ingredients (along with blender:)))

Dates and almonds smoothie

Grapes Juice 
The purple grapes not only look good, but they  taste very good too.
 The unique texture, sweet tart taste of grapes and nutritional value makes it a favourable to eat.
For grapes juice simply wash them with water. Put in a blender, add 1 cup orange juice, 1/2 cup crushed ice cubes and 2 tspn chat powder. Here I also added 2 apples, but you can add any other fruit of your choice.

Apples &  Grapes

                                                             

Grapes juice 

Day 3 Healthy Breakfast

Day 3
Its a sunny day, so I decided to take an early morning walk, in the park close by, along with my friend. We walked 2 miles, great to catch up ,chatting  and good exercise too ;))we stopped at a near by place for a cup of hot coffee (regular coffee no sugar and then headed back home.
At home I wanted to make some thing that wouldn't take time to prepare and yet nutritious. So I decided to prepare Upma . It's prepared with  Semolina flour. It is very light and easy to digest. You can make it more nutritious, by adding vegetables. I have used corn and capsicum , onions and tomatoes to prepare this Upma.

Ingredients:
1 cup coarse sooji
1 small onion diced small
2 to 3 green chillies finely chopped
1/2 cup ready frozen yellow corn
1/2 cup frozen green peas
1 medium tomato chopped finely 
3 to 4 curry leaves (available in Indian store)
1/4 tsp mustard seeds
oil
1 tsp salt 
1/4 tsp Hing (Asafetida)
1/2 cup water
1/2 bell pepper diced small
1/4 freshly chopped coriander 


Method:
1.Heat 2 tbsp vegetable oil in a kadai. Add 1/4 tsp mustard seeds, allow them to crackle.Next add in Hing, curry leaves (kadi patta).  Add in onions , stir and allow them to get little brown, add tomatoes and the veggies, add cashew pieces,lemon juice and next add in water.
2. As the water begins to boil, lower the heat and start adding in the semolina (sooji), keep stirring for about 3 to 4 minutes , till water evaporates and the sooji is cooked and garnish with freshly chopped coriander. Serve warm.

Cooking the ingredients 

Add the semolina flour and cook together 

Upma

                                        

Day 2 Breakfast post

Day 2
Yoga
We all understand and know the importance of yoga and meditation, in today's stressful times. The benefits of yoga are many. It not only improves the physical  strength, also helps us focus better . Practising yoga poses greatly provides the right balance and flexibility.

Tree Pose 
Stand tall, with legs a feet apart. Starting with the left foot, bend the left leg knee, so the sole of the left foot sits on the inner thigh of the right leg. Fold hands in Namaste, and try to focus , looking straight. It requires balancing and that's what this pose helps. Alternate, with the other foot. Repeat for 2 rounds, This pose is called the Vrkrasana  (Tree Pose) and it helps strengthen the spine, thigh and neck. It helps perfect the balance of mind and body and is relaxing too. Beginners if you want use the wall for balance.

Tip of the morning
Ginger, is a root plant with many beneficial properties , cut 1 inch ginger piece into long strips,sprinkle them with little sea salt, add 1/2 lemon juice and eat these ginger strips. Having 2 to 3 strips of ginger a day helps our immune system and  our digestive system.

Menu of today 
Uttapam ( Rice pancakes with veggie fillings)
 savoury pancakes,filled with ingredients of your choice, mostly veggies... 
Ingredients
500 gms  Dosa batter ( ready store bought) 
1 medium onion chopped finely
3 to 4 green chillies finely chopped 
Salt to taste
1 medium size red tomato, chopped finely
1/4 cup freshly chopped coriander
1/4 cup water
1 tsp red chilli powder
2 tsp chaat powder (optional)
Coriander chutney (store bought or prepare using my previous recipe)

Method:
1.Heat  a non stick pan (flat pan), add few drops vegetable oil.
 Mix the batter , if its  too thick, add 1/4 cup water to give the batter a medium consistency. Using a spoon, spoon a tablespoon of batter on to the hot non stick pan, using the back of the spoon spread the batter make a round pancake like shape. Add few drops of vegetable oil,and continue cooking the uttapam.
2. In another bowl, mix chopped onions with green chillies, add chopped coriander leaves, chopped tomatoes, season with salt, red chilli powder and tsp chaat masala (store bought) Mix together 
3. While the uttapam is still  cooking , add a spoonful of this onion's mixture onto the surface of uttapam and cook it on low to medium heat, by adding few drops of vegetable oil.Turn and cook on the other side for a minute or two. Serve hot uttapam with store bough coconut chutney.
These uttapam are nutritious and make a good filling breakfast. (breakfast is break the fast) 

Ingredients

                                                    

Uttapam

Flip to cook on both sides

                                                  

Uttapam 

Friends do share your views recipes , tips for breakfast an important meal of the day.Share it on the comments box on Spicenflavors.