I gained about two....err almost 5 pounds since last two months ...no I wasn't being a potato couch ,infact I was active or should I say over-active .
Did you ask,"But where??" . aa..mmm..well....in my cooking lab ,"My wonder kitchen" :P ...after all it was festival time and it's not festival if you don't make/eat sweets and delicacies ..right??
Well,that's one of the sweet reason why I love festivals ...you get an excuse to splurge on festival treats without any ifs and buts ...and ifs and buts do surface once festival is over ...like now ..if only I would have eaten a sweet a day ...but there was no space in the refrigerator you know :(:P...likewise...so it's dieting time...err..again that's not true..dieting and me can't stand each other at any cost...even if you say I'll become a millionaire if I answered positively to the simple question,"Are you ready for dieting?" in say,"Who Wants To Be A Millionaire ? ".....Without any second thought I'll say,"NOOOOO".Period.
Well the thing is myself and Honey P/hubby are like Balloons ..did you say ,"Oh how chweet and fun!!"...well,duh !! I know I know but that's not what I meant:P ..Just like balloons we need only some air to pufffff up !! Sighhh....So do you think dieting is gonna work anyways?...hmmm...I don't think so...actually been there done that BUT I get bored easily too....dieting is no fun and life should be fun ...they say,make the best out of a day as if it's the last day of your life and then comeon who is gonna diet on a day eh??:P ...so I eat best to make the day my bestie :D...okkk jokes apart it's not that I eat non-stop or guilty-is all the time ,I do aim at healthy eating without compromising the taste.At times unhealthy too...that's ok ..chaltha hai.boss...
So,I would rather say it's time for detoxing and for that I prepared a very very healthy ,filling "Vegetable Pasta soup" , made up of star shaped mini pasta and a colorful combinations of vegetables like carrot,capsicums,onion,garlic,tomato and nine different dried beans in a vegetable broth.How healthy is that?? Let's check the recipe:
Vegetable Pasta soup
Ingredients
Carrot,chopped - 1 no.
Capsicum (different colored-green,yellow,red,orange) ,chopped - 1 cup
Onion,diced - 1/2 cup
Tomato,sliced - 1/2 cup
Garlic,minced - 1 tablespoon
Nav Dhan/Nine types of lentil beans or just any preferred beans - 1 cup
Vegetable bouillon cubes - 2-4 nos.
Small star pasta - 1/2-1 cup
Salt and pepper to taste
Turmeric powder - a pinch
Chilli powder - 1/2 teaspoon
Canola/Olive Oil - 1 teaspoon
Water as needed
Method:
- Pressure cook ( as per your cooker manufacturer's instruction) nine beans,enough water covering them,salt,pepper ,turmeric,chilli powder and vegetable bouillons for 20-25 minutes on high-medium-low heat until the beans are cooked and squishy or if cooker has whistles then for 3-4 whistles on medium-low heat until cooked and the vegetable bouillon cubes are completely dissolved.
- Now remove from the fire and let it rest for a few minutes.
- Once the steam subsides,open the cooker carefully and check if the beans are cooked properly and cubes dissolved .If not,then let it simmer with lids closed on medium-low heat for sometime until they are cooked,everything mixed and mushy.
- Take a deep pan, saute the onions in the oil until they are tender .
- Add the garlic and saute for a minute.
- Add carrots,capsicums and tomato .Saute until tomato becomes soft and mushy.
- Add star pastas.
- Now add half cup of water plus everything from the pressure cooker to it .
- Boil it then simmer it for a while on low heat until the pasta gets cooked properly.
- Add more water if needed and simmer for like 10-15 minutes.
- Turn off the stove and enjoy the hot hot healthy healthy vegetable pasta soup especially if the weather is chilly outside or anytime as you wish.
- Ladle the soup into bowls and serve it right away.
- Nav dhan means nine beans , a combination of dried beans - Pinto beansKidney beans,Black-eyed peas,Black Beans,Chilli Beans,Mung bean,black chickpeas,Adzuki beans,Navy beans.
- I used
Eat,love,live well,