Category: Food

balanced eating, bonding, Daibetes, eating just right, Food, Health, home made foods, international breast feeding week, love, Malnutrtion prevention, miracles of breast milk, Nutritious Food, satvik aahar, Suphala care, Wellness

Baby’s Best Start: Nutrition and Wellness Advice from the Experts

suphalac

The human body is one of nature’s finest creations, and no artificial intervention or replacement can supplant its original form. Similarly, breast milk is one of the purest, healthiest, safest, and most economical foods for newborn babies. It directly impacts the mental, physical, and emotional well-being of new mothers. Breast milk is a priceless gift that you can offer your baby, unmatched by even the finest artificial formulations due to the absence of growth factors and immunoglobulins present in breast milk. Feel glad if you can breastfeed your baby; there is so much science and art behind breastfeeding that you will cherish during your motherhood.

The significance of breast milk and its health benefits to both the baby and the mother have been detailed extensively in medical books, human physiology, nutrition, and more recently through social media. The success of breastfeeding is purely dependent on the health status of the mother, closely associated with her dietary habits, socio-economic status, geopolitical environment, and pre-existing medical conditions. Hence, it’s important that women take care of their health and nutritional status even before they shoulder the responsibilities of family and motherhood.

During pregnancy, a woman is looked after with a lot of care and love, often expressed through feeding her according to her cravings, likes, and dislikes. However, it is crucial to maintain a balance and avoid extreme food behaviors like overindulgence or starvation, which can affect the growth of the fetus. Understanding the importance of balanced nutrition during pregnancy, eating at regular intervals, along with light exercise and prenatal yoga, provides extended benefits post-pregnancy.

In recent times, I have observed that mothers, grandmothers, and extended families are increasingly concerned about the nutrition and health of mothers and newborns within hours of delivery. While this is a positive sign of caution and care, going overboard can create psychological distress. It’s also important to recognize that some women suffer from postpartum depression, which can impact breastfeeding.

Steps to Ensure Quality Breastfeeding:

  1. Preparation: Many maternity hospitals offer sessions to prepare women for nursing during the last month of pregnancy. These sessions provide valuable information on holding the baby, breastfeeding methods, dos and don’ts, and breast hygiene, easing the initial challenges of nursing.
  2. Consultation: Talk to nursing or lactation specialists for personalized advice.
  3. Initiation: Start breastfeeding soon after birth. Encourage skin-to-skin contact and offer your breast as often as your baby wants to feed in the early days. This helps stimulate milk production. The first milk, colostrum, provides significant immunity, so start feeding without hesitation.

Health and Nutritional Significance of Breast Milk:

  • Colostrum: The first milk your baby receives, rich in white blood cells and antibodies, especially immunoglobulin A (IgA), which coats the baby’s intestines to prevent infections and allergies.
  • Mature Milk: Contains essential nutrients like proteins, carbohydrates, fats, vitamins, and minerals that are easily absorbed by the infant, unlike formula feeds.

Benefits for the Baby:

  • Strong immunity
  • Prevention of acute infections and chronic disorders
  • Mental sharpness and timely milestones
  • Economical and safe

Duration of Breastfeeding:

  • Minimum of 6 months, ideally up to 12-13 months.
  • Gradually wean from the 9th month, introducing whole milk and solid foods by 15 months.

Alternative Feeding Methods:

  • Seek expert help if breastfeeding is challenging.
  • Avoid feeding foreign foods like honey, sugar water, or cow milk.
  • Consider wet nurses or breast milk banks if necessary.

Benefits for the Mother:

  • Helps uterus contraction and reduces postpartum bleeding.
  • Lowers the risk of breast and ovarian cancers.
  • Builds a strong emotional bond with the baby.
  • Aids in losing postpartum weight and toning the body.
  • Acts as a natural contraceptive to some extent.

Dos and Don’ts During Lactation:

  • Follow researched and traditional guidelines to ensure a healthy breastfeeding experience.

Let your bosom nurture your little one to blossom into a happy and healthy child!

Food, Health, Spices, Suphala care, Wellness

Transform Your Kitchen: Expert Tips from a Top Nutritionist and Dietitian

suphalac

This information may not come from a nutrition or health expert, but I’ve ensured to cover this issue for multiple reasons that affect our time, enthusiasm, effectiveness, and variety in cooking. Cooking food in a clean place with a happy mind can be meditative—try it yourself! 😊

  1. Maintain Your Equipment: Ensure all your equipment like the gas stove, microwave, oven, toaster, sandwich maker, water filter, mixer, grinder, food processors, chopping boards, and knives are in good condition and serviced timely as required.
  2. Grocery Assessment: Conduct a fortnightly assessment for groceries and list down the foods required for the next 15 days.
  3. Weekend Prep: Dedicate 1 hour on a weekend to prepare your masalas, curry powders, sprouts, and batter for idly dosa, or ready-to-use paratha stuffing/phulka/roti dough (dough can be refrigerated for up to 2 days).
  4. Container Cleanup: Clean up empty containers and refill foods needed for the next 15 days. Ensure foods stored in large amounts are protected with good insect/pest control measures.
  5. Natural Pest Control: Use red chillies in dal and dry neem and tulsi leaves in rice to keep grains clean and insect-free, along with other organic products available in the market.
  6. Spice Box Organization: Clean up your spice box, add the required spices, and keep it handy.
  7. Fridge Maintenance: Clean out the fridge, remove leftovers, and ensure proper defrosting and cooling temperatures are maintained. Keep different foods in separate sections (dairy products, meat and poultry, cooked foods, ready-to-make foods, vegetables and fruits, and foods that require freezing).
  8. Menu Planning: Plan a week’s family menu. It’s easier to cook when planned and everything is in place.
  9. Regular Cleaning: Clean kitchen towels, napkins, and covers every 15 days. Sanitize the kitchen sinks and dustbins regularly.
  10. Pest Control: Pest control in the kitchen is essential, especially to get rid of cockroaches, fruit flies, and mosquitoes.
  11. Surface Scrubbing: Scrub the cooking platforms and tiles at least once every 15 days. A clean and bright kitchen will make you happy and encourage you to cook. When you cook with happiness and love, the food will surely taste better!
balanced eating, bonding, event management, Food, food carving, Health, heart attacks, heart diseases, high protein immune building, infants, infuse, Malnutrtion prevention, mile stones, nutrtional status, party world, satvik aahar, seasonal, Suphala care, supplies, traditonal, Uncategorized, Wellness

Expert Dietitian’s Guide to Bengal Gram & Coconut Salad for Gowri Ganapathi

suphalac

I was completely absorbed in the preparations for Gowri (Maha Lakshmi/Jeshta Gowri) Pooja celebrations, which fall on the 4th, 5th, and 6th days of Ganesh Utsav, celebrated on the 21st, 22nd, and 23rd of September 2012 this year. I was also involved in making several traditional Prasadam/Naivedhyam over these three days and, of course, indulging in all the delicious food prepared. However, as I always say and practice, anything in excess is dangerous. Enjoy moderate amounts without overloading your tummy, and savor what you eat, keeping all senses in sync!

Today, I would like to share a savory dish prepared during this pooja: Vatlya Dalichi Koshimbir (Bengal Gram Dal Coconut Salad). It’s one of the simplest yet most wholesome recipes, loved by both mother and son (Ganesha and Gowri/Parvathi)! It’s also prepared on the last day of Ganesh Utsav, but you can enjoy it anytime as a nutritious snack!

Ingredients:

  1. Soaked Bengal Gram – 150 gm (soaked for 6-7 hours in water prior to making)
  2. Fresh Coconut – 100 gm, grated
  3. Freshly chopped coriander – 1/2 bunch
  4. Ginger – coarsely pounded, 1 tsp
  5. Cumin seeds – 1 tsp
  6. Mustard seeds – 1 tsp
  7. Curry leaves – approximately 20 leaves
  8. Green chillies – 2-3, as per taste
  9. Asafoetida – 1 tsp
  10. Oil – 1 tbsp
  11. Salt – as per taste (lesser the better!)
  12. Lime juice – from 1/2 lime

Instructions:

  1. Heat oil in a heavy-bottomed pan and add cumin, mustard seeds, and asafoetida to crackle.
  2. Add chopped ginger, curry leaves, and green chillies. Mix well and leave on low flame for 2-3 minutes.
  3. Meanwhile, drain the water from the soaked Bengal gram, rinse it well, and add it to the seasoning mix. Cook on a low flame.
  4. Add the grated coconut, chopped coriander, and salt as per taste. Mix well and leave on low flame for 2-3 minutes.
  5. Add lime juice and serve warm.

Nutritional Benefits:

  • Bengal Gram: Rich in protein, carbs, fiber, minerals, and B vitamins.
  • Coconut: Provides protein, calories, medium-chain triglycerides (MCT), vitamins A and E, and fiber.
  • Coriander, Curry Leaves, and Green Chillies: Packed with minerals, vitamins A and C, and antioxidants.
  • Cumin and Mustard Seeds: Contain essential oils and antioxidants, adding warmth and flavor.
  • Asafoetida: Carminative, soothes intestines, prevents gas, and enhances flavor.
  • Oil: Adds fats and calories.

This salad is a complete, wholesome food. Treat yourself to this energy and protein-packed snack and feel the difference. Just remember to pre-plan by soaking the gram and grating the fresh coconut in advance.

Please remember, anything in excess is dangerous!

Ganapathi Bappa Moriyaa! Mangal Moorthi Moriyaa!

balanced eating, eating just right, eco freindly, engagemnets, event management, Food, Healthy Heart, heart diseases, high protein immune building, home made foods, Malnutrtion prevention, mile stones, Nutritious Food, nutrtional status, party world, sugars, Suphala care, supplies, traditonal, Uncategorized

Laddu Extravaganza for Bappa! Insights from an Expert Dietitian

suphalac

Lord Ganesha is offered several forms of laddu/laadu during Ganesh Utsav as he is fond of laddus. It seems like we have borrowed his sweet tooth for these ten days! 😊

After Modak, there’s a long list of laddus starting with motichoor laddu, boondi laddu, besan laddu, and rava laddu, which are commonly prepared and must-have prasadam/offering on one of the ten days.

However, it occurred to me that Ragi (finger millet) can be used to make delicious laddus and should not be missed as this is another preferred food of the elephant lord! In fact, I call Ragi laddus “Indian choco laddu” though they are devoid of cocoa. 😊

There are several variants in making these laddus. Below is my version of Ragi Laddus.

Ingredients:

  1. Ragi flour (Finger Millet) – 200 gm (slightly roasted in microwave for 1 min)
  2. Wheat flour – 100 gm (roast with a teaspoon of ghee (clarified butter) to a slightly brown color)
  3. Jaggery – 100 gm (grated)
  4. Dry coconut – 50 gm (grated)
  5. Milk – 100 ml (lukewarm)
  6. Ghee (clarified butter) – 20 gm
  7. Cashew nuts – 10-15 (plain roasted)
  8. Cardamom powder – 1 tsp

Method:

  1. Mix all the ingredients in the sequence listed above to make a soft dough.
  2. Form the dough into round laddus. The malty flavor and chocolaty color attract kids at first sight, so do make a point to name it Choco Laddu. What’s more, you are giving your child the best choco ever, 100% nutritious! 😊
  3. Laddus can be preserved in the fridge for up to one week. If you find the laddus too dry, just break them and bind them again by adding a little warm milk.
  4. You can also make a soft porridge of this laddu by adding hot milk, an ideal meal for infants and toddlers.

Some Knowledge on Ragi and its Qualities: Ragi (finger millet) is popular in the southwestern states of India. It is widely consumed as a staple food apart from rice in Karnataka and some parts of Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, and Maharashtra. Ragi is a very soft millet when made into flour and is a rich source of calcium, other minerals, and fiber. It is easily digested, soothes the digestive system, and is a natural coolant. Ragi soaked overnight in buttermilk or water is consumed as the first meal in hot summers, as it is loaded with rich minerals and fiber, absorbed gradually due to its fiber content, helping maintain fluid balance in the body and preventing energy loss/exhaustion. It is one of the cheapest and best infant foods popular in southern states of India and is making its mark in several branded cookies for its fiber and calcium-rich qualities, making it ideal for diabetics, cardiac patients, and weight managers. Regardless of the region, Ragi is a great food for infants because of its soft malty taste when cooked in milk with a bit of jaggery or sugar and a pinch of cumin powder. This is certainly an important food for moms-to-be and nursing mothers.

Nutritional Benefits:

  • Ragi: Rich in calcium, fiber, energy, and protein.
  • Wheat: Good amount of protein, energy, and fiber.
  • Jaggery: Unrefined sugar, iron, minerals, and fiber; great taste enhancer as a sweetener; complex form of sugar.
  • Coconut: Rich source of protein, vitamin E, minerals, and fiber.
  • Ghee: A better option of fat compared to saturated fats and trans fatty acids.
  • Cashew nuts: Rich in protein, essential fatty acids, fiber, and antioxidants.
  • Cardamom: Adds flavor, antioxidants, and essential oils.

Shall we call it a complete nutritious food? YES, of course! My take is that it’s the best food for all seasons and festivities and a great snack for kids with the goodness of all nutrients from various sources. You can make variations by replacing wheat flour with any other flour of cereals or pulses as per your taste and liking. You can also add cocoa powder to make it a real choco flavor for normal days. However, it is a practice in India to use all-natural sources of foods to prepare the Prasad or Naivedhyam (offering), so it’s all-natural in the current recipe. 😊

So, let’s get started with a hands-on experience!

Note: Always remember, anything in excess is dangerous!

Ganapathi Bappa Moriyaa! Mangala Moorthi Moriyaa!

balanced eating, bonding, decorations, eating just right, eco freindly, engagemnets, Food, Health, India, Karnataka and Maharashtra, satvik aahar, seasonal, sugars, Suphala care, traditonal, Wellness

Expert Dietitian’s Guide to Ganesha’s Beloved Kheer/Payas/Payasam

suphalac

Any festival is incomplete without the regional form of Kheer/Payas/Payasam offered to Lord Ganesha. As we enter the third day of Ganesh Utsav on 21st September 2012, here’s a little detail on Kheer. There are at least 50 variants of Kheer prepared across India that I am aware of, and there may be more! 😊 However, I have ensured that my version is not too elaborate, requiring too many ingredients or long hours of cooking. Typically, Kheer is a sweet made using milk (boiled to half its quantity on a low flame) mixed with sugar/jaggery, along with vermicelli/sevainya made from wheat or rice flour. It can also be made from broken wheat/semolina or cracked rice (Govindobhog rice is the best option for rice kheer) and sometimes a mix of rice and dals/pulses (green gram/bengal gram).

Note: When milk recipes are cooked on a low flame for a longer time, the taste is certainly richer compared to short-time, high-flame cooking!

My Version of Kheer:

Ingredients:

  1. Milk – 4 cups (boil on low flame for 30 minutes; leave a small porcelain dish in the pot to prevent spilling or burning)
  2. Jaggery – 1/2 cup (grated)
  3. Milk Maid – 100 ml
  4. Broken wheat (Bansi Rava) – 1/2 cup (soak for 30 minutes before cooking)
  5. Clarified butter (Ghee) – 20 gm
  6. Dry fruits (cashews, raisins, and almonds)
  7. Cardamom and saffron for flavor and color

Method:

  1. Pressure cook the soaked broken wheat with its soaking water for 4-5 whistles.
  2. Heat a frying pan, add ghee, and fry the dry fruits until golden.
  3. Add the cooked broken wheat to the pan and mix on a low flame for a few minutes.
  4. Add grated jaggery and Milk Maid diluted with 100 ml of water. Cook for 2-3 minutes until the jaggery melts, stirring continuously.
  5. Slowly add the reduced milk, keep stirring, and allow it to boil for 5-10 minutes on a low flame.
  6. Serve lukewarm.

Nutritional Benefits:

  • Milk: Rich source of protein, calcium, and vitamin A.
  • Jaggery: Rich in iron, minerals, and fiber.
  • Milk Maid: Provides calories, protein, and fat.
  • Broken Wheat: Rich in protein, carbs, vitamin B complex, and fiber.
  • Clarified Butter: A better fat option compared to saturated fatty acids and butter.
  • Dry Fruits: Provide vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, and fiber.
  • Cardamom and Saffron: Add flavor, natural color, antioxidants, and essential oils.

A complete food indeed! 😊 So go ahead and experiment with ingredients to make your version of a complete food Kheer.

Note: You can avoid Milk Maid if you have good quality milk, but you might need to boil the milk longer to make it creamy/thicker.

Caution: Anything in excess is dangerous!

Ganapathi Bappa Moryaa! Mangala Moorthi Moryaa!

Food, Nutritious Food, Suphala care, Wellness

Day 6 is dedicated to Maa Katyayani and she blesses each of us with strong immunity and wellbeing.

suphalac

 

manohrangi-mata-durga

Today we continue on the 6th day of detox with honey and Guavas. The Day six of Navratri is dedicate to Maa Katyayani – the daughter of Sage Katyayani. She is offered liquid gold (honey) and Guavas as she is the symbol of health and wellbeing.

Honey is one of the most ancient natural sweetener known to man with a chest of health benefits and a quick energy drink. It provides calming effect on the mind and body and helps in repair and regeneration of cells and builds immunity against seasonal changes, allergies and wounds and associated health issues. It aids in good sleep and boosts memory and an excellent remedy for seasonal cough and cold.

Guava is considered one of the healthiest fruit because it has proven positive effects on our body’s numerous functions. Right from strengthening our immune system to regulating a healthy and ideal blood pressure, Guava provides a number of health benefits. It’s a rich source of Vitamin C as an anti-oxidant contributes in maintaining a good skin health by cleaning the body off the free radicals and other impurities thereby delaying skin ageing.

Lycopene and anti-oxidant property of Guava help in protecting from tumors and cancerous growths in the body. It restores the lost potassium reserve of the body thereby maintaining a sound balance of this mineral in the electrolyte. The nutritional composition of Guava especially Potassium, Vitamin C, K, Folate, B6, Copper and Manganese help in maintaining a healthy blood pressure and aid in blood formation and iron absorption. Process of ageing can be effectively slowed down and delayed by consuming guavas that are naturally fortified with anti-oxidant properties.

The low Glycemic index of guava makes it a safe sweet treat for diabetics and also help in controlling the sugar spikes that they experience. The Vitamin A in Guava improves the vision and eye health including protecting from infections whereas Beta Carotene fights against sunburns by reducing your body’s sensitivity to sun damage. Digestion and good digestive health is encouraged by Vitamin A, C and high fiber in Guava. It prevent constipation and cleanses the digestive system. In short it’s no surprise to quote Day VI as an immune boosting day, so add immune boosting foods for overall wellbeing.

Food, Health, Nutritious Food, Spices, Uncategorized, Wellness

Hypertension and Hyper tempting pickles!

suphalac

Can a single day go with no salt or low salt in our diets?
If we could celebrate one day in a year with salt free diet to bring awareness about Hypertension to people at large? Not just by celebrating every 17th of May the world hypertension day on podiums, health camps and lectures and launching “low sodium salt!” but actually practising no salt day! The amount of whites – Salt Refined Sugar and refined flours (maida/refined wheat flour, rice flour, corn flour) in our everyday foods is leading to major chronic disorders, while hypertension being the most common yet undiagnosed one.

Of all the varieties of foods we eat everyday pickle forms an integral part and severed at least once and in few households served with every meal! Pickle here is referred to any preserved fruit/vegetable which is sour in nature packed with spices, oils and loads of salt. How much is too much? Well though pickles have many healthy spices the salt overload makes it an occasional food in ideal balanced diets for present lifestyle. Traditionally pickle was severed in the thali during lunch, since those days, we worked hard in farm lands,as well in kitchens, used no chemicals to grow crops,no motors for farming or household chores,strangely we now use motored tooth brush to brush teeth as well! We never ate vacuum packed chips and snacks, nor guzzled bottles of soft drinks or ate festive snacks everyday, never ate cheese pizza burgers doughnuts and other bakery snacks. Hence eating pickle once everyday was easy 🙂

Our present salt load at various meals –
Morning – Breakfast+ pickles/Sauce /Ketchup /Salted Butter/Cheese/Breads/Buns/Podis/Spicy chutneys etc

Afternoon- Lunch/ meals + Pickle/Papad/Vada/Appalam/salt in curds/buttermilk/additional salt in dals,curries and rice;other than salt added while cooking rice /chapati dough/boiling Dal etc
Evening – Snacks/Tea/Coffee/Fruit Juices /Soft Drinks;
Bhajji,Pakora/Samosa/Kachori/Chats/Panipuri/chips/crispies/Puffs/fried dals /khatta meetha
mixtures/boondi/sev/bhujiya/burger/Pizza/Sandwiches/Chinese foods/
Sauce /Ketchup /Salted Butter/Cheese/Breads/Buns/Podis/Spicy chutneysetc

Night- Dinner Meals +Pickle/Papad/Vada/Appalam/salt in curds/buttermilk/additional salt in dals,curries and
rice;other than salt added while cooking rice /chapati dough/boiling Dal etc

Note : All Italicised foods are Sodium dense.

Apart from this we add salt as per our personal taste in all the food that we prepare and many times also add additional salt while eating. While this is the salt overload on any normal given day.
How much salt do we really need?
Sodium is lost in urine,thru sweat as Sodium chloride. Though sodium present in foods is not adequate to meet body requirements, additional dietary sodium enhances taste and helps in various bodily functions.
The recommendations of National Institute of Nutrition is about 8-10 gm, while its difficult to understand an average Indians sodium consumption per day ,given the above account of sodium rich foods that we are exposed to currently it is wise to reduce further salt intake to 6-8 gm /day, given the climatic conditions, working conditions of individuals (Air conditioning or too much of Sunlight both lead to dehydration leading to water imbalance and sodium -Potassium imbalance.) Proper balance of Sodium and Potassium is essential to keep the osmotic balance and normal functioning of body cells.

Hypertension is one of the most common silent chronic condition which starts in young adults at 25 years or even early and goes unnoticed due to lack of awareness of hypertension symptoms as some times there are no symptoms and at times difficult to understand / interpret
Common symptoms of hypertension:
1.Dull headache
2.Dizzy spells
3.Rare occasions nose bleeds

While high sodium is key to raised blood pressures, the following are other ways to prevent hypertension
1.Regular physical exercise
2.Take plenty of whole grains, nuts fruits and vegetables in diet,
3.Let the pickles tickle the pallet occasionally
4.Choose foods that are less salty and free of trans fatty acids (refined floors and vacuum packed snacks)
5.Avoid smoking and Alcoholic drinks
6.over use of analgesics with out doctors consent /prescription
7.Take less of salt in your diet but never go for low sodium slat!

Some thoughts on low Sodium Salt !
While Normal salt is 20.00 INR /kg this might be double the price, I never bought one though!
I did get a few packs free with some other products which I used for cleaning purpose. Meaning this is not having enough market !
What is Salt? – Na Cl Sodium Chloride.
Now when we say Low sodium salt it has to be replaced with some other salt/Ions, does our body require the other salts like Na , answer is No.
So is it K Cl? Potassium(K) is plenty in all fruits, vegetables and grains so what is low Sodium?
Hence please do not invite more health hazards! Salt is Sodium Chloride and lets take it that way, with a pinch of Salt! may be little less but not Pseudo Sodium 🙂

balanced eating, big fat Indian weddings, bonding, Daibetes, eating just right, event management, Food, food carving, health consultants, Healthy Heart, Jeera, junk foods, love, Malnutrtion prevention

Press Release for My Book -Holistic Food For Nutrition

suphalac

Book released with title – Holistic Food and Happiness by Dr Suguna Sapre

Dr Suguna Sapre has written this book titled “Holistic Food For Happiness” to help the Readers make conscious food choices that will keep everyone healthy and happy.With a launch pad from Rythm Seven(www.rythmseven.org-An Art and Music Platform,Publication and Store)-this book is available on online book stores in India and abroad for preorder,and online purchase.
Bangalore, Karnataka, India., May 11, 2014 –

Published by Rythm Seven- this book-Holitic Food For Happiness”  will be available on all the online stores in India -like Flipkart,Amazon,Infibeam,IndiaPlaza and many more. Foreign edition of this book is already available- at following stores: http://www.amazon.ca/Holistic-Food-Happiness-Suguna-Sapre/dp/1304992802 an www.barnesandnoble.com/w/holistic-food-for-happiness-dr-suguna-sapre/1119249988 .One can prebook and order at following location online- http://rythm-seven.shopmania.biz/buy/holistic-food-and-happiness-9 

In this book Dr Suguna Sapre  has tried to communicate several small stories, real life incidents related to food and its importance in many forms of individual’ living and current research trends in nutritional sciences, importance of traditional Indian recipes and food market dynamics which are changing in the flat world.

About us:
Rythm Seven:
A platform for Art,Music,Publishing
Dr Suguna Sapre:
Dr Sapre pursued PhD (Doctorate) in Nephrology from Nizam’s Institute of Medical Sciences, Hyderabad, and was closely working with departments of Nephrology and Department of Endocrinology and Metabolism for over 6 years. She holds a Masters in Community Health & Nutrition and has been very passionate since then on to make use of her nutritional expertise to larger groups to create healthy and hearty minds !During her PhD and Masters course, she has travelled across the globe and understands various dietary practices and health habits. She has travelled across various Indian states which helped her gain in-depth understanding and importance of regional foods and health benefits of traditional recipes. Academically she has a sound background on various nutritional, therapeutic nutrition and other dietary aspects, and trained in lifestyle modifications and prevention of chronic disorders. She has over a decades experience in nutrition counselling and quality of life assessments especially in Diabetes Mellitus , Chronic heart diseases and Renal diseases. Her research education has equipped her with extensive knowledge in holistic nutrition, health coaching, and preventive health care. Drawing on these skills and her knowledge of different dietary theories, she works with clients to help them make lifestyle changes that produce practical and lasting results. She has worked as nutrition advisor and consultant for Life Sciences and Healthcare projects for several multinational, voluntary organizations, Pharma and Nutraceutical companies during her various job stints. She has also worked on developing tools for health care and life sciences domains. She has a keen interest in cooking especially cooking without fire! and enjoys experimenting with various foods to bring in the best on the platter.
Press Contact:
Sopaan Noor
Ananda ApartmentJ P Nagar , Bangalore

9916806697
http://www.rythmseven.org

 

Food, Health, Healthy Heart

Few of us take to heart !

suphalac

star fruit

The World Heart Day is celebrated across the Globe every 29 Sep.
A lot of educational programmes awareness camps, first aid for heart attacks etc are conducted. Several organizations organize Marathons and Walkathon etc.
But either we land up doing one of these or none thanking to “being very busy”

However this one day participation may not really make a difference except for helping few health agencies and companies getting your contact numbers and emails to send you news letters. Which again may be turned into ctrl alt del /spam.

How much do we really understand about health heart ?
Heart and mind work together and hence its certainly important not just to keep your self physically fit by working out, ensuring balanced nourishment, but its also necessary to feed some solace to your soul(for me soul is when heart and mind are in sync). But a very little thought is given to this in our current approach to healthy heart. You might find a lot of literature on 5 important things, 10 most important things or 50 things that keep your heart healthy. All these things have few things in common like, laughter, social forums, unwinding with family and friends etc. as important ways to reduce stress and keep you happy.

Happiness is state of mind. Unfortunately mind rules all our actions of past and present and leads to build pressure leading to a stressed heart. The current working patterns, competitions among peer organisations/employees, ambitions of organisations and employees and families are rising high.

This is a great sign of progress and achievements and we dwell in the life of high-end technology giving us a feel of super human being. Which is not true for varied reasons. The most heartening issue is of young employees (at least 60 plus decades of life ahead leaving the world ASAP because  mounting pressure work leading to traumatic stress levels.

I was reading a lot on five S’s to keep your heart healthy today,
Sedentary life,
Salty snacks
Sugary foods
Smoking/ substance abuse ( alcohol) and
Stress

My concern is more towards, how we keep your self Stress free? Which is key to produce good hormones that nourish and condition the heart and mind . Currently India is seeing a gradual rise in number of mental health problems on a rise and stress is one of the obvious reasons irrespective of background that builds stress.
I strongly feel and recommend that one needs inculcate these 5 C’s to make oneself Careful, Composed, Consistent, Contained and Conscious. This will lead to a more blissful life.

Careful : One needs to be careful in terms of what we eat, how we carry ourselves, decisions that we make at personal and career levels

Composed : Learn to be composed this will help us to remain unaffected by any kind of peer pressures, or high or lows in life at various fronts. We will be composed when we are careful in our decisions.

Consistent: One needs to strive to do a job/thing well and feel happy at the end of the task this will help us being consistent which will also improve the quality of what we bring to table. When we make careful decisions and not overwhelmed by our environments and remain composed consistency is born with in us even before we try to imbibe its powers.

Contained : This is one of the biggest things if we can try to achieved very easy to pen but extremely difficult to put into practice the desire to be happy with what we have. Being contained will certainly lead us to higher levels of happiness yet will give us more and more even when we do not want. Learn the art of giving , with true sense and it will give you more. Give more get more we can give only when we are contained with what we have and anything in excess you shall share……..

Conscious – A thinking mind, a conscious mind will lead to a true balance of heart and mind and when you are conscious you will have a happy soul. A soul that is contented takes us to higher levels of bliss.

A heartfelt thank you for reading this 🙂

Always wishing Pink of  health and heart to one and all.

Food, Health, Healthy Heart, Malnutrtion prevention, Nutritious Food, Suphala care, Uncategorized, Wellness

Thankyou All “Suphala Turns one today ! “

suphalac

Dear Suphala followers, supporters and readers,

Congratulations We are ONE today !

Thank you for your overwhelming response and making this organisation strive towards our key mission of  creating awareness and educating on importance of health, nutrition and wellness.

The immense support group of 300 odd members on Facebook (Suphala care page )https://www.facebook.com/SuphalaCare and genuine readers and honest comments from readers on Linked in, Facebook and Suphala care website has helped us immensely in improving and providing customised services to our members.

This effort has helped us in harnessing and improving quality of life of 73 individuals so far, benefiting people from all walks of life namely, toddlers, working women,  individuals with chronic health conditions like, Obesity, Diabetes, Hypertension, Cardiac diseases, Hyperlipidaemia, Hypo and Hyperthyroid, Gastric disorders, Renal stones, Calcium and Iron Deficiencies in woman etc to name a few.

It was wonderful to see your excitement and active participation  in, I can cook workshops for kids and workshops for nutrition management of Diabetic and Cardiac patients, Pregnant, Nursing mothers, fussy eaters (toddlers) and geriatric.

Thank you one and all for making this I year a memorable one and hope to see many more of you joining us and reaping the benefits of healthy eating and nurture quality life !

Join us in celebrating a wonderful One year with us today!

Introducing Special offer as part of First anniversary and National Nutrition week in India :

Free nutrition counseling (online or offline ) customised individual nutrition plans and Wellness assessment. ( for first 50 individuals). Last date for booking appointments is 7 Sep 2013.

Book your appointments today, by mailing us at  info@suphalacare.com with subject line    ” your Name – Appointment date and time” .

Always wishing you Pink of Health !

Dr. Suguna Sapre

Wellness Coach and Mentor @ Suphalacare

Food, Nutritious Food, Suphala care, Uncategorized

“Mid Day Meals progarm in India to nourish or perish school children?”

suphalac

Since my internship days a decade ago at CARE Andhra Pradesh as Research associate for a community managed supplementary nutrition program. I have been witnessing a varied ways and means of  malpractice at various Anganwadi centres and Primary schools. Either the supplies are sold to other grocery shops or adulterated with local supplies of poor quality. Apart from this hygiene in preparation of these meals have been issues of primary concern, owing to shortage of fuel, water, poor methods of cooking. In few states children are lucky they are served meals that come from a central kitchen like Akshaya Patra scheme of  ISCKON   in Karnataka supplies  across all the government schools !

However none of these methods is barred from safe meal supply. There have been sporadic episodes of food poisoning reported every quarter from some small village or town  of the country leading to hospitalization of school children. Unfortunately what we have been watching and reading about the recent Food poisoning in a mid day meal at a primary school of Saran district in Bihar last Wednesday 17 Jul 2013, leading to the death of close to 20 odd children  and few more still in critical condition battling  for life . The deaths occurred by organo phosphorous poisoning key ingredient in several insecticides used in farming and domestic use), which was found in the  intestines of the deceased children following forensic test report.

How was Mustard oil used for preparing that fateful day’s meal was adulterer with this toxic chemical compound?

More questions remain unanswered .

The person who was preparing the meal did not recognise the smell of the oil even upon heating and changing colour of the soy curry to black?

When children were served the food, and few complained of black colour .However they were forced to eat what was served, why ?

Who does the quality check and tasting the food before serving ? Was the person checking food not aware of the smell and taste and most importantly colour of the food(soy curry)?

It’s an unpardonable and heinous attitude of the school authorities leading to death of innocent children for no mistake. While this remains as one of the most shocking incidents of mid day meal program failure there are  “11 crore children, benefiting from hot cooked nutritious food in 12 lakh schools” as per  mid day meal scheme( http://mdm.nic.in/)

 Where is the scheme going wrong I have been visiting this link for mid day meal scheme closely for past few weeks http://mdm.nic.in/ and realize its a herculean task indeed! The website looks great on par with any other private organisations website rather more robust with various details related to  this scheme. Unfortunately like all the virtual updates look great but when it comes to commission these schemes practically there are several impending factors.  There is no one method which will go fool-proof and show great success.

Focus of Mid day meal scheme (MDMS) initially was to attract children and increase their enrolment in school and meal was an incentive. But sadly this remains only on papers every state with its changing political powers and bureaucrats ignores this scheme as this set of population is not a vote bank and there are no gains what so ever even if used as an agenda for political wins. However leaving aside the political gains for once we need to realise that we need to take the MDMS more seriously with an important purpose of providing a happy childhood to all children which is their right ! ( basic education and nourishing meal). Leaders and governments in power should also keep in mind that todays children are tomorrows youth/citizens and lets nourish them and not perish !

Our heartfelt condolences  to all the parents who have lost their children in this tragic episode of Mid  day meal food poisoning!  

–  Suphala  Care

 

 

Food, Healthy Heart, Jeera, Nutritious Food, Spices, Uncategorized

Dice and Spice Your Vegetables !

suphalac

Recently I had been to Sanjeevanam a health restaurant in Bangalore and realized that food was cooked with very little oil and was happy to see people in decent numbers. However I felt that use of spices and herbs and few other nuts and oil seeds would have really enhance the palatability of food and nutritionally more wholesome and healthy.

 Then I thought to my self let me start my first write-up on the soul of cooking healthy and wholesome foods – spices and herbs.Imagine plain sautéed mix of several finely chopped greens  or Okra (lady’s finger) with out spices ………. yes don’t worry I am not asking you to do that to stay healthy 🙂

What I would like to highlight is the first thing that we need to have in our kitchens  is the spice and herbs box. Traditionally this has been used by our grand mom’s and few mom’s 🙂 and slowly losing ground named,  Tikhat Mitha cha daba in Marathi, Ogrenni samaan in Kannada, Popu Dabba in Telugu, Paanch Phorna in Bengali etc…

We are lucky to be in a land blessed with a variety of spices. The use of spice is different in different regions of India. However due to fast paced lifestyles we minimize the use of spices  and herbs in our foods which are actually small concentrated store houses of  nutrients  and antioxidants  and very small quantities can bring in all the magic to the recipe. Before I go ahead and detail individual spices and herbs and which are the most important, in the followings days of this week. I shall like to share few key basics that we should have it handy in our kitchens especially when you intend to dish out  healthy Indian recipes.

10 must have spices in your kitchen  !

Always keep the following spices handy in small bottles (preferably in glass or steel) and whats important : Store tightly closed after each use!

 1.Mustarad seeds  (Raie) (big/small as per your preference)

2.Cumin seeds (Jeera)

3.Fenugreek seeds (Methi seeds)

4.Coriander seeds (Dhaniya dana)

5.Redcilly powder (Lal mirchi powder)

6. Red chillies (whole) (Lal mirch khada)

7.Turmeric powder (Haldi powder)

8.Pepper powder (Kali Mirch powder)

9.Asafoetida powdered (Hing powder) &

*10. Masala powder (Kala /Goda /Garam) {mix of  equal quantities of Cinnamon (Dalchini), cardamom(Elaichi), Cloves (Lavang), Black Cumin seeds ( Shah Jeera), Bay leaves (Tej patta), Star Anise (Badal phool) Black Stone Flower ( Dagad phool, it’s a form of lichen)}

 *Masala powders vary from region to region and liking for specific herbs and spices , however my idea behind using the way I have mentioned, these spices are commonly available globally and if roast these and powder and save it can be used for a long time without losing its flavours and nutritive values. However fresh ground masala is the best when you plan to make a large quantity of  particular recipe which requires garam/ goda/kala masala.

 On a typical rush hour we dice up a vegetable and stir fry it in a seasoning of mustard seeds, cumin , turmeric powder and red chilly powder  and finally finish with a dash of fresh herb like coriander and green chillies and salt as per taste. In the same time if you can add  a few more of these listed spices , provided you keep all these ingredients handy  your food will not only taste healthy but will heal you holistically. A set of different vegetables when cooked in combination of specific spices they enhance the nutritive value and also make the food more healthy and palatable. So folks keep watching for more posts this week to spice up your diced veggies 🙂 the healthy way!

Coming up next , my favourite spice (Jeera)

Jeera to jazz up your food!

Food, Healthy Heart, Jeera, Nutritious Food, Spices, Suphala care

Who am i?

suphalac

I’m a holistic nutrition and wellness coach–I work with people from all walks of life, Senior citizens, women, men, youth, teens, and kids to create a happy, healthy life in a way that is flexible, fun, and free of denial and discipline. No one diet works for everyone. I guide my clients, in sessions that can take place either in person or over the phone, to find the food and lifestyle choices that best support them. We are currently overloaded with information on health and diet from multiple sources however challenge is to make use of this information practically, my objective is to help you to make gradual, lifelong changes to food choices and healthy habits. For more information or to set up a consultation with me, visit my contact me section 🙂