InstaLife: The updates

Vinegary Tales #Foodfiles #vinegar

Stumbling upon some unusual vinegars at a store made me go down the Google rabbit hole and here is some of my updated knowledge. It was meant for an article that never got published. Do add your own vinegar suggestions. I had a vinegar epiphany in the autumn light of Kasauli’s heritage market two Octobers…

#Health- All souped up

The lock down has made me look for simple nutritious ways to snack and sip my way through the day and soups are a great option. The thing with soups is that they can be expanded to become mini meals – just add some pasta or noodles, veggies and protein (aah a big Ramen bowl…

14 Greens For Ghosts & A super green mix for the Health Brigade

Leaf greens and vegetable greens represent an entire food sub- culture in India. There are new ones to be discovered everyday. Saag/shaak/hakk are generic names for greens so you will find them  tagged on to many dishes. Radish greens make a delicious stir fry in North India in winter, methi greens or fenugreek are popular…

Kansa – Ayurvedic, ‘Vedic’ or just hyped?

Kansa is as old as the hills or as old as the Bronze Age. It is a kind of bronze, an alloy of copper and tin and has been used for centuries in India for cooking and serving food.  Kansa is recognized by its clear sound and temple bells are usually made of kansa which…

Can local seaweed and algae be a multi million dollar opportunity for India’s beauty&health industry ?

I recently posted my breakfast of boiled egg and vinegared indrayani rice rolled and wrapped in a nori sheet on Instagram and a friend commented “Too fancy!” Blame it on fancy Japanese restaurants but her comment got me thinking. Why aren’t we more sold on seaweed and sea vegetables and why should it be just expensive…

My A2K salad : for all the vitamins you need

I am not a believer in vitamin supplements and when  I saw a documentary  on vitamins and where  synthetic vitamins that are in our supplements came from, this reinforced my view. The reality is that we don’t need massive amounts of vitamins in our system (unless you are massively deficient in one or the other…

Seeking Mental Wellness

“If life has become a struggle, and usual coping strategies are not helping, then there should be no hesitation in seeking professional help.” Dr. Shyam Bhatt , Mental Wellness Expert, CureFit An excerpted version of this appeared in my article ‘Expert in the house’ for Vogue  India and this e-interview was made possible thanks to Vogue and Curefit,…