Tag Archives: Indian Dietitian Online

  • 20
    May 16
  • 10

Indian Dietitian Online:Sweta Uchil-Purohit

Category:Indian Dietitian Online Tags : 

Sweta Uchil-Purohit: Dietitian, Wellness Coach, Online Indian Dietitian and Nutrition Content Writer

Sweta Uchil-Purohit is a dietitian with over 20 years of experience in the field of diet and nutrition.

Having started her career as a clinical dietitian at Manipal Hospital (a multi-specialty hospital) Bangalore, she has sound knowledge of diets for patients with diabetes, renal disease including kidney transplant, cardiac problems and obesity.She considers herself lucky to be able to work with the best doctors in Bangalore during her 6 years at Manipal Hospital. Here she also had the oppurtunity to teach nutrition to the Manipal School of Nursing Students and also the pre-med students doing their training at the hospital.
After that she switched from clinical to ‘Preventive Nutrition’ when she joined a Nutrition consulting firm (NICHE) as the Nutrition Manager. Here she counseled software professionals in all the leading IT companies(like Wipro, Philips, Motorola, HP). She also managed and trained an in-house team of dietitians not just in Bangalore, but also in Pune, Hyderabad, Chennai, Kolkata. She also briefly trained the dietitians at Talwalkars Gym(Bangalore & Chennai)
Later she moved abroad and went on to online diet consultation and handled diet consultations for Indians living abroad mainly in North America (USA, Canada), Europe, UAE, Asia and Australia.Armed with that experience she now has her own website called ‘My Indian Dietitian‘ (www.myindiandietitian.com) where she handles diet consultations for Indians and South Asians(she also has clients of Bangladeshi, Nepali, Sri Lankan and Pakistani origin).

She also has a flare for writing nutrition related articles and has been regularly writing for magazines, websites, food/ nutrition product companies. Her tryst with articles began way back when she was a member of the editorial group of the Manipal Hospital magazine.

Indian Dietitian Online: Sweta Uchil-Purohit

Personally I feel that the internet is one of the greatest inventions. It has so many uses and has most of us hooked onto it for various reasons like keeping in touch with friends and family(thank you Facebook and emails), learning about something (thank you Google), and even getting personalized diet consultations at the click of a button!

No more searching for an Indian Dietitian who can understand Indian foods (can you imagine explaining about parathas, dhoklas, khichdi, curd rice to a non-Indian Dietitian?), driving in the traffic, waiting in the waiting room reading all those magazines to get a diet consultation! No way-we are so used to getting things done in an instant, that just the thought of all the steps required to meet a dietitian in person seems to be the main reason why people who need to see a dietitian, don’t do so.

That’s where online diet consultations come in (thank you technology)-that too in particular an ‘INDIAN Dietitian Online’ is like the answer to most peoples needs.

Here are 5 reasons why you should sign up:

  1. It’s quick, saves you a lot of time and energy (from commuting to and fro)
  2. You get the same benefits of meeting a dietitian in person,
  3. You get a personalized diet chart keeping you in mind, along with your likes and dislikes,
  4. You just need to have an internet and telephone connection to speak to me without ever having to leave your house,
  5. and lastly, everything is kept confidential and since it’s all online there is no chance of bumping into your friend/neighbour and having to explain why you are seeing a dietitian.

Now that you are convinced about signing up for a package (To check out our packages: click here), here are 5 reasons why you should sign up with My Indian Dietitian:

  1. I have over 15 years of experience in clinical and preventive nutrition,
  2. I do not believe in crash diets and only plan scientifically approved diets,
  3. I have lived in 3 continents (India, USA and Australia) and hence am well versed with both Indian and Western diets, local foods available.
  4. I am also well versed in regional Indian diets and am comfortable with making South Indian Diet Charts, North Indian Diet Charts, Gujarati Diet Charts, Bengali Diet Charts. I have been doing diet consultations for not just Indians but also people from our neighbouring countries like Pakistan, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh!
  5. You and your families health matters most to me-I strongly believe that by signing up for one package, the benefits will be seen by not just YOU but your family to will eventually end up eating healthy!

So what are you waiting for-the fact that you are reading this shows that you have taken the first step in the right direction. Don’t change your mind now-take the next step and contact us now. Click here to Contact Us (or just head over to our ‘Contact us’ page)

Sweta Uchil-Purohit

Top Rated Indian Dietitian

  • 20
    May 16
  • 0

Overnight Oats Mango Smoothie /Breakfast Oats Mango Smoothie

Category:Healthy Indian Recipes,Indian Dietitian Online,Recipes-Healthy Breakfast Tags : 

Oats is loaded with soluble fiber and is great for:

  1. reducing ‘bad’ cholesterol,
  2. controlling blood sugar level,
  3. relieving constipation

Overnight oats is the new way to make oats without cooking. You simply soak the oats in your choice of liquid (water, milk, almond milk, soy milk, coconut milk) overnight in the fridge. The oats tend to absorb the liquid and soften up a little and can be eaten the next day without heating (those who don’t like eating a cold breakfast can also heat it up).

Here’s a tasty smoothie that you can have for breakfast or anytime you feel like having a snack.

Overnight Oats Mango smoothie

Ingredients for Mango Oats smoothie: Serves 2

  • Mango- pulp of 3 nos.
  • Rolled Oats(raw or cooked)- ½ cup
  • Yogurt- 1 cup (made from skim milk)
  • Skim milk- 1 cup
  • Honey- 4tsp

Method:

  1. Soak the oats in the milk overnight in the fridge.
  2. In the morning, blend all the ingredients together in a mixer till smooth.
  3. Pour into a glass, add a dollop of curd on top.
  4. Serve chilled.

Note:

  • When making the smoothie for kids, you could powder the oats first and then blend along with the rest of the ingredients as they may not enjoy the texture that comes with the raw/cooked oats.
  • You could even cook the oats, instead of soaking it overnight and add it to the blender once it has cooled.
  • You can substitute the mango with any seasonal fruit like strawberries, peaches or bananas.

Overnight Oats Mango Smoothie

Overnight Oats mango Smoothie

Indian Dietitian Online

  • 19
    May 16
  • 3

Mixed dal dosa/ Adai (Mixed lentils and rice crêpe)

Category:Healthy Indian Recipes,Indian Dietitian Online,Lunch Box Recipes Healthy Indian,Recipes-Healthy Breakfast Tags : 

Mixed dal Dosa/ Adai

Protein is in vogue-and why not. It high protein foods keep you feeling full for a longer period of time and also don’t raise your blood sugars like carbohydrates do. I believe in moderation and thus try to include more protein in my diet and reduce the amount of carbs without totally giving it up.
I was craving for some crispy dosas as I hadn’t made them in a long time. But,with the weather no longer conducive for fermenting the batter, I had to think of something which didn’t need fermenting. That’s when my mom suggested the mixed dal dosa-or “Adai” as it’s called in Tamil Nadu. Mom suggested soaking equal quantities of all the dals/split lentils that I had at home along with equal amounts of rice.
What I love about this dosa is because there is more dal (protein) when compared to the rice(carbs), this dosa is more filling and you end up eating less dosas than the regular dosa.
There are so many different recipes for this mixed dal dosa/ Adai,but here’s how I made it(with whatever ingredients were available at home last night):

Mixed dals

Ingredients for Mixed Dal Dosa/Adai: (Serves 4)

  • Raw rice: 1/2 cup
  • Channa dal: 1/2 cup
  • Urad dal(split black matpe beans): 1/2 cup
  • Mung dal: 1/2 cup
  • Masoor dal(pink lentil): 1/2 cup
  • Tur dal
  • Cooked rice OR beaten rice(poha): 1/2 cup
  • Methi seeds: 2tsp
  • Ginger: 1″ piece (optional)
  • Dry red chillies: 4-5 (or to taste)
  • Salt: to taste
  • Water: 1 cup

Method:

  1. Soak all the dals and the raw rice for at least 4-6 hours.
  2. Grind all the ingredients together with a cup of water till you get a fine paste ( pancake batter consistency). If using beaten rice/poha-soak it for 15 minutes before grinding.
  3. Pour a ladle of the batter on a hot ‘tawa’ or non-stick pan,and spread into a thin dosa.
  4. Cover for a minute,then carefully flip it over to cook the other side.
  5. Serve the mixed dal dosa/ Adai piping hot with chutney and/or sambar.

Adai (Dal dosa)

Mixed Dal Dosa (Adai)

Indian Dietitian Online

  • 18
    May 16
  • 0

Methi Pulao (Methi Rice) Fenugreek leaves pilaf

Category:Healthy Indian Recipes,Indian Dietitian Online,Lunch Box Recipes Healthy Indian Tags : 

Methi Rice/ Methi Pulao

Both methi seeds(fenugreek seeds) and methi leaves(fenugreek leaves) have been long used in Indian families as not just a culinary  ingredient, but also for it’s medicinal properties. The seeds are great for :

  1. diabetics as it can control the blood sugar levels (soak a tablespoon of methi seeds overnight and have it along with the soaked water the next day).
  2. relieves constipation,
  3. a boon to new mothers as it is a known galactogogue (increases breast milk),
  4. It is also believed to relieve menstrual cramps when taken along with yogurt/ buttermilk. (Soak a tablespoon of methi seeds/powder in yogurt/buttermilk for a couple of hours or overnight and eat it when you have menstrual cramps).
  5. lowering cholesterol

Methi leaves taste great in just about any dish. You can use the fresh leaves to make parathas, theplas, sabzi, add it into your dal or make methi pulao with it. Here’s a quick and simple methi pulao that can be served with a raitha.

Ingredients for Methi Rice/Methi Pulao:

  • Basmathi Rice: 2 cups (wash and soak in water for 20-30mins)
  • Methi: 3-4 small bunches (or 1 big) washed and finely chopped
  • Onion: 1 big (finely sliced)
  • Tomatoes: 3 small (finely diced)
  • Peas: a handful (optional)
  • Ginger+garlic paste: 1 tsp
  • Cumin seeds(jeera): 1tsp
  • Cloves: 1-2nos.
  • Peppercorns: 5 nos.
  • Bay leaf: 1
  • Cinnamon: 1″ stick
  • Whole cardamom: 2nos.
  • Turmeric: 1/2 tsp
  • Water: 4 cups
  • Red chili powder: 1-2 tsp (or as per spice tolerance)
  • Cumin powder: 1/2 tsp
  • Coriander powder: 2tsp
  • Garam masala: 1/4 tsp
  • Oil: 3tsp
  • Salt: to taste

Method:

  1. Heat the oil in a pressure cooker. Add the whole spices (peppercorn, cloves, cinnamon, cumin seeds, cardamom and bay leaf).
  2. Then add the turmeric, sliced onions and fry till the onions turn golden brown.
  3. Add the ginger+garlic paste and fry for a minute.
  4. Then add the chopped methi leaves and fry for 3-4 minutes on low flame.
  5. Add the tomatoes and the spice powders (chili, cumin, coriander,garam masala) and some salt and cook till the tomatoes are mushy.
  6. Add the soaked and drained basmathi rice, peas(optional) and mix well for 2 mins.
  7. Add the water, taste for salt and cover the pressure cooker and let it cook till one whistle.
  8. Switch off, let the pressure drop. Open and gently fork the rice to separate the grains.
  9. Serve hot with raitha of your choice.

Note: you can add 2 tablespoon of crushed peanuts as a garnish before serving. Enjoy.

Methi Rice

Methi Pulao (How to make methi pulao)

Indian Dietitian Online

  • 17
    May 16
  • 0

Besan Dosa/ Besan Chila (How to make chickpea flour crepes/pancakes)

Category:Healthy Indian Recipes,Indian Dietitian Online,Lunch Box Recipes Healthy Indian,Recipes-Healthy Breakfast,Recipes-Snacks/Dips Tags : 

Besan Dosa/ Besan Chila (Chickpea Flour Crepes)

Besan or chickpea flour or gram flour is a great source of fiber, is GLUTEN FREE and can be helpful in lowering cholesterol and blood sugars.

When I was growing up in Bombay,Besan dosa was a very popular dish in most Udupi restaurants and was even sometimes called “Vegetarian Omelet”. Besan dosa was also sold as a filling inside sandwiches which were named “Veggie omelet sandwich”! Funnily enough,I hated them at that time and preferred my regular ‘egg omelet’ to the veggie omelet. Finally,one day I tried it out and to my amazement, loved it(thankfully it was appreciated by hubby and little brat) and so now it’s a regular feature at home. Make sure you use a good non-stick pan when you make this-that way,you won’t need to use a lot of oil.

Besan or Chickpea flour is a high fibre, high protein, gluten free flour which is made from garbanzo/chickpeas. Being high in fibre, it can be helpful for lowering blood sugar levels and cholesterol.

Here is a quick and easy recipe that can be had for breakfast or even lunch/dinner:

Ingredients for Besan Dosa/Chila (Chickpea flour crepes):Serves 4

  • Besan/Gramflour/Chickpea flour: 2 cups
  • Rice flour: 2 tbsp (optional)
  • Onion:1/2 small(finely chopped)
  • Tomatoes:1 small(finely chopped)
  • Green chillies:1-2(finely chopped)
  • Corriander leaves/Cilantro: 2 tablespoon,finely chopped
  • Grated zucchini/ bottlegourd: 1/2 cup (optional)
  • Hing/asafoetida: a pinch
  • Turmeric powder: 1/4th teaspoon
  • Jeera/Cummin seeds:1/2 tsp
  • Baking soda: 1/2 tsp (optional)
  • Salt:to taste
  • Oil/Butter/Ghee: to grease the pan

Method:

  1. Mix all the ingredients.
  2. Add enough water to make a batter of dosa/pancake consistency. If adding zucchini/bottlegourd, you may need less water as the bottlegourd/zucchini will leave some of its moisture.
  3. Spread the oil on a non-stick pan on medium flame.
  4. Pour a ladle of the batter and spread like a dosa. Cover for a 3-4 minutes.
  5. Then,flip the dosa over to the other side and cook for another 1-2 minutes.Make sure not to burn them.
  6. Serve the besan dosa hot with mint,ketchup or a spicy chutney.

Indian Dietitian Online

  • 17
    May 16
  • 0

Watermelon Salsa (Chatpata Watermelon Chaat)

Category:Indian Dietitian Online,Online Dietician India,Recipes-Snacks/Dips Tags : 

Fresh Watermelon Salsa

Summer time is watermelon time- a perfect fruit to include in your diet on a hot summers day. There are so many ways to eat it and one of my favorite is to make a quick and yummy salad-the watermelon salsa!

Watermelons are loaded with the carotenoid lycopene and contains mostly water which is a great way to re-hydrate the body in summer.

Watermelon Salsa and Mango Salsa

Ingredients: 
Watermelon:1/2 cubed
Onion: 1 small (finely chopped)
Tomato: 1 small (finely chopped)
Coriander leaves: 3-4tbsp (finely chopped)
Lime juice: 2 tsp
Green chilies: 1 (finely chopped)
Salt: to taste

Method: 
Mix all the ingredients together in a bowl. Chill before serving. You can substitute the watermelon with any fruit (mango, pineapple, peach, nectarine, etc) or make a mixed fruit salsa by adding 2-3 fruits together.

You can add some chaat masala for an Indian twist.

Here are other Healthy Snack Ideas:

  1. Baked Sweet Potato Fries/snack
  2. Baked Carrot Fries/snack
  3. Crispy Kale Chips
  4. Khaman Dhokla
  5. Handvo
  6. Fish Cutlets/Patties

Indian Dietitian Online

  • 17
    May 16
  • 0

Cabbage and Soya chunks sabzi (How to make Cabbage and soya nuggets sabzi)

Category:Indian Dietitian Online Tags : 

Cabbage is rich in vitamins C,K B1, B5 , B6 as well as manganese, iron ,phosphorus, calcium and fiber. Research has shown that the antioxidants present in cabbage could reduce the prevent certain types of cancer and also help in lowering cholesterol levels.

For those who don’t have time making two separate dishes-one for protein and another vegetable dish, this recipe makes it easier by combining the vegetable and protein in one dish!

DSC_2566

Cabbage and Soya Nuggets Sabzi

Ingredients for Cabbage and Soya chunks sabzi:

  • Cabbage: 250gms (finely chopped)
  • Soya nuggets/chunks- 100gms
  • Onion- 1 medium (finely chopped)
  • Tomatoes- 2 medium (finely chopped)
  • Garlic-2-3 nos (finely chopped)
  • Garlic-1/2 inch (grated)
  • Red chili powder- 1tsp (or as per your spice tolerance)
  • Coriander powder- 2tsp
  • Cumin powder-1tsp
  • Garam masala- 1/2 tsp
  • Mustard seeds-1/2 tsp
  • Cumin seeds- 1tsp
  • Hing(asafoetida) -a pinch (optional)
  • Turmeric powder-1/2 tsp
  • Curry leaves-3-4 (Optional)
  • Coriander leaves-4 tbsp (chopped)
  • Salt-to taste
  • Oil-2tsp

Method:

  1. Boil water in a saucepan, add some salt to it. Switch off the heat-add the soya chunks into the boiling water, mix well, cover and let it stand for 10mins. Strain out the soya chunks and squeeze out the water and keep aside.
  2. Heat the oil in a non-stick kadai, add the mustard seeds, cumin seeds.
  3. When it starts to pop, add the curry leaves, hing, turmeric powder and then the chopped onions.
  4. When the onions starts turning translucent, add the garlic and ginger. Fry till the onions brown a bit.
  5. Add the tomatoes, the red chili powder, coriander powder, cumin powder, garam masala and salt and cook till the tomatoes are mushy.
  6. Add the soya chunks and mix, then add the chopped cabbage,mix well so that the masala coats the cabbage.
  7. Reduce flame to low, cover and cook, stirring occasionally till the cabbage is cooked.
  8. Garnish with chopped coriander leaves.
  9. Serve with roti or as a side with dal and chawal.

Note:

You can substitute soya chunks with any pulse (kabuli channa, kala channa, rajma, cannelloni beans, etc) to increase the protein content of the dish.

Cabbage and Soya Chunks Sabzi

Indian Dietitian Online

  • 16
    May 16
  • 0

The Daily (Nutrition) Dozen!

Category:Indian Dietitian Online,Nutrition Articles Tags : 

Ok-so no lectures on nutrition and the benefits of eating clean and getting plenty of physical activity and sleep in this article. We are going to cut to the chase and make a list of foods that you must INCLUDE in your day to day diet.

Make this your DAILY (NUTRITION) DOZEN check-list:

  1. Fruit- Aim at eating at least TWO different seasonal fruits everyday. It could be a mango and a guava or grapes and a banana-basically two fruits that are in season. Best way to add them to your diet is to eat them as a snack (say no to the chivdas/farsaans/chips).
  2. Green leafy vegetables-palak, methi, sabsige (dill-english; soa-hindi;shepu-marathi), lal saag(red amaranth), coriander (cilantro), etc. If making a sabzi is too tedious- just add it to your dal, roti (methi paratha/Palak paratha) or make a big batch of coriander chutney or palak chutney(How to make Palak Chutney) freeze it and use that in your meals or in your sandwiches.
  3. Other vegetables– again go for seasonal vegetables and make sure your eating at least twoper day.
  4. Salads– you could include one fruit, one vegetable and one leafy vegetable and make a crunchy salad if that makes things easy for you. Example- a mango, cucumber , tomato,onion and coriander salad tastes yummy and combines one from the first three into number 4!
  5. Whole grains– Try to switch to whole grains completely wherever possible. Whole wheat flour instead of maida; dhalia, brown rice or barley instead of white rice.
  6. Whole Pulse- at least one whole pulse (not dal) in the form of rajma, kabuli channa, double beans, peas, akkha masoor, green moong, akha urad, etc. You can even sprout them and add them to your salads or boil them and add them to your vegetables like cabbage with kabuli channa.
  7. Curd/Yogurt– loaded with calcium and probiotics, include this with your meals or make a raitha or smoothie with it.
  8. Protein with every meal- Proteins keep you full for a longer period so add this to every meal. Even if you are a vegetarian-make sure you include dal/pulse or curd, paneer, tofu or milk with breakfast, lunch and dinner.
  9. Nuts: are full of healthy fats, minerals, fibre and protein. You need to eat just 5-6 numbers of nuts like almonds, walnuts,chestnuts, pecans, brazilnuts, cashew nuts, etc to get the benefits. Just be careful not to go overboard with this as they can be very addicting!
  10. Water:no doubt the best and by far the original “zero-calorie” thirst quencher! Aim for 8-12 glasses (weather depending) everyday.
  11. Oils: Cold pressed oils, ghee, butter (yes-it’s the switch to all things natural) can all be used but your total added fat/oil should not be more than 3 tsp per person per day!
  12. Exercise: of any physical activity for at least 1 hour per day is a must.It’s not nutrition-but without it the rest of the list will go down the drain. Think of it as important as brushing your teeth!
Aim to get at least 10 out of this every day(exercise is not optional though) and you can be sure that you are doing the right thing for your body.
Indian Dietitian Online
  • 29
    Jan 16
  • 0

Savory French Toast Indian Style (Spicy Masala Egg Toast)

Category:Healthy Indian Recipes,Indian Dietitian Online,Recipes-Healthy Breakfast Tags : 

Savory French Toast Indian Style (Spicy Masala Egg Toast)

For those don’t like to eat a sweet breakfast, here is a savoury version of the French Toast-totally Indian Style! The Masala Egg Toast.

Savoury French Toast (Indian Style Masala Egg Toast):
Ingredients: (Serves 4)

  • Whole Wheat Bread-8 nos.
  • Egg-4 nos
  • Onion- 1 medium (finely chopped)
  • Tomato(optional)- 1 small (finely chopped)
  • Cilantro- 3tbsp (finely chopped)
  • Red chili powder- 1/2- 1 tsp (or as per your heat tolerance)
  • Coriander powder- 1 tsp
  • Cumin powder-1/2 tsp
  • Turmeric-1/2 tsp
  • Milk-3 tbsp (or water)
  • Salt: to taste
  • Oil: 3 tsp
Method:
  1. Break the eggs into a bowl, add the spice powders, salt and milk (or water) and mix well.
  2. Pour a little onto a flat saucer.
  3. Heat a tsp of oil in a non-stick sauce pan.
  4. Dip the bread into the egg mixture on both sides, then place into the pan one by one.
  5. Sprinkle with the onion,tomato and cilantro on the top and flip carefully and cook till done on both sides.
  6. Repeat for the rest.
  7. Serve the savoury French Toast hot with ketchup or chutney(optional).

Note:
You could replace the spices (red chili, cumin, coriander powder)with green chilies.

Indian Dietitian Online

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