Soul Food 😊
Tag: healthy
Food, Me and my sleeping Baby 😍
The featured image is of my lunch plate consisting of Cabbage Sabzi, Cucumber Salad, Sago Papad, Mango, Masala Moong Dal and Gram Flour Vegetables Pan Cake.
Another cheerless dusky week ☹️
The featured image is of usually what a Gujarati lunch looks like. Still some items are missing like papad and pickle. Nevertheless, there are two sabzis in the plate. One is Potato Cabbage sabzi and the other one is Soya Curry. Along with Roti, Dhokla, Dal and Chutney. A wholesome meal.
The week was mine, and I owned it!
The featured image is of Sweet Corns in Spinach Gravy. Absolutely healthy and a treat in the mouth.
OMG! – My Dog Does Not Eat!
For every pet parent, “what to feed my dog” is a question many constantly struggle with. We often wonder about which food is good for our dogs. We share our hearts and homes with our canine pals. Surely there is nothing wrong with sharing our favorite foods with them too, right? Not necessarily. Many of the foods, such as vegetables and fruits, that humans digest just fine can wreak havoc on a dog’s body, causing severe health problems. On the other hand, some of the foods people eat can be introduced to a dog’s diet just fine, and even provide health benefits such as joint strength, better breath, and allergy immunity. We want our babies to be in the best of health and live a long life and what we feed them plays a very important role in this.
Having 2 dogs, the dilemma for me was even greater as one food would suit Casper, then the same food wouldn’t suit Junior, and, vice versa. I was always in a fix and honestly, still am. When Casper was a puppy, I used to feed him a particular brand food and Caspu grew up to be a very fluffy and healthy dog. But the same food was fed to Junior and he was the skinniest dog for a pretty long time. Then I put Junior on another food brand and he developed fat lumps because of it. It’s always been a constant struggle. Briefly, I had even substituted their one meal to homemade food. Now, being a vegetarian, their homemade food consisted of brown rice, veggies, buttermilk, flaxseeds and cold press coconut oil. They were doing good with one meal as non veg kibble and other one as homemade. Sometimes, my neighbor would give them boiled chicken, but soon both Casper and Junior developed rashes and acidity and I had to stop that.
Good nutrition is extremely important for dogs. It keeps them healthy and happy. But there’s no set formula for how often you feed your dog or what you put in their bowl. That’s because each pooch is different. At all times, my vet has given the best advice about my dog’s food and changed their lifestyle as per their health and age. After years of testing and trying, and, having worked with various NGO’s and pet lovers, I have come to a conclusion that dry dog food is usually the safest and best option for dogs. It meets all nutritional needs as most products have meat, grains, vegetables, fruits and vitamins. It is also healthier for a dog’s teeth as wet food creates more moisture, and most pet parents do not brush their pets or take them for dental checkups.
Apart from dog food, I also struggled with dog treats. Although there are some table scraps or food in your plate that you can give your dog, you still have to be careful. Junior has wheat allergy and is lactose intolerant. I can never feed him rotis or milk. Casper would love chewing on commercial bones, but there was always a fear of being choked. Other than that, here in India, we really do not get good quality bones or treats. So I had to rely on carrots at all times. As a thumb rule, if you are feeding your dog’s anything outside his meal, it should not exceed about 10% of his daily diet. Dog obesity is another big issue and is not only difficult to deal with, but also attracts several medical complications. So, to keep your dog at the optimum weight and healthy, we have to feed them the right meal and at proper intervals.
Unfortunately, Junior stopped eating carrots out of nowhere and I was back to the perplexity of what to feed him now. I hunted for a better option, but to no respite. Any other treat or biscuit I would give Junior he would throw up. I would give him watermelon or apple slices sometimes, but because of my busy schedule, I couldn’t be regular in buying them and stocking them.
In the midst of all this, I was already in talks with a friend to start a new business. He being a dog dad and a dog lover himself, suggested that we should work on something that we love the most, and that was animals. We came up with the idea of providing the best dog food and dog treats to our lovely and beautiful fur babies. After all, what’s better than watching your pooch react to the question, “do you want a treat?” We love to give our dogs treats because it makes our pups so happy, and when these treats are safe and healthy too, it’s an icing over the cake. Treats can be used for various purposes like training, comforting, just because we love them, health related, etc. Commercially available dog treats have become very popular and a common part of a dog’s diet.
So here we are, we started a joint venture and joined hands with a very trustworthy and reputed company to import dog food from Netherlands, and meaty invigorating dog treats, and then packaged here in India after adding top of the class vitamins and nutrients. In all, super premium quality and a complete power packed and balanced diet for dogs at all life stages. A dream come true. No longer a dilemma of running hither and thither for the best and genuine dog food and dog treats.
“Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do.” said by Steve Jobs, Co-Founder, Chairman and CEO, Apple. What more would have we asked God for! Being dog parents and diehard animal lovers, we have entered into a venture which is extremely close to our hearts and the best health of our pooches.
Introducing Hunger Fills and Sniffy. Let me tell you this, Hunger Fills is the only treat which Junior didn’t show any remorse or threw up as other all treats he has always had indigestion problems. As for Sniffy, he actually pounces to eat it. So it’s tried and tested on my own dog and then put out in the market.
Hunger Fills is a delicious, meaty and nutritious dog treat available in three flavours – Carrot, Chicken and Milk.
Sniffy is a premium dog food product made in Netherlands and power packed in India. It comes in three variants – Starter, Puppy and Adult and Chicken and Egg flavor. It is fortified with vital nutrients, enriched with energy and protein.
We are so grateful for all the support and encouragement from all our loved ones and happier to see our pooches wagging their tails and drooling over Hunger Fills and Sniffy. Something that we have wanted very much for a long time that have now happened. It is true, if you love something, go after it without limiting yourself, add faith, add action, add perseverance and lastly, add patience and time. Then everything is possible. A dream to keep our dogs healthy, hearty and live long with the right food and treats has finally seen the light and is shining bright.
Can you smell what this blogger is cooking?
Cooked a few dishes this week, but they were ultra delicious.
Fit to Fat to Fit!
I am overwhelmed to share with you my incredible, and, almost impossible journey from fat to fit in just 6 months. Why impossible? Because I am a big time foodie. As you can see in many of my posts, I love cooking and trying out new dishes all the time. I wasn’t like this always though.
In my teens, my lifestyle wasn’t exactly healthy; I would wake up around noon and post that, I would freshen up and straight leave for college. Breakfast was always skipped, and lunch was junk food at all times. Ironically, I was super skinny then despite of surviving only on junk and deep-fried food. Then I got engaged, and, married at a very early age, and started putting on weight. In denial, I chose to blame it on the happy hormone, but the fact was, I had stopped caring for my body all the more after marriage thinking “I do not have to impress anyone now. I got my prince charming and it is forever.”
Apart from having a senseless thinking, I had a senseless way of eating too. I won’t be wrong if I say “I just couldn’t stop eating.” From a twiggy 44 kgs damsel, in a matter of just a few months I was 68 Kgs and still gaining, all this at the age of 23 years. From a size 0, I jumped the ladder to a size 12, which was not only physically visible but also affected me medically giving me constipation and acidity. Now, you may be wondering that 68 kgs doesn’t really sound too heavy or worrisome. Trust me, when I say this, it is extremely worrisome! As per my body statistics, my ideal weight should be between 48 to 52 kgs. The worse part was that I was living in complete denial that my lifestyle wasn’t unhealthy one bit, and, I chose to completely ignore the long-term damages.
Then life took a U Turn (as mentioned in my previous posts). I was awakened, and, decided to start working on myself, physically, and, mentally. I was head strong this time, and determined, to get to my ideal body weight under any circumstances. I started consulting a renowned dietitian; the best thing about his diet was that it was more of a lifestyle diet rather than just target weight oriented, and one could follow it even after they have reached their ideal weight. That diet is an integral part of my life even today. I am never starved, I do have my cheat days, and thoroughly enjoy my daily meals and fit life. With the lifestyle change, the medical issues vanished and I no longer have constipation or acidity. Although he is no more now, till date I am thankful to my dietitian for revolutionizing my lifestyle. Believe it or not, he worked till his late 80s before he passed away.
It’s not that that I had not tried dieting before. I had; and miserably failed. My failure was due to being starved which lead to lack of motivation and will power. I would follow the diet for a month, then would return to my old dumb habits. KITO, detox, treatments, etc., you name it.
My present scenario, I am 48 kgs and size 2 at the age of 36 years. I lost 20 kgs in 6 months 8 years ago, and I am still maintained. All my hard work, dedication and the right information is still paying off. What diet did I follow and what exercises did I do? Let me share all my tips with you.
- First and foremost, my dietician wrote down a few blood tests to rule out any underlying disease. And just in case anything came up, he would prescribe a diet accordingly.
- It is a little slow process for women with PCOD/PCOS or thyroid to lose weight, but not impossible.
- Since I had no underlying disease, I was put on his regular diet which included Wheat, Dal, Rice, Milk and looooooooooots of Vegetables.
- Never stay hungry for more than 2 hours. Apart from your Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner, have one sugar free and cream free biscuit hourly.
- My last meal of the day, is at 6.30 pm, max at 7pm. Before bed, I have a cup of tea or butter milk.
- From the past 1.5 years I have been going to the gym to tone my body. Prior to that, my only workout during the process of losing weight was walking my dogs three times a day, each time for 20 minutes (I am so thankful to them). You can go for a walk for an hour at a stretch too.
- Consume a lot of veggies. It will help to keep full, you won’t starve and it’s the healthiest option.
- My daily diet:
- A big cup of Masala Tea + 2 Marie Biscuits for Breakfast.
- 2 Wheat Rotis + half bowl of Curd + lots of cooked Vegetables for Lunch. (you can modify as per your liking like vegetable parathas or vegetable sandwich)
- A big cup of Masala Tea + 2 Marie Biscuits for Supper.
- A small bowl of White Rice mixed with Dal and Vegetables for early dinner. (sometimes, you can substitute rice with pastas or sandwich again or dosa or idli)
- Butter Milk before bed.
- 8-10 Marie Biscuits throughout the day.
- 1 hour of Walk
Since I am a vegetarian, this is my diet. Please do note that I do not have any underlying issues. It would be advisable to get your blood work and other tests done or consult a good dietician before jumping into anything which would be drastic in any sense.
My weight loss not only cured my constipation and acidity problem, but boosted my confidence to another level. Now I love dressing up, I look prettier than before, I look younger than my age, I ran my first Marathon, I am less stressed and mentally fit too. I can work for hours without feeling lethargic.
Weight loss is not just to look pretty. Infact, looking good is just a small part of it. A healthy weight loss without starving yourself will keep you FIT for the longest time and you will not even relapse. By relapse I mean, many people feel that eating less will help them loose weight faster. Yes, it is true, but then you will relapse and gain double the weight of what you originally were. Remember! All the efforts, and, hard work you put in to lose weight, should not backfire by gaining double. It’s the most common problem.
So please, choose a dietitian who will give you a lifestyle diet and not just target weight diet. It has been 8 years since I lost my excess weight and I am still slim, trim and fit.
Weekly fun
A colourful picture gallery of what Junior and me did in the last week.
Chinese Cuisine for Dinner
I made Paneer (cottage cheese) Chilli Dry, Schezwan Fried Rice and Paneer (cottage cheese) Manchurian Gravy for dinner with an Indian twist. This is not authentic Chinese Cuisine but a little more on the spicy side.
The Accidental Dog Mom 