Tandoori chicken burger

Ingredients:

Chicken mince 1lb
finely chopped onions- 1/2C
green chillies finely chopped- 2
cumin powder- 1tsp
zafrani garam masala- 1/2tsp
coriander powder- 1tsp
chilli powder- 1tblsp
turmeric - pinch
tandoori masala- 2tsp
salt

Preparation:
 Mix everything and make into patties.
Patties can be shallow fried/ fried or baked.

for Burger:
Toast sandwich thins. Apply cream cheese on both sandwich thins.
assemble vegetables (lettuce, onions, cucumbers, pickles etc) and chicken patty on sandwich thins.

If you like add little yoghurt mixed with salt/ sour cream on top of chicken patty

Palak Chapathi/ Phulka

Ingredients:

2C wholewheat flour
6 tblsp flax seed meal
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp oil
Chopped spinach 1C
Water

Preparation:
Mix everything with water and make into dough consistency. Make chapathis/ pulkhas.

soybeans and horsegram idlis

1C soybeans
1/2C horse gram
few tblsp flax seeds
2 1/2C idli ravva

Preparation:
Soak soybeans, horse gram and flax seeds together for 8 hrs and grind to a fine paste.
Soak idli ravva for 8 hrs.
Mix the paste along with ravva to a idli batter consistency.
Let it ferment for 8 hrs.
Make idlis.

soybeans, brown rice and quinoa idli and dosa

3/4 C soybeans

1/4 C urad dal

1 C brown rice

1 C quinoa

few tblsp flax seeds

Preparation:

Soak soybeans, urad dal and flax seeds fo 8 hrs and grind to smooth paste.

Soak rice and quinoa for 8 hrs and grind to a coarse paste.

Mix two and let it ferment.

Make idlis.

I also made dosa with same quantities but soaked everything together and grind to a smooth paste. let it ferment and make dosas.

Breakfast

Breakfast is the most important meal when starting a day. After eating breakfast blood sugar levels should be in control as it is the first meal. Avoid drinking milk/yoghurt/fruits in the morning. I eat omelet made with an egg, onions, and cheese in the morning along with some hot sauce. Then I eat bagel thins, which are less in carbohydrates, with cream cheese and salad greens. Sometimes I eat Indian common breakfast like idli, dosa, chapathi, upma etc. along with an egg. I always make dosa with brown rice which has lot of fiber and helps control sugar level. It is very important to control portion size. I usually eat 2 dosas along with peanut chutney. Try to avoid coconut chutney as it has carbs. Peanut is a protein so it helps maintain sugar levels. I make upma with 1/3C ravva (1/3 has 30g carb, I read it on the upma ravva packet label). I make soy idlis as soy beans are rich in protein and I eat 4 small sized idlis with peanut chutney. I eat 2 chapathis along with some curry.
While choosing cheese it is very important to select fat free or reduced fat.
If possible do some 15 mins walking after each meal.

Note:
This is what I follow, in my pregnancy based on my doctor, and nutritionist advice.
For individuals it may vary. Talk to your doctor first.

soy idlis

Soy Idlis:

Soy beans are rich in proteins. I try to include them in dosas and idlis.

Ingredients:
2C Idli ravva( soak for 8 hrs)
1C Soy beans (soak for 8 hrs and grind in to fine paste adding water)

Preparation:
Drain water from idli ravva and mix it with soy beans paste. Let it ferment. Before making idlis add salt and a pinch of baking powder. Mix well and steam cook idlis.

Note:
I always prepare 2C ravva with 1C dal. I follow the same for dosa too (2C rice with 1C dal).

soy and wheat idlis

Got the recipe from http://plantainleaf.blogspot.com/2009/03/soya-wheat-idli.html followed exactly. The idlis tasted great with peanut chutney.

paneer palak vegetable fried rice/ paneer spinach vegetable fried rice

Shallow fry paneer  until it turns brown and remove. To the same pan add  oil. When it is hot add whole garam masala, and onions. Once onions are cooked add shredded cabbage, carrots, capsicum, chilli powder, garam masala powder, salt and spinach. Mix well and once the spinach is cooked add paneer and rice. Mix well and adjust salt. serve with boiled egg and raita.

Notes:
I add lot of vegetables.
I soak fried paneer in cold water for few minutes.

Chicken, vegetables and green gram stir fry

I did the same way as chicken with bean sprouts except I didn't add Ginger. I used onions cubed,boneless, skinless chicken breast cut into thin stripes, eggplant (cut in to big pieces), cauliflower florets , frozen green gram and cubed green bell peppers.

Note:
Green gram is not completely a protein. It also contains carbohydrates but a slowly digestible ones.

Chicken with bean sprouts

Got the recipe from here http://rasamalaysia.com/bean-sprouts-recipe/.

Except I did in different way. Heat 1 tsp of oil in a pan and add thinly sliced chicken breast (boneless). Stir until the chicken is fully cooked.To that add tamari soy sauce, Hot sauce, dried garlic powder, and dried ginger powder. Mix well. After chicken is fully cooked add bean sprouts and stir for few minutes. Serve immediately. Tastes great.

Note:
I used hot sauce so the dish was very spicy. Use it accordingly.

Fish salad

I did same way as tofu salad. No need to marinade just mix the seasoning and bake the fish. Baked fish for 20 mins at 350F. I used catfish.

Tofu Salad

Remove excess water from tofu. Add organic fish grill and broil seasoning along with garlic powder and salt. Bake in Oven for 25 mins at 350F. Serve on salad greens along with sliced cucumbers, toasted nuts and dried fruits.

Chicken salad

Cook thinly sliced chicken breast pieces (boneless and skin less) in a teaspoon of oil with the lid closed. Once it is cooked add salt, black pepper powder and roasted ground cumin and coriander powder. Mix well and cook until the water is evaporated. Let it cool.

Serve it on salad leaves with a light dressing.

Notes:

Add some dried fruits and nuts like cranberries, and pistachios or silvered almonds.

Add cucumbers for a nice crunch.

The cooked chicken pieces can be freezed.

Use it when you are in a hurry (which is what I do).

Chicken stir fry

Fry chopped onions in a teaspoon oil. Add thinly sliced chicken breast (boneless and skinless). Stir well. Once the chicken is half cooked and chopped brinjals and bell peppers. To this add salt, chilli powder, cumin coriander powder, and garam masala according to your taste. Let it cook for few minutes. Adjust salt.

Serve on lettuce leaves topped with onions, avacado and light sour cream (optional). Sprinkle some lemon juice.

Note:

I had Bihari kabab BBQ mix, I added that to the stir fry.

I thinned sour cream with little water.

okra Scrambled eggs

Fry chopped onions in a teaspoon of oil. To that add chopped okra. Cook okra. To that add chilli powder, turmeric powder, salt, and garam masala. Mix well. Once the okra is cooked add egg whites and cook.

Leftover chicken dry curry stir fry

Fry chopped onions in a tea spoon of oil. To that add yellow cucumber (dosakaya). Let it cook for few minutes. to that add green bell peppers. Add chilli powder, salt and little garam masala as per your taste. Add chicken mix well. Cook for few minutes and serve.

Note:

Cucumber can be eaten raw. So, there is no need to cook it fully.

Any vegetables can be added to this.

I had yellow cucumber so I added that.

I sprinkled crushed red peppers on top.

I also added few chopped brinjals.

Black beans salad

Fry onions in a teaspoon of oil. Add turmeric, chilli powder, and cumin powder. After few seconds add cooked black beans. Mix well. Let it cool. Add the seasoned black beans to brocolli and carrot cole slaw and mix well.

Note:

Black beans can be substituted with other legumes (soak dried beans overnite and cook till tender).

Spinach scramble eggs

Fry chopped onions along with a tablespoon of urad dal and salt. Once the onions are cooked add baby spinach and stir couple of time. Add egg whites and chilli powder. Mix well. Once cooked serve it with hot sauce.

Note:

Add green chillies for spicy.