Cauliflower Ashgourd Soup And Diet Chart Week #1, Day ~ 3 & 4

The diet plan is going well. I don't get tempted easily and sticking to a plan is not that difficult.  Since I started on a diet plan, I make it a point to make soup daily. Though soups are considered to be appetizers, a bowl of soup is filling for dinner. Ash gourd is very good for weight reduction. Or you can use lauki or bottle gourd too. Since I use ash gourd, I have used that in the soup. You could make it with only cauliflower too for a more creamier soup. 

Ash gourd /Elavan , cubed - 1/2 cup

cauliflower florets- 1/2 cup

star anise -1

cinnamon - 1 stick

Milk -1/2 cup

salt & pepper to taste

Pressure cook ash gourd and cauliflower in 2 cups of water with whole star anise and cinnamon stick, for 2 whistles. Once cooked, remove the spices and puree till smooth. Add 1/2 cup of milk and bring to a boil. Add salt and pepper and serve hot.

Add less of pepper to bring out the flavor of cinnamon and star anise. The aroma of the soup is too good with a creamy texture. Without milk also, the soup will taste good.

Week#1, Day ~ 3



5:45 am - Ajwain + 1 glass warm water

7:15 am - 3/4 cup coffee without sugar

10:00 a.m - A bowl of savory oats porridge (Adapted Aparna's recipe) with radish chutney  (I added  carrot and cauliflower to oats )

1:15 p.m - Remaining oats porridge with molagootal and pachadi, 1 glass buttermilk

3:45 pm - Watermelon

5:15 pm - small cup of pappaya and 1 phulka

9:00 pm Drumstick soup + 1 phulka with avarakkai/broad beans thoran + 1 glass buttermilk

Sipped 2 glasses of salted lemon juice in between


Week#1 Day #4


5:45 am - ajwain + 1 glass warm water

7:00 am - 1/2 Cup coffee (No sugar)

9:15 am - wheat rava upma +steamed sprouts

1:15 pm - 2 pesarattu, tender jackfruit gravy + drumstick blossom kootu + 1 g buttermilk

3:30 pm - watermelon

6:30 pm - cucumber

8:30 pm - cabbage+moong sprouts soup + 2 wheat bread slices

Had 2 glass of lemon juice and 3 glass of buttermilk. But only 6 glass of water.

Diet Chart Week#1, Day ~2

Dieting doesn't mean starving, its just eating healthy food in the right way. You can still enjoy your meal even
when you are on a diet. Basically it all depends on our thoughts. When you are on a no-rice diet and with dry phulkas on your plate for lunch, you should no crib about pulav or simple rasam rice. When on a diet, the best thing is to not to think of that word at all. Just go about the normal way and your body will respond the same way.Its only when you think of diet, that you have more of hunger pangs and craving for those foods, which, otherwise, you would not have thought of at all.

The second day of the plan was a breeze for me. Srivalli had suggested eating ajwain/methi seeds in the morning. I used to soak methi in buttermilk the previous night and eat the seeds next morning. This way the seeds will not taste bitter too. I had some sprouted methi seeds. So I used that.

6:00 a.m - sprouted methi seeds soaked overnight in buttermilk and 1 glass of warm water

7:00 a.m - 3/4 cup coffee with 1/2 tspn sugar

9:15 a.m - 1 pesarattu (whole moong dal dosa), gobhi methi subzi

2:30 p.m - 2 phulkas, tender jackfruit stir fry, gobhi methi subzi + buttermilk

5:30 p.m - tea + 2 slices of wheat bread

8:30 p.m - 2 phulkas + carrot salad + raw plantain stir fry

10:00 p.m - Watermelon



In the long gap between breakfast and lunch, I sipped 3 glasses of lemon juice with some salt in it. I was out on a customer support call. But I didnot feel hungry and lemon juice was enough for me.

Through the day, I had 9 glasses of water and 2 glass of lemon juice.

Paruppu Kanji ~ Shivarathri Special and Diet Chart Week#1, Day~1

Paruppu kanji is synonymous with Sivarathri. I remember its made only on the Sivarathri day at home and I too continue that tradition, inpsite of it being a simple, no fuss recipe. I guess, this simple, lighter version of payasam/kheer is more special since its made only once in a year. That special appearance in the menu helps to retain the charm. The paruppu referred in the name is moong dal and kanji means porridge. Paruppu kanji is usually prepared in the evening of Sivarathri day. Usually, for Sivarathri, a dawn to dusk fast is observed. May be to break the fast, this kanji is made.

Its not a complicated recipe. Jaggery is added to cooked moong dal and cooked again to blend and finally boiled milk is added to dal-jaggery mix.  If you have cooked dal ready, then it is very simple to put together.  Its a healthy drink to keep yourself warm during winter.

You need


Lightly roasted moong dal - 1/2 cup

Jaggery -1/2 cup.

Boiled Milk - 1 cup

Cardamom powder - 1/2 tspn


Method

I usually roast moong dal before storing. Lightly roast the dal till you can smell the aroma. Wash and pressure cook in two cups of water. Lightly mash the cooked dal for a creamier consistency of the kanji. Add jaggery to the cooked dal along with the water its cooked with. Give a stir once in a while. The jaggery will melt and blend with the dal. Finally add a cup of milk and bring to a boil. Don't boil too much after adding the milk. Add cardamom powder and serve hot. You can bite into bits of the dal, though its almost liquid in consistency. Amount of jaggery and milk can vary according to your  preference.

Diet Chart Week #1 Day~1



For a long time, I wanted to go on an healthy diet atleast for few days in a month. But I was undecided as to

where to start with. Also could not come up with a healthy menu to follow. Then I decided to go off on sweet/deep fried on 2 days in a week. My husband was also ready to join in. We did that successfully for 3 months. Then the month of December saw many relatives visiting and various festivals. We fell back to our

old days. I was thinking of restarting that again and I saw Srivalli's diet program. Srivalli had charted the menu with help of her doctor father. And that was the kind of pointer I was looking for. It was easier to follow hers, since she too is a South Indian vegetarian. For the time being, I have planned to follow alternative weeks for a month and then later for two consecutive weeks. As for the first day, it went fine with out much trouble.  Though I did feel slight discomfort in the form of headache. But it was manageable. Thanks Srivalli for the inspire. Here is my chart for Day1.  My day starts at 5:15 a.m

6:00 a.m - 1 tspn ajwain/omam + 1 glass warm water

7:00 a.m - 3/4 cup coffee + 1/2 tspn sugar

9:15 a.m - 2 slices of wheat bread, toasted + 1 cup of moong sprouts+ cabbage salad

(MW sprouts and shredded cabbage for 4 minutes and added a dash of lime and pinch of salt)

11:15 a.m - half cucumber

1:00 p.m - 2 phulkas, Yard long beans/payar thoran/stir fry,radish sambhar and a glass of buttermilk

3:45 p.m - half cucumber and a glass of buttermilk

4:15 p.m - 3 slices of pineapple

5:45 p.m - 1 cup of tea with half tspn of sugar

7:15 p.m - cauliflower +ashgourd soup

8:30 p.m - 2 phulkas +snake gourd stir fry , tomato+onion salad, buttermilk

9:45 p.m - watermelon

Through the day, I have had 9 glasses of water (update - 2 glasses of lemon juice with honey) and 3 glasses of buttermilk.


I decided to blog the diet plan for future reference and also if it might be a motiviation for any of my readers to begin with. And since I have announced it here, that will be another reason for me to stick with the plan.