FOOD NEWS

Thursday, 14 April 2016

Songkran Festival 2016: Celebrate with these Top 10 Thai Foods

The Songkran festival is celebrated every year in Thailand from 13th to 15th April, and this year it falls on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. This festival marks the traditional New Year's Day. On the day of Songkran, people often visit local temples and offer food to the Buddhist monks. Did you know that the iconic ritual for this holiday is actually pouring water over Buddha statues? It apparently represents the washing away of all sins and bad omens. Younger people also engage in water fights for fun, and pour water over the palms of elders’ hands as a sign of respect.

Just like Deborah Cater had rightly put, “You have to taste a culture to understand it”. Presenting: Our top 10 Thai foods for you to celebrate Songkran Festival 2016. Ever wondered what makes Thai cuisine so special? It’s perhaps the rich curries or the explosion of flavours that make it such a rage across the globe. Home-Chef Malini Sawhney says, “Thai cuisine is all about balancing bold flavours - a unique mix of hot, sour, sweet and bitter tastes. And my personal favourite ingredient? Coconut milk. It works brilliantly to accentuate the piquancy of Thai food”. Exotic notes are brought about in each dish by blending aromatic lemongrass, kaffir lime leaves and galangal. Thai food is like a celebration of the fresh and fragrant.

Without further ado, we bring you our 10 best Thai recipes. From a scrumptiously simple Som Tum Salad to a heavenly Massaman Curry, every dish is indeed a gastronomic delight. Start cooking, stop drooling!

By: Rohit On 01:39

Wednesday, 13 April 2016

EU Safety Experts Say Cherry Insecticide Could Carry Health Risk

Dimethoate, an insecticide widely used to protect crops such as cherries, could be harmful to humans, the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), which advises EU policymakers.The report follows a request from France, which is calling for a Europe-wide ban of the substance made by companies including Germany's BASF and Cheminova, part of FMC. Neither firm had immediate comment.

The substance is found in products used on a range of fruit and vegetables, but France raised particular concerns about cherries for which it is used to combat fruit fly. According to EFSA, there is a lack of information, but it said it could not exclude "a potential long-term consumer health risk resulting from residues".

It cited concerns about toxicity for human health and some U.S. scientific research has found a cancer risk. France in February banned on its soil a dimethoate-based pesticide used to treat cherries, prompting an outcry from French farmers who say there is no viable alternative.

In a statement on Monday, French Agriculture Minister Stephane Le Foll called for emergency EU-wide measures to prevent the use of products containing dimethoate and the marketing of cherries grown using them. A European Commission spokesman said the Commission would analyse the report and it would be debated at a closed-door meeting of experts representing the 28 EU member states.

By: Rohit On 03:08

Tuesday, 12 April 2016

Here's Why You Should Pay Attention to Your Food

Chefs, restaurateurs, and people I dine with are sometimes surprised by how I remember dishes that I had eaten years ago. As a food writer, you are expected to remember tastes. But why this food memory should go back that far is something even I don’t understand fully. One big reason, however, could be that those of us in the business of decoding food and flavours are perhaps more tuned to eat mindfully. Of course, you do not need to be a food writer to appreciate the benefits of mindful eating. Remembering the flavours of what you are eating may or may not happen, if you pay attention to the bites. What will certainly happen, on the other hand, is better and healthier eating. If you are in the habit of eating a bowl of meal in front of the telly, watching your favourite show, abandon it right away. Take some time out, sit at a table and munch slowly, savouring each flavour and the experience.

All nutritionists will tell you that one reason why we land up making bad food choices is because of emotional eating. Feeling low: dig into that bag of chips and wine. Feeling bored: hog on instant noodles. Feeling stressed: reach for that bar of chocolate… All these are examples of not eating mindfully. As is eating on automation—ignoring your body cues, following set patterns and timings and eating when you are not hungry. Or, skipping meals and then eating when you are ravenous. You cannot pay attention to food when your instinct is screaming at you to tank up immediately!

Fortunately, with more emphasis on eating well and living well, many of us are gradually moving towards mindful eating. Go to upscale restaurants, and you will realise that consuming habits in India have been changing and the premium is now on quality and not quantity. People, at least those affluent enough to take care of themselves, are now increasingly careful of each morsel they put in.

Which is also why we have those sundry fads dominating the business of food and restaurants: superfoods like quinoa, goji berries, chia seeds, spirulina, and seaweed have busted the charts in global popularity. And while you may have started on some of these, mindful eating also means that you relook at your foods and where they are sourced from; ingredients that notch up the carbon miles may not be a great idea. Go local.

By: Rohit On 00:32

Monday, 11 April 2016

Best Restaurants in Gurgaon

Over the last few years, the food scene in Gurgaon has literally transformed itself. Blink, and there's a new restaurant on the block; but what is most exciting are the evolving trends across cuisines that make the dining experience even more memorable. While some culinary experts are trying to reinvent and bring in the new, others take a step back and decide to celebrate something familiar. We've shortlisted the 10 best restaurants in Gurgaon, which have created a space in the hearts of diners, and stood the test of time.

1. Di Ghent Café
Cost for two: Rs. 1250 (exclusive of taxes)

Enter Di Ghent Cafe and you’re blown away with the whiff of freshly baked bread wafting through the air, the vibrant energy and the sound of the chatter. It’s a lovely restaurant space, with huge glass windows, and morphs effortlessly from mid-morning to lunch and from there to afternoon coffee and onto dinner; by accident or by design. And that’s more than you can for most restaurants in the vicinity. Di Ghent Cafe has an excellent breakfast menu featuring a wide variety of Eggs, Bagels, Croissants, Pancakes and Waffles with toppings galore. I highly recommend their Creamy Carbonara Pasta, Bacon Wrapped Chicken spruced up with a splash of red wine, and their Guislain Panini bursting with flavours of pesto and sundried tomatoes. Your raison d’etre for visiting this cafe? Their waffles, hands down. You can also just walk in for a great cup of coffee (easily the best in Gurgaon), with some freshly baked muffins or cinnamon rolls on the side.

By: Rohit On 00:11

Saturday, 9 April 2016

Eat Walnuts to Keep Age-Related Health Issues at Bay

Daily consumption of walnuts can help in healthy ageing, while also improving the blood cholesterol levels and maintaining good gut health, finds a new study.

The findings showed that intake of walnuts, especially by the elderly, can boost the good fats and other nutrients as well as lower obesity and blood cholesterol levels.Initially found to increase body weight, the study's preliminary results demonstrated that daily consumption of walnuts for one year by a sizable cohort of older adults had no adverse effects on their body weight."Given that walnuts are a high-energy food, a prevailing concern has been that their long-term consumption might be associated with weight gain," said Emilio Ros, director of the Lipid Clinic, Endocrinology and Nutrition Service at the Hospital Clinic of Barcelona, Spain.For the study, the team instructed 707 healthy older adults to add daily doses of walnuts (approximately 15 percent of caloric intake) to their typical diet or to consume their usual diet without nuts.The participants were not given advice on total calorie and macronutrient intake or food substitution for walnuts. After a year, both groups showed similar results for weight gain, triglycerides and HDL (or 'good') cholesterol, but those eating walnuts experienced significant LDL (or 'bad') cholesterol reductions."We will further assess how walnut consumption may affect, among other outcomes, cognitive decline and age-related macular degeneration, conditions that were major public health concerns," Ros added.

By: Rohit On 12:43

Thursday, 7 April 2016

Eating in Front of the TV? Here's Why You Should Pay Attention to Your Food

Similarly, kale and goji berries may be fashionable but instead of paying those huge mark-ups to food marketers, why should we not choose local, seasonal strawberries that are also packed with phytochemicals, and simple palak, spinach greens to be part of our daily diets? Traditional practices of cooking with only seasonal ingredients in Indian kitchens or consuming only seasonal fruit ensured a balanced and nutritious diet round the year. Eating guavas and oranges in winter, melons and mangoes in summer, singhada in the monsoon are all instances of mindful eating that we need to get back to.

Local gastronomy is a big trend in the world of gourmet dining. But what the champions of “Californian” style food, or Noma tourists tend to forget is that all these “high cuisines” are based on front-footing local ingredients. Having arctic ants and foraged foods on fancy plates may be utterly chic. But the chic-ness is firmly rooted in a philosophy of food that takes pride in the local context: instead of importing lemon from southern Italy, use arctic ants to give the same flavour!

Cooking fresh food in the kitchen instead of relying on processed foods is also a healthy traditional practice that we need to go back to. Cooking up MasterChef inspired dishes may be a new fad in metropolitan India and if you are an inventive cook, you may want to rustle up some of those dishes for your parties. But simple, home-style dishes have their own virtues. The spices that we used with particular vegetables, the many cooking oils of each region flavourful and nutritious in different ways, slow cooking techniques… all the ways in which our families cooked before the globalisation of the palate began changing our ways of eating were particularly attuned to our bodies and minds. To be cognizant of these is mindful eating too. And healthy.

By: Rohit On 23:21

World Health Day 2016: How to Tackle Diabetes Before it Happens

An initiative of the World Health Organisation, World Health Day is celebrated on 7th April to spread awareness about global health issues. It is observed by all member states of the World Health Organization (WHO). Each year it rolls out a new campaign and engages people all across the world. Last year, the focus was on food safety. The goal of World Health Day 2016 is to scale up diabetes prevention, strengthen care, and enhance surveillance.
The Alarming Incidence of Diabetes in India

India leads the diabetes epidemic in the world with an estimated 66.5 million people living with diabetes. Studies have shown that not only is a significant proportion of our population IS predisposed to diabetes, on an average diabetes in Indians sets in at least 10-15 years prior compared to individuals of most other countries. The treatment for diabetes is lifelong, so it is best to adopt preventive measures earlier and save yourself the hassle of taking medication later. Through simple lifestyle changes, you can reduce the risk of developing diabetes and can even reverse it in the early stages.With the rising income levels among urban Indians, there is a corresponding decline in health. Factors such as urbanization, increment in wealth, higher anxiety levels, inactive lifestyles, no or little exercise, excessive consumption of calorie-rich foods and inadequate nourishment, are the main reasons for high incidence of diabetes cases in India. Together, these variables lead to obesity and excessive weight gain. While majority of the diabetes patients in India are middle-aged, the onset of the disease begins at a much younger age.What puts us at risk?Being overweight causes insulin resistance and makes it difficult for the body to maintain appropriate blood glucose levels. As obesity and diabetes are interlinked, health experts have created the term "Diabesity". Several studies indicate that obese individuals are up to 80 times more prone to get Type 2 diabetes than those whose body mass index (BMI) is under 22.Other than obesity, genetic pre-disposition is another major factor that increases the risk of developing diabetes. There is a 15 per cent possibility of getting diabetes if either of the parents is diabetic and this probability increases to an alarming 75 per cent if both parents are diabetic.Keep a check on the common symptomsA surprisingly large number of people are unaware that they are diabetic. A lot of them do not know of the common symptoms and as a result do not get diagnosed on time. Watch out for the common warning signs of diabetes such as frequent urination, increased hunger and thirst, unexplained weight loss and blurred vision. Delayed detection of diabetes can lead to serious complications such as kidney damage, nerve damage and cardiovascular diseases.Controlling diabetes before it sets inPre-diabetes is a condition when glucose levels are higher than normal, but not high enough to fall in the diabetes range. Pre-diabetes can be detected through a simple blood test and if your glucose levels indicate you are borderline diabetic, it should serve as a red flag that you need to take immediate action to avoid the condition from progressing.Begin by making the following simple lifestyle changes -1. Well-balanced diet: Stay away totally from highly processed foods, sugar laden beverages and trans fats. Limit intake of red and prepared meats and include whole grains and vegetables into your diet. Limit fats and cook in less oil or use blends. Also, it is necessary to consciously include proteins in your diet. Sources of protein include dal, soya, pulses, low fat milk products like yogurt, milk and paneer. Limiting the portion sizes is the key to maintain good blood sugars.2. Regular exercise is required for keeping your glucose levels under control. Muscle movement results in the utilization of insulin. Thirty minutes of walk every day will cut your risk of diabetes by one- third3. Drop excessive kilos: For those who are overweight, dropping only 5- 10 per cent of your weight can cut the danger of Type 2 diabetes to half. Work with your doctor to manage your weight and if necessary consult a dietician.4. No smoking or avoiding tobacco - Studies have shown that there is a direct link between smoking and developing cardio-vascular diseasesMy prevention mantra is to "Eat less, Eat on time, Eat right, Walk more, Sleep well and Sleep on time."Diabetes management and treatmentWith the development of newer and more advanced medications, diabetes can be managed effectively. Blood glucose (sugar) levels are regulated by two hormones - insulin that lowers blood glucose levels and glucagon that increases blood glucose levels. Since Type 2 diabetes causes sugar levels to rise higher than normal, treatment involves medications that lower blood glucose levels.For diabetes management, there are medicines that allow the pancreas to release more insulin after meals, medicines that lower blood glucose levels by obstructing the breakdown of starches, those that diminish the amount of glucose discharged from the liver called bile acid sequestrates (binding agents); and medicines that make the body more sensitive to the effects of insulin. A recent development is the glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1), which fortifies the discharge of insulin and represses glucagon emission. These options offer the benefit of beginning treatment early so that the problem doesn't escalate to full-blown diabetes.It is never too late to take charge of your health and strengthen your defense against diabesity. Start preventive efforts early by adopting a healthy lifestyle, going for regular checkups and opting for pre-emptive therapies that delay the onset of lifestyle conditions such as diabetes and CVD. Parents should reflect on their own lifestyles and set an example at home for their children to break the vicious cycle of inter- generational conditions.

By: Rohit On 00:23