Overnight Chia seed pudding

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Overnight chia seed pudding- a great healthy way to start the day as breakfast or to eat as a mid day snack. Requires only 3 main ingredients and is easily customizable, vegan and gluten free.

vernight chia seed pudding

My daily routine these days is that I wake up anywhere between 6.30-7.30am. Freshen up and then try to get an hour’s worth of exercise in. There are many online resources for home workouts but the ones that I am following are Cure.fit’s classes, Alo moves and MadFit’s youtube channel along with my pinterest board. I would one day like to tune in for Matt’s live zumba classes on zoom but due to the time difference have not been able to. I have also heard great reviews about Fitness Blender from friends, so you can probably check that too. What does your home workout look like, and what sites are you tuned into for your daily routine?

Exercise is followed by the sweeping and mopping of the kitchen and living room area on alternate days. The other days Anubhav vacuums the entire house and I take rest. The entire house is not mopped on a regular basis (although it is vacuumed) and I have made my peace with it. Post cleaning session, either Anubhav or I (depending on whether he has woken up) makes tea and then we watch the news/ catch up on mails/talk to parents.

Then I get down to making breakfast. We have a system where I cook, and Anubhav does the dishes. Sometimes he cooks and also does the dishes 🙂 .

Post breakfast, we have coffee sometimes and then either do some work, or chill watching something on TV. Rest of the day then goes either in cooking, eating or doing the dishes, and so far it has been pretty okay. I have finally gotten back to blogging- trying new recipes, styling and shooting them with no client approval lurking on my head. And I am thankful for that.

Its difficult to turn a blind eye to whats happening across the world though, so when I feel that I am bored or when things might be a little overwhelming I try to remind myself- I am so lucky to treat my problems as “problems”. That these “problems” are the only ones I have at the moment. That in spite of everything, we are still able to eat the food we enjoy eating- there might be some changes but not much- nothing absolutely nothing to crib about there. Yes cleaning the house, cooking meals, and then doing dishes are taking so much time these days and can be tiring but at least we can make ends meet and do so much more.

I do have my reservations using the words lucky or privileged, given that we have put in hard work to be here and the idea is not to undermine any one else’s efforts by calling them lucky or privileged, but I am grateful that whatever we have worked towards has put us in a comfortable position during this lockdown. Of course this year and probably the next we will have to make a lot of lifestyle changes and think about all unnecessary expenses that earlier we never gave a second thought to. We will also have to put a pause on some of our plans – a house of our own, a new car, and even going on those vacations. We never went on our honeymoon thinking we will go for it in March. I think that plan too might not see the light of the day till next year, given travel abroad might be challenging not only financially but due to health concerns. Again, I remind myself that I am lucky to call these as “problems”. And in time this too shall pass.

overnight chia seed pudding

Coming to today’s recipe- I think chia puddings are just so delicious and convenient to make. You mix the chia seed with choice of milk, sweetener and flavorings at night, chop fruits in the morning, layer and serve. They are so easily customizable. Basically you need three ingredients- chia seeds, a sweetener, and choice of milk. You could leave out the sweetener in case you are topping with sweet fruits. Rest everything is optional and just adds to an already great breakfast/dessert option. You can use whatever fruits you have on hand to top. You can opt to add another layer of granola or not. You could choose to use toasted nuts instead.

In this recipe I have used a mix of coconut milk and yogurt. I added yogurt because I wanted to reduce the amount of coconut milk since coconut milk is generally more fat enriched and this was going to be breakfast, but feel free to use only coconut milk or almond milk or even regular cow’s milk. Just keep in mind if making with a more fatty milk, then to limit your serving size as only 1/2 cup of this pudding to make this count as a healthy breakfast, any more and it becomes an indulgent breakfast. You can add cocoa powder and make it a chocolate chia seed pudding- banana, raspberries, walnuts or almonds would make a lovely topping with a chocolate chia seed pudding. You can also add your protein powder to give it an additional nutrition boost.

This overnight chia seed pudding while great as breakfast, can also be a lovely mid day snack or a delicious post meal dessert. And since it is easily customizable to be vegan and gluten free, a perfect option for those with dietary restrictions.

In case you do not have chia seeds, and it is not easily available where you are- you could use basil /sabja seeds as well. I have a mango coconut basil seed pudding recipe lined up which makes a great substitute for chia seed based puddings. Like chia seeds, sabja/basil seeds too have many health benefits to them. Plus, if you are using basil seeds, since they swell up quicker you do not have to do the overnight chill and could just let them soak in the coconut milk for 30 minutes.

Let me know if you have any questions about any of the ingredients, will be happy to help. And in case you make this tag me in your creations on instagram, facebook or leave a comment here.

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Slow Cooker Pumpkin Soup

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An easy weeknight dinner recipe for creamy pumpkin soup, where the slow cooker does most of the work. This pumpkin soup is healthy, vegan and gluten free. Stove top version included.

I first made this recipe of pumpkin soup for a styling project. Before that, I had never used pumpkin in a soup. I had made sweet breads out of pumpkin- check out the vegan pumpkin bread recipe in the blog archives. I had also made kaddu/pumpkin halwa, pumpkin donut muffins, pumpkin pasta and pumpkin swirl cheesecake. But pumpkin soup. Nope. Never. And then I made it for the styling project. And then I made it again. And again. And again.

You guessed it. This soup is a staple in the house now. I made it once when we had people over- and everyone loved it. I also made it for my father-in-law when he was visiting and he too loved it and commented that he never knew a soup out of pumpkin could taste this good. And why not- its creamy thanks to the pumpkin and cashews, the flavors are plenty- the sesame oil drizzle is Ah-mazing! And you do not feel that guilty when you go for seconds of this pumpkin soup.

Slow Cooker Pumpkin Soup

Pumpkin is considered a nutrient dense food, and is low in calories and is being packed with nutrients. Pumpkin is a good source of potassium, vitamin C and E, fiber and antioxidants, which have been linked to heart health benefits. Its nutrients and antioxidants may boost your immune system, protect your eyesight, lower your risk of certain cancers and promote heart and skin health. source here

Pumpkin, once sliced and cut, can be easily roasted, pur̩ed into soup or baked into pies. You can use the seeds tooРand they are highly nutritious.

I have made the pumpkin soup in a slow cooker, and on the stove top by roasting the pumpkins first to maximize flavor. I think both of the ways work, and its just a matter of convenience and available equipments. I am listing all the different methods, along with the variations that you can use. See what works for you with what you have at the moment. Either ways save this recipe to try later.

I have used the yellow pumpkin/kaddu that is available easily locally in India, any eating pumpkin would do, so would butternut squash.

In case you get to try this easy pumpkin soup recipe, do tag me with your pictures on instagram, facebook or comment here.

Stay safe, stay home, stay healthy.

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Baked beans with mushrooms and onions

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A British favorite, these baked beans with mushroom and onions are perfect served with a slice of toast. A quick and easy meal, perfect for breakfast or even dinner using canned baked beans.

Baked beans with mushrooms and onion

A month back I could never have imagined that this would be our new way of life. We were still planning shoots, sourcing for props/ingredients and going about our daily routine. Anubhav was super busy with back to back shoots and I was looking forward to some really exciting projects in Delhi and outside. We were aware of the threat but sh*t hadnt gotten real yet. Its amazing to think that in less than a month so much has changed.

You know how it is when you get sick with a stomach ache or even a bad hangover- you can’t remember how it had felt when your were healthy and fine, and want to get well soon so that you can experience that feeling again- of being absolutely fine. I am kind of feeling like that.

I am super confused on how I feel about the new norm that is our life. On one hand, I am super stoked about the clean air that we have. How morning and nights are still nippy in April. How we can see stars in Delhi again. How I have stopped waking up to an alarm but to the birds outside. Its a different story that no matter how much I want I am not able to sleep past 6.30 am (and have difficulty getting to sleep at night). I was telling Anubhav last night how having him around is the best thing and I will miss the fact that both of us will get busy with work when things get back to normal and not have all the time in the world to cook, play, drink, eat, talk and enjoy each other. While certain aspects of this lockdown are things I am really happy about, I can not brush aside the fact that our economy is suffering and we are looking at a tough year. I can’t put aside the uncertainty of when would we meet our families and friends next and not be scared to contract something. My brother is all alone in Kochi, stuck to a mess room and not even in his house and I know there are many others in similar situations without their family and living in isolation. And while I love having all this time with Anubhav, I also want us both to start working again. Well I want him to start working at least- I am perfectly fine doing what I am doing now- cook, bake, shoot food, and post on the blog *insert stupid grin*.

There are so many mixed emotions, conflicting desires, but its the uncertainty that creates the anxiety. While I want the lockdown to end, I know going back right now to our previous ways of living will not contain the virus and we should look at 2-3 months at the least of social distancing to not overwhelm our health care system and keep the mortality rate as low as possible. To keep us all safe.

Baked beans with mushrooms and onion

While all this is happening, there are some good things to keep the spirits up. The meme game is so strong in the online community and I am so grateful for all the humor floating around- its needed so badly – to try to see light in such a grim situation.

The generosity of creators across the world is abundant- photographers giving away their years of experience for free, trainers doing free exercise classes, platforms like craftsy (now bluprint) having free access to their entire range of course, artists doing free concerts and so much more.

I love that we see how important our local vegetable and fruits guy is, or how we appreciate the work our maids were doing- some things that we took for granted.

I am enjoying all the catching up with friends- some of them I hadn’t spoken for years. All this time has also gotten me back to my blog- the thing that started it all in terms of my profession. I am loving the connections we as a blogging community are making. I did my first live session with Ibrahim, another photographer- I was super nervous before the session but I am so glad I did it. It has taken me out of that shell and made me a slight bit more confident of talking to people about my journey.

I am also happy to know that I married a man who is truly trying his best to be there for both of us and taking equal responsibility in the house work. I think its so important for all the men to step up during these times. Its not easy cooking 3 meals, doing all the housework, working from home and for some taking care of kids as well. Even if the woman you are with is doing it all with a smile, she could do with all the help (without feeling the need to ask). So take responsibility for your half of the work, and sometimes more if the need arises. Its also the best time to get the kids involved in daily chores- you are training them for life and their future selves will thank you.

Baked beans with mushrooms and onion

Coming to today’s recipe. These baked beans recipe is super easy to make. Its gluten free, vegan (if you use a vegan fat alternative for the butter), and a perfect side for breakfast or dinner. I have used canned baked beans and added more flavor to them by cooking them with some onions, mushrooms, herbs and chillies. In case canned baked beans are not easily available where you are, you can try and make your baked beans from scratch as well. Its relatively more difficult to find the navy beans that are traditionally used for baked beans in India, and since canned baked beans were easier to find here so I used those. There are plenty of recipes online though for baked beans from scratch and you could check those out and make the additions I have suggested in the recipe below. You could also try the from scratch recipe with white rajma or any other bean that is available to you- just make sure you get the sauce right which is a mix of tomato puree, brown sugar, vinegar cooked in onions and garlic. Maybe I can do a post about that later soon.

If you can, then check your local grocers for canned baked beans. In Delhi, I saw that Big Basket is carrying Del Monte brand baked beans. Modern bazaar has Heinz Baked beans. Also, if you live close to INA, the New Anand Store is also delivering to certain areas and they carry baked beans so you can check them out. Direct message me on instagram in case you want the contact, or look them up on google. There are other shops in INA that are delivering to certain areas- my veggies guy is. If you need any info on that let me know. If all else fails, save this recipe to try it when things are back to normal because its super easy and absolutely delicious.

Stay at home, stay healthy, stay calm. Much love.

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