A balanced diet goes a long way!

When it comes to our kids, we as parents, become over-protective. And it’s only justified for us to be that way, considering all the news, articles, google searches that make us paranoid. We keep a vigil on whom they’re playing with, what are they seeing on the smartphone or TV, what they should eat or not eat, which school to send them in, what extra-curricular classes to put them in. The list goes on. But sometimes, I feel, to be honest, the world wide web only gives us an information overload. Pushing news or information to our minds which may not be completely true. Speaking of children’s nutrition for instance, you will come across tons of articles, videos or ads that recommend or are totally against something else.

Tried to make bear shaped rotis to make him eat.

My toddler is an extremely fussy eater. He will drink his milk, but when it comes to solid food – he will say no to fruits and vegetables – which causes me to be stressed out 24/7. I do give him supplements in his milk so that he’s not completely missing out on the important nutrients. He is also quite thin; lean is the word, actually. So, being a worried mom, and being provoked by people at home, every time there is a doctor’s visit I ask the same question – "How do I make my kid gain weight?" And the doctor gives me the same reply every time – why would you want that? There are so many complications with obesity in children. As long as your child is active and picking up milestones age-appropriate, being thin or lean is no problem at all. And as far as fruits and vegetable intake is concerned, we need to try and try till we succeed, but not force them too much which would only make them more averse towards them.

He loves his cupcakes!

I am a real mom. I am a working mom. I’ll be honest, I do not have the time or energy to make 100 kinds of khichdi’s or fancy recipes for the kiddo nor do I have the privilege of hiring a full-time cook/help that would make ten different things for the kiddo to try, and most probably throw or go waste. So, I let him eat whatever he feels like, as long as there is a balance being followed. I feel he atleast is eating something – whether it’s biscuits, breads, khakhra, chakli, mathri, rice flakes, popcorn, Maggi, chocolate or cheese slice (most of his liked things).

Maggi time! (We share a portion)

No single food item is healthy or unhealthy. A balanced diet, moderation and an active lifestyle is the only way to ensure good health. A balanced diet should provide approximate 50-60% of total calories in a day from carbohydrates, about 10-15% from proteins and 20-30% from fat. Lot of news articles have been circulating about how Maggi is unhealthy because it is fried before packing. I have been eating Maggi since I was a kid myself, and the kiddo likes it too, he obviously cannot have a lot as he has a small appetite; and I see no harm in him having it occasionally or me too, for that matter. I did a lil’ bit of research and got to know that –

MAGGI Noodles for instance, strikes a nutritional balance really well. The balance between Protein, Carbohydrate and Fat in MAGGI noodles is very similar to the recommendations made by Indian Council of Medical Research. This includes even the newly launched MAGGI Oat noodles provides energy in this recommended ratio –Energy from carbohydrates (56%), protein (10%) and fats (33%).

According to ICMR recommendation on Dietary Guidelines for Indians, the total fat in the diet should provide between 20-30% of total calories. The total fat intake in the diets can go up to 50g per person per day based on the level of physical activity and physiological status.

We're having a waffle cone here.

Maggi is made in a five-step process- it is steamed, baked, fried, dried and cooled. The frying process is important to retain a longer shelf life of the product as well as for its ability to get cooked in 2 minutes. There are a lot of debates similarly around other similar packaged food, I do think to myself that even the fruits and vegetables we get from our local market may not be healthy (paranoia again thanks to the videos seen of vegetables being injected artificially coloured). So then basically we should start growing them at home, right? Till then, eat everything in a balanced proportion. If your kid is having noodles or chocolate, make sure they’re also having greens or pulses. We’ve been brought up the same way, haven’t we? I don’t remember my parents being so fussy about what to make me eat and what not. 

Please note – If you kid is allergic to a particular ingredient then that’s a completely different story. You are the best judge to decide what’s good and what’s not for your li’l one. Try not to listen to each and every one out there, selective listening is the key.

My fav features of iOS11 !

The recently held Apple Event was most awaited by all apple geeks and fans, specially to see the announcement of the iPhone X. Though the phone looks awesome, is a beauty and well is a tribute to 10 years of iPhone and is claimed to be the revolution in smartphones...it's price (Rs.89,000 for 64GB and Rs.1,02,000 for the 256GB model) made my heart heavy and consider if it was worth selling both kidneys for a phone.

Anyways, I saw a couple of friends post on their social media pages that they're loving the updated iOS11 and I instantly downloaded and installed the update to see what the hype was all about. And my oh my am I impressed.

Let me give you a quick back-story. I bought my iPhone 6S in August 2016 (Yes, why did I not just wait a couple months and buy the 7 but my previous android broke, was shattered even after one round of screen replacements and hence I had to buy the phone). My 6S worked fine and smooth till about last couple of months when it started lagging and responding slow. I had exhausted 64Gb space (Half thanks to photos) and I thought maybe that's the reason the phone has become slow - coz otherwise iPhones never hang, that's the beauty about them. I deleted some useless apps, videos and other heavy files and made it a point that atleast 5GB empty space is always there, but I was still dealing with a slow phone.

Now after updating the phone to iOS11, my phone is working like a beauty! The update also gave me an option of having low-res versions of my photos available on the phone while high-res is on the iCloud, I turned on that option and instantly had 11GB of more empty space on the phone. Woohoo! Here are the most useful/awesome features I have liked with this new update, hope it helps -

1. Screenshot

Now I take a lot of screenshots, mainly for work. With the update, when you take a screenshot, it is saved and pops up on the lower left corner, and when you click on it you can then draw/doodle etc write there before saving! How cool is that. Makes it easy for me to put notes or show what I am trying to show in the screenshot with the use of arrows. You can add text, signature, magnify the image, add basic shapes or even share directly from right there! 

2. Sticker Apps

Now I am not certain whether these apps were available before the update also, but on updating I got a notification that sticker apps are now available where you can use your own selfies and other photos from the gallery to easily create stickers and use on iMessages and other apps. I downloaded & installed 'Sticky' on my phone, it's from the makers of Prisma and is free and easy! It removes the background leaving only your face, allows you to choose from a couple of effects and background colours and you can change the position or add text. Love it, and my only request would be to add more customization options. Yet to check the other two apps out - they're called Sticker Maker Pro and Sticker Boost (Paid).

3. Control Panel

Control Panel still opens with a down to up swipe - but looks different now. You can quickly toggle, hard press to see more options. But what I loved is you can change the brightness or volume levels right there, no need to click and go inside the feature like before. I usually lower brightness before giving the phone to my kid, so this feature is definitely useful.

4. Do more with LIVE photos

We all love the LIVE photos in iPhones, which show you what actually went behind the photo and captures every frame. You can now add effects to your live photos - choose from Loop, Bounce or Long Exposure. My favourite is Bounce, it's like Boomerang but for Live photos. Try them out!

5. Notifications

Notifications now have an option of view/clear, instead of just clear. On clicking on View, the text or notification opens as a preview for you read it completely, and if you then want to open the app you can do so by clicking once again. So if I get a notification for an email, I can click on view and then I get an option to archive or reply from there. The options will obviously be different for different kinds of notifications.

6. Files (File Manager)

I swear, I used to always wonder why iPhones don't have a simple file manager like android does. So this is definitely a plus - you can search or browse for recently opened files or files from iCloud or Google Drive too!

Overall, my phone is faster, I have more space and am loving the interface and frankly speaking am in no hurry to change my phone anymore! Guess I can now wait for the price of the iPhone X to reduce. Do comment with more features you've seen or loved, as I am still discovering

 

Clean Air, Beautiful Homes & Happy Us!

Clean air - an unknown, mysterious term for most of us Mumbaikars. The cleanest air we must have taken in would probably be in a garden or on one of our weekend trips to Lonavala/Khandala/Matheran.

In my family, my mother in law has acute asthma, and both her kids - my husband and my sister-in-law have allergic asthma meaning they get wheezy, breathless or catch a cold from dust, pollution or pollen. Visiting doctors is a normal thing in this household, when they ask the doctor if there is any permanent solution for this issue - the doctor said Yes, you should leave Mumbai. I am always worried, and hope that our son doesn't inherit the same from them.

Not once in all the years, did we think that there was unhealthy air inside our homes also, in-fact up to 5 times more polluted - until we saw the Asian Paints ad recently, where she is seen wearing a mask everywhere but her home thanks to Royale Atmos - a paint that helps purify air. Now why did I not think about that?

We take our walls or paint for granted. Whatever looks good or is reasonable, we're okay with it. I did know that leakage or dampness results to unhealthy air or cold/cough issues but I did not know that even otherwise, the air inside our home can be 5 times more polluted!

If I had to mention the steps we have been taken till now to ensure there is clean air inside our home -

1. Adding greenery to the home -
Though we do not have the luxury of big verandahs, we do have big windows and have plants outside the rooms and living room. There are some plants which specially help purify air - like aloe vera, peace lilies, bamboo palm etc. Even the holy basil (tulsi) which we usually have in our homes help keep air clean.

2. Regular servicing of Air Conditioners -
The AC filter get's dirty very fast specially if you stay in a polluted area. We do a dry/quick cleaning of the AC every month and a deep cleaning by professionals every 3 months so that we're breathing clean air.

3. Cleaning furniture -
Apart from the day to day dusting, sweeping, cleaning we get pest control and deep cleaning or beds/carpets/sofas done regularly because they accumulate a lot of dust and dirt otherwise. Having a vacuum cleaner also helps as it accumulates all the dust, while dusting will make the furniture look clean only for the dust to go settle elsewhere.

4. Salt Lamps -

Because of the chronic issues faced by husband and other family members, someone once advised him to get a Himalayan Pink Salt Lamp (you need to be careful to get the authentic thing and not rip-offs available online). Himalayan pink salt is a natural ionic air purifier that pulls toxins from the environment and neutralises them.

5. Choosing the right paint for your walls -

Lastly, and as importantly, using wall-paint that only helps compliment all the efforts you've been otherwise taking to make your home clean, pollution free and breathable! Like Asian Paint's Atmos - first of its kind paint that not only looks beautiful, but also cleans the air making it purer than before. It’s Activated Carbon technology reduces harmful pollutants from the air. Additionally, Royale Atmos also absorbs select household foul smells to make the air fresher.

Next time we're painting our home, I am totally suggesting Royale Atmos, specially because of the health issues, you never know it may just help them breathe so much better at home!

The Golden House - By Salman Rushdie - Book Review

So used to reading casually written novels by upcoming Indian authors in the recent past, that The Golden House was a much needed break from those. The Golden House was definitely not a quick read you can just skim through. There are so many details on each page, to be absorbed. And I am no language expert, so quite a few new words too!

I always love novels which include real life incidents, like this book does - Like the terror attacks in Mumbai for instance or election of a new president of America. It makes you relate to the plot more somehow. The story of Nero Golden is one of a kind, all the past history and his and his sons' life is gripping and has such a movie feel to it!

I love the first person narrative of the neighbour René as he calls himself, and I think you need to grab a copy and read the book for yourself to know what it all really is about. The rave reviews for this novel is enough to compel anyone to read it.

I was one of the lucky ones to receive a copy before the official release of the book, and kudos to Salman Rushdie for this epic saga!


About The Golden House
A modern American epic set against the panorama of contemporary politics and culture—a hurtling, page-turning mystery that is equal parts The Great Gatsby and The Bonfire of the Vanities

On the day of Barack Obama’s inauguration, an enigmatic billionaire from foreign shores takes up residence in the architectural jewel of “the Gardens,” a cloistered community in New York’s Greenwich Village. The neighborhood is a bubble within a bubble, and the residents are immediately intrigued by the eccentric newcomer and his family. Along with his improbable name, untraceable accent, and unmistakable whiff of danger, Nero Golden has brought along his three adult sons: agoraphobic, alcoholic Petya, a brilliant recluse with a tortured mind; Apu, the flamboyant artist, sexually and spiritually omnivorous, famous on twenty blocks; and D, at twenty-two the baby of the family, harboring an explosive secret even from himself. There is no mother, no wife; at least not until Vasilisa, a sleek Russian expat, snags the septuagenarian Nero, becoming the queen to his king—a queen in want of an heir.

Our guide to the Goldens’ world is their neighbor René, an ambitious young filmmaker. Researching a movie about the Goldens, he ingratiates himself into their household. Seduced by their mystique, he is inevitably implicated in their quarrels, their infidelities, and, indeed, their crimes. Meanwhile, like a bad joke, a certain comic-book villain embarks upon a crass presidential run that turns New York upside-down.

Set against the strange and exuberant backdrop of current American culture and politics, The Golden House also marks Salman Rushdie’s triumphant and exciting return to realism. The result is a modern epic of love and terrorism, loss and reinvention—a powerful, timely story told with the daring and panache that make Salman Rushdie a force of light in our dark new age.

What Kitty Did by Trisha Bora - Book Review

What Kitty Did by Trisha Bora

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Ketaki aka Kitty roy's life is chaotic, confusing, one that gives missed signals - just like any of us millennials'. What Kitty did is a fun, light read and you understand or empathise with the characters, situations or lingo used because it's what you have done or seen or the way you talk. I found the book to be disconnected in a few plot jumps or page flips, but the overall humour, emotions and story made up for it. A nice chic-flick for a weekend in, as Pooja Dhingra suggests. Thank you Trisha for the great read! :)

View all my reviews

About the book -

Kitty Roy has more troubles than she can count on her fingers. Her love life is wonky, her paycheck is shit. She has badly behaved hair and struggles with a sugar addiction. To top it off, her pushy mother has set her up with a gorgeous but stuck-up guy who is sending her mixed signals.

When a diplomat's celebrity wife, Roxy Merchant, falls dead during dinner at their posh central Delhi bungalow, Kitty's boss gives her a chance to write a profile piece and the hint of a promotion. As she works on her article, Kitty realizes there's more to Roxy Merchant's death. She's on to something big, and it can, perhaps, change her current life forever. But Kitty also has a knack for bungling things up majorly.

Set in the winter of her discontent, What Kitty Did is an irresistible caper zipping through the streets of Delhi.

The book is Amazon India's BEST OF THE MONTH, so you definitely have to read it!