Winter care face pack

The summer is past and the cold days of winter will soon be knocking our doors. The weather outside is going to be unsightly, but your skin doesn't have to be! Rough, dry skin is often a result of the harsh winter against our skin, which is often very itchy and uncomfortable. Along with drinking lots of fluids in the cold weather, here's a winter skin care face pack to prevent rough and dry skin and keep it smooth and glowing throughout the winters!

Ingredients:

Daliya (oatmeal): 1 cup
Rice (basmati or any other): 1 cup
Besan (chickpea flour): 1/2 cup
Coffee powder: 1 heaped tbsp.
Cocoa powder: 1 heaped tbsp.
Mint powder: 2 tsp.
Desiccated coconut: 2 tsp.
Almonds: a handful (8-10)
Dried apple: 1
Dried rose petals (or any other flower, I used tulip)
Dried orange peels (according to preference)
Iced tea (lemon flavored): 1 tsp. (optional)
Saffron: 1/2 tsp.

1. Lightly toast the almonds and remove from the flame. Let cool. 
2. Add the oatmeal, rice, desiccated coconut, almonds, saffron, dried apples and dried orange peels to the mixer and grind it to a smooth powder. 
3. Transfer contents to a big bowl and one by one add and stir in chickpea flour, coffee powder, cocoa powder, mint powder, iced tea a crushed flower petals. 
4. Mix everything completely using your hands. This whole pack should be dried and no drop of water or moisture should be added. Transfer contents to an airtight box and store on room temperature. Use everyday. 
   
5. Instructions to use: Mix one tbsp. face pack to 1 tsp. yogurt and mix well. You can also add few drops of rose water. Apply on face and neck and let dry. Wash off with lukewarm water, don't use very hot water as it can make the skin further dry. Pat dry with a towel. 

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Cocoa hand-care cream

Hands are the most used parts of our bodies. They are used from typing, cooking, scrubbing dishes to writing documents and giving hi-fives, driving and styling our hair, and practically everything else! Yet they are often the least cared-for body parts while we spend a lot of money on our face and hair-care etc. Our hands go through a lot on a daily basis and still care for our hands, more often than not, falls on the bottom of our list of beauty priorities. But did you know, hands show the first signs of ageing, even before our face? Rough, dried hands, chappy nails, dark spots, veins and loose skin on your hands are no pretty sight; and also they give away your age earlier than your face.

So, it's really high time we start caring for our hands and showing them some love with a regular care regime. With busy lifestyle, it's often easy to ignore our personal care, let alone caring for our hands. I had faced the issue of having dried hands, peeling off cuticles and chapped nails for a very long time and it was almost impossible to take care of hands everyday. I tried some hand creams which gave nice results but are so expensive if I were to use them every single day so I ended up skipping them many times. And then I decided to use something that would keep my hands soft and supple, without splurging a lot of money. With all of this, I was also short of time to experiment making a cream or a lotion from scratch. So I used a regular, basic, flavorless and odorless cheap body butter cream from my local store and converted it into a nourishing hand cream. With the use of this cream in just 15 days, my hands have become softer, cuticles are no longer dry and the nails are getting healthier.

Ingredients:

Basic body butter cream (odorless and flavorless): 6 tbsp. (Use any cream you can find)
Olive oil: 3 tsp.
Coconut oil: 1 tsp. (optional)
Glycerin: 2 tsp.
Lemon juice: few drops
Cocoa powder: 1 tbsp.

1. Take out the body butter cream in a bowl. 
2. Warm the olive oil and coconut oil in microwave for a minute each, in separate bowls.  
3. Add both the oils to the body butter and mix nicely to incorporate the oils completely in the cream. 
4. Add the glycerin and lemon juice. Mix nicely again. 
5. Add the cocoa powder and mix everything vigorously so there are no lumps remaining of cocoa powder.  
6. Warm everything again in a double boiler till it's just warm but not hot and bubbling. 
7. Let cool completely and transfer this cream to a box with a tight lid. Any old and clean cream box would be ideal to store this hand cream. 
8. Use every night before going to bed. It will help keep your hands, nails and cuticles soft and supple and delay ageing. 

How each ingredient helps for the skin of hands?

Olive oil: Olive oil contains omega-6 and omega-3 fatty acids, which keeps your skin smooth and soft to touch. It is filled with vitamin E which is a famous antioxidant. It prevents oxidation in skin cells so the skin looks much younger and less wrinkles appear on the skin surface. It will make your hands baby soft and smooth. 

Coconut oil: Coconut oil is naturally antibacterial and anti-fungal, it's a natural moisturizer and can penetrate our skin better than other oils. 

Glycerin: Glycerin is a humectant, which means it attracts water. When applied to the skin, it seals in moisture that might otherwise escape. That is why it helps combat dry skin. It helps keep the skin more hydrated and the hands won't look dry and scaly with the use of glycerin. 

Lemon juice: Lemon juice has antibacterial properties and it is used to avoid darkening of skin of hands and it also helps in keeping the skin shining and glowing. It also helps reduce acne and dark spots on the hands. It even moisturizes and tones, and fights wrinkles. 

Cocoa powder: Cocoa promotes collagen for tighter skin, is rich in antioxidants so it helps fight ageing, moisturizes and prevents blemishes. Also it smells good and I love the feeling of smelling chocolate on my hands while sleeping so I can dream of chocolates. ;) 

Use this regularly for best results on hands and nails. Please don't use if you are allergic to any of the products. 

Please do leave a comment/feedback in the comments section below if you liked this.

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My story: How to lose weight and get in shape without exercise

Weight has always been a major issue whole my life. Some say it's hereditary, some say you don't carry weight and body type in heredity. Either ways, all my life has been focused on this one thing: weight. When I was little, about 9-10 years, I had practically no body weight; so that was a cause of worry for my parents. A little older, in school, I had a lot of weight and was fatter than the usual girls, and was made fun of. In college I worked hard to lose weight but could not be really consistent, so it was not a big problem though, but I had some inferiority about my weight as I still looked bigger than a lot of girls in my college. When I was working, I did a certification and became a yoga trainer in my mother's fitness center. I used to teach yoga and aerobics and exercises for 2.5 hours everyday, and as a result I lost a lot and went to my right weight and even though I was really fit and slim; maintaining that weight was another problem for me. After marriage, again I gained a lot of weight because all my food, weather and environment was changed and I was really not sure what to do. Then last year, with my mother's guidance (she's a naturopathic doctor and medical professional having her own hospital and treatment center in India) I began eating healthy and walking a lot. I even did some basic form of yoga and exercise in the beginning, but I soon gave up and could not stay really regular and consistent, I could not lose much weight, but yes, I feel fitter than past, and I have reduced in appearance, although not much on the scales, and now I really want to lose more weight.

So, you see practically my life has been running around in circles with the word: weight. I secretly hope and wish someday I can get rid of this issue, but with time I have realized that there is no magic pill, no wand which can make me instantly slim and remain that way, unless I put in effort for the same, and keep doing so. I have known a lot of people who never have to worry about their weight, no matter what they eat, no matter how less or no exercise they do. Life is really unfair with people like me (and many, many others I know) whose lives are a constant battle between balancing, losing and maintaining their body weight, as if life was already not tough !!

The sooner we stop whining and accept this fact that our bodies are made the way they are, and we have only the option of eating right and some for of exercise is a must, the quicker we can start focusing on what should we do to move in the right direction. I stopped three years ago and accepted my body the way it is. And you?

Now, moving in the right direction needs guidance and inspiration. I am no doctor, I am no professional; but I have seen, done and experienced the results myself. Like it is said: Consistency is the key. When a particular plan to eat healthy or basic exercise form is adopted and followed religiously and regularly, no matter what, results can be seen. Also, bodies of men and women are totally different: how their bodies react against any food and work-outs are totally different. I am a woman and so I'm sharing this for fellow women.

Here's my story which I hope can help some other people who are sailing in the same boat as me. If you want to follow some of this, please do so with caution and with the approval of your doctor if you are suffering from some kind of physical illness or disorder.

When I moved to a new country after marriage, I gained a lot of weight and I became very fat. Almost all my dresses became a size (or two) too small and I began to look like a fat old woman, much more older than my age. Whole of the year 2013 I kept on going up and up, and finally realized the same when we clicked a lot of pictures during our India trip. At first I was really sad and disheartened and I thought I cannot go back to my previous shape ever. But then my husband inspired me to take it slow and easy and he motivated me to adopt to a regular diet plan.

What was wrong in my diet was that I used to go hungry for long periods of time, did not eat breakfast most of the mornings and did not feel like cooking just for myself at lunch hours as hubby used to go to job and I used to feel alone and depressed. I did not eat any fruits and as a result, I filled up myself during dinner time because most of the times I used to be hungry for whole day. That along with lack of any form of exercise helped me gain a lot of weight and I began looking like that in the 2013 December picture.

All of it surely took time and a lot, lot of patience and consistency. I did not feel any results showing up to first three months and then it needed more and more patience as I used to be tired and bored and did not feel like getting up at all the next day. It became increasingly difficult and then it felt like routine as I began to see little results and I kept on pushing myself, and I'm still on my way..

Because I did not make any big changes in my diet like having smoothies for breakfast, eating a lot of salads and having soup for dinner etc. etc. which so many diet plans suggest, I did not lose much weight. But that was not my first priority also, as I had begun looking so fat and heavy, I was looking much more older than my age and that's why I wanted to reduce my appearance and look nice and slim first of all. Here's how I reached here and I'm still on my way..

1. I was and have never been fond of eating at restaurants and outside home because there are no good Indian restaurants available where I live and I find most of the other foods inedible (because I'm a choosy person) and the others that I can manage to eat I find boring (like pizza, burgers or eating at McDonalds etc.). So the first thing is most of the times I cook and eat at home (it can be frozen or fresh, depending upon my schedule but it's home-cooked). We all know it's good and it's important to eat home made food, better so if it's fresh. But I have followed it for almost two years now and I have seen the results. 
2. The two main reasons I realized for my weight gain was a sedentary lifestyle and irregular eating habits. I gave one of them up as a beginning. I adopted regular eating habits. Breakfast. Lunch. Dinner. Same time (almost) everyday. No exceptions. I used to make fresh at home as I used to stay at home for the most part of the day. How it helped: my body got trained to feel hungry at the same time everyday (till today) which helps me to eat meals at fixed times each day and not feel hungry in between meals. 
3. Healthy snacking: I know it's difficult. Yes it was the most difficult part of the day for me as well. I used to have a little snacks between breakfast and lunch, and between lunch and dinner. I pushed myself to have healthy snacks each time when I was tempted to reach over to store bought unhealthy snacks.  I began to eat grapes, oranges or even bananas for the mid-day snacks. (Yes, they are any day better than the unhealthy snacks). Also I do keep a handful of nuts in my bag and eat them as snacks as they provide energy. 
4. I did not starve myself, did not follow any diet plans, did not eat anything special, no use of so-called super foods, did not stop eating anything. I ate EVERYTHING. As long as it's made at home without any preservatives and added flavors, I did eat it. That's because I just can't starve myself. I need to eat; and sometimes I crave for some things and I've eaten them. 
5. I followed a particular eating pattern. The whole of 2015 I have mostly spent my whole weekdays out of the home. Some days I had leaves, some days I had half-days and other days I used to carry lunch box. I have divided the whole scheme like this: Breakfast: The days I go out early morning (7- 7:30 am); I eat one paratha and a glass of milk. (does not matter what time I come back). The days I go out late (after lunch) and the days I stay at home I eat a fruit (mostly an apple) and a glass of milk. Lunch: The days I go out for whole day, I take a lunch box with me. I always try not to eat from outside; it's expensive and can't be healthy as home made. I carry any variety of flavored rice with me in lunch. The days I leave after lunch, I eat at home: a simple dal/subzi and two chappatis. Same applies to the days I come home at lunch time. Dinner: The days I'm out for the whole day and come in the evening, I eat dal/subzi with two chappatis. The days I come back by lunch, I eat boiled daliya/veg daliya/a glass of milk for dinner (depends on how hungry I'm feeling). Also, it's always VEGETARIAN food I eat in the weekdays. That's my scheme and anybody can create a similar theme for themselves: it varies from person to person but the key point is just one: more activity, more tiredness, more food. And vice versa. 
6. Weekends food: I eat whatever I like. Yes, whatever I want. But again, home-made. And rice, oh my dear rice; I meet my lifeline, my dearest rice only on weekends. Then also, I mostly do not eat rice more than a bowl at once as well. Potion-control. That's really important. Sometimes we do go out and eat outside in the restaurants but I prefer to eat at home i.e leaving home after lunch and coming back at dinner time. It works out most of the times, but not every time. All the NON-VEGETARIAN food I cook in the weekends: chicken, fish, even egg curries.
7. Caffeine: I don't have a huge intake of caffeine because I leave early around 7:30 am so it's basically a blessing I hardly get time to eat breakfast, let alone tea/coffee. I have a lone cup of tea in the evening and never more than one coffee at work per day. In the evening I try and prepare some quick and easy snacks: poha, instant dhokla, upma etc. with tea so it keeps me filled and I don't feel hungry at night. 
8. Water: drinking plenty of water if often suggested as an effective way to stay fit and we all know this, right? We all know how important it is to stay hydrated and drink a lot of water but I'll be totally honest and say I've been trying to drink more water but I need to increase. It really helps in the fitness process. 
9.  Exercise: It's really important to get moving. But since I was having such a sedentary lifestyle in 2013, it was really difficult for me to suddenly start doing gym and difficult exercises. So I just took it easy, began walking twice a week, 20 minutes for the first quarter of 2014. Then I began to increase the days and time. By the end of 2014, I was walking about 4-5 days a week, up to 40 minutes. That's all I could manage, my feet hurt because of all the increased weight which was putting pressure, specially on my heels. I also felt more active. I increased my activeness level: i.e. not sitting in front of computer/T.V., doing household chores, using stairs instead of lifts/escalators etc. Also I began to increase the walking and by the end of 2015, I was walking every single day, about 80-90 minutes with very much increased speed, and without getting tired. I could also climb stairs without getting breathless. 

So, that's all I did. Yes, to sum up, just the home made food, less caffeine, totally making BREAKFAST the most important meal of the day, a fixed eating schedule (can't stress that enough), healthy snacking, leaving the sedentary lifestyle behind, not eating much at night (okay on weekdays), and walking, walking and only walking has given me these results. It took two full years, no less; and I'm still on my way as I have to lose the pounds on the scale. But yes, I must say I have achieved whatever I worked for. I did not get vigorous results for I did not do any vigorous activity, and I have accepted it. For my height, I know I look a little plump but it's okay and I know I will lose it. I am on my way and I will totally share my story when I do lose that weight too. This is my story and I might totally have skipped a lot of things because for me they have become a lifestyle, but there could be little things that could matter to someone who is in my shoes and looking for some inspiration. So, please feel free to ask me questions and I will answer with all my honesty. This is what I have achieved from October 2014 to October 2015 as well, and yes, that's the same dress. 

 I have developed healthy cooking basically for myself and that has totally benefited me in so many ways: I have tried new, healthy options for food, I have kept boredom at bay with my cooking so that I don't have to eat out, I have saved money because I hardly eat out (I would rather carry my own lunch box and fruits and nuts). I have made my husband happy with so many new varieties in food. I have become active because I want to try so many new recipes. I keep on trying new recipes and sharing them. I am not saying all of those recipes are very healthy. A lot of them are totally healthy with low calories but I personally feel anything home-made is healthier than what we purchase from outside. So, for me, my cooking is healthy but kindly exercise discretion if trying out my recipes. You can connect with me on my cooking page where I share all kinds of recipes on Facebook. Brijdeep's Kitchen: For the love of food. 

 Thank you for taking your time to read my story. If you liked my story or have any questions or comments, please leave your lovely comments/feedback in the comment section below.  

Glowing skin: A regular regime

Life is hard and busy and times are demanding. But to care for our own body and skin is totally in our own hands. So I have made this natural face scrub and face pack from the ingredients that can easily be found in our kitchen. I make this in batches, enough to last me a month. Every morning before bath, I mix a tsp. or two of this powder with yoghurt and mix well. I mostly use it as a scrub because of lack of time and I get a glowing skin. It can be used both ways: Apply on face and leave on for 15 minutes, carefully remove when dry with fingers and wash with lukewarm water. Pat dry your face. Or apply a layer on whole face, scrub well with fingers in slow circular motion, wash off and pat dry. I use it on my face and neck both. This can even be used as a body scrub. If you have really oily skin, mix this with a bit of milk rather than with yogurt which can make the skin more oily. For dry to normal skin, yoghurt goes best. This cleans the pores and leaves a fresh looking skin. Here I share the method how I make it.

Ingredients:

Gram flour (besan): 1 cup
Whole wheat flour (atta): 1/4 cup
Dried orange peels as required
Neem leaves (I got dried leaves from India, this is optional)
Masoor Dal (Red split lentils)
Fenugreek Seeds
Rose petals (dried and crushed)
Chana Dal

I do not take anything in very specific measurements, just measure roughly and add, because there is no ingredient which can harm the skin in any way; unless you have allergies from any of these; of course. Please avoid using any of the ingredients you are allergic to or consult your dermatologist.

1. Grind the dried orange peels in a normal mixer till it is smooth and powdery. Remove any bits that remain un-ground. 
2. Mix with gram flour and wheat flour and mix well. 
3. Add neem leaves, masoor dal, fenugreek seeds and chana dal to the mixer and grind to a smooth powder. I use only 1 tsp. of each dal and fenugreek and neem leaves just in rough proportions.
4. Add to the flour and orange mix and mix well. Add the crushed rose petals, mix everything evenly and store in an airtight container. This mixture doesn't go bad as only powdered ingredients are used, but it's best to make a batch which lasts for about 4 weeks and make a fresh batch again.

When I shared this face pack and scrub recipe with my friends and followers, I got a lot of queries. So I'm updating this post with all the queries my friends had.

1. For normal and dry skin, mix this pack in yogurt (curd) and use as a scrub or a face pack. Keep for 15 minutes or until dry as a face pack. Wash with lukewarm water. 
2. For oily skin, mix this in a little bit of milk. You can also mix this in water or even rose water if you don't want or can't use milk for any reasons. 
3. This pack can be used for every type of skin, sensitive and acne pron skin as well, but please remember to not scrub too much and too hard.
4. This pack also works for black heads mainly besan and orange peels powder help in removing black heads. Scrub lightly on the areas with black heads and wash with warm water. 
5. If you want to remove tanning caused due to sun, mix this pack in tomato juice and apply as a pack. Scrub and remove lightly when it's dry. Wash with lukewarm water and pat dry. It will help to remove tanning with regular use. 
6. If you are allergic to any of the ingredient, or you think it's impossible to find, you can simply skip that ingredient. 
7. You can use this mix as a face pack everyday, and as a scrub twice a week. 
8. You can use this pack for kids above 5 years. Till 5 years kids skin is very sensitive and already nice and beautiful so not required to add anything special. It will not harm in any way as it has all natural ingredients. Be careful to not apply under eyes and on the lips. 
9. It's okay to have a little coarse mix so it's really good for scrubbing and removing dead cells from the face. You don't need to grind it very finely.  
10. No water is to be added to make this pack at any stage because when you add water, it goes bad pretty fast in few days. But when all the ingredients are kept dry, it stays good for months together, you can just add milk/yogurt/water/rose water to a small portion of the powder just before applying. So, remember to keep everything DRY so it doesn't get fungus. 
11. You don't need to store this pack in fridge. Just prepare once and then transfer to air tight container, keep in your kitchen on the shelf. Just take a little bit everyday to apply. It stays good for 6-8 months. After that you can prepare fresh batch. 
12. Whole wheat flour is used in the pack as it's the best for scrubbing naturally. 
13. Masoor dal which is mentioned in the ingredients list is orange split masoor dal. Picture attached. 
    
14. A lot of people asked me why do I add both chana dal and gram flour (besan). Yes gram flour (besan) is made by ground chana dal only. But besan which we get from market is very fine as it is ground in mills, so that has been used as a base for the pack. But when you ground chana dal at home, it doesn't get the finest texture same as besan and that's why even though it has same properties (and it doesn't harm the skin), but is a little coarse which helps in the best scrubbing. 
15. Washing face with face wash before means you are using chemical face wash anyway. The best is to avoid any sort of chemicals on the face. Just before you take a shower, do apply this and wash off with lukewarm water. Pat dry. No need to wash face before with anything. 
16. Neem leaves are not curry leaves (meetha neem), it's Indian Lilac, (kadvi neem) the neem leaves that are native to India and Indian subcontinent. It helps in detoxifying the skin and lights scars and pigmentation, also helps in prevention of pimples. I picked up neem leaves from trees in India, dried them in shade and bought with me to prepare this face pack. 
17. I never buy orange peel powder. Just dry the orange peels from the oranges you eat in the shade and grind them to powder in your mixer. 
18. If oranges are not available and out of the season, dry lemon peels. They will give the similar effect as peels of fruits with vitamin C provide the cleansing effect for the skin. 
19. I have ground methi seeds in the mixer and used in the pack. Methi seeds picture attached. It is also used as a spice in Indian cooking, also used in pickles. 
    
20. Rose powder: I don't buy rose powder either. I collect and dry all the roses gifted to me by my husband and then crush them into a powder. Dry in shade not in sunlight. Rose leaves are good for giving glow on the face. 

I have tried to answer all the queries I got till today for this face pack. If you have any more queries, please ask me so in the comment box. Also leave your beautiful comments and feedback in the comment box below so others get encouraged to use this as well. 

Don't forget to connect with me on FACEBOOK where I share all my food and recipes, all health and beauty posts and tips and tricks. 

Wonder skin: right in your kitchen..!!

My Nani-ji has been the inspiration of my life since forever.. She is the one who introduced me to the kitchen for the very first time, she is the one who took care of me, told me the difference between the good and the bad, she is the one who has always been there for me and she is the one who I love and adore from the bottom of my heart. She celebrates her birthday on the 17th of September ever year, and this year as she turns 86, I share here some of the wonderful tips she gave me from our very own kitchen... those are the ones she has been using in every phase of life. Here I share some skin remedies from her tips, which are tried and tested by myself.

1. For dry skin: Grind chana dal/masoor dal in a grinder. Add mustard oil, a pinch of turmeric powder and make a paste mixing gulab jal (rose water). Apply on face with fingers. Wash after 15 minutes. Pat dry. 
   
2. Soak masoor dal in lemon juice overnight. Grind to a smooth paste and apply to the face for about 30-40 minutes in the morning. Wash slowly to remove all the pack from the face. This pack is useful for glowing skin.
   
3. Mix turmeric powder, gram flour (besan), mustard oil in the ratio 1:3:1. Add little water to make a hard dough like mix. Scrub face with this dough slowly for a glowing skin. Still using this personally whenever my skin feels dull. 
   
4. Dry orange peels and lemon peels separately in the shade till they are completely dried. Grind them in the mixer and mix together 1:1 ratio. Soak in rose water for 10 minutes. Apply on the face and neck as a pack. Leave for 15 minutes. Wash and pat dry to get a softer skin. 
   
5. For oily skin: Mix gram flour, turmeric powder, chandan powder in the ratio 3:1:1. Mix with this lemon juice and rose water in 1:1 ratio to make a paste. Apply on the skin and wash after 30 minutes. Your skin will feel better and less oily. 
   
6. For sun-burnt face: Mix plain yoghurt with gram flour (besan) in a ratio 2:1. Apply on the face and wash after 10 minutes. Regular use of this pack help heal skin faster and remove the sun-burn. 
   
7. For pimples on the adult skin: Squeeze out the juice from a piece of ginger, mix with coconut oil in 1:1 ratio and boil until the oil absorbs all the ginger and you can see only the oil. Remove from the flame, cool and apply on the affected area every night. This oil can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature. 
   
8. Make a powder of turmeric powder, chandan powder and neem leaves powder in equal quantities. Make a paste with water and apply on face pimples. Let dry and wash. Use regularly for the cure for pimples. (For this, I bring a bag of dried neem leaves from India, powder and use). 
   
9. Soaking in the sun and the skin feels heated up, make a paste of mint leaves with water and apply on the face for 20 minutes. It cools down the skin of the face absorbs all the heat. Personal tip in living out of India, where mint leaves are not readily available, I dry up the mint leaves in shade whenever I can get my hands on them, then make a powder of those leaves and store in a ziplock bag with my spices. Apart from using in cooking, I use it in the face-packs as well. 
   
10. For glowing and spot-free skin: Mix turmeric powder, wheat flour, mustard oil in a ratio of 3:3:1. Make a paste with milk. Apply on the face and let dry for 30 minutes. Wash and pat dry. Pimples and dark spots will vanish slowly with regular use. 
    

With mentioning all these tips which are passed on to me by nani-ji (hundreds of more to come, kept noted in various note-books), I thank her because I have't used a single cosmetic product on my face for the last 10 years now and I've hardly taken any facials in the beauty parlours (which, more often than not, have dissatisfied me greatly) after I use these tips for my regular cleansing, scrubbing and taking care of my own skin. 

Thanks a bunch Nani. Wish you a very Happy Birthday. Ma you live to be a 100 (to the least). Love you from the bottom of my heart. 

Note: These tips from the kitchen are from the author's own experiences and are not to be replaced with any medical advice. Kindly consult your doctor before using these packs if any kind of allergy persists. The author will not be responsible for any health hazard however.

A 3-day detox for a happy me..

Detoxification is a health approach to rid the body of toxins- accumulated harmful substances that exert undesirable effects on individual heath, both in short term or long term. This usually consists of fasting in a specific way; mostly eliminating a lot of food articles such as processed foods and drinks; and replacing them with natural food items instead for a period of 3 days. The time (days) and methods for every detox differs. But what I followed was a detox for 3 days.

I am not a very great fan of processed foods, fast foods, caffeine drinks and soft drinks, neither alcohol. Usually I try to avoid them completely. So it was, let's say, may be not difficult for me; if I compare it to a lot of others who love caffeine, thrive on processed foods and drinks, and alcohol is a must. But yes, while I compared it to my own self, it was, well, boring. Most of the detox diets eliminate dairy products, but I did not completely; although I kept the dairy use to the minimum, and that too, lactose free.

I decided to go for a detox diet because I had been gaining a lot of weight post my wedding, and I have been trying to shed some. But what my actual vision was, even if I don't lose any weight, it WILL benefit me in some way or the other. At least it will clean up my system. And it did !! Better than I expected. I could survive 3 days of the detox, and I feel well, much much better, and cleaner from inside, if not amazing. And that's a perfectly fine feeling for me.

What I included in my diet was green leafy vegetables, salad, fruits, juices, a green detox juice, boiled beans, soaked nuts, lemon water etc. What I excluded was sugar, wheat, rice, fried and baked foods, caffeine, chocolates, bread and any other processed foods and drinks.

Lemon water

That was a perfect start to the morning which I usually have every day otherwise as well. Squeeze half a lemon in a glass of lukewarm water and add 2 tsps. of honey to the glass. Stir well and drink. You could even add some mint leaves for the additional effect while on the detox.

Grapefruit juice and Orange juice

While I usually like to eat my oranges raw, grapefruit juice is one thing I have been having twice a week since sometime now. So it was not much an effort drinking the bitter juice. I cannot even bring myself upon eating the grapefruit, so the juice was fine.We are having a cleanse, not torturing ourself, so stick with what suits you best; and it should come around fine.

Orange Juice

Grapefruit Juice

Soaked nuts

We all have probably eaten soaked almonds in our childhood, but did you know walnuts must be soaked in water as well before eating? Well, we must. I don't know the perfect reason behind it, but there are many researches that prove the same. So, soak a handful of nuts (almonds and walnuts) in water overnight, change water once in the morning and eat them as a mid-morning or mid-afternoon snack, whatever suits you best. Remember to eat the almonds with the brown shell which benefits the most.

Green Detox Juice

Now this is the most important part of the detox diet (and most detested as well, in case of many people). But this is vital which must be carried on for all 3 days. Most ill-tasting, this juice benefits the most while our body is getting rid of all the toxins. This juice has to contain at least 2 types of green leaves. The base of the juice can be any fresh vegetable in raw form which suits you best. My personal recipe of the detoxifying juice was: 

Coriander leaves

Mint leaves

Tomatoes (as a base: 4 number)

Half-a onion

Juice of a lemon

Black salt

Black pepper

Water (1/2 glass)

MIX AND BLEND. Drink immediately. Yes, yes, it sure tastes foul, but it's necessary to drink it up immediately. The sooner, the better. Always make fresh juice just before drinking. 

The second day I added half a beetroot, which gave a reddish tone to my juice, doesn't matter nonetheless as it was the green detoxifying juice. 

Other ingredients which might be included in the juice if you are brave enough are:

Ginger

Carrots

Garlic

Cucumber

Spinach

This can be adjusted as per the personal choices, but make sure to include at least two types of green leaves. And the more ingredients we consume, the more it benefits. So the choice is yours !!

Spinach Yoghurt

Yes, most of the detox diets exclude dairy, but I used lactose free, which must be fine for me.

The recipe: Spinach Yoghurt

Fresh vegetable salad

I agree many of us have been eating salads in our everyday life. But well, I'm not. So the detox days are the best to eat only salads as lunch, and using them as a medium to satisfy our hunger, and not as a side dish. Salads must be fresh otherwise there is no point on eating them. Store bought salads are a no-no. Tomatoes, carrots, onions, cucumber, beetroot are the widely used ingredients for salads. While I am not a very experimental person myself, I used all of these to make a salad, garnished it with coriander leaves richly, sprinkled little salt and black pepper and squeezed a lemon on the top. Toss and eat. I have no idea why people like to have a dressing on their salads even in the detox days, and I see many diets even allow the same. What I say is, no dressings please !!

What else I did to fill myself up was boiled beans. Day 1 did not require me to eat anything extra as it was pretty smooth. But as I went forward with day 2 and day 3, I found myself wanting to eat something extra to fill me up. So for day 2 evening, I boiled up a bowl full of black eyed peas, little salt and black pepper, chopped onion and green chilli (optional). Toss and eat. No cooking. The same went for day 3, where I replaced the black eyed peas with boiled chickpeas (this one needs to be soaked overnight). Rest recipe went the same as day 2.

Black-eyed beans

Chickpeas

Although I'm not a very big fan of caffeine (tea/coffee) but I have a lone cup of tea every evening as my husband comes back from work. So these three days saw a skip in that only cup of tea as well, because the rule goes: no caffeine. Instead, as I craved a hot drink in the evening, I replaced the tea with a cup of plain water boiled with ginger pieces; and added half a lemon and 2 tsps. honey to my cup, and sipped it away. No, it was not very tasty, neither it did replace my tea actually, but it was actually worth it. 

I tried to sneak some more greens in my diet like some green leafy things, wherever I could; or even eating them raw or in the salad, adding them to the beans, adding them in the morning lime water, and so on..

Fresh mint, coriander, basil leaves

Apart from all this, whenever I felt hungry, I had fruits which included apples, kiwi, grapes, oranges, banana (yes! it provides a lot of energy), and whatever fruits you can get your hands on can be tried. Only the fruits must be fresh and MUST be eaten as soon as they are cut. Mangoes to be avoided, rest others are great. Papaya is an amazing anti-oxidant, also pomegranate; which we don't find here, but would have absolutely included them if they were available. 

I, however did not lose much of weight (I already knew that as I was already eating right), but nonetheless noticed an amazing change in my skin. My face glowed like never before, and I was stunned to look at those pictures as never before I have had this beautiful skin, no matter how expensive facials or cosmetics I had used, not even on my wedding day. So I got this, this is the key !!! Go natural, go healthy, look perfect. Now I plan to do this detox again for the upcoming family wedding, because now I know how to get that absolutely awesome glow.. it comes from the inside. 

Note: All the suggestions and the diets in this article are the author's own experience and cannot be replaced with medical advice.