Exceptional Wellbeing

“Exceptional Wellbeing”

The way to live an Extraordinary Life

Are we actually getting healthier or just jumping from one bandwagon to another, product after product – trying every new concept under the sun. Under the guise of getting healthier being trapped into the rut set up by Industry that’s capitalising on the concept of wellness

 

If you truly want to do something to live a healthier life and adopt the true principles of Wellness you need to follow a simple pattern to a new you – a reformed, healthy and whole new you

 

Define Wellness – what does it mean to you?

 

 

Very often people think wellness is a trendy concept. The truth is Wellness is a way of life, a state of mind that enhances every aspect of your life making you a better person, a healthier person and a truly evolved being.

 

Our forefathers lived naturally healthy lives and lived simpler hence they had less stress and fewer ailments. There were no lifestyle diseases three generations before us, most diseases were either genetic or ones that developed due to direct impact of our environment. Being overweight was a direct result of prosperity; obesity wasn’t an epidemic because people were active and ate as per need not greed.

 
Sometimes to appreciate something good we need to experience the other end of the spectrum.
 

Today we are surrounded with lifestyle diseases – Obesity, Diabetes, PCOS, Hormonal Imbalances,  Cancer, Heart Disease to name a few. All because of a poor lifestyle – poor in quality brought on by a life of abundance and convenience.

 

“Wellness” as a concept was recently revived as a forgotten way of life to actually take us back to a truer version of our selves – progress has made us take many steps forward but in doing so hasn’t taken all the good in our way of life forward with us. It lies forgotten.

 

We as Indians have been blessed with Secrets that have passed on through the ages, making us the most learned in the space of Wellness, the world over people are reviving our ways of life and we know no appreciation for what we have inherited.

 

Basically in a nutshell Wellness is like the roots of a tree, each branch of the root is an aspect to the art of living well, the tree is your whole being – a product of all the good nourishment through the roots which will provide healthy branches to the tree that are various aspects of yourself and what you do to add value to your life and that of others.

 

Define your purpose in life, enhance your spiritual being

 

 

Finding your own path is critical to living a wholesome life one steeped in wellbeing and to do that you simply need to look at the various parts that make you the person you are and nourish those parts accordingly, make your roots strong and healthy.

 

I am a mother, a wife, a daughter, a professional, a healer, a social worker, a businesswoman and very importantly a PROUD WOMAN.

 

These are the various aspects to who I am and to live a wholesome life I must enhance all these parts of me and nourish them well. I am the above because I love every role I play and I want to add value to the lives I touch with every role I play.

 

So my path is to live well, have solid relationships, love well, be well loved. To do all that by being a good person, secure in my space, and open to securing others in theirs.

This is my journey, my path, my purpose.

 

Everyone needs to find a purpose to life or else you live with no priorities or all the wrong ones.

 

The next step to weathering your path well is to nourish all aspects of your personality and aspects of who you are.

 

You need to nourish your soul and be a better spiritual being to be centred and know how to handle the many journeys you take. Choose something that centres you spiritually, this choice only you can make but start this journey by making this your first step.

 

Grow your spiritual being that will make you strong in your relationships as you understand how to nurture or set aside positive and negative people and influences in your life. You become very in tune with feelings and know what to hold onto and what to set aside.

 

“A nourished soul is a nourished body”

 

 

 

All excesses and greed leave you the minute you eat and feed yourself governed by a strong spiritual guide. If you are spiritually strong you are never prone to gluttony and greed. You will enjoy all foods – eat lovingly and mindfully.

 

The occasional indulgence if ever will pass by with you looking at it with love as a small hiccup and not a guilt ridden ill -treating of your body there on. We forgive ourselves like a loving parent and set off on our journey again because we know we are loved and secure in our love for ourselves.

 

When you are centred you will look at a vast array of food and feel disturbed because greed doesn’t motivate you, you look for the simplest and by default that is the tastiest option, you look at your meal with love and you nourish yourself with love.

 

You realise your so called love for food, is a deflection of the fact that somewhere deep down you can’t love yourself. If you love yourself deeply you view food as a source of nourishment but not a sport or indulgence for pleasure alone.

 

I am not saying don’t eat tasty food or you need to live a frugal life all I say is that when you know “what you are eating for” and you love yourself deeply you will eat everything in just the right amount.

 

I always taste, savour and never overindulge that’s my secret. But I don’t wake up every morning reminding and reaffirming that to myself it comes to me naturally because I view food the right way. It’s not my means to deal with extreme emotion but simply “just food”

 

View exercise not as a narcissistic means to build a perfect body but as a way to expend energy, improve your mobility, flexibility and be active. Automatically you will have the best body for you. One you will love and respect.

 

Adopt practices that are sustainable and always let your spirit guide you in your choices.

You find you will live a life that’s with purpose and meaning, and your body is a reflection of that, your relationships will be a true reflection of who you are and that truly is “Exceptional Wellbeing”

 

“A life well lived, is a person Well Loved”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Our Obese children"

"Your children are Obese"

"Not pleasantly plump"

 

Its shocking me to see so many people I know who are being so complacent about their children’s weight.

While on one hand I see many people who realise it’s time to do something about it and I treat many children who are obese, there are yet so many who are taking it very lightly.

I see the choices of food that are given to their children and more scarily the quantities that some of these youngsters are packing away, it’s shocking and quite repulsive – a sign of greed and not need

I have three children and I watch over their food have always done it but watching over doesn’t mean I confine or hinder them beyond a point. They are never deprived and I don’t belong to the mad Mommy club of “no coke”, “no chocolate”, “no junk”.

I have always been a believer of the more you withhold the more you are building their interests up by creating mystery and taboo around these things.

I only insist my kids moderate their qty and in some cases the frequency of what they have.

As they were babies and toddlers if they wanted a sip of coke or a piece of chocolate it was given because at that age you can’t explain why it’s not good, at the same time they had an abundance of fruit, vegetables and good wholesome homemade food.

As a result as their tastes developed they had no major craving to go after the unhealthy stuff – because there was no mystery to it, so I don’t need to resort to not keeping it at home as it’s always available if a visitor asks for it but rarely sought out by the children.

The one thing I have insisted on is qty. I never allowed them to over eat as a result if they really relish something and overdo it on occasion and the next meal time comes along they themselves say they aren’t hungry and eat only when they actually feel hunger come on next. They know I have always respected their understanding of need.

I have never force fed my children, they ate if they were hungry and food was never stuffed down their throat. I see many parents going wrong with this where their babies are concerned – you are setting the stage for childhood obesity. No baby will ever go hungry and all babies know how to communicate hunger loud and clear.

Watch how much your child eats and you are likely to have a healthier child and change one habit at a time if you plan to get your child to lose weight.

Look at your child today and ask yourself if he or she is overweight or obese?

You know the answer but are in denial calling it puppy fat, act upon it now or else you are setting up your child for a future of uncertainty, anxiety and insecurity.

No child should have a bloated and protruding belly, if you see that it’s a warning sign of a distended abdomen and the first stage of something going wrong.

Get your child active, they must play lots of outdoor games, get lots of fresh air and eat moderately.

 

Get healthy and make your kids healthier.
Another big reason for children becoming overweight in urban privileged society is "The Sunday Brunch culture" a convenient way to occupy your kids while you tank up and eat and get them to eat under the guise of family time and planned activities to keep them occupied.

What happened to family picnics and Sunday outings?- they've vanished.
If you really want to you can find numerable things to do on Sunday that are fun and quality time with your kids that don't need to mess up your health and resolutions for the week.

And coming back from that brunch you feel sick about eating so much and have just thrust another unhealthy habit down your kids throat.

"Change today, you might save yourself and your child a lot of grief"

" Most children who are obese through to adolescence are guaranteed to be obese as adults"

"Obesity fosters the nastiest insecurities and every child who carries obesity into adolescence is invariably an adult who has many complexes"

"You are what you are and you are also what your children will become - stop and take a hard look at yourself, everything you don't like is what they will grow into first"

"Respect yourselves, love your children and show your love abundantly - just don't use food as a reflection of your affection"

FIND YOUR REALITY

 

Whilst we all love to look up to celebrities, I happen to work with many of them so I realise that they are just real men and women trapped in a world that has an even higher standard of perfection than ours.

 

Being a celebrity or Icon comes with a huge responsibility. When they endorse something they are sending out a message to the world. Very often people believe in that message and lose heart when they realise it’s not true.

 

I would like to correlate this to my work, its been really bothering me to read so much nonsense out there on diets and exercise fads and all of this being endorsed by the Icons of today.

 

So when they diet or get onto a program they do so for periods of time to achieve results and more often than not cannot sustain the results.

 

It’s a job, and as they all say so - their pay cheques depend on how they look. They also pay a heavy price psychologically and physiologically for this turmoil they put their bodies through.

 

Please open your eyes to the reality – nothing is truly what it seems. Forget about everything you read, invariably the truth is very different.

I  hear of people I have treated and worked with who choose to glamourize my diet and try and compare me to Paleo, Atkins, Jenny Craig etc and the truth is that I am not a trend, what I do is not a fad. Nor am I trying to ape someone who is one.

 

I am a real person, living a real life, have given birth to 3 children, suffered many a heartache trying every way to lose weight when I was fat, struggling to find a solution, believing in every ray of hope that someone provided. Lucky for me I decided to opt for this as a profession and that set many things right, but not everyone wants to be a Nutritionist as a means to lose weight and stay fit.

 

Having lost weight I try to be able to hold onto my sanity and not have a fit every time the scale shows a slight increase. This is a normal psychological effect, for anyone who loses a lot of weight.

 

I am real, normal and fairly simple to decode, and like all of you I have a regular life with very real pains and triumphs.

 

I have the knowledge and the gift to help others with their journey to lose weight, but am still very much susceptible to the horrors that anyone battling weight is susceptible to.

 

It’s time we embrace simple and real. That’s the truth. Forget about trendy, cool and always trying to define everything, always needing to brand everything and everyone and believing blindly in everything we read.

 

Stop lying about what you do, that’s when you stop lying about who you are and are more open to accepting the truth and finding what really works for you.

 

Stop trying to look like someone else, or to conform to a public perception of what you should look like.

 

We all read so much and when we see a famous face associated to a brand we think they are everything that they vouch for. Especially those touting weight loss. Sometimes even our celebrities are victims to these brands misusing their name.

 

I was reading through the new gimmicks being advertised on Facebook and claiming so and so lost weight with some bizarre product, that's all lies, I know the person in question and they never even endorsed the brand, even had no clue their pictures were being misused.

 

Invariably most of what you read is not true. All the icons up there have their ups and downs, thin and fat days, binge days, crazy moments and deep down they are very real people in an unreal world. They don't tell you about their struggles you only get to know of the end result.

 

Any icon you know who touted weight loss and screamed from the roof tops as ambassadors of a particular system eventually never sustained it. Because the truth is what is propagated isn’t really what they are doing and what they are doing isn’t really sustainable and then it’s back to square one.

 

We are real women and men. We don’t have a photo-shopped life, or the luxury to spend hours grooming ourselves every time we step out. So we need to stop falling for the propaganda, besides which we don’t get paid to look good – we look good because we want to.

 

A lot of what we read is far from the truth, most people lie about the truth. We find ourselves pouring through any article or book saying “weightloss” – and we look up to someone who is a celebrity sharing their secrets.
We look at what they look like and automatically see a mental image of ourselves looking like them. That motivates us to give what they say a go and thereon begins the madness.

 

The truth is that what they have to say won’t be a secret if they shared it and it doesn’t work if you follow it. So no one really tells you any secrets.

 

Just like my mothers cook, one of the best cooks I know, a fabulous culinary talent. We have many friends who try and wrangle her recipes out of her and she conveniently forgets to share the most important ingredients – but never says she won’t share it upfront.

 

Such is life we all want to hold on to our own success and share as much as we think we can without giving away too much.

 

While talent, karma and luck make people celebrities, it’s their actions that should make them Icons, and good character that keeps them grounded, to know you are in a position to influence people is great power, and with great power must come great responsibility.

 

Often than not everyone loses their way for a while when they see huge success and if good sense prevails they recover themselves. Those are the lucky ones, the others will do anything to survive and anything to earn.

 

I look up to anyone famous who has the strength of character to stand up for what they believe and who refuse to endorse products that don’t work and mislead people.

 

While money is the motivator, how do you sleep at night knowing that a vulnerable adolescent or person is likely to believe what you say and mess their lives up further, because there is no one more vulnerable than someone looking for a solution to their weight problems.

 

My job is well on its way if I can help someone connect with their real self and understand that they need to always be truthful to that reality.

 

So stop looking up to unreal icons and stop believing everything you read instead work towards finding your own path and share your insights truthfully (if you choose to share anything at all) or else you are better off keeping mum.

 

And the honest truth, if you aren’t willing to eat less, if you aren’t willing to eat simple and slow, if you aren’t willing to exercise regularly then forget it. Because anything else you are searching for means you are still finding an excuse to not do what you actually need to do -  to be able to lose weight.

 
 

 

 

 

AUBERGINES AND FETA

A CLASSIC MEDITERRANEAN DISH ADAPTED TO A HEALTHIER VERSION 

AUBERGINES AND LOW FAT COTTAGE CHEESE

 

I used to always wonder what to serve vegetarians when I was entertaining, and preparing a Non Indian meal.

 

Indian food is easy we have loads of vegetarian dishes and sometimes I adapt some of the classics into a continental version.

1) Like Bhindi and potato panfried with garlic, salt and pepper.

2) Aubergines in a tomato sauce.

3) Baked cauliflower with peas etc.

 

In Dubai I had Aubergines and Feta at a Mediterranean restaurant and it soon became my favourite. Who doesn't love feta cheese?

But you cant have it too often so I came up with a lower fat, healthier version and its a huge hit.

 

Prepping the Aubergines

 

1/2 inch slices of "Bharta Baingan" or the large Aubergines. Salt it lightly and leave aside. Wash thoroughly after 10 mins

Crush garlic with salt and pepper, and apply to the sliced aubergines. Now the amount of garlic you use is up to you, I for one love garlic and use it abundantly.

 

Heat up a little olive oil in a grilling pan or a regular Nonstick pan and gently roast the slices of aubergines, you could also lay out the slices on a baking tray and drizzle olive oil on the sliced aubergines and roast a 200 degree C oven till cooked and lightly browned

 

Once the slices are done, lay them out on a platter

 

For the Cheese Crumble

Again this is fairly to taste - even the quantity of crumble depends on you

But  I generally have a thumb rule - For 3 Large Aubergines - 1/2 cup of cheese crumble

You could use only cottage cheese or if you want a little zip do half cottage cheese and half feta cheese

If you want to further lower the calories then use 1 part feta cheese to 3 parts cottage cheese

 

Once you decide your proportion - enhance the flavour

To the crumble add diced green chillies, coriander or mint, crushed pepper and a little salt and chilli flakes

All the above are to your taste

 

Once you prepare your crumble spread it out over the aubergines

Garnish with fresh mint or coriander whichever one you used in the crumble

Drizzle lightly with olive oil and serve with a lemon half - squeeze before serving

 

 Enjoy!!

 

 

 



 

CHICKEN IN WINE AND TOMATO

As you can see I have been thoroughly enjoying posting pictures and recipes of some of my favourite dishes, home style wholesome food that I enjoy with my family and would like to pass on to you all.

These dishes are healthy, packed with nutrients and will satisfy any palette.

My wine and tomato roast chicken is a great hit with my children and I have served it at many a dinner party and have been delighted at the reactions.

The chicken is melt in the mouth tender, juicy and has a lovely texture.

My style of cooking is a lot by feel and instinct, and I have tried to put down quantities as best as I could so please feel free to experiment with the flavours if you feel something is too little or too much for you. Trust me you cant go wrong.

4 whole legs of chicken skinless marinated with ginger and garlic paste, lightly salted
3/4th cup Wine - I prefer a light fruity, semi sweet wine like a Zinfadel, Rose etc if you use  a dry wine then add a tsp of honey to it
4 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
2 tsp crushed pepper
5 tomatoes halved
Flour (maida) mixed with salt and pepper (you would need about a quarter plate of this mix, to dredge the chicken)

1. Preheat oven to 200 degrees C
2. Put a roasting pan on a medium heat and add about 4 tablespoons olive oil
3. Dredge each piece of chicken in the flour mix, making sure to coat each piece evenly and fry in the roasting pan
4. Don't move it around too much, the idea is to brown it, so lift it slightly and check it, when browned flip it over
5. When the other side is brown, turn up the heat and add the wine, once the wine begins to bubble, turn down the heat and add the Worcestershire sauce, crushed pepper and salt to taste, take the pan off the flame, and place the halved tomatoes in between the pieces of chicken
6. Check the salt, adjust the flavours to your taste, don't move anything around, just sprinkle what you need on top
7. Cover the pan with foil tightly sealing the pan
8. Cook at 200 degrees for 1/2 hour and check the progress, if you see the meat has left the bone then you know the pieces are cooked at this stage move to the next step if not reseal and check after 15 mins
9. Reduce temp to 180 degrees and remove the foil, spoon the sauces back on the chicken so you moisten the pieces and place back in the oven till the sauce thickens a bit. The sauce should be a bit runny as you see in the picture, between the pieces.

You will end up with  a flavourful dish - guaranteed soul food

Enjoy


 

MY IRISH STEW WITH AN INDIAN TWIST 

I am a big fan of one pot wonders. They save time and in one bowl you can pack a punch with nutrition value

 

Very often all mothers wrack their brains on preparing wholesome delicious meals for their families

 

Guess what, its not that tough.

 

I like to come back from work and make dinner for my family, I find cooking de stressing and I generally put dinner together in half hour. My kids are hanging around in the kitchen doing their leftover homework or just chatting on about their stuff, my husband usually gets home just in time to sit with us for dinner. This is probably my favourite part of the day, sometimes terribly noisy and with three young kids quite crazy, but lots of fun.

 

The following stew is my take on an Irish stew. My family loves it and we had it for dinner last night. Typically the Irish stew is made with lamb or mutton, but in my version you can very easily use lean beef or mutton. I prefer not to use lamb as its a fattier meat.

 

The key is to have some pieces with bone as it enhances the flavour and value of the stew.

 

Ingredients

1 kg mutton or beef with bone

2 large carrots cut into thick discs

2 large onions cut into 8 pieces each

10 baby potatoes or 5 small potatoes or ten chunks of potato

1 whole pod of garlic, washed

1 cup skimmed chicken stock

1 tsp pepper corns

5 cloves

1 tsp crushed pepper

1 tsp each of ginger and garlic paste

A handful of chopped parsley or corriander

1 ltr hot water

Salt to taste

 

Method

1.  Marinate your choice of meat with the ginger garlic paste for a 15 mins
2. Heat 3 tbsp of olive oil
3. Add the cloves and pepper corns when the oil is heating
4. Add the onions and sauté till translucent when the oil is hot
5. Add the marinated meat and garlic pod, and sauté till the meat shrivels up and lightly browns, the meat will start to sweat its natural juices
6. Add the stock and the hot water, salt to taste
7. Pressure cook for 15 mins on simmer after the pressure builds in the cooker
8. Immediately release the pressure and open
9. Add the potato and carrots and pressure cook for 5 mins after pressure builds again
10. Immediately release the pressure, open the cooker, add the crushed pepper, adjust the salt and lastly add the greens
11. On full heat and in an open pot cook till the stew thickens and reaches a creamy consistency, if you find the carrots and potato are fully cooked remove before you begin the thickening process and add back in later when thickened
12. I don't recommend you use a thickening agent, let it thicken on its own

If you like you could do away with the pressure cooker and slow cook for two hours, add the potato and carrot in the last half hour, the results are the same, just that the above will take you 1/2 hour max

 

This stew will be an instant hit, the original version is a lot blander, this is very flavourful and my family love to squeeze out the soft garlic pod and eat it as is its delicious. The meat is very tender and potato and carrots add a wonderful texture.

 

You can add a little boiled rice into the stew and serve your children, its a wholesome meal packed with protein, enough starch, minerals and vitamins and lower in fat than most other meat dishes we cook in an Indian style. The cut of meat is lean and you get the best out of the olive oil and garlic.

 

In our family we make it a point to eat red meat once in a week at least, we have all gone so paranoid about red meat, on the contrary when eaten in the right form and qty it is an integral part of a non vegetarian diet and has many benefits. 

 

Red meat is the only source for vitamin B12 and is rich in iron and other important minerals and vitamins.

All you need to do is google the benefits of red meat !

 

 



Diabetes

The onset of diabetes Type 2 is largely attributed to lifestyle factors

We work to help you understand your triggers, know how your body metabolises sugars and what works for you as an individual.

Reduce your dependency on medication by learning to read the signs and listen to them.

It takes one month to regulate and begin the process of reversal if you are committed to changing your lifestyle and understanding that this battle is winnable.

Each diabetic has different parameters that work for them, there is a general thumb rule but understanding how to make that specifically work for you is our speciality.

Counselling, diets, exercise routines are prescribed as well as information on how to choose when you eat out and manage when you travel.

We teach you how to make informed choices with regards to what to eat, and how to test yourself and test the resistance the diabetes brings as well as tips to manipulate the highs and lows till your body begins to adapt to the better lifestyle and heal itself.

We have effectively reversed over 200 cases in the past 2 years.

In the meantime I would like to share a laugh with you ...........I use a different approach from this guy

For further details on the 1 month correction program please contact 0091 96185 60111 (Hyderabad)