Day 1 & 2 of Lent!

 Last night, I happened to discover that Lent for the year 2014 has begun. I decided I shall as well use the 40 days of Lent to further improve my life style. I do not know all the rules that people usually follow during Lent but with a little bit of Internet search and introspection I came up with the following list of rules for myself to follow until Easter. 

• Eat in moderation.
• No meat on Wednesday, Friday and Saturday.
• Fast on Wednesday, Friday and Monday.
• Pray everyday.
• Read bible and Bhagavad Gita. 
• Exercise at least for an hour.
• No Facebook.
• Blog everyday about something positive.  
• Stay calm & positive, do not argue and learn to forgive others and yourself.
• Sleep early and wake up early.

Probably I might keep adding or modifying the above list! 

Have a good rest of the day!

Love,

Archana

Egg scrambled veggies & garlic bread sticks

Egg scrambled veggies:

Sauté carrots, onions, corn, chillies, cilantro and coconut flakes for five minutes in olive oil or butter. Add egg white and sauté for few more minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste! I am going to try this recipe again! It tasted great and is healthy too!!

Garlic bread sticks:

Toast two breads. Cut them into 3-4 inch long slices and sprinkle garlic dipping sauce (or make your own flavored butter).

Have a great week ahead!
Love,
Archana

Sent from my IPhone

(Spicy) spaghetti & garlic mushroom

Recipe for Spicy Spaghetti: 

(My own recipe :~) )

You need: bell peppers, cherry tomatoes, butter, olive oil, Parmesan cheese, salt, red chili flakes(optional), garlic(optional).

Directions: 

1. Add two spoons of butter and two spoons of olive oil in a deep pan and set the stove on medium heat. 

2. Add minced garlic(optional) and sliced peppers and saute them for two minutes.

3. Add sliced cherry tomatoes,salt to taste and saute them for five more minutes.

4. Add spaghetti (that has already been cooked in boiling water) to the above pan and let it all cook for five to ten minutes, stirring occasionally.

5. Add red chili flakes (optional) and Parmesan cheese just before turning off the heat. 

6. Serve hot and enjoy!

Spicy Spaghetti & Garlic Mushroom

Oven roasted mushroom

Recipe for Garlic roasted mushroom: 

(Recipe I found on Facebook )

You need:  16 mushrooms whose stalks are cute evenly,

3 tbsp corn or vegetable oil, (I used 2 spoons of vegetable oil)

1/4 c unsalted butter, softened  (I added about 4 spoons of butter),

3 cloves garlic, chopped very finely,

2 tbsp fresh thyme, chopped (I did not add this),

1 1/2 tbsp lemon juice

Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

1/4 c fresh breadcrumbs (I blended garlic croutons and used it as bread powder)

 Directions: 

Preheat the oven to 200C/400F/gas mark 6. Lightly fry the mushrooms, cap-side down, in hot oil for 20 seconds.Arrange the mushrooms in a shallow roasting tin with the stalks facing upwards. Mix together the butter, garlic, thyme, lemon juice and seasoning. Spoon a little garlic butter on to each mushroom, then lightly press the breadcrumbs on top. Either refrigerate for later use, or cook immediately in the oven for 10 minutes.

I added more bread powder than was needed,  yet the mushrooms tasted good! I might try this recipe again, this time using chicken instead of mushrooms and see how it turns out!

I am real bad at writing recipes. I hope you do not have a hard time deciphering it.

Enjoy your day!

Love,

Archana

I hurt my elbow.

I hurt my elbow, I spilled coffee, I spilled fruit juice, I wasted $60 on an application for which I missed the deadline, My job search is leading me nowhere, My iphone charger stopped working. I am still fat.

I am depressed. But I know I will be okay soon. It is just so hard to be positive when not one thing nice happens in life for a long-long time, right?

:( 

Happy day !

Hello World,

My day was pretty awesome today, though nothing special really happened. I think I have learnt to be satisfied and be happy no matter how worse the times are. And I am getting successful in handling the toughest phase of my life quiet well, these days. Some days (and nights especially) are much tougher than rest other days, but I am HANGING in here and holding on to the belief that everything happens for a reason (and a good reason).  

Here's what I did this morning! I am too lazy to type in here, so I am sharing a snapshot of my tweets!

Here's the conversation between mom and me today!

Me: Mom!! Guess what? 

Mom: What?

Me: Sru left her clothes in the dryer! I am going to iron them!!

Mom: NO. NOOO. Please don't do that. You will end up burning her clothes. She will be mad at you. She is already having a long week, Please leave her alone.

Me: Ok

When mom says No, I have to take it as an yes, right?! So yep, I did iron Sru's clothes! Guess what? No burnt skin or burnt clothes at the end of my ironing task! 

I updated my Skype status to 'Happy Day' today. I was talking to one of my recruiters  on skype, who pretty much became more of a friend as we interact almost everyday since a couple of months. This lady noticed my 'Happy Day' update, and said in a very cheerful way that things were going to work out in my favor and that everyday is going to be like my skype update. This little talk with her made me realize that when we stay positive, it effects not only us in a good way but also the people around us. :)

By afternoon, my symptoms of headache and tingly nose worsened! Mom told me I might have cold. I am pretty much EXCITED to have cold, since it's been like a year or more since I got sick or cold. Sometimes we take our health for granted and a little sickness is good, as it helps us to appreciate the importance of being healthy and well. I also had to make a vine about this <-- click here to see it.

I did treadmill for 45 minutes ( 2 + miles), no running (since my knees are hurting from yesterdays workout) and did some abs exercises (ball crunches--> my favorite) though I least wanted to exercise. It's really tough to not quit exercising when the numbers on the scale does not change, isn't it?! Well, I am trying to keep myself motivated and not give up anytime soon with my fitness goals. :)

I shoveled the snow on our driveway, which took me more than an hour. It would have taken one more hour, if it was not for a very kind young man who helped me shovel off the last few heaps of snow. 

I bundled up as I went to shovel the snow but  I was sweating profusely as I shoveled that it felt nice to have a naked face! I think my cold is for real. :P

Fruits+Vegetable juice I had after a hard one hour of shoveling the snow. All I ate until evening was cheerios for breakfast and this glass of juice. I have to stop skipping my meals and stop being lazy. :~{

Alright, that is it for now. I am doing my laundry and I still got to fold the clothes and put them back in my closet. I am all ready to get done with it and sleeeeeeeeep! It feels like a long long day yet there are many (MANY) tasks I need to finish.

Stay safe, stay calm!

Love,

Archana

Am I homesick / capricious / just a foodie ??

In a span of 24 hours...here is a list of my cravings! :~D

Me to sru: I feel like eating pizza!
Sru: Ok
Me to sru: (while eating pizza) I feel like eating rice & not pizza.
Sru: Ok
Me to Sru: (while eating rice) I feel like eating colocasia curry that mom makes & not rice.
Sru: Ok
Me to Sru: (while eating colocasiai) I feel like eating poori & not this.
Sru: Ok
Me to Sru: I feel like eating tiramisu.
Sru: Ok.
Me to Sru: I feel like eating french fries.
Sru: Ok
Me to mom: I feel like eating the veg rice you make.
Mom: hmm
Me to dad: I feel like eating idly, dossa, poori, vada and hmmm..
Dad: Sure, but when you are here.

Me to Sru: I feel like eating...hmm
Sru: :~O
Me to Sru: I do not know what but I feel like eating something.....
Sru to me: I think your problem is that, you are never happy with what you have. 
Me: I know that!
Sru: I think you are just home sick.
Me: hmmm...

PS: I am tired of being the caterpillar in the cocoon. 
I love my family for putting up with the crazy me.
I haven't yet eaten tiramisu. :~|

Sunrise smoothie!

Handful of blackberries, one orange, one banana, two or three strawberries. Add Two or three spoons of yogurt and half a glass of water to the above said fruits and blend them all together. Add a spoon of honey if it is too sour.

I found this recipe on pin-interest originally.

This smoothies is so full of antioxidants. I shall update with detailed nutritional benefits later.

Love,
Archana