Kitchen beauty secrets of the stars

Source :TOI :Zeenia F Baria & Simi Kuriakose | Feb 10, 2012, 12.00AM IST


We uncover the secrets that keep our glam girls looking gorgeous... 

They may look like goddesses on the big screen and the red carpet, but even celebrities have their off days. And although they have an entourage of stylists and make up artists to make them look sensational, some stars also have kitchen beauty secrets that they swear by. Here are a few... 

Aanchal Kumar 
In my profession, we use loads of make up and our timings are awkward. So dark circles develop quite frequently. A home remedy I use is to mix lemon juice and tomato juice and apply it around my eyes. Trust me, it works instantly, and is better than any under eye cream. 

Mini Mathur 
Once a model friend of mine told me that when you have a zit, an easy way to get rid of it is by mixing a little sugar in water and applying it on that zit. Sugar is an astringent and helps close pores. Another time, right before a shoot, my blush got over. So I rushed into the hotel's kitchen where we were shooting and took some slices of beetroot. I rubbed it on my cheek bones right before applying my make up, and you won't believe the instant glow it gave me. 

Neha Dhupia 
Though it tastes extremely bitter, I drink aloe vera juice everyday . I have an aloe vera plant in my house. I feel it is a cure for everything. It is not only great for the skin and blood, but it also heals cuts and bruises because of it's medicinal qualities. 

Amisha Patel 
For my hair, I use a mixture of almonds and oil. My grandmom would make this oil out of 15-17 different kind of Ayurvedic products, so I could apply it on my hair. I also apply raw eggs on my hair, keep it on for 15-20 minutes till it hardens, and then wash it off. This gives my hair bounce. Also, for my skin, I apply a mix of turmeric powder and besan (gram powder) added tomilk or yoghurt. This makes my skin glow. 

Sonal Chauhan 
I personally feel that I look beautiful when I'm well fed. The moment I am hungry, I feel myface drops, so I need to be well-fed always. I also mix honey and oats and apply it on my face, leaving it for some time and then scrub it off. It works wonders. 

Angela Jonsson 
I use milk on my face on a regular basis. In fact, I wash my face with milk, as it cleanses my skin and softens it. I also place hot tea bags on my lips. They are great as they soften my lips and make them look fuller. 

Here's what Hollywood hotties prefer... 

Demi Moore 
Detoxes in a rather unique way. She uses medical leeches - creatures grown in a laboratory specifically to suck the blood of a person to detoxify. 

Michelle Yeoh 
Uses lemon juice to keep her face clean. Best for oily skin, the acid in lemon removes natural oils and also makes stubborn dirt come off the pores. 

Catherine Zeta-Jones 
Uses fresh strawberries to whiten her skin. Strawberries contain malic acid, which acts as a mild astringent when mixed with baking soda. To keep her hair healthy and shiny, Catherine brushes it with castor oil, which is also known to prevent hair loss. 

Julia Roberts 
Soaks her hands in olive oil for a few minutes every week to keep skin soft and stop the nails from going brittle . Olive oil moisturises nails, makes them stronger and also softens one's cuticles. 

Jennifer Love Hewitt 
Treats pimples with toothpaste. Applying a dab of toothpaste to the pimple overnight dries it out, in much the same way that prescription acne remedies do. 

Teri Hatcher 
Pours two cups of red wine into her bath every night to help soften her skin. 

Jessica Biel 
Keeps her skin youthful by mixing two teaspoons of sugar with her cleanser, and using it as a scrub. 

Mariah Carey 
Applies a dab of peppermint extract to her lips, which is known to increase blood flow to the lips and give her a sultry pout. 

Cindy Crawford 
Keeps her face moisturised by mixing equal parts of full fat milk and mineral water and keeping it in a spray bottle, which she sprays on her face throughout the day for extra moisture. 

Miranda Kerr 
Makes sure she takes four tablespoons of coconut oil without fail everyday either on her salads, her cooking or in her green tea, which she says is good for everything from skin and hair to weight loss. 

How to make pizza at home

Source :Meghna Mukherjee::TOI : Jan 30, 2012, 02.08PM IST


Here's how you can make pizza at home 

Ingredients: 

2 ¼ tsp active dry yeast 

1 ½ cups warm water 

4 cups bread flour 

1 ½ tsp salt 

2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil 

1 tbsp sugar, extra flour and extra olive oil 

Method: Pour warm water in a large mixing bowl and add sugar and dissolve it. Dissolve the yeast by stirring continuously after addition. Allow the mixture to settle down for 10 minutes or extra so that the yeast becomes active. Add the yeast and olive oil when the mixture becomes foamy. Add 3 cups of flour to the mixture one by one and whisk in until dissolved completely. Make sure the mixture is completely smooth. Use your hands to combine the dough until all of the dry flour has moistened into mass. 

When the flour has absorbed all of the moisture and congealed into a firm mass. Remove from the bowl to a floured tabletop to knead it. Fold it half again and push it into itself again and again for about 10-12 minutes. 

After kneading, coat the dough ball with a thin layer of olive oil. After that, place it in the bottom of a large mixing bowl. 

Pan the pizza. Ladle about 7 to 8 oz. of pizza sauce into the middle, bottom of the dough shell.Spread the sauce evenly over the surface of the dough sheet. Spoon the sauce out to the edge of the dough sheet. Leave a small margin on the outer-side of the dough sheet, which allows the crust to rise and crisp more quickly than the covered dough; creating the classic, puffed up edge of the pizza. Now create a layer of the shredded cheese over the sauce. Shred about two cups of cheese. Arrange your toppings over this layer of cheese.

Coconut chutney with roasted chana dal

Source :Mumbaimirror:Navya Malini: TNN  :12 Jan 2012

Well, what's the fun in having plain coconut chutney? If you want to use less of coconut in your chutney, well, there are various ways of doing it. Adding roasted chana dal is one of the easy and tasty ways you can bank on. The ingredients required:  One half coconut grated, roasted chana dal 75 -100 gms,  Green chilies 3-5 (according to how hot you like your chutney to taste),  mustard, asafetida, curry leaves and urad dal, very little quantity of each ingredient required for tadka,  salt to taste,  water 100 ml or as per your requirement Method:  Transfer the grated coconut, roasted chana and green chilies into the mixer grinder.  Add a little quantity of water to this mixture and grind it once.  Take the lid off and check whether more water needs to be added.  Mix the mixture well and add some more water followed by salt so that it is distributed evenly in the chutney mix.  Take the chutney out after you are sure about the consistency and coarseness. While you transfer the chutney into a bowl, keep the pan aside for tadka.  Add mustard seeds, asafetida, urad dal to the hot oil in the pan and add curry leaves when the mustard seeds start to crackle.  Pour this hot mixture into the bowl containing the chutney and serve it fresh with piping hot idlis or a crispy dosa.

Peanut butter

Source :TOI :Shakti Salgaokar, Health Me Up | Feb 1, 2012, 12.00AM IST

I used to think that peanut butter was, literally, butter blended with peanuts. Of course, this was a time when you couldn't Google recipe ingredients.

Soon enough (thank you Google) I figured out that peanut butter was actually peanut paste with sugar and a little oil. It is the simplest thing to make. Now, you'd say if there was a jar of peanut butter sitting in the fridge, you'd want to eat it all the time. Apparently, it wouldn't be such a bad thing.

True, peanut butter has high fat content, but it is also rich in both - monounsaturated, and polyunsaturated fats. The fat content in Peanut Butter also gives it great satiety value and keeps you from feeling hungry quickly. With nearly 8g plant protein for every 2 tablespoons of peanut butter, it is one of the richest sources of protein for a vegetarian diet. What's more? Peanuts are packed with fiber, phosphorous, potassium, zinc and folic acid. A small serving of peanut butter is actually good for you.

The catch is that peanut butter isn't available locally. Yes, the imported variety is available, but that costs about Rs. 220/- for a 500g jar! If you've got 10 minutes, here's how you could make peanut butter for a fraction of that price.

Ingredients:
- 500g Peanuts (roasted and peeled)
- 2-3 tablespoons of groundnut oil
- Salt to taste
- 4 tbsp icing sugar

Method:
- In a blender, blitz the peanuts until they're finely ground. Stir a little and add the oil, half a tablespoon at a time and continue blitzing until a smooth paste is formed. Add in the icing sugar and blitz again. Voila! Your peanut butter's ready!

Variations:
Chocolate Peanut butter: Add 1.5 tsp cocoa powder along with the icing sugar. (I like a hint of chocolate. If you want a stronger chocolate flavour, I suggest melting a 100g bar of cooking chocolate on a double boiler and mixing it in).

Spiced Peanut butter: Add ¼ tsp of your favourite spice into the icing sugar. I usually mix cinnamon, that way I don't mind eliminating the jelly from my PBJ sandwich

Crunchy Peanut butter: Before you start, blend 100g peanuts on pulse to form a coarse powder. Mix this into the peanut butter paste later.

Peanut Butter doesn't necessarily have to go into a sandwich to taste great! They add an interesting flavour to sauces, soups and stir-fries. I like to mix peanut butter with a bit of oyster sauce. It makes for a great stir fry. Want a bit of a smooth salad dressing that doesn't pile on calories? Add some chili oil, juice of a lime, herbs and a teaspoon of peanut butter. Go ahead, get creative. Just make sure that you don't exceed the serving size of 2 tbsp per day! Too much of a good thing is always bad!

Eat smart, live healthy

Source :TOI :Deepika Sahu | Jan 30, 2012, 03.15PM IST
The key to one's well-being is a proper, balanced diet 

You are what you eat. There's much wisdom in this simple sentence. And for that you don't have to shell out thousands. We might think we are eating right and doing everything perfect to stay healthy. But thanks to modern lifestyle and all the stress that comes with it, toxins can build up in our bodies and eventually result in common health complaints. 

Acculumation of toxins and stress can result in an imbalance of mental and physical well-being. The benefits of a healthy diet are immense 

-A stronger immune system 

-Increased stamina 

-Glowing skin 

As dietcians maintain, the fundamentals remain the same in eating smart. Stick to eating healthy, fibre-rich foods such as fruits, vegetables and whole grams. 


Don't stay hungry for a long time as you end up eating more in the end. 


Take small meals but at regular intervals. The golden rule is to have a hearty breakfast.


 Limit your intake of sugar, red meat and white flour like maida. Another rule is that in addition to healthy eating, remember to stay hydrated with a regular intake of water.


 Limit your tea and coffee intake more so when you work in an air-conditioned environment. If you want your share of comfort food, remember to gorge on foods that contain vitamin B.


 It can help you with your generous supply of feel-good fibres, so that you feel less moody, depressed or irritable.


 Don't wrack your brains as it is easy to get your share of vitamin B through food items like whole wheat bread, almond, tuna, orange juice andpoultry.

Egg White Vs. Egg Yolk: Which Is Better?

Source :fitsugar

A lot of us love to eat eggs for breakfast, especially after finding they could help with weight loss. 

You may be throwing away the yolks to cut calories and reduce cholesterol, which is fine but did you know that most of an egg's nutrients are found in the yolk? 

Take a look at the comparison below to see what you may be missing.

Want to see how an egg white and yolk compare head-to-head? 

Then read more

	Egg White	Egg Yolk
Calories	17	59
Fat (g)	.06	4.51
Saturated Fat (g)	0	1.6
Carbs (g)	.24	.61
Protein (g)	3.6	2.7
Cholesterol (mg)	0	210
Sodium (mg)	55	8
Calcium (mg)	2.3	21.9
Vitamin D (IU)	0	18
Folate (mcg)	1.3	24.8

Moral of the story: Think about keeping (and eating) a few yolks every once in a while -- If you don't currently have cholesterol problems, you can eat up to seven yolks a week.


 You can get even more detailed info, such as how much Methionine are in a white and yolk, at the USDA Nutrient Database.

How healthy is the egg yolk

Source :TOI :Pooja Makhija :Jan 31, 2012, 12.00AM IST


Pooja Makhija, a nutritionist answers some health related questions... 


When cola companies claim 'Diet' and 'Lite', what do they mean?
Are these really low in calories?
 And are they safe for consumption on a regular and daily basis?
- Sasha Sharma 
Conventional aerated drinks are sugar-laden carbonated beverages. Their 'diet' counterparts are the carbonated waters without the 'empty sugar calories' rest of the remaining ingredients being the same. Yes, diet colas are low in calories (because the chief contributor sugar is missing). But they are not a dieter's dream! They may not have as many calories but do have artificial sweetener aspartame as the main sweetening agent. Aspartame have long list of harmful effects. Enamel erosion, bone loss, kidney damage, weight gain, frequent headaches, brain cell damage being the feared ones. I wouldn't consider diet sodas 'safe' for daily consumption. 

Health shops are selling palm jaggery, which they advertise as the safer alternative to sugar. Is this so? 
Can palm jaggery be substituted everywhere for sugar? 
- Suvarna Nath 
Palm jaggery is collected as sap from date palm trees. It's a natural sugar substitute, with a lot of health benefits. It has natural cleansing properties that aid digestion and help remove toxins from the body relieving constipation. Jaggery is used as home remedy to help alleviate dry cold coughs, hiccups, migraines and more. Because of its mineral content, it also helps reduce water retention, bloating and lower blood pressure. It can replace sugar in most Indian recipes. Although jaggery has many medicinal properties versus refined white sugar, it does have the same number of calories (source parent is same) thus for those on weight loss programs, keeping consumption to a minimal should be considered. 

Pre-packaged salads with short shelf lives are being sold in departmental stores. Are these safe to consume? 
- Shama Khan 
With the much created awareness about importance of fresh fruits and vegetables, but always falling short in time to procure them; prepackaged salads and salad bars are mushrooming all over. Remember that fresh produce always has a short shelf life, thus the best before date must be carefully observed before purchasing these items. In the quest to gain healthy fibre rich snacks, we should not contract unhealthy bacteria laden diseases. The salad should be ideally packaged and refrigerated immediately after cutting vegetables and must be consumed within a day for best nutrient availability. 

Is it harmful to have the yolk of egg?
 If I mix one yolk with the whites of five eggs in my breakfast omelets, would that be okay or am I still asking for cholesterolproblems? 
- Rushad Bana 
No, consuming the yolk is not totally harmful, especially if not eaten daily. Yes, the yolk contains most of the fat (99 per cent) of the egg, but it also contains a chunk of the nutrients, including 90 per cent of the calcium, iron, Vitamin B6 + B12, zinc, and folate content. Majority of the protein (100 per cent complete in all essential amino acids) content is in the egg white, and since it has just 1 per cent of the fat; it contributes very little calories to the daily intake. Thus egg whites can be had in multiple numbers daily.