Of the many common passions that my 4 year old daughter – Pari – and I share, one is collecting leaves, stones, pebbles, twigs, shells and knick knacks – from the nature….
We’ve figured that it’s one of the best way to de-stress, bond with nature and bond with each other! The best part is – we come back from our nature hunt with a host of activities to do indoors!

With leaves, we have done tons of art projects – printing the leaves directly on paper, making collage with dry leaves, threading them to make necklaces and many more.

This week, we did something very different, fun and beautiful with our freshly collected leaves. After a long, exasperating wait, the heavens opened up and showered us with the music of rain. We went out to explore the greens and came back with the greenest of green leaves from different trees – White Fig, Indian Rock Fig, Himalayan Mulberry, Frangipani, Mango and some more that I could not identify

Right after lunch, we settled for our leafy project. We needed a big smooth surface for this. So, chose the dining table instead of Pari’s study table which isn’t as big. First off – I taped the big rectangular white sheet (thick enough to sustain some vigorous crayon rubbing) of paper on the table. I used tape sparingly – just enough to set it in place.

Next, Pari arranged the leaves – veins side up – on this paper. Again, to keep the leaves intact, I helped her tape them in place. Finally, I spread another sheet of paper (same size as the previous one) on top of the leaves just so it covers the arrangement below exactly.

—————————————————————————–

—————————————————————————–

—————————————————————————–

Now, we were all set to have a blast! Pari picked the colours from the wax crayon set. I explained to her that darker colours would suit better. She started off with a maroon/crimson and as I had shown her – rubbed with the crayon on the leafy portion of the paper. She gradually started getting the hang of it. Instead of my telling her how to do, she tells me that she has learnt a nice trick. That, she should keep the crayon flat in her initial rubbings. That’s how the more prominent veins will show. And that’s true! Once you’ve got the markings, rubbing with a slight angle and with the pointed side will show off the more detailed veins.

—————————————————————————————-

—————————————————————————————-
I was amazed to see how quickly, the child figures out her own way and even teaches a thing or two. And this is because they are not scared to experiment…I can’t tell you enough, in words, how overjoyed she looked as she saw the patterns of the leaf appear magically on the paper.

——————————————————————————————-

She had a go at all the leaves for about 20-25 minutes and used a riot of colours – purple, dark green, bright orange, indigo blue, deep red. I was so tempted to try it myself that I pitched in here and there. She was happy to share and chip in with comments like – “I think your patterns are not very prominent, mamma. Do it this way. See…see how I am doing…”.

And these are the vein details we get after 25 minutes of vigorous rubbing! We loved it!

—————————————————————————————

—————————————————————————————

—————————————————————————————

—————————————————————————————

—————————————————————————————

But, there was something else we could do. I gave her some bright (but not dark) water colours. Watered them down enough so that they would spread easily on the paper. With four separate brushes, Pari spread a thin layer of fluorescent lime, orange, green and pink – one by one.

—————————————————————————————-

—————————————————————————————–

I could sense that she was tempted to do more and more coatings. But, if she did that, we would have lost the vein details. So, I had to declare that the art work is done and we need to wait a couple of minutes for the colours to dry and the effect to show through.

What evolved was really eye catching! You can see it for yourself.

——————————————————————————-

But then, I also really liked the vein rubbings, just as they were – without the water colour. And we were craving to try more…So, one more round. We placed another fresh sheet of paper on the earlier setting and had another go at it. By now, Pari had completely mastered the art of rubbing.
And here is the final result – without the water colour coat.

I pinned one art sheet on the soft board in Pari’s room. And taped the other one on the adjacent wall. I am planning to get a giant wall-to-wall soft board (felt board) so we have more space to display Pari’s art work.

——————————————————————————————-

——————————————————————————————-

I would have wanted to display it on the sun-facing glass window for, the sun shining through the water colour and veins maze would have been brilliant. But there are some wrought iron bars behind the glass pane which would have taken away from the effect. So, I will let these be in Pari’s room for a while before they are moved to the filing cabinet and another piece finds its way…
The inspiration for this project came from ‘The Artful Parent’ blog. I loved what they did with their leaves to turn it into a sun-catcher!

Pari had a ball with this project. She was elated with both – the process as well as the product. Though, I feel it’s the process and the experience while doing it that really matters rather than the final product. We have many more plans around the same activity. We plan to make greeting cards with smaller leaves. And then, there’s a bouquet coming up. Also, a necklace for myself There are a tons of options to keep us super busy and super excited!

Did you do any fun art project with leaves? Pls share it here. I would love to have more inspiration

—————————————————————————————————-
Give me some sunshine, give me some rain
give me another chance, I wanna grow up once again

Listen here…

This song from the latest Hindi movie – 3 idiots has acquired a whole new meaning for me lately…!

Some serious breathlessness over the last few months led me to read up left, right, center about the possible causes. During this exploration, I figured some stunning piece of information that no doctor had ever mentioned to me; let alone emphasizing upon it.

I am referring to the Sunshine Vitamin – Vitamin D, that is produced in our body when our skin comes in direct contact with the UVB rays of the sun.

Would you ever believe that that something as basic (and freely available) as SUNLIGHT can save us from many life threatening diseases?

And the lack of it can cripple us – literally.
The list is really long and serious…

I would like to add here that technically “Vitamin D” is not a “vitamin”. Its metabolic product, calcitriol, is actually a secosteroid hormone and the most potent hormone.

Some of the diseases or conditions that can be caused by Vitamin D deficiency:

- Osteoporosis is commonly caused by a lack of vitamin D. This is because, Calcium cannot be absorbed without sufficient Vitamin D. Period.
- Sufficient vitamin D prevents 17 different types of cancer including prostate cancer, breast cancer, ovarian cancer, colon cancer
- Rickets – Rickets is a disease found in children who are suffering from Vitamin D deficiency. It is characterized by inhibited growth and defects in the long bones.
- Vitamin D deficiency may aggravate type 2 diabetes and impair insulin production in the pancreas
- Obesity impairs vitamin D utilization in the body, meaning obese people need twice as much vitamin D
- Vitamin D is used around the world to treat Psoriasis
- Vitamin D deficiency causes schizophrenia
- Seasonal Affective Disorder is caused by a melatonin imbalance initiated by lack of exposure to sunlight.
- Vitamin D deficiency over a prolonged period leads to chronic low back pain as well as persistent, nonspecific musculoskeletal pain
- Your risk of developing serious diseases like diabetes and cancer is reduced 50% – 80% through simple, sensible exposure to natural sunlight 2-3 times each week.
- Infants who receive vitamin D supplementation (2000 units daily) have an 80% reduced risk of developing type 1 diabetes over the next twenty years.

Besides, the above mentioned diseases, as per the Vitamin D Council in the U.S., “current research has implicated vitamin D deficiency as a major factor in the pathology of heart disease, stroke, hypertension, autoimmune diseases, depression, chronic pain, muscle weakness, muscle wasting, birth defects, periodontal disease, autism, hyperparathyroidism, hypertension, influenza, myopathy (neuromuscular disorders), and more.”

Now you know why the song mentioned above means much more than just poetic bliss to me…

Read these verses again and you too will interpret it in a whole new ‘light’

Give me some sunshine, give me some rain
give me another chance, I wanna grow up once again

An epidemic of Vitamin D deficiency:

Let me share some latest research that says there is an epidemic of Vitamin D deficiency sweeping across India (and worldwide too) causing severe bone loss in adults across northern India. Inadequate exposure to sunlight and poor nutrition are factors contributing to the vitamin D deficiency, Dr Narayana Kochupillai, head of endocrinology and metabolism at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, said. He said, Osteomalacia, the loss of calcium from bones brought about by vitamin D deficiency, is leading to life threatening emergencies in young adults. Dr. Kochupillai said that pregnant women, particularly those with a poor intake of calcium through their diet, have been highly susceptible to bone loss associated with vitamin D. “The excessive requirement of calcium during pregnancy pushes such women towards severe osteomalacia,” he said.

You may think (I thought so too..), in a country like India, where sunlight is so abundant (or rather undesirable at times!), why under the sun (pun intended!) would we be deficient in Vitamin D. The problem is – our sedentary lifestyle. Working in centrally air conditioned offices or traveling in cars with glasses (glass cuts the UV rays that carry Vitamin D to our skin) and not being outdoors without an umbrella or sunscreen lotion will cut off the Vitamin D that we can only get either through sunlight or by taking Vitamin D supplements.

Even if you do go out for a walk or a jog, but are fully clad, sunlight will not penetrate the skin thus cutting off Vitamin D. To have your body soak up enough Vitamin D, you have to be in direct contact (minimally dressed) with the sun rays for at least half an hour daily. That explains, why western tourists visiting Goa or other coastal areas in our country like to spend as much time as possible sun bathing,
wearing just the bare essentials. Well, then, one can say our culture is not exactly condusive for this aspect of health requirement!

The rural population is not safe either

Research says 85% of Indian population is deficient in Vitamin D. But then, not 85% of India is urban dwellers. On the contrary, nearly 85% of India live in villages. Well, in rural India, folks work out in the open fields and farms dressed in a mere “dhoti” or “lungi” and these (male) folks may be getting enough sunlight. But Vitamin D works in collaboration with Calcium. These rural people have low calcium levels due to poor diet and nutrition. Hence, despite the fact that they may be getting enough sunlight, they too are at risk of rampant bone loss and other related problems as much as the city dwellers.

Vitamin D Deficiency Symptoms:

If it hurts to press firmly on your sternum (breast bone), you may be suffering from chronic vitamin D deficiency.

Some more symptoms associated with Vitamin D deficiency are:

* Depression
* Difficulty in sleeping
* Excessive fatigue
* Low energy levels
* Low immunity levels
* Mood swings
* Muscle pain
* Weak bones (which might result in fractures)
* Weight Loss

Vitamin D Deficiency Diagnosis

If you think you have all or most of the above symptoms, you might want to get a Vitamin D test done. I got it done and found myself way below the required level. Even if you don’t have the symptoms, it will still be prudent to get the test done to make sure your Vitamin D levels remain healthy all through the year (the levels may drop during winters; particularly if you are living in regions with harsh winter).

The test to determine Vitamin D levels is – 25 hydroxy(OH)2 D blood test. This test is slightly expensive in India. It is for INR 1500 or so but it is the most important step that you’d be taking for your health and vitality.

Note: Some doctors may recommend a 1,25-dihydroxy-vitamin D test, which is not an accurate test to determine Vitamin D levels. So, always go for the 25-hydroxyvitamin D test, also called a 25(OH)D. This test will measure Vitamin D3 levels. Here, I will add briefly that vitamin D3 (Cholecalciferol) is the naturally occurring form of Vitamin D that is produced when the UVB rays of run strike our bare skin.
There’s also D2 but what you want to measure here is D3.

What should be the desired Vitamin D level?

Once you have taken the test, please keep in mind that your levels be above 50 ng/ml (125 nmol/L) year-round. This is the latest recommended level as studied in-depth by the Vitamin D Council in the U.S. Earlier it used to be 30 ng/ml. But, latest research establishes that the body does not reliably begin storing cholecalciferol (Vitamin D3) in fat and muscle tissue until 25(OH)D levels get above 50 ng/ml (125 nmol/L). The average person starts to store cholecalciferol at 40 ng/ml (100 nmol/L), but at 50 ng/ml (125 nmol/L) virtually everyone begins to store it for future use. That is, at levels below 50 ng/ml (125 nmol/L), the body uses up vitamin D as fast as you can make it, or take it, indicating chronic substrate starvation—not a good thing. 25(OH)D levels should be between 50–80 ng/ml (125–200 nmol/L), year-round. Levels upto 100 ng/ml are most desirable. Above 100 may start causing toxicity. But then, it’s hard to reach that kind of level. Besides, our system regulates Vitamin D production on its own. So, toxicity is rare.

Vitamin D Deficiency Prevention and Treatment

– The most basic way to prevent as well as treat Vitamin D deficiency is to have unprotected sun exposure for sometime on a daily basis.
– Experts say 15-20 mins in the midday sun is the best to get enough Vitamin D. That’s when the ultraviolet B (UVB) radiation is the maximum and hence carries maximum Vitamin D compared to the morning sun which has Ultraviolet A (UVA) radiation which may be harmful.
– But, pls beware to wear high quality sunglasses to protect your eyes or the rays may cause cataract. — Also, you may cover the head and remember to not stand still but walk while you are in the sun. Experts also say that women should expose their arms and back while men should expose their chest for 15-20 mins.

– To avoid and treat Vitamin D deficiency, make sure that you eat a proper, balanced diet, rich in whole foods and complex carbohydrates.
– You may not still get enough Vitamin D from sun alone. So, taking supplements is a sure shot way to up the Vitamin D levels.
– You may ask your doctor for prescription supplements that come in injection form in various doses. Your doctor may also write oral supplements. These days, calcium supplements come in combination with Vitamin D. So, it’s best that you take calcium plus Vitamin D supplements rather than Calcium alone. Because, like I wrote above, Vitamin D is crucial for Calcium absorption.
– When taking supplements, make sure you are taking Vitamin D3 and not D2.

In India, the prescription Vitamin D injection is in Vitamin D3 form unlike in the U.S. where prescription injections are in D2 form. One may also opt for natural Vitamin D supplements rather than prescription ones. In India, natural Vitamin D3 supplements are hard to find. You may have to scout for high end pharmacies selling imported natural supplements. Or you may buy online from this source: http://www.vitamind3plus.com

Some sources mention Cod Liver Oil as a good source for Vitamin D. But I would personally not recommend it because the quality and quantity of Vitamin D you get from this source is not reliable. There are also other health issues reported by the consumption of cod liver oil.

There are a few food sources for Vitamin D. But then, these may not be the ideal sources for Vitamin D3. They, most likely have Vitamin

D2 which is not the most natural state of Vitamin D. Our bodies have to convert Vitamin D2 into D3 for calcium absorption.

Food Sources of Vitamin D (not necessarily D3)

* Beef
* Cod Liver Oil
* Cooked Liver
* Dry Cereals
* Eggs
* Fortified Margarine
* Mackerel
* Non-fat Milk
* Salmon
* Sardine
* Wild Mushrooms

I’ll share more information on this subject in subsequent posts . So keep checking this space.

And keep soaking the sun
——————————————————————————————————

References:

– Vitamin D Council
– Natural News
– Chicago Tribune
– http://www.nowpublic.com/health/whats-best-time-get-sun
– The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition

———————————————————————————————————
‘C’ for Cat is oh-so-boring!
How about – ‘C’ for Creativity; ‘C’ for Craft ?

Spending time doing art and craft projects with Pari – my 4 year old daughter – is much more than just nurturing a love for creativity in her.

It’s a therapy for both of us that helps calm our anxieties, give vent to nervous energy and keep us focused. And most of all – it’s our best way to bond and share and exchange ideas…

So, honestly speaking, it’s as much for my own sake as it is for her

Among various activities that we do using water colours, poster colours, plastic crayons, wax crayons, glitters, oil pastels etc., we also absolutely looooove doing the ‘before and after’ projects.

I have always encouraged her to reuse and upcycle old items to create something new and nice. This habit, now, has been internalized in her to an extent that she brings back disposable glasses from coffee shops, icecream cups and sticks, popcorn glasses and what have you – so she can recreate those into something else.

Recently, we saved the curd/yogurt box to convert it into a pen/markers/pencil holder.

This is the ‘before-and-after’ picture!

———————————————————————————————————
Pari applied the glue happily. While, I helped her stick the tissue. She coloured the base ink-blue all by herself. I sought her ideas on decorating. She wanted flowers. So, I helped cut the felt flowers. She stuck them and also adorned with the stones. I added the details with the tube colours!

And here is the step by step process:

What you will need:

1. Disposable box/coffee mug/curd box
2. PVA Glue/ Fevicol
3. Acrylic/Fabric/Poster Colours and Brush
4. Colourful Felt
5. Stones/Beads

Process:

1. Clean the box thoroughly
2. Apply PVA glue and stick 1 layer of tissue paper all over – except the inside.
3. Let it dry for a few minutes and once again apply OVA glue and second layer of tissue.
4. It should be firm upon drying.
5. Colour the box with acrylic, fabric or poster colour. (we used ink-blue fabric colour)
6. Cut some colourful felt into flower and letter shapes and stick them on (we cut the felt into ‘c’ – for craft/creativity)
7. You can use beads or stones to further adorn the felt flowers (we used some red stones from her broken hair-band!)
8. Use tube colours to do detailing and add some dimension

Other views:

———————————————————————————————————

———————————————————————————————————
Will come back and share more ideas with the same box. Pari’s school summer vacation has begun and I have already prepared a mile-long list of projects to do!

What art and craft did you do with your kid recently? I would love to hear your fresh ideas…!

Boats, elephants, open jeep safari, canoes – Kerala has more than one option to get you cruising…
———————————————————————————————————

My hubby – Avie and I have longed to go to Kerala for the past 6 years since our marriage. But, for one or the other reason, other destinations always sneaked into our scheme of things while Kerala just did not happen. Until Oct. 2009. It was as if we would go to Kerala when Kerala will want us to come rather than the other way round..!

———————————————————————————————————

But then, I have always believed, what ever happens, has a reason behind it. Now, in retrospect, it seems it was best that we went to Kerala at a time when Pari (our daughter) was old enough to cherish every small thing that this nature-rich land had to offer. Had she been younger than 4 years, she wouldn’t have appreciated the bounties of nature – the beach, the backwaters, the boat rides, the safari, the elephant ride…well, not just ride, but bathing the elephant, feeding that giant animal and appreciating how it interacts and responds to human instructions..!

Starting with this post, I will photo-essay (in several parts) the mesmerizing beauty of Kerala – the southern-most state of India. But, take my word for it – however much I may try, any word, any picture cannot do justice to the unfathomable natural beauty of this place.

———————————————————————————————————

Planning time, places to see and places to stay:

We have Club Mahindra ‘Red’ Season membership which means that we can book their resorts even during the peak periods. But then, as tourists, we prefer avoiding crowded destinations and high traffic seasons. So, instead of the Novembers and Decembers, we preferred October when the monsoon rains in Kerala are bidding good byes. Secondly, Club Mahindra has resorts in select places in Kerala covering back waters, beaches and the higher altitudes. But we also wanted to visit some other places where, unfortunately Club Mahindra does not have a property.

Via Kochi rather than Thiruvananthapuram (old name – Trivandrum)

We chose to go via Kochi (old name – Cochin) instead of Thiruvananthapuram, firstly because this historical city has a lot to offer to curious tourists like us. The 15th century Jew town being one of them. Secondly, places like Ashtamudi, Alleppey and Munnar would be accessible through the Cochin route. Thirdly, flights from Delhi to Trivendrum are more expensive than Delhi to Cochin

But sigh! Club Mahindra does not have a property in Kochi and Alleppey. Hence, after much research, I found out this ideal resort in Kochi via a flickr contact who had traveled extensively in Kerala. He suggested the ‘Cherai Beach Resort’ 14 kilometers away from the Kochi city.
We had a strong testimony from him about this resort’s eco-friendly construction, uncrowded feel and value for money. One look at the pictures from their website, and we knew that this was the place for us!

And voila!
The resort turned out to be more than what we expected. Built upon the backwaters of Cherai, this place was absolutely aligned with nature. Infact, to reach there, you would be driving through narrow lanes running almost into the paddy fields and backwaters! It was kind of unnerving to see the driver negotiate those sharp, narrow turns. It felt as if one inch of wrong judgment and the taxi would land right into the waters!

———————————————————————————————————

———————————————————————————————————

The greens are so dense and thick, spotting the cottages is a task
———————————————————————————————————
And some more adventure!
And yes, I forgot to mention, the monsoons that had retreated by then came back with a vengeance only couple of days before we landed in Kochi. The entire state was in knee-deep waters. We reached the resort in the evening and got a first hand experience of the famous Kerala monsoons when the resort staff handed over huge umbrellas to walk down till the cottage. And the walk turned out to be a bit of an escapade in itself. The winds were so strong and overpowering that the umbrella poised everywhere else except over our heads! And, with all the negotiating curves and tiny bridges that finally led us to the cottage, our adrenalin was pumping more than usual! Phew!

The cottages
Our cottage, named ‘Thottaruvu’, was bang opposite the serene backwaters, offering unobstructed view of the lagoon, the birds, the boatmen and the Chinese fishing nets. The cottages have been built on the waters of the lagoon without interfering with their natural state or flow. The waters, infact, meander through the entire resort premises. Small bridges have been built for the residents to move from their cottage to any other part of the resort. Even, tiny boats have been provided to row around through the resort! Sounds exotic? Yes, it is – a truly invigorating experience!

The lagoon water meanders through the resort. Cottages have been built on the backwater!

———————————————————————————————————

———————————————————————————————————

Bridging the distance between man and nature!
——————————————————————————————————–

———————————————————————————————————

———————————————————————————————————

———————————————————————————————————

———————————————————————————————————

The Cottage Interiors

Well, it’s nothing like one can imagine! It’s simple and yet unique. The coconut tree stands tall – right in the corner of the room and infact springs out in the open – through the ceiling! The windows start from the floor level so you can see the lagoon water outside on which the cottage has been constructed. The walls, the paintings, the balcony – all exude a rustic, unsophisticated charm. Each cottage is at a reasonable distance from the other one, so one has an isolated, private stay. Each has its own hammock, swings, tree house.

———————————————————————————————————

Inside our cottage – the Coconut tree stands guarding!
———————————————————————————————————

We could touch and splash the water sitting right there in the room!
———————————————————————————————————

The interiors have an earthy feel to them…
———————————————————————————————————
Nothing fancy and yet so much to do!
Lazing on the hammock with a book in hand would be the ideal way to relax. For the photography buff, this is the place to be – with an opportunity to click at every nook and cranny! Besides, it’s an ideal place to do some fishing or just feed the fishes. There are plenty of them in the waters surrounding the cottages.
The tree house, swings and sand pits can keep the kids busy for hours.

And then, something that’s so very synonymous with Kerala – the Ayurvedic massage. The resort has an Ayurvedic massage centre – across the lagoon! To make one experience the most of that place’s natural ambiance, we were taken to the centre via the traditional boat.
———————————————————————————————————

Lazing around is tough for these curious lil fellows!
———————————————————————————————————

Tree Time!
———————————————————————————————————

———————————————————————————————————

The Lily Pond – this is another place kids can spend time watching the lovely blooms, the peculiar coloured frongs and dragon flies!
———————————————————————————————————

———————————————————————————————————
And the icing on the cake – the Cherai Beach!

The golden, uncrowded Cherai beach right in front of the resort make this place a treat for the soul. Water babies that we all are – we spent hours there in the sun soaking plenty of Vitamin D but gaining a strong tan in the bargain!

———————————————————————————————————

Aaaah, and the food! How can I not talk about that? Simple, delicious, flavorful – particularly the local Kerala cuisine. Yes, an avid foodie that I am, the flavour still lingers on my mind….!

With an exciting start to our trip, we were all set to devour every bite and flavour that this state had to offer on its plantain-leaf platter…

Wait until I unravel the colours of the Jew Town – in the second part of this post!

Ciao

———————————————————————————————————

I will do a second part of this post covering Jew Town and the Elephant Training Centre – Kodanad.

Till then, cruise along with dreams in your heart and fire in your belly!

Enjoy some more views!

———————————————————————————————————

———————————————————————————————————

———————————————————————————————————

All photos in this post are copyright – Rashmie Jaaju. Using any of these in any media format whatsoever – print or digital – without my exclusive permission will be illegal and a punishable act.

A greener earth begins inside our body, in our homes...

To me, celebrating Earth day means celebrating life – in a natural way! If we adopt a greener lifestyle, it will reflect in our environment in a sure shot way. Hence, the need is to look inward – into our body and home. The change at this micro level will slowly but surely change our earth at a macro level – in a positive way.

Here are 5 simple and basic ways by which we can radically benefit our health and contribute towards a greener earth.

Raw Food is how nature designed it for us!

Eat More Raw, Uncooked Food:

Raw vegetables and fruits have enzymes that are healing to our bodies. The cooking process kills these enzymes depriving us of those beneficial enzymes that are so very essential for digestion. On the contrary, to digest the cooked food, our body has to give away some of the enzymes from our own systems! All green, leafy vegetables are rich in Chlorophyll and hence we like to add spinach and fenugreek leaves to our food. But then, we also cook them and cooking kills the very essence of the greens. The Chlorophyll rich greens, when exposed to heat, cease to exist in their natural form. Infact heating often creates toxic compounds that our systems cannot live with and hence have to eliminate them.
Some oils like the olive oil, when heated, become very toxic by releasing free radicals. These free radicals can create havoc in our system.

So, how do we add more raw food to our diet without compromising on taste.
Here are some easy ways:

1. Add more and more salad to the meals. And salads don’t have to be mere 4-5 slices of tomato and cucumber as is very standard in any Indian household We can add more veggies like – sprouted greens, sprouted chic peas, sprouted alfalfa, cabbage, carrots, beet.

2. Increase the portion of the salad.

3. Replace half the quantity of the breakfast with a bowl full of veggies and fruits.

4. Add raw veggies on top of cooked food. This will not only make them healthier but tastier too.

By eating raw, we are not only adding health, but saving on energy consumption too.

Juice fruits and veggies together for maximum health and taste!

Forget Pills. Juice your way to health and vitality: A glass-full of vegetable juice with breakfast can give that vital kick-start to our day. Fruit juices, I would say, are not that favourable, for their sugar and calorie content is too high to be good. But vegetable juice can really work wonders. Particularly, if we select the veggies well. Cabbage, for instance, is great for healing the stomach and related
gastrointestinal disorders. Beet juice is known for blood purification and builds red blood cells. Researchers also say that beet juice improves blood structure and cures diseases of the circulatory system, large intestine, and digestive system. They say, beet juice dissolves stones in the liver, kidneys and bladder.

Eat natural superfood:

1. Flax Seeds: As written in detail about this wonderful healing food in one of my earlier posts, Flax seeds are truly miraculous in more ways than one.

Packed with Omega 6 and Omega 3 fatty acids, Flax seeds have the potential to improve heart health, bone health, digestion, brain development, skin and hair and even peace of mind. Taken 2-3 teaspoons twice daily (smaller amount during pregnancy), it’s one of the best whole food supplement we can take without emptying our pockets. You see, it’s dirt cheap given all its natural healing
properties. Flax seeds should be powdered and refrigerated to avoid turning rancid.

Flax Seeds - For overall health and vitality

2.Chlorella and Spirulina: These two superfood are the most potent green algae we can take to keep all kinds of ailments and life threatening diseases, including cancer, at bay. Chlorophyll is packed with Vitamin B, K, C, E and amino acids. It is one of the few whole food sources of vitamin D. It also has zinc, iron, calcium, magnesium, potassium, rare trace minerals and essential fatty acids. Chlorella is known to have anti-cancer properties, treats many chronic dental problems, is excellent for brain development and growth and is a powerful detoxifying agent.
“Chlorella can neutralize and eliminate some of the contaminating heavy metals and strengthen the immune system…” Complete Encyclopedia Of Natural Healing by Gary Null PhD, page 135

Choose organic: Foods that are not sprayed with harmful chemicals or pesticides are higher in nutritional value and richer in antioxidants.

Let’s try to include more organically grown fruits, vegetables and grains in our food. We can even grow our own vegetables by creating a kitchen-garden in the backyard or even in planters/pots. This will not just ensure chemical-free food but also serve as a great stress buster and work out. And to top it all, lesser pollution of our soils.

Walking or cycling can add to our cardio workout and reduce carbon foot print

Walk the talk: A walk to the local market, stairs instead of the ubiquitous lift, cycle instead of the treadmill – all these greener means of commute and lifestyle will reduce carbon print on our earth and improve our heart health by adding cardio.

Green homes:

Eco-friendly Cleaning agents: One of the biggest hazards to our health and earth is the tremendous amount of chemicals that are released from cleaning agents – floor cleaners, washing powders, disinfectants. It may seem hard to find natural substitute for them. But, there are actually some natural cleaning agents that are effective without any of the negative effects of the chemical-based cleaners.
Lemon grass oil, for instance, is one such disinfectant that we can use for floor and bathroom sanitizing. A few drops of this oil can make our house germ free and leave a wonderfully invigorating freshness and aroma. Neem leaves, boiled in water can be effectively used to disinfect clothes. Infact, in Indian houses, we have used neem leaves since time immemorial to bathe after skin-diseases like chicken pox etc.

Switching off electricity – this is much talked about again and again and again, but unless and until this habit is internalized and comes to us naturally, we cannot truly say that we are doing our best. The electrical gadgets emit radiations, kill body cells and weaken our immune systems. There are ways we can reduce their negative influence. Keeping the cell phones and chargers away from our heads while sleeping or turning off microwaves and laptops when not in use will help reduce the long-term negative impact of the emissions.

Green beauty products: Skin care products that are naturally made, will benefit the skin as well as our environment. Excessive use of perfumes and deodorants are harmful for the skin and the environment.

Instead, use naturally made ‘ittars’ or essential oils like lavender, prim rose, sandal, lemon grass etc by diluting them. These essential oils are not just aromatic, they are also very healing
for the senses. Whether to cure insomnia or muscle aches, nausea or fatigue, these oils come handy.

– Aloevera gel is an excellent for healthy skin. You can grow aloevera in pots and easily extract the gel to use as moisturizer for your face and body, to heal cracked heals or cuts and bruises.

– Rose water (gulab jal) is a wonderful natural cleanser and toner.

– Fuller’s earth (multani mitti) is great as a face pack and mask. There are hundreds of such natural home-based products that can substitute the chemical-intense beauty products and cosmetics we are so used to.

Let’s implement these ideas and make our home, office, body and mind and eventually – our environment – green and pollution free.

Wish you a Happy Earth day and a beaming you!

———————————————————————————————————
All photos in this article are copyright of Rashmie Jaaju and should not be copied and used in any media format – print or digital – without my exclusive and explicit permission.

References:

Complete Encyclopedia Of Natural Healing by Gary Null PhD
Mike Adam’s – www.naturalnews.com
Healing With Whole Foods by Paul Pitchford

As moms, we are always juggling with a dozen tasks a day and switching from one role to another. But it seems, that one activity over which we beat our brains out is – “what to cook”! However trivial it my seem, but it’s definitely not a no brainer…

More so, when it comes to cooking for the preschoolers and the growing children. They are not the ones to understand why they should eat more green veggies, or more calcium-rich or more iron-rich and stuff. All they go by is their mood and palatte.
And we busy moms, donning multiple hats, don’t really have the time or energy to do elaborate 4 meals a day (breakfast, lunch, evening snack, dinner!).

Today, I want to share a recipe keeping in mind the evening snack time which is so very crucial for the growing kids. As they get ready to play outdoors in the evening, its important that they have the essential energy levels. This snack is so convenient to make, you can even whip up during journeys.

Adults and weight watchers will relish it as much. The best part is it does not require oil nor any cooking in real sense.

For 2 adults/ 3-4 kids aged 3-4

2 cups curd/yogurt
1 cup poha (i think it’s called beaten rice in English speaking countries. See the pic to get an idea)
2 cups diced fruits and veggies (banana, pomegranate, cucumber)
2 teaspoons natural brown sugar or jaggery
1 pinch of salt

Method:
1. Clean the poha with water so that it becomes soft and fluffy. Drain the water in a colander (a container with big pores to drain water)
2. Add natural brown sugar or jaggery to the curd and beat thoroughly to get a smooth consistency
3. Add sliced banana, diced cucumber and pomegranate
4. Add poha and mix all ingredients gently
5. Garnish with pomegranate seeds
5. Serve slightly cold

Note: It should be a thick consistency and yet juicy enough. There should be some amount of curd even after the poha has soaked up most of it. You can add or remove any fruit or veggie as per taste. I, for one, like the uniqe flavour of the banana and cucumber combination.

This snack is rich in calcium (curd, banana), iron (pomegranate, brown sugar/jaggery), dietary fibre (poha).

We want to give the best life to our kids. Toys, books, bags, trendiest clothes, cycles, gadgets – we don’t want them to feel deprived. We don’t hesitate once to provide them with materials that will feed their imagination – crayons, chart paper, computer paper, water colours, glitters, glue…

In our well meaning intentions, we sometimes forget that we may also be encouraging the kids to generate immense amount of waste. Paper once scribbled may go into the dustbin in a jiffy, those plastic toys will stop interesting them in a matter of days, bottles of poster colours are emptied in a couple of afternoon activities and tossed in the bin. Why, don’t we keep telling them to clear clutter from their desks, keep the rooms clean. Well, this is a good habit to instill but what about the bigger consequences of first creating all that mess and then dumping it all in the dustbin in the name of clearing clutter? Are we actually clearing
the cutter or just adding more and more mess to our eco-system…?

It’s high time we encouraged our kids to start reusing, recycling, upcycling, buying less and hence generating less waste. Before I delve deeper into this topic, let’s have a quick look at this somewhat lesser known and even less understood term – *upcycle. Upcycling is similar to recycling in that we take something (that we may otherwise throw away) and revamp it into a new form for continued use. Read more about it in my previous post…

Reusing, upcycling – all this can be a lot of fun and deeply satisfying. I will share a few experiences from my effort to reuse old stuff and ingrain this spirit of creating ‘treasure from trash’ in my 3+ daughter – Pari. These are some small things that are now becoming habit forming with us.

1. Revamp old clothes (and no, you don’t need to know sewing for this!)
Instead of buying more and more clothes for the preschoolers and growing children, we can give them a project to revamp their old clothes. It may be as simple as doing some block printing using some fabric colours.

In the picture, Pari (my daughter) and I revamped her old white T Shirt last year by printing ladyfinger cross sections in the Indian flag colours – saffron and green. She was thrilled to bits to see the new look of her T Shirt and infact she wore it for the Independance Day celebrations in her playschool the next day. ater on she went on to colour her father’s old T Shirt as well which he would proudly wear outside during his weekend activities.

2. Good old slate and chalk
For practising aphabets, numbers etc, our older generation relied on the cheap and simple slate and chalk/cacium carbonate pencils.
That practise has somewhat diwndled these days. Come to think of it, a simpe slate can save tons of paper being wasted everyday for these writing practise sessions with the kids.

3. Pamphlets, hand-outs, greeting cards – more useful that you ever thought!
For Pari’s nursery craft projects like “collage of my favourite things”, or “summer/winter/spring collage”, we generally need picture cuttings. I have realized that instead of wasting magazines by cutting out pics for those projects, its a nice idea to save the pamphlets, ad insertions, greeting cards, hand outs in the malls etc. They aways come in handy when looking for pictures of food, veggies, fruits, places, buildings, toys, dresses, festivals etc.

4. Make puzzle out of card board box!
Cut out a not-so-complicated cartoon/picture from any magazine or newspaper. Glue it onto the cardboard. With a very sharp utility knife, you can cut this into pieces to make a homemade puzzle.

5. Old waste materials as tools for painting.
We don’t have to buy expensive paint brushes every now and then for the preschoolers. Old tooth brushes, straws, icecream sticks, tooth picks, feathers – all these make for great brushes/tools to make some unique art work and paintings.

I will keep adding to this list as and when I come up with newer ideas. Do share from your experience in the comments section.

I wanted to post some ideas on how to encourage our kids to reduce waste by reusing, recycling and *upcycling* and then realized ‘upcycling’ is a relatively lesser known and even less understood term and hence we just may confuse it with ‘reusing’. So, here’s a quick post on what ‘upcycling’ actually means, how’s it different from ‘recycling’ and ‘reusing’.

Upcycling is similar to recycling in that we take something (that’s otherwise a waste) and revamp/remodel it into a new form for continued use. However the main difference is that in the case of upcycling we generally do not alter its form back into its components for reuse. Also, in recycing – the quality of the original material may degrade (recycled plastic) but in upcycle, we actually retain the quality of the original product and infact sometimes enhance it.

For example, we have an old glass bottle.

In recycling, the recycling center sorts the glass from other recyclable material and sends them out to be recycled, where the glass would most likely be melted down to make a new bottle/jar along with all the other glass containers that are no longer in use. In upcycling we would clean the glass bottle, beautify it with some glass colours etc and reuse it as a flower vase!

Upcycling is different from simply ‘reusing’ the product for same purpose – for example, reusing the glass bottle to store oil or juice.
Reusing it as a flower vase means upcycling. The glass bottle got a new lease of life when we revamped it to use as flower vase.

This term (‘upcycling’) was originally coined by the authors McDonaugh and Braugart and is being extended to revamping anything for a different use/purpose. Anything that was intended to end up in the landfill.

Upcycling reduces substantial amount of waste and industrial production. Besides being a boon to environment, its wallet friendly as well as we buy less. I find it much more satisfying than just ‘creating’ anything new because in upcycling, we are reinventing and repurposing an old item that may have outlasted its purpose or usability. When we repurpose it, we are giving it a new life and meaning…