No Bake Chocolate Protein Balls

What is better than a healthy snack that is tasty and ready to eat whenever you have a sweet craving? There are so many versions of protein snacks and desserts out there, I thought I should try and make one too. I mostly have them in the evenings or post workout as a quick snack or whenever I crave for something sweet.

These are super quick and easy to make chocolate protein balls. All you have to do is add all the ingredients listed in a bowl and mix it all up and make little balls!

I made mine with My Protein – impact whey and I love the chocolate smooth flavor. I use it in my overnight oats too. The best part is that you can really add whatever extra ingredients you want. I have added chocolate chips however you can add dried cranberries, dates, raisins or chopped up nuts.

Add the dry ingredients in a big bowl. Combine the dry ingredients well first and add the wet ingredients to this, I like to use my hands during this part because stirring with a spoon can get a bit difficult and its so much easier to mix them all well with your hands!

You can add 1-2 teaspoon of milk if required to make it stick. It yielded me 11 little balls and it was around 75 calories each.

Ingredients

• Quick oats – 1 cup
• Protein Powder(chocolate)-1 1/2 scoop
• Chocolate chips-2 teaspoons
• Honey – 3/4 cup
• Peanut butter-2 tablespoons

Instructions

• Combine the oats, protein powder and choco chips (nuts/raisins if adding)
• Add honey and peanut butter in a smaller bowl, mix it well.
• Now add the wet mixture to the oats mixture.
• Get in there and combine everything together using your hand. Add extra honey if the mixture is too dry. Once it is all mixed well, wet your hands and form tiny balls.
• Now place them in a tray and refrigerate it for 15-30 minutes.
• Enjoy these chewy babies. You can store them in a container in the fridge for up to a week.

Give this a try and let me know how you like it!

Guilt-free Greek Yogurt & Banana Protein smoothie bowl

To begin with the texture of this is in between a smoothie and a nice cream but whatever it is, it satisfies my sugar cravings and under 200 calories that for me is a win! Pick ripe bananas for this recipe and once they are ripened freeze them for at least 4 hours. This one’s so basic and yet so tasty I had to share this with you’ll!

Ingredients:

• 2 Frozen banana (Peeled & cut)
• 1 Cup Non-Fat Greek Yogurt
• 1 Scoop Protein Powder of choice (I use My Protein – Smooth Chocolate)

Instructions:

1. Pick the bananas that are turning brown. Peel and cut into pieces. Freeze in an airtight bag or container.
2. To make the smoothie place the frozen banana, greek yogurt and the protein powder in a blender. Pulse till all the banana pieces are blended well and smooth. Add some milk (3-4 tablespoons) if you find it hard to blend the frozen bananas. I just keep pulsing till I get the desired consistency It helps when the bananas are chopped to small pieces.
3. Pour it into a bowl, top it with some nuts & raisins and serve immediately.

Notes: The above recipe will serve 2. The protein powder I use is from My Protein. However I used to previously use the R1 Protein-Chocolate fudge. Both these options are not chalky, they blend well with milk/yogurt and they have tons of flavor options, but I am always inclined towards chocolate. While you don’t have to use a frozen banana for this recipe, I recommend it because it will make the texture creamier and thicker.

That’s the consistency you want!

Genda da Addye / steamed Cucumber cake

There are a lot of things I miss about Mangalore, and the one thing on the top of the list is definitely the food! There were so many varieties of sweet dishes that we used to eat back home and I never really cared much to know what ingredients went into them and how it was made. But things changed after my move. I was curious to know what ingredients were used and how exactly it was made and one of the many things that I crave for occasionally are the variety of ‘addye’s’ (steamed cakes) we used to eat while we were growing up.  My grandma used to make this sweet addye and it was one of my favorites! Genda da Addye or Cucumber cake if I may call it so! 

Originally this dish is cooked in a traditional way on a wood fired stove (Indian mud choolah) with coal (genda in tulu) placed on top which gave it a unique burnt taste.  However this one is made in a cooker on a gas stove and anyone can try it at home. We made this made this when my in-laws visited us last year and I have been in love with it ever since. It’s easy and it tastes great Let’s get started! 

Ingredients

• 2 cup rice (idli/dosa rice)
• 1/4 teaspoon fenugreek seeds (methi)
• 1 long cucumber (skinned and roughly chopped)
• 1 cup grated coconut
• 3/4 cup powdered jaggery (increase if you want it sweeter)
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 ½ medium onion (finely chopped)
• 1/2 cup ghee
• 2-3 tablespoon nuts/raisins

Instructions

1. First, soak the rice and fenugreek seeds in water separately in a bowl for 3-4 hours.
2. Add the soaked rice and fenugreek seeds together to a blender and grind it together with grated coconut, powdered jaggery and chopped cucumber to a slightly coarse bater by adding water (You can use the same water used to soak the rice) The batter should be of thick dosa batter consistency and not too watery. Check sweetness and adjust jaggery accordingly.Add salt to the batter.
3. Place a pressure cooker on medium flame. Add ghee and grease the sides of the cooker as well so the addye (cake) comes out easily without sticking in the end. Once the ghee is hot, add the chopped onions and fry till they turn to a darker shade of brown. Next add the nuts and raisins and give it a quick stir. You can add more nuts/raisins if you like.
4. Pour the batter to the cooker and immediately add 1/2 cup of water.Make sure you lower the flame at this point to keep it from sticking to the cooker and gently mix well making sure there are no lumps. Now close the lid. You don’t have to use the cooker’s weighted stopper instead place an inverted steel cup directly on the vent tube (from where the steam escapes) If you don’t have a steel cup use any any microwave safe cup that sits well.
5. Cook the Addye on very low flame for 50 minutes to an hour.
6. After 45- 50 minutes you can check to see if the Addye is done. Piece with a wet fork/knife to see if the batter sticks to it, If it does cover and continue cooking for a few more minutes. 
7. Turn off the gas and let it cool down for 10 minutes. Gently invert the cooker and give it a good tap to remove it from the cooker onto a wide plate. Rest it for another 15 minutes. The addye is now done and is ready to be relished. Cut it into pieces and enjoy!

You can have them for breakfast or with your evening tea. I love to eat it whenever I feel like throughout the day! You can leave it out for a day and then store the pieces in an airtight container and refrigerate it. Microwave it for a few seconds just before serving.

Hope you give this a try and if you do, let me know how you like it!

Mangalorean Fish Curry

Today let’s talk about the fish curry. The authentic mangalorean fish curry to be precise. I grew up in Mangalore, the port city of Karnataka, India. It is well known for the coconut palms, spectacular beaches and of course for the lip smacking seafood! Fish is a staple food for most mangalorean families. You will find it most buffets and family get together meals without a doubt. As a kid I liked fried fish better than the fish curry to be frank but now that I am thousands of miles away from home there are days when I miss my Amma’s fish curry! So taking things to my own hands I decided to give it a try. The stomach wants what it wants right ? 😉

The hardest thing to do it get a recipe written from my mom. She always gives me measurements visually with her fist and fingers! So one day before I moved to the US, I sat there in our kitchen watching her cook the fish curry and understood the ratio and measurements of the ingredients she used. And finally I gave it a try. Proud to say that it tasted great! Definitely not as yummy as hers but close enough and I and my husband relished it. (And know that my husband is one of the greatest critics known to mankind. lol when he doesn’t say it out you can still see it in his eyes!) So for me it was a win, and since a lot of my fellow amateur cooks asked how I cooked it, I thought let’s write it down!

So before we start, you can use the fish that you like and have tasted before, preferable something Indian. I have used Pomfret for this recipe since we buy that a lot and I like how it tastes. Originally I love the mackerel back home but since I don’t find it here I got the Pomfret. So for fish that are bland you make the curry less spicy and for fish like mackerel and sardine you can extra chillies and make it spicy, now that’s a tip from my mom.

Ingredients

• Fish – ½ kg (cleaned & sliced)

For the masala:

• 3 teaspoon whole coriander seeds (roasted)
• Dry red chilli long-5 (roasted)
• Dry red chilli short – 5 (roasted)
• ½ teaspoon fenugreek seeds (roasted)
• ½ cup grated coconut (slightly roasted)
• Tamarind small piece (½ size of a lemon)
• ½ teaspoon cumin seeds
• 4-5 garlic cloves
• 1 inch ginger
• Turmeric 2 pinch
• ½ onion fried
• ½ cup water

For the curry:

• ½ onion chopped
• 1 inch ginger chopped
• 2 slit green chillies
• 2 teaspoon salt
• 2 ½ cups water

Instructions

1. Place the slices of fish in a bowl and add ½ teaspoon of salt, gently mix and keep it aside.
2. All the ingredients that are to be roasted under the masala section can be roasted together (except for the grated coconut, do that separately) on a pan with ½ teaspoon oil for a minute or two until they are slightly aromatic (not till you start coughing)
3. Once fried place all the ingredients under ‘For the masala‘ in a mixer grinder and mix it without water first then keep adding water in small amounts until it reaches a smooth consistency. Don’t make it too watery but ensure it’s not too thick either it should be like a paste consistency.
4. Take a deep pan or an earthen pot if have one, turn on the stove on medium flame and pour the masala into the pan, now 2½ cups of water and mix well. There shouldn’t be any lumps. If required adjust consistency. Once it gets hot add in the ½ onion, 2 green chillies, salt and 1 inch chopped ginger. Bring to a boil. Let it boil rigorously and carefully stir it now and then for almost 2 minutes, the curry will leave bubbles, now lower the flame and add the fish gently to the curry. The fish will cook in 7-8 minutes. Don’t stir it too much, be gentle as the fish will be soft and it will fall apart.
5. This step is optional but I like to do it as it enhances the flavor of the curry. Add sliced fried onions on top once the curry is completely cooked.
6. Serve with rice and enjoy! We have it with the Red Rice (matta rice) that we get from an Asian market here.

If you have any questions about the recipe feel free to ask me in the comments. Hope you give it a try! 🙂

Overnight Oats – Lazy girl’s healthy breakfast

As the title suggests this one’s a winner for a super quick and easy breakfast for all the lazy people out there who wakes up groggy and don’t want to spend too much time in the kitchen. When i first started having oats I’d cook it up in the microwave for a few minutes with milk/water and throw in some bananas or blueberries. I never really liked it much. Once I started preparing the overnight oats there has been no looking back! This one has been my favourite for a really long time now. Like a friend told once, ‘it is like eating desert for breakfast’

You can tweak it to your liking and put your own twist to it. Also if you do like it warm you can microwave it for 45-60 seconds or transfer oats to a saucepan and heat over medium heat until warmed through. Just make sure that the topping are added after you warm it.

Ingredients

1/2 cup plain oats (I use the Quaker oats)
3/4 cup milk of choice
1/4 cup water
1 spoon honey/maple syrup
Chia seeds

Toppings

Fruit of choice – banana/blueberries/strawberries/mangoes/apples
Peanut butter/chocolate chips
Nuts/flax seeds/pumpkin seeds

Instructions

1. Add oats + milk+ water + honey + chia seeds in a mason jar or any bowl with a lid, close the lid and put it in the fridge.
2. The next day open the lid garnish it with fruits and desired toppings (see options above) Add more liquid as needed if oats get too thick/dry. Mix it with a spoon and enjoy!

That’s it! Now go ahead and make overnight oats on busy days or every day! Do let me know how your overnight oats turn out in the comments below.

The amateur’s banana bread

So I for one love bananas! And making a cake out of it is legit the thing to bake when you are craving for something sweet! I always saw people doing it and thought, this looks so good it must be hard to bake. But once I actually started giving it it a try it wasn’t so tricky after all! It also tastes a little like the plum cake I used to have back home in Mangalore for Christmas.

To be honest I did try a ‘healthy’ version of this, that is without using sugar and replacing all-purpose flour with oat flour. Well, it was definitely edible but it didn’t calm by sweet cravings so I just went ahead and tried it with the real ingredients! This has been my favorite ever since! Let’s get started.

Ingredients

2- 3 ripe bananas, peeled and mashed) (Use 5-6 of them if they are really small)
1/3 cup melted butter (unsalted or salted whatever you like)
1 teaspoon baking soda (Not baking powder-made that mistake)
A pinch of salt (skip if using salted butter)
3/4 cup sugar (1 cup if you want it sweeter – add/reduce accordingly)
1 beaten egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract (optional)
1 1/2 cups of all-purpose flour

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F and butter a 4×8-inch loaf pan (got mine from amazon)
2. In a mixing bowl, mash the ripe bananas with a fork (or masher) until smooth and you can see no big chucks. Stir the melted butter into the mashed bananas. (you can melt the butter in a microwave or on a small pan on gas stove)
3. Mix in the baking soda and salt. Stir in the sugar, beaten egg, and vanilla extract. Finally mix in the flour. Don’t beat it just fold gently. (google ‘how to fold’ if you have no clue what that means)
4. You can add it chocolate chips, nuts or raisins to the batter at this stage if you like.
5. Pour the batter into your loaf pan.
6. Bake for 50 minutes to 1 hour at 350°F. Insert a tooth pick to check of center comes clean and is not gooey. (poke 2-3 times and trust me you’ll know)
7. Remove from the oven and let cool in the pan for a few minutes. Now this step is very essential! LET IT REST for around 15 minutes. Then remove the banana bread from the pan by inverting it gently and let cool completely for about 30-40 minutes before you slice that wonderful bread you just made! Don’t be impatient now. This step is important. The banana bread tastes so much better when it’s cooled down. Trust me because i’ve tried it hot!

Go ahead and try making this one! The calorie count is definitely going to be way lesser than the one you get from the store plus your house will smell amazing! 😀 Bake it to know what I mean.