Omana, a dear friend, recently returned from Chile.  She gave us some interesting insights into Chilean cuisine.  Perhaps there’s a Spanish influence in their food, but Chilean cuisine contains 3 popular vegetables – lettuce, tomato and potato.  Avocado is widely used in their dishes.  Avocado is rich in mono unsaturated fats (the good variety).  Meats, sea food, breads, corn form the carbs and protein sources in their diet.  Pisco, aka Pisco Sour, is the local and most popular drink in Chile.  Quinoa is also popular here because it’s one of their major crops.  Compared to many other grains, quinoa has good amounts of protein.

If any of you have more inputs on Chilean cuisine, do share.

Membership to the Food Lovers Club run by Kripal Amanna, brought us a lovely hamper of some edible goodies and lots of dining privileges.  One of the items in the hamper was virgin coconut oil with a salad dressing recipe which I have reproduced here with minor changes.

Coconut Oil Salad Dressing

Ingredients –
Virgin coconut oil – 2 teaspoons
Water – 1 teaspoon
Salt – to taste
Crushed peppercorns – 1/2 teaspoon
Honey – 1 teaspoon
Lemon juice – 1/2 teaspoon

Method of preparation –
Mix salt in water.  Add all the other ingredients and mix well.  The dressing is ready.  Use it while making a salad.

Note – Coconut oil does not contain cholesterol.  It can be used like any other edible oil in small quantities.

A new study that came out recently says that taking a cup of beetroot juice can help to reduce blood pressure.  Nitrate-rich vegetables like lettuce, cabbage, beetroot, etc have a relaxing effect on the blood vessels which might bring down the blood pressure slightly. 

This brings us back to the basic nutritional guideline of eating more vegetables for blood pressure control and better health.

Before I write this piece, I’d like to welcome the new subscribers to my blog.  Thank You for subscribing.  If you have any suggestions for health topics, questions on nutrition, or comments on the posts, please feel free to write.

A friend of mine sent me an email about an article published by a US writer about how 4 foods accelerate aging.  The 4 foods named in this article are wheat, corn, sugar and vegetable oils (like soybean, canola, etc).  How factual is this information?

Wheat and corn do not accelerate aging, for sure.  On the contrary, they provide us with nutrients that are essential for good health.  Although gluten-free foods are becoming a rage in the West, the only persons who need to avoid wheat are those who are allergic or intolerant to wheat and its products.  Perhaps gluten can be a topic for another discussion!

Sugar and oils accelerate aging only if taken in large quantities and / or replace healthy foods.  Sugar consumption has gone up in urban India by large amounts.  Sugar robs the body of some important nutrients which can be replaced only by eating healthy foods.  In that sense, sugar can be a villain.  Also, extra oil intake (especially the high PUFA ones) can tilt the fatty acid balance in the body and accelerate free radical damage.  In that sense, some of the vegetable oils can be seen as villains.

The bottom line is reduce sugar and fat consumption, and there’s no need to avoid wheat and corn if you are not allergic to them.

Soon after I requested for healthy recipes, I received one from Chennai.  Don’t throw away the watermelon seeds after you eat the fruit.  Make chutney powder out of it – its nutritious and delicious, I’m sure.

Here’s the recipe contributed by Ms Smitha Suresh, Nutritionist, Chennai, India……

Watermelon Seed Chutney Pudi

Ingredients –
Watermelon seeds – 100 g
Pepper corns – 1 tsp
Jeera (cumin seeds) – 1 tsp
Peanuts – 2 tbsp
Tamarind – 1 inch piece
Red Chillies – 2-3 nos.
Salt – to taste
Garlic – 3 cloves (optional)

Method of preparation –
Toast all the ingredients together for 2- 3 mins, cool for a while and then dry grind roughly.   Sprinkle 1 tbsp  of this powder on steaming red rice, mix and enjoy the warm, earthy flavour!

You can add other ingredients which give their unique flavour like curry leaves, dried basil (tulsi) or neem. Substitute with other nuts and seeds.