GM Diet - Indian Vegetarian

Hi all!! Blogging after much long gap. Posting my GM Vegetarian diet chart that did wonders to my body. Seeing the wonders, many of my friends requested to share the diet chart. So Here it is!

To know more about the General Motors diet, GOOGLE it.

CAUTION:

•  If you have low BP or you tend to faint due to lack of sugar or salt, avoid this diet. Still if you intend to, carry a chocolate with you.
• During this diet, DO NOT go for any heavy workouts or training which burns much calories. Moderate walking for 20 mins everyday, is advisable
• Throughout this diet - you may feel weak, tired, tempted. If you eat the right quantity of fruits and vegetables as per the diet, this diet is so healthy and gives you great results. This diet cleanses our body, remove toxins, weight loss and give a magic glow to our skin
• I would recommend to be on this GM diet, once in 2 months.

Changes in ME post GM Diet:

• This acted as a kick-start for my weight loss mission.
• Post this diet, my subconscious mind was tuned to eat healthy and stay healthy. Controlled my temptation to a great extent. Totally avoided junk foods, oil, butter, sugar, sweets, soft drinks, etc.
• Even if I went to any restaurant, ordered healthy, low calorie food. I relax my diet twice a month.
• This diet made me feel healthy and did boost my confidence level to a great extent. 
• Much more to mention!!  Rather than putting it in words, I suggest you all to follow this diet and experience the bliss.

Find below the GM diet which I followed. Easy to follow, at the same time gave me amazing results. To be frank, I was not that strict as mentioned in most of the sites, because I'm not that kind of a person. I tend to get tempted a lot for food. 

During this diet, recommend to follow the below points for best results

1. Drink at-least 10-14 glasses of water per day
2. 20-25 mins of  Moderate walking everyday
3. AVOID coffee, tea, juices (for first 6 days) , direct sugar, oil, butter, cheese, junk foods, rice, etc
4. No Alcohol or Smoking
5. If you get tempted for food, move away from that place or close your eyes and think of your Shape which you are aiming to bring back. This helped me a lot to stay away from temptation.

GM diet recipes are posted at the end.

DAY 1: Fruits

Breakfast - 2 medium apples with 1-2 glasses of water

11:00 AM - 2 slices watermelon with 1-2 glasses of water

01:00 PM - 1/2 papaya with 1-2 glasses of water

03:00 PM - A glass of coconut water, 2 oranges and a cup of pomegranate

04:00 PM - 2 slices watermelon, 1 apple. 1-2 glasses of water

05:00 PM - 1/2 papaya with 1-2 glasses of water

07:00 PM - 2 Guauva with 1-2 glasses of water

08:00 PM - Mixed fruit salad

09:00 PM - 2 Apples with a glass of water.

09:30 PM - Hit the bed early. 

Apart the above chart, you can eat fruits as and when you feel hungry. You can upto 20 times this day, but restrict only to fruits.

Fruits TO AVOID: Banana, Chikku, Pineapple, Mango and Jackfruit,

DAY 2: Vegetables

Breakfast - One big boiled potato. This gives energy for the rest of our day. Mash Potato - Scroll down till end for Recipe

For the rest of the day, I took the following. 

Remember: NO SALT or you can add a pinch of salt, 12-14 glasses of water to be consumed.

• A bowl of boiled cabbage, peas and carrots
• A salad bowl of onion, tomato, lettuce, peas, broccoli, sweet corn, capsicum with a tsp of lemon juice. You can also add pepper powder
• Vegetable Soup - Scroll down till end for Recipe
• Cauliflower Stir fry - Scroll down till end for Recipe
• Treat yourself with either a Sub-Sandwich or Sub-Salad (SUBWAY), with low calorie sauce dressing and only veggies. No cheese or patties or meat.

DAY 3: Fruits & Vegetables

On this day you can combine the Day 1 and Day 2 diet mentioned above. Excerpt AVOID potato on this day. Your cravings would shoot up on this day, but remember you can treat yourself with Sub-Salad or Sub-Sandwich and push off the day. Hence I would recommend Subway for dinner. That worked for me.

DAY 4: Bananas & Milk

One litre of skimmed milk (1 liter Aavin blue packet boiled with one glass of water) and 8 big bananas only allowed for this day. A bowl of Vegetable soup in the afternoon

Breakfast: 250 ml Milk & a banana.

11:00 AM - 1 banana

01:00 PM - 250 ml Milk blended with one banana (Banana Smoothie). You can add a pinch of cardamom powder to it :-)

3:00 PM - A bowl of Vegetable soup (a pinch of salt) -Scroll down till end for Recipe

4:00 PM - 1 Banana

5:00 PM - 250 ml Milk

6:00 PM - 1 banana

7:00 PM - 1 Banana

8:00 PM - 1 Banana

9:00 PM - 250 ml Milk blended with one banana (Banana Smoothie).

DAY 5: Rice, tomatoes & proteins

Breakfast: A bowl of Red Kidney Beans Sundal (curry) - Scroll down till end for Recipe

11:00 AM: Cucumber & tomatoes salad, dressed with a pinch of Chat powder or Jaljeera

01:00 PM: A cup of brown Rice, left over 1/2 cup Red kidney beans and Palak Paneer

03:00 PM: A cup of sprouted greem gram & tomatoes with 1tsp lemon juice

05:00 PM: A bowl of Tomato Soup - Scroll down till end for Recipe

07:00 PM: 1/2 cup Brown Rice & Palak Paneer

09:00 PM: A bowl of cucumber, tomato & sprout salad.

DAY 6: Veggies, Proteins & Rice

On this day avoid tomatoes, and lots of water to be consumed.

You can combine Day 2 diet and Day 5 Diet excerpt potato, tomatoes & red kidney beans

For lunch, A bowl of Vegetable Rice made with brown rice can be consumed - Scroll down till end for Recipe

DAY 7: Feast

Breakfast -  1/2 cup Papaya and one glass apple juice

11:00 AM - Salad with a glass of orange juice

Lunch - Vegetable Rice - Scroll down till end for Recipe

Snack - Fruit salad or Veggie Salad

Dinner - Sub Sandwich with a glass of fresh juice.

Step on your weighing scale and you will be in awe of the results (if followed strictly)

GM Diet Recipes:

1) Mashed Potato - Boil the potato, mash it with your fingers, add a pinch of pepper and 1 tsp of low fat butter. Mix well and serve yourself.

2) Cauliflower Stir Fry - Boil cauliflower with a pinch of turmeric and salt, keep it aside. In a pan add 1/2 tsp olive oil, add finely chopped onions & saute for 2-3 mins, to this add boiled caauliflowe, add a pinch of chole masala powder and garnish with coriander leaves.

3) Vegetable Soup - Add all the veggies you like excerpt potato in a pressure cooker along with 1 inch ginger and a green chilli. Cook upto 4 whistles. Once cooled down, blend it with a hand blender, add pepper powder to your requirement. Veggies I added - cucumber, carrot, cabbage, onion, tomatoes, baby corn and turnip.

4) Tomato Soup - Boil 5 tomatoes in pressure cooker upto 3 whistles. Peel off the skin and blend it. In a pan, add 1/2 tsp olive oil, add 1tsp jeera, 1tsp scraped ginger-garlic-green chilli, to this add the tomato pulp and let it boil until raw smell goes off. Add pepper powder and serve. If required, a pinch of salt may be added.

5) Red Kidney Beans Sundal - In a pan add one tsp olive oil, add the finely cut two tomatoes & shallow fry until mushy, add a pinch of turmeric-salt-chilli pwder & stir for 2 mins, then add the boiled red kidney beans & stir for 3-4 mins. Garnish with coriander leaves or mint leaves.

6) Vegetable rice (Brown Rice) 

• Boil brown rice separate

• Add 1/2 tsp olive oil in a pan, add ginger-garlic-gr.chilli one tsp and 1/2 tsp jeera.

• Fry until garlic turns golden brown. Then add the finely chopped onions and fry for two mins until glaze

• Add all your favorite veggies. I added finely chopped carrot, capsicum, baby corn & cabage. Add salt and keep stirring for two mins. Close lid for 4-5 mins until half cooked. I like it half boiled.

• Add one tsp Soy sauce and pepper.

• Add boiled brown rice and mix well.

This GM diet is really a wonder diet, though its tough, it gives amazing results and leads us towards  healthy life. If you have crossed the first three days of this diet, then its like a cake walk.

In case of any doubts or suggestions, feel free to post.

Soon will post the 1200 calorie healthy diet for weight loss which I follow and will follow everyday until I reach my target weight. 

Have a great day! 

Sphagetti Al Arabiatta

      Back to blogging after a lonnnnnggggg time! And the reason why I'm back to blogging is, I loved my own cooking yesterday after much long gap.. And that is Sphagetti Al Arabiatta!

       Had been to this restaurant, Little Italy, last week. They serve buffet lunch, only Veg. Have no words to describe the food, it was fantabulous!! I got soooo inspired by the way they prepared Arabiatta!! So thought of trying at home annnnd guess what, Instant Hit 😃

So easy to prepare and healthy too.. 

This recipe serves two

Required:

Extra Virgin Olive Oil - 2 tbsp

Sphagetti or Penne - 300 gms

Garlic - 5 pods, cut into very small pieces

Onion - 1 medium cut into small pieces

Zucchini - 1 cup, small cubes

Broccoli - 4 to 5 florets

Carrot - 1 peeled n cut into small cubes

Capsicum - 1 cup small cubes

Basil leaves - handful

Parsley - reqd qty

Sweet corn - 1 cup

Tomatoes - 7 big riped ones

Salt - reqd qty

Sugar - 1/2 tsp

Chilli flakes - 3 tsps 

Pepper powder (optional)- 1 tsp

Paprika - 1 tsp

Oregano - 1 tsp

Think i have covered all the ingredients!!

Method

Sphagetti Preparation

1) In a large bowl boil water, along with one tsp oil and salt. 

2) When you see big bubbles,add sphagetti to it and let it boil for 10 mins. Keep stirring in between

TIP: if cooked in induction, its faster. 

3) Do a sample check to see whether its cooked. Now strain it and keep aside.

Sauce preparation

1) Pressure cook the tomatoes (3 whistles), peel the skin and cut it roughly. If you dont like seeds in it, remove them at this stage

2) In a bowl boil water and add broccoli, zucchini, capsicum, sweet corn & carrot to it.

3) Let it boil for 5 mins and turn off the flame, close with a lid and let it stay for another 5 mins. Strain and keep aside

4) In a large pan add 1 tbsp olive oil, let it heat for half a min. Then add finely chopped garlic and fry ( don turn it brown)Already u can smell the arabiatta aroma

5) Add onions, basil leaves and fry for 2 mins

6) Add all the par-boiled veggies and keep tossing them for 2-3 mins

7) Add the blanched tomatoes, salt, paprika, pepper pwdr and chilli flakes. 

Let this boil for 10 mins until oil seperates. 

8) Add oregano and garnish with parsley leaves.

9) In a large bowl add the boiled sphagetti, olive oil and pasta sauce. Mix them well

Spicy yummy Sphagetti Al Arabiatta is ready!!!!

Kadai Vegetable

Kadai vegetable, a very easy dish and can be prepared in few mins, also a very healthy dish for weight watchers :)

For grinding

- 1 medium sized tomato

- 1 medium sized onion

- 2 green chillies

- 1 inch ginger

- 1 clove of Garlic (Optional or you can add even more. I limited to one as I don't like garlic and also it would dominate the aroma of other vegetables)

- 1 cinnamon stick

- 1 cardamom

- 1 clove

- 1 tsp cumin seeds

- 1 tsp fennel seeds (சோம்பு)

- 2 tsp oil

Gravy

- 1 bay leaf

- 1 tsp cumin powder

- 1/2 tsp red chilli powder (optional)

- 1/2 tsp paprika (optional)

- You can add any vegetables for this dish. Here I have added, cauliflower, potato, peas, baby corn,      carrot, green capsicum and paneer. 

Method

1) In a non-stick pan, add 2 tsp oil. To this add cumin seeds, fennel seeds, cardamom, clove and cinnamon.

 2) Add onion, garlic, ginger and green chillies. Fry until onion turns translucent.

 3) Add the tomatoes and fry until tomatoes become mushy. Keep aside and grind after the mixture cools   down completely.

4) Wipe the same pan with a dry tissue and add 1-1/2 tsp oil. Add bay leaf and paneer, fry until golden brown. Paneer is optional. I like paneer and so I have added. 

5) Add all the veggies, 1 tsp salt and 1/4 cup of warm water. Toss the vegetables until soft but firm. Keep aside the veggies. You can also add onion, but I avoided as I don like onion much!

 I love this pic, perfect timing! Hoping to improve my photography skills. Suggestions are welcome :)

6) In the same pan, add 1 tsp oil. Once the oil is heat, add the grounded mixture, cumin powder, paprika and red chilli powder. Fry until oil seperates from the mixture.

7) Now add all the veggies and required salt. Cook in simmer for 5-7 mins. 

Garnish with coriander leaves and serve with Chapatis

Paneer Tikka Masala

Hi all! Today I tried Paneer Tikka Masala and it turned out so well. I referred to Manjula's Kitchen. She has lot of easy recipes, and her recipes are "Satvika" (without onions and garlic).

For Marinating:
- 1/2 pound of paneer
- 1 tbsp curd
- 1 tbsp grated ginger
- 1/4 tsp chilli powder
- 1/2 tsp coriander powder
- 1/4 tsp salt

For Gravy:
- 3 medium tomatoes
- 2 green chillies
- 1tsp cumin seeds or jeera
- 1/4 tsp turmeric powder
- 1tsp coriander powder
- 1tsp Paprika
- 2 bay leaves
- a pinch of hing
- salt to taste
- coriander leaves
- 2 tsp corn starch
- 1/4 tsp garam masala
- 1/2 tsp sugar (optional)
- 1 tbsp oil

Method:
1) Cut the paneer as shown in pic below, about 1 inch squares

2) In a bowl, add all the ingredients under "For Marinating" and mix well. Keep the mixture in refrigerator for about an hour.

3) In a frying pan, add 1 tbsp oil and spread the paneer (after marinating) as shown below. Let it cook on both sides for about 2 mins or until it becomes brownish. Take out the paneer and keep it in a seperate dish.

4) Blend the tomatoes and chillies, to make a puree
5) In the same frying pan, add 1 tbsp oil. Once the oil is heat, add cumin seeds, hing and bay leaves

6) Now add the puree, coriander powder, salr, turmeric powder, parpika, sugar and cook for 5 mins in medium heat

7) Dissolve corn starch in 1 1/2 tsp of water and add to the mixture. Stir for about 2 mins.

8) To this mixture, add the fried paneer and let it cook for another 5 mins.

9) Turn off the heat, add garam masala and cilantro.

Serve with chapathis or rice.

Ulundhu Vadai!!

Wishing you all a very happy and blessed Navaratri!

"Navaratri" literally means nine nights. We invoke Goddess Durga also known as "Shakthi (Power)", on all these nine days to remove the miseries from our life. For the first 3 days we worship Goddess Durga, next 3 days Goddess Lakshmi and the last 3 days Saraswati. Today is Saraswathi Pooja.

I prepared Ulundhu Vadai (Ulundhu - Urad dhal) and Godhumai Rawa Payasam.

Ulundhu Vadai
Urad dhal - 1 cup
Toor dhal - 1tsp
Green chillies - 2
Red chillies - 3
A pinch of asafoetida
Salt to taste
1 sprig of Curry leaves

Method:
1) Soak urad dhal in sufficient amt of water for 2 hrs. Grind this to thick and fine consistency by adding little water. Refrigerate the mixture for 20mins. TIP: If you add more water by mistake, add 4-5 tsps of rawa and leave it to sit for 20 mins, then you can get the shape.
2) Grind green and red chillies seperately and mix this with urad dhal mixture.
3) To the mixture add a pinch of asafoetida, few leaves and salt to taste.
4) On a plastic paper (I use Ziploc) place a lemon sized ball of the mixture, make it flat with your fingers and make a hole in the center. Its better to wet your fingers with little water each time when you do this.

5) Deep fry in oil until golden brown.

Vadai Ready!

Godhumai Rawa Payasam!

Godhumai Rawa Payasam:

Wheat Rawa - 1 cup
Water - 2 cups
Milk - 1cup
Ghee - 1 tbsp
Elaichi powder - a pinch
Sugar to taste
Cashews and raisins

Method:
1) Roast the rawa in a pan for 3 mins without oil.
2) Pressure cook (4-5 whistles) the rawa by adding 2 cups of water.
3) Smash the rawa, add sugar, elaichi and hot milk. Mix well
4) Roast the cashews and raisins in ghee, add to the payasam.

Quick Rasam or Gottu Rasam

Almost one hour left for our lunch time, yet to cook. When I browsed through my fridge, to my surprise I could not find even a single veggie except for one tomato :)  Gottu rasam came to my rescue. Also found few potatoes. Gottu rasam and potato curry is one of the South Indian's favorite combination. My mom used to prepare this rasam and சுட்ட அப்பளம் whenever we are back from a tiresome journey. During those times, this rasam would taste like Heaven! 

Preparation Time: 12 mins

Ingredients:

- 1 medium sized tomato (grind it)                       

- 2 green chillies

- 2tsp Toor dhal

- 1/2 tsp turmeric powder

- 1tsp Rasam powder

- 1tsp Sambar powder

- 1tsp heaped tamarind paste

- a small piece of hing or 1tsp of asafoetida                               

- salt to taste

Seasoning

- 1tsp ghee

-1/2 tsp mustard seeds

- coriander leaves

Method

  I prepared this rasam in our traditional "Eeya Chombhu (ஈய சொம்பு)". Heard from my mom that it adds an extra taste to the rasam and also in a way good for our health.

- Add all the ingredients to this pot and add one cup of water. If cooking in ஈய சொம்பு, ensure that there is enough water and keep it in low flame, else the pot will melt. 

- Let this boil for 10-12 mins until the raw smell goes off

- Now add the reqd qty of water to the rasam and switch off the flame when a layer of froth forms on the top, do not boil. Garnish with coriander leaves.

- In a frying pan add 1tsp of ghee and add mustard seeds. Once the seeds splutter, add to the rasam.

 Rasam ready!!