Home-made Summer Pudding

When I’m on the road, I wake up early and walk a lot. I’m very healthy. But when I come back home, I am more tempted by guilty pleasures, such as eating too many sweets and sleeping a lot.- Masaharu Morimoto

But now you need not to worry as this one is almost guilt free, made up of all natural ingredients and very less sugar.

What you need:

• 1 big bowl of fresh fruits either berries, plums or apricots.
• 6 slice of wheat bread.
• 1 tablespoon Vanilla ice cream.
• 2-3 Pistachios.
• 1/2 medium size mango. (Optional).
• 2 teaspoons sugar.

Method:

1. Separate fresh fruits into half.
2. Cut bread pieces into desired shape , i have used hexagonal cookie cutter.
3. Take a shallow cooking vessel and add 1/2 bowl of fresh fruits into it. Cook fruits until they get softened add some water if  the mixture is too thick. Strain the mixture and you will get fresh fruit syrup.
4. Arrange bread pieces in a plate and put syrup over the top of bread. Keep them aside for a while.
5. Take remaining fruits or mangoes pulp  in the same pan and cook for 3-4 mins until they get softened add sugar only if required.
6. Place the bread pieces in a dish and put fruit pulp on this and place second piece on top of it, like a sandwich.
7. Keep these in refrigerator for 15-20 mins.
8. Garnish with Vanilla ice cream or fresh whipped cream + Pistachios.

How to modify your regular recipes for Health and Fitness

There are fixed recipes which we follow with little variation for regular cooking. You will be surprised to know that little variations in these can lay down a path to good health and fitness. Let’s start with the basic things that we use in routine.

1. Dairy Products.

There are various of dairy products which we use like milk, yoghurt,butter, mayonnaise etc.

What you can do to make them healthier and fruitful?

• Swap mayonnaise with low fat yoghurt you can add herbs or your choice to it which will make it more tastier.
• Use Skimmed or low fat variants of milk instead of full cream milk which contains less fat and same amount of essential nutrients.
• Use yoghurt in fruit salads and other recipes instead of heavy dressings to make them delicious and low cal.

2. Carbohydrates.

The main source of carbohydrates are cereals, sugar from artificial as well as natural sources.

How you can improve quality of carbohydrates ?

• Use natural sweeteners in place of artificial one; you can also go for fruit based desserts too.
• Improve the fibre content in diet by using multigrain, whole wheat or oats.
• You can also use oats in regular smoothies which will improve the quality and consistency .

3. Vegetables & fruits.

One should include at least 6-7 servings of different fruits and vegetables in their diet.

How you can select the best options?

• Add rainbow to your diet , use fruits and vegetables of different colors.
• Always prefer to use seasonal varieties which are fresh and friendly for pocket.
• Add more herbs (parsley, coriander, mint etc) to your soups n salads for better taste, appearance and great aroma.

These small tips can definitely improve the quality of food intake by providing better nutritional level essential for complete health and fitness.