fighting the munchies

You know when you get a sudden attack of the munchies and your first instinct is to grab a packet of chips or pop something pre-fried into the microwave? 

If you know what I'm talking about, you're also probably aware of the hundreds of calories we consume through these quick-and-dirty snacks. It's not just about the calorie count, it's also about the fact that these foods provide very little nourishment. So, empty calories!

When the husband and I noticed that we had put on a few extra kilos, especially around the dangerous stomach area, we decided it was time to take action. To begin with, we signed up at the nearby sports complex. More importantly, however, we made some changes around the house and in our lifestyles. Here are a couple of things that have REALLY worked so far!

Top tips to fight unhealthy snacking

• Throw out the chips. As of right now, we have all of 1 bag of Doritos and 1 packet of buttered microwave popcorn in the house. If there's less junk lying around, you'll consume less - simple! (If eating junk food is a real problem for you, I suggest you throw it all out.)
• Make a fruit basket. We now have a fruit basket permanently placed on a table in the centre of the house. It usually has apples, oranges and mini-bananas - these are easily and available in my city. Fruits are a great snack, packed with nutrients. Keep them handy and visible. If you can reach out and grab and apple instead of Pringles, you're more likely to do so!
• Invest in tasty, healthy snacks. If you are happy to shell out a substantial amount for a fancy coffee at a branded outlet but think good-quality, yummy muesli is too expensive, you need to change your mindset. I have gotten over my cheap ways and started spending money on nutritious, delicious snacks. Chances are, a whole box of low-fat, healthy crackers will cost you less than one little dessert a your favourite restaurant. Amirite?
• Buy dark chocolate. This is (seriously) the best way to avoid late-night snacking - at least in our home. We've stocked up on Lindt dark chocolate. Every night, a few hours after dinner when the hunger pangs hit, we have a cube of chocolate each. It's utterly satisfying and kills the craving to gorge on other stuff. Studies have found that dark chocolate is healthy in small quantities on a daily basis - just make sure it's 60%-70% cocoa!

dishwashing drama

Biggest learning of the week. WASH YOUR DISHES RIGHT AFTER YOUR MEAL -- or at least rinse them. Otherwise be prepared to spend a horrid hour the next morning, scrubbing and scratching till your hands are raw -- like I did today because I got lazy after dinner last night. :( :( 

The cutesy picture below is SUCH an inaccurate representation of the horror that lurks in a mountain of dirty dishes.

Never put off until tomorrow, the dishwashing you can do today. -- Any-Homemaker-in-the-World

the declutter drive: books

Last year, while leaving Sri Lanka, we faced a real weight crunch. My husband’s company was going to pay for a certain amount of cargo – anything that exceeded the designated weight limit we’d have to pay for ourselves. This meant we needed to get rid of a LOT of stuff.

In a previous post, I wrote about some of the golden rules I applied when decluttering our wardrobes. Another BIG project was getting rid of books. I LOVE my books, most of which are my parents’ home in Delhi. But I didn’t realize just how much they weigh and how much space they take up until I started moving from one small space to another! 

Like wardrobes, book collections too need regular organization. Reading junkies like myself end up buying new titles regularly, but we don’t get rid of old books. Even though I have only a part of my collection, my books definitely needed some tough love.

Top tips to declutter your books

CONSOLIDATE. First, pull out every book in the house and put them all together. My house has books scattered all over the place – bookshelves, side-tables, bathroom racks – so this is a key step for me.

ASSESS. When sorting through the books, consider the following points:

• Duplicates: If you have duplicates of the same title, give one away. I used to have a tendency to hold on to duplicates “just in case”, until I took that thought to its logical conclusion: just in case something happened to one copy, I would simply buy another!
• Rereading potential: Chances are you won’t reread the random mystery novel you picked up at the airport shop. Get rid of books you are unlikely to go back to.
• Gifts: I’ve been gifted books I would never buy myself. Some of these are great, but others I haven’t ever gotten around to reading. The only reason these would stay on in my bookshelf was due to sentimental reasons. Be practical – eliminate books that are simply taking up space!
• “Someday”: Ever thought, “I want to read that book someday”? If you’ve been thinking “someday” for many years, it’s time to take that book out of your bookshelf.

SELL/GIVE. Once you’ve taken out all the books you don’t want anymore, give them to an orphanage/old-age-home library. Alternatively, make a list (I use Excel), assign a price to each title and send out emails to friends/colleagues who would be interested in buying books. I managed to sell nearly 40 books by using Twitter last year. Selling also means that you make some money back and can use it buy new books. I’ve also become more willing to get rid of books because it doesn’t seem like “a waste” if you sell them!

Picture source: New Yorker

recipe: sautéed marlin

The other day, I picked up some fresh marlin pieces from the local fish market. It was the first time I've ever bought fresh fish -- before this, I had only bought frozen fillets from the supermarket.

So I struggled to clean the fish -- it was hard to cut, there were stringy white thingies stretched across certain pieces, and even a few spots of blood (ewwww!). Anyway, after 15 minutes with 2 different knives, a pair of scissors, and a ton of water, I finally had a whole bunch of bit-sized marlin pieces.

Now, how was I supposed to cook the marlin? Google yielded a plethora of "grilled marlin", "smoked marlin" and "marlin sahsimi" recipes. But I wanted to sauté the fish and couldn't find a decent recipe online. (However, a number of people pointed out that the fish cooked very quickly.)

Anyway, I decided to wing it. After a bit of trial and error, I ended up with some delicious cooked marlin. Here's the recipe!

Recipe for simple sautéed marlin

Ingredients

• Marlin fish fillets (these can be kept whole or chopped into bite-size pieces)
• A bunch of kankung leaves (can substitute with spinach, baby spinach, etc.)
• Chopped garlic
• Chopped onion
• Olive oil
• Salt
• Pepper
• Soy sauce (optional)
• Ginger (optional)
• Almonds/walnuts (optional)

Directions

• Make a marinade for the fish with olive oil, salt, pepper and soy sauce (opt.)
• Marinate the fish for 15-20 minutes (any longer and it will start to stink!)
• Heat olive oil in a non-stick pan
• Add garlic and onion
• Stir till golden brown
• Add ginger (opt.) and stir
• Add fish
• Cook for a maximum of 2-3 minutes on medium flame – turning a few times (marlin cooks very quickly; if overdone, texture becomes rubbery). To check for doneness, look at the centre of the fillet/chunk sideways.
• Take the fish out of the pan and put in a bowl, but leave the scrapings and excess marinade in pan.
• Stir-fry kankung leaves on high heat till they wither (if you like the stalks too, add them about a minute before the leaves). Add soy if needed.
• Add leaves and scrapings to fish. 
• Heat almonds/walnuts (opt.) in pan for a few minutes and sprinkle on top.

Serving suggestion
Serve with steamed rice/garlic-butter toast & fresh salad.

bedhead shelf

If I could make even slight structural changes to this house, I would build this in a heartbeat! It is so lovely -- a perfect blend of beauty and practicality. With these shelves, the bed doesn't need side tables. Plus, you can store all kinds of stuff there. Books, decorative objects, a clock, glass jars with plants...anything that is pretty  and useful!

The colours in this photograph are also lovely -- so pleasing and soothing, yet bright. It makes me happy! :)