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! :)

transforming a closet into a book nook

How absolutely delightful is this? Now if only I had a large spare closet!

the no-shoes rule

One of the best rules we've instituted in our new home is taking off our "outside" shoes at the entrance and slipping into a pair of comfy "inside" slippers instead. It helps keep the house really clean -- something I very much appreciate at the moment because I'm doing the sweeping and mopping myself!

I've placed the shoe rack right next to the apartment's main door. The top shelf holds a bunch of house-leaving essentials (keys, pens, wallets, umbrellas, raincoat) and a delightful mint foot spray from Spa Ceylon, one of my favourite (albeit terribly overpriced) Sri Lankan brands.

The other racks are home to a whole bunch of shoes and sandals worn commonly by the husband and I. Honestly, this is one thing I'm going to ensure in any house I live in ever again. The floors look clean and the house feels far more hygienic -- I don't have to worry about germs hanging on to the undersides of my shoes spreading throughout the apartment!

make-up storage: getting innovative!

How lovely is this? What a great idea. Must try and find vintage containers and try this on my own dresser!

For now, I'm using handmade pen-stands to keep daily-wear makeup (see below). They work great and look rather pretty, too. (Picked up the blue one from Sri Lanka recently and decided not to take off the tag because I rather like it!)

Source for top picture: Interior Blueprint

the "good times" jar

Happy New Year!

Wishing the world a joyful, peaceful year with a great deal of development, progress and harmony.

My only real New Year Resolution is to do the below. We're calling it the "good times" jar! What will you call yours?

towel-washing wisdom

So, I discovered that you cannot wash towels of different colours in the same washload.

This is not (as I presumed when I read this same advice on another website) because the towels may run colour. It's because they SPEW lint and bits of thread in the spin-dry phase. Which basically means that my beautiful solid-black towel is now coated with infinite bits and pieces of white and pink from the other towels. :( Hopefully, the next wash will fix it!

Here's the main advice I now have for washing towels in the washing machine, gleaned from the Internet, my mom and my own two towel washloads so far!

Top tips for washing towels in the washing machine

• Do NOT use fabric softener. Use normal liquid/powder detergent.
• Wash towels of similar colours together.
• Put the towels through multiple spin dry cycles to get rid of flecks of thread and lint.
• Dry the towels immediately after to prevent the smell of dampness and mildew (that indicates bacteria is breeding, by the way).

Happy towelling!

Picture source: Waterworks

getting creative on Christmas: handmade decorations!

After a frantic search for Christmas ornaments in my new hometown, I came to the realisation that there were none to be found - this being an Islamic country and all.

Now, the husband and I are not Christian but we've grown up celebrating Christmas and it's a festival very close to my heart. There's no way it could be just another day, without any holiday spirit and accessories! So it was off to the stationery store, where I bought paper supplies, scissors and glue. 

Google searches quickly yielded Christmas tree and star cutout patterns. Now, I have NEVER been a crafts person, but these were simple enough! Print out the pattern and cut it out. Then hold it over the paper and trace the outline. Cut out and you have a tree/star/whatever pattern catches your fancy!

Also found an issue of a "Holidays Special" shopping pamphlet from Sri Lanka. Proceeded to cut out decorations and use them shamelessly :)

Take a look at the Christmas table!

mix and match: stir-fry chicken and kang-kung greens with jasmine rice

Yesterday, I attempted to cook a real meal after about a year and a half – quite the daunting prospect! Since the husband and I have been staying in a hotel for a long time now, we’ve had to live with room service. (While this was AWESOMELY convenient at one level, I did miss the freedom of having my own kitchen and cooking anything I felt like.)

The ingredients were a mish-mash from all over.

I had brought back a pack of Pakistani jasmine rice and chicken stock cubes from our recent Sri Lanka trip. The supermarket down the road from our new place stocks great frozen chicken breast. And the local market on the island had lovely, locally-grown kang-kung – an Asian variety of greens, halfway between spinach and lettuce.

So I decided to make stir-fried chicken and kang-kung greens, with fragrant jasmine rice. Nothing too fancy, but it turned out to be pretty tasty!

I did a regular chicken stir-fry, adding some gravy towards the end (chicken stock and cornflour) – this softened the chicken pieces and the gravy was nicely infused with all the stir-fry flavours. Then I separated the sauce and added in the kang-kung stalks along with the chicken and stir fried for another minute or two.

Finally, I added in the kang-kung leaves. As soon as they wilted, I threw in the sauce, stirred everything for a minute and served on steamed jasmine rice! The rice was cooked on the stove (2 parts water to 1 part rice) in a covered pot, with a dash of olive oil and salt. 

washload worries

I faced and conquered a Herculean task today -- I ran my very first washload ever!

To be honest, I felt like a total idiot pretty much the entire time. I have never used a washing machine befor. I knew NOTHING, and was desperately wishing I had observed my mum more carefully during washing-machine operations at my parents' home. (But of course, I must have been reading/surfing the internet/talking on the phone or going out with friends. Present Me is shaking her head at Past Me!)

Anyhow, right from how many clothes it was okay to put in and whether I could put all kinds of stuff in together, to what kind of detergent to buy and where to put it...the process was a deep mystery. 

The machine? A top-loading Toshiba. The product booklet was NO HELP AT ALL. The English section had obviously been translated from Japanese by someone with a very rudimentary knowledge of the English language -- it made no sense half the time and contradicted itself in a million places.

Anyway, by perusing each line of booklet text closely, calling up hazy memories of washloads at home, applying some common sense, and staring at the machine long enough, I finally managed to get it right :) 

I used a liquid detergent (Dynamo, the pink one), figuring out that I had to put it in the little bleach container on the side. I put in the clothes firmly but loosely -- although I think my load had one pair of jeans too many. I left out 2-3 delicates and 1 shirt that looked like it would probably run a bit of colour. I set the water level accordingly and chose the regular wash-rinse-dry cycle.

And, voila! In half an hour, I was the proud take-outer of a ton of freshly washed, gorgeously clean, damp, fragrant clothes!

(Has anyone in the history of the universe ever been this excited about washing clothes? I THINK NOT.)

Ko-Lanka: a find in Sri Lanka!

I am still in the midst of shopping in Colombo in Sri Lanka, mostly for boring household items like serving spoons, dal (lentils), towels, etc. However, I made a trip to Barefoot earlier today - a popular shop-cafe-and-art-gallery, mostly frequented by well-heeled locals, expats and tourists. 

While we were staying in Sri Lanka, the husband and I used to pop over to Barefoot every now and then (especially for the Sunday wine brunches with live music). I would "ooh" and "aah" over all the beautiful, colourful, tasteful items in the store and wish I had an apartment to put them in. (However, many of the items are MOST certainly overpriced although this does not matter that much if you're spending in dollars or euros.)

This time when I went, I entered the Barefoot store from the front door (I usually come in through the cafe), and discovered an adjoining shop called Ko-Lanka. I spotted some beautiful dinner napkins in the shop window and walked in to find a veritable treasure trove of gorgeous handicraft items - cushion covers, mats, dinner napkins, toys, clothes.... Lovely, elegant things - most of them very similar to Barefoot merchandise and quite a bit cheaper!  I went back and forth between the two shops a bit and here's what I found:

• A single dinner napkin in Barefoot is LKR 450. A set of 6 dinner napkins in Ko-Lanka is LKR 550. (Yes, the Barefoot napkin has slight scalloping on the edges but NOT enough to warrant this price difference.)
• The SAME toy in Barefoot and Ko-Lanka has a price difference of LKR 200!
• The kurtas (long shirts/tops for men and women) are far more beautiful in Ko-Lanka. Much better fabrics and fits, especially if you're not a fan of the new-age, shapeless shifts favoured by the Barefoot designers. And Ko-Lanka has (surprise, surprise) better pricing.

In the end, I bought almost everything I wanted from Ko-Lanka -- 3 lovely kurtas, a bunch of handloom toys for my nephews and nieces, dinner napkins, a floor mat, and a few other items.

The only things I picked up from Barefoot were a pair of adorable baby booties for a newborn niece and the lovely candle-stand (see in picture above) that simply called out to me and would not be denied (LKR 600).

All in all, Ko-Lanka is going to be my first go-to shop next time I want items of this sort. Will head to Barefoot only for items I don't find next-door, and maybe for a quick bite in the lovely, breezy, green cafe. (I recommend the beef sandwiches and tuna salad, especially.)

shopping in sri lanka

Hello Sri Lanka!

Reached Colombo city today... I'm going to be here for the next 4 days, shopping for my new home in a small coastal town in the Indian Ocean! Why am I shopping in Colombo? Because the town I've just moved to has EXORBITANTLY high prices for most grocery items when compared with the rest of the South Asia region.

I plan to buy a few kitchen essentials (a deep frying pan/stockpot, serving spoons, melamine bowls to serve meals in), dry grocery items (lentils, rice, pasta), bathroom & linen items (towels, razor blades, cushion covers) and decorative items (a few things from the lovely boutique home decor shops in Colombo).

It's lovely to be in Sri Lanka again: it's such a warm, gorgeous, healing place. Amazing food, amazing people -- sounds like an island cliche, but it's SO true!

Here's wishing me some productive shopping, catching up with old friends, and eating deelish food like the droolworthy prawns at Gallery Cafe below! *slurp*

the breakfast club corner

Mostly finished unpacking today: just the paintings, larger decorative items and my bags and shoes are still lying in cartons.

Take a quick look at what I'm now calling "the breakfast club corner": cereal, coffee and different kinds of tea! 

I decided to put all this stuff together on a small open shelf -- we use these items every morning and I reach for one of the teas at least 2-3 times a day! This was it's accessible and also looks very attractive. Adds a pop of colour to the kitchen :)

moving day!

We've finally moved into the new place! Today morning saw us getting here bright and early with the packers. By noon, all the worldly possessions we had brought with us were lying in the kitchen. The day was spent unpacking and organising about half the boxes. 

Most of the clothes and kitchen items were at the top of our priority list, followed by books, DVDs and some decorative items to make the place look homey. Although we've had to leave most of our books and movies in storage in Delhi, we have some perennial favourites and a few new titles with us.

Check out the bookshelf -- it's my own interpretation of the gorgeous shelf unit I wrote about in a recent post. The shelf unit was already there. Everything else is ours, including some souvenirs picked up during our travels and a few cherished gift items from family and friends.

frying pan in the bag!

I found and bought the most gorgeous non-stick frying pan -- I think this one's going to keep me satisfied in the kitchen! It's the "Issencia" model from the Tefal range.

Features I love:

• It's BEAUTIFULLY non-stick -- things just roll off it!
• It's got a Thermo-Spot (patented Tefal technology), which indicates the perfect cooking temperature at which you can add the ingredients and turn the heat down. This is great since non-stick coating is supposed to become toxic at too-high temperatures.
• It's got optimal heat distribution -- things cook at the same rate in each part of the pan.
• It's HUGE. I bought the 28-inch model and was able to make a generous helping of sauteed chicken and kangkung comfortably.
• Best of all, it was on sale! :)

blend it right

After the recent confusion about which blender best suited my needs, I finally reached a decision today. I'm going to go with the dull but dependable blender (Philips HR 2011/70, to the left).

I think the more funky mini-blender (Philips HR 2870/60, to the right) would be a great addition to an established kitchen, which already has a primary blender. In summer, you could put it on the countertop instead of storing it away and make smoothies/iced coffee whenever frequently.


But for a new kitchen like mine, which is in the process of being set up, I think I need a tougher and more versatile blender that can do more than make smoothie. I want to be able to chop hard walnuts, blend tomatoes for soup, churn a litre of milk...all of which the basic, no-fuss single unit can handle.

Here are some points to consider when you're planning to buy a blender/mixie.

Top tips to choose the right blender for you:

• Capacity: Jar capacity varies from 500 ml to 3 litres. Do you cook in large quantities? How many people do you prepare food for? Also, do you have the space to store a larger blender?
• Wattage: Power typically varies from 250 watts to 750 watts amongst household blenders. Choose lower-wattage blenders if you're going to blend dressings and sauces; go for a higher-wattage model if you're keen to blend large quantities of food or crush ice.
• Material: Glass jars are sturdier but more expensive, while plastic jars are flimsier but more affordable. If it's a long-time purchase, try and go for glass. Also, is the footing (the base on which the jar rests) sturdy and well-balanced? If not, it could topple while in operation.
• Speed: Multiple speed settings will allow you to blend different ingredients best. A pulse feature is also helpful - it allows the chunky food items to stop and start and fall downwards to the blade for better impact. Less time, smoother blend!
• Cord: If you're planning to leave the blender on your countertop, look for one with a cord-storage feature. It'll look neat and be safer.
• Features: Opt for a model with numerous jars/multi-function units only if you plan to use the blender for food processing (whip cream, chop spices, etc.). If your main aim is to blend, stick with a simpler, no-frills model.
• Budget: If you're a nomad like me, and move every few years, stick with a basic model. If you're planning to use the same blender for a number of years, splurge and get one that works for you and your kitchen!

Happy blending!


Picture source: Philips

the declutter drive: wardrobe

Organising all our stuff and getting rid of things my husband and I don't need is a top-of-mind issue for me at the moment. Our new place is really small, and I'm wondering how on earth it's going to contain everything we have and still look pretty.

Of course, the keywords in the last sentence are "everything we have". I really do think we have too much, especially when it comes to our wardrobes. I gave away bags and bags of stuff to charity before we moved to this city. Still, I think I need to be more ruthless and whittle down our wardrobes further. It's hard, but I really want to create a small yet AWESOME collection of clothes, shoes and bags that work for us!

There are a few great tips I've learned over the years/found online about how to declutter and organise your wardrobe. Simple, practical advice. I'm looking forward to implementing a couple of these as soon as I can unpack our boxes!

Top tips to declutter your wardrobe

• Sentimental-schmentimental: I love keepsakes as much as the next person. But I know I sometimes use sentiment as a way to hoard things - even clothes! ("I wore this on my six-month anniversary." "My mom made this when she was a fashion designer." "My best friend gave me that on my 25th birthday.") It's good to have keepsakes but be reasonable at the same time. E.g., my mom has given me 10-15 things designed by her - I should keep the 5-6 I really love instead of hanging on to items that are completely worn out or don't fit me well anymore.
• All together, now: Bring all your stuff out at once. You have to get messy to get organised! I did this a few months before my wedding, when I was preparing to move - and I was SHOCKED by the sheer volume of clothes I had stored and gave away a ton of stuff to my staff and to a great disaster-relief organisation in Delhi. I think it's time for my system to be shocked again.
• Repurpose: Is there something you may use more if it were altered, or turned into something else entirely? Perhaps a sari that would work better as a suit? Or a gaudy scarf that would make some great curtain ties? I had a gorgeously patterned long dress that I never wore because the pattern overwhelmed my petite frame when it covered me from top to bottom. So I cut it up: the top half became a blouse, and the bottom half became a scarf!
• Build variety: Assess items that are similar. Do you have 5 pairs of blue jeans? Or 4 yellow t-shirts? Chances are you only regularly reach for the ones that fit you well and suit you. Get rid of the others. If there are a bunch of clothes you really love but have worn ALL THE TIME over the past year, donate them/put them into a suitcase under the bed. Get out of your comfort zone and give yourself a chance to love other clothes! Not only will these methods create space, they'll also help refresh your look and style.
• Zero tolerance: Be strict with yourself. If there's a hole or a stain in something, chuck it. If it has faded patches, throw it. If you haven't worn it in 2 years but are keeping it "just in case" (just in case what? they stop making clothes we like?), bin it. Once it's thrown, don't second-guess yourself. I've debated endlessly about throwing certain items and honestly, 2 months later I don't even remember what I threw!
• The reverse-hanger trick: Put all your hanging clothes in the closet with the hangers facing one way. Whenever you wear an item, put it back with the hanger facing the other way. In a few months, you’ll get a pretty good sense of which items you’re not wearing. Get rid of these!

Okay, that's it for now. Once I complete this daunting task, I'll write another post consolidating all the best tips and advice on decluttering and cleaning out wardrobes.

Picture source: neenjames