Off to Krabi!

This promises to be an interesting trip! We are off to Krabi for the Chinese New Year. By train - and mini van - and ferry and maybe foot too... Whatever, however inconvenient and crowded travelling during CNY may be - I cant wait to sample Thai food, get those Thai massages and do some haggling and shopping. Must do this time - the kids must ride an elephant! Sorry, I still dont know the technicalities of how we are reaching Krabi or the route we are taking.

Wonder how Thailand will be like after the floods, political unrest...But it is not easy to destroy beauty or the innate hospitality of the people.

The Great Indian Ennui (in Cricket - what else?)

The Indian cricket fans are going through a nightmare. But just think of those poor men out in the middle. They must be so not enjoying this period. That is when they are awake. It is as if a haze has settled over the Boyzzz in Blue - post World Cup. Oh they have managed a series win  or two - against England /WI in some ODI series at home. But thats something they can do blindfolded - win ODI matches at home against England/WI.

So how does this post WC ennui work? When Tendulkar goes out to practise (that is if he does bother, or if the coach dares to bother him) -  dont you think there would be a buzz of WC WC around his head. Plus a more significant and exasperating buzz - 100100...100100. No wonder he looks to be chasing those flies away.

What would be happening when the Great Dhoni goes out to practise. No one has let him forget in the last 8 months that he is so perfect and great and humble. The guy must be just so confused too. Its a wonder if he can tell a practise from a T-20 from a Test from an ODI or for batting from a commercial. Or if he is batting for his country, or his bosses in IPL, or his wifey or for his ads bosses...I dont remember when I last saw a person so busy with the limelight so firmly refusing to waver.

The same haze seems to have enveloped Viru and Gambhir. While individually they are looking like a pair of stuffed puppies -  together they seem to be putting on a show called Zombie learns tap-dancing. It doesnt auger well for Gambhir. WC followed by marriage gets to the best of them. Earth to Gambhir - you are not Sehwag - you have not scored 2 Triples - you CANNOT get away with it. Sehwag can get away with anything - maybe even murder - because those "you blink and you miss" inningses of his are so delightful - arent they?

So winning over the Australians has been solely on the shoulders of some great players like Vinay Kumar, Umesh Yadav - with all of 4 test matches between them before the Perth Test. Zaheer Khan - well he was also part of the WC - the haze, remember? Ishant Shama anyways has been in an alt world since he was picked to be "the player of the future" a few years back. In our country greatness strikes and affects more surely than lightning strikes a field of unearthed metal towers on a plateau.

Frankly speaking, we fans are left speechless by the display. Get these boys down to earth - give them a year, maybe more, off - allow them to shake it off and get back to playing in maybe a couple or dozen or so years - who knows - they may win another World Cup.

Or just shake them strong - one by one - by the ruff.

I have not mentioned Duncan Fletcher. I know the guy takes a salary. But we are hospitable - we dont like foreign coaches to be accountable (same as star players) and give them a long enough rope to tie everyone in knots.

Day at Gym

Logged 7 kms on the treadmill - at 63 mins and 520+ calories. Sweaty sweaty... It was yesterday. Then spent the entire day standing around at MPH looking at books on sale. No better way to spend a Sunday! I wish I did the treadmill thing more often. Just been too lazy lately and have not been paying attention to my diet.

Walking, Walking...

Logged 500 calories on the treadmill today, in 55 minutes. Followed it up with a wee bit of arm and leg exercises. Feeling good. I followa walking on a incline and a jogging routine alternating. One thing I always do is take a small water break after 30 minutes.

DASH Diet - What is it?

The DASH Diet has won the Best Overall Diet award for the year 2012. What is DASH Diet?


DASH - Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension

The Diet as the name suggests strives to prevent and lower BP or Hypertension.

So is it only for High Blood Pressure patients?

The Dash Diet follows a combination of a specified eating plan combined with reduced intake of salt. Dash menus have sodium in the range of 2300 mg while the average US man has a daily intake of sodium of 4200 mg. The diet is rich in potassium, magnesuim, calcium - all essential minerals and protein and fibre.

The Dash eating plan prescribes amount of daily servings per day for various calorie needs. Suppose a person requires 1600 calories per day as per her lifestyle and metabolism levels - the daily servings of various food groups is givens in the DASH Dietary Plan.

For 1600 calories per day - daily servings as per DASH

Food Group                        No of Servings          Each Serving Includes (eg)

Grains (preferably whole) -       6                        1 slice bread or 1/2 cup rice, pasta
Vegetables -                             3-4                     1/2 cup cooked veg or 1 cup raw leafy
Fruits -                                      4                       1 medium fruit, 1/2 cup fruit juice
Fat Free or Low Fat Milk         2-3                     1 cup yoghurt
Lean Meats, Poultry, Fish -        3-6                    1 oz
Nuts, Seeds, Legumes             3/Week                1/2 cup cooked legumes, 1/3 cup nuts
Fats and Oils                            2                         1 tsp

The Dash Diet plan gives the food that comes under the various food groups.

The plan has many useful tips and tricks on how to reduce your intake of calories and salt - like taking an apple instead of 4 shortbread cookes saves one 80 calories, using unsalted products whereever possible, washing canned vegetables to remove the brine or better using fresh vegetables.

Its apparent from the diet that it is appropriate for weight watchers as well as High BP patients as well as anyone willing to invest a modicum of time and energy to follow a healthy lifestyle. 

The Dash Diet can be found in entirety at the NHLBI website to download.

Fried Chicken Curry (Dry) - Easy to Cook Recipe

Dry Chicken (South Indian Style)

This is an easy to cook chicken recipe that I tried today. It turned out really well, much to my surprise. This dried chicken recipe has a tangy peppery taste and should be good to eat with chapatti. We had it with steamed rice though for Sunday lunch.

Ingredients and Preparation

Chicken (500 gm)
Ginger garlic paste (2 tsp)
Chilli powder
Turmeric powder
Curry Powder (Any good one like Gemini, Everest, Ruchi, MTR, etc)) - 2 tbsp
Curry Leaves
Green Chillies - To taste
Mustard paste (ready made or home made) - 1 tsp
Vinegar - 2-3 tbsp
Ground Pepper - 2 tbsp
Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
Onion - 2 big
Oil - 2 tbsp
Salt to taste

Marinate Chicken (500 g) with ginger garlic paste (2 tsp), turmeric powder, chilli powder, vinegar, green chilli (1-2), half tsp mustard paste (I used the Heinz mustard paste that I keep for hotdogs), freshly ground pepper and 2 tsp curry powder (I used Ruchi's Curry Powder). Try to marinate for at least 30 minutes or so, so that the flavours soak in. It is however ideal to marinate for 3 hours.

Slice 2 big onions and keep aside.

Heat oil in a deep wok (Kadhai). Add the mustard seeds. Add the onions and fry. Add the curry leaves and marinated chicken. Add a sliced green chilli. Add salt to tase. Fry on high heat till the water evaporates. Add a little water. Cover it leave it to simmer on low heat. Stir in between to see that the chicken doesn't stick to the pan.

Cooking time - Approx 20-30 Min depending on the quality of poultry.

What is Oats?

Oat is by far the Numero Uno item for most beginner dieters. Or veteran dieters? What is oatmeal? How is it eaten? How nutritious is eat? Is it for Real or just another promotion gimmick (lower cholesterol, anyone?) by commercial food specialists?

I decided to seriously look into these questions. Here are the answers I got.

Something Good

Ah a New Year... I know something good is wating for me round the corner, just hoping the corner shows up faster!

Back to the Gym

Today was my first outing to the gym after the holidays. Didnt do much. Just 40 mins on the treadmill. Felt good to be running after soooo long. DId a 20 mins run at 7-1/2 km/hr...

Am think of trying a brown rice diet recommended by my brother.

Logging my weight - 71 kilos

Condo Gym or Real Gym

Do I enroll in a proper gym? Are aerobics workouts essential for overall body ftness? How important is muscle training? Sigh...My condo gym has just treadmills and the cycle. I guess its just not enough for overall fitness.