You might have listen, seen, or read about this super food called Sweet Potato. Worldwide, sweet potato is the sixth most important crop after rice, wheat, potatoes, maize and cassava. But in developing countries, it is the fifth most important crop. More than 105 million metric tons are produced globally each year; 95% of which are grown in developing countries.
Why it’s called superfood?Sweet Potatoes are good for you. They contain awesome amount of Vitamin A. Sweet Potatoes also contains fiber, excellent amounts of Vitamin C and B-6, manganese, potassium and several other vitamins and minerals. They are even good source of iron and calcium. Sweet potatoes are also thought to be helpful in blood sugar regulation.
Benefits of eating sweet potato
Highly Nutritious. Sweet potatoes are great source of fiber, vitamins, minerals
Promote Gut Health
Have Cancer Fighting Properties
Support Healthy vision
Enhance Brain Function
Support Immune System
Sweet potatoes are rich in:
B vitamins
Vitamin C
Calcium
Iron
Magnesium
Phosphorus
Potassium
Thiamin
Sweet potatoes are rich in fibre, which can help you lose weight and belly fat. The high fibre content of sweet potatoes makes you feel ‘full’. Sweet potato contains potassium.
A high intake of potassium may not be suitable for people who take beta-blockers. Doctors prescribe these for heart disease.
Sweet Potatoes are also good for your furry friend.
Different ways to have it:
Sweet Potato chips
Drizzle with maple syrup
Mash them
Bake
Roast
Steam
Sweet Potato Fries
Salad Topping
Sweet Potato pan cakes
Add a twist to your sandwich
Grill
So, now you know how useful sweet potatoes are hope you will try to add this super food in your diet and enjoy its benefits.
Welcome to the year 2022. Now on, I will choose a theme for every month and blog according to that theme. All my blogs will revolve around that particular theme. So, the theme for the month January 2022 is, FOOD. Let’s begin.
Hope all are safe and are in good health. With the new year we all are excited what this year will bring. Happiness, peace, health, wealth, we all wish good for ourselves and our loved ones too. Focusing this in mind the very first thing which we can do is, eat healthy. Today, I will tell you the benefits of drinking various soups and may be it will inspire you to give a thought, and health becomes your first priority.
Benefits of drinking soups:
It helps you keep warm.
It can help you loose weight.
It’s good for digestion.
It’s power packed with Nutrients.
It can keep pains and aches at bay.
It is Naturally Healing.
Delicious Soups to try:
Chicken Soup
Tomato Soup
Spinach Soup
Cabbage Soup
Pumpkin Soup
Lentil Soup
Asparagus Soup
Chicken Soup
All Non-Vegetarians love Chicken Soup. It makes us immune in a cold chilly weather. I don’t think there is anyone who will say no to it. The small chicken chunks in it makes it more flavorful and if ginger and garlic added to it makes it more enjoyable. It supports our immune system.
Tomato Soup
What’s better, Tomato Soup also filled with the goodness of Vitamin-K and calcium that improve bone health, along with Vitamin A & C that improves cardiovascular health.
Spinach Soup
Rich in antioxidants and packed with nutrients, a bowl of green spinach soup a great way to warm your body inside out.
Cabbage Soup
Cabbage Soup is packed with fiber along with Vitamin B, C and K. It helps to stay in shape and detoxes the body toxins. Its also good for gut health.
Pumpkin Soup
Pumpkin Soup is good for weight loss and good option for fighting indigestion and stomach infections.
Lentil Soup
Lentil Soup is good source of protein. It also helps lower bad cholesterol. Good for heart health and digestive health.
Asparagus Soup
Asparagus Soup is good source of fiber, Vitamin A, C, and K. A bowl of Asparagus Soup can enhance insulin’s ability to transport glucose from the bloodstream into cells.
Soups are a healthy option to boost immunity. Not all heathy recipes are boring, so just give a try to all the soup options mention above. You can add more ingredients according to your taste to make it interesting.
‘Eat your food as medicines, so that you don’t have to eat medicines as your food’ – RATAN TATA
As rightly said by Mr. Ratan Tata. Lets start new year in a more healthy way.
Social Media started in year 2003-2004. Myspace, Facebook, Twitter were there since then. Today we can’t imagine even a single day without social media. It has become integral part of our life. It not only make us connected with our contacts but also provide knowledge about things which we don’t know through other mediums.
Social Media helped a lot in these tough times of COVID. It not only provide vital information world wide but also becomes medium of occupation too. Earlier it was just used to stay connected with people who are far from us. But today when people were deprived of meeting each other due to COVID. It becomes life line for all of us to share information, to stay connected, to gain knowledge and much more. Children were not going to school since last one and a half year. And this social media platforms provide them with creative world where they can show their creativity by making wonderful videos, learn music, art and so on.
Many gained and learned new skills. Earlier also Social Media was a vast world but also misused to share hate speech, to spread rumours etc. This time also many rumours about COVID were spread so much misinformation was spread but wise were those who stick to the facts and ignored all the rumours. We all faced this situation around the world.
Social Media played a much responsible role in times of COVID. When we were staying alone at our homes it gives us light of hope. It makes us smile, it boost our moral to stay positive. Now omicron is spreading and still we are not safe. The news from one country to another spread like fire, this is the role played by Social Media.
We were able to help each other just because of social media. We were at our homes but was spreading information like contact numbers of people providing free food, things to do, contact numbers of medical facilities around our areas. We were and still are in touch with other countries and watching how each country’s coping with this new variant of COVID. Learning from each other, what to do next. How to be prepared for future in terms of medical facilities. A simple message can do wonders. So, let’s spread positivity again. Social Media itself becomes world of happiness.
Vaccination drives are still going on and booster dose is also being recommended. We can’t help in making the vaccine, but we can spread information by just a simple message to our near and dear ones to please be safe, follow social distancing, wear mask and wash hands. Try not to be a part of huge gatherings.
Social Media is also used to share jokes to lighten up the mood but many sensible people use it to provide help and spread humanity by which many people get inspired and follow their foot steps. It opens up doors for so many to get help from these warriors.
Social Media is a busy space in India, where almost all the internet access is via mobile phones. It’s increasingly common for people to use social media to ask for help, over WhatsApp , Facebook, Twitter and other platforms. So when people were short of oxygen supply thousands of responders’ step in, tracking and verifying sources of oxygen, drugs, beds. They connected those asking for help to non-profit, on ground volunteers, suppliers.
You might be wandering that from last few blogs I am continuously talking about COVID. Yes, because it has affected our lives so badly, it affected our lifestyle, our mindset, our businesses, studies no one in this world is being spared by this deadly virus. Be it young or old, rich or poor, healthy or ill. This only thing inspired me to write about how social media played its role. Earlier social media was not considered as a good thing, it was thing of people who want to pass their time but now peoples’ thinking have changed drastically.
Though some people might misuse social media with fake accounts but overall it is a very precious medium to be connected and be creative.
I give a thumbs up to social media. And what about you?
Learning is a never ending process. We keep on learning in day to day life. It’s not degrees that tell us how qualified we are. After getting many degrees we still learn from our personal experiences.
Learning new skill is beneficial for our self growth. It makes us occupied with thought process in right direction. It makes us more creative. There are many benefits of learning new skill.
* It can boost your happiness. When we learn a new skill, it increases our level of happiness as we get excited and curious to learn new things.
* It helps beat boredom. Doing repetitive work all day long and daily makes us bore. What we do to kill boredom is turn on the TV. But learning new skill has edge over it.
* It boost confidence. Learning new skill makes us more confident as we gain knowledge about particular field and by being confident about it we fight against fear and anxiety.
* It keeps you healthy. Learning is great for our brain at every age. It makes the brain to think in right direction, makes brain to think positively
* It makes us explore new opportunities. By learning new skill we become aware of opportunities related to that skill which can make us self reliant.
* It gives us reason to smile. It not only make us independent but also respectable. It makes us know our hidden talent and potential.
Now you may know many benefits of learning new skill. Never stop learning. We should keep on learning new skill and explore new opportunities for ourselves. The benefits are immense but it will only help if we first come to know what to learn and how to learn according to your own potential.
See the above image, a foodie will love to see it. For a foodie like me, happiness is food. You go anywhere around the world there is so much to explore, in terms of food that you enter a whole new world of happiness all together. There is so much online support available for foodies. You can order your favourite food just by few clicks and it’s delivered in minutes at your doorsteps. These food delivery partners have encouraged more and more outlets to open and start their food business, even home made food is being also delivered by them. What a revolution!
Everyone loves food, for sure, being a foodie. Some love home cooked food, others may be street food. It all depends upon our taste buds. We all enjoy eating at a trending resturant isn’t it. We eat food to stay healthy but a foodie eats to stay happy, to enjoy each and every bite and to try every new food joint or resturantnearby. Food is oxygen for foodie. As I belong to India. We have so many variety of food to offer. Each state in India has its signature dish. We are diverse in culture and so much to explore.
My personal favourite is South Indian and North Indian food if we talk about India. I am still on a journey to explore the world food. As when we visit abroad we opt for Indian food only, but you don’t do this mistake while travelling abroad. A foodie should try each and everything. I missed ‘fondue’. Being a foodie, is like, you travel and side by side exploring that place’s famous delicacies. If you love travelling, you automatically become foodie, as you are away from home and there is only option, and good one, is to try food from where you pass by, eat where you stay.
In my earlier blog I wrote about food, and try to give importance to home cooked food. And yes, again I will say home cooked food is the best. You can try receipes at home with hygienic ingredients. We are now more knowledgeable about being vegan or follow keto diet but our traditional, local and seasonal food is sustainable as suggested by Rujuta Diwekar.
We should try to improve our taste buds and create liking for healthy food too. When we over indulge in outside food, to detox what we do is eat light food. Make it a routine for lifetime. Our body is a machine, for the well being of each part of our body we must provide proper nutrition. And a foodie don’t think while enjoying their food. There is no harm in being a foodie but if you are a food vlogger or food blogger then so many people may be following you, you can transform people’s idea of food by giving them direction or good advice instead of daily making a vlog on street food vendors.
Some foodies have sweet tooth and love sugary food more than anything. People also like spicy food. Everything is catered, to satisfy different taste buds. The vlogs informing about new food joint nearby, advertise their food for which may be they are paid or just to win followers should be ignored. Always experiment with different outlets by your own, never go blindly by watching just a vlog.
TOP 10 SIGNS YOU ARE A FOODIE.
* You eat in lots of different restaurants.
* You enjoy trying new dishes at a restaurant.
* You enjoy shopping for food.
* You buy spices etc. while on holiday/travelling.
* You have a full range of spices and herbs on display in your kitchen.
* You own an apron.
* You go to places other than supermarkets to buy ingredients.
* You grow your own herbs.
* You use a variety of different type of oil.
* You always try to use locally sourced or organic ingredients.
Keep enjoying food and keep on experimenting and trying new dishes dear foodies.
We all are aware about climate change. I want to bring some facts in front of my readers. So that, we can also contribute in saving our planet earth, by small lifestyle changes, which are necessary and urgently required. I will tell you, what we can do as global community and how it will be helpful and impactful for generations to come. If our earth will be happy๐, so does our world ๐.
Things which we can do in our daily routine.
* Recycle and reuse plastic By recycling and reusing plastic we save our environment from waste generated by it and decrease the demand for new such products for which fossil fuels are used and pollute the environment.
* Stop food waste We should not buy things more than our need. When we throw things in garbage, not only we waste money but the energy used in packaging, producing and distribution of that waste. So it’s necessary to stop food waste.
* Switch to led lights it is a simple way to lower your carbon footprints and save money. LED light bulbs use much less power than regular bulbs.
* Save water take a five minute shower instead of 10 minutes. turn off the tap while brushing your teeth.
* Unplug your appliances When we leave devices such as PC, TV, they still draw power, even when they are switched off. So, unplug your appliances when not in use. Plugged in devices use 7% of regular energy, even if turned off.
* Switch off lights when you leave the room it will save good amount of money.
* Eat plant based meal did you know eating less meat and dairy and more plant based food- such as vegetables, fruits, whole grain, nuts can significantly lower your environmental impact? Plant based food produce less greenhouse gas emissions and use less energy, land and water.
* Bring your bag can seriously reduce the amount of plastic waste of the world. Plastic bags not only pollute the ocean and environment, they clog sewers, kills wildlife and damage ecosystem.
* Buy local it is important to support local economies. Local food seriously reduce the climate impact and lowers carbon emitted to get that food on your table.
* Usereusable coffee mug by using less paper cups we help to save our environment so, lets use a reusable coffee mug.
* Air dry laundry it is not only gentle to your cloths but also save energy and money.
* Bring your bottle carry your own water bottle where ever you go, it will save us from plastic waste.
If we want to save our environment, not only for ourselves but for generations to come, we have to take actions now, towards different ways which lead to sustainability. These above mentioned small acts have huge impact on saving earth. This is a topic which is always neglected or we just read and think how a single person’s small act will have huge impact. We can share this message with our family and friends encourage them too. It will not only save money for you but will be beneficial in long run for saving environment.
We, as global family have responsibility towards mother earth,๐ to nourish and save it. As its said in Gurbani :
Translation in English: Air is the Teacher, Water is the Father and Earth is the Mother of all. Day and night are the two nurses in whose lap whole world is at play.
Let’s join hands and fight against global threat, climate change. Every single act to save mother earth counts. Be a part of it.
Reading is a habit which is cultivated right from childhood. We read academic books from where we learn various things. That books are compulsary for children to read and study from them. Other than that, I used to read a lot of comics, newspaper, magzines etc. As child we were not engaged in mobiles and tv. So, we very much have time for reading books, other than school books. Now, it’s difficult to make children cultivate habit of reading, but I manage to do so with my son. I provide him comics, children magzines, story books, he is a big fan of ‘Harry Potter‘. He also read many editions of ‘Tom Gates‘ too.
Due to which his reading, writing and speaking skills are good. The credit goes to him also, as he obeyed me. The benefits of reading was known to me. Which I will share with you today. It strengthens brain, brain scans show that throughout the reading period and for days afterwards brain connectivity increases.
Builds vocabulary, students who read books regularly, beginning at young age, gradually develop large vocabularies. Reading books is the best way to increase your exposure to new words.
Reduce stress, the study found that 30 minutes of reading lowered blood pressure, heart rate and feelings of psychological distress just as effectively as yoga and humour did.
May even help you live longer, the study also concludes that people who read more than 3 1/2 hour every week were 23 percent likely to live longer than those who didn’t read at all.
Prepares you for good night’s sleep, helps prevent age related cognitive decline, reading books and magazines keeps mind engaged, prevents diseases like Alzheimer.
After knowing so many benefits, I am going to buy more books for reading. You also think about it and start reading from today itself.
World of Happiness 
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