1. www.sakaaltimes.com
Y
ou’ve bought lettuce and some creamy
dressing from the store but somehow the
salad you make comes out mediocre, unap-
petising and definitely doesn’t fill you up.
You wonder how people eat salads. Sounds
familiar?
The key to making a hearty salad is to have the
right type of ingredients. If all you are adding is
cucumbers, carrots and tomatoes to lettuce, then
obviously it is not going to be a robust and satisfy-
ing meal.
Here are some components you can incorpo-
rate for making a successful salad:
h Protein: This is the key ingredient that will
keep you full. There are so many options
like hard-boiled eggs, chicken and seafood
for non-vegetarians. This can be leftovers
or made beforehand. Canned tuna comes in
handy as well.
Cheese, paneer and legumes are some
options for vegetarians. Practically any le-
gume — chick peas, lima beans, moong,
masoor, rajma — you make our daily curries
with can be boiled, salted, spiced as desired
and added to the salad. Remember to soak and
sprout them beforehand.
h Something sweet: A bit of sweet offsets the
monotony of tang in the dressing or salt in the
cheese. It also adds more nutrition. Try any
seasonal fruit, for example guava with lettuce
and masoor topped with balsamic vinaigrette
— yes, it tastes great. Apples, pears, grapes are
salad staples and available most of the year.
Dry fruits add bulk. Raisins, dates and figs are
some favourites that will make the salad taste
delicious.
h Get nutty: In addition to protein, nuts give
your teeth something to bite into adding texture
to the salad. Use almonds, walnuts, pistachios
and cashews.
Even in the daily
humdrum of our
lives, there could be
some moments that
set us free. While
some women may
find freedom in
riding a bike, others
may discover it in
overcoming a fear
or going on an
adventure. Here,
some share their
experiences
‘I’m a water
baby now!’
SHRADDHA SHAH RAIKAR
29-YEAR-OLD, TEACHER AND
ENTREPRENEUR - CATS
I was afraid of water since
childhood. Whenever we would go
to a water park, the water
level reached my knees, but I
couldn’t enjoy as much as others
did. The depth of the waters scared
me for 26 years, until I joined a
swimming class with my students,
who are 10-year-olds and even
younger.
When my instructor asked me
to jump into the pool from a 12 ft
diving board and I accomplished
this feat, I felt free. I felt free from
my fear of water. That dive was a
big step for me. It felt like a big bur-
den being lifted off my shoulders.
— AS TOLD TO MEETA RAMNANI
JIBBIE GEORGE
24-YEAR-OLD,
MODEL-TURNED
EMCEE
Life has taught
me a lot of lessons,
one of which is how to
live, love and laugh even
during the toughest of
times. ‘What will people
think’ was my biggest fear
and because of that I never
explored all my talents.
The day I did my first gig
as an emcee, I got rid of that
fear. I did something that I was
good at — talking. That day I
actually felt free... free from the
clutches of fear that shouldn’t
come in the way of my goals. My
advice to others would be to believe
in themselves. Do what you think
is right. Never be afraid of chasing
your dreams and work hard towards
achieving them. Success will follow.
— AS TOLD TO RAJLAXMI ARORA
On the court
PALLAVI KADLE
38-YEAR-OLD, TEACHER
Being on the ground, playing sports
sets me free. The physical and men-
tal concentration required in playing a
sport makes me completely immune to
what is happening around me. That’s my
moment of freedom.
I used to play kho-kho when I was in
school and now I play badminton and
also do yoga. I play badminton thrice a
week in the evening for one hour, while
yoga is reserved for the weekend.
Yoga relaxes me, calms me down and
gives me a few moments to stay focussed.
A game of badminton keeps me agile, on
my toes, and gives me the energy to face
whatever challenges come my way.
I don’t like missing my sports regi-
men, instead I prefer to skip social en-
gagements if they clash with my free-
dom moment.
— AS TOLD TO AMBIKA SHALIGRAM
‘Biking
is like
meditation’
SHALAKA ZAD
38-YEAR-OLD , INTERIOR DESIGNER AND
AVID BIKER
When I am on my bike, I feel truly
free. Biking is like meditation for me, be-
cause it’s my ‘me’ time. When you are
with your family, there are so many re-
sponsibilities that need to be taken care
of, but the moment I am riding, I get the
chance to be with myself.
After having a baby, I wasn’t too con-
fident of riding, so I took a break for 10
years. But last year, I went on my first
ride to Goa on a Bullet with a few other
girls. It was my first trip without my fam-
ily and the longest one on a Bullet. It was
a great trip and I had a fabulous time.
— AS TOLD TO DEBARATI PALIT SINGH
‘Travel sets me
free’
VAIDEHI SURYAWANSHI
31-YEAR-OLD, WRITER
I love to travel. If I had to recall the
time when I truly felt free, I would say
it was when my sister and I went on
our first girls’ trip in 2010. The two of
us packed our bags and went to Kum-
bakonam, a town in Tamil Nadu.
Seeing that we were not a part of
a larger group of tourists, the rick-
shaw-wala took us to a good hotel and
informed us about all the places we
must visit during our stay. He told us
about the sightseeing locations and
eateries to sample the local flavour.
I was a little apprehensive about
the trip, and hoped that we wouldn’t
get cheated or harassed because we
were two ladies backpacking on our
own. But finding the local public help-
ful I was pleasantly surprised. We felt
safe and enjoyed our trip. Since then,
we have been going on trips together
to different parts of the country.
— AS TOLD TO ANJALI JHANGIANI
No more
financial woes
FARIDA KUTIANAWALA
42-YEAR-OLD,
HOMEMAKER AND CHEF
I truly felt free on the day I paid
off all my business debt. Few years
ago, my husband and I had taken a
huge loan and suffered a loss. We
kept our hopes up that we would soon
prosper, but unfortunately, that is not
how things went. So, we were indebt-
ed for a very long time.
It was hard to sleep peacefully
during that period. My husband reas-
sured me each day that things would
fall in place and eventually, they did.
Last year, I felt like I achieved some-
thing when we paid off our suppliers.
It was a huge relief.
My husband’s timely reassurance,
my patience and our hard work, paid
off. Today, we have a factory in Mum-
bai where we make suitcases and
luggage bags, along with a big office
for handling accounts and building
customer relationship. I am also a
self-employed chef today and by God’s
will, everything has worked out for
us.
— AS TOLD TO HUSSAINA
WARDHAWALA
Talking and being
good at it!
SatisfyingSalads
INGREDIENTS
h Boneless, skinless chicken breast....................................................................225 gm
h Olive oil.....................................................................................................................2 tbsp
h Maple syrup .............................................................................................................1 tbsp
h Apple cider vinegar.................................................................................................1 tbsp
h Mustard................................................................................................................1 1/2 tsp
h Soy sauce.............................................................................................................1 1/2 tsp
h Pepper (freshly ground)......................................................................................1/8 tsp
h Spinach (chopped)...............................................................................................2 cups
h Iceberg lettuce (chopped)..................................................................................2 cups
h Beet (large).......................................................................................................................2
h Feta cheese (crumbled)......................................................................................1/4 cup
(Use local Indian cheese, grated if you cannot get feta)
h Walnuts (chopped) ...............................................................................................2 tbsp
h Salt to taste
METHOD
h After cleaning the beets, cover with aluminum foil and place in heated oven (220
degrees Celsius) for about 40 min. After cooling, cut beets in half and slice.
h Place chicken in a small skillet or saucepan and add enough water to cover; bring
to a simmer over high heat. Cover, reduce heat and simmer gently until the chick-
en is cooked through and no longer pink in the middle for 10 to 12 min. Transfer
the chicken to a cutting board. When cool enough to handle, cut into 1/4-inch-
thick slices.
h Meanwhile, whisk oil, syrup, vinegar, mustard, soy sauce, salt and pepper in a large
bowl. Reserve 2 tbsp dressing in a small bowl.
h Add spinach and lettuce to the large bowl; toss to coat with dressing. Divide the
leaves between two plates, top with chicken, beets, cheese, and walnuts. Drizzle
with remaining dressing.
The key to making a hearty salad is to include
the right type of ingredients
h Good fat: There are two basic types of dressing
— vinaigrette and creamy. For vinaigrette, you
use extra virgin olive oil and a type of vinegar
and then flavouring. Creamy dressing can be
made with a mixture of various dairy products
such as sour cream, curds and heavy cream.
Check out the recipe in the box.
h Veggies: This is why you eat a salad — to get
all the goodness of vegetables. Include a variety
of fibrous raw vegetables such as chopped raw
beetroot, carrot and sweet potato, and any other
vegetable you like. Your salad doesn’t have to be
just leaves, but include those too for the benefit
from the greens. A variety of lettuce is available
and you can use a combination. Use cooked veg-
etables — I love to mix roasted carrots, pump-
kin, zucchini, capsicum, cauliflower and broc-
coli in my salads. Two-thirds of your salad plate
should be vegetables and greens. The remaining
one-third can be protein, fats and grains.
h Grains: Adding healthy grains will make your
salad a meal. Brown rice, whole-wheat kernels,
dalia taste great in a salad. You can try quinoa
and couscous as well.
AFEWDON’TS
h Don’t mix too many flavours. Sometimes a sal-
ad with only a few ingredients can be tasty and
satisfying. For example, mix spinach, grilled
chicken, peaches, feta cheese, with a balsamic
vinaigrette and you’ll have a wonderful blend.
Add carrots or tomatoes to it and the flavours
will take away from the original mix.
h Avoid mayo. Mayonnaise is a useless fattening
product that masks the taste of everything.
h Less is more. You don’t need tons of dressing.
Not only is it calorific but you should enjoy
the taste of the other ingredients as well. Use
herbs and spices for flavour.
Get creative and experiment. Eating the
same salad gets boring. So don’t be afraid to
try different combinations!
SPINACH&BEETSALADWITHCHICKEN
KITCHEN CORNER
RitaDate
Nutritionist and Editor of
www.realfoodindia.com
THURSDAYAUGUST13,2015
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Pic:VaibhavThombare
Pic:AnandChaini