1.     Peanut Butter and Banana Blondies:

Combination of bananas and peanut butter are a match made in dessert heaven

Ingredients:

·        3 medium bananas, mashed

·        ¼ cup light or dark brown sugar

·        2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

·        1 large egg or two medium

·        ¾ atta

·        ¾ cup unsweetened cocoa powder

·        2 teaspoons baking powder

·        ½ cup reduced fat milk (can be replaced with plant-based milk too)

·        2 Tablespoons creamy peanut butter

·        Oil for greasing

Method:

1.     Preheat oven to 180°C

2.     In a bowl, mash the bananas and add brown sugar, vanilla extract and egg to it

3.     Mix all these ingredients to combine

4.     Add the atta, cocoa powder, baking powder and stir until just combined

5.     Stir in milk

6.     Melt the peanut butter in a microwave safe bowl for 15 secs

7.     Grease a baking dish with oil and pour brownie batter

8.     Now pour melted peanut butter on top and with the help of a toothpick, swirl it around the batter

9.     Bake for 25 minutes or until knife or toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean

10.  Let the brownie cool down before you decide to cut it.

2.     Cashew and Chocolate Truffle:

Cashew and Chocolate, Yes please!

Ingredients:

·        200 gms dark chocolate, chopped

·        ½ cup milk ( can use milk based also)

·        1 tablespoon pure maple syrup

·        ¾ cup whole unsalted cashews or almonds

·        ¼ teaspoon salt salt

Method:

·       Keep the chocolate in a medium-sized bowl and pour over the boiling milk over it.

·       Stir in the maple syrup in the milk mixture and cool before placing it in the freezer until it has become firm

·       Preheat oven and bake cashews till they are brown for 8-10 minutes.

·       IN a food processor chop cashews and salt together and set aside when they are finely chopped.

·       Take the chocolate mixture out and roll them into tiny balls.

·       Roll the chocolate balls in the cashew mixture and set aside on a baking sheet

·       Cover and chill until service

3.     Gluten-Free Carrot Cake Cookies:

The brilliance of a carrot cake in the wonderful form of a cookie!

Ingredients:

·     1¾  cup (100g) gluten free oats 

·     ¾ cup (68g) peeled and grated carrots

·     1 ½ tsp baking powder

·     1 ½ tsp ground cinnamon

·     ⅛ tsp salt

·     2 tbsp (28g) coconut oil or unsalted butter, melted and cooled

·     1 large egg, room temperature

·     1 tsp vanilla extract

·     ½ cup maple syrup

Method:

·     In one bowl mix all the dry ingredients together

·     In a separate bowl mix the wet ingredients together

·     Stir in the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and then stir in the carrots.

·     Now chill the dough for atleast an hour

·     Preheat oven to 180 degree Celsius

·     Line a baking tray with parchment paper and scoop out the dough onto the paper

·     Bake for 15-20 minutes

·     Cool before the time for service on a cooling rack

Happy eating y’all and have a wonderful New Year guys!  

The post 3 Guilt-Free Desserts to Try this New Year’s first appeared on Fit Foodies Mantra.

Partying during the New Year’s isn’t a new concept, but we do tend to overdo a lot of things during the parties, especially when it comes to our food consumption! Everyone loves junk food, whether they like to admit it or not, but eating only junk throughout your party phase, is not really a good idea now, is it? Even our friend, who is one of the top 5 dieticians in Delhi swears by all these amazing recipes!

So, in order to make sure that you party hard, yet take care of your health, we have a few snack ideas that just might help you. Go forth and check out our list of Guilt-Free Party snacks for your New Year Party!

Zucchini Fritters: 

This amazing recipe will make even the people who aren’t too fond of zucchini, fall in love with it!

Ingredients:

2 Large grated Zucchini

½ Onion finely chopped

2 large eggs, beaten

Salt to taste

Garlic Powder

Any grated cheese of your choice

1 tbsp extra virgin Olive Oil

1 clove of garlic, minced

1 tsp red chilli flakes

½ cup maize flour

Method:

 Take a large bowl, and combine the grated zucchini, onions, the eggs and garlic powder.

1. Combine the rest of the ingredients with the zucchini mixture.
2. In a pan, heat the olive oil.
3. For 1 fritter, start by scooping out the fritter batter onto the pan and cook until golden brown on one side.
4. Flip and continue doing the same.
5. Once cooked, take them out onto a kitchen towel to let them absorb the excess oil.
6. Serve hot with the sauce of your choice.

Carrot Fries:

Who doesn’t like fries? But what happens when you make fries out of one of the most nutritious vegetables? Well, why don’t you see for yourself? Remember the friend we mentioned earlier? The one who is one of the top 5 dieticians in Delhi? This happens to be one of their favorite recipes!

Ingredients:

 4-5 Large carrots

2 Tsp Olive Oil

½ tsp cumin powder

Salt to taste

½ tsp red chili powder

Fresh ground black pepper

 Method:

1. Start by pre-heating your oven to 425◦F.
2. Next, peel the carrots and cut them lengthwise, in a French fry like shape.
3. Toss the cut carrots, in olive oil, cumin powder and red chilli powder.
4. Sprinkle salt and pepper onto the carrot mixture.
5. Layer a baking tray with baking parchment and bake for 20 minutes.
6. Bake till the carrot chips have turned crisp at the ends.
7. Serve hot with your favorite mayo or dip.

Sweet Potato Chips:

Yes, we all love the basic potato chips that we get in the market. But have you ever thought about how many calories those chips contain? Well, we do have a healthier alternative for you, so fear not.

Ingredients:

2 Big Sweet Potatoes, thinly sliced

1 tbsp olive/vegetable oil

1 tbsp chilli powder

1 tsp garlic powder

Salt to taste

1 tsp mustard powder

1 tsp cornflour

Pinch of fresh ground pepper

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 350◦F
2. In a big bowl, mix all the dry ingredients, along with the sliced sweet potatoes and the oil.
3. Place the tossed sweet potato chips on a wire rack in one layer and bake for about 25-30 minutes. You will know that they are cooked when they are crisp and dry to touch.
4. Take them out and let them cool. They will crisp up further when they cool.
5. Serve Hot with your favorite dressing/sauce

So thinking about giving these recipes a go during your party? Good idea! Do let us know which recipe you loved the most.

The post Guilt-Free snacks for your New Year Party! first appeared on Fit Foodies Mantra.

But once you have had your fill of the cake and nog, then how do you expect to wake up the next morn without that throbbing headache and all that comes with a hangover?

Well, we just might have a few tips to help you get through the day!

Check these hangover cures to help you get through the festive season, be it Christmas or the New Year!

Sleep:

Since your body needs time to recover from your previous night’s adventures, sleep is your best friend right now! Even as little as an extra hour of sleep will go a long way in helping you get through your hangover.

Take plenty of rest, and if need be, call your work or wherever you need to be that day and let them know that you will not be able to make it! Your health needs to come first, remember that!

Stay Hydrated!

Remember to drink plenty of water the next morning! You need to keep in mind that the alcohol you had last night, ended up dehydrating your body and to reverse that, you need to have plenty of fluids.

Drinking water every few hours the next day will make sure that all the dehydration that you faced during the previous night, goes away quicker! Try not to overdo the water drinking though, just take it slow and steady and you will be fine.

Juice it!

If you are bored of having only water, then you can also have fruit and vegetable juices. Alternate a glass of water with a glass of juice throughout the day, and that will be the best favour you would be doing to your body.

The water rehydrates while the juice gives you necessary vitamins.

Bonus Tip: Adding a little lemon juice to a cup of warm water will help you even more or even adding ginger to the water will help with any nausea that you might be having.

Say no to Caffeine:

Do not have a strong cuppa of your favorite caffeinated drink, though a weaker version of the same might be ok.

Too much coffee will also end up dehydrating your body further thus worsening your already bad hangover! Even here, you can think of alternating between a cup of light coffee and a cup of sweet tea! Since the sugar combined with the caffeine will help you give a boost of energy without dehydrating you more, this is a better idea than having a whole pot of coffee by itself!

Feed Yourself!

We know that right now you would not be feeling like having anything to munch on, but trust us when we tell you that it WILL help in the long run. Start off slow, like with a few crackers or even a banana maybe!

If you think you are able to keep those things down and do not feel like you are about to throw up, then you can have something more substantial, like some more fruits! Minerals and proteins are of the utmost importance at the moment and your food will help you get precisely these nutrients!

Here’s hoping that you have a blessed festive season and stay far away from any hangovers that might think of befalling you!! Merry X’mas y’all!

The post Hangover Cures to help you get through the festive season! first appeared on Fit Foodies Mantra.