Exercising Away To FBAI Dialogues- A Conference: Part Two’

Hope you are back here again to read the second part of my blog on the event that I attended. 

If you missed ‘Exercising Away To FBAI Dialogues- A Conference: Part One’,  you can find it HERE

One thing good about this conference was that It was very vibrant and entertaining. There were many distraction to keep you away from dozing off. For example- on each table, there was a box of ‘Soul flower’ emitting heady fragrance, there was a beautiful lilly at the table- a feast for the eye..then there was an hand santizer by Godrej, some sweets, water by Kelzai….all reminding us of the sponsors of this event. And also there were Zumba and Bollywood music to dance away the blues.

And the talks were interesting too

David Cananzi- F&B Wizard spoke about Curation of healthy menus at home. In India, we have privilege of having fresh vegetables and fruits, we should use it to our advantage. He spoke about most important facts that you must include in our daily diet. He stressed the need to cook with your soul, it must suit your life style, you must know your ingredients - their taste and their nutrient value, use fresh vegetables. If you have to save it, store it in freezer to retain their freshness. “If you wish to be healthy, you must follow your instinct” he said.

Rachna Chhachi – nutritionalist and cancer coach, cures people without medicines and works with autistic people. Its all about lifestyles that you adapt to discipline your mind. Reduce the quantity of food, don’t overeat, eat 30% less. Look at your plate, half of it should be raw. Eat right oil and fat, include nuts in your daily diet. Keep everything in view and think what you want to do. Take fresh look at why you need to be happy.. Nutrition, exercise and sleep are investment plan for health. Believe in 8 hours sleep, enjoy healthy meal and avoid junk food. “Learn to chill-enjoy your own company, eat slowly and enjoy food” she said.

Eefa Shrof- A fitness and lifestyle coach spoke about mind-body fitness. Being thin does not mean that you are fit. You can be thin but not healthy, you can be fat but healthy. Ask yourself as to why you wish to be thin? And if your reasons are convincing you to become thin that should inspire you to loose weight. Most importantly, remember that heart should be taken care of and you don’t have to reduce muscles to become thin. Follow the advise of an experienced trainer. “In giving out exercise and nutrition programs, a trainer aims to help, not please the client” said she.

Ranveer Brar – spoke about how he keeps fit as a celebrity chef. People ask him as to how can he be a foodie and still be thin?. He said that prayers can give fitness of the soul, but eating the right food at the right time gives fitness to the body. We were sent in this world to be happy and food is the essential instrument to happiness. Our ancient wisdom understood that food was the key. We all have memories of our grandmother who told us what and when to eat, without giving any reasons. Even if you protested and asked for answer, she would just nod and ask us to follow because she believed it. In today’s world we look for answers for any myth that has been passed down through centuries. We believe only if it is confirmed by western philosophy. We have to understand our relation with food. It doesn’t have to be tasty, it should also be nutritious. You must know its reaction and its usefulness to your body.”A true foodie will find the medicinal value of food, believe and find its nutritional value too.” He said.

Saloni Malkani hosted a Panel discussion on re-imaging modern Kitchen with Kalyan Karmakar, Smita Deo, Sujit Patil and Vaishali Shah.  Kitchens have changed a lot over the years. It used to be gathering place for whole family and now it is small space, specially in big cities. Kitchen should reflect who you are, the way you have styled it. The display of food jars, ingredients, gadjets that you use and the vairiety of things that one sees in your kitchen reflects your identity. Vaishali spoke about how she has remodeled her bedroom into one big kitchen where whole family meets. “Kitchen won’t be seen as close spaces in future, but as an open place for the whole family to meet” said Vaisali Lahoti Shah, the lead designer of Godrej Interiors.

Rushina Ghildiyal, the food consultant spoke about substituting Indian ingredients for exotic ones. Instead of cutting on food, its better to exercise. If we are grown up eating certain kinds of food, we tend to stick to that. The fact is that we don’t market our own products, we have forgotten to eat grains such as Millet, Ragi, which is more healthy. We should eat more protiens and eat food that is grown locally in your country, if we don’t buy local food then farmers might stop farming and move on to different profession. Just because certain food works best in certain eco system and envirnoment, it may not necessarily work for you in your country. “Its all about adapting knowledge. Whatever is suitable for you, use it to adapt to your parameters.” She said,

The day ended with Rumba. Music is not only for dancing at the discos. It can be adapted as an exercise for healthy living and lifestyle.

Exercising Away To FBAI Dialogues- A Conference: Part One

It’s a choice we make, sometimes we have to cancel one event to attend another event and eventually might disappoint somebody during such decisions. But I have wonderful friends who understand me and did not crib when I cancelled my weekend trip to Pune with my group of friends and decided to attend this #wellness conference organised by FBAI at JWMarriot-Juhu.

It was worth it. Really. There is always something new to learn. I agree, most of the things you hear in any conferences, are mere repetitions, you have heard them many times, but still, you read between lines and there is always one thin layer of knowledge that clings to you.

So here I was, early in the morning (shooing away my maid to finish her chores quickly so that I could step out. Registration, coffee and meeting everyone with brief hello (I am listener, I talk very little , i am more of an observer and I am boring too) so it was best to walk into Yamuna room. The session started with exercises and Yoga - thus the group of foodies and bloggers were charged with wellness #FBAIdialogues.

The session started with Vicky Ratnani, who took us to Sasson docks through his short film and gave us the experience of shopping for fish early in the morning. His message was clear, “Eat fresh, eat local” He gave the example of eating tomatoes, which when cut fresh, you just add lime, salt, pepper and olive oil and it tastes so good but if you store it in fridge for a week and then eat, the same tomato will taste different. The nutrient are much higher when fresh. He stressed the need to buy local seasonal food and support farmers. Indians have always been eating turmeric and other spices, they have always used coconut oil in cooking but its western culture who are now discovering the nutrient value of Indian way of cooking. “Its better you pay the farmers than you paying the doctor” he said.

This was followed by the conversation with Fitness blogger – Anandita De, Founder of Risqueby. The discussion was on (What else?) fitness ofcourse. How to stay fit by eating right kind of food. She stressed the need to be aware of what you eat. “Avoid white color food, avoid oil, and in short eat in moderation.”she said

Mr CSNageshwaran of Vikroli Cucina spoke about Godrej food trends 2018  and made us aware that people are moving towards healthier food habits.

Trupti Gupta spoke about including Walnuts in our daily diet and how it can take us to healthy lifestyle. There are hundred types of diet and there is no formula for following it in a particular way, we have to eat in moderation and understand what are our body’s need. Including nuts in our daily diet is very important. “Walnuts are good for brain. They are lightest in digestion and they help us fight stress and pollution” she said.

Naina Setalvad gave her real life example telling us what to eat to keep healthy. Today’s food promote gluttony, increasing illness, violence and creates criminal minds. You are what you eat. You become selfish and irritable when you eat wrong kind of food. She stressed the need to go back to traditional way of eating, to avoid junk food, processed foods and fat. “No spices can be absorbed by fat” she said.

A short break for brunch was very satisfying with well thought out spread of nutritious food. There were salads, soup, desserts and fruits. Loved the Goan Fish curry..Yummmmmmm!! loved it..I am still drooling...want to go back for more....

Post lunch, a session with Sameera Reddy who spoke about magical Mom’s diet.

In a panel discussion of well balanced meal, moderated by Sameer Malkani, there was interesting discussion with participants Payal Kothari, Tara Mahadevan, Mira Manek and Kunal Vijaykar. We all are born with hunger instinct. We have conscious and sub-conscious mind. When we understand all kinds of cravings and make our diet to suit our body’s needs, twisting the traditional food with healthy diet, we can make a proper decision about what is good for us. We all are conditioned to eat certain kind of food, we have to journal our activities and write about our craving and what we have to avoid. “Ask yourself if you are healthy, what and how you should eat.” Said Kunal who has lost weight by adopting the right kind of diet.

Tanushree Mukerjee in conversation with Saloni Malkani spoke about mind,soul and body transformation. Everything is in our mind. You have to make a decision to stay healthy and you can achieve a goal. She does everything: yoga, exercises, weight lifting. While travelling she carries fruits. "You have a choice to choose right kind of food. Feed your body, not your emotion” she said.

Aditi Dugar, the owner of the beautiful restaurant Masque spoke about power of regional cooking. Food is about personal story. Every household have their own signature garam masala. Culinary journey is to know what food is all about. Many are retelling their story in a modern way. If the story is based on culture of Kashmir, for example, their techniques, their seasonal food , their spices, makes  all the differences. She has travelled widely to understand the different culture and she employs modern concept to the regional cooking at her restaurant.

I am very sleepy now...can't write more..zzzzzzzzzzzz.....

To be continued……… stay tuned.... for Part two HERE

Assamese Food Festival. Part Two

During my growing up days, going to a restaurant was a treat, most days we ate at home, a traditional Sindhi meal- Curry Chawal, Sai Bhajji or simple vegetables (fried or stewed). Snacks and salads were made on special occasions. A simple curd and Papad was always served at the meals. When we visited our friends, we ate their speciality,Gujarati cuisine at Guju friend’s house, idli-dosa at south indian friend’s house, heavy ghee laden paratha in our Punjabi friend’s house. We never shared recipes, we hardly talked about food..eating food was sheer enjoyment and we came back satiated.

We have come a long way now. We hardly find sindhi food made regularly at Sindhi homes, it is more frequently made in my non-Sindhi friend’s home. We have become international. Pastas and sandwiches are more common now and eating out on week-ends is so very fashionable.

So now we have food festivals to bring back the culture of a certain place. Many restaurants have adopted this food festival  trends to boost their business. People have begun to enjoy different regional cuisine. 

Its fun really..one more topic to discuss besides the juicy topics of who is dating whom and who is the better sinner. You go to a friend’s house for lunch and you dissect the food, inquiring about the recipe and how it is different from your traditional one. You click pictures instead of saying prayers, with oily hands you jot down notes on ingredients and cooking method (if you don’t trust your memory) and yes..you have to discover new words to describe a dish..a boring words like “tasty” or “delicious” is so very childish.

So while you are chewing, you are learning…same vegetables but cooked differently in different parts of the world. A humble potato, when boiled and mashed becomes a side dish.

Recently, I attended Assamese Food Festival at Special School at Belapur. I stood side-by-side with children to learn about this cuisine. I have never before tasted meal from that part of India, so naturally I was curious. Assamese Chef Mamoni Gogoi and her daughter were invited to cook in our school kitchen and a great variety of food was cooked.

Mamoni had brought few raw vegetables that are available in her part of the world. We discussed in great details about the use of Elephant Apple, lime and those red hot chilis

“Be careful, don’t touch the red chili, your hand will burn” 

she warned me when I tried to inspect Bhut Jolokia chili. You can imagine its effects on your tummy lining then… (I am used to hot and spicy food..but for delicate people, it is compulsory NO)

The smallest morsels can flavour a sauce so intensely it's barely edible. Eating a raw sliver causes watering eyes and a runny nose. An entire chilli is an all-out assault on the senses, akin to swigging a cocktail of battery acid and glass shards.

 source https://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/news/world/when-you-eat-it-its-like-dying/2007/08/01/1185647946289.html

I asked her to cut the Elephant Apple because I wanted to taste it. But she said that it cannot be eaten raw. It is boiled or cooked to make sauces or jams. It can be used to aromatimize curry.

Preparing elephant apple isn’t an intuitive process: if eating the fruit raw and out of hand, the edible portion is the gelatinous flesh surrounding the pistons, as well as the crunchy “petals.” These may be cut lengthwise into strips, pressure cooked with a pinch of turmeric to soften, and then sautéed and stewed as a curry fry.

Source http://theindianvegan.blogspot.in/2012/10/all-about-elephant-apple.html

Not sure if she used these ingredients in her cooking, but the fragrance from school kitchen was heady.

There were soft hunger pangs that were beginning to knot my tummy but I am not allowed to be greedy, (children should be fed first, no?) so I diverted my attention to clicking pictures.

   

Payash

Masoor Bor

Mati Dhal

Lusi

Aloo Pitika

Labra (Assamese style mix vegetables)

Tomato Tok

Papaya Khar

I have blogged in great detail about this event on my other blog for school. …..you read HERE

Many of our students were aware of the food that they were served on that day, because they were shown flash cards of the dishes many days in advance and some of the dishes were discussed in great details,

Every child had grasped the subject according to his ability but all enjoyed the real food.

Do read ‘Assamese Food Festival – Part One on my other blog.