“Eating healthy is important but so is eating well too. A hearty meal with family is the most important part of leading a meaningful and healthy lifestyle (my personal thoughts)“. For some reason though, we have forgotten to understand that health is not merely in wealth, it also lies in the wealth of real happiness than perceived ideas of joy. Don’t you think?
(Pic courtesy: google images)
For ages joint families dwelled under one roof living a symbiotic life. The house was full of laughter and happiness. The happiness that today we could only imagine. Everything was real and pure. The chores were assigned. Men practiced profession and earned bread while women nurtured the tasks of the family and home in general. The division was clear and unquestioned.
People had no issues with teeth and hair. Their health was perfect. The could walk miles and consume all the ghee and nuts they ate. Their skin was glowing and their life was not about capturing every minute on a gadget.
People were content in little that they earned and shared amongst community. The barter was healthy. Men and women walked distances to achieve their targets. They did not hence need a psychiatrist or a gym. The health was part of their lifestyle and they lived it.
Industrialization came in and men moved out of their nuclear families came about. Urbanization further distanced us from the roots of true concepts of health. Stress, pollution, independence and self-entitlement now govern our lives. We have become the slaves of gadgets and gizmos. My mind is buzzed off sometimes with all the overwhelming technology. Yes, it has enriched our lives but has made it a mechanical engine too. I know it’s debatable.
I notice the change in myself in last one year. This has been the most that I used social networking as a medium of leading life (for lack of better words). I have a reason to curb. But,do we really want to pause and retrospect? No,we (including me) want to get off our struggles and stress through social networks. The question is do we have the healthiest lifestyle and health status? So many amongst us nearing 30’s have health issues and yet they are gymming on regular basis.
(Pic courtesy: google images)
My father was my hero,the epitome of health,strength,wisdom and knowledge.He shall always be! My mind is contemplating what am I going to be an epitome of to my son? Definitely not a hero.
The point I m trying to convey is how important it is to value spending actual time with family laughing, sharing and crying after a whole day of struggles in the outside world. Hence dinner is very important meal of the day to me! I like to make a balanced meal that all of us could enjoy without any gadget interruptions!
Aspiring to make the meal interesting and likeable I need new recipes to try on. Now everyday cannot be “Eureka” but something new (healthy) could make a difference. So, when I don’t innovate in the kitchen factory my fellow bloggers inspire me with their rustic recipes. I mentioned to Dolphia of my love for Bengali food. However, though Bengalis are known for their exquisite mithai (sweets) and fish of course, their vegetarian platters are equally delicious so requested her to share few traditional recipes.
The sweet girl that she (Dolphia) is, she took all the trouble of making a variety of these and matched them with perfectly shot picturesque trip to Bengal! Thank-you is too little a word to say, for I have a warm hug for my Bengali sister transported all the way to the east coast! I promise to make each one of those and share pics 🙂 And yes I will dedicate that “Wada Bhaat” recipe to you soon!Please refer her recipe hereJ. The recipe is a simple Spinach-Garlic sauté with practically zero oil and extremely nutritious. My pre-schooler loved it and kept asking for more servings of “palak bhaji” (spinach side-dish).
I haven’t tweaked much in Dolphia’s recipe much (Yeah, but I said not much:P). I added a kick of freshly crushed “rai” or mustard seeds for the lack of owning a bottle of mustard oil. Back home in Bombay, our Bengali neighbor Krishna aunty added a hint of crushed mustard seeds and cooked in mustard oil always. Dolphia, I hope you don’t mind J. Trust me the recipe overall came together beautifully and your instructions were just perfect. Especially about the quantity of salt, they directions were spot on!
The combination of fresh greens with garlic and red chilis always is vibrant visually and tantalizes taste buds. We gobbled a power meal of 3 bunches of spinach at one go! So, good job-check J.
For the love of good life a cure so simple as to having a meal together is really priceless, don’t you think? How many of you like to have meals with no gadgets around (Just “US” kind of thing) ?
I do definitely! ❤
thehourglassmommy 