healthy

Sheet Pan Bruschetta Chicken and Veggies

August 19, 2018 By Asha Shivakumar

The convenience and simplicity of this chicken dinner makes it extra awesome. This sheet pan bruschetta chicken is fast, family-friendly, no-brainer dinner you need to make tonight! The best part, easy clean up. Change up the veggies throughout the year—the balsamic garlic sauce is good on all of them!

I’ts almost school time and I’m always looking for easy dinner options and this bruschetta chicken always wins.

Who doesn’t love bruschetta?!! To die for cherry tomatoes, fresh basil – the most delicious things coming out of our gardens right now. Toss with olive oil and sea salt all atop some olive oil toasted bread, HEAVEN!! And it’s so super flavorful for summer!

Bruschetta Chicken is a classic Italian-American bistro favorite in the spring and summer. My Sheet pan Bruschetta Chicken recipe is fast, fresh, and ridiculously delicious. This is the dinner we can’t stop making. The meal I’ve been serving quite often. The chicken that I make once a week to have on salads, on pasta, alone. This is the business….

Broccoli Cauliflower Goat Cheese Quinoa Patties with Avocada Cream

August 6, 2018 By Asha Shivakumar

These crispy, healthy, gluten-free broccoli cauliflower goat cheese quinoa patties are simple and nutritious. If you want, skip the cheese and use vegan cheese to make it fully vegan. These patties are very versatile. You can make them with different vegetables and your choice of cheese. Your meat lover will love it too.

Happy New Week you guys!!

I find it a little challenging to eat healthily while having all the good flavors, with portion control. When summer hits, it’s especially a little hard to maintain a decent lifestyle in terms of food. With the boys home, there’s a little bit of indulgent food, a lot of comfort food, and in between, I try to squeeze in some healthy food too….

Sweet and spicy Curried Mango chicken salad

July 10, 2018 By Asha Shivakumar

This is fun and tasty spin on chicken salad. This spicy curried mango chicken salad has diced grilled chicken, cashews and a creamy curry sauce. It’s addictive and makes for a nice wrap or like lettuce wraps. Perfect for Picnics or light lunch.

Summer comes and mangoes are everywhere. Although we don’t get that many varieties sweet ones,as we get in India, we are lucky to get some sweet ones here.

When mango arrives, everyone’s enjoying them to the core. Smoothies, Popsicles, kulfi, ice-cream, salads, sauces, you name it, people make it. I am not the biggest fan of mango as is, I know I know, weird, but true. In salad form, I could eat the whole bowl….

Spicy Hasselback Potatoes and Egg Salad with Fennel and Chives Tadka (Tempering)

June 26, 2018 By Asha Shivakumar

These Indian flavored Hasselback potatoes are roasted until crispy that’s drizzled with spices. A flavorful and wholesome side dish bursting with fresh herbs and seasonings. Make these Spicy Hasselback Potatoes Eggs for your next picnic or party. It’s a winner.

~The same boiling water that softens the potato hardens the egg. It’s about what you’re made of, not circumstances.~

This tried and tested method for a good relationship I heard from my shrink years ago is a guaranteed way to keep arguments fair and civil.

If there’s one thing I’ve learned about marriage, it is to not use the words “Never” and “Always”….

Creamy Peach Pistachio Horchata Popsicles – Gluten Free and Vegan

June 22, 2018 By Asha Shivakumar

Summertime means stone fruits, popsicles, and cool drinks. I combined the three in this Peach Horchata Popsicles. A delicious peach jam and strawberry preserve swirled in the horchata mix make this a delicious treat. You will not believe it’s not cream or milk based.

Are you a multitasker?

I consider myself skilled at multitasking. Like many working moms and women, I can get sucked in the Bermuda triangle of the regular routine chores. I can be thinking of one thing, doing one thing, seeing something, and talking on the phone with someone, all at the same time. I know it sounds complicated, but for some, we are wired that way. For instance, I will be talking to my family about planning a vacation and my topic all of a sudden will shift to my little baby bear, as to why he didn’t finish his chores… :). That’s how a mind of a multitasker works, I guess….

Beetroot Vegetable Biryani

June 6, 2018 By Asha Shivakumar

This easy and delicious beetroot vegetable biryani is my go-to on days when I feel like having a healthy biryani. A one-pot meal of rice, vegetables, and aromatic spices, it’s rich in flavor and elaborate enough to take center stage at parties or just for the family. Each bite is suffused with spice, veggies, or caramelized onions—deep and layered in flavor.

Sometimes a person needs a story more than food to stay alive. – Barry Lopez.

When I decided to start my blog many years ago, my goal was to share food, the love of food, and the love of the stories behind the food. One of the very first blogs I followed and enjoyed reading was INDIAN SIMMER. Prerna’s penchant for Indian food is strong, and her stories were beautifully articulated. Her chicken curry post has to be my favorite, I’ve read it a few times and every time I read it, a string tugs at my heart. And it was no surprise when she won the SAVEUR blog award….

Beetroot Veggie Kofta Korma – Pita Wraps

May 31, 2018 By Asha Shivakumar

Healthy and a delicious spin on the traditional kofta korma. This beetroot kofta korma is a south Indian style korma with tons of veggies and goes perfectly stuffed in Pita, or with rice or roti.

Spring is the perfect season to practice the art of noticing all the beauty and wisdom the world has to offer us. The winds are shifting, the flowers are blooming, and the markets are bursting with fresh and invigorating vegetables that help keep a lightness about our days. The delicate bounties in our CSA box inspired a spring dish, a little twist from the traditional. Cooking with nature’s color is one of the most pleasant and so fulfilling. There’s a connection between the ingredients, the process, and the finished meal that completely transcends the traditional kitchen….

20 Minute Tomato Garlic Peppery Shrimp with Lemon Pilaf

May 27, 2018 By Asha Shivakumar

This juicy, tangy, spicy, and sweet 20 minute tomato garlic peppery shrimp is so easy and delicious. It’s perfect for entertaining, or for a weeknight meal.

Here’s how parties I threw looked like years ago. Plan. Plan for it for weeks. Write a list down, and shop. Make two to three desserts a day ahead, and have an array of dishes. Then came dressing up the room, flowers, and making sure everything is flawless. The morning of: you see your husband put his feet up on the coffee table to relax. You look at him, like “really, please can you help around..?” I turn on the music and start cooking, and start getting excited for the evening. I was on constant edge if I saw the kids mess the countertop, or left their shoes on my polished floors. Two hours before everyone arrives, the home looks like a model home, no smell of cooked meals, everything is neatly stored, flowers are smiling brightly. I light up my candles, put in some drops of orange essential oil in my aromatherapy diffuser, and sit down with a glass of wine, happily….

Cabbage Puttu/Stirfry – Vegetable Dry Sabzi South Indian style

May 20, 2018 By Asha Shivakumar

This easy weeknight South Indian style cabbage puttu-stirfry is spicy and gingery, and it’s perfect with some roti or chapathi.

There are people who like to say how exactly they feel about certain foods. They don’t like the taste, it’s too sour or too sweet, or “Why would I ever eat that? It seems too healthy.”

I live with these types of people.. I was one, oh well, I’m still one.

They are firm non-believers of the cabbage family….

Avocado Banana Muffins – Dairy free/Gluten free

April 24, 2018 By Asha Shivakumar

Avocado Banana Muffins – Dairy Free/Gluten free. These easy and delicious avocado and banana muffins that’s dairy free, an easy bake and you can make it gluten free./ It’s a great breakfast on the go.

A lot of the south Indian recipes are gluten free, the savory stuff and many desserts. When I do bake non Indian I usually stick to gluten, because that works well. In the past many months, every time I make BANANA BREAD on insta stories, which by the way is our favorite, I’ve had so many messages to blog and show how to make gluten free banana bread. Many times I’ve directed them to Alanna’s cookbook and blog. She has some amazing gluten free options and great desserts.

But, this is probably the first time I’ve tested with gluten free flour and I have gotten the results that I love. And here I’m sharing my new favorite gluten free bake. …