The secret behind the South Beach diet

The Glycemic index or GI is the secret behind the south beach diet. It is not a low carb diet but a low GI diet. Quoting from Wikipedia:

GI is a measure of the effects of carbohydrates on blood sugar levels. Carbohydrates that break down quickly during digestion and release sugar rapidly into the bloodstream have a high GI; carbohydrates that break down more slowly, releasing sugar more gradually into the bloodstream, have a low GI.

When sugar enters the bloodstream, the pancreas secretes insulin which triggers cells to absorb it. Many years of introducing quick bursts of sugar would eventually result in cells becoming resistant to insulin. This resistance would leave sugar in the bloodstream longer which would then cause the pancreas to release even more insulin. This excess insulin would eventually drive blood sugar below normal levels. This in addition to potentially causing diabetes, is what makes people hungry!

excess sugar consumption ------> excess insulin -------> low blood sugar --------> hunger pangs ----------> consumption of more sugar.

This is why we feel hungry very quickly when we eat a donut and not when we eat an egg for breakfast.

Cutting down the sugar intake by reducing direct sugars eaten as well as by blocking the bad carb pathways you can reduce the hunger pangs, thus consuming lesser calories. You don't crave foods so you eat less and this leads to weight loss.

Another way the diet helps is by causing Ketosis. If there is not enough glucose (from carbohydrates) in the bloodstream the body draws on fat stores for fuel, causing the appearance of ketones in the blood. Ketones are produced by the liver from fatty acids.  They are small carbon fragments that are the fuel created by the breakdown of fat stores.

When the body is in ketosis the individual tends to feel less hungry, and will probably eat less than he/she might otherwise do. The body switches from being a carbohydrate-burning organism into a fat-burning one. The fat stores become a primary energy source, and the person loses weight. This must be done in moderation (max 2 weeks) since it is not a sustainable healthy thing to do.

So to sustain & keep healthy, it is good to eat a healthy mix of protein, vegetables and "good" whole grain carbs that the body takes longer to digest. Think about it, and you may do your body a favor!

NYC's best falafel

Okay, this has been quite a quest for a while, and I finally have my votes! Hopefully it will make it worth your while, next time you wonder where to eat! I've ordered them by preference and added points of appeal/dislike. If you favor the hot sauce over the pita or falafel over the toppings, this will help you pick!

1. Azuri cafe:

Hands down, this has to be #1 for the most authentic, yet delicious falafel experience.

The yum:

• Crispy and tasty falafel
• A plethora of amazing toppings that go into the sandwich
• Fluffy and authentic pita

The meh:

• Well, the owner is kinda like a soup nazi. If you are persnickety and want more hot sauce, just don't request it here. You may get kicked out.
• You only get about 3 falafel in your sandwich. The toppings more than make up for it though.

2. Taim:

The yum:

• 3 varieties of falafel. All are yum, but i'm partial to the red pepper ones.
• Great hot sauce, fluffy pita
• The flavor layers are pretty nice.
• Also reccommend: The Sabich sandwich, not a falafel sandwich, but extremely tasty!

The meh:

• Not exactly authentic food
• There is no place to sit and eat. You have to take it to go.

3. Mamouns:

The yum:

• Very authentic, green crispy falafel
• Face it, you are not going to find a cheaper sandwich. $2.50 is an awesome deal, even if you have 2!
• Their hot sauce means business. Its super hot. They also sell it it bottles, though i've never tried that!
• If you don't like bells & whistles, this is your simple & clean falafel!

The meh:

• Only lettuce & tomato in my falafel?!
• One sandwich may still leave you hungry.

4. Alfanoose:

The yum:

• Pretty authentic, crispy & tasty falafel
• Pickled turnips!
• You can ask for fried cauliflower in your sandwich, and it is definitely yummy!
• Nice hot sauce with harissa flavors.

The meh:

• A tad pricier than the others on this list, additives cost more.
• Downtown, and closed during weekends.

5. Maoz:

The yum:

• You can stuff anything from the salad bar onto your falafel, and it is yum.
• Not one but like 10 sauces.
• Yummy sweet potato fries with garlic sauce!

The meh:

• I feel too full after I eat here.
• Falafel are nothing extraordinary

6. Baba Ghanouge:

The yum:

• They add anything you want from the salad bar to your sandwich. I love pickles, carrots & beets in mine
• The hot sauce here has a very different flavor profile.
• They have a fresh smoothie bar as well.

The meh:

• The falafel is quite standard, nothing too impressive.

I didn't care much for university pita. I felt the toppings, though unlimited were stale. Nor did I like chickpea, the baked falafel were mediocre. I'm yet to try crisp, which I hear is good.

A few others I like:

Pita joe, for their unlimited tahini,hot sauce & amba tubes, The cart outside 200 west st on west side highway for bad for you but so yum falafel over spicy rice with white & hot sauce. Ok now that is just so New York :)

Chipotle at home!

I guess I am a weekend cook. Last Monday was a holiday, hence the effort to try something new. We love Chipotle and its burritos. So I decided to give the burrito bowl a whirl. It was a hit, recipe below. The nicest thing is this is a low/no oil recipe, so its very healthy. However, it is meant to be eaten fresh. Note that you can find all the spices mentioned here in the mexican section of the supermarket.

Salsa Verde (Medium heat)

Ingredients (Makes 2 cups)

10 tomatillos

1/2 chopped white onion

10 sprigs of cilantro

1 Tbsp lime juice

2 Serrano peppers, chopped

2 Cloves of Garlic

Salt to taste

METHOD

1. Remove papery husks from tomatillos and rinse well.

2. Cut them in half and place cut side up on a foil-lined baking sheet. Place under a broiler along with the garlic for about 5-7 minutes to lightly blacken the skin.

3. Blend tomatillos, lime juice, onions, cilantro, chili peppers and garlic in a blender to a semi smooth consistency. Season to taste with salt.

Corn Salsa (Mild)

Ingredients (Makes 1 cup)

1 Cup frozen sweet yellow corn

1 Jalapeno or log hot pepper

1/2 Red Onion

1/3 Cup Chopped Cilantro

1 Tablespoon Lime Juice

Salt to taste

METHOD

1. Microwave the corn for 3 mins with a splash of water.

2. Dice the Onion, and jalapeno finely.

3. Combine all the ingredients and season to taste.

Red Hot Salsa (Hot)

Ingredients (Makes 1 small cup)

10 Chillies De Arbol

1 tablespoon of sesame seeds

2 cloves

2 allspice berries

1 clove garlic

1 teaspoon Mexican oregano

1 tablespoon cumin seeds

1 teaspoon oil

1 red tomato

salt

METHOD

1. Toast the sesame seeds, cumin, cloves and allspice to a golden color

2. Grind all the ingredients together to a fine paste

3. cook on a stove for about 5 minutes.

Cilantro Lime Rice:

Ingredients

1 teaspoon vegetable oil or butter

10 sprigs cilantro

1 cup white basmati rice

2 cups water

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 Lime

METHOD

1. In a 2-quart heavy saucepan, heat oil or butter over low heat, stirring occasionally until melted.

2. Add rice and lime juice, stir for 1 minute.

3. Add water and salt, bring to a full boil.

4. At boiling, cover, turn down to simmer over low heat until rice is tender and the water is absorbed, about 25 minutes.

5. Fluff rice with a fork.

6. Add Cilantro and mix well.

Black Beans:

Ingredients

1 can black beans

1 teaspoon salt

1 cup water

1 spoon taco seasoning

1 spoon of the hot salsa made previously.

Method:

1. Wash canned beans thoroughly in cold water, drain, add water and salt.

2. Add the sauce and taco seasoning.

3. Cook gently in a deep pot for about 10 mins or until the beans create a gravy.

Pico de Gallo:

Just follow http://www.food.com/recipe/pico-de-gallo-83371

Now combine everything, add dollops of sour cream and enjoy!

Vegetable Kuruma

I am and have always been such a stickler for this recipe, ever since childhood. Since my teens, this was one of my crazy food craves, with the layered bread, parotta. I must have brought this home about twice a week, under the eyes of a disapproving mom, for getting takeout. Needless to say, she tried to reproduce the recipe several times to satisfy her homegrown food critic. Every one of her versions were stellar, but not quite the same. I therefore decided to give this one more try, marrying recipes from 2-3 food blogs and viola! Success! The way it tastes in the hotels of India. This is too good to be true, hence duly noted here!

Ingredients (feeds 4):

Diced onion: 1

Ginger: 1 inch piece

Diced vegetables (carrot,peas,corn,cauliflower) : 1.5 cups

Boiled potatoes: 2 small

Javenthri: 1 flower

Curry leaves: 5

Green chillies: 6

Ginger garlic paste: 1 tbsp.

Vine ripe tomatoes: 2

Bay leaf - 1

Corriander powder: 3 tsp.

Garam masala: 2 tsp.

Turmeric powder: 2 tsp.

Salt to taste

Oil - 5 tbsp.

To Grind to a fine paste:

Shredded Coconut : 1 cup

Cashews/blanched peeled almonds: 10

Poppy seeds: 2 tbsp.

Cloves: 2

Cinnamon: 1 small stick

Cardamom: 1 pod

Green chillies: 2

Fennel seeds: 1 tbsp.

Method:

Heat 3 tbsp oil in a pan. Add the bay leaf and saute.

After it starts to brown add curry leaves, chillies, ginger, javenthri, and onions. Cook till golden brown.

Add the ginger garlic paste, and saute till it cooks.

Add half of the corriander powder and all of the garam masala and cook for a minute.

Add the veggies except the potatoes and cook till they are well cooked.

Add tomatoes and cook for a few minutes.

At this point, add the ground paste, the potatoes, the turmeric and corriander powder.

Add water based on the consistency you want. Cook for 5 minutes.

Add salt and the remaining oil. Cook on a low flame until the kuruma is not watery.

Ready! Enjoy with parotta/chapathi.

For kothu parotta, Make the above gravy with onions, but without any veggies or tomatoes. Saute curry leaves, shredded carrots, peas and cauliflower till cooked.

Add an egg if you like and scramble well.

Then add a little of the gravy, followed by pieces of kerala parotta. Add salt to taste and saute.

Cheap Eats- Rickshaw Dumpling Bar

http://www.rickshawdumplings.com/

23rd St. at 6th Ave, New York, NY

My love affair with this place began about a year ago, when their dumpling truck made its way down wall street. I would brave the cold to buy dumplings at this mini red truck despite loong lines. If you are looking for cheap chinatown dumplings at 6 for $1, this will not be your cup of tea. They are not cheap. ($6 for 6 dumplings to be precise). But boy are they delicious!


I have never had better whole wheat edamame dumplings before. These dumplings come with a zesty lemon dip that is the perfect balance of acid. They also have lovely warm soups to go with the dumplings. The asian salad is pretty good. Last but not least, the chocolate soup dumplings are a must try! Melt in your mouth chocolatey goodness! mmm!

Cheap Eats - Maoz Falafel

http://www.maozusa.com

Various locations in the city, as well as in other states/countries

Strictly speaking, this is not a NYC only joint. But it is so tasty, that it deserves a post. This place is vegetarian only. For about $7, you get a sandwich pita with falafels inside, a side of sweet potato or plain fries and a drink. This is enough food for two people, trust me, but if you want more, pay a little extra and get some friend eggplant in your sandwich as well.

The falafel is not the best in town but the more interesting part is that you get to pick what goes in your falafel from the unlimited salad bar. They have carrots, beets, picked eggplant (yum), the yummiest broccoli florets and a multitude of others. Load up your sandwich and come back for refills! There are also around nine sauce toppings to add to the falafels. The Cilantro & tomato chutneys are wonderful and you can't go wrong with tahini on Falafel.

Another thing to try is the Sweet potato fries with the garlic sauce from the salad bar. This is my personal favorite. They have tea lemonade, but I found this to be too sour. Still the food is what counts!!

A cup of Java, or hot chocolate maybe?

I am one of the several million coffee lovers in the world; the kind that takes great pain to buy an espresso machine and brew that perfect cup of coffee. And yes, I am one of the several Starbucks lovers who loves the smell of perfectly roasted coffee beans wafting up as you walk into the shop, the extremely pleasant ambiance where its' always great to chit chat over coffee with friends. Sometimes I just crave the caffeine, like many others do; but even then no bad coffee please!

The other Java is something I work with a lot, and get engrossed in :)

Today, I went to a sweet little chocolate shop called Leonidas, in the heart of the financial district. My colleague got a cup of coffee there on our way to an investment seminar. I love Belgian pralines (Cream filled delights), and I decided to come back to get some. On our way out, however I saw a sign advertising hot chocolate. I was intrigued. What better place to try hot chocolate than a chocolate shop?

On my way back home I decided to make a little stop. At $4, the drink was pricey, but it did come with a Belgian praline! and the store claimed that the hot chocolate was made from melted chocolate!

I walked out of the store, cup in hand, eager to taste that first sip, though it burnt my tongue. It was probably the best cup of chocolate I had ever had; a creamy delight straight from heaven! As I made my way back home, I contemplated several future visits....to my new found culinary crush!