Today is the last day of Ganapati. Though this time the festival didn't have its usual sheen but still it feels emotional to bid Bappa goodbye. Our society had planned visarjan in the evening. This time it is supposed to be a low key affair unlike last time where people danced their heart out for about 4 hours straight. The idol was planned to be immersed in the tank created in-house. Fortunately today we didn't have any rains after like 5 days of continuous rain. So the visarjan happened quite seamlessly. Best part we could see it from our homes through Facebook live. The festive season has already started and it doesn't even feel like it is festival time. Now I am wondering what will be the fate of Durga Puja in the coming months. Even if it is organised I feel it will have the same set of restrictions as Ganpati considering the current situation. I am not expecting a miracle in two months.
Today I got to know that National Nutrition Week is observed every year from 1st September to 7th September to make people aware about the importance of nutrition for the Human Body and well being of health. There are seven major classes of nutrients: carbohydrates, fats, dietary fiber, minerals, proteins, vitamins, and water. But whenever we think about healthy eating we get an impression that it will be bad in taste. But this post is specifically about clearing that misconcept. Healthy food can taste good too, just you need to put together things that you like or love.
Now a salad bowl practically can have anything and everything you like - leafy vegetables, fruits, grains, seeds, meat, egg, seafood - basically the whole horizon of food. But since I wanted this to be a breakfast bowl hence I limited the number of ingredients to 8.
The main ingredients I used are - Avocado, Chickpeas, Onions, Green Peas, Corn, Chillies, Lemon and Egg. Avocado is a powerhouse of many essential nutrients and minerals. It is rich in vitamin K, B5, B6, B3, E and C. They are also dense in potassium, folate, magnesium, manganese, copper, iron, zinc and phosphorous. Chickpeas are a rich source of vitamins, minerals, protein and fiber. The humble onions are rich in antioxidants and folic acid.Corn is rich is in Vitamin B12, folic acid and iron which helps in the production of red blood cells in the body. Green peas contain a decent amount of heart-healthy minerals, such as magnesium, potassium and calcium. Even red chilli has lot of health benefits. Red chillies are jam-packed with Vitamin C that helps in supporting the immune system and combat chronic diseases. It also prevents heart ailments. Eggs are rich in Omega-3. Lastly, Lemons are full of vitamins, minerals, phytonutrients and antioxidants. The point is, just in a small bowl of salad you get all major health benefits in a natural way.
This is a quick satisfying breakfast loaded with all the essential nutrients your body seeks. Try it out and you wont be disappointed, in fact you might just start loving salad bowls.
Grip one side of the avocado gently on your palm. Using a sharp knife, slice through the avocado lengthwise until you feel the knife hit the pit/ seed. Then rotate the avocado, keeping the knife steady, to make a cut all around the pit. Twist the two halves apart and pull the top part slowly till it comes off clean.
Now remove the pit from the other half by scooping it out gently with a teaspoon. Run the spoon around and under the stone until it pops out.
Now use a spoon around the flesh and scoop out the avocado flesh like ice cream.
How to stop discoloration?
Drizzle the Avocado with lemon juice to stop discoloration if you do not plan to serve the avocado immediately.
Preparation Time : 5 minutes
Cooking Time: NA
Serving : 1
Ingredients :
- Avocado (Ripe) - 1/2 medium
- Chickpeas (Boiled or raw) - 1/2 cup
- Onion - 1/2
- Corn Kernels (Boiled) - 1/2 cup
- Green Peas (Boiled) - 1/2 cup
- Egg - 1
- Pepper powder - 1/2 tsp
- Sesame Seeds (lightly toasted) - 1/4th tsp
- Bird's eye chilli / Chilli flakes -
- Lemon Juice - 1/2 tsp
- Olive oil - 1 tbsp
- Salt as per taste
Method:
1. Boil all the vegetables you don't want to eat raw like - corn, green peas and also chickpeas. I have made this salad both ways using boiled and raw chikpeas.
Tip: You can use frozen corn and peas in this recipe as well. Just thaw them and then I put them in a bowl of water in the microwave for about 4-5 minutes
Tip 2: You can basically add any type of vegetables you want in this bowl. I would have loved to add some lettuce and cherry tomatoes to this, but both of them were absent in my pantry today.
2. Next make the sunny side up egg. Crack the egg into a pan. Cover and cook on medium flame until whites are set and yolk is still runny, approximately 2 to 3 minutes.
Tip: Since avocado has a buttery texture so if you are planning to add any egg to this salad bowl then it is recommended you make a gooey egg with soft core. So you can either go for sunny side up or a half boiled egg with oozy center.
3. Remove the pit of the avocado and slice one half of the avocado into pieces. At this stage I like to add a little lemon juice and a pinch of salt and gently rub it all over the avocado slices. The lemon juice maintains the vibrant colour of the avocado.
4. In a small bowl mix the oil and salt.
5. Lightly dry toast the sesame seeds on low flame till a little fragrant.
6. Now it is time to assemble everything - chickpeas, corn, green peas, avocado and sliced onions. Now drizzle the oil over the vegetables and spread it a bit. Squeeze some lemon juice all over the salad. Sprinkle cracked pepper and red chilli flakes. Place the egg carefully on top and sprinkle some salt and cracked pepper. At last garnish it with toasted sesame seeds and enjoy!
