Vegetable Fried Rice

I love taking Fried Rice for lunch to work. It is a quick "throw in and mix" kind of dish and if you have prepared the veggies the night before, then all it requires is about 20 minutes work in the morning.
It is healthy as it uses less oil and you can add a whole lot of vegetables such as carrots, cabbage, spring onions, capsicum, mushroom and ofcourse shredded chicken, eggs and the list is endless.

Check out my version of Vegetable Fried Rice from Spice Valley. For the lunch box, avoid using regular onions as  the food can get spoilt by midday.

If you have a child who is fussy about vegetables, this is a great way to get some stuff in. You may also add shredded palak, cooked soya chunks and sprouts to add to the health quotient.

Bread Pizza

Scrumptious Pizza for a hungry evening - and it is healthy too!!. I love making this pizza often as it can be whipped up in a jiffy with basic ingredients and I try and use whole wheat or brown bread which is much healthier than the normal maida base.

Bread Pizza

Ingredients:

4 - 5 Slices of wholewheat or brown bread (you can use normal bread as well)
1 large onion - chopped
1 large tomato - chopped
1 Capsicum - chopped
1 clove of garlic
1 green chilly - finely chopped
a dab of butter
1 cube of cheese (mozzarella is the best. but cheddar works fine too)
a pinch of oregano
3 tbsp Tomato ketchup
2 tbsp Cheese Spread (optional)

1. Spread the butter on one side of the bread slice. Top with a dash of the cheese spread. Dab the tomato sauce and spread it till the edges of the slice2. Sprinkle the finely chopped garlic and chillies (you can avoid the garlic if you are not a fan of it!). 3. Sprinkle (or arrange) the onion, tomato and capsicum. 4. Grate the cheese over the arranged veggies and sprinkle some oregano on top.

Microwave : If you are using the microwave, then you can zap it for about 2 minutes until the cheese melts and the bread slice becomes slightly crisp. The time can vary depending on the type and quality of the bread used.

Stove top: Place a tava on the stove. Add a dash of butter. Place the loaded bread slice and cover with a lid. Allow the cheese to melt and remove from the tava.

Serve hot with chilly flakes and tomato sauce.

If you are in the mood, you can use a cookie cutter to cut out the bread slices into small circles and then top it with the ingredients for a pie shaped pizza. This makes for lovely party snacks as well. For the exotic touch, add corn, boiled potato cubes, paneer tikka or even jalapenos!.

Nutri Maggi - Healthy Noodle Lunch

As a child, I remember the glorious "Maggi" days when noodles was just becoming a trend in Indian households and the two minute wonder was part of every mother's bribe to get chores done.

Inspite of loads of warnings from nutrition writers to grandmothers on how the noodles was made from maida and how unhealthy it can be, we have all survived through it. If I have survived 25 years eating the stuff..well it cant be that bad.

Now Aditi has taken to the "Madhdhie" and is her favorite food, I caught myself thinking if it is healthy :-)) So here is my version of a "healthy" noodle lunch.

Ingredient:

• Maggi Noodles (or any other brand) - 1 to 2 Packets
• Half an onion - finely chopped
• Tomato - 1 - finely chopped
• 1 small capsicum - finely chopped
• 1 carrot - finely chopped
• Boiled peas - 1 tablespoon
• few mushroom pieces (optional)
• 1 green chillie(optional)
• 1 tablespoon spring onions - chopped (optional)
• Chilli powder - a pinch
• Garam Masala - a pinch
• 1 teaspoon oil
• salt to taste

In a deep pan, heat up some oil and add the chopped chillies. Fry a little and add the onions. When the onions turn pink, add the carrot and capsicum and fry for a minute. Add the tomatoes, mushroom, chilli powder, garam masala and salt. Fry well until the vegetables are half cooked. Add the tastemaker masala and mix well. Now add 1 and 3/4 cup of water (as per the cooking instructions on the maggie packet) and add the noodles. Mix well and cook with the covered lid for two minutes stirring in between. Take the lid off and wait for the noodles to be done. Garnish with spring onions.

Serve hot. If you are packing it for lunch, allow the noodles to cool down before closing the box.

This variation is loaded with veggies that helps mothers pack in nutrition for fussy eaters. You can also add scramled eggs and corn. And if you are still pricky on maida, you can try the same recipe with sphagetti or atta noodles.