Reducing starch from Rice

Don't we all know, that cutting down on rice in our daily diet will help reduce stored fat in our body? Rice is a grain and  digest very quickly, much quicker than meats, or nuts. When they digest, they turn to simple sugars for quick energy. If the energy is not used right away the energy is stored as fat.

I love rice. I cannot live without it. Being a South Indian and coming from a household that eats rice three times a day has made me a rice lover , can I say.. devotee.
So in order to fit rice into my diet , keeping in mind my daily schedule which does not involve much of  physical exercise, I had begun to find out ways to cook rice better. I wanted to cook rice in ways which would to make it nice and light and fluffy, removing as much of starch from it as possible.
This method however, works best with white rice( rice that is white in colour) .I haven't tried this with the other varieties of rice (red, brown, black).
This is for all those who love rice but are scared of its starch content.

Rinse rice well before cooking, this helps in removing loose starch making it less sticky. For some varieties like basmati rice where the starch content is very high, soaking the rice in water for 20 minutes also helps remove the starch.
Boil water in a pot. Take about 4 times the amount of water as compared to the amount of rice.
Once water starts boiling briskly, put the rice in and stir well.
Do not cover pot , let the rice boil in the water.
If you like to add salt to rice, add salt now.
After 10- 15 minutes, stir rice around in the pot and check if it has got cooked . This can be checked by   squeezing a grain between your fingers. If the grain is soft , the rice has been cooked well. Some might like their rice overcooked while some like it just about right. Cook rice to the level you want it to be cooked.
Once rice is cooked, drain the rice in a colander.  In this way a lot of unwanted starch from the rice is removed through the water.
Another way of draining is to close the pot with the lid and tilt the pot until all water is drained out. This way the steam and heat still remains in the pot. The rice can be kept closed in the pot for some more time, allowing the rice to cook more.

This method of boiling and draining rice is better than simmering where the rice to soaks up all the water it cooks in as the water would have a lot of starch.
The difference can be felt while you eat rice cooked in this manner. It is lighter on the stomach and it will not give a  full feeling after the meal.

Lime as a remedy for Tonsillitis

Have been suffering from Tonsillitis for the past few days. I have been searching over the net for effective home remedies and have tried out many things. Some of these remedies worked wonders! I thought I will share those with you.

Tonsils are tissue masses that are visible to the back of your throat on both sides. The acute inflammation of the tonsils are called tonsillitis. The first and most common symptoms that a common man can identify about tonsils is painful swallowing. It is painful to swallow ones own saliva even!  A sudden sore throat or a throat infection that worsens over time can also indicate tonsillitis. Other common symptoms include hoarseness or loss of voice, reddening or swelling of the tonsils with or without pus and fever.

Tonsillitis is mainly caused by viruses, the most common being the common cold virus. In some cases this can be due to bacterial infection also.

One of the most effective cure for tonsillitis is using lime. Mix a teaspoon of lime with half a teaspoon of salt and apply it to the back of the throat using your fingers. This works wonders for tonsillitis and also for a sore throat!

If you cannot do this well, i.e, putting your fingers into your mouth to smear the lime around your throat ( I just cannot do this properly) here is an easier but less effective way of getting lime to your throat. In a glass of warm water, squeeze in the juice from half a lime. Add 1/4 teaspoon of salt and 4 teaspoons of honey. Mix well and sip this slowly. This is very soothing and helps reduce the annoying pain during swallowing. Gargling with salt and lime also helps reduce tonsillitis.

When there is a throat infection, the key is to eat warm/hot food and drink a lot of warm/hot water. 

Caps Hats Caps - why you need them!!

Recently, I have a new found interests in hats, caps, visors. Though I initially started using then as head covers for protection against the blazing summer sun, now I have somehow found the courage to wear them and pull them off as an accessory along with my clothes.

Hats are a must have mainly because it provides good protection from the sun. The ultra violet rays from the sun penetrate into layers of skin making it dark, dull and wrinkly. Many years of exposure to the suns rays on your skin are quiet harmful and can cause skin cancer, the most dangerous being melanoma. A good hat with a wide brim can block out most of the harmful rays of the sun.

Hats are not only useful in the sun, there are hats and caps that also keep your head warm during winter. 

Apart from hats being useful as protection for the head, they are also great fashion accessories and can change to look of an outfit. In many cases hats complete the look of an outfit.

Many people ,especially woman, shy away from wearing hats because they feel they cannot pull off the hat look and hats will attract too much attention. This is not true. If chosen carefully hats can complement your outfit and look as if it belonged there.

We must always try and pick hats that match the clothes you are wearing in terms of colour and style. If we wear clothes with neutral colors such as black and white, accessories of any colour will go well with them. Where as if you have bright colored clothes, try hats that match the color of the dress or neutral colored hats like black or brown.

The large brimmed straw hats are available in many colors. The usual brown/ cream colored ones are beautiful and go with almost any summer dresses.

 If going out in the sun, do remember to carry a hat. :) However, it is best not to stay in the sun for too long!