WHAT’S COOKING HONEY? (PART- II)

Continuing with previous post find list of herbs and spices which along with tantalizing your taste buds will provide numerous health benefits:

• Turmeric: Turmeric is seen as an excellent natural antibiotic
  
  


• Coriander: Anti-inflammatory properties and lowers cholesterol
  
  


• Mustard: Mustard seeds are a very good source of selenium and omega-3 fatty acids. They are also a good source of phosphorus, magnesium, manganese, dietary fiber, iron, calcium, protein, niacin and zinc.
  
  


• Ginger: Ginger has been used to aid digestion, treat stomach upset, arthritis, diarrhea, nausea, common cold, flu-like symptoms, headaches, heart conditions, in addition to be valued around the world as an important cooking masala and spice. It has been used as a medicine in Asian, Indian, and Arabic herbal traditions besides being used as a culinary spice since ancient times.
  
  


• Fenugreek: It is used in reducing the blood sugar level and blood pressure; it is rich in vitamins, minerals and proteins.
  
  


• Garlic: A nature's wonder drug, garlic has a long list of health benefits. It lowers your cholesterol level, reverses high blood pressure, boosts your immune system, prevents fatigue, and prevents colds and flu and many other benefits.
  
  Besides this, garlic is used as a spice in various cuisines to add that extra flavor and taste. A roasted garlic flavor can add zest to a dish without being offensive.
  
  


• Cloves: Prevents toothache, relieves ingestion, controls diarrhea, has healing properties
  
  


• Chilli powder: Chillies are excellent source of Vitamin, A, B, C and E with minerals like molybdenum, manganese, folate, potassium, thiamin, and copper. Chilli contains seven times more vitamin C than orange.
  
  


• Asafetida: This is often used as a digestive. It has a strong odor and a slight garlicky flavor. Do not taste this raw - it is NOT a pleasant experience. Using it in the recommended recipe however, works wonders. Just a pinch is used for cooking in dishes with lentils and beans.
  

I understand how difficult it can be to hunt for specialized Indian spices food and herbs in USA when you live a time pressed life. I recently came across SpicePlaza, an online food store that stocks this and can deliver your order right at your door steps. It’s credible and sells only branded food. I would rate is as the best online grocery store in USA. They even specialize in packed food for those who don’t have the time to cook a meal from scratch. So go tickle your taste buds while pampering your health.

WHAT’S COOKING HONEY? (PART-I)

The fast paced life has left many of us with little or no time to actually take the trouble of preparing home cooked meals. But there are certain essential foods than can be a real boon to your immune system and cannot be ignored. I would like to share some health benefits of food items which should form part of daily diet:


Organic Brown Rice:

Brown rice is considered as an excellent source of manganese, and a good source of the minerals selenium and magnesium. The complete milling and polishing that converts brown rice into white rice destroys 67% of the vitamin B3, 80% of the vitamin B1, 90% of the vitamin B6, half of the manganese, half of the phosphorus, 60% of the iron, and all of the dietary fiber and essential fatty acids.

By law in the United States, fully milled and polished white rice must be "enriched" with vitamins B1, B3, and iron. But the form of these nutrients when added back into the processed rice is not the same as in the original unprocessed version, and at least 11 lost nutrients are not replaced in any form even with rice "enrichment".

You can buy organic brown rice easily by either approaching your neighborhood grocery store or check out for best online grocery stores. It’s easy to cook and healthy enough to support weight control regime while providing required antioxidant protection and lowering cholesterol.

Besan (Chickpea Flour)
It’s a common ingredient in Indian Food and source of rich protein. I recommend buying it from a health food store or an online grocery specializing in offering Online Indian Food and Spices.


Curry Powder/Masala:

These are curry powder and masala i.e. blend of spices and herbs used as seasoning ingredients in food preparations. These readily-available blend of Indian spice blends, and typically contains turmeric, coriander, chillies, cumin, mustard, ginger, fenugreek, garlic, cloves, salt, and any number of other spices. Each of these spices has special healing powers and medicinal values.

In the next post I will continue to elaborate on how Indian spices and herbs provide medicinal values.

Is online grocery shopping a real good idea?

Most of us have come across various sites for online grocery shopping but many of them are not too inclined to go for it. Our biggest fears are being deceived by the Website owners with inferior products or we fear they might misuse credit card information provided during making online payments.

So what makes me recommend that online grocery shopping is a good idea?

Buying groceries online is a convenient and cost-effective option. Say for example, I have a busy schedule and over this if I have to run about doing grocery shopping, checking the various aisles, and standing in long check out queues to waste precious time just to buy monthly groceries. Won’t it make more sense to simply log in to my preferred grocery site, make my selections, put them in the e-basket and move forward to make the payments? I can enjoy all this with just few clicks and no hassles and that too from the comfort of my home. I prefer to shop online as:

• I can easily check the prices of other similar products and choose accordingly
• There’s never a question of ‘out-of-stock’ counter
• I can do this really quick without requiring to drive to any near-by store
• I don’t need to wait in queue to make my payments
• I don’t have to manage and carry any huge bags back home
• I can even cancel the order before its shipped out by the Website owner



Imagine the amount of time that will be saved which I can spend with my family or pursue interesting hobbies or just relax without worrying about the empty shelves in my kitchen.

If you fear misuse of your credit card information, let me inform you that most of the professional e-commerce stores use ‘Secure Payment Gateways’ like PayPal which never shares your credit card information with anybody not even the Website owner. They simply receive the instructions once you make the payment and will go ahead to deliver your order within the given time-frame.

I am not too net-savvy but still find it very easy to make purchase online. I just follow the instructions on the screen and within minutes I can finish grocery shopping for the week or month. Online shopping has made my life much easier. I am delighted with my online shopping experiences and could not resist the idea of putting them on this blog. I would love to hear from other shoppers their experience buying services or products online.

Recently I have come across one good site named http://www.spiceplaza.com/ that offers me a wide variety of South-Asian spices and food ingredients which are not easily available on all grocery stores. They have direct links with various manufacturers across the world and this allows them to sell at much cheaper rates than normal market rates. They also keep records of my past purchases and email me a lot of good recipes basis my purchases which I use to make delicious home cooked meals. Upon making payment, I receive my order in max 2 or 3 days.

I would definitely like to recommend buying from http://www.spiceplaza.com/ to all who are interested in buying South Asian spices and other regular grocery items. Save your monthly time and grocery bills expenses.

I would like to give free invitation to weekend baseball matches to those winners who give a good account of their online shopping experiences. Send me your posts right away…

Leading Online Groceries Store

Do you know that you can easily buy your choice of groceries online?. If you are a food lover and look forward to making some Spicy home cooked Indian Food, you need not be disappointed as you can buy all your basic food ingredients online and get them delivered at your door-steps.

What is online grocery shopping? Buying groceries online is a luxury for those who don’t have the time to visit a super market for their monthly grocery shopping.

Online food stores provides a great shopping experience as there’s no waiting in queues, no empty display-counters and it is easy to compare prices online.

But prior to placing the orders, consumers must be aware about online grocery shopping web site’s reputation, its popularity, services and customer support services. You should also check for prices on other sites and it’s always advisable to start with a small order initially to gain experience. If you find that satisfying, you should plan for placing a recurring bulk online order.

The savings for bulk order can also be quite significant and some reputed sites even offer you gift coupons on bulk purchases along with heavy discounts

Other features of online grocery sites include:

• Each purchase transaction is recorded and there is immediate assistance for your Order-related questions
• You can opt for your delivery type. If you don’t need it urgent, you can always select the cheaper shipment
• You can customized your shopping list, and just check off the items you want,
• Many sites even share Recipes according to your order type

Most of the Online Grocery Store owners will refrain from selling any perishable or bad quality items as their online business thrives on reputation and they do not wish to gain any unsavory reputation

Moreover, you should also assure that you are asked to make a payment via a ‘Secured Payment Gateway’ like PayPal. This saves the risk to credit card misuse. You should definitely check out few good sites and opt for the premium ones only.

Here’s one of the newly launched sites that I found worth recommending: Spice Plaza (http://www.spiceplaza.com/)

This site sells food across various categories like Asian spices, Bangladeshi food, Gujarati snacks, Caribbean food items, North Indian varieties, Organic Basmati Rice, etc. They source from direct food vendors located in UK, India, China, Thailand, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Australia, West Indies, Guyana, Trinidad, etc. I had a smooth experience the last time I ordered Kohinoor Basmati Rice, Deer Basmati Brown Rice, Swad Foods, Laxmi Masalas, Maya pickles, etc. Buying from Spice Plaza was almost like shopping from a typical New Jersey Grocery store with one important benefit that it was cheaper faster, and I never left the comfort of my home. The competition across Grocery Supermarkets of West USA is tough and each store owner aims to be tagged as the ‘favorite Online Grocery Stores of West USA’.

Of course, when it comes to online grocery shopping, you need to realize that time saved can be utilized for other fruitful activities. You don't have to spend time walking through the supermarket and you don't have to waste time traveling back with all the heavy bags. Everything is brought right to your door-steps.