Red Radish Flower Bouquet
Radish plants are in vigorous bloom. I harvested few radish branches that are full of flowers and placed them in cold water filled flower vase. Radish flowers are tiny but very pretty in light pink shade with sweet scent.

Purple Brinjal Plants

Tomato Plants, almost 4 foot in height and with Plenty of Green Tomatoes

Mirchi Plants

Cucumber, Zucchini, Beans

Vegetable Harvest for this Week

It’s always a pleasurable surprise when vegetables start arriving in quantity – One minute I have single cucumber and four pea pods, next week a surplus. This is what I harvested yesterday. 7 Cucumbers, 4 Yellow Zucchinis, 1 Brinjal, 1 Green Bell Pepper, a bunch of green chillies, green beans and green peas. First major harvest of this season and what a joy!

May 8th and 9th:

Went out on the weekend to parties and had party food. (Naan, Pulao, Matar and Palak Paneer, Raita and Rasmalai) Not good vratham-wise, but I did do portion control.
At home, for breakfast and evening meal, had ragi malt, fruit salad and upma.
Workout: Shopping walk.

May 10th:

Vratham Food:
Morning:A glass of lemon(lime) water. (Squeeze half a lime into a glass of water. Mix and drink.)
1 cup mung sprouts lightly toasted and seasoned with salt and black pepper.
Noon: 1 bowl cucumber slices + 1 bowl mango slices with salt and chilli powder + Half glass plain soda water
Evening: A bowl of Kerala matta rice with a cup of turai curry + a cup of okra-toor dal sambar made without tamarind
6 glasses of water throughout the day.
Workout: 15 minutes meditation + 30 minutes brisk walk

May 11th:

Vratham Food:
Morning: 1 big cup, ragi malt sweetened with jaggery + 15 rehydrated almonds
Noon: 1 small bowl moong sprouts subji + 1 sweet mango
Evening: 4 zucchini pesarattus + 1 glass ginger buttermilk (from homemade yogurt)
Workout: 1 hour cycling(spinning) + 45 minutes weights class at the gym.
Good day.

May 12th:

Vratham Food:
Morning: 1 big glass of ragi malt, sweetened with jaggery + 15 rehydrated almonds
Noon: 1 bowl of guggullu(sundal) with alasanda + 1 ripe, sweet mango (yum!)
Evening: 1 cup cardamom chai
1 cup Kerala matta rice + 1 cup mango dal + 1 cup green beans-green peas poriyal (from yesterday’s harvest, green beans never tasted better)
Workout: 30 minutes walk + 15 minutes meditation

May 13th:

Vratham Food:
Morning: 1 glass of ragi malt, sweetened with jaggery + 15 rehydrated almonds
Noon: 1 bowl green beans-green peas poriyal with a cup of Kerala matta rice + 1 sweet mango
Evening: 2 bajra rotis + 1 bowl cluster beans-Crowder Peas curry + 1 glass plain soda water (so humid here)
Workout: 15 minutes meditation and 30 mins walk + 45 mins spinning class at the gym.

May 14th:

Vratham Food:
Morning: 1 glass of ragi malt sweetned with jaggery + 12 rehydrated almonds
Noon: 1 cup cluster beans (gawar)-crowder peas curry with one bajra roti and a glass of buttermilk
Evening: 3 matta rice+urad dal dosas with some zucchini curry + 1 sweet and tasty mango
Workout: Home cleaning and website cleaning (oy, what a mess!)

To Mothers and Daughters Who Make Mahanandi a Home ~ Happy Mother’s Day!

May 1st:

Vratham Food:
Morning: a cup of moong sprouts. Toasted lightly and seasoned with sea salt and black pepper
Noon: a cup of drumstick sambar and 12 roasted chestnuts
Evening:
I wasn’t feeling much hungry so I had some fruit and buttermilk.
1 cup of pear fruit slices
1 glass ginger buttermilk (homemade)
6 glasses of water, throughout the day
Workout:
15 minutes meditation + 30 minutes walk.

May 2nd:

Vratham Food:
Morning: 1 glass of ragi malt and 1 cup moong sprouts
Noon: One cup of chole and one cup yogurt
Evening: Big bowl of sauteed amaranth leaves with brown chickpeas
One cup, pear fruit slices
6 glasses of water throughout the day
Workout:
15 minutes meditation and + 30 minutes walk

May 3rd:

Vratham Food:
Morning: 1 glass of ragi malt sweetned with a tad of jaggery, and 15 rehydrated almonds
Noon: 1 big bowl of baby spinach with brown chickpea saute, and 1 glass of buttermilk
Evening: 1 glass of ragi malt sweetened with jaggery
Dinner: 2 rotis and a cup of palak paneer without paneer
1 small cup of cucumber and carrot slices
Workout: 15 minutes meditation + 30 minutes Pilates + 1 hour kickboxing at the gym.

May 4th:
Vratham Food:
Morning: 1 glass of ragi malt sweetned with jaggery and 15 rehydrated almonds
Noon: 1 small cup of palak paneer without paneer, 1 big bowl of toor dal rasam and 1 small cup of cucumber and carrot slices
Evening: 4 stuffed baby karela, 1 big bowl of toor dal rasam and 1 bowl of pineapple slices
6 glasses of water throughout the day
Workout: 15 min meditation + 1 hour spinning + 30 min weights

May 5th:
Vratham Food:
Morning: 1 glass of ragi malt sweetened with jaggery and 15 rehydrated almonds
Noon: 1 cup malabar spinach dal with a cup of rice, a cup of carrot and cucumber kosambari and a cup of sweet pineapple fruit
Evening: 1 cup of cardamom chai
1 cup malabar spinach dal with karela curry, a cup of carrot and cucumber kosambari and a cup of sweet pineapple slices. Not a good day foodwise because I had white rice and chai.
Workout: 15 min meditation + 15 min walk + 1 hour latin dance class at the gym.

May 6th:
Vratham Food:
Morning: 1 glass of ragi malt sweetened with Jaggery and 15 rehydrated almonds
Noon: 1 cup carrot sambar, 1 cup moongdal-cucumber kosambari and a cup of pineapple slices
Evening: 2 pesarattus with chilli chutney and a glass of ragi ambali
Workout: Gardening and Home cleaning + 30 minutes walk
Beautiful day. For the first time this season, I saw couple of hummingbirds in our backyard. They were enjoying pomegranate flowers.

May 7th:
Vratham Food:
Morning: 2 glasses of lemon(lime) water.
Noon: 1 big bowl of fruit kosambari (strawberries+pineapple+pear) and 1 glass of strawberry-almond milk shake with little bit honey
Evening: Friends came over for dinner and I too had some food that I shouldn’t have.
Workout: 15 minutes meditation + An elaborate dinner menu preparation in the kitchen.
Thanks Sailaja and family for the lovely evening and beautiful chrysanthemums.