Anuradha Sridharan

It was a beautiful Sunday evening. Rain clouds were gathering and a cool breeze was gently caressing my hair as we were driving to a park in Jayanagar. My daughter D loves parks and play areas. Bangalore is blessed with a lot of them and most importantly, they are well maintained by BBMP. The park was crowded and D played happily to her heart’s content, climbing up and down the slides and swings. There was dancing and singing too. After spending more than an hour, it was time to leave as it started to drizzle. She spotted a Cafe Coffee Day nearby and screamed, “I want Oreo milkshake”. We stepped into CCD and placed her order. I wanted coffee and as I was perusing their menu, I spotted filter coffee. “ Hmm, filter coffee in CCD menu. Let me try it out ”, a thought popped up. “ Why take a chance? Don’t you remember the bad brownie incident that you faced some time back? Order your usual cappuccino ”, another thought responded. (I hate cold coffee. Even if it is a peak summer afternoon, ...

When we talk about Vitamin-C, the first thing that comes to our mind is “ Immunity ”. Immunity against viruses are essential for everyone but more so for children. Living in a city like Bangalore where the temperature fluctuates a lot, children fall sick more often. Since the immunity of toddlers and pre-schoolers is building up, the frequency of catching a cold/cough is high. You don’t need a health drink like Pediasure or a multi-vitamin “gummy bear” to boost their immunity. And no “fortified” packaged orange juices too. All they need is good sources of Vitamin-C in their diet. Vitamin-C is a water soluble vitamin and aids in the absorption of iron. It is not produced or stored in the body and so it has to be acquired through food. Vitamin C boosts immunity and is necessary for the production of collagen, a protein for maintaining the health of the skin. Vitamin-C also has anti-oxidant properties. It also helps in the formation of neuro-transmitters, thereby helping certain c...

Meal-prep and meal planning seems to be all the rage these days. Popular ideas/suggestions range from - chop veggies for a week and freeze them - partially cook gravies and curries and freeze them - make chapathi dough for a week and refrigerate them - cook rice, make phulkas for a week and freeze them - cook all dishes fully and freeze them and more. The world (especially the food industry) wants you to believe that you are too busy and you don’t have time to cook a meal. Only then, they can sell solutions that promise to save you time. I have written enough about processed foods and junk foods. But there’s also another industry that’s growing in urban India - food storage products . The demand for ziplock bags, aluminium foils, cling wrap, freezer trays, freezer safe plastic containers and MW reheatable boxes have gone up so high in the past decade or so. Many families buy a microwave oven SOLELY for the purpose of reheating food. Left-overs? You might ask “What about lef...

Wanted to SEO this post, so the title. But it is not a review of the product, rather my arguments on why we don't need such products in the first place. Long, sarcastic rant ahead. Proceed at your own peril. Yesterday, my Instagram feed was filled with pictures and videos from the launch of Saffola Aura oil. I follow too many food bloggers and I guess most of them were invited for the event in Mumbai. I’m sure atleast the flight tickets would have been covered. Now for the facts - Saffola Aura oil is a blend of refined Spanish olive oil and flaxseed oil. MRP is a whopping Rs.1150 for 1 litre (as checked in BigBasket). Having studied marketing and consumer behaviour with so much interest, I can imagine how this product would have been conceptualised. “Ok, what’s the latest buzzword in nutrition these days?” “Omega-3. Good for heart” “Hmm, flaxseeds. It has been used in India for centuries but we’ll have to position it as premium" “Let’s launch a premium oil bran...

Recently, I came across an ad where a film celebrity was promoting green tea to reduce belly fat. I wondered “Is it that simple?” - Drink 2-3 cups of green tea everyday and the belly fat just melts away! Wish it could be true. But the reality is exactly the opposite. It is a huge challenge to reduce belly fat. It can take a minimum of a year to 3 years to see a substantial reduction. Let me say that upfront before proceeding further. When we were born, we had flat tummies. Even during our childhood days, we had washboard abs. Sadly I can’t say the same about today’s kids though. Bad food habits, lack of exercise, sedentary lifestyle and stress have caused the fat to get accumulated in our abdomen. This didn’t happen overnight. It took us at least 2-3 years before we realized that our jeans need an upgrade. If you are genetically prone to accumulating fat around your waist or you have hormonal issues like PCOD, then the fat builds up faster and it is even more harder to get rid of ...

Book #6 of #50booksin2017   Cancer is impacting more lives today as compared to what it was 20 years ago. Through this book “ Uyir Pizhai ”, Dr. Sivaraman talks about various types of cancer, reasons for increasing cancer rates across the world and preventive steps to protect ourselves from this deadly disease. The reasons for the widespread increase of cancer are the following - genes, stress, pollution, obesity, modern lifestyle, processed foods, pesticides in food produce etc. Alcohol and cigarettes are the primary reasons for liver and lung cancer respectively, but even those who don’t smoke or drink alcohol are affected by cancer in other ways. Sodium lauryl sulphate in toothpaste, pesticides in fruits and vegetables, phthalates in shampoos, dioxin leeching from plastic when hot liquids are stored in them, taste enhancers, preservatives, artificial colours and various salts in processed, junk foods - the list goes on and on. Hormonal imbalances, increased consumption of ...