Anuradha Sridharan

Let's say, you are in a restaurant with your family. Each of you had ordered items you would like to eat from the menu. Food arrived, you enjoyed the food you ordered. So has your spouse. But you notice that your child hasn't finished her plate of food. She is struggling to finish. There is quite a bit of food remaining on her plate. What would you do? (A) I'd force her to finish what's left on her plate. Wasting food is a crime (B) I'd take the plate from her and finish off the remaining food. Food shouldn't be wasted (C) I'd ask my spouse to finish the remaining food. Food shouldn't be wasted but I'm already full (D) I'd gently nudge my child to eat a little more and then ask her to stop (E) I'd tell my child that it is okay to waste food and not stuff herself Which of these behaviors resonate most with you? Which of these behaviors resonate most with your parents? Do you remember your experiences from childhood when you visited a restauran...

Whenever I do a compilation post on nutrients and their various food sources, I often get this question "Can you make a list of food sources rich in Vitamin D" I was deficient in Vitamin D for many years. I have also taken D3 supplements earlier. I had searched for food sources rich in Vitamin D, but for a vegetarian like me, the options weren't many. Thanks to the walking habit I incorporated in 2020, my Vitamin D levels have now increased WITHOUT any supplements. Feb 2020 => My Vitamin D level was 10.3 Feb 2021 => My Vitamin D level is 27.2 I used to be an indoors person most of the time. I was stuck with my laptop/phone and other indoor chores until the pandemic started. We realize the importance of something ONLY when it is taken away. Being stuck indoors for many days made me crave fresh air and sunlight. I started to walk on my apartment terrace every day. I wrote about the benefits of a daily walk in an earlier post . I have now realized the importance and ef...

A few days back, I had posted a note on Instagram that I have reversed PCOD. There were many questions on how I did it, what diet I followed etc.  PCOD is a lifestyle disorder. So all I did was corrected my lifestyle. As simple as that.  Please note I'm neither a  gynaecologist  nor a nutritionist. The points shared below are from my personal experience. Please do your due diligence before you embrace any change. Here's a compilation of a few questions (real and imaginary) that came up related to PCOD reversal. (1) What diet did I follow? I didn't follow any popular diet per se.  First and foremost, I completely stopped all forms of packaged/processed/junk foods. This one change by itself contributed to 50% of my PCOD reversal. I'm a vegetarian since childhood. And I continue to eat the same way. I did a few tweaks/changes to the ingredients that have helped me tremendously. Switched from white, polished rice to millets and traditional rice varieties. Increase...

 From 2004 until 2020, my abdomen ultrasound scan report would have the phrase "bilateral polycystic ovaries". My 2021 scan report says "Ovaries appear normal" and no mention of polycystic ovaries. Yes, I have successfully managed to reverse my PCOD condition. So thrilled about it! The only intention of this post is to give hope to those women who are diagnosed with PCOD. Yes, PCOD can be reversed ONLY through consistent lifestyle changes.  It is certainly possible WITHOUT any medications/pills and WITHOUT any extreme diets/workout routines (Unless you consider quitting packaged/processed/junk foods as an extreme diet!) This reversal journey has taken me around 7 years to understand and consciously make changes around food, activity, exercise, sleep, digital wellness and stress management. In the past few years, I have shared my journey and lifestyle changes I have made through my blog and Instagram posts. I have written two long-form articles on the habits to keep ...

  Saturday mornings in the 80s used to be like this at my home. My grandmother would apply generous amounts of warm sesame oil on my scalp and let it soak for around 30 minutes. I would be playing outside, exposed to the Sun while the oil was getting absorbed. After she got the hot water ready, she would call me. She would then apply a paste of shikakai paste all over my hair and then wash it off. Though my eyes would be tightly shut, invariably the shikakai paste would get in my eyes and cause a burning sensation. After the hair bath, she would put a piece of sambrani (loban) on top of hot coal. The fumes would immediately start coming and she would cover it with a bamboo basket. I would then keep my head on top of the inverted basket and the hair would slowly dry, thanks to the hot fumes. And the aroma used to be so divine and relaxing. I have recreated a similar ritual in the past 2 years. Every Fri/Sat I have been following this oil bath ritual. I warm a few tbsp of cold-presse...

  Whenever someone asks me how to quit junk foods, my first suggestion would be "Out of sight, out of mind. Don't stock them up at home". Imagine a pack of chips lying inside your snacks cupboard. You are not into the habit of reading nutrition labels yet. You are not aware of the information that packaged foods are harmful to your health. You will be tempted to munch on that pack of chips when you open that cupboard. Once you learn to read the nutrition labels of junk foods and how such ingredients impact our body, you will eventually stop eating them. Once your taste buds get used to real, natural foods, the taste of junk foods would be so unappetizing that you wouldn't be tempted to buy them when you are inside a supermarket. Many years back, I used to be so addicted to Lays chips. But now, when a pack of chips is placed right on my table, I wouldn't be tempted to open it. The presence of that pack doesn't tempt me in any way. Similarly, with uncomfortable ...

What's a sacred space? Is it a place of religious importance? Is it a corner in our homes where we do our prayers? Along with these spaces, two places need to be given sacrosanct importance - our body and our mind. " Treat your body like a temple " - we might have heard of this phrase. One of the interpretations of this phrase implies that we need to be more aware of the food we put inside our bodies.  As I pondered over this phrase, I wondered whether we give the same attention to our minds.  Do we treat our minds like a temple?  Are we aware of the inputs we feed our minds - written content, visual media, audio, verbal interactions? Are we aware of the thought trails (remember the thought rabbit hole !) and where they lead us towards? Are we aware of the repetitive thought patterns? Do we pause and understand a thought, feeling, or emotion? Do we take dedicated time to process our thoughts and the triggers behind them? Do we take a step back and dissect why we reacted t...

 I came across this interesting insight somewhere. When you are starting your 30s, you usually get a wake-up call from the Universe if you are not aligned with your life's purpose. Each one of us gets this wake-up call. Some of us dismiss it completely and move on with our lives. Some of us hear it but snooze it multiple times, thinking this is not the right time and give ourselves multiple reasons excuses to avoid hearing it.  Some of us pay heed to that wake-up call and start making changes that help us align with our life's purpose. For me, that wake-up call was the arrival of my daughter when I was around 30 years old. I was working for a startup - extremely busy routine, along with a long commute every single day. I then applied for a busier job role at an MNC (longer commute as well). A long interview process, 6 rounds spread over 3 weeks and I got the offer. I accepted the offer for this new job and put my papers down in my current job. 2 days later, my long-awaited pre...

  Many people had messaged me, asking me to watch this new Malayalam movie "The Great Indian Kitchen" streaming on Neestream . Since I'm a big proponent of home cooking and its importance in today's times, I was eager to watch this movie after seeing the trailer.  I'm sure every woman in India who watched this movie would have been able to relate to atleast a few scenes and nodding their heads - either their own personal experiences or the observations they have had with respect to the lives of their mothers/MILs/aunts.  After watching a new movie, I usually watch a few reviews of the movie on Youtube. In one such review , the reviewer mentioned that there were no names given to any of the characters. I realized this fact ONLY after watching the review.  Apart from the actual preparation of the food, all the other work that is involved is highlighted so beautifully in the movie - chopping veggies, cleaning dishes, clearing the dining table, clearing the kitchen co...