'FAT TAX' - A Revolution on its way

It was during the university days that I had thought about how the marketing of food should be re vamped. Why should there be a particular aisle dedicated to Healthy eating because isn’t that what we should be eating and they should be selling! Healthy foods should not be a speciality. Instead there should be the unhealthy foods arranged in an aisle together as ‘Bad for you’ range as against ‘good for you’ range.

And today I read about ‘Fat Tax’ being introduced in UK and Ireland soon following the Hungary’s junk food tax, Denmark’s  fat tax and France’s tax on sweetened beverages . Afterall Britian is the fifth fattest nation in Europe.The result of the fat tax could be a drop in the sales of unhealthy foods. The authors of the Oxford study say that extending the 17.5% rate of VAT to unhealthy foods in the UK would prevent up to 2,700 people dying of heart disease each year.

The fat tax does have opponents that feel that this will be unsuccessful and will mean that people will have to shell out more of their income towards food in times when recession is a bane and families are hard pressed. Also manufacturers feel that they are doing their bit towards their voluntary pledge of reducing calories and salt. But I guess this is just the beginning to revolutions and whether through enforcement or voluntary pledges manufacturers need to get this clear message that if they want buyers for their product they need to make their food healthy and get rid of 3 health enemies: fat, sugar, salt!!

Till then we buyers need to be smart eaters and make healthy choices among all the temptations.  So Eat Healthy, Live Healthy !

A barbecue evening

The sun is out from a few days in Edinburgh and as they say here make the most out of it till it last!!
Everybody is out in lovely colours and prints and suddenly the surroundings are busy and vibrant....something that reminds me of my mini family trips to our holiday home.

 I as a kid would look forward for these summer holidays as this meant a lovely swim, chatting and then planning a barbecue. It is something that I guess my family will agree with that no holiday would be complete without a barbecue night. There were always mini training tips flying out in the family on how to marinate the right way and then setting up the fire and roasting the chicken to the right level that it is cooked to be juicy and not overcooked to be dry. Ohhh...yummmmy night those used to be of hogging on tandoori chicken (roasted chicken marinated in Indian spices) and then wash it down with dal (lentil curry) and rice.

Thought to relive my childhood with my hubby in Edinburgh and enjoy the weather with a barbecue evening. This brings out the chef in me as well as the dietitian! I try out the family recipe of chicken tikka but with a twist to make the recipe simple and also health friendly as often these tikkas from take aways are  laden with butter to make them juicy and too much of food colour for attractive bright orange-red marinade.

The result of this recipe play were 'The tikkas' that were tasty, bursting with rich flavours and aroma. The veggies were moist and sweet making the combination a hit....specially as my husband said a thank you after the meal! He has been one of my greatest critics. The evening was spent well....sharing our childhood memories and do what we like best....Eating good food.

Thought to share this recipe for those whose taste buds are tantalised:

500 gm boneless, de-skinned raw chicken

Spices:

2 tsp of red chilly powder  (hot,  1 tsp if you want it mild)
1 tsp of gharam masala ( magic spice, mixes of Indian spices, easily available, if not pound 1/8th of the 3 inch cinnamon stick, 1 cardomom , 1 black pepper, 3 cumin seeds )
1 tsp of Rajah Tandoori masala  (available in Tesco in Indian section)
Salt to taste

 

Mix all the spices with the chicken and marinate for 2 hours. Then mix in the marinated chicken 2 tsp curd and squeeze 1/2 a lime

Marinate for a further 2 hours (you can wave off the marination time, but longer the marination more the spices marry in)

Now add in 1 tsp of ginger garlic paste (1:1)

Soak the wooden skewers in water for 30 minutes

Arrange the chicken pieces, diced capsicum, mushrooms, diced onions on the skewers (use the vegetables that you like or you have lying in your refrigerator)

Cook it in the preheated oven at 200 Celsius for 45 minutes and then grill it for another 5 minutes (Time may vary with the temperature and oven setting, so you judge your oven the best and keep checking at intervals). Just warning that the aroma that it gives out is too tempting to wait till the end.

Doesn't that look yummy!!!

If you fancy this dish do take a moment to leave me a comment or just say hello!...will be exciting to read on what you think of these tikkas.


Will keep you posted on more of my such cooking adventures!!

Till then Eat healthy and Live Healthy!

Journey so far ......

I have been educated and trained in India as a dietitian but marriage took me to a new continent ....and now I am practising in Edinburgh. I believe it is a beautiful journey I have embarked on and will have a lot of experiences and foodistic culture (as I call it) to share with you'll.

The food habits are different and so are the culture, traditions, cooking habits and sentiments related to food and I need to understand all these different food moods being a dietitian I don't just deal with food-one of the essentials for sustaining life but deal with food-essence of life.

Follow my blog to see what inspires me on my journey each day..........