The five o’clock problem, treated as a planning problem rather than a willpower one.
Nutrition & health
Is makhana really a superfood, and how much should I eat in a day?
Makhana is almost fat-free, mostly starch, and carries 9–15 g of protein per 100 g. One small study found roasted makhana low-glycaemic. It is a light, useful snack; it is not the protein food the packets suggest. The numbers, and how much to eat.
Smart snacking
How much salt is too much, and how much is in the namkeen I eat?
WHO and India’s dietary guidelines both set the limit at 5 g of salt a day — about a teaspoon — and nearly half of Indians are over it. How to turn the sodium on a namkeen label into grams of salt, and what a handful costs you.
Smart snacking
What can a person with diabetes eat in the evening that will not spike blood sugar?
Pulses and nuts have trial evidence behind them, though the effects are modest. Makhana has one small study. Fried namkeen and “sugar-free” biscuits have none. An honest 5 pm list for someone managing blood sugar, from a kitchen that sells fried snacks.
Nutrition & health
Are sugar-free sweets actually healthy, and are they safe for a diabetic relative?
A sugar-free sweet swaps the sugar for a polyol or a sweetener and keeps the ghee, khoya and flour. Maltitol still raises blood glucose, polyols carry a laxative warning by law, and WHO advises against sweeteners for weight control. How to read the box before Diwali.
Smart snacking
Makhana, peanuts or roasted chana — which should I keep at my desk?
Three snacks that every Indian kitchen calls healthy, compared honestly per 28 g handful: makhana is the lightest and lowest in protein, peanuts are the most filling and most caloric, roasted chana has the best protein and fibre for its calories. Which wins depends on what you want the snack to do.
Smart snacking
How do I keep Diwali snacking from wrecking a month of eating well, without serving guests something joyless?
Diwali on 8 November means a fortnight of farsan on every table. You do not have to swap it for kale chips — you have to know which snacks are dry-roasted or steamed, which fried ones are worth their oil, and what a portion looks like. A kitchen’s honest list.
Nutrition & health
Are peanuts as healthy as almonds, or a cheap substitute?
Peanuts carry 26 g of protein per 100 g — more than any tree nut — with the healthy-fat profile the heart studies like, at a tenth of the price of almonds. The numbers, the trials, the aflatoxin rule, and why the kitchen fries in peanut oil.
Nutrition & health
Are almonds worth the price, or just expensive calories?
What a 28 g handful of almonds carries — 6 g protein, 3.5 g fibre, a day’s worth of vitamin E — what the trials found on LDL cholesterol and heart risk, and why “a handful” is the honest portion.
Recipes & food ideas
I want something quick that is filling and not boring.
A fifteen-minute bowl with real protein in it, written with the weights and timings we actually use, including the sprouting step most recipes skip.
Smart snacking
I don’t know whether to buy the 500 g or the 1 kg pack.
We sell in 500 g and 1 kg, and people ask which one they need. The answer depends on one number nobody has thought about: how big your evening bowl actually is.
Smart snacking
I want to know whether “fresh” namkeen is a real difference or just a word on a packet.
Almost every namkeen you can buy was fried weeks ago in oil that had already fried a great deal else. Here is what that changes, from someone who stands at the kadai.
Smart snacking
I eat well all day and then snack badly at 5 pm.
Most people eat well until about half past four. What happens next is a planning problem dressed up as a willpower problem — and it has a boring, effective fix.