Tag Archives: food

Let Go Of The Hat

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Hi there dear sweet muchkins, sweetypies, darlings how have you been ? Well this week I have been busy with my weightloss countdown. Been cooking healthy options and trying my best not to indulge in chocolate and cookies.

Weightloss is a journey that some individuals have to travel through. There are a lucky few that how they eat does not alter their physique but generous portions for the other half  lead to generous proportions of the latter half.

There was once an old lady whose skirt was flying high up in the wind but she did not let go of the hat that she was holding on to with both hands so a young man wanting to help her said “ mam your skirt is flying high up please pull your skirt down” To which she angrily replied mister  what you see is 80 years old but I only bought this hat yesterday”. 🙂

Dear ones let go of the hat what ever your worldly processions they are important but it is more important to to attend to the more obvious. It is time to let go of the hat and listen to sound advice. This advice can come through reading a self- help book, reading the Bible, or just listening to our spouse’s words, or mentor’s words. Some friends advice is genuine but there are others who can lead you astray or are jealous pray for wisdom to listen to what is sound and good for your journey on earth.

Choose your friends wisely and listen to the advice of your parents or loved ones who care about you. If a friend says sniff this drugs it is great Do not do it, you know it is wrong and it leads to death. Listen to inner  voice God usually speaks to us in this voice and if something seems not right you might just be right it is not right.

There are several factors that help us make choices when we are old enough to make decisions. It can be society, your family, your friends, your bosses, your colleagues but at the end of the day the choice is up to you.

Money is important but your loved ones, your spouse, your children are more important. May be you want to make a secure future for your loved ones it is true but neglecting them is as bad as spending all your earnings instead of saving for the future.

Dear ones it is time to let go of the hat and listen to sound advice or listen to your heart. Your heart will not lie.

Wishing you a happy life from

The Indian Aunty

Yet food is something that is taken for granted by most world leaders despite the fact that more than half of the population of the world is hungry. Norman Borlaug

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We are living in the 21st centaury in era of rockets, satellites, space stations, cloning, inter breeding of animals and plants to form hybrid varieties of flora and fauna, latest breakthroughs of medical science such as the use of laser therapy and medication, highly destructive military equipment we my friends are living in the the era of abundance of food, money, technology and fashion.

 

“Therefore I feel that the aforementioned guiding principle must be modified to read: If you desire peace, cultivate justice, but at the same time cultivate the fields to produce more bread; otherwise there will be no peace.”

Norman Borlaug

 

 

There are people eating themselves to death, drinking themselves to death, inhaling and injecting themselves to death all this costs huge amounts of money while there are people who do not have one meal a day. Where is social justice in all this ?

 

We have to educate our children, our young people, our future generation of this world that alcohol, drugs and free sex is not going to make a man out of you. We should care for our people in these developed countries who are crying for a way out ofr this addiction. Young girls who sell their bodies so that they can have their next fix of drugs is heart rendering. These people were babies once, children, and now this horrible drugs have taken control of their lives. We should help them this time we need love and discipline and warm and caring rehab clinics. Let me tell you young person if you are reading this drugs is not the way out of your problems it is the worst problem, you need to check your self in a rehab place and have faith in God and He will help you out of your addiction.

 

If you are an alcoholic go to alcoholic anonymous and get help my grandfather on my mother’s side was an alcoholic I never met him but my mother told how difficult it was for my wonderful, gracious, sweet grandmother who had five children my mother being the youngest to feed them and get them educated my grand mother is now with the Lord.

 

We need to educate our young people not only on having safe sex (though I personally believe in sex after marriage) but on the destruction of drug and alcohol abuse. I live in Northern Ireland and for many binge drinking is a norm on weekends. Sex, drugs and rock n roll will give your money pocket a hole. It will get you no where. We as parents have to give our children a loving home where they can grow as individuals with a strong mind and loving heart.

 

Don’t let the next generation slip into a world with no morals, values and having addictions we need to stop it. Children should be taught about the evils of drug and alcohol abuse and also about having a healthy life style of sport and academics and food.

 

Now let us go around the world to what doctor Borlaug says about food :-

 

“Yet food is something that is taken for granted by most world leaders despite the fact that more than half of the population of the world is hungry.”

Norman Borlaug

 

While people in the west struggle with addictions, obesity and couch potato lifestyle the people  in the other parts of the world walk miles and miles for a drink of water and food what a vast difference. In this era of millions and billions of pounds and dollars going on military, rockets, satellites and so on there  about half the people going hungry.

 

While people in the west are eating themselves to death some people do not even have one meal a day and many farmers and the financially backward are stuck in a rut of debt. We have to help people have at least one meal a day. Help the poor get jobs. Dr Borlaug had fought a long fight and because of him many thousands have food.

 

Dear friends the choice is yours do not be selfish think outside the boundaries of your secure life. Help in some way either in your own land or another land. People need your help. You can help by spending more time with family and helping your children have a better life than ourselves, visiting old people in the home for the aged or sending money or starting your own charity for people you know.

 

Everyone deserves a chance to live in this world and people need a second chance maybe they messed it up once but let us help them be the people they were created to be people with self respect and dignity.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A round man cannot be expected to fit in a square hole right away. He must have time to modify his shape. Mark Twain

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Hi there dear, dear friends, munchkins, sweetypies how are you all doing ? Well I the Indian aunty went on a short holiday for a week and now I am 155 pounds.

 

But as they say there is always a silver lining after every dark cloud I have joined the gym and hopefully I can get back on track of my weight loss and be 8 stone by November.

 

Today as I went walking outside in the crisp cool air of Northern Ireland I saw so many fields of grass and healthy cows and I thought the poor scrawny cows of India how much they would enjoy this grass and moo a prayer of gratitude to their creator and not only cows but also the sheep. Holy Cow I am now turning into an animal activist.

 

Animals bring so much of joy to their owners when I was growing up in India we had a dog named RollyPolly and he was such an awesome dog and brought so much of joy in our lives I still miss him.

 

I now have a cat named Washington he is a wonderful cat that brings so much of laughter and love into our home. He has gone missing twice but always managed to make his way back home.

 

We love Washington and thank God for him he is like a family member. We once had a prayer meeting for our friends dog who died we sang two hymns including “Abide with me” where the owner put a rose on her dog’s grave which was in her garden. Then we prayed and gave the owner who was my English teacher , a word of encouragement and all I could say was you will see him in heaven.

I do not know if my theology was correct but I know dogs and cats will have a home in heaven.

So let us not just worry about ourselves but also help the animals that God has created.

So on the behalf of the woof, woofs, meaw, meaws, and moo moo’s

Holy Cow

It’s the Indian aunty the self made animal activist

Bye, bye sweetypies , munchkins and friends

If music be the food of love, play on.

William Shakespeare

 

 

 

As I ramble through life, whatever be my goal, I will unfortunately always keep my eye upon the doughnut and not upon the whole. Wendy Wasserstein

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Friends, fellow dieters, random musers and country men lend me some of your time. How are you dear munchkins doing well this week my weight has neither increased nor decreased . I the Indian Aunty have been cooking some Biryani and curry for some guests at our house and I love cooking . Cooking is one of the few things I enjoy doing apart from being wife and mother, a struggling musician and author.

So we had chicken biryani, chicken curry ,raitha and ice cream for dessert. If you my dear friends have not tried Indian food I would urge you to try Biryani and please opt for the mild version if you are from the west. As I the Indian aunty with experience of cooking for the western culture know people in the west prefer to taste the flavor of the food they are eating instead of tasting only the spices or masala.

My Irish husband always says darling less is always more. Be it in cooking or make up but  in clothing it is better to be covered up except when going to the beach. Keeping it simple is always a beautiful trait. When we look at Beyonce she is gorgeous and in the movie dream girls she was wearing very little make up and looked gorgeous. Gwyneth Paltrow uses very little make up and is stunning I loved the movie Shakespeare in Love in which she was really ethereal.

Do not lose courage in considering your own imperfections. 
Saint Francis de Sales

In this cosmetic enhanced world most of the women population want perfection but there is no one perfect. We women always feel the grass is greener on the opposite side. Let me tell you something a bit personal I always wanted to be lighter skinned as I was not happy in being dusky complexioned but when I came to the west here girls were getting spray tanning and loved the sun tanned look.

While fairness creams are selling like chocolates in India. I was born with a tan as one of the ladies in the movie the Marigold Hotel said in one of her lines referring to a brown nurse you can wash all you like but that color won’t come of it was a light hearted remark but how true.

I was born to brown parents and they are absolutely fantastic parents and so naturally I am brown. My daughter  being Indo- Irish  has a beautiful olive coloring.

The world is changing by leaps and bounds and the emphasis on colour is changing thanks to television, movies, sports, entertainment and politics. We have Indian and African news presenters and soap actors and actresses. We have Halle Berry, Morgan Freeman  and of course Oprah. Sports The Williams sisters of tennis and Politics  we have President Barack Obama.

United Kingdom ruled the world at one time and being an Indian from India we have a lot to be thankful for to the British who brought about Education, abolished the sati movement or the killing of innocent women on their husbands fire after he died. They brought about telephones, Christianity and Railways. I as an Indo- British citizen have a lot to be thankful for. Especially my British husband.

The British left India peacefully thanks to our great leader and freedom fighter Mahatma Gandhi. India has developed since then due to our economic planning such as five – year plans since the time we got freedom and our brain power. Though there has been a brain drain by Indians seeking a better future in UK and USA with Universities such as IIT’s and IIM’s most of the graduates from these universities leave for the States.

Due to the population of 1.7 billion there is still lot of poverty and corruption. There is also a large distance between the rich and the poor and those who are middle- class but I believe that one day India too will be a developed country.

So dear friends, munchkins, sweety pies I hope you enjoyed my history lesson let us make goals for our lives be it in weight loss, Office Work, Overcoming addictions or just spending more time with our families. A goal in life gives us hope and a reason to live.

Victory belongs to the most persevering.
Napoleon

Love from the Indian Aunty x

 

Civilization as it is known today could not have evolved, nor can it survive, without an adequate food supply. Norman Borlaug

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Hi friends this is Indian Aunty again I was overwhelmed by the words of Dr Borlaug how could man have survived on planet earth if there was no food.

The sustenance of the very fiber of human life on this planet is the ability to produce food to be consumed by the peoples.

From the dawn of civilization on planet earth .Man had one thought on earth the production and consumption of food for survival. If we look at Biblical history in the book of Genesis. Adam and Eve’s sons Cain and Abel both worked on the production of food for consumption of their families. Cain was a farmer and Abel a Shepard.

Food has evolved over time from the time man found the use of fire to cook food and the use of spices from the exotic places of belly dancers like the Middle East and the land of temples and graceful exotic silks and temples and beautiful dancers such as India. The preparation and consumption of food has evolved.

From the discovery of tea in India and coffee to the scientists who took farming in the developed  world to another level by using their scientific methods to form hybrid varieties of food more maximum amount of taste , texture and variety.

In the sub-continent of India of where I the  Indian aunty is from we have many kinds of soil for agriculture the most productive soil is the alluvial soil for agriculture this soil is very rich in minerals and very productive for plant growth. The alluvial soil is the volcanic debris that the volcano left and these debris are very rich in minerals and vitamins and the best soil for agriculture.

In the 21st century the scientists have found various methods of making the soils more agricultural. In the Middle East now the arid lands are producing food thanks to modern irrigation systems and ways of making the soil fertile.

“I am but one member of a vast team made up of many organizations, officials, thousands of scientists, and millions of farmers – mostly small and humble – who for many years have been fighting a quiet, oftentimes losing war on the food production front.”

Norman Borlaug

Dr Borlaug continues to tell us how the farmers in the developing world have to fight red tapism in order to grow their produce. In India many farmers do not have modern technology such as tractors and they depend on the monsoons for their produce of crops and now due to global warming these monsoons are unpredictable and these farmers do not have modern irrigation systems.

I believe that the governments of developing countries must help these farmers so that food production will increase and making the prices of food accessible for those in the poverty line so that there will be food for those who are earning much less than the average man.

In the 21st century where science and technology have developed so much where developed countries are setting up multi-national companies in developing countries such as India I read recently that IKEA is spending millions of dollars to open it’s shops in India. This will provide employment as well as help the Indian economy.

Now coming back to the small farmers whose livelihood is the growth of food on their soil many of these farmers are in debt and many starve even though they grow food we should help these farmers through paying for their irrigation methods and providing hybrid seeds.

My father’s younger brother Ranjit and his wife Suzy are farmers and one profound point which my uncle said in an interview was the land does not belong to us we belong to the land. If we look at this spiritually or philosophically from the time of Genesis. Creator  God created man and woman from soil and let them live in the garden of Eden. Man and Woman belonged in the garden of Eden and had to abide by the rules of the garden of Eden. The garden of Eden did not belong to them they belonged to the garden of Eden.

Now let us look at this politically every country has boundaries and people of that particular country belong within those boundaries and people within that country abide by the rules and regulations put forth by the government of that particular country. The land does not belong to them they belong to that land.

Now let us look at this sociologically the smallest social unit is the family and this family live in a home and people in that home abide by the rules and regulations of that particular home. The land does not belong to the family members they belong to that land and as generation goes by everyone belonging to that land sets up rules and regulations.

Now when we leave this earth our bodies go back to the very beginning of where we were formed back to the land. I have put up an interview of my dad’s younger brother Ranjit who is extremely intelligent and wise and I would like you to listen to this interview of farming. I believe that one day there will be food for all human beings on this planet earth especially those of the under developed and developing countries in this centaury of science and technology man should never go hungry.

“Food is the moral right of all who are born into this world.”

Norman Borlaug

Love from

The Indian Aunty

Whatever your hands find to do, do it with all your might ( The Bible )

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My dear friends hi, how are you all ? Yes it is me the Indian aunty, I am now 154 pounds and from next week I am going gymming. Yes dear friends I have decided to join the gym. Like most aunties I do not like exercise but one has to learn to get that coveted Kim Kardishan or Beyonce Beautilicous Body. Many of you might find this surprising but I was always thin as a child and as a teen ager but once I got married the weight crept on slowly but surely and before I knew it I felt like a hot air balloon.

This happened quite recently we passed this furniture shop one day my husband and myself and I could not recognise myself in the show room mirror was that me, naaa some Indian Aunty but dear ones it was me…… So I decided step by step this weight will come of. It takes determination, will power but above all it needs God’s blessing. So I said God you did not make Adam and Eve obese but made them perfect. I bet if they were still alive they would be models for Vogue modelling with Fig Leaves.

But after the fall perfection was made imperfect and man gave into gluttony and obsessive eating or obsessive undereating. There is a thine line between the two. Food is not bad,Food is to be enjoyed be it Indian, French, Italian, Chinese or European. Food is not a master neither is it a slave very much like women. You can dress food, add those favouring to it sometimes it looks good to the eye just like women. But food can be given an over prominent place above God that is when there is a danger.

Never get carried away by anything, think is that helpful for my body am I going to eat that chocolate cake and then go sick it up then don’t eat it. Bulimia, Obesity,Anorexia are all extreme love or hatred for food. The first sacrifice to God in the Bible was food. God loves food ,good food, well prepared food. Food is to be enjoyed during festivities the first thing we think of is food. Christmas or New Year we love food our food.

With food comes drink I think every one has their opinion on alcohol but I think excessive drinking is not necessary and can be damaging but a glass of wine now and again is actually quite nice. But alcohol can be addictive so drink it sparingly I drink wine a few times a year but that is very sparingly.

Excessive alcohol can damage families, relationships and ruin lives so drink only when one needs to but this is my opinion and every one should be allowed to share their opinions anything. Anything in extreme is not good be it religeon, dieting, exercising , eating or drinking.So dear friends eat moderately, exercise and may we see a healthier tomorrow for ourselves and for the world we live in.

Love

The Indian Aunty x

Today is my 6th wedding anniversary

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Dear lovers of rice and curry and my dear lovers of Fish and Chips did you ever think that the twain shall meet and exchange vows from the land of King Fisher to the land of Guiness Beer or posh Baily’s Liquer well they did, From the Land of Indian Bhangra of Bolly Hood, to the Waltz of BBC. My dear, dear friends in this 21st century when going from the land of East to settle in the Land of West is like jumping on a bus to a new adventure.

Yes I the Indian Aunty was quite adventurous and landed myself in Northern Ireland I knew nothing of the country or culture I had not even tried fish and chips and then this wonderful Irish man came into my life and we exchanged not only vows but foods and I loving cooking cooked rice and curries and he loving me bought fish and chips and before we knew it we looked chocolate and vanilla cupcakes walking hand in hand.

But then my vanilla cupcake decided to shed the pounds and now is a handsome dude while the chocolate cupcake being me is shedding the pounds slowly. My dear friends then we went on holiday for a week and I have put on 4 pounds but I am working on it. This week the Indian aunty is going wobbling I mean walking and hopefully I can get there size 8 by the 18th of November.

Eating is a pleasure but one must not get too carried away by it one must think is that really necessary so my dear munchkins my dear sweetypies as we say in India we can shift this weight I do not want to wobble like a duck I want to swim gracefully like a swan.

So dear munchkins next week I will tell you the result of my weightloss and I want to be a size 8 again and be an inspiration.  Eat wisely and excerise and let me know how you do .We can not be Victoria Secret Models but we can be that coveted yummy aunty I am not referring to the chocolate cupcake with icing being make up but we be chic  and healthy.

So dear sweetypies let us do it and prove to the world we are gorgeous inside and outside.Grrrrrr lets get dieting and look our best.

People say I am comfortable in my skin are we really I feel like a BIG BROWN COCONUT brown on the outside and white inside I am Indian born to Indian Parents But I think in English and write in English and am comfortable both in India and UK. I also am an Indian British Citizen if that does not complicate matters this brown coconut is over weight so time to shed this baggage of fat and become a slender coconut tree.

So Good Bye talk to you next week

Love

The Indian Aunty x

Europa Hotel

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The Europa Hotel

Introduction:-

It is a warm spring evening around 7:30 pm. Some diners are already having their evening meal. Europa is known for its renowned chef and delicious food.

The diners include a couple of elderly women sitting at the table by the window, with white hair, pearls and large earrings they seem to be stuck in an era of their own generation. On the right includes a gentle man in a business suit with red tie reading a business magazine he seems to be waiting for somebody as he sips his wine. In the middle of the dining area is a family with two children under three years of age with the children taking turns in who makes the most amount of noise. While the mother and father try to talk over their children’s cries. Some other diners are sprinkled around the large dining area like wild flowers in a bed of grass.

1)   Till Ahem…. Mr Know it all and Mrs Agree to whatever he says enter the room. The Host seems to be missing so Mr Know it all claps his hands louds waiter, waiter he shouts so loud that the children stop crying and one of the old ladies who had  her earring aid turned way up spills the soup on her dress due to the shock of his shouting and clapping.

Till Mr Know it all spots a server and shouts “ Boy you there yes I am talking to you shouts Mr know it all as Mrs agree to whatever he says goes red in the face, The server is doing his job on clearing up the table and it is not his duty to be a host. Not knowing what to do he hesitates Mr Know it all shouts again he has been waiting 5 minutes Mr know it all shouts again “ I have been waiting for the past ½ hour and you don’t know what to do, do you know who I am “ Before the thin freckle faced boy could answer the host shows up and apologises profusely .

Mr know it all raises his hand in a dramatic fashion and is shown to his table followed by his sweet partner who is red at the face with blond hair put up in a bun, she is thin with glasses and she gives an apologetic smile to the freckle faced server.

2)   A young lady around 20ish, who has a business date with a leading fashion magazine she is hoping to be hired as editor in chief. All her life she had lived for books reading and rereading her books, she had read hundreds of mills and boon books. She was a hopeless romantic.

She was wearing heels and contacts for the first time. She had a pretty face her dark hair in a bun, her black tight skirt and white blouse buttoned all the way to the top. She was too shy when it came to men and never really had a proper boyfriend. She saw this dark haired man sitting at the table in front and knew who he was he was the man who was supposed to interview her. Her panic attacks started she did not see the flower pot in front of her which had a huge artificial tree and before she knew it she was holding the top half of the tree and her legs were around the trunk “help” excuse me she whispered as her eyes met the dark eyes of a stranger who was sipping wine. The host managed to help her up and in her enthusiasm not to show she was shy she put out her hand to shake her interviewer’s hand before he knew it the wine was all over his trousers she managed to  mumble an apology then she got a brilliant idea she took the hand towel and wanted to wipe the wine from his trousers which he said was alright but at her instance he wanted to hold her back at which the chair gave way and they both fell on the floor of the restaurant on each other.

Her hair had come lose and was around her face the business man who was brutal actually started laughing like a school boy so did the dark eyed, dark haired beauty Seana what this business man realised was this jinx of a lady was actually gorgeous.

3)Roberta and Robert both Italian in heritage but born and brought up in the Uk. Met on a cruise ship and realised they had more in common than uncommon. They had been inseparable since they met six months back and they had first laid their eyes on each other.

Today Robert planned a surprise for Roberta as they waited for the Host to show them to their seats the host gave Robert a wink and Robert gave a thumbs up sign and from nowhere three violinists and an opera singer emerged and as the opera singer sang Robert got on his knees and asked Roberta to marry him. Roberta let out a cry a squel and said the biggest “Si”ever heard.

The old ladies by the window wipped the tears from their eyes. The other diners clapped their hands. This was a rather romantic end to an eventful evening.