A nutritious bowl packed of Protein and Iron!

The most wonderful time of the year, winters are here. I love this season as it gives me ample opportunities to be a lazy couch snuggled up in my cozy blankets and relish some delicious yet nutritious foods/salads/porridges. My mom used to say that due to inner heat in winters the food is digested faster and one should consume sufficient proteins, green and iron rich foods. And yes, exercising for minimum 30min is a must all throughout:)

Being a mommy myself now, I have tried inculcating some of the protein and Iron rich foods in my son’s diet this winter. More so, I focus on Iron consumption as well, since Iron is a major element for our blood and we, mainly women suffer from the low Iron levels most of the time.

Let me share a very simple, super delicious snacky salad to much at anytime of the day. This my favourite bowl and is included in lunch daily.

Veggie and Nuts Salad :

Key iron Ingredient : Spinach, Beetroot

Duration : 20 minutes (chopping time included)

Requisites For one bowl of Salad :

1. Cabbage, washed and chopped into thin small pieces, 4-5 tablespoon
2. Spinach /Lettuce, washed and chopped for easy chewing , 4 tablespoon
3. Beetroot : Diced into small pieces for easy chewing, 2-3 tablespoon
4. Carrot : Diced into small pieces for easy chewing, 2-3 tablespoon
5. Tomato : Diced into small pieces, 3-4 tablespoon
6. Cucumber : Diced into small pieces, 3-4 tablespoon
7. Salted peanuts : 4 tablespoon
8. Mayonnaise : 2 tablespoon
9. Black pepper : Crushed 4 peppers
10. Flax seeds (optional)

Healthy Bowl Preparation :

Ensure that all seasonal vegetables have been washed thoroughly and then diced as suggested. Remove all the water after washing, keep all veggies on sieve for 4-5 minutes to ensure no extra water drips.

Mix Cabbage, Spinach, Beetroot, carrot, Cucumber, Tomato, Black Pepper and mayonnaise. Ensure that mayonnaise has mixed with the veggies properly. Let it stay for next 5 minutes.

Add peanuts just before consumption of this sumptuous, super healthy whole salad, which elders and kids will love equally. If you find kids fussing of eating this yummy salad, you can always chose the whole wheat bread (Brown bread)  sandwich. This mixture can easily spread over the Brown bread and be relished as a healthy yet delicious sandwich for kids.

If you love, you can also garnish it with flax seeds.

Nutrition of this bowl :

Spinach is rich in Vitamin K, A, Magnesium and Iron while Beetroot, one of the healthiest foods is rich in lots of fibre, Iron, magnesium. While Carrots are great source of fibres and Beta carotene, raw peanuts are super rich in proteins and folate (B-Vitamin) needed to make DNA.

So let this nutrition packed, Iron rich bowl be a part of your daily life, more so for kids and women. A recent last year study had revealed that Iron deficiency anaemia is the major cause of disability in India. Reason being imbalanced vegetarian diets and malnutrition, which has resulted in the cause of Iron deficiency. Iron deficiency anaemia is rampant in children less than 3 years and in more than 50% women. Isn’t that whopping ladies? Our care is in our hands, don’t let our diet patterns impact our body.

Happy healthy living!