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Health benefits of fresh lemon juice

Doenjang salmon rice bowl and more recipes to try this week

February 6, 2023 by www.denverpost.com Leave a Comment

By Brian Gallagher , The New York Times

To me, cooked alliums like shallots, garlic and onions of all sorts are the perfect weeknight ingredient for winter. In terms of flavor, they bring a skein of warmth and a lightly savory base note without necessarily adding heft. Satisfying and hearty, but not too rich.

More important to me, though, is the act of chopping. For many, this can be tedious, but I find it a welcome little interlude between work and dinner. You can chop with as much focus, artistry, satisfaction or ire as the preceding hours might dictate. But, mostly, I just like to zone out a bit — though not enough to lose a fingertip — and run the knife through its paces. Is this mindfulness? Who knows? But these five dishes will give you a chance to feel that out.

1. Doenjang Salmon Rice Bowl

This speedy meal is for seekers of the sweet-salty, known as dan-jjan in Korean. Doenjang, a glorious Korean fermented soybean paste, anchors the sauce with funk and umami. This sauce, balanced with sweet mirin and tangy rice vinegar, both marinates and lacquers salmon, which is quick-roasted. Cutting the fish into cubes allows more surface area for the salmon fat to render quickly, while the centers cook to a medium-rare, melt-in-your-mouth tenderness, a satisfying contrast to the still-crunchy, just-charred onions. This soul-warming breakfast, lunch or dinner tastes best with white rice, kimchi and whatever other accompaniments you might enjoy.

By Eric Kim

Yield: 2 to 4 servings

Total time: 30 minutes

Ingredients

  • 2 tablespoons packed dark brown sugar
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 4 tablespoons doenjang (see tip)
  • 6 tablespoons mirin
  • 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
  • Salt and black pepper
  • 1 pound salmon fillets (preferably skinless and center-cut), cut into 1 1/2-inch pieces
  • 1 medium yellow onion, halved and thinly sliced
  • Steamed rice, for serving
  • Kimchi, for serving (optional)

Preparation

1. In a medium bowl, whisk the brown sugar, oil, doenjang, mirin and vinegar until the sugar and doenjang dissolve. Season with salt and pepper. Add the salmon to the marinade and turn with your fingers to evenly coat. Cover and marinate in the refrigerator for at least 10 minutes and up to 8 hours.

2. When ready to cook, heat the oven to 425 degrees. Add the onion slices to a sheet pan or shallow baking dish. Dump the salmon and its marinade over the onion and toss to combine. Arrange the salmon and onion in a single layer.

3. Roast until the doenjang glaze bubbles like hot lava along the edges of the pan and the salmon is opaque but still slightly pink in the center, rotating the pan halfway through, 9 to 12 minutes. Divide the rice then the salmon among bowls and serve with kimchi, if desired.

TIP: You can find doenjang, often labeled “soybean paste,” in Korean or Asian supermarkets and online, either in jars or in plastic rectangular tubs. Funkily pungent and packed with savoriness, doenjang is a magical flavor booster that is sometimes compared to Japanese miso but has a saltier, more assertive kick. Full of fermented sourness and deep Parmesan-like umami, it can enliven all manner of soups, stews and salad dressings with unparalleled brio.

2. Creamy Chickpea Pasta With Spinach and Rosemary

Luxurious and hearty, cheap and easy, this vegetarian pasta uses mostly pantry staples, requiring just a few fresh ingredients, like baby spinach, rosemary and heavy cream. Canned chickpeas form the foundation of the dish: They’re cooked until crisp and caramelized. Half are then saved as a garnish, while the rest are simmered until they break down and thicken the sauce. You can swap out your greens or beans, and if you want to experiment with flavor, raid your spice cabinet: Ground coriander, toasted fennel seeds, coarsely crumbled pink peppercorns or a sprinkle of smoked paprika perk up the dish.

By Alexa Weibel

Yield: 4 servings

Total time: 30 minutes

Ingredients

  • Kosher salt
  • 1/4 cup olive oil
  • 1 (14-ounce) can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
  • 2 teaspoons finely chopped fresh rosemary, plus more for garnish
  • 1/2 teaspoon Aleppo pepper, or 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon red-pepper flakes (optional)
  • Black pepper
  • 1 large shallot, finely chopped
  • 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
  • 1 cup heavy cream
  • 1 (6-ounce) bag baby spinach
  • 12 ounces spaghetti or bucatini
  • 1/2 cup finely grated Parmesan
  • Lemon wedges, for serving

Preparation

1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high.

2. In a wide, deep skillet, heat the oil over medium-high. Add the chickpeas, rosemary and Aleppo pepper, if using. Season generously with salt and pepper, and cook, stirring occasionally, until chickpeas start to caramelize at their edges and pop, 5 to 7 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer about half the chickpeas to a bowl. Reserve for garnish.

3. Reduce the heat to medium, add the shallots and garlic to the skillet, and season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until shallots are softened, about 3 minutes. Add the heavy cream and cook until slightly thickened, about 3 minutes. Turn off the heat, stir in the spinach and season to taste with salt and pepper.

4. Add the pasta to the boiling water and reduce the heat to medium. Cook the pasta until a couple minutes short of al dente according to package instructions, about 5 minutes. Do not drain the pasta, but using tongs, transfer the pasta directly from the pot to the spinach and cream sauce. Add 1 cup pasta cooking water and the Parmesan, and cook over medium-high, stirring vigorously with the tongs, until the sauce is thickened and the noodles are al dente, about 2 minutes. Add a splash of pasta water to loosen sauce, if needed.

5. Transfer to bowls, and top with reserved chickpeas, rosemary and black pepper. Serve immediately, with lemon wedges for squeezing on top.

3. Farro and Lentils With Jammy Onions

Simmering chopped onions in a generous amount of olive oil is a two-for-one deal: The onions go soft and sweet while the oil gets infused with deep flavor. While the onions sizzle and simmer, the lentils and farro boil together until al dente, keeping the dish a speedy weeknight option. This makes a great warm side dish or a satisfying make-ahead grain salad. (Leftovers keep for up to three days.) Red-pepper flakes add heat, and lemon peel provides floral sweetness; you could also add whole spices, capers or other additions, if you like. Accessorize with hearty greens, soft herbs, eggs, smoked fish or leftover roasted vegetables.

By Ali Slagle

Yield: 4 servings

Total time: 35 minutes

Ingredients

  • 1 lemon
  • 2/3 cup olive oil
  • 2 large yellow onions, coarsely chopped
  • 1/4 teaspoon red-pepper flakes
  • Kosher salt and black pepper
  • 1 cup brown or green lentils
  • 1 cup farro

Preparation

1. Bring a medium saucepan of water to a boil. Using a vegetable peeler, peel 1-inch-wide strips of zest from the lemon. In a large Dutch oven or skillet, heat the olive oil, onions, lemon peel and red-pepper flakes over medium. Season with salt and pepper, and cover. When you hear sizzling, uncover, reduce heat, and gently simmer, stirring occasionally, until the onions are very soft and golden at the edges, 20 to 25 minutes. If at any point the onions risk burning, reduce heat and add 1 or 2 teaspoons of water. Remove from heat.

2. Once the water’s boiling, add the lentils and farro and simmer, uncovered, until al dente, 15 to 20 minutes. Drain in a colander, rinse under cold water until cool, shake very dry, and season with salt.

3. Pluck out the lemon peel from the onions and coarsely chop. Add the chopped peel, farro and lentils to the onions. Stir to combine, then add lemon juice, to taste, about 2 to 4 tablespoons. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

4. Toum Grilled Cheese

Cheese manousheh, a topped flatbread found throughout the Levant, is often served with wild cucumber pickles and a side of fluffy toum, a sauce made by combining garlic, lemon juice, salt and oil, for dipping. This grilled cheese hits those notes, skipping a trip to a Lebanese bakery. Slathering the bread with toum instead of butter instantly gives it garlic bread vibes. Though you can purchase toum at many supermarkets and Middle Eastern specialty stores, making it at home gives it a more vibrant punch. It lasts for months and can be used anywhere a tangy, garlicky wallop is needed. Use in salad dressings, as a rub on roasted meats, as a sandwich condiment, or even as a dip for crudités.

By Ham El-Waylly

Yield: 1 sandwich, plus 1 3/4 cups toum

Total time: 15 minutes, plus 15 minutes for the toum (optional)

Ingredients

For the homemade toum (optional):

  • 1 medium head of garlic, peeled (about 12 cloves)
  • 2 tablespoons lemon juice (from 1 lemon), plus more to taste
  • 2 teaspoons kosher salt, plus more to taste
  • 1 1/2 cups neutral oil, like grapeseed oil

For the sandwich:

  • 2 slices bread, preferably from a rustic loaf, no more than 1/2-inch thick
  • 3 slices Muenster cheese
  • 4 cornichons, thinly sliced lengthwise
  • 2 tablespoons toum (prepared or homemade), plus more for dipping
  • Kosher salt

Preparation

1. Prepare the toum (or proceed to Step 4, if using store-bought toum): Place garlic, lemon juice, kosher salt and 1 tablespoon water in a tall, narrow container; blend with an immersion blender until smooth. Let sit for at least 10 minutes to mellow out some of the raw garlic’s bite.

2. Dump the neutral oil on top, then lower the immersion blender to the bottom of the container. Turn the blender on, but don’t yet move it. Once the mixture starts emulsifying and thickening, slowly tilt the blender to introduce more oil to the mixture and very slowly pull the blender to the top of the mix. Plunge the blender up and down until the toum is fully emulsified and thick. (This streamlined toum recipe sacrifices fluffiness for ease by using a stick blender. If you want to make perfectly fluffy toum, prepare this recipe using a food processor.)

3. Stir well and adjust the toum with more salt and lemon juice as needed. (The toum recipe makes about 1 3/4 cups.) Transfer to a container with a tight-fitting lid and refrigerate, if not using immediately.

4. Prepare the sandwich: Divide the cheese evenly between the two slices of bread, tearing one piece in half to split it. Shingle the cornichons in one even layer on one side. Carefully close the sandwich. Evenly spread 1 tablespoon of toum on one side of the sandwich.

5. In a medium nonstick skillet, place the sandwich, toum-side down. Press the sandwich firmly with a spatula to compress. Cook over medium-low until lightly golden underneath, 5 to 6 minutes.

6. Spread 1 tablespoon of toum on the top side of the bread, then flip the sandwich over and press firmly. Cook until bread is lightly golden brown, 3 to 4 minutes, then flip back over. Since toum is made of mostly garlic, it burns easily. Take your time, reducing the heat to low, flipping and pressing the sandwich often to ensure that the cheese melts evenly and the bread doesn’t burn, about 3 more minutes. Lightly season both sides with salt and serve immediately, with a side of toum for dipping.

5. Garlic-Ginger Chicken Breasts With Cilantro and Mint

This chicken, which is the brainchild of my aunt Sonia, is legendary among our cousins. Until recently, though, no one knew what, exactly, went into it. Whenever my aunt would make it on a family vacation, she’d disappear for a half-hour and reemerge with a Ziploc bag filled with the marinade and the chicken breasts. No one (not even her only daughter, Isha) was allowed to know the contents. The marinating chicken would smell so good, I’d legitimately have thoughts about eating it raw, carpaccio-style (which is disgusting, I know!). Well, folks, I am here to tell you that, after much negotiation, I have finally pried that chicken recipe out of Sonia’s hands. Both the marinade and the cooking method (low and sort of slow) feel ingenious to me, and the payoff is huge: Charred, spicy, slightly funky, juicy chicken that is equally wonderful by itself or rolled up in a roti, taco-style, and served with various salads and chutneys.

Recipe from Priya Krishna and Ritu Krishna

Adapted by Priya Krishna

Yield: 4 servings

Total time: 35 minutes, plus marinating

Ingredients

  • 8 garlic cloves, minced
  • 2 tablespoons minced fresh ginger
  • 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh mint leaves, plus more for garnish
  • 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh cilantro leaves, plus more for garnish
  • 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice (from 1 lemon)
  • 3 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon olive oil
  • 1 tablespoon ground coriander
  • 1 teaspoon ground turmeric
  • 1 teaspoon amchur (dry mango powder), optional
  • 1/2 teaspoon red chile powder, like ground cayenne
  • 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (1/2 to 3/4 pound each)

Preparation

1. Make the marinade: Add the garlic, ginger, mint, cilantro, lemon juice and 3 tablespoons oil to a large resealable bag. Seal the bag and massage to combine the ingredients into a paste. Add the coriander, turmeric, amchur (if using), red chile powder and salt, and seal the bag. Shake or massage to combine.

2. Place the chicken breasts in the marinade and seal the bag tightly. Use your hands to gently massage the marinade onto the chicken breasts until each breast is coated. Refrigerate at least 2 hours and up to overnight.

3. Warm a large lidded skillet over medium-high heat. Once the pan is quite hot, add the oil, swirling the pan to coat the entire surface. Reduce the heat to medium, remove the chicken from the marinade and shake gently to remove any excess marinade. Add it to the pan. Working in batches if necessary, cook the breasts, undisturbed, until lightly golden underneath, 1 to 2 minutes, then flip them and cook until lightly golden on the second side, 1 to 2 minutes.

4. Reduce the heat to low, cover, and cook the chicken for 10 minutes (no peeking!). Turn off the heat (if you have an electric stove, take the pan off the heat) and let the chicken sit, covered, for 10 to 15 minutes, depending on the thickness of the breasts. Don’t lift the lid, or you’ll release the hot steam that finishes cooking the chicken.

5. Check to make sure the breasts are cooked through: There shouldn’t be any pink in the middle. If you have a meat thermometer, the chicken should register at least 165 degrees. Place the chicken on a cutting board, and slice each breast into strips. Garnish with mint and cilantro.

This article originally appeared in The New York Times .

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Filed Under: Things To Do salmon zen bowl recipe, rice bowl recipe, rice bowl recipes chicken, chicken rice bowl recipes, vegetable rice bowl recipes, rice bowl recipes vegetarian, mexican rice bowl recipes, mexican rice bowl recipe, teriyaki rice bowl recipes, japanese salmon rice bowl recipe

‘People think I’m in my 20s’: Mum, 40, shares anti-aging tips to tighten loose tummy skin

February 6, 2023 by www.express.co.uk Leave a Comment

Content creator @bossbodylife

One mum who is in amazing shape is sharing her tips and tricks on TikTok (Image: TIKTOK/@BOSSBODYLIFE)

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Content creator @bossbodylife shares inspiring videos on TikTok . The mum underwent a huge body transformation after having children, and now is in fantastic shape.

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She shared a video showing off her incredible physique with muscular limbs and rippling abdominals. She wrote: “Over 40 ladies? We can be sexy, empowered, and fit. I’m in my 40s, but people think I am in my 20s.”

The content creator, who has 35K followers, has shared with her fans how she gained 60lbs when she had her first baby. She felt constantly tired with no energy to do anything, but then she decided to get in shape.

Now she shares tips on how to look younger with other TikTok users, helping them to look their best. In one such video, she told her followers how to get rid of loose and saggy skin. She recommended using a dry brush on her stomach, brushing in an upwards motion from the bottom of the stomach to the top.

Then she suggested squeezing fresh lemon juice and using this on the skin before applying a half-and-half mixture of vitamin E and castor oil. The content creator claimed using this method and bedtime helped her to frim up the saggy skin on her stomach.

READ MORE: Martha Stewart’s age-defying selfie shocks Instagram – 81-year-old’s anti-aging techniques

@bossbodylife Over40 Ladies? We can be sexy, empowered, and fit #momlife #momsbelike #ladiesoftiktok #onefortheladies #xyzbca #myinstaxshoutout #californiagirls ♬ Back Up – DeJ Loaf

The content creator filming a TikTok video

In one video, she told her followers how to get rid of loose and saggy skin (Image: TIKTOK/@BOSSBODYLIFE)

The mum also uses a homemade mask, created using egg whites. She claims the mask tightens the skin on the face, reduces fine lines, and avoids premature aging.

So, how does it work? The mom suggested poking a hole in the egg and then pouring the egg white onto your fingers. The mum rubs the egg white onto her face and then lies back for 45 minutes.

While the mum swears by it, some do find they experience skin irritation when using egg white on the face. She also shared her three best exercises for sculpting her bottom. Firstly, the mum recommends lunges, stepping back into the movement to work the glutes.

She then suggests the same move with a “back kick”, picking the back leg off the floor and kicking upwards to work the booty. And lastly, the mum suggests trying the Bulgarian split squat to get the bottom in shape. The content creator is not the only youthful mum sharing her tips to look fantastic on TikTok .

DON’T MISS Age-defying woman’s anti-ageing makeup hack makes you ‘look 10 years younger’ [BEAUTY] Simple skincare routine works ‘miracles’ for 71-year-old [INSIGHT] You can look ’10 years younger’ if you stop doing three things [HOW TO]

How to look younger: Four essential tips to follow

How to look younger: Four essential tips to follow (Image: EXPRESS.CO.UK)

One 48-year-old anti-aging guru Michelle Silva shared the tips she has learned while working in the beauty industry. Michelle has almost 60K followers on the account where she discusses healthy aging.

She claims there is a formula when it comes to anti-aging . Michelle said: “I’m 48 but I feel like I look like I’m in my 30s, and that is not a flex, that’s anti-aging at its best. I’m convinced that there’s a formula to the fountain of youth.”

She said: “It’s a combination of preserving the skin, and preventing extrinsic aging, which is when premature aging sets in long before it’s supposed to.

“It anti-aging, skin care and treatments, and most importantly, you need a certain mindset. I created this platform to share what’s been working for me. If it works for me, it can certainly work for you.”

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  • ‘Incredible’ woman shares how she looks ‘so young at 50’

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Revive tired veg and cheap cuts of meat with our brilliant diet that will help you save pennies and lose pounds

February 6, 2023 by www.thesun.co.uk Leave a Comment

MAKING healthy meals with a slow cooker is easy on your wallet – and a great way to use cheaper cuts of meat and veg nearing its sell-by date.

This week in our Save Pennies, Lose Pounds series, Nathan Anthony — whose healthy slow-cooker recipes have made him an online sensation — reveals some of the tricks of whipping up filling family meals that also help you slim.

Nathan’s book, Bored Of Lunch: The Healthy Slow Cooker Book, has soared to the top of the bestseller list.

He reckons slow cookers are a no-brainer for rushed households on a budget.

Nathan, below, said: “Using one costs pence to make nutritious meals.

“Although it needs to be switched on for a long time, it is very energy efficient and doesn’t use much electricity, so tends to be cheaper to run than a standard oven .

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“Low and slow is also a great way to cook cheaper cuts of meat.

“And if you have some vegetables that are looking a bit tired, or there’s some yellow-label or discounted vegetables in the supermarket , it can turn something that could become food waste into a healthy and delicious meal.”

  • Bored Of Lunch: The Healthy Slow Cooker Book, by Nathan Anthony, is out now (Ebury Press, £18.99).

Spanish chicken casserole

Serves 4, 388 calories per serving.

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Cost of ingredients: £5.89, Cost to cook: 48p

YOU NEED:

  • 4 chicken legs
  • 1 tbsp smoked paprika
  • 1 tbsp oil
  • 4 garlic cloves
  • 1 tsp chilli
  • 100ml red wine
  • 500g passata (use more if you wish)
  • Handful of olives
  • ¼ jar (around 70g) sun-dried tomatoes
  • 1 red pepper
  • 1 tsp mixed herbs
  • 1 tsp fresh rosemary
  • 1 tsp fresh thyme
  • Juice of 1 lemon
  • Salt and pepper, to taste
  • 1 tbsp cornflour to thicken, if required

METHOD: Coat chicken in the paprika, salt and pepper and fry in oil until skin crisps up.

Add to slow cooker, with all ingredients, for four hours on high, or seven to eight hours on low.

TIP: Perfect for dipping buttery, crusty olive bread. Heaven.

Chilli con carne

Serves 4, 318 calories per serving.

Cost of ingredients: £8.45. Cost to cook: 41p

YOU NEED:

  • 500g diced beef
  • 1 onion, chopped
  • 1 red chilli, sliced, with seeds
  • 5 garlic cloves, crushed
  • 150ml beef stock
  • 400g tin of chopped tomatoes
  • 1 tsp ground cumin
  • 1 tsp paprika
  • 1 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 1 tsp chilli powder
  • 2 curry leaves
  • 30g dark chocolate, chopped
  • 400g tin of kidney beans, drained
  • Salt and pepper, to taste

METHOD: Place all the ingredients except the chocolate and beans into the slow cooker, stir and season to taste.

Cook on low for about six to seven hours.

Add the chocolate and beans and cook for another hour.

TIP: This is such a tasty dish. Kidney beans and a little dark chocolate are added for the last hour of cooking so the beans hold their shape and the chocolate adds a richness to complement the spices (trust me on this).

You will probably never use mince in a chilli again, I know I don’t.

Roast and gravy

Serves 10-11, 305 calories per serving.

YOU NEED:

  • 1.5kg beef roasting joint
  • 1 onion, chopped
  • 1 carrot, chopped (skin left on)
  • Handful of fresh rosemary
  • 100ml rich beef stock
  • 2 garlic cloves, peeled
  • Gravy granules or 1 heaped tbsp of cornflour, mixed to a paste with 1 tbsp water (optional)
  • Salt and pepper, to taste

METHOD: Heat a non-stick frying pan over a high heat on the hob, then place the beef in the pan and sear on all sides until just browned all over.

Place all the remaining ingredients except the gravy granules or cornflour paste in the slow cooker, stir then turn the meat in the liquid to coat, and season to taste.

Cook on low for six hours.

I like beef pink in the middle, but everyone likes theirs done differently.

Slice into the beef to check if you are happy – if not, cook for longer then check again.

Remove from the slow cooker and use the cooking juices to make gravy.

Stir the cornflour paste into the juices to thicken, or add the gravy granules for ultra-rich gravy.

Serve with potatoes, carrots and lots of green veg.

TIP: Beef this size is a tight squeeze in my 3.5-litre slow cooker, so you might need a larger model if you are feeding a crowd.

Beef stifado and orzo

Serves 4, 522 calories per serving.

YOU NEED:

  • 400g beef
  • 2 tbsp tomato purée
  • 1 onion
  • 1 beef stock pot/300ml water
  • 1 can chopped tomatoes
  • 3 carrots
  • 100ml red wine
  • 1 tsp mixed spice
  • ½ tsp cinnamon
  • 3 bay leaves
  • 1 tsp oregano
  • 1 tsp basil
  • 1 tsp parsley
  • 4 garlic cloves
  • Salt and pepper, to taste
  • 330g of dry orzo or penne
  • 700ml beef stock
  • Parmesan or other cheese to top (optional)

METHOD: Add everything to the slow cooker except the orzo and additional stock and cook on high for three hours or low all day.

Add orzo and additional stock and cook on high for 45-50 mins until the pasta has cooked and absorbed the additional stock.

Different shapes of pasta may require more stock but you can always add extra if required.

TIP: The pasta cooks in the sauce so there’s no need to boil anything.

I use orzo but you can use penne or tagliatelle if you like.

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This reminds me of a spiced beef risotto of sorts.

It’s so flavoursome.

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The Many Ripple Effects of the Weight-Loss Industry

February 6, 2023 by www.theatlantic.com Leave a Comment

This is an edition of Up for Debate, a newsletter by Conor Friedersdorf. On Wednesdays, he rounds up timely conversations and solicits reader responses to one thought-provoking question. Later, he publishes some thoughtful replies. Sign up for the newsletter here.

Last week, I asked readers, “What are your thoughts … about weight gain, the weight-loss industry, diet, exercise, beauty standards, diabetes, medical treatments for obesity, or anything related?”

Vera writes that “the weight-loss industry has ruined my life.” She explains:

If I had never gone on that first diet, I’d be a slightly chubby, slightly more-than-middle-aged, comfortable-in-my-skin woman. Instead, I’m a fat old lady. I’m not talking about broken promises or wasted money. It’s worse. With every fad diet or “sensible eating plan,” I had a net weight gain of 20 or so pounds and a drop in self-confidence and joy.

Everyone knows diets don’t work—except for 15-year-old me. She thought if she was just “good” and had willpower, she’d be thin and lovable in no time.

Joe is a doctor who regularly encounters patients who want to treat their weight with pharmaceuticals:

In my training days I fell victim to the common misperception that weight loss is a matter of simple thermodynamics: fewer calories consumed + more calories expended = healthier you! This is reductionistic. The scale of the problem is immense, and obesity, like many of the pathological conditions we encounter in medicine, is complex and multifaceted. It ought rightly to be considered a chronic disease, no different from hypertension or type 2 diabetes, rather than a character flaw worthy of scorn.

Obesity represents neither a failure of the will nor a lack of self-discipline, but a societal-level problem that will require societal-level restructuring to mitigate. Virtually all of my obese patients are highly committed to weight loss—absence of motivation is NOT the issue—but they invariably become frustrated when the age-old “eat less, exercise more” bromide produces no result.

Many Americans’ relationship with food is, shall we say, “complicated.” Food insecurity abounds. Healthy meal planning requires time, forethought, practice, stable income, and genuine effort—inputs that are not always in abundant supply in our frenetic lives. Add the near-universal availability of cheap, highly processed, shelf-stable, calorie-dense, nutrient-poor food, and you’ve all the ingredients necessary to trigger a metabolic catastrophe.

Exercise, too, requires time, which too often is in short supply. I counsel my patients that any amount of bodily movement constitutes exercise, but our reliance upon technology to work, communicate, and recreate keeps us in sedentary states for more hours of the day than ever. Zoning laws in many jurisdictions render communities unwalkable. Transit infrastructure, too, has long favored the automobile over all other modes, such that even those who would be inclined to walk or bike do so at their peril. Cumulative exercise declines, and weight gain ensues.

Lastly, consider persistent gaps in health-insurance coverage, lack of paid sick leave, inadequate workplace parental accommodations, the unaffordability of child care and education at all levels, a dearth of affordable housing units, etc. Is it any wonder that many of us feel bereft?

When one must work more for less, little remains to reinforce those “pillars of wellness”—i.e., healthy diet, regular exercise, adequate sleep, and effective stress management—that might free us from the obesity shackles.

There are no easy answers here, and drugs like Wegovy/Ozempic are certainly not a panacea, but they do offer a measure of hope to patients looking to reassert some control over their lives. That is no small achievement. Convoluted insurance-coverage restrictions for these pharmaceuticals are a separate matter altogether and a topic worthy of further discussion, to be sure. For now, though, I’ll do what I can to improve the lives of my patients in the here and now while the noble fight for a healthier, more equitable, and more sustainable future continues.

Daniel would love to take a drug that reduces his appetite:

I’ve been heavy my whole life, pretty much from the get-go. Nevertheless, I’ve had few interactions with the weight-loss industry, except that I did the Atkins thing back in the day. That was always handy for beating back a few pounds. I was never altogether that worried about my weight; I’ve always had a reasonably active lifestyle with hiking, hunting, bicycling. Never “exercise,” just things I liked to do.

In the past decade, though, things have gotten away from me. Getting older, the confines of city living, a sedentary job, and sedentary hobbies have all contributed. My weight has crept up until it’s significantly impacted my quality of life. It’s harder to do the things I’ve always enjoyed. I’ve got kids whom I have to keep up with and clean up after, and it’s just getting harder all the time.

It was easier to diet when I was a single man. Now I have to cook for my kids, and they’re not going to eat low-carb and such. I don’t have the time for fixing two meals, and who can say no to mac and cheese when it’s right there?! And I made it myself, so I know it’s good.

The doctors all want to hack a length of my guts out, which seems like a terrible idea. I respect their expertise, of course, but it just seems too extreme a thing to do when I am otherwise healthy as an ox. My heart’s good, blood pressure’s fine, cholesterol and blood sugar are fine. I’ve seen what it’s done to some other folks of my acquaintance, and while it has made them slimmer, it’s caused some issues too. I don’t love the trade-off.

Long story short, I’d love to take a drug that reduces my appetite. I suppose I should indulge in all the self-flagellation that we fat people are supposed to engage in, that I should diet and have self-control. But I know who I am. I don’t apologize for enjoying a good hearty meal. It’s bliss.

Also, I am a man whose work as a librarian requires that I be helpful and friendly all the time, and I struggle with being friendly when I’m hungry. Who doesn’t? A jolly fat man is great for customer service. A grouchy thin one? Not so much.

But I’m told that I have to go through a whole bunch of hoops to get my insurance to pay for weight-loss drugs, and frankly I don’t have the time for all that. I’d pay out of pocket, but they’re not available at a price point I can afford. Perhaps their cost will come down a bit over time. Until then, I’ll just have to figure out the diet and exercise thing. I’ve done it before. It’s just harder now that I have a family and a full-time job and am a tired middle-aged man.

Judith does take the drug Ozempic for the purpose of weight loss:

I have struggled with my weight since childhood. During my 40 active working years, through deprivation and 24/7 vigilance, I managed to stay below obese on the body-mass-index scale. Retirement and pandemic isolation destroyed my years of “success.” Recently my doctor suggested Ozempic. For me, it is nothing short of a miracle. I eat what I want in small quantities and food does not “call to me” as it used to. I hope I can be on it for the rest of my life.

Carrie urges movement:

As a 58-year-old woman, I have reached the conclusion that movement is the most important thing we can do to be healthy, followed by a diet of fresh, unprocessed food. I started exercising in junior high as a basketball player, and by the end of high school, I knew what it meant to be really fit. In college I discovered the Jane Fonda workouts, then other video workouts from people like Kathy Smith.

I’ve tried so many different kinds of movement—step aerobics, dancing for exercise, walking, hiking, Zumba, yoga and Bar Method (the hardest thing I’ve ever done, btw). You can say I’ve tried just about every type of exercise! And I’ve loved it all.

I don’t see these kinds of things as promoting poor body image or being about weight as much as about strength, energy, flexibility, and overall good health. There are many ways to exercise, and its purpose is not just to keep ourselves slim; exercise is necessary for us to live well, feel good, and be productive. Sadly, we don’t teach that in school.

There are so many different paths to being healthy, and movement is not just for people who love or play sports. It’s sad how in elementary school we are already focusing the kids on learning skills for sports. We should be teaching them how to move—because while not everyone is interested in sports, we all need to move regularly.

Kelly moves but is still overweight:

I’m 61 and have been on the weight-loss roller coaster most of my life. The only time I was able to lose weight and keep it off was when I was single. Because of the American obsession with thin, thin, thin, I have struggled with self-esteem issues forever, to the point where people were telling me I was getting too skinny. I couldn’t see it myself. I had periods of making myself throw up, but that never became a habit.

I’m overweight now, but I’m not obsessing about losing weight. I eat mostly healthy foods, I walk my dog a lot, and I try not to care too much about how people see me. Ozempic is not for me. I’d rather be overweight than dependent on still more chemicals and supporting Big Pharma.

Kevin worries about understating the health risks of obesity:

Some years ago, Serena Williams appeared in the Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue.  Clearly, Serena had a different body type than the rail-thin models who adorned the other pages. But it was equally clear that she was fit, athletic, healthy. I thought this was a reasonable challenge to the conventional beauty standard.

Unfortunately, these days, nothing is kept in reasonable proportion. Now we see a once-overweight singer get criticized for losing weight. We hear an absurd lie like “Healthy at any weight” pushed as some kind of virtue signaling. Really? Healthy at any weight? At 400 pounds?

I realize that for some people, keeping a healthy weight is very difficult. Sugar is addictive.. And I understand how hard it can be to kick an addiction.  For years, I smoked cigarettes. But no one told me “Quitting smoking is too hard. And that is okay. You are healthy whether you smoke or not.” Such a lie is preposterous on its face.

But so is “Healthy at any weight.”

We need to be able to hold two thoughts in our head at the same time. The people who complain of an unrealistic beauty standard are, and long have been, correct. The people who point out that Americans have become unhealthily overweight are also correct.

Shelley sometimes wishes that food was harder to come by:

I kept my weight in check throughout my life via a combination of starving via the now-popular idea of intermittent fasting, sometimes leading to episodes of hypoglycemia and smoking. When I was diagnosed as diabetic six years ago, my doctor was shocked. She surmised that my lifelong habit of skipping meals was largely responsible for my now-runaway insulin resistance.

I quit smoking and started eating breakfast. So I’ve gained weight. Still, people are always surprised to learn that I’m diabetic, because I’m not obese.

I was prescribed Ozempic last year. My current doctor was very gung-ho. I lasted three weeks. I’d rather go back to starving than the constant feeling of nausea and never enjoying my favorite foods. It’s not natural to never feel hungry.

All the diet and exercise fads I’ve ever seen are attempts to undo the damage of our long work days and short lunch hours. Food should be hard to get, take a long time to prepare, and be the first focus of our days. Think what the world could be if we inverted the worktime/mealtime ratio. What if we had to pick our vegetables, dress our proteins, and mill our grains to prepare and eat them? Oh, I know it’s completely unworkable. But that’s what’s wrong.

Food is too easy and abundant; working hours and hours a day at a desk, in a truck, or on the production line, all on a nice full belly, is wildly unhealthy.

Frank describes how he lost weight successfully:

Simply go to a qualified weight-management nutritionist recommended by your general practitioner. You will be told not to go on a diet but, instead, you will be given a daily-caloric-intake goal. Then you will go out and purchase a calorie-counter book and a daily food journal. Then you simply write down what you eat and drink at each meal and snack on every day, calculate the total caloric intake, and compare that with your daily goal.

Over time, you will become more conscious of your actual caloric intake from different foods and learn how to stay within your daily caloric goal. You will also log your actual weight first thing in the morning, how much daily physical activity you get versus the nutritionist’s recommendations, how much water you drink versus the daily recommended amount, and any other lifestyle specifics such as hours of sleep versus the recommended eight hours. Then you meet with your nutritionist every six weeks to review what you have previously logged, how close you came to staying within your daily goal, reasons you missed on certain days, and what, if any, change in weight you were able to achieve. Pretty simple, obvious, and effective. You can only manage what you measure.

Tamlyn describes herself as “an almost lifelong sufferer of obesity.” She writes:

What I am writing about can be summarized as the pain that I feel when I am confronted by the dueling influences of both America’s sedentariness and glut of food and the increasingly vocal purveyors of body positivity. I feel like being fat is not noble or beautiful, and that the society that makes it so easy has robbed me of an irreplaceable joy.

Obesity and weight gain can feel like you are being robbed of your bodily autonomy. I have yo-yo dieted, followed fads and trends, and had numerous phases of gain and loss. The process is imperceptible in the short term. Never have I felt worse than when the magnitude of my weight gain is eventually realized, when my brain’s ability to smooth out the small changes of day to day is interrupted by a novel mirror that happens to show me to myself.

Willpower and the seemingly simple notions of how to lose weight or maintain a desired weight are no match for the ever-growing number of ways to gain weight. It is a process encouraged in almost every way you could imagine by modern society. The number of men, women, and children who suffer from obesity in America grows every single year. It almost feels like gaslighting when I am told that we are a fatphobic culture, or that I should feel positive about my body, that I ought to find beauty in it and other bodies like it.

It feels absurd and cruel to receive such messages, like telling me I should feel joyful that someone has robbed me or lied to me. I want to shout that I have little to no choice in the matter; I have been fattened by some awful combination of genes and environment.

It feels alien and inhumane when I am admonished for my self-directed fatphobia, told that my self-hatred is surely just a function of our sick society.

I feel almost exactly the reverse of this: that our society enables this robbery of my health and happiness. That being fat is not beautiful, or joyful, or anything positive at all.

Fritzi prefers body positivity to an alternative that she experienced:

My mother was an actress and she always thought I was overweight. Looking back on photos of myself as a child, I was well within the normal range. But she was petite and I took after my father, who was husky.

When I returned from spending the summer with my dad (my parents were divorced), Mother would grab my upper arm and tell me I got fat over the summer. She started me on diet pills when I was 11. I tried many approaches in my quest to have a slender, petite body. The grapefruit diet. The Atkins diet. Weight Watchers. Anorexia. Injections of human gonadotropic enzyme in the 1970s.

Luckily, at about that time, I got married and came to my senses. My husband loved me and my natural body. When our daughter was born, I vowed that the word diet would never be spoken in our home. I would never speak negatively about my body, or anybody’s else’s body.

That has worked for me for the past 45 years.

Charlotte shares the story of how and why she lost weight as a college student:

My freshman year of college, in 1974, I began gaining weight—about eight pounds. I was always a thin cheerleader, straight As, perfect daughter. My parents  gave me a target to lose 10 pounds before my December birthday—2.5 weeks away—so I went to a fashion magazine that suggested a 500-calorie-a-day diet. It worked until it didn’t.

Seven years later, my hair fell out, my skin came off, I cried incessantly, my legs were lead, my period lasted 63 days, and then I passed out while driving a car during my second term of law school in Knoxville, Tennessee. Diet-culture propaganda is grotesque. And you can believe what you read about dysfunctional families when they demand perfection.

James is skeptical of doctors:

I wish that doctors would stop treating correlation as causation. Obesity isn’t unhealthy. Obesity can be caused by unhealthy things—not exercising, eating a poor diet, etc.—and therefore many people in larger bodies are unhealthy. But obesity in itself is not a cause or a risk factor for all the grave ills that are attributed to it, which is what made the American Academy of Pediatrics’ recent guidelines so infuriating and scary. There’s nothing wrong with having a large body as a child, but these guidelines are going to cause untold damage to our young generation in the form of lifelong eating disorders and body issues in the hope of ending this “epidemic.”

The problem isn’t with larger bodies; it’s with how we treat them. Make clothes that fit, that are comfortable and that look good. Stock those clothes in real stores, not just online. Stop equating fatness with laziness. Stop assuming people exercising are trying to lose weight. Stop equating mouth breathing with stupidity. So much of the problem is created or compounded by our prejudice.

Jaleelah is skeptical of body positivity as a tactic:

Many people tell themselves they are losing weight to improve their health or self-esteem. In some cases, these reasons are genuine—weight loss can mitigate the effects of certain health conditions. In most cases, I think people are oversimplifying things.

Body shape is a metric that people use to judge character. Obese people are seen as lazy and greedy, while thin people are seen as disciplined and healthy. It doesn’t matter that these judgments are often inaccurate; they affect your chances of getting promoted at work and being treated nicely by your family. There is no inherent reason that being thin should make you feel better about yourself. But when people treat you more kindly, laugh more at your jokes, and buy you more drinks, of course you’ll feel nicer.

The body-positivity movement has not improved people’s self-esteem. The reason is simple: Everyone can see through its lie. Beauty is not something that can be intellectualized. Your gut determines whether or not you find something “beautiful,” not your head. No one really thinks all bodies are beautiful, so no one really believes the “empowering” ads that instruct them to love the way their body looks.

During my bout of disordered eating, my health and self-esteem plummeted alongside my weight. I bruised easily and bled more when my skin was cut. I couldn’t go for walks or eat at restaurants or stay awake during class. Losing my body’s functionality was far worse than any self-deprecating thought I had ever had about my appearance.

I think the weight-loss industry would take a far greater hit if we pushed for body neutrality instead of body positivity. Bodies are made to live, not to be beautiful. Attractiveness should matter less than happiness.

Errol defends peer pressure to lose weight:

This country is in a health emergency because people are encouraged to eat food riddled with dangerous and overloaded ingredients. As someone who lived for years off of nothing but food stamps and selling his plasma once every two weeks, I can tell you this is not an unachievable goal for anyone.

I know as much as the next guy how delicious Funyuns and Oreos and McDonald’s are, and by all means I’m not suggesting these be eliminated, but they have to be outliers in your diet. iIf your cupboard is replenished with junk food every week, you should be rightly heckled for it by your friends and family, because they care about you. It worked with smoking; it’s time to do it with garbage food.

Here is a cheap chicken-dinner recipe from a chef on YouTube whom I love dearly, and his recipes are (almost) always quick, simple, delicious, and elegant. His name is Chef Jean-Pierre, and he will change your cooking game permanently and for the better.

Phoebe shares a contrasting perspective:

I worked in a bariatric-surgery clinic, a medical-weight-management clinic, and with people who have diabetes.

The question of “Is obesity a disease or not?” or its variations of “Is an individual’s weight within their control?” are front and center right now. My opinion is this: All individuals of any weight status could benefit by making small, consistent changes in diet and exercise. But not everyone doing that will see weight loss. Person A and Person B don’t necessarily carry excess weight for the same reasons. If we think of a person having a pie chart of what the contributing factors are for their excess weight, the pies would look quite different.

So to me, hearing that “Everyone who is obese is so because of their genetics, full stop,” or “Everyone who is obese is so because of their individual choices, full stop,” is too reductive. What is clearly ineffective is shaming and stigmatizing people of any weight. To me, this is what the Health at Every Size (HAES) movement gets right. Let’s focus on health indicators. Let’s avoid stigmatizing and dehumanizing people.

However, what I think that movement gets wrong: I feel people have a right to decide if weight loss is their goal or not. My understanding of HAES is that weight loss is not “discussable.” What if that’s the patient’s goal? Are we as practitioners really honoring their wishes?

Providers can be respectful but honest with patients about their weight. I never bring up anyone’s weight, or weight-loss goals, unless they specifically ask me about it. If they do ask, I try to suggest small changes that the person feels sound good to them and can be sustained over time.

Losing weight is hard. Let’s congratulate people for achieving or working to achieve their goals, accept that might include drugs, and remain open.

Mike thinks health-care providers should bring up weight:

Body positivity has gone too far. It’s concerning to see people pressuring doctors to avoid talking about weight and ideas for losing that weight because it’s “shaming.” While we don’t need to make fun of people for being overweight, that doesn’t mean that there is no objective standard for health. Sufficient studies show the negative impacts on health and longevity of being overweight. I don’t understand why people celebrating body positivity don’t realize that they are celebrating someone right into an early grave.

Lizzy writes, “I have been fat my whole life, and in my adolescence, I fell for a lot of harmful and untrue messages about being fat.” She continues:

Despite growing up in a body-positive home, I started counting calories in high school, and I eventually had to stop because the mental load of calculating every piece of food and every minute of physical activity was all-consuming in an unhealthy way. Sure, I lost 20 pounds (which I immediately gained back and then some as soon as I was not eating net 1,200 calories a day), but I also ironically spent the years when I was probably the skinniest I will ever be being insecure about my body. I’m 100 pounds heavier than I was then, but I am much happier and healthier now. The biggest lesson I have learned in the years since is that being skinny and being healthy and having good self-esteem are all separate things, and are not correlated in the way our culture assumes they are.

I am still fat, and I’m healthy. I work out three times a week, spend my workday active and on my feet, eat nutritious meals, and am lucky to have a clean bill of health. I like the way I look for the most part, and I have a very satisfying love life. There is a common perception that fat people must hate the way they look and have a hard time finding love, but in my experience, my fat friends generally have a better body image and an easier time trusting that their intimate relationships aren’t superficial than my skinny friends.

Fat people are forced to confront fatphobia every day and then choose whether or not to continue internalizing those messages, whereas skinnier people have the luxury of leaving this aspect of their life unexamined. However, I think this lack of critical examination (of self and of society) is detrimental to skinny people as well. In my experience, skinny people are constantly telling me how much they hate their bodies. Another common topic at the workplace potluck, family holiday, or really any event that involves eating is the moralization of food with comments like “This is a cheat day” or “This cake is sinfully delicious” or “I’ve been so bad this week.” Maybe I’m the recipient of this commentary because people assume I have the same narrative about food as they do because I’m fat.

Casual fatphobia is incredibly socially acceptable compared with other prejudices like sexism or homophobia. But our society and, perhaps specifically, medical professionals need to recognize that being fat is not a moral failure. For most, it is not really a choice, any more than being American or living in poverty is a choice.

June shares the story of her weight across life:

My weight was normal for years. Or at any rate, I looked normal, but the numbers on the scale were higher than I looked like they would be. I joke about being a Polish peasant—if the ox died, I could pull the plow. I’ve always been naturally muscular. A guy I had sex with once said it was like having sex with a man (even though I’m not flat-chested). But though being muscular leads to a higher metabolic rate, you can still out-eat it.

In my mid-20s, I started drinking quite a bit and put on about 25 pounds. My boss said something to me about it. I started Weight Watchers the next day and kicked up my exercise regimen. My weight has fluctuated ever since.Doctors have occasionally said I should lose weight. I have no doubt that my medical issues (high blood pressure, high cholesterol, arthritis) would all improve if I lost weight. That, and my nephew’s wedding in Spain this coming May, are my current incentives.

I guess I’ve just not had bad enough consequences from being overweight, and I don’t care enough about what other people think to work very hard at getting my weight down. I would never do a program that requires you to buy food from the program. Those folks are just looking for your money, not your well-being.

Steven shares his trick:

I’ve developed a healthier relationship with my body since I started thinking about what I want it to do instead of how I want it to look. I’ll never really know if I’ve shed enough belly fat for my liking, but I know exactly when I am able to run five miles. This has also scaled nicely as I age, recover from injuries, or have to get started again after a bunch of months of inactivity. I try to set goals that are achievable in a few months given my starting point and what else I have going on (usually a lot!). I don’t look as good as people in magazines, or even many of my friends, but I’m a healthier version of myself. That makes me happy.

Filed Under: Uncategorized Newsletters, weight gain, fat people, body-mass-index scale, weight-loss industry, most important thing, get-go, training days, health-insurance..., most effective exercise equipment weight loss, antabuse side effects weight loss, weight loss surgery most effective, effects of b12 shots for weight loss, dandelion root tea weight loss side effects, trazodone side effects weight loss

Millet-based foods: Soon you will be spoilt for choice

February 7, 2023 by economictimes.indiatimes.com Leave a Comment

Synopsis

“We are innovating on functional ingredients by incorporating more of super grains, seeds, nuts and fruits with whole grains in our foods, actively engaging with partners and also looking for appropriate opportunities in this evolving space,” said Sudhir Nema, chief development and quality officer at India’s largest biscuits maker Britannia.

From packaged foods to breweries to restaurants, large companies including Nestle , ITC , Britannia , HUL , Tata Consumer , Bira 91 and Slurrp Farm are putting up ambitious plans to introduce millet-based packaged foods, beers and restaurant menus or boost their existing millet portfolios, tying in with the Centre’s recent announcements on making India a global hub for millets .

“We are innovating on functional ingredients by incorporating more of super grains, seeds, nuts and fruits with whole grains in our foods, actively engaging with partners and also looking for appropriate opportunities in this evolving space,” said Sudhir Nema, chief development and quality officer at India’s largest biscuits maker Britannia.

Nema said Britannia, which already makes packaged foods with millets, oats, seeds and herbs fortified products under its flagship NutriChoice biscuits brand, is doing backward integration with farming communities, millers and government institutions to escalate the millets association.

Millets will be promoted in a mission-mode this year, which has been declared the International Year of Millets, Union minister for agriculture Narendra Singh Tomar said recently.

Executives said the rush to integrate millets in their foods is to leverage first-mover advantage with consumers, despite challenges such as limited sowing capacity, hard-to-process grains and limited shelf life.

“We recently brewed a Bajra Brut India Pale Ale; the beer used local bajra (pearl millet),” said Ankur Jain, chief executive at beer maker Bira 91. “We are now brewing a Ragi Red Ale (using local ragi from Karnataka), which gives the beer a unique complexity.”

He said the company launched a millet beer in its Taprooms starting last month, adding that the use of millets also allows Bira 91 to make its beers gluten-free.

India’s largest packaged foods maker Nestle, which makes Maggi noodles and KitKat chocolate, has already inked a tie-up to integrate super grains in its foods. A Nestle R&D Centre India spokesperson said a memorandum of understanding (MoU) has been signed between millets incubator startup Nutrihub, ICAR-Institute of Millets Research and Nestle’s R&D Centre, a subsidiary of the Swiss foods maker’s parent company Nestle SA.

“We are collaborating in science and technology to process millets, inculcate health benefits of millets in different product applications, build consumer awareness, and sustainability of millets by developing regenerative agriculture practices,” the spokesperson said.

In April 2018, millets were re-branded as nutri cereals and the government declared it the National Year of Millets, while the year 2023 has been declared as the International Year of Millets by the United Nations General Assembly, with the Indian government announcing that it wants to make India the global hub for millets.

Zorawar Kalra, managing director at Massive Restaurants, which runs multiple restaurant brands including Masala Library and Farzi Cafe, said its menu across brands includes assorted millets in salads and main courses now. “We are sourcing from different states, and have faced no such challenges. We are using assorted pearl millets, quinoa, dehydrated lentils and blueberry; and have also tried to make the underrated khichadi with millets,” he said.

HUL has signed an MoU with Indian Institute of Millets Research (IIMR), which has been named as a Centre of Excellence by finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman in her budget speech on February 1, to make millet-based drinks under its Horlicks brand, executives aware of the developments said.

“Apart from being packed with nutrition and low glycemic index, millets require very less water, they can be grown in drought-prone areas. We are seeing a lot of interest from large companies as well as startups for association with millets,” said CV Ratnavathi, director at IIMR.

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