A staple food for the major parts of the world’s population – Rice is one of the most popular and ancient grain available to mankind. And people of many underdeveloped countries are surviving only on rice, eating the same for all the three meals!

A life giving and wonder grain Rice has undergone many changes since early man discovered it. There are now numerous varieties of rice available in the market.

White rice, yellow rice, round rice, sticky rice, brown rice, Basmati rice and even green rice is there in some places.

But not all the rice get and cook are healthy. Milling and processing have taken away all the nutrients with it, leaving us rice with empty calories, devoid of many essential nutrients.

Culinary skills like any other skill is either inborn or acquired. We add friends to our network to increase our interpersonal skills. Likewise spices are added to give extra flavors and a professional touch to our culinary skills.

In secrets to spice up your recipes I plan to share those small tips about cooking which I learned from friends and acquaintances from different regions of India and abroad. These secrets are what makes a normal cooking look more creative and a mundane recipes more delicious.

Steamed rice cake a.k.a Idly is endorsed by many as the healthiest food one can have as breakfast . With practically no oil or any other fat content in it, it surely is any health conscious delight.

Planning for the kids lunchbox is the toughest job any mom faces day after day. Each of us worry about the adequate nutrition of the food and discovering new dishes over time. And most important is to add fun and creative part to the lunchbox to make it more interesting and appeasing for the kids.

Tangy rice recipe for a great lunchbox treat. Easy and quick to prepare this Lemon rice is a good travel food also, as it stays good for almost two days without refrigeration.

Pigeon peas or Toor dal as called in India is a very Common household pulse used in daily meals. This quick pigeon peas recipe is the most basic and quick to make, with all the nutrients of legumes intact.

Okra or Ladies finger is one of my favorites in vegetables. I like to cook it the most simple way to get the taste and flavors of the veggie. This simple okra recipe is the most basic, quick and require very few ingredients to go. Makes a healthy lunchbox option.

The lunch options I select for my kids are very simple & easy to cook, keeping their daily recommended doses of nutrition always. Rest assured I get empty lunch-boxes and a satisfied kid each day from the school.

Idea for the colourful coins stemmed up from my 5 years old daughter, a very fussy & slow eater. She asked me to pack lunches not more than a coin’ size ! That is when I started reducing every possible food to the size of a coin. Colourful coin is one such attempt. Though small in size, it is power packed with nutrients and energy to keep the kids going for long during the rigorous school hours. The coins add up as great party starters too.

“These festivals and traditions are priceless and have given us some of the best moments of our lives. At our age we anxiously wait for these festivals when all our children come and celebrate the joy with us.” He continued and asked their grandmother to bring the festive goodies.

“And remember ‘food‘ brings a real good feeling about festivals…did you taste your grandmother’s coconut-jaggery filled sweet Kozhukattais”…..

Foods which make you feel good and lifts up your mood, is a comfort food. And any food can be nominated for comfort food, be it a piece of cake, a hot cup of coffee or a soothing soup.

From the endless list of healthy foods from South India this soup or Rasam as is called here, tops my list of nutritious meals, next to Steamed Puttu & Idlies.