Quick fixes to your hair woes!

New Year brings in merriment and joy. What it also brings with it is the endless festive marathon. Getting ready for parties this new year and wedding season  is super fun. But post party maintenance for your skin and hair is a tedious task to do.

Hair sprays, continuous exposure to hair dryers and straighteners can affect your tresses. Keep them well hydrated. Here is a quick fix to your hair woes.

Quick fixes:
Use your fingertips to even out the sprayed bouffant before you drag a comb through your hair. Never wash them before clearing all the knots.

Oil them once a week. If you have few minutes to spare then dip a towel in luke warm water and wrap it around your head. Repeat this a few times and then head for a wash.


Indulge in hair spa post all the celebrations. This will undo a bit of damage done to the hair with all the harmful products

Make sure you ask your stylist or if you are styling your hair yourself, opt for a good quality product. Cheap imitations can harm your hair in the long run.

Use a good hair serum when you are styling your hair to add sheen to it.

Follow a good and healthy diet. Don’t over indulge in drinking as it dehydrates your skin and makes your body void of nutrients.

And yes, make sure you have plenty of water too!

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Zuckerberg again proved why he's different!

SAN FRANCISCO/BENGALURU: Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg said on Thursday he and his wife would receive no tax benefit from setting up their new philanthropic endeavor as a limited liability company and hinted at the types of efforts it would support.

In a post on his Facebook page, he wrote that "just like everyone else, we will pay capital gains taxes when our shares are sold by the LLC."

While reiterating that the entity, called the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, would focus on areas like education and disease, he indicated the efforts would be similar to philanthropy he and his wife, Priscilla Chan, had already supported. 

Their recent donations include $20 million to EducationSuperHighway, which helps connect classrooms to the Internet, and a new acute care and trauma center at San Francisco General Hospital, where Chan works as a pediatrician.

Chan and Zuckerberg said on Tuesday that 99 percent of the stock they hold in Facebook would go toward the philanthropic project over their lifetimes. At the stock's current price, that stake is worth $45 billion.

Responding to a comment he would pay "ZERO tax" for the initiative's investments that was made in reply to his Facebook post on Thursday, Zuckerberg denied that was the case.

"Please don't spread inaccurate information," he posted.

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Andy Murray wins Davis Cup for Britain after 79 years!

Ghent, Belgium: The moment Andy Murray has pursued with such fanatical zeal finally arrived, unforgettably, on Sunday when an outrageous lob arced over Belgium's David Goffin to seal Britain's first Davis Cup title for 79 years.

Fittingly for a player who has almost single-handedly guided his country to the title this year, the indefatigable Murray ended Goffin's inspired resistance with a moment of sheer brilliance few could conjure to complete a 6-3 7-5 6-3 victory.

It gave Britain a winning 3-1 lead and started a party that hundreds of visiting fans decked out in union flags and Scottish saltires will keep going long into the night in medieval Ghent. 

Murray, who put in a triple-shift over the weekend and looked exhausted at the end of a tense three-hour contest, collapsed on to the claycourt before being swamped by his team mates, including brother Jamie, and captain Leon Smith.

Sportingly he clambered to his feet to console Goffin who had gallantly clung on to the hope of keeping alive Belgium's chances of winning the title for the first time.

Murray then saluted the 'Barmy Army', who roared his every winner over a weekend that rubber-stamped his place in the chronicles of British sporting greatness, if any had doubted it after he ended a 77-year wait for a men's champion at Wimbledon in 2013, a year after winning the Olympics and U.S. Open.

"I probably haven't been as emotional as that after a match that I've won," Murray told reporters later as dance music still reverberated around the vast warehouse-like arena on the edge of the city.

"It's incredible that we managed to win this competition. I didn't know that would ever be possible. It's great."

World number two Murray, whose return to the team in 2013 accelerated Britain's rapid rise from the depths that begun when Smith took charge in 2010, has won 11 live rubbers in this year's run, matching Ivan Ljubicic's total for Croatia in 2005.

He has won all eight singles he played while teaming up three times with brother Jamie for crucial doubles wins, one of which came on Saturday to put Britain 2-1 ahead.

"Really impressive from @andy_murray. One of the best Davis Cup years in history," former U.S. Open champion and world number one Andy Roddick said on Twitter.

The small Scottish town of Dunblane, where the Murray brothers grew up, could justifiably claim its name should be inscribed on the trophy.

Fellow Scot Smith, who took over when Britain were on the verge of relegation to the Davis Cup's fourth division, paid tribute to the whole team but described Murray's mammoth contribution to the country's first title since 1936 as "one of the best achievements of all time."

"It's incredible for all of us to watch how he's managed to win that many rubbers, that many wins," he said.
"Just now what's important is what's been achieved. It's monumental."

Murray is the first player since American Pete Sampras in 1995 to win three live rubbers in a final.

There was a sense of inevitability about the outcome on Sunday with Belgium trailing 2-1 and needing to win both reverse singles. But Goffin, roared on by a soccer-style crowd inside the claustrophobic arena, forced Murray to play his best tennis.

Goffin squandered a break point at 2-2 in the opening set and Murray then pounced, scorching a backhand winner off a weak second serve to take a lead he never relinquished.

There was no chance of Goffin fading though. He played some sensational tennis to stay with Murray in the second set but a tired forehand into the net in 11th game gave Murray a break and the Scot struck a stupendous forehand winner to seal the set.

Murray wobbled briefly when he dropped serve early in the third set but he responded to move 5-3 ahead before providing the most spectacular of climaxes to a memorable year.

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Why midnight snacking is unhealthy!

A new study has shed light on why some people pick junk over healthy food when it comes to midnight snacking.

According to the study by Caltech neuroeconomists, a person’s ability to exercise self-control may depend upon just how quickly your brain factors healthfulness into a decision.

Nicolette Sullivan, lead author of the study, said that in typical choices, individuals need to consider attributes like health and taste in their decisions and what the study wanted to find out was at what point the taste of the foods starts to become integrated into the choice process, and at what point health is integrated.

The researchers assumed, the healthiness of a food likely is not factored into a person’s food choice until after taste is and for those individuals who exercised less self-control, they hypothesized, health would factor into the choice even later.


Sullivan-along with her colleagues in the laboratory of Antonio Rangel, Bing Professor of Neuroscience, Behavioral Biology, and Economics, including Rangel himself-developed a new experimental technique that allowed them to evaluate, on a scale of milliseconds, when taste and health information kick in during the process of making a decision. They did this by tracking the movement of a computer mouse as a person makes a choice.

In the experiment, 28 hungry subjects-Caltech student-volunteers who had been fasting for four hours-were asked to rate 160 foods individually on a scale from -2 to 2, based on that food’s healthfulness, its tastiness, and how much the subject would like to eat that food after the experiment was over. The subjects were then presented with 280 random pairings of those same foods and were asked to use a computer mouse to click on-to choose-which food they preferred from each pairing.

The researchers then used statistical tools to analyze each subject’s cursor movements and, therefore, the choice process. They looked at how fast taste began to drive the mouse’s movement-and how soon health did.

Sullivan and her colleagues found that, on average, taste information began to influence the trajectory of the mouse cursor, and thus the choice process, almost 200 milliseconds earlier than health information. For 32 percent of subjects, health never influenced their food choice at all; they made every single choice based on taste, and their cursor was never driven by the healthfulness of the items.

The study was published in the journal Psychological Science.

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Indian spinners end South Africa's 9-year run, seal series 2-0!

Nagpur: Ravichandran Ashwin led South Africa's rout on a spinners' paradise as India romped to a 124-run victory with more than two days to spare in the third Test to take an unassailable 2-0 lead in the four-match series on Friday. 

The off-spinner claimed seven second innings wickets while leg-spinner Amit Mishra grabbed the remaining three as South Africa, chasing 310 to stay alive in the contest, folded for 185. 

The setback also meant South Africa, currently the top ranked team in this format, succumbed to their first away test series defeat since 2006. 

Ashwin, who had claimed five wickets in the first innings, made the most of the turning track at the VCA Stadium, dismissing Dean Elgar (18) and AB de Villiers (nine) in the morning to peg back South Africa.

South Africa skipper Hashim Amla dug in to negate the spin, playing with soft hands so edges did not carry to slip, while Faf du Plessis used his feet well against the spinners.

In a Test match that saw 32 wickets tumble on the first two days, the pair showed grit and determination to thwart the Indian bowlers for more than 46 overs with the biggest partnership in the low-scoring contest.
The duo survived numerous leg-before and bat-pad catch appeals before Mishra ended the 72-run stand that unhinged the visitors.

Amla offered an edge off the top half of his bat to perish in gully and in Mishra's next over, Du Plessis lost his stump to a ball that kept low. Both batsmen contributed 39 runs each.

Ashwin then returned to mow down the Proteas tail to finish with a match haul of 12 wickets that also earned him the man-of-the-match award.

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Ashwin, Jadeja trample Proteas; is Nagpur pitch that bad?

Taking full advantage of a turning track, spinners Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja ripped apart the South Africa batting line up as India bundled out the Proteas for just 79 runs, their lowest-ever score against the hosts in the third Test at Jamtha, Nagpur. 

Off-spinner Ashwin grabbed 5 for 32 and left-arm spinner Jadeja snapped up 4 for 33 on day two of the match. Leg- spinner Amit Mishra, brought late into the attack, finished with 1 for 9.

The visitors lost eight wickets this morning after resuming at the 11 for 2, in one and a half hours batting, to be bowled out for their lowest score against India at home or overseas beating the earlier ignominy of 84 all out in Johannesburg in December, 1996.

South Africa s previous lowest score in a Test in India was 105 in 1996 at Ahmedabad s Motera Stadium.

Jean-Paul Duminy, let off twice off Ashwin, top-scored with 35 in 65 balls before being dismissed taken out by Mishra for his only wicket.

Off-spinner Simon Harmer came up with the next best score of 13 in a pathetic and clueless batting display that also saw their main hope AB de Villiers and captain Hashim Amla dismissed for a duck and 1 run, respectively.

The pitch was a spinners' paradise with the occasional variable bounce and the South Africans struggled to come to grips with the surface.  

In the morning the visitors plunged headlong into trouble on viciously turning track by losing three wickets inside five overs to be at a pathetic 12 for 5.​

Ashwin sent back overnight unbeaten batsmen Dean Elgar, who chopped the ball on to his stumps, and rival skipper Hashim Amla in the space of three balls in successive overs as the score advanced by just one run.
Elgar was packed off without any addition to his score off the fifth ball of the morning. 

Strong future ahead...

Seven natural ways to get sound sleep!

If you feel restless and end up lying awake in bed, try natural tips like inhaling through your left nostril and rolling your eyes to get instant sleep.

A survey by Crampex tablet makers has found that 86 percent of the population suffer from sleep disturbance.

But one can trick oneself to sleep by trying these expert natural tips, reports mirror.co.uk.

* Inhale through your left nostril: This yoga method is thought to reduce blood pressure and calm you. Holistic sleep therapist Peter Smith says: “Lie on your left side, resting a finger on your right nostril to close it. Start slow, deep breathing in the left nostril.” The expert says this technique is particularly good when overheating or menopausal hot flushes are preventing sleep.


* Squeeze and relax: Relaxing all your muscles can prepare your body for sleep. Anxiety expert Charles Linden says: “Lying on your back, take a deep, slow breath in through your nose and, at the same time, squeeze your toes tightly as if you are trying to curl them under your foot, then release the squeeze.”

* Try to stay awake: Challenge yourself to stay awake – your mind will rebel! It’s called the sleep paradox, says psychotherapist Julie Hirst. She explains: “Keep your eyes wide open, repeat to yourself ‘I will not sleep’. The brain doesn’t process negatives well, so interprets this as an instruction to sleep and eye muscles tire quickly as sleep creeps up.”

* Rewind your day: Remembering the mundane details in reverse order clears your mind of worries. Sammy Margo, author of The Good Sleep Guide, says: “Recall conversations, sights and sounds as you go. It helps you to reach a mental state that’s ready for sleep.”

* Roll your eyes: Margo says that closing your eyes and rolling the balls up three times can do the job. She says: “It simulates what you do naturally when you fall asleep and may help trigger the release of your sleepy hormone, melatonin.”

* Find your trigger: The key to this trick is to start the habit as you drift off during a period when you are sleeping well, then you can use it when you have difficulty. Do something unusual, such as stroking your own cheek, as you nod off, says hypnotherapist Sharon Stiles.

* Make a worry list: Going over a to-do list in bed is a major cause of insomnia. Sharon Stiles says: “Often it’s because you’re frightened of forgetting what needs doing. So before bed, write your list on paper so you can forget it until next day. You could also imagine filing your thoughts in a cabinet. You’ll be calmer and more likely to sleep.”

Great news for sports fans!

Djokovic has the last laugh against Federer!

Novak Djokovic put the finishing touch to a magnificent season by beating Roger Federer 6-3 6-4 to win the ATP World Tour Finals on Sunday for the fifth time in his career.

The Serbian underlined his complete dominance of men's tennis with another immaculate display to become the first player in the year-ending tournament's 46-year history to triumph four times in a row. ​As usual this season, Novak Djokovic was the best player on the court.

The top-ranked Serb won his fourth straight title at the season-ending ATP finals on Sunday by beating six-time champion Roger Federer 6-3, 6-4.

Federer brought the tournament to a close in anti-climactic fashion with a double-fault, although not as much as a year ago when he pulled out of the final with back injury.

With the stakes raised, though, the 34-year-old Federer made far too many errors on Sunday while Djokovic's defences proved largely impenetrable, but for the odd flash of Swiss magic that had his large red and white fan club chanting their approval.

Federer's chances were fleeting. He had the first break point in the second game but fluffed a forehand into the net. 

In the next game a near-identical forehand found the net to give Djokovic the break and from there the world number one never looked back.

The clinical Djokovic teased Federer into a volley error on set point in the ninth game to move ahead.

Federer beat Djokovic on Tuesday in the group stage, but the 17-time Grand Slam champion made too many mistakes in the final on Sunday. Federer ended up with 31 unforced errors, including 15 from his usually reliable forehand.

He even gave away the final point with his second double-fault of the match.

'It would have been nice to serve a little bit better early on in the match, play better overall on his second serve, because he does allow you to play on his second serve,' said Federer, who lost to Djokovic in the 2012 final and pulled out of last year's championship match against the Serb with a back injury. 'Maybe at times I went for too much.'

Federer, bidding for a record-extending seventh title at the year-ender, was staring at the abyss when he trailed 3-4 0-40 in the second set but escaped with five straight points.

Djokovic was unrelenting though and wore his opponent down with one brutal rally two games later, sealing victory when a Federer second serve sailed long.

Djokovic, who won three Grand Slam titles this year and reached the final in the other, capped the best season of his career with another superb display, including winning 16 of the 19 points on his second serve and saving both break points he faced. 

'I couldn't ask for a better finish of the season,' Djokovic said. 'For some reason or another, I've been playing some of my best tennis after the U.S. Open, in Asia and also indoors, both Paris and London.'

After a modest celebration, Djokovic walked back to his chair and wrote 'And now for vacation' in Serbian on a camera lens. How he deserves one. 

The 28-year-old has stomped through the season to leave his rivals trailing in his wake -- securing the year-end world number one ranking weeks before the London finale.

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Railway worker's son-Spain's self-made mogul Amancio Ortega-becomes the world's richest!

The richest man on earth, Bill Gates, relinquished the coveted position briefly to pave way for a Spanish fashion retailer who avoids press meetings.

According to Forbes' real-time tracker, Spain's self-made mogul Amancio Ortega, who transformed apparel group Inditex from a small family dressmaker into a mammoth, whisked past Bill Gates to become the wealthiest person on the planet, with a fortune of $79.8 billion.

With their personal fortunes linked to the stock price fluctuation, Ortega's wealth touched $80 billion on Friday morning last week making him the most richest. 

This was possible as Ortega's holding company Industria de Diseño Textil (Inditex) reached an all-time high of 33.99 euros per share Friday morning.

However, Gates got back his title during the same day led by 10% gains in Microsoft stock.

The two billionaires are set to swap the coveted tag in the coming days on the Forbes real-time global rich list drawn by the movement of their company's stocks.

In this real-time battle, the fortunes of 79-year-old son of a Spanish railway worker are blossoming as Inditex shares have shot up nearly 40% this year. In the last 10 years, the market value of Inditex has risen by about 570%, helping Ortega climb the ranking ladder, said Business Insider.

He holds a 59.3% share in what is now the world's biggest fashion retailer Zara, ahead of Gap and Hennes & Mauritz.

Ortega's biographer described his memories of a childhood during which his family could not always afford enough food. He left school in his early teens, working his way up from the absolute bottom rung as a messenger boy in a shop, reported Business Insider India.

He is known for selecting designs based on feedback from shop assistants who count on shoppers' reactions.

"If he speaks to a shop assistant and he likes what they had to say, he will pay more attention to that than to any of his managers," a former Inditex director told Reuters.

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Get to the pulse of your pulses!

Pulses are the main source of protein in vegetarian diets. Even those who are supposed to be non-vegetarians, should include pulses in their meals, especially if they are not consuming a non-vegetarian dish with every meal.

Pulses are mainly seeds of a plant and therefore their protein content is high. Even cereals are seeds, but their carbohydrate count is higher and the protein content is lower than that of pulses. The protein quality of cereals is better than that of pulses, while the protein quantity of pulses is higher. A combination of cereal and pulse improves the total protein quality as the amino acid content of both complement each other. If you notice, many of our Indian menus are well balanced, e.g., dhal and rice, dhal and roti, etc. Some dishes are also in good proportion of cereal and pulse, like idli, dosa, adai, pongal and kitchdi.


Some pulses can be consumed in the raw state, like Bengal gram, green gram, red gram, peas and cow pea. But generally they are dried and sold as whole gram or broken and sold as dhals. Whole grams have a higher fibre content due to the outer covering while dhals have this covering removed and hence lose part of the fibre.

Pulses provide B-complex vitamins. They are not too high in mineral content though they can be a reasonable source of iron. They lack vitamins A and C. Sprouts develop vitamin C and can be considered a good source, especially during the first few days of sprouting.

Considering their digestion value, dhals are easier to digest, than whole grams. The easiest to digest is green gram dhal, followed by black gram dhal, toor dhal, Bengal gram dhal and finally the whole grams. Flatulence is also a problem with pulse consumption and increases in the same order as given above for digestion. It is believed that the use of ginger and garlic in these preparations will improve digestion and lower flatulence.

The variety of dishes that can be made from pulses is endless. Starting from roasted pulses, roasted dhal powders like idli podi and parupu podi; the thohayils and pachadis are hot favourites, literally. The plain dhal and pulse sundals, the raw, soaked dhal kosambris, the sambars, the masala dhals, the snacks like adai, pesarattu, chakli, muruku and ompodi are just a few of the common dishes which are popular. They are also used in kheers and halwas. Mysore Pak is an all time favourite. Among soups, pea soup and lentil soup are well known. Salads with sprouted pulses are gaining a prominent place in the present day menu.

Food	Protein, g	Fat ,g	Fibre, g	Carbs, g	Energy, cals	Calcium, mg	Iron, mg
Bengal gram,whole	17.1	5.3	3.9	60.9	360	202	4.6
Bengal gram dhal	20.8	5.6	1.2	59.8	372	56	5.3
Bengal gram,roasted	22.5	5.2	1.0	58.1	369	58	9.5
Black gram dhal	24	1.4	0.9	59.6	347	154	3.8
Cow pea, karamani	24.1	1.0	3.8	5l.5	323	77	8.6
Field bean, mochai	24.9	0.8	1.4	60.1	347	60	2.7
Green gram whole	24.0	1.3	4.1	56.7	334	124	4.4
Green gram dhal	24.5	1.2	0.8	59.9	348	75	3.9
Horse gram, kollu	22.0	0.5	5.3	57.2	321	287	6.7
Lentil, masoor dhal	25.1	0.7	0.7	59.0	343	69	7.58
Moth beans, matki	23.6	1.1	4.5	56.5	330	202	9.5
Peas, green	7.2	0.1	4.0	15.9	93	20	1.5
Peas, dry	19.7	1.1	4.5	56.5	315	75	7.05
Peas,roasted	22.9	1.4	4.4	58.8	340	81	6.4
Rajmah	22.9	1.3	4.8	60.6	346	260	5.1
Red gram dhal	22.3	1.7	1.5	57.6	335	73	2.7
Red gram dhal,tender	9.8	1.0	6.2	16.9	116	57	1.1
Soya bean	43.2	19.5	3.7	20.9	432	240	10.4

From the above table you can see that the protein value of most pulses is ranging from 19g to 25g per 100g of the food.
 
The only exception is soya bean as it has a high protein, high fat, high fibre, high energy, high iron and low carbohydrate content. The fat quality of pulses is of a high standard, providing essential fatty acids. The minimum requirement of dhals and pulses per meal can be 25g (raw weight).

Pulses have a major role in the Indian menu and must be taken seriously by vegans, vegetarians and non-vegetarians.

They are a must as the primary protein source in the diets of infants, adolescents, adults, pregnant and lactating women, as well as seniors.

So, do feel the pulse of your pulses.

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Iran announces implementation of nuclear deal!

Tehran: Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad-Javad Zarif and European Union (EU) foreign affairs chief Federica Mogherini issued a joint statement, announcing the start of the implementation of the nuclear deal reached between Iran and the six world powers in July, according to Iran's foreign ministry website.

Now, Iran will start implementing its obligations pertaining to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), and the UN nuclear watchdog will prepare the means to monitor Iran's measures, Xinhua reported, citing the statement issued on Sunday.

According to the nuclear agreement between Iran and the world powers reached on July 14 in the Austrian capital of Vienna, Iran would improve the transparency of its nuclear plan, downsize its capacity for uranium enrichment and do changes in the structure of its heavy water reactor in exchange for international and Western sanctions relief.

Based on the agreement, the nuclear deal should have gone into effect on October 18, or the so-called the Adoption Day, 90 days for the UN Security Council endorsed the Iranian deal.

Also on Sunday, Iran notified Yukiya Amano, director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), that it will provisionally apply the Additional Protocol to its Safeguards Agreement when the nuclear deal comes into effect, the IAEA announced in a statement.

In Washington, US President Barack Obama on Sunday ordered his administration to take steps to lift sanctions on Iran, as part of the nuclear agreement.

"I hereby direct you to take all necessary steps to give effect to the US commitments with respect to sanctions" on Iran, Obama said in a memorandum to US secretaries of state, energy, commerce and the treasury.

The steps will take effect upon confirmation by the secretary of state that Iran has met its commitments under the JCPOA, Obama said in the memorandum issued by the White House.

But the sanction on Iran will not be lifted immediately on the Adoption Day, and the US said that no relief from the sanctions will take place until the IAEA verifies that Iran has fully complied with the terms of the agreement.

On July 14, Iran reached the JCPOA with P5+1 over its controversial nuclear programme after more than 18 months of marathon talks.

Under the deal, all of the nuclear-related sanctions imposed on Iran will be lifted if the Islamic republic is proved to abide by the deal over the next 10 years step-by-step.

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Tips to stay fit during the festive season!

Celebrations call for never-ending sweets and if you want to watch your weight, it becomes difficult. Eat small portions and stay hydrated to avoid weight gain.

Rupali ‘Sim’ Vaid, founder of Be Fitastic Fitness centre, shares how to stay toned:

* Check your total calorie intake. Take a step back when you get closer to your maximum calorie intake value.

* Keep your hydration levels up. Low levels of hydration may encourage you to drink more of sweetened drinks when offered.

* Eat small portions as completely declining sweets or fried food can be difficult. Simply taste the sweets rather than eating to your heart’s content.

* Keep a well thought out short and intense home workout handy for days you don’t get enough physical activity or miss your gym schedule. Include movements such as push-ups, leg lifts, crunches and jumps.

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Sesame Paneer Toasties!

Category: Kid friendly

Course: Snack

Cuisine: Indian

Technique: Shallow Fry

Difficulty: Medium

Servings: Serves 2

 

Ingredients

• 100 g. Paneer
• 2 tbsp - plain flour
• 2 tbsp - semolina (sooji)
• 1 small tomato, deseeded and chopped
• 2 green chillies, deseeded and chopped
• 1/2 tsp - black
• pepper powder
• 1 tsp -mustard seeds
• Sesame seeds for coating
• 4 bread slices
• 1 tsp - oil
• salt to taste
• oil for shallow frying.

 

Method

• Heat 1 tsp of oil in a pan and add the mustard seeds. When they crackle, remove from heat.
• Add to it the paneer, flour and semolina. Mash well.
• Add all the other ingredients except the sesame seeds and the oil for shallow frying. Mix well.
• Cut the bread slices diagonally. Spread the mixture on the bread and sprinkle the sesame seeds on the top.
• Add 1 tsp. oil in a non-stick pan and place two pieces of bread with the topping side down.
• Cook till crisp and golden. Now flip over to the other side, adding 1 tsp. of oil as you do so and cook till this side is crisp as well.
• Repeat for the rest of the bread slices.
• Serve hot with tomato ketchup.

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10 tips to maintain weight loss!

You’ve worked hard to shed those extra kilos – sweating it out at the gym, denying yourself cheese and chocolates – but, it’s not over yet.

Most people once they have achieved their target weight fall back into old habits and pile on the kilos within months after losing them. This yo-yo approach to weight loss has its own drawbacks, for one it increases the risk of having a heart attack and secondly, it leads to loose and baggy skin. So, follow the ideas enumerated below to keep those kilos off for good!

Top 10 tips to maintain weight loss

1. Count your calories: It’s always a good idea to keep a food diary and record what, when and how much you eat. That way you can go back and learn from your mistakes. Don’t eat lots of high calorie food in one day, balance your meals. For example, if you’re going out for a big lunch, eat low calorie yet filling foods for breakfast and have a light dinner with the focus on soup and salad.
2. Try yoga: If you are tired of your regular exercise that you followed while on the weight loss plan, do something different to up your metabolic rate. Try joining a yoga class in the morning or even spinning or pilates. Do whatever interests you so that you won’t shy away from it.
3. Ditch those bad habits: Eating fried snacks or salted cashews at night, popping chocolates at any given hour, mindless munching while in front of the television will all reverse your hard work if done habitually. Stay away from the cookie jar and ask your spouse or family member to remind you of your goals if you head for some high calorie comfort food. Better still don’t keep it in the house.
4. Sip water: Whenever the urge to snack arises, sip a glass of water instead. We frequently confuse thirst with hunger. Also if you drink up before your dinner, you are more likely to eat less.
5. Keep yourself in a positive frame of mind: Most of us tend to binge when we’re upset with something or have had a tiff with our spouse. Make it a point to not eat when upset as you will definitely eat more than you intended.
6. Treat yourself occasionally: As a rule eat as much healthy food as you can, so that you can indulge yourself when you really have that craving for a chocolate cake. Follow the 80/20rule. If you’re eating healthy about 80 percent of the time, you can ease up for about 20 percent of the remaining time.
7. Learn to tell portion size: When eating out, notice how big or small the portions are at a restaurant. Avoid going to places that serve large portions, frequent those serving medium sized ones to keep in good shape.
8. Watch the scale weekly: Keeping track of your weight about once a week gives you a clue to whether you’ve lost or gained weight before it goes out of control. If you have gained, you will likely make up by modifying your diet and cutting back on calories.
9. Visit your doctor: If you’re doing everything possible to maintain your figure but aren’t happy with the results (remember to be patient) you may have a medical problem like hypothyroidism that is very common among women. Or you may be taking medicines that cause water retention or otherwise interfere with your weight.
10. Eat five small meals instead of three large ones: You may have heard this one before but it is so  important that we reiterate – eating every three to four hours prevents you from getting extremely hungry and then binging; it also maintains your blood sugar at a steady level so you don’t get hunger attacks!

So go ahead, tweak your habits and maintaining your optimum weight will be a piece of cake!

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SRK receives honorary doctorate from University of Edinburgh!

Shahrukh Khan has received an honorary degree from the University of Edinburgh. Mr Khan received the degree of Doctor Honoris Causa from the University Chancellor HRH The Princess Royal in Edinburgh.

The actor who has appeared in more than 80 films was presented with the degree in recognition of his outstanding record of philanthropy, altruism and humanitarianism and his global reach as an actor.

After receiving his honorary degree, Mr. Khan who has more than 15 million Twitter followers gave a public lecture, which was attended by many of the University's 400 South Asian students, along with South Asian community groups.

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People wait with open swords, want you to make mistakes: Dhoni!

Indore: After leading his side from the front to victory against South Africa in the second One-Day International (ODI), India skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni on Wednesday slammed his critics saying that people wait with open swords wanting him to make mistakes. 

India defeated the visitors by 22 runs to level the five-match ODI series 1-1 at the Holkar Cricket Stadium here on Wednesday. Dhoni's defiant 92 not out and Ajinkya Rahane's 51 took India to 247/9 in 50 overs. During the chase, South Africa kept losing wickets regularly and were bowled out for 225 in 43.4 overs.

"Not an easy game played, a lot of people wait with open swords and want you to make mistakes. We should have got more with the bats and we didn't start well with our bowling, but our spinners did well and pacers also came into action later on," Dhoni, who was awarded the man-of-the-match for his knock, said at the post-match presentation ceremony here.

For India, medium pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar and left-arm spinner Axar Patel took three wickets each, while off-spinner Harbhajan Singh claimed two wickets.

"Axar is not a big turner of the ball and he pitched it in the right areas. Bhajji has the experience and they didn't try too many different things and flighting or under-flighting the ball was needed and overall they did a good job," he said.

The skipper believes the team has the capability to perform even better.

"Overall not a very convincing win but good win, we can play a lot better. We're not playing to our capacity, not even 80 percent, in batting or bowling. As a batting unit, we didn't perform well but we bounced back well. We knew we needed two good deliveries when Imran Tahir and Kagiso Rabada were batting," he said.

"I won't say the game was in our hands but we had a good chance if we bowled in the right areas and needed only two good deliveries," the 34-year-old said.

Speaking about his batting and the inconsistent top order, Dhoni defended his players by saying, "It doesn't always go your way (talking about his batting), the top order has been scoring loads of runs in the last two and a half years so lower order doesn't get a big chance to bat."

"Apart from Suresh Raina there's nobody who loves to do that kind of a job when you go out and you just have to go for the big hits. The pace was very important on this wicket and the length too," he said.

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Soft drinks major Pepsi to launch smartphone on Oct 20!

Global soft drinks major PepsiCo will soon become the first among the food makers to have a smartphone brand under its belt.

PepsiCo Monday said it was launching 'a line of mobile phones and accessories to market in China in the next few months'.

The New York-headquartered multi-billion dollar company is expected to unveil its first smartphone as early as next week, on October 20.

"We are pleased to share that Pepsi is working with a licensing partner to bring a line of mobile phones and accessories to market in China in the next few months," a PepsiCo spokesperson said to mediapersons.  

Leaked specs on the social media suggest Pepsi's budget Android handset P1 boasting a 5.5-inch screen, fingerprint scanner and a 13-megapixel camera.

According to a report from Mobipicker, the handset would run on Android 5.1 Lollipop and have a 5.5-inch, 1080p screen. 


It is being widely rumoured the device would have a 1.7GHz processor, 2GB of Ram, 16GB of internal storage and a 3,000 mAh battery.

Chinese news sites Sina and Weibo reported Pepsi's devices would be priced $206 and would be available for commercial sale two months after their launch.

Globally, soft drinks sales have been on a lower trajectory led by consumers changing consumption patterns towards low-sugar based food products.

Under pressure, soft drinks producers, including PepsiCo are diversifying their product portfolio to minimise the the impact on sales.

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Why obese people tend to overeat!

Triggers such as the smell of popcorn at a movie theater or a commercial for a snack may have a stronger pull for obese people due to differences in brain chemistry, says a study.

Obese people tend to have greater dopamine activity in the habit forming region of the brain than their lean counterparts and lesser dopamine activity in the region controlling rewards, the findings showed.

Dopamine is a neurotransmitter that helps control the brain’s reward and pleasure centers.

These differences could potentially make the obese people more drawn to overeat in response to food triggers and simultaneously make food less rewarding to them.

“Eating based on unconscious habits rather than conscious choices could make it harder to achieve and maintain a healthy weight, especially when appetizing food cues are practically everywhere,” said lead author Kevin Hall from the National Institutes of Health in the US.


The study involved 43 men and women with varying amounts of body fat.

Study participants followed the same eating, sleeping and activity schedule. Tendency to overeat in response to triggers in the environment was determined from a detailed questionnaire.

Positron emission tomography (PET) scans evaluated the sites in the brain where dopamine was able to act.

The study appeared in the journal Molecular Psychiatry.

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Russian GP: Hamilton close towards championship; Podium finish for Force India!

Mexican Sergio Perez helped Force India clinch their first third place finish of the season in Formula One at the Russian Grand Prix on Sunday. 

This was Force India’s third time on the podium. Giancarlo Fisichella and Perez had earlier finished in the first three places in 2009 and 2014, respectively.

At the race on Sunday it was a very close affair. The Mexican looked like getting to the podium and at one stage was cruising to it.  

However, what made it interesting was Kimi Raikkonen and Valtteri Bottas overtook him before the last lap. Perez tried hard coming back but just as it looked to slip out of his hands, Raikkonen slammed his Ferrari at the tail end of Bottas car.

Both drivers lost control and it paved the way once again for Perez to move ahead and finish behind Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel.  

'It feels great to be back on the podium and to be able to celebrate with my team. I have been enjoying my time with the team so much and this is a great reward for all the work we have put in together. The call to pit under the safety car turned out to be very good because it gave us track position ahead of all the battles.'

'With one lap to go, when Valtteri (Bottas) and Kimi (Raikkonen) passed me, it felt like this result had been taken from us: I was obviously disappointed but I also knew I had given all I could during the race.'

'​There was no more I could do because I had been on the same tyres for more than 40 laps. When I finally managed to get back into third it was just an amazing feeling. I am happy I was able to share this second podium with my team. It's a very special result and one that fills me with expectation ahead of the races in Austin and especially Mexico City,' Perez said.

Force India, with 15 points now from the race, have consolidated their fifth spot on the constructors championship.  

Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton won the race, while Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel took the second spot. With this victory, Hamilton took a huge step toward retaining his Formula One title as his main rival Nico Rosberg failed to finish. 

Hamilton can now win his third career title at the next race in Texas, while his Mercedes team retained the constructors' title after a season in which the silver cars have dominated almost every race.

Hamilton cruised to victory by 5.9 seconds over Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel, with Sergio Perez third for Force India, 23 seconds further behind.  

Hamilton's 42nd career win took him past his boyhood hero Ayrton Senna on the all-time list, and the defending champion said he had taken the time to enjoy his drive to victory. ​

'I was really taking it in, just looking at the car,' Hamilton said. 'I don't know how many times I'll be in that position again, so really cherishing the moment and feeling really blessed. I love driving this car and I love where we are at the moment.' 

It was Hamilton's ninth victory of the season and the 12th for Mercedes. With four races to go, Hamilton leads Vettel by 66 points and Rosberg by 73. 

For the second year running, Hamilton received his winner's trophy from Russian President Vladimir Putin, who also greeted the top three drivers ahead of the podium ceremony.

Vettel was forced into a prolonged battle with his Ferrari teammate Kimi Raikkonen early on, eventually passing the Finn in a tight move up the inside. 'I think we both enjoyed it. Obviously, I came out in front, so I enjoyed it a little bit more than him,' Vettel said. 'He was giving me just enough room to survive, so it was a good battle.' Mercedes' second straight constructors' title was only decided after the race when the stewards penalized Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen for crashing into Valtteri Bottas' Williams on the last lap.

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Top 10 tips to fight fatigue!

When your energy levels are low, everything you do becomes a big task. Read on for practical tips to fight fatigue.

If you struggle to make it through the day, avoid a social gathering due to the effort it involves or just feel plain tired day after day; it’s time to step back and rethink what’s bringing you down. Eliminate the things that sap your energy and bring in changes that give your energy levels a boost.

Top 10 tips to fight fatigue

Get some exercise: When you find your energy levels dropping, you could either reach for a chocolate bar or take a ten-minute walk. Opt for the walk, research shows it elevates your mood and energy levels for longer while a sugar boost will increase your energy initially but cause a drop a while later.

1. Eat a good breakfast: When we wake up, our body needs nourishment as it has been in fasting mode during the night. It is best to eat a high fibre breakfast full of complex carbohydrates and proteins. Include nuts like almonds, walnuts, dates and raisins. Also, try to include a fruit or a fruit milkshake and switch to whole wheat or multi-grain bread.
2. Cut the caffeine: Research has indicated that caffeine can be an energy sapper when taken in excess. Gradually eliminate caffeine from your diet by avoiding coffee and colas and watch your energy levels increase. You can switch to green tea instead of coffee.
3. Watch out for stress: No matter how healthy your lifestyle, if you’re stressed at work or in other areas of your life, you can be sure of your energy dropping. That’s because of the various effects that stress has on your mind and body which in turn leads to fatigue.
4. Get enough sleep: You have to figure out for yourself how much sleep you need on a daily basis, as it varies from one person to the other. But as a rule, get at least seven hours of uninterrupted sleep at night, take a short nap in the afternoon if your schedule permits and reduce bedtime television watching to enable you to sleep better.
5. Limit drinking: Although everyone says that a few drinks help you sleep better, the fact is that alcohol depresses the nervous system and interferes with sleep leading to poor quality of the sleep. So if you compare notes on the next day after sleeping for the same amount of time, you will feel more refreshed if you haven’t consumed alcohol the previous evening.
6. Shed those kilos: If you are overweight or obese, remember that lugging around all that extra baggage puts a strain on your heart and joints. You will have less stamina and less physical energy to do everything you need to during the day. So set a goal and put on those running shoes to shed the flab – fast.
7. Break away from the routine: If you are a stickler for routine and find yourself doing the same things in the same order day after day for years together, take a vacation. Being in a different place and at ease can give you a better perspective on things. Make resolutions and tackle them one at a time for best results.
8. Open your energy channels: Meditation, positive thinking and enjoying what you do are great personal motivators. Choose whatever works best for you and make it part of your routine. Surround yourself with positive people, sometimes even having negative people around is enough to drain your energy or even bring on a headache.
9. Stock up on water: About seventy percent of our body is made up of water and we need to keep replenishing the supply. So keep a bottle of water handy with you and take a sip whenever you get a chance. Mild dehydration is one of the most common causes of fatigue.

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Sania Mirza-Martina Hingis win 8th trophy of season!

Beijing: Top women's doubles pair of Sania Mirza and Martina Hingis won their eighth title of the season as a team, with a 6-7 (9), 6-1, 10-8 victory over Chinese Taipean pair of Hao-Ching Chan and Yung-Jan Chan in the China Open final here on Saturday.

The Indo-Swiss pair, the topmost team in the doubles circuit this year, needed 1 hour 41 minutes to claim the summit clash in the $4.7 million prize money tournament.

They broke the first service game of their opponent's to take an early 2-0 lead at the Beijing Olympic Green Tennis Center.

But their opponents immediately broke back to be on level terms 2-2. From there on the two team's keenly contested and held on to their serves.

The evenness extended to a tie-breaker where Sania-Martina blinked first at 9-11 to surrender the first set.
Sania-Martina upped their intensity to race to a 4-1 lead in the second set and claimed it 6-1 to force the match into the third set tie-breaker.

The tie-breaker was also closely fought with both teams matching each other stroke for stroke.

But ultimately the Indo-Swiss duo held their nerve to claim the title at 10-8. They won 82 of the total 145 points played, a 56 percent winning rate.

The leading women's tennis doubles pair entered the final, thumping the Chinese duo of Chen Liang and Yafan Wang 6-2, 6-3 in a one-sided clash on Friday.

Sania and Martina are the reigning Wimbledon and US Open champions. They tagged together as a team in March and won Women's Tennis Association (WTA) titles in Indian Wells, Miami, Charlestion, Guangzhou and more recently Wuhan.

Sania reached the final of this event for the fourth time in a row. It was her second title here, after winning in 2013 with Zimbabwean Cara Black.

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10 steps to beat alcohol blues!

Scientists have suggested a simple ten step approach to help you keep an eye on your alcohol intake so that you can maintain a healthy lifestyle despite your love for drinking.

Jurgen Rehm from the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health in Canada, and David Nutt, Neuropsychopharmacologist from Imperial College London, have created an integrated set of evidence-based strategies focusing on what individuals and governments can do to reduce the personal and public costs of alcohol.

The first four points focus on personal health behaviour. Nutt and Rehm suggest that the first step is monitoring alcohol intake by knowing your numbers in much the same way you would know your BP or calorie intake.


Limiting consumption of alcohol to 20 grams per day for men and 15 grams per day for women is the next step.

The third step is to realise that as with lower BP and cholesterol, lower amounts of alcohol consumption lead to greater health and longevity.

Next, not drinking for one or two days a week can help the liver recover from the effects of alcohol and reduce the risk of liver complications.

The next six points focus on government intervention – like minimum pricing of alcohol would reduce consumption of cheap alcohol, especially in young people, and labeling the amount of alcohol grams would allow consumers to track the exact amount of alcohol they are consuming.

Limiting the times and places alcohol can be purchased will make impulse buying, particularly when drunk, much harder and make it easier for people with alcohol-use problems to avoid contact with alcohol in shops and supermarkets is another step.

While the eighth step is providing treatment for all people with an alcohol dependence problem, the ninth step is investing in research to develop new approaches to addiction.

Developing alternatives to alcohol by investigating the possibility of new drugs that mimic the milder effects of alcohol is the last step.

The study is published in the Journal of Psychopharmacology.

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Mango Cheesecake!

Category : Family friendly

Course : Dessert

Cuisine : American

Technique : Bake

Difficulty : Medium

Servings : Serves 8

 

 

Ingredients:

• For crust:
• 2 packs - Digestive biscuits (1.5 cups when crushed)
• 1/3 cup - Butter (melted)
• For filling:
• 1 cup - Powdered Sugar (Add more if your Mango is not sweet)
• 3 cups - Thick full Cream yogurt
• 2 cups - Paneer / Cottage cheese cubes-
• 1.75 cups - water - | 10 gm - Chinagrass or agar agar
• 2 - mangoes pureed
• For the Mango glaze:
• 1/2 cup - Mango puree
• 2 tbsp - Water
• 2 tbsp - Sugar
• 1 tsp - Lime juice

 

Method:

• Powder the biscuits in a mixie into a coarse powder.
• Pour the melted butter on the powdered biscuits and mix with your hands or run it again the mixie for few seconds.
• You need to fill the pan's base with the biscuit crumbs.
• Press it firmly to the base using a glass and chill this in the freezer for 15 mins.
• Hang the curd in a thin cloth to remove all the water content from it. Leave it for a couple of hours to get thick hung curd.
• Chop the paneer into small cubes. Grind the hung curd and paneer together to make a smooth puree.
• Peel, chop and puree two mangoes.
• Take the mango puree in a pan and heat it over low flame. Dont boil it.
• Meanwhile chop the china grass sheet into small pieces.
• Soak it in 1.75 cups of water for 10 minutes and the heat it until they melt completely.
• Now gently combine the heated mango puree, china grass solution and sugar to the hung curd paneer mixture and beat to get a even creamy textured filling.
• Remove the mould from the freezer and pour in the filling and allow it to set in the fridge for 3 hours.
• Place the mango puree, water, sugar and lime juice in a sauce pan and heat it on medium flame until it becomes slightly thick.
• Once the glaze comes to room temperature, apply it on the cheese cake layer and set it again in the fridge for an hour. Decorate as per your choice and enjoy eating.