Protein Balls

Protein Deficiency and Malnutrition
Terms almost as commonly used as breathe, live and let live! Unfortunate? Yes…

The polluted environment we live in today, our unhealthy food patterns, adulterated milk, vegetables with pesticides and cell radiation are some of the reasons to making us victims of a delicate immune system. Our bodies have become very fragile. This current scenario demands that we make mindful food choices and healthy eating habits. More often than not, we eat the right quantity, but our body refuses to absorb due to malabsorption. I have struggled to get that right amount of protein in my diet…you too, right?!

The general notion is that vegetarians face protein deficiency. Being a vegetarian myself, I make conscious efforts to include proteins in my daily diet. Consuming a lot of lentils is a winner dish for sure! The recommended dietary allowance (RDA) for protein is 0.8 gms/kg. So, weigh less… less addition of protein in your diet!! Just joking 😉 On a serious note, let’s make sure our intake of important nutrients is at least met as per desired levels.

Protein is very essential to good health. It is the second most abundant compound after water in our body. We are 16% protein. Lack of this important compound in our body can lead to malnutrition or mental retardation in the long run. Protein depletion can even lead to impaired bone formation and osteoporosis.

Make sure your kids have enough protein in their diet to build a body that is strong to endure the challenges in the coming years.

Few kids would eat “health foods” easily… so how do you sneak it into their diet but make it enjoyable too? One sure shot happy recipe is what I made for my son who is off dairy now and an exercise freak–PROTEIN BALLS!

Please try the recipe and let us share ideas on variations that we could make of this dish.

Here goes my recipe with the YouTube link.

But hold on!!! Before I unveil this heavenly recipe, I would like to lay some rules…
Since we are cooking for the family, make sure these rules are followed to the T!.

Rule No. 1 : A big wide Smile.

Rule No. 2 : Play some pleasant music and bring on a calming feeling.

Rule No. 3 : While making show no sign of anger or ego.. you need to feed yummy balls to your loved one and not these demons. Swamiji’ cute video on anger and ego

Rule No. 4 : Share with family and friends. (an act of kindness is important)

Rule No. 5 : Take a chill pill.

Ingredients:

1.      Pumpkin seeds                                  : 50gms

2.      Watermelon seeds                           : 100gms

3.      Ashgourd seeds                                : 70gms

4.      Walnuts                                              : 100gms

5.      Almonds                                             : 100gms

6.      Black channa flour(chickpea)          : 200gms

7.      Dry ginger                                          : 3 teaspoons

8.      Turmeric                                            : 1 teaspoon

9.      Rock salt                                            : 2 teaspoons

10.  Dates (Seedless)                                 : 500gms

11.  Pure desi Ghee                                     : 150gms

12.  Jaggery (grated)                                : 200gms

Step 1. Roast items 1–5 separately on a low flame, taking care not to burn them. Let them cool and then grind into a fine powder.

Step 2. Roast items 6,7,8,9  together till light brown and keep aside.

Step 3. Soak  500 gms dates in 1ltr water, grind it and make it into a fine smooth paste.

Step 4. Pour 150gms of ghee (clarified butter) in a pan and cook the dates paste on low flame. Cook for close to 15-20 minutes till you feel the water has been dried up and the paste should become thick.

Step 5. Add 200gms jaggery to this dates paste and mix it well.

Step 6.  Now mix the items from step 1, step 2, step 4 and step 5, and knead it all together.

Step 7. Make small round balls.

Step 8. Offer it to your God first, as it is a power-packed formula.

Explanation of the steps:

In the above steps, I will explain to you why I did what I did. All scientific, huh!

In step 1, I have taken seeds and nuts.. they are loaded with protein, magnesium, and potassium, etc.  Most are organic stuff. Ground them well so we absorb the powered particle well, right from our tongue to the small intestine. I remember giving my son almonds rubbed on the stone slab(granny style) so that every bit gets absorbed by the body. This knowledge comes from Ayurveda.

We have to cook on low flame as high flame increases the toxin level in the food.

In step 2, I have added black channa flour(chickpea) and not besan, as when crush them with the skin; the flour gets fibrous and does not give stomach cramps. Black channa flour is easily digestible and friendly to our stomach. We must add dry ginger as it is the digestive aid to process all the proteins going in at one shot. There is some pepsin theory behind this. I don’t want to go too much into medical terminology. Now, why am I adding turmeric, hello! Remember all the google gyan about increasing immunity with turmeric(haldi)?? That is why I added haldi. It’s a great immunity booster as per Ayurveda. Rock salt is used as I gave up iodized salt long back. We use only rock salt for our cooking.

Step 3, 4  and 5 -Dates are the king of kings, The Maharaja- as per Jayshree Om. (haha). Well, dates are rich in iron and help subside the craving for sweets. So I prefer this to refined sugar. You could read my sugar blog. The same goes with Jaggery.

Step 6 and 7– Make sure your hands are washed and dry. Now kneading well is very important to make sure that all the ingredients are mixed evenly.

And start rolling! rolling, rolling, rolling! (add a raga here 😉 )

Personally, I prefer making it into tiny round balls as they are easy to pop into your mouth. With one ball you are elevating your health with so many important nutrients. So go for it!!

Step 8– Be mindful to offer to your God as we ought to be grateful for His Grace upon us.

Today being Tuesday, the day for planet Mars and protein being his food, I dedicate this blog to “Mangal graha, Planet Mars.”

In the picture I have grated one almond on top to make it appealing. You know Swamiji, He likes things to be very presentable.

Live healthy, spread happiness!