Tips

"Tips" is one simple word that attracts almost everyone's attention. Who wouldn't like a suggestion for anything and everything to be easy, clean and safe in between our busy days. We all will be aware of many tips, but we will not be able to recollect them as and when we need. So, here are few that are been regularly practiced by me which may help you out!!

Cleaning your house

I feel good about myself when my house is clean. Cleaning requires just a little bit of extra effort and nothing more than that. Each and every part of the house needs to be cared for a cleaner house. Here is what I follow..

• Cleaning should always be done top to bottom. That way, any crumbs or dust that fall to the floor while you’re working gets picked up last
• Do not allow dirt or dust to pile off on your house holds. Wipe them off with a dusting brush or an old cloth before sweeping/vacuuming on a regular basis.
• Try reach out to every corners while sweeping/vacuuming and mopping
• Clean the refrigerator periodically. You can soak a damp cloth in a mild soapy water and use it. 
• Clean the switch boards regularly. Spray a little bit of multipurpose liquid or soapy water in a cloth or scrubber and clean it.
• Remember to care for those tube-lights and ceiling fans too. One simple and easy way to clean the ceiling fan blades is to use a pillow cover. Slip the pillow cover over each blade, pull it back to trap the dust. If you find oily film of dust too, try using vinegar or soapy water. Isn't it really a simpler and smarter way of cleaning :-)
• Wipe and clean your glass doors and windows too.
• Caring for your floor mats is very important.  Wash them regularly or change them frequently.

Kitchen Cleaning tips

• Clean as you go is the best way for a cleaner kitchen. Put the things back in their place as and when you are done using them. Have a kitchen towel handy and dry your hands before handling any ingredients. Close the lid as and when you have finished using the ingredient. Wash the containers before refilling them. Change the newspapers or wash the shelf covers frequently so that they are dust and dirt free. Most importantly, learning to cook without too much of messing makes the cleaning task much easier :-).
• The stove is typically the dirtiest part of the kitchen. Clean them with soapy water or  with the cleaning liquid regularly and wipe off the water with a dry clean cloth. And your stove top will look brand new at all times.
• Sanitize the sink/wash basin daily. Thanks to Google as it taught me that lemon and vinegar can do wonders. Use fresh lemon for removing salt scales. You can also use vinegar and this makes you cleaning super easy. Just pour vinegar directly to the surface and do the scrubbing part. Neat! I had sparkling wash basins after this :-)
• Cleaning sponges can be a breeding ground for bacteria. Squeeze it out after each use and allow to dry. When it is shredded and smelly, replace it.

Health Tips

When it comes to healthy living even little things count. Almost every one of us would have thought of dieting at some point of time and then would have dropped that off as we may find it hard to follow. Atleast I had done that N number of times. I couldn't get completely into the dieting world. So I thought why not make small changes in the way I cook and eat

• Drink a cup of warm water with 1 tsp of lemon juice and 1 tsp of honey mixed together. This helps to burn out those bad fat contents.
• Include sprouts in your breakfast. Try eating a healthy and wealthy breakfast. Never skip a meal, particularly the breakfast. 
• Replace dry red chillies with green chillies whenever possible as they are rich in Vitamin C (8 times more Vitamin C than fresh Oranges) .
• Try not to overeat. Overeat is one of the biggest culprits of a dodgy tummy. Our food is often so good that it is always hard to slow down and restrict yourself. So be cautious on how much you eat.
• Avoid plastic containers/boxes for kitchen storage purposes. The chemicals in these plastic containers can cause you lot of trouble. While Tupperware products are considered safe, glass containers are the best options that doesn't induce any harm to the health.
• Use less oil. Food experts say that a healthy person can go with 4 tsp i.e 20 gm of oil per day, including fried foods, snacks etc.  More than 50 gm of oil per day is definitely not good for health. One good suggestion would be to use store oil/ghee in small container with a small spoon. That way, we can reduce oil during tempering or while mixing with rice.
• Too much of salt and sugar will do damage to our health as they are considered White Poison. Try substituting sugar with jaggery or honey whenever possible.  Avoid adding salt on top of any salad or while cooking rice. Initially I did not like the taste of rice without adding salt to it, I felt it very bland. Slowly I got used to it. Other flavoring ingredients like lemon, tamarind, spices and herbs can help restricting salt intake.
• And when it comes to adding salt, go for sea salt (kal uppu) whenever possible, because sea salt undergoes minimal processing due to which it retains minerals like potassium, iron, magnesium etc. The table salt which has been chemically treated doesn't have any of these minerals. So go for sea salt for making gravies, kuzhambu's etc and use table salt for poriyal and any mixed rice varieties. 
• I happened to read a fact about Asafoetida (perungayam) told by an Ayurvedic person. Though this herb acts as a handy remedy for lot of disorders, an over dosage may cause troubles. Pregnant women, infants and young children should not consume asafoetida due to its potentially toxic effects. Personally I have experienced this with my kid. My little one used to cry all through the night during his first few months for no reasons and I was advised to give asafoetida water to aid in digestion. I continued this for few days and suddenly one day I spotted blood in his stools. Though he was cured with the help of medication, only at a later point I realized that it was because of over-dosage of asafoetida . So lets be cautious with the pregnant women and the infant part.