PREBIOTICS

prebiotics are dietary fibers that serve as food for the gut-friendly bacteria that live in the gastrointestinal tract. As we discussed earlier, Probiotics help in keeping our gut happy by providing the right balance of MICROFLORA (especially bacteria) to prevent diseases and boost the immune system.

Prebiotics are like fertilizer for probiotics to grow and flourish probiotic bacteria require this special food group known as prebiotics. let us now look at some natural sources of Prebiotics

Apart from being the food source for the probiotic environment prebiotics inhibit the growth of harmful bacteria and prevents several diseases, helps maintain heart health and also prevents obesity and also improves overall health of individuals.

without food processing the food needs of today would be incomplete. Not all processed foods are unhealthy . There are certain foods like sea weeds commonly know as agar agar which become edible only after processing. Sea weeds are found to have a fiber content of about 50 to 85%. It is one of the natural prebiotic food sources.

there is a short, simple and kid friendly recipe which is a special bonus recipe for my readers. Whey is nothing but the light green liquid that settles on top of the curd.

Whey protein-rich chocolate pudding

ingredients needed :

50 grams of china grass

2 tablespoons of sugar

2 tablespoons of chocolate powder or vanilla essence

1 glass of milk

1 glass of homemade and filtered whey

METHOD

1. Boil the china grass in a glass of water until it turns to be a thick transparent liquid

2. Meanwhile, boil milk and add chocolate powder, sugar to it

3. pour the chocolate milk to the china grass solution and bring to boil for 5 to 10 minutes

4. allow to  cool  down for sometime

5. add the whey to the mixture that is set aside to cool

6. refrigerate for 2 hours, and your dessert is ready, there you go

Processed prebiotic drinks are widely available in the market. As I always say do read your nutrition label before making a processed food choice .Check for allergens and consult your doctor before taking any kind of prebiotic supplement.

Focus strategy used for marketing of prebiotics

This is when a food company focuses on a particular target population for example people who want to reduce weight, be healthy become main focus for such prebiotic supplements.These companies keep in mind the need of their target population when it comes to innovation of new products or improvisation of existing products.

6. Processed Food tour : All the brands discussed are just for the information purpose you can visit official website for any further information. https://gutsii.com/

• Gutsii is a Australian prebiotic dark chocolate brand. Gutsii came to life in 2015 to help health and wellness lovers keep up with their busy lifestyles by offering simple and functional food products that heal and nourish the body.
• Founded by a conscious food pioneer and certified health coach JANINE ZAPPINI. Gutsii has been born with a mission to bring the world of convenience and tasty functional foods together.
• Gutsii positively believes in the value of nutrition, food and healing yourself with small changes and new choices for better lifestyle quality and health. Gutsii chocolates are made from natural prebiotic sources like raspberry and Cocoa powder. it is keto friendly, no sugar, low carb vegan chocolate.

• Munchy’s is a Malaysian biscuit brand. A bunch of biscuit aficionados formulated their first successful crunch in southern Malaysia. The choice that does not make you choose and compromise. They took health, and made it tasty. OAT KRUNCH is higher in wholegrain and is trans-fat free with no preservatives. Made from the goodness of oats, tasty ingredients in a convenient packet, OAT KRUNCH is a healthy snack whenever you want, wherever you go. Especially the Choco-oats krunch is a great prebiotic snack without any compromise in taste. For any further information check out official website. http://www.munchys.com

7. Recipe Corner :

Healthy & Crispy Falafel, made in Air Fryer is a wonderful example of how simple, oil-free dishes can also be full of taste and lip-smacking. And these Falafel are vegan and gluten-free too.

What is Falafel?

Falafel is a famous Middle Eastern street food made of chickpeas. In simple words, Falafels are chickpeas fritters served either as a snack with dips like Tahini or Hummus or is tucked in the pockets of pita bread or make a burger.

The beauty of the falafels is that they are crisp from the outside but are soft from inside. And making these is also very easy because unlike other lentil fritters you don’t have to beat the mixture. Just grind and make.

Use Raw Or Boiled Chickpeas For Falafel?

I have tried falafels with both raw as well with boiled chickpeas. But seriously, nothing to match with the falafels made with raw chickpeas. Soaked chickpeas, when grounded with herbs like parsley and onion-garlic then, believe me, the aroma it gives is simply mind-blowing. They are made so easily whereas the ones made with boiled chickpeas fall apart and is slightly ticklish to make.

Ingredients

My 1 Cup measures 250 ml

1 Cup (200 g) Chickpeas (Kabuli Chana)

1 Onion, Chopped Roughly

3 to 4 Cloves Garlic, Crushed

1/2 Cup Parsley, Chopped Roughly

1/4 Cup Cilantro, Chopped Roughly

Salt As Per Taste

Black Pepper As Per Taste

2 Tbsp Gramflour (Besan)

Method

`1. Wash chickpeas thoroughly and soak them in enough water for 4 to 6 hours or overnight.

2. Roughly chop onion, garlic, parsley and cilantro.

3. Once chickpeas are properly soaked and doubled in size, drain all the water and put them in the food processor.

4. Add chopped onion, garlic, parsley, cilantro, salt and pepper.

5. Grind coarsely everything. It looks like a crumbled dough and is wet also because of onions.

6. Take out this crumbled dough in a bowl and add very little chickpeas flour until no longer wet and you can form balls out of it. It should not stick to your hands. If it does, add little more chickpeas flour.

7. Keep the dough in the refrigerator for at least half an hour. If possible for an hour or two. This resting period allows the excess starch to seep out and mixture binds together easily, thus becomAfter another 6 to 7 minutes, see that the falafels are properly cooked and golden in coloures easy to form balls.

8. Preheat air fryer for 1o minutes at 180 degrees C.

9. Mix and make medium sized balls.

10. When the air fryer is preheated, take out the basket of air fryer and keep the balls in it and put the basket back in the air fryer.

11.  After 7 to 8 minutes. flip the balls so that they are properly cooked from both sides. After another 6 to 7 minutes, see that the falafels are properly cooked and golden in colour.

12. Serve these with hummus or with pita bread and hummus.

Tips to remember

1. Ensure that you soak chickpeas in enough water as they absorb water and swell after some time.
2. Before grinding, put the soaked chickpeas in the strainer so that all water drips out.
3. If grinding in the grinder then it is better to grind chickpeas only. When coarsely grounded then add other ingredients like onion etc.
4. In the absence of air fryer, cook these in an appe pan or in the oven or pan fry them. Preheat oven to 180 degrees C for 10 minutes, brush oil on the baking tray and lay falafels on it.
5. If you want to deep fry these falafels then add little more chickpeas flour so that they bind properly. Add one falafel in hot oil. If it breaks or falls apart then add little more chickpeas flour.
6. Before air frying, you may brush little oil on the balls.

 For Step By Step Pics please check https://www.samirasrecipe.com/2018/03/09/falafel-in-air-fryer/.

Want to know more about such detailed and tasty recipes than follow the link https://www.samirasrecipe.com/

samira (food blogger)

8. Beauty right from your kitchen

• 2 spoon of oats (finely powdered)

• 3 almonds (soaked and ground to paste)

• one small ripe banana

• 1 spoon of milk

make a paste of all the ingredients and apply on tanned areas to get rid of sun tan and get clean glowing skin.