15 years of Blogging! Michigan to Texas!

Frederick Meijer Garden, Grand Rapids

Hey everyone! Hope all is well with you. In my part of the world, we're enjoying beautiful sunny winter weather. Where I live, two days of snow lead to school closures, which happened a few days ago. 

This month, my food blog celebrated its 15th anniversary. It started in Michigan, and now I'm in sunny Texas. It's amazing how life takes you to different places. A sincere thank you to everyone who has visited my online home, left a comment, sent an email, and shared my love of food. "Less is more" is a mantra I learned from my mother, whose cooking style always featured few ingredients. I've adopted that philosophy in my own cooking.

My cooking style has changed a lot over the years. I now cook Mexican and Italian dishes frequently in addition to Indian cuisine. I am always on the lookout for healthier alternatives, and often use semi-homemade or store-bought ingredients. I read nutrition labels carefully to find foods with fewer ingredients and no added sugar. My diet has also changed from being predominantly vegetarian to including more protein-rich seafood and chicken dishes. I started out cooking for just the two of us, and now I cook for two adults and a 10-year-old.

I've learned a lot about cooking over the years. Here are a few tips: 

Date syrup or dates are a healthy source of sugar for making your own breakfast granola nut bars. A friend of mine uses date syrup for pancakes; it looks like chocolate syrup. I didn't like it, though. Other alternatives for non-processed sugar that I use are maple syrup, agave, molasses, and jaggery.

Cooking sprays have zero calories, which is hard to believe. I love my air fryer and food processor; they make my life so much easier. Adding lemon juice helps cut down on sodium or salt intake, at least for me.

I've made some changes to my recipes for Indian Roti also known as Chapati. I now use a combination of oats and Atta flour, and I add whole milk to the dough. I also use a food processor instead of kneading by hand. My Gujarati Thepla flatbread recipe has also evolved. It now includes a mix of vegetables and greens, and I add avocado to make the Theplas soft.

In 2024, I started a new thing, my Youtube channel One Day At A Time. I'd love for you to check it out and share your thoughts.

Dallas Arboretum

Happy New Year! I hope you enjoy every day of 2025. This quote by Jonathan Swift says it all: "May you live all the days of your life."