As you all know Valentine day is coming closer and we here at Archana’s kitchen are confused about what to cook for the special day. Well, you can help and it is also a great opportunity for all you foodies out there to win vouchers worth Rs. 3000 and Rs. 2000 from Flipkart.com. If you have a passion for food and love to cook, this is a great chance to show your cooking skills.

At 6 AM in the morning, when rest of the world is still rising, cutting, chopping, whisking, and baking; this is how most mothers start their day with. The pressure cooker whistling for countless times, sounds of the utensils, kitchen full with mixed delectable aromas, this is how a typical morning kitchen scene is in most households and you mothers can identify yourself with it. As mothers, your constant effort is to pack healthy snack and lunch boxes for kids and optimize the efforts and save on time.

In today’s era, everyone’s efforts have been directed at one thing, which is making life easier. Right from household to the workplace, manpower is replaced with new and innovative machines which are very easily available in the market at affordable prices. Simple machines in the kitchen and household are one of our secrets to living the pleasure of a simple life. With the help of these machines, people have become more versatile as now they are able to do multi-tasking at their comfort level.

People are becoming health conscious with every passing day and to meet what they want, they are sacrificing on many things when it comes to food. But sometimes it becomes really difficult to give up on something which is a part of your daily food habits. Work and family responsibilities often leaves no time for cooking, and it is easier to go out to restaurants or prepare meals with the ingredients available at home. And thus many people could not achieve their motive of healthy food.

Most of us are genuinely trying to do our best to stay healthy, so instead of leaving some things to stay healthy and fit, you can always make simple ingredient substitutions to create healthy recipes so that you don't have to sacrifice on taste, flavour and enjoyment. We're always looking for ways to make our favourite foods healthier, so we compiled a list of our best substitutions:

With today’s fast-paced lifestyles, it has become imperative that we need to be aware of the way we use our bodies, and that we also keep a close watch on the food we eat. Good exercise, good sleep, and healthy eating habits play an important role in keeping our minds and bodies fit and healthy.

We are going to embark into a New Year and with the holiday season coming up, it’s a great time to take stock. A great place to do that is to start from the Kitchen. It is a place that is used everyday, where families cook, eat, drink and spend a large part of the time bonding with eachother. And this is also the place that gets over stocked and piled up with pantry and dirt.

Green tea, a beverage par excellence, is one of the healthiest hot drinks around. Some may even go so far as to say it is the elixir of life, and many an ode has already been written in honour of its benefits ranging from improving blood flow, lowering cholesterol to preventing cancer and reducing fat to keep weight in check. The truth is, this impossibly simple drink seems almost too good to be true.

Diwali has come and gone. Whether you pulled out all the stops, exercised control, or followed simple ways to keep yourself feeling healthy while also enjoying the festivities, it’s that time of year when you’re going to want to cut back and detox a little. Dial back all the hectic indulgence and regain some balance. Now is as good a time to start as any, and we have just the tricks for you.

For a country with such a rich agricultural heritage, the plight of the Indian farmer today, is deplorable. One look at your daily newspaper is enough to understand the many ways in which farmers across the country are suffering. Failed not just by weather and changing environmental conditions, but by a range of issues that lead to a vicious cycle of debt, drought and inefficient management, that farmers are unable to come out of. If you’ve been following this issue in recent times and helplessly wonder how you can help make a difference, this is your chance to be an enabler of change.

You’re probably wondering who would want to inculcate any kind of healthy habit while cooking your annual Diwali goodies. It’s hardly the time to watch what you eat, count those calories or cut back on the festivities. But given the number of festive feasts you’re likely to indulge in, a little mindful eating, a little careful cooking can help ensure that you get through the season feeling fabulous.

The festive season is well and truly upon us. While we’re still recovering from all the binging on sweets and snacks during Navratri, it’s already time for Diwali. And with this festival comes another wave of endless parties, exchanging sweets, late nights of celebration, and all the irresistible festive food. Everybody tends to let go a little during this time of gluttony and indulgence, and inevitably the guilt follows. But you could break that cycle this festive season.

As an entrepreneur there is always a sense of panic, stress and meeting deadlines. Everything around us that is work related takes priority. We tend to forget that our body and mind is going through immense exhaustion and stress to keep up with our schedules to become successful. So much so we end up eating at odd hours, eating unhealthy, with no time to exercise, with no time to drink enough water and of course as a result getting less sleep.

It's festive time and we at Archana's Kitchen are sharing our love for our followers by giving away an Airfryer. An Airfryer is a kitchen appliance that cooks by circulating hot air, at high speed around the food that helps in cooking the food and producing a crispy layer on it.

The Air fryer is a fantastic appliance that will help you whip up some healthy potato chips, pakodas, vadas, cakes, crispy karela, crispy bhindi and more using very less oil in a traditional deep frying method. Airfryers come with adjustable temperature and timer knobs that allow for more precise cooking. Check out some recipes from Archana's Kitchen that use the air fryer. 

Festivals in India go back in time when there are unwritten customs and traditions that we follow, and they are passed on to us through generations.  Every festival has something special to offer and every region across India, including the smallest of the villages and towns have their favorite food to boast about.

Hi There!

Thank you for entering the Diwali AirFryer Giveaway with Archana's Kitchen!!

We value your time and information. The winners of the Giveaway will be notified via email after Nov 6th 2015.

Until then Click Here to See All The Latest Recipes From Archana's Kitchen

Happy Cooking and Healthy Eating!

Archana Doshi

How often do you get to attend an event by where the CEO of the company is there to speak to you and addresses an audience of bloggers and willing to answer all question on their products.

October 10th October, 2015, I was part of a meet by ITC Foods. The meet was called, ‘ITC Foods You Ask We Answer’, was aimed to introduce to us what all goes behind building successful food brands as well as provide an open platform to answer questions related to packed foods.

Pressure cookers are almost synonymous with Indian kitchens, and amongst the first things to be purchased when a new kitchen is being set up. The reason is simple, pressure cooking as a method is highly efficient. It is versatile and helps cooking everything from vegetables to lentils, rice and even root vegetables.

Kitchenaid appliances are legendary and one cannot but drool over them. From the iconic Stand Mixer to an entire kitchen of high-performance appliances that are all created with the same attention to detail, quality craftsmanship, versatile technology and timeless design.

Kitchenaid is the only appliance brand that only makes things for the kitchen, and they continue to keep pushing the limits with their products so you can keep doing the same with everything you create.

So this Diwali KitchenAid has some sparkling offers just for you.  Take a pick and gift yourself any one of these legendary appliances and why now - because they have a sparkling Diwali Offer just for you. Click here to see all the offers

Avena sativa, commonly known as oats is a species of cereal grain widely known to be a health food loaded with nutritious properties and the ability to lower harmful effects of cholesterol. Oats are packed with dietary fibre - they contain more fibre than any other grain - and contain vitamins of the B-family like B-1, riboflavin, niacin, thiamin, vitamin B-6 and folate. These vitamins play a vital role in metabolizing carbohydrates, proteins, fats and nucleic acids from your food consumed, allowing the body to use energy drawing from it. Oats are a hardy crop that when harvested can be stored for long periods of time, making them available throughout the year. Commercially they are sold as oatmeal, rolled oats, steel cut oats or oat bran - which is the outer casing of the oats intact. Their distinctive nutty, grain-like texture and taste comes from being roasted post-harvested. The great thing about oats is that despite being hulled, they withstand the process and retain their bran and germ, which accounts for most of the fibre and nutrient content remaining intact. Here are 4 compelling reasons why you should include oats in your everyday diet.

Take on the KitchenAid India Navratri Blogger Challenge here @ The Hub at Archana’s Kitchen, where you share traditional "Sweet Recipes & Fasting Recipes" that are usually made during these 9 holy days of Navratri. Contest - Closed

For generations we’ve been told that we need to fight cholesterol in order to stay healthy. So we go on all kinds of restrictions, to eliminate all manners of dietary cholesterol that we may consume and tip the balance and put ourselves at rick of hypertension and heart disease. The truth is, dietary cholesterol is not the only source. The human body produces cholesterol, to perform a variety of important functions. Cholesterol is produced in the liver, and plays a vital role in maintaining healthy cell membranes, building crucial hormones and vitamins. Cholesterol also forms bile production. Bile is a greenish fluid, also produced by the liver and stored in the gallbladder, and used in the digestion of food that contains fat. Bile acts as an emulsifier, breaking down large globules of fat into smaller particles so they can mix better with the enzymes that digest fat.

WIN is the biggest Blogging Event in India, organized by @BlogAdda.  I am going to be a speaker and conducting a workshop on "What It takes To Make Your Blog Successful" . Join me as I takes you through my journey and give you all the tips and tricks of the trade. You must not miss this session. 

If you like to stay abreast with food trends and developments in clean eating, you’ll know that millets are suddenly getting a lot of good press. You might wonder why this food group that has been present in India for nearly 10,000 years is suddenly being touted as excellent for human consumption. You’ve probably dismissed this as the latest food-fad. But think again, here are five facts and very good reasons that make a good case for adding more millets in your meals.

With rampant growth if diabetes amongst Indians, caused by rapidly-changing unhealthy lifestyles, sedentary lives and increasingly processed and manufactured food items, doctors and health advisors are stresses the need to go back to natural and home remedies to control blood sugar, more than ever before. Research has already shown that a largely vegetarian diet that is low in calories, high in fibre and protein can help control diabetes, and in many cases prevent onset, when combined with healthy lifestyle choices and regular exercise.