Drinks, Holidays, Soup/Salads/Dips 13 comments

Detox Tea and Winter Salad

detox tea 2

Detox Tea and a salad : A tea that soothes your stomach and a salad which curbs your hunger.

It’s 2016. Life and time passes so fast. I am sipping a cup of tea and writing this post, while listening to some music.

detox tea pouring

tea pouring 2

2015 was a quite fulfilling year. I learnt so many new items in photography. I gave up and started loving Photoshop. Blogging and bloggers also taught me many valuable lessons (as I always say, every single experience counts). I learnt and enjoyed learning so many new dishes from my mom through Skype. I never thought of recreating my grandmother’s classic in my modern kitchen in Boston – but sailed through it smoothly. I loved exploring Italy, Berkshires, Disney and Bretton Woods and capturing our moments there. I published about 20 articles on Globe and learnt how to write a perfect recipe. There were some lows (like weight gaining and recurring infections), but overall, 2015 was not too bad.

cambridge snow 2

plated salad 2

I had a long break in December (about 10 days) so I had a lot of time to ponder my life, future, GOALS and where I am going. As I mentioned before, in 2016, super long recipe posts are going to take a back seat in my life. I am going to focus more on PHOTOGRAPHY. I already made a list of subjects I want to shoot and I also want to explore outdoor shooting much more this year. I shot one farm last year, and this year I am trying to increase that to many more local farms.

Vegetables

We are doing TWO LONG TRIPS this year – South of Spain in March and India in November (tentative). We are also planning a short trip to Buffalo and Ithaca just to visit our universities. At my work, I am going to focus again on FRONT END TECHNOLOGIES AND WORDPRESS DEVELOPMENT. I am even planning to do a blog post on how to start a blog, what hosting service to choose and everything else! It might help a few people.

salad

croutons

I am going to reduce my FACEBOOK attachment to an hour a day and focus more on my life. I already purchased a FITBIT (and yes, I did not like the jawbone) and a Thermos Smart Water Bottle, where I can count how much water I am drinking each day (need it for my UTI infection). As you can see, I am taking my health condition very seriously. I have stopped eating junk (chips and Indian Snacks) and focusing more on whole and hearty grains. At night, rather than gorging on cheese, I am eating dark chocolate, cottage cheese and fruits. My goal is to EAT CLEAN this year.

green onion diptych

After a long holiday break, this week I am craving simple food and clean eating. So, I researched a simple detox tea and I drank it quite a few times over the past few days. This is a very simple recipe and is extremely beneficial for your stomach. Prepare a big pot of detox tea and keep sipping the whole day.

plated salad 1

I have also shared a winter salad recipe, which I am munching as an appetizer every day. It has goodliness of winter vegetables and a yum low-calorie mustard based dressing and homemade croutons. What can get better than that?

plated salad

I would love to know your goals and plans for 2016. Don’t forget to share them with me in comment.

Morning Sun

We wish everyone a very Happy New Year!

Recipe for Detox Tea and Winter Salad

Detox recipe is from here.

Tea

In a sauce pan, over high heat, heat water, ginger, cinnamon stick, cloves, lemon juice, honey and cayenne pepper. Bring it to boil. Reduce the temperature to medium-low and simmer for about 5 minutes. Set it aside and let it steep for about 15 minutes. Bring it back to flame and heat it before servin

Salad

In a mixing bowl add lettuce, field greens, cherry tomatoes, green onion, green and black olive, yellow and red pepper, cucumber, shredded carrot. Add a generous amount of salt and toss it to mix it well.

Mustard Vinegar Dressing

In a bowl, add crushed garlic, vinegar and dijon mustard. With spoon stir to mix it well.

Homemade Croutons

  1. Set the oven to 350F. Have a hand on a baking sheet ready.
  2. Add bread pieces. Drizzle olive oil and sprinkle a generous amount of salt and pepper. With hands mix them gently. Bake for about 10-12 minutes, or until they golden brown and tough. Take it aside and serve fresh with the salad.

 

13 Comments

  1. Perfectly written article and recipe, and I must say that I am impressed with your 2016 resolutions/determination as it sounds something like which I want to do or I would do. I am definitely gonna try this recipe.
    Meanwhile I would love if you can share your journey on photography, how did you start and what did you follow to learn skills. I am very excited to learn this skill but not sure how to proceed further.
    Also please write on starting a blog as mentioned.
    Thanks and have a wonderful year ahead!!!

  2. Dolphia Nandi Arnstein

    Thank you so much Neha! Yes, I do have a post on my photographical journey : https://www.storyofcooks.com/food-photography-journey-through-my-lens/

    However, I have already started an “How to start a blog”

  3. As a regular follower here love how u set long and short term blog goals much impressed by how u stick to it too.
    Spring onion close up reminds me of tires and tubes sooo pretty. Detox tea with steam is stunning so is the 1950s like bw window view. I smell the sachet u gave me every now and then its so soothing. Looks like I might keep it for another 20 yrs 🙂 I am a hoarder so better believe that 🙂 For the blog I have big back log I am thinking on cleaning that up to make space for new ideas.Meanwhile thank u for keeping me inspired as always.

  4. Dolphia Nandi Arnstein

    Oh meena, we inspire each other – don’t we?

  5. Wishing you a very happy new year too. I have learnt a lot from your work this year. Thanks for all the guidance and reading materials . Will look forward to your support in the coming years also . November India sounds interesting

  6. That Tea!! Aaaahhh
    That Salad… Refreshing!
    Article- wonderfully expressed! ❤️
    And yes, beautiful photos Dol ❤️

  7. Making new goals is something I do and I set myself a few things as well, something very similar to yours. Facebook has been taking away a lot of time and I have decided to cut down on Facebook time. There is so much productive we can do in that time. Love your goals Dol, cause it sounds more like mine 😛 😀
    Btw I love that ingredient shot… the styling is so elegant!

  8. Hi..Am a big fan & follower of ur recipes & always wonder how u took so beautiful photos of ur delicious dishes…now I got u! keep posting the detailed process of making food & photography..being a Bengali am a biggg foodie & drooling over ur blogs all the time 😛

  9. Congratulations on all that you achieved in 2015 Dol. And wishing you many more achievements in the future. Keep rocking girl!

  10. Dolphia Nandi Arnstein

    Thanks darling!

  11. Happy New Year Dol! Wish you a fantastic 2016 and I hope you achieve all this and more. This year I’m rediscovering my love for salads and it looks like so are you.

  12. Happy New Year to you Dolphia. I am in awe of your pictures and also your posts that are so well written. I always felt that I need to focus on Fb as I am absolutely pathethic with that. Amazed how your goals are different.

  13. Loved every part of the post Dolphia.. Beautiful pictures.