You have to eat the right foods to fuel your workout. Before you get set to hit the gym, you may want to re-consider your diet. Sometimes unknowingly we eat things that instead of helping our workout go against it. The result is… well… no result, even hours after sweating it out!
Balance is the key. You can’t run on an empty stomach or even stuff yourself after your workout. A pre-workout meal or snack prepares your body for exercise, whereas a post-workout meal helps in rebooting the body’s drained muscles. Here is a list of food items that get the best out of your workout.
Pre-workout Food
1) Greek Yogurt– Greek yogurt is high on protein and is easy to digest. It is great if you’re going to follow it up with a high-intensity cardio workout.
2) Omelet with vegetables- Breakfast for dinner? Uhh… yes! This post-workout food is perfect for those who want to keep their calorie and carb consumption low but need the protein to retain muscle.
3) Chocolate milk- It boosts post-workout recovery and provides carbohydrate replenishment for your muscles. It is also enriched with calcium and refuels the body’s sugar level.
While there is a lot of controversy going on about our favourite Maggi noodles, the internet like always did not fail to make this issue hilarious yet again. The fact of the matter is that we all love Maggi, don’t we? It’s not just a pack of noodles but holds a deep emotional connect with most of us just like those treasured childhood memories. While we are secretly stocking up those leftover noodle packs to bring back the soothing memories, the internet is busy trolling. Take a look at these hilarious Maggi trolls that are downright crazy.
Ya ya we get it, some of us don’t really like this festival of colours but shamelessly love the fact that it’s one extra/added/blissful staying-at-home kinda holiday every year. Believe us; we get you and have all the reasons to hate Holi as well. Like why would one really want to get dirty with colours in the first place and later spend two hours in the shower scraping it off? Sounds stupid, right? Here, take a look at a few reasons that makes Holi such a drab and a truly unexciting festival
1. Too many colours! Like who would want to see so many colours around them? Life in monochrome is way better. Isn’t it?
3. Socialising and get-togethers? Spreading love and happiness through colours? Are you kidding? Why do all that when you can stay home and waste your life.
4. Who needs the spirit of festivity? I mean there are so many different kinds of ‘spirits’ out there already right? (…that just harm your body and soul!)
7. They say Holi marks the harvesting of winter crop (Rabi) therefore it’s a super significant festival too! Well, all right but it’s just a holiday at the end of the day, right?
8. An opportunity to forget all differences and indulge in unadulterated fun? Who would like to do that when those ‘differences’ between people are way above their happiness and peace?
On a serious note, if you do think all these reasons still don’t make you want to put on those old clothes and walk out to be a part of Holi celebrations, then we’re sorry!
Holi is one of those few festivals that are celebrated with unbridled zest in our country, irrespective of people’s religions, ethnicity and nativity etc. We urge you….go out and make memories. Forget the differences and mark new beginnings! Bye.
Here’s the hottest find in the city for authentic Lebanese cuisine. Visit Zizo in Connaught Place and explore the refined cuisine that is as intricate in its flavours as the inter-weaving of cultures that influences it. Meet Fouad Abdel Malak, the CEO of Zizo and find out what he thinks makes his restaurant stand out.
Fouad Abdel Malak:Basically I found out that there are no really good Lebanese restaurants in India and I thought how amazing would it be to bring something authentic from Lebanon to India.
Fouad Abdel Malak is the CEO of the authentic Lebanese restaurant Zizo, located in Connaught Place, New Delhi. He talks of his commitment to the myriad flavours of his homeland and the unique nuances of his eatery in the capital.
Fouad Abdel Malak:I come from a village it’s called Abadieh, it’s about 20 minutes from Beirut and it’s all green and there we eat great food everyday! It’s organic, its healthy, its nutritious and everything is picked from the garden so I thought how great it would be to offer the same thing to people in India. We’ve brought together like unique things like Mulberry juice which doesn’t exist here. Organic mulberry juice, we brought together Fatte which is a yoghurt with chick peas and a bed of crispy bread and we have some good grills and some very very traditional foods like Hummus but done the proper way!
The team at Zizo believes in establishing customer relationships which go beyond just a hospitable environment. It’s almost like they are brand ambassadors of a beautiful culture defined by its warmth, vibrancy and a certain indescribable elegance.
Fouad Abdel Malak:We are not trying just to make money, we want to make friends and that’s what is really important to Zizo. It’s about making friends and introducing people to the beautiful culture of Lebanese cuisine and beautiful habits of hospitality that we are famous for in Lebanon and the great healthy food we bring to India is something that I hope people will appreciate.
Carving the restaurant interior into four different sections, Fouad explains how the restaurant setup is a like a journey with different facets that cater to diverse customer preferences. The one theme that runs in common is a delectable Lebanese experience accentuated by a rich and varied burst of flavours.
Fouad Abdel Malak: I wanted this place to be like a journey. And every area to represent a different facet of that journey.When you come here, you feel like you’ve gone to Lebanon. We’ve got books; we have movie nights on Tuesdays where we bring down the screen. We have documentaries about Lebanon; we have pickles the way we make in Lebanon – the same way, the same taste. We have the same way of making traditional Pita bread which kind of inflates and it’s very very fresh.
And here’s a little insight on the specialties at the restaurant from the horse’s mouth.
Fouad Abdel Malak:I think we have the best hummus in India by far and it’s not an easy thing to make good hummus and I would like you to know that our hummus which chef Dany with Chef Maroun sells for 20 Euros in Monaco, and here it sells for around 250 rupees. So I think what we tried to do is we tried to get that top level food here. And something else which is very unique is the Man’oushe, it’s the Lebanese flat bread pizza, which has various toppings and is very typical of Lebanons street food.And the last thing I would like to talk about is the guest favoured – Falafel. We went to a crazy length to get the Falafel as good as the best places in Lebanon.
Amongst the specialties, Fouad believes that the ‘Lebanese leg of lamb’ trulystands apart and is a must-try at Zizo.
Fouad Abdel Malak: We have a Lebanese leg of lamb, we call it Oriental leg of lamb or the King’s feast. It’s a leg of lamb and .it’s cooked to perfection on a bed of rice with some Arabic nuts and a peppery Lebanese sauce which is very famous in Lebanon and it is a really unique dish.
Where: Connaught Place, K 18,22, Connaught Place, New Delhi & M 23, 1st Floor, Greater Kailash (GK) 1, New Delhi
Must Try: Lebanese leg of lamb, Man’oushe, Falafel and Traditional hummus with Tahini
Since Smokey’s opened in Delhi’s GK-II area about a year ago, it has been as influential as every other iconic restaurant in the city. Not only is it famous for its smoke-infused food and cocktails, its flamboyant hospitality and vibrant ambience is what bringstrue connoisseurs back to this restaurant. Restaurateur and owner Shiv Karan Singh walked us through the journey of this now-beloved Delhi haunt. Here are the excerpts from the interview.
Shiv Karan Singh:I feel today every place has to be for everybody, kind of a feel good factor.Smokey’s is more than a restaurant; it’s an activity space where people can engage and have a great time without pinching their pockets. Yes of course we want everybody to come but I want everybody to remember me for my food more than anything else to be honest.
One look around the restaurant’s lofty wood and brick decor and you can guess the type of food they serve. From American style barbeque steaks to grills; this restaurant has something to satiate all kinds of palettes.
Shiv Karan Singh:I love all my food, my steaks, yes I love my steaks and I think what we offer is a very different palette of things whether it’s from the European to the little twist of the Indian taste. So I think we guys must be the one of the first ones to start with burger sliders and burger hot dogs, we do a lot of steaks, we do a lot of good fish; we have ‘red snapper’ we have ‘John Dory’, we have three or four different types of steaks which we offer which is quite known amongst the people out here.
The entrance of the restaurant is decked with a shot bar and the side wall is decked with coloured arty bottles. Smokey’s takes pride in the innovation they’ve introduced into the preparation of their cocktails.
Shiv Karan Singh:So we’ve used the smoke element with the liquor so we have a lot of smoke based cocktails out here. Whether you call it a smokey martini, a lock stock, old fashioned, all these are very new with lot of smoke with wood being used with a lot of things infusing together. My personal favourite cocktail here is the ‘smoking lock stock’ which is a vodka based cocktail thatI love, and then John does a ‘Johntini’ its a single malt cocktail which is one of my favourites out here.
Where: Plot 2, VIPPS Center, Masjid Moth, Greater Kailash (GK) II, New Delhi
Must Try: Cocktails – ‘Lock, Stock & A Smokin’ Barrel’ and ‘Burn Bourbon Burn’
Food – ‘John Dory with Smoked Shimla Chili’ and ‘Slider Dogs’
Cost: Rs.2,000 for two (approx including alcohol), taxes and charges extra
Opening hours: 12 Noon to 1 AM (All days of the week)
