DIY Lipbalm

Hello beautiful people. I hope you all are doing great. Winter has just arrived. And for me & many other girls winter is synonymous with chapped lips :D. So today I have an easy DIY lipbalm recipe to share with you all because nobody loves a chapped pout :D. So let’s get started.

Ingredients:

1. 1 spoon Vaseline

2. 3 spoons coconut oil

3. 1 spoon olive oil/castor oil

4. 1 ½ - 2 crayons

5. Few drops of food flavoring

You will also need a glass container.

Procedure:

1. Break the crayons and put them in the glass container. You can even mix 2 colored crayons, I mixed purple and pink to get mauve color.

2. Add Vaseline, coconut oil, olive/castor oil.

3. Put this vessel in a double boiler as shown and turn on the heat.

4. You need to keep stirring the mixture until everything is mixed well.

5. Finally add few drops of food flavoring and turn off the heat.

6. Store this in plastic bottles or in empty lipbalm/lipstick cases. Let it sit in freezer for around 2 hours. And then your lipbalm is ready to treat your chapped lips.

So friends I hope you like this easy DIY Lipbalm recipe. If you decide to try this out. Let me know in the comments below how it works for your pout.Goodbye my dear friends and I will see you tomorrow. Until then Keep Smiling. Please do follow my blog, like the facebook page. (https://www.facebook.com/pages/A-Happy-Girl/292903830872974?ref_type=bookmark) and follow me on twitter (https://twitter.com/A_Happy_Girl2) as well as on Google Plus. If you have any suggestions or questions, please comment below.

P.S.: Crayons contain very less chemicals as they are used by little kids. So they are safe to be used in making a lipbalm.

Tofu masala

Hello all you healthy people. I hope you all are doing great. Today I have a healthy gravy vegetable recipe for you. The gravy is generalized in the sense that you can pair it with your favorite vegetable. I decided to go for tofu as it is a little healthier substitute for panner and I am a paneer lover :D. So let’s get started.

Ingredients:

1. 1 cup diced tofu or any other vegetable of your choice

2. 1 tsp. oil

3. ¼ tbsp. kasoori methi

4. ½ tsp. cumin (jeera) powder

5. ¼ tbsp. garam masala

6. ¼ tbsp. turmeric powder (haldi)

7. ¼ tbsp. coriander powder

8. ½ tsp. Chili powder (or as per your taste)

9. ½ tsp. lemon juice

10. 1 medium sized Tej patta

11. Pinch of cinnamon powder

12. Water for washing

13. Salt to taste

To be grinded:

1. 1 cup chopped onions

2. ½ cup tomato

3. 3-4 cloves of garlic

4. A bit of ginger

5. ½ tsp sesame seeds

6. 1-2 cloves (laung)

7. 2-3 black pepper 

Procedure:

1. Soak the tofu in water for about 15 minutes and the drain the water. You can just wash other vegetables.

2. Grind all the ingredients mentioned under the label. I did grind clove & pepper in mortar and pestle but you can grind it in electric grinder as well.

 

3. Add ¼ tsp. oil in a non-stick pan and stir fry the tofu/vegetables until they turn light brown.

4. Add rest of the oil in the pan and add tej patta to it. Later add the grinded mixture (as well as the clove-pepper powder) to it. Cook it for around 7 minutes on medium flame.

5. Add turmeric powder, cumin powder, cinnamon powder, chili powder and salt and mix well.

6. Then add ½ cup water to it.

7. Add tofu to it.

8. Finally add kasoori methi and garam masala. And let the vegetable cook for around 5-7 minutes.

9. Serve it hot with chapatis. 

So friends I hope you like this more ingredients, less steps recipe. If you decide to try it out, tell me in the comments below. Goodbye my dear friends and I will see you tomorrow. Until then Keep Smiling. Please do follow my blog, like the facebook page. (https://www.facebook.com/pages/A-Happy-Girl/292903830872974?ref_type=bookmark) and follow me on twitter (https://twitter.com/A_Happy_Girl2) as well as on Google Plus. If you have any suggestions or questions, please comment below.

Royal Face pack

Hello all you beautiful people. I hope you all are having great time. Diwali is just around the corner and it is the best time to pamper yourself. So I present before you a beautiful face pack made with rose petals and saffron. Oh that sounds royal doesn’t it? You can make a lip scrub as well with the same ingredients. So let’s jump right into it, shall we?

Ingredients:

1. ½ cup rose petals

2. ½ cup milk

3. ¼ cup rice flour

4. Few strands of saffron

5. 1 + ½ tsp honey

Procedure:

1. Soak the rose petals and saffron in milk for around 30 minutes.

2. Then grind this mixture.

3. Add this mixture to the rice flour. Leave ½ tsp. mixture for the lip pack.

4. Finally add 1 tsp. honey.

5. Apply this pack on your face and neck. Leave it until it dries and then remove it with lukewarm water. You can double the ingredients and apply it on your hands and feet as well.

6. For the lip scrub mix ½ tsp honey and ½ tsp rose petals mixture.

7. Massage this on your lips for 2-3 minutes and the wash it off with lukewarm water.

This face pack makes your skin glow and it also makes your skin feel baby soft. Try it out and let me know how you like it, in the comments below. Goodbye my dear friends and I promise to meet you all tomorrow. Until then Keep Smiling. Please do follow my blog, like the facebook page. (https://www.facebook.com/pages/A-Happy-Girl/292903830872974?ref_type=bookmark) and follow me on twitter (https://twitter.com/A_Happy_Girl2) as well as on Google Plus. If you have any suggestions or questions, please comment below.

Healthy Upwas Khichdi for Navratri

Hello all you healthy people. I hope you all are doing great. Navratri season is on so today I am going to share with you my healthy take on the traditional upwas khichdi. So let’s get started. Shall we???

Ingredients:

1. ¼ cup Sago (Sabudana)

2. ¼ cup Bhagar

3. ½ cup Sweet potato (grated)

4. 1 ½ tbsp. Powdered peanuts

5. ½ tsp. Green chilli paste

6. 1 tbsp. Dry fruits

7. ½ tsp. Jeera powder

8. ½ tsp. Oil

9. Salt to taste

10. Lemon juice(optional)

11. Water

Procedure:

1. Soak the sago in ½ cup water for about 10-15 minutes.Then drain the water. Let it sit just like that overnight.

2. Heat the oil in a non-stick pan and add green chilli paste to it.

3. Add the bhagar to it and roast it for around 2-3 minutes.

4. Add jeera powder.

5. Add 1 ½ cup water and let the mixture cook for 5 more minutes.

6. Add grated sweet potato and sago to it.

7. Then add powdered peanuts. Mix well.

8. Let the mixture cook for around 5-7 minutes on medium heat.

9. Finally add salt, dry fruits and lemon juice to it.

10. And your upwas khichdi is ready to serve. Serve it hot with dahi.

So friends I hope you like this healthy take on the yummy upwas khachdi. If you decide to give this a try, let me know whether you like it or not. Goodbye my dear friends and I promise to meet you all on Sunday. Until then Keep Smiling. Please do follow my blog, like the facebook page. (https://www.facebook.com/pages/A-Happy-Girl/292903830872974?ref_type=bookmark) and follow me on twitter (https://twitter.com/A_Happy_Girl2) as well as on Google Plus. If you have any suggestions or questions, please comment below.

PS.: I know I am little late in posting this article. But I hope you enjoy making this recipe for your loved ones.

Healthy Oats-Moong Dal Khichdi

Hello my lovely friends. I hope you are doing great. Khichdi is one of my favorite foods of all time. For me it’s a “food for my soul”. So I decide to give it a little healthier twist and made the traditional khichdi with oats. This recipe is very easy to make and it tastes amazing. I personally like to have it as a dinner. Without further ado let’s get started.

Here’s what you will need

Ingredients:

1. 1 cup Oats

2. 1/3 cup Moong dal

3. ¼ tsp Garam masala

4. 1 1/2 tbsp chopped Coriander

5. ½ tsp oil

6. ½ tsp turmeric powder

7. Salt to taste

8. 2-3 cups Water

To be grind into paste

1. 1 large Onion

2. 2 cloves of Garlic

3. ½ inch Ginger

4. 2 medium sized Green chilies

5. ¼ tsp jeera

Procedure:

1. Wash the moong dal and soak the moong dal in 1½ cups water for about 3-4 hours. This will help to cook it a bit faster.

2. 15-20 minutes before cooking the khichdi add in the oats to the soaked moong dal.

3. Heat the oil in a non stick pan on medium heat.

4. Add the onion-ginger-garlic-green chilies paste and sauté the paste for 2-3 minutes.

5. Add in turmeric and salt.

6. Transfer the soaked oats-moong dal mixture (along with the water) to the pan.

7. Cover the pan and let the khichdi cook for about 10 minutes. Add in some water if needed.

8. Add the garam masala and chopped coriander and let the khichdi cook for another 5 minutes.

9. To know whether the khichdi is cooked or not check whether the moong dal has softened or not.

10. Adjust the consistency of the khichdi as per your personal taste. I personally like the porridge like consistency :D

11. Serve it hot with chutney or pickle or you can enjoy it on its own.

So friends if you decide to try this recipe then don’t forget to tell me in the comments whether you like it or not. Goodbye my dear friends and I promise to meet you all on Sunday. Until then Keep Smiling. Please do follow my blog, like the facebook page. (https://www.facebook.com/pages/A-Happy-Girl/292903830872974?ref_type=bookmark) and follow me on twitter (https://twitter.com/A_Happy_Girl2) as well as on Google Plus. If you have any suggestions or questions, please comment below.

DIY Toners

Hello beautiful ladies. I hope you are having an amazing day. Today I am going to share with you 2 easy DIY toners. Not many drugstore toners are available in India so jugaad is must :D . So here are the jugaads.

Green tea – Rosewater toner

You will need-

1. 1 tsp Green tea (1 teabag would also be sufficient)

2. ½ cup water

3. ½ cup rosewater

Procedure:                     

1. Boil the water and then add green tea to it.

2. Strain the tea and let it cool down.

3. Mix rosewater with the green tea. (Read my DIY rosewater post here http://ahappygirlwrites.blogspot.com/2014/08/diy-rosewater.html )

4. Store it in plastic bottle or a spray bottle.

Cucumber – Mint toner

You will need-

1. 1 medium sized cucumber

2. ½ cup water

3. 5-7 mint leaves

Procedure:

1. Boil the water and then add mint leaves to it.

2. Strain the mint water and let it cool down.

3. Get the cucumber juice. (You can find the method to extract cucumber juice in this post http://ahappygirlwrites.blogspot.com/2014/07/cucumber-potato-face-pack.html)

4. Mix the cucumber juice & mint water. Store it in plastic bottle or spray bottle.

How to apply:

After you have washed your face and wiped it dry. Spray some toner on your face. Use cotton or your clean hands to spread it evenly on your face. Let it sink in your skin. This will take at least 2-3 minutes. Then you can proceed with rest of your skincare and makeup routine.

Why is toner important???

The main job of toner is to close the open pores. So that dirt, etc does not get clogged into it. This is why toner should be the 2^nd step in your skincare routine, 1^st being washing. So if you deal with the problem of blackheads, whiteheads or open pores, use toner regularly.

So friends I hope you try out these toners. Do let me know in the comments how it works for your skin. Goodbye my dear friends and I promise to meet you all on Sunday. Until then Keep Smiling. Please do follow my blog, like the facebook page. (https://www.facebook.com/pages/A-Happy-Girl/292903830872974?ref_type=bookmark) and follow me on twitter (https://twitter.com/A_Happy_Girl2) as well as on Google Plus. If you have any suggestions or questions, please comment below.