As a diabetic, I was eager to find out what the buzz was all about with the Fortune VIVO Diabetes-Care oil. Considering that I try and minimize oil in my cooking and instead, substitute with healthy fats from fruits and nuts, I was curious. How can there be an oil that helps #MakeIndiaDiabetesFree?
I was about to find out, thanks to the opportunity of creating a dish using Fortune VIVO Diabetes-Care Oil for the #MakeIndiaDiabetesFree activity at BlogAdda.Nice!
If you interact with family or friends who are diabetic, one of the things you'll always hear is the challenge it is to maintain a healthy diet. Of course we want to binge on banana chips and baked goods like everyone else without worrying about our sugar spiking to Mt.Everest and beyond! But usually, better sense prevails and we just look longingly at all the goodies, especially the fried ones and fantasize. You know what they say about the best things in life being immoral, illegal or fattening.
So anyway, be that as it may, I do eat healthy and live a healthy lifestyle focusing on the three most important things to keep my blood sugar in check: diet, exercise and keeping weight under control. I am more or less on track.
Food, especially, is a major part of it. I painstakingly make a menu plan so that I can shop healthy. Luckily, my family buddies up in eating a healthy diet with the occasional treat in the form of exotic dishes.
In terms of oil, I use coconut oil, sunflower oil, sesame oil in moderation depending on what I am making. I try as much as possible, to use cooking methods and recipes that use minimal oil. This means baking, roasting, pressure cooking and loads of salad that needs no cooking. I also enjoy cooking from scratch as I can play with the ingredients and keep it as simple and as healthy as possible.
And by. The. Way. Eating healthy doesn't mean boring food, as my family will endorse. We eat delicious food at home!
As my Grandma used to say, cooking oil free is not a good idea since our body needs some fat to keep it going. The trick is to be clever in using the right oil.
So when a cheerful blue, healthy looking 5-liter jerry can of Fortune VIVO Diabetes-Care Oil came into my life, and my kitchen, I was a bit stunned. I never buy that quantity, you see. One liter of oil lasts me over a month.
First step was to get to know this oil so that I could see ways to use it in my daily cooking since the claim is "whether you are diabetic, at risk, or simply health-conscious, the smart choice is Fortune VIVO Oil".
This year, the theme for World Health Day was "beat diabetes" and I like the concept #MakeIndiaDiabetesFree - considering that India is the Diabetes capital of the World - not a nice thing at all! With erratic eating habits being the order of the day for most people with busy lifestyles, the sooner we make changes in our lifestyle, diet and environment, the better our chances of preventing so many lifestyle diseases. It is all about making the right choice!
Why Fortune VIVO?
Developed after years of intense research, Fortune VIVO is healthy for the whole family because:
- Sesamum indicum seed oil helps reduce high blood-sugar level, and improves the efficiency of anti-diabetic medications.
- Tocotrienol and Oryzanol improve insulin sensitivity in type-2 diabetes mellitus.
- Sesamin helps control high blood pressure.
And we all know that keeping blood sugar in check is the key to keeping various health issues at bay!
The experienceI started off with a positive feeling, probably because we use sesame oil not only in cooking, but also as a beauty aid for hair care and skin care as sesame is rich in vitamins A, B and E. Ask any Tamilian about the Friday Oil-bath ritual! So full marks for the sesamum indicum!
I've reviewed the Fortune rice bran health oil and now, it is a pleasure to experience Fortune VIVO, Dia-Care oil I grew up believing that food is our medicine - which means being conscious of what we eat, when we eat it and how much.
Here's a list of dishes I make regularly where I used VIVO
- Idli
- Dosa
- Vegetable dishes
- Sambhar and dal
- Parathas and rotis
- Mixed vegetable rice
And fortunately, since my son is home for the holidays, some indulgence as well
- Eggplant parmigiana - this is the recipe I really wanted to post today because it turned out fabulously, but I restrained myself because it is not the healthiest one for diabetics. I have a version I will post later
- Wadas
- Cheese and paneer based dishes
- Pasta
- Noodles
- Cake
- Paneer subzis
- Stuffed vegetables
- Pizza
- Fried eats
And plenty more on request.
For today, let me show you two recipes
Coriander/mint/coconut/curry leaf chutney will keep in your freezer (if you let them) and be your go-to for various uses - you can use it in a sandwich, as a side-dish for parathas or mix with hot rice and ghee and enjoy, or just sneak it into your vegetable preparations. Greens are good for you and these greens are reaaaally good!
- Healthy Carrot-onion paratha that can double up as a snack or a meal
Chutney
You need:
- A big bunch of coriander, cleaned and chopped. Don't throw away the stalks - they are healthy and must be used. *looking at you sternly*
- A big bunch of curry leaves, cleaned and without the stalks.
For the base
- Chana dal - 6 tablespoons
- Urad dal - 4 teaspoons
- Dry red chilies - 4 (vary the number according to your taste)
- Asafoetida - powdered - half a teaspoon
- Dry mango powder - 3 teaspoons (you can substitute with tamarind or lemon juice)
- Salt to taste
- Two tablespoons of Fortune VIVO Diabetes-Care Oil to fry
How to: - Warm the oil in a large wok.
- Fry ingredients 1 to 4 until golden brown
- Turn off stove.
- When this cools, grind it in your mixer-grinder.
- Then add the dry mango powder and salt and mix well. I just run the mixer again.
- If you use lemon juice, great! You'll end up with wet chutney instead of powder.
- Once you have the base ready, you can create coriander chutney, curry leaf powder, coconut chutney and mint chutney.
- You can substitute dry mango powder with lemon juice or tamarind.
- I like to make the coriander (cilantro), coconut and mint as wet chutney while I prefer the curry leaf as a powder, because I can use it as masala for various dry veggie preps.
- If you use the traditional bar of asafoetida, fry it with the dals before grinding. You'll need a small piece. You can also use the ready to use powder.
What did I forget? Let me know!
Now, the carrot-onion paratha!
You need:
- 3 Carrots, peeled and grated
- 2 Onion, finely chopped
- One cup finely chopped coriander
- Salt to taste
- Turmeric powder - a quarter teaspoon
- Asafoetida - a quarter teaspoon
- 2 green chilies, finely chopped
- I just add a tablespoon of the coriander chutney we made earlier - very tasty!
- Flour of your choice. I use multi-millet/multigrain flour. You'll need enough to knead it into a firm dough.
- Oil for cooking
How to: - To make the dough - In a large bowl, mix all the ingredients except the flour. Then add the flour and knead it into a firm dough. NO WATER required. You'll be amazed at how the ingredients generate enough moisture to help you prepare the dough. If it is too dry, consider adding a little yogurt.
- Shape the dough into thick flat discs
- Roll each disc into the shape of your choice - circles/triangles/squares. If you have kids, you may want to create shapes with their playdoh shape cookie cutters to make it more fun!
- Heat a griddle
- Cook each paratha using a little oil and flipping them over until both sides are cooked.
Best eaten hot. I like a cup of yogurt with it. And some chutney.
Tips- Do not add water while making the dough, or it will become too loose and you'll end up adding too much flour in the desperation to get it right. Oh yeah, been there done that, ha ha.
- Some people like to saute the veggies, but I prefer to use them raw and mix them with the flour rather than use them as stuffing. Less work.
- You could use chili powder instead of green chilies, but green chilies taste so much better
- You can add cooked chickpeas while making the dough. Yum.
- Besides carrot, you can make this with mashed potatoes, grated radish, cauliflower, cabbage and fenugreek leaves. Equally healthy and easy to make.
What did I forget? Let me know if you have questions.
We enjoyed some popcorn too!
I enjoyed cooking with Fortune VIVO Diabetes-Care oil. I felt it tasted like sesame, but that's natural because that's the ingredient in this blended edible vegetable oil. I like the taste of sesame oil.
I also tried using it in baking a cake in place of my regular cooking oil - and found that it tasted pretty good.
I made a sweet dish with it - besan burfi, where the chickpea flour has to be fried - and it tasted good.
Here's a collage of other regulars in our family that tasted just fine with VIVO.
So, yes. I would use it regularly.
Have you used Fortune VIVO Diabetes-Care oil? What is your experience?
Writer, editor, blogger, social media enthusiast. Love DIY, Coffee, Music, Reading, Photography, Family, Friends and Life. Mantra: Happiness is a DIY Project. In my free time I play with my dust bunnies and show my diabetes who's boss. Tweet as @vidyasury
