The Brunette Diaries

For The Tea Lovers: Our Favourite Chai Recipes With A Twist

We Indians love our tea, actually, we Indians love our chai. Just like the west where the day does not begin without a cup coffee, in India no day can begin effectively without a cup of chai. We make plain tea, pudina tea, cinnamon tea, cardamom tea, ginger tea and so on. But, have you ever tried chocolate tea or vanilla tea perhaps? Now you can! Try out these amazing chai recipes and give your regular chai a lovely twist.

Also read: 10 Health Benefits Of Different Types Of Tea

Chocolate Chai

Chocolate and chai, two of our favourite things, together, in one drink. How can we not love this concoction?

Ingredients:

1 teaspoon regular tea powder

½ stick cinnamon (dalchini)

1 clove (laung)

1 heapful teaspoon cocoa powder (unsweetened)

2 teaspoons brown sugar or white sugar

½ cup water

½ cup milk

Chocolate shavings/cocoa powder (optional)

Method:

Pour the water into a saucepan and bring to a simmer. Add the cinnamon, clove, tea powder and sugar.

Bring this to a boil. Add the cocoa powder and stir with a spoon ensuring no lumps are formed.

Pour in the milk and bring to a simmer stirring occasionally. Once completely heated, strain into a glass or cup. Top it with chocolate shavings or cocoa powder. Serve hot.

Vanilla Chai

The vanilla extract gives this chai recipe an irresistible aroma and silky smooth taste.

Ingredients:

1 teaspoon regular tea powder

2 cloves cardamom (elaichi)

2 teaspoons white sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

½ cup water

½ cup milk

Whipped cream (optional)

All spice powder (garam masala) (optional)

Method:

Pour the water into a saucepan and bring to a simmer. Crush the cardamom pods in a mortar-pestle.

Add the crushed cardamom, tea powder and sugar.

Bring to a boil. Add the milk and vanilla extract. Stir occasionally.

Once heated, strain into a glass or cup. Top it with a dollop of whipped cream and a light sprinkle of all spice powder. Serve hot.

Also read: Benefits Of Drinking Green Tea

Orange Chai

We never thought chai could be made more refreshing than it already is, but with the addition of orange, it’s even more awakening and delicious.

Ingredients:

1 teaspoon regular tea powder

½ stick cinnamon (dalchini)

1 small orange zest

2 teaspoons honey or white sugar

½ cup water

½ cup milk

Sliced orange (optional)

1 stick cinnamon (optional)

All spice powder (garam masala) (optional)

Method

Pour the water into a saucepan and bring to a simmer. Add the cinnamon, tea powder, orange zest and sugar.

Bring to a boil. Add the milk and stir occasionally.

Once, the milk has boiled, turn off the heat and strain into a glass or cup.

Garnish with sliced orange and cinnamon stick if desired. You can also sprinkle a little all spice powder around the rim. Serve hot.

What are you waiting for! A true chai lover would definitely give these delectable chai recipes a try. Are you one of them?

Mouth-watering cornflakes recipes your kids will love

Hello Mommies! Do you have many big boxes of extra cornflakes that your kids refuse to eat? Well, not every child is a fan of milk-and-cornflakes because it is tagged as “healthy” food. TV commercials be damned! But don’t worry; in a way that’s interesting food calling. Cook these amazing yet healthy recipes using cornflakes and cheat your family into health, without feeling guilty, of course!

Scroll down for some scrumptiousness…

Yummy granola bars:

Cornflakes granola bars are a healthy option to snack on

Ingredients:

1 cup crushed corn flakes

1 cup quick cooking rolled oats

½ cup chopped nuts

2 tbsp sweet melon seeds (charmagaz)

1 tbsp raisins (kismis)

½ cup sugar

Method: Roast the nuts, oats and cornflakes on a low flame, and keep aside. In a heavy bottomed pan, caramelise the sugar with a few drops of water and keep stirring to avoid burning. As soon as the caramel is ready add it to the roasted mixture with raisins and melon seeds and mix well. Lightly grease a flat surface, pile the mixture on it and roll it out until it’s as thick as your index finger. While it’s still warm, cut out small squares or rectangles and let it cool. Store it in an air-tight container. These yummy granola bars are so healthy yet so tasty, and make a delicious snack-time fix.

Cheesy cornflakes:

Ingredients:

1 bowl cornflakes

¼ cup roasted almonds

1 tsp low-fat margarine

2 tbsp grated cheddar cheese

A pinch of salt

¼tsp white vinegar

Method: Combine all ingredients in a microwave safe bowl and mix well. Microwave for 5 minutes or until the cheese melts and coats the cornflakes well. Garnish with more grated cheese and serve immediately. Is your mouth watering yet? Mine is!

Crispy chicken/paneer balls:

Ingredients:

1 cup boiled shredded chicken or grated paneer

1 potato boiled, peeled and mashed

1 tsp ginger-garlic paste

1 tsp cumin-coriander powder (zeera-dhaniya powder)

1 tsp red-chilli powder

½ tsp dry mango powder (aamchoor)

1 cup cornflakes

½ cup flour (maida)

¼ cup lukewarm water

Salt as per taste

1 tbsp oil

Method: In a large bowl, mix the first 6 ingredients, make 10 equal sized balls and keep aside. In another bowl, make a smooth paste out of flour and water with a pinch of salt. Crush the cornflakes to a coarse powder and spread it onto a plate. Now dip the balls in the flour paste and then in the crushed corn to coat it well and place them on a baking tray. Lightly drizzle the oil on the balls and bake in the oven for 10 minutes. Vegetarians can follow the same recipe by substituting chicken with crumbled or grated paneer. Trust this recipe to make your children give you a big hug every time they find this in the lunchbox!

Tell me which recipe was a favourite with your family. Happy cooking, mommies!

Signs that he is falling in love with you

Men aren’t always good at expressing emotions, but if you are alert enough you can pick up these cues from him that suggest he is falling in love with you.

You must be able to pick up cues because he won’t always say it

He sends you text messages for no reason

The more he sends you messages, the more he cares about you. It just goes on to show how love-drunk he is. He may vie for your attention when he sends you mundane messages. Do not ignore them. Take them as a cue that he is falling for you.

He calls you just to hear your voice

He just loves to call you. He cannot resist calling you even if he doesn’t have a reason. He wants to hear your voice. He may call you and maybe not even speak much, but listen to what you have to say!

He texts fewer people

You may figure that he is giving you his sole attention and you may wonder why and how come. Understand that he has sobered down his social interaction because he is beginning to become love struck.

You hear his buddies giving him a hard time of late

You may hear a hint when he talks about how his friends feel he’s been behaving differently. They’re actually making astute observations about subtle behavioural changes that you may not have picked up on.

He sometimes talks rubbish just so that you can ask him what’s wrong

This can be at the later stages of being love struck. He tends to talk rubbish with the expectation that you ask him if everything is alright. He may be seeking attention. No guy says that straight up. Guys are masters of emotion masking.

He will text you just to stay in touch all day

If you see such quirky behaviour in a guy, do not be repulsed and wonder what’s wrong. You are wrong! ‘You’ happened to him. He cannot resist the thought of you and is falling in love.

Steps To Get A Guy To Fall In Love With You

Are you looking to hook up with a guy who you’ve had your eye on for quite a long time? You may not feel confident to approach him… well, there’s your problem, in fact. If he ever notices that you lack confidence, it can be a real turn off to any guy. While most claim that there is something called love at first sight, we beg to differ. He can fall in love with the way you look, and have a crush on you, but love you? Love is something more meaningful and the term has been thrown around wrongly too often.

(Also read – Signs that he is falling in love with you)

So here we look at steps in which you can build up your confidence to walk up to the man of your dreams and make him fall head over heels for you.

Love yourself

Loving yourself is the first step towards being loved. If he sees that you love the way you look, he’ll perceive you to be confident. Everything we see and read on television and magazines gives us an unrealistic perception of what our bodies should look like. Instead, learn to love yourself just the way you are, and he will too.

(Also read – Mistakes that can ruin new love)

Love everything you do

Any boy will be much more likely to fall in love with you if you love what you do and feel more positive about the things in your life. If you make it known that you’re happy pursuing your interests, work, or career, then he’ll be more inclined to want to get to know you.

Melroy Day, a 21-year-old I.T. student feels that, “The biggest sickness society suffers from is ‘what will people say’. A girl who could get rid of this unreal expectation of society and love herself will be much more attractive to me.”

Get his attention

If you want a boy to love you, then you have to look like a fun person to be around. 19-year-old Maargi Mehta opines, “Whenever a guy sees you, you should have a big but genuine smile on your face, do something different, be fun to hang out with.”

Body language

You don’t want to be friend-zoned, do you? It’s important to get your body language right and not send him the wrong message from across the room. This can involve eye contact, standing upright and not showing any signs of nervousness.

Show something special

If you have a special talent, portray it. Highlight your strength and hide your weaknesses. He’ll love how you are different from others when you show him some skill that you may possess.

(Also read – Falling in love too fast?)

Be mysterious

Don’t give him a chance to get to know you completely. Make him want to come back for more. Don’t tell him every story you know, make him want to ask you things. Don’t show too much excitement and he will long to hear from you!

You have to be patient. Love doesn’t happen overnight, but it’s surely worth the wait, because it is beautiful.

How to resist the urge of eating junk food

Do you find yourself struggling to keep a diet going for more than a week? Do you give in to your cravings just a few days after making that almighty decision to go junk-food-free? Well, we’ve all been there. It’s a hard decision to make and even more difficult to stick to. After all, junk food is all around us on the streets, and is most often irresistible. Here are steps to follow so that you can slowly resist the urge of giving in to your cravings for junk food.

(Also read – Tricks to stop night snacking)

The excessive craving for chocolate stems from deficiency of magnesium in your diet

Identify your craving

According to diet specialists, a craving for a particular food may arise due to something lacking in your diet. For example, the chocolate craving is related to magnesium deficiency and the sugar craving is related to protein deficiency. You can eliminate these deficiencies to make sure you rid yourself of these cravings.

(You might find this interesting too – Are you obsessive about healthy food?)

Remove temptations

Stack your fridge with wholesome food rather than junk

Temptations are stronger when they are easily available. Keeping a pack of fried potato chips in your kitchen isn’t going to make things easy for you. Try this – go to the grocery store with a full stomach. This way you won’t bring home the usual junk that you bring that can tempt you to forget your diet.

(Try reading – Food that influences your weight)

Buy wholesome food

Most often, you give in because you find a shortage of wholesome food at home. Well, you have no one to blame. Stack your fridge with good, healthy and wholesome food so that you don’t have an excuse to binge on junk food.

Avoid boredom

Keep yourself busy so that you don’t binge due to boredom

Most people eat when they are bored. Keeping yourself busy will help you stay away from unnecessary snacking.

Drink water

Drinking plenty of water is very important. Usually, people confuse thirst with hunger and binge on something unnecessary. Dehydration can also cause unhealthy cravings.

Now that you know what to stay away from and what not to, consider indulging once in a while, just to satiate your taste buds.

Tips To Resist Junk Food

That constant struggle between fitness and fatness can get you really frustrated! The war of junk food cravings over health is one that almost everybody fights. If you do have certain fitness goals to achieve, it is important to abstain from, or reduce the intake of junk food, but at times the cravings seem too strong. Here’s how you can resist it.

(Also read – Super foods that help you lose weight)

Determine your weakness

A particular food may be your weakness. Figure out what it may be. For instance, I have a weakness for two-minute noodles. Figure out what is your junk food favourite and it will be easier to abstain from it.

(Also read – How to resist the urge of eating junk food)

Find your triggers

It is important to figure out what triggers you to indulge into junk food. The triggers may range from depression, boredom to medical conditions. Try to list down what exactly is your trigger, and if needed consult a doctor. You can also stay away from these triggers by keeping yourself busy.

Find replacements

If you frequently have a craving for a particular food, consider replacing that food with a healthier alternative that is quite similar. For example, if you love sweets, try indulging in mango, which is a healthier alternative and may be equally tasty.

(Also read – Food that influences your weight)

Eat regularly

Another way to stay away from junk food is by eating healthy regularly. By doing this, you don’t leave space for unnecessary binging, which involves junk food, usually. Plan smaller meals, probably 5-6 a day, instead of the usual 3 meals a day.

Half size your portion if you indulge

If you do indulge, try making the portions of your junk food lesser. Only take a few bites of your dessert, or share your dessert or meal with a friend or partner. You can even try eating it slowly so that the brain is satiated.

(Also read – Are you obsessive about healthy food?)

Exercise

Exercising will make you feel guilty to indulge in junk food. This is because you are putting in effort to lose weight. Exercise can balance blood sugar levels and ease your digestion as well.

10 most common makeup blunders and how to avoid them

Come on ladies let’s face it; a little bit of good makeup is all that we ever need and we’re good to go! “Wake-up-and-makeup” is very common place in today’s times. But who would want to pay a bomb to any regular makeup artist every time? It’s the DIY age and makeup enthusiasts are not at all lagging behind when it comes to teaching or learning newer techniques to enhance your favorite features.

But hold your horses, ladies! It’s true that makeup if done right can work wonders for a woman, but there’s always a flipside to it. If your makeup goes wrong it can actually make you look 10 years older! And no makeup artist will tell you this but there are some really easy mistakes that you could make even with the traditional techniques. But worry not, because we at The Brunette Diaries have got your back. Read on to know what to avoid during your daily makeup routine and still look ever so pretty.

Moisturizer

Rule of the thumb: Always moisturise well! A good shine-free moisturizer is a must-have for every woman. But mind you, one can easily go wrong with this one. Using a heavy moisturizer will only make your skin shiny and allow your makeup to sink into your pores. Not only that, it could even result in highlighting your lines and wrinkles let alone hide them. So make sure to use the right moisturizer for your skin. A light oil-free moisturizer would be the best bet.

Foundation

Using the wrong colour of the foundation or the wrong type depending on your skin will only add to your woes. Choose the best foundation by applying some on the jaw line and checking whether it blends in with your skin shade. Powder foundations are best for oily skin; however, liquid foundations are easier to apply and blend well.

Concealer

This one can be really tricky. Going too heavy with concealer under your eyes will only make your dark circles standout. Make sure to use the right shade of concealer and try using minimal amount. The best shade is just one tone lighter than your skin.

Mascara

This makeup must-have is meant to lengthen the lashes and make the eyes look bigger. But if the mascara isn’t applied correctly it could give your lashes a clumpy look. This mistake is usually committed when you don’t curl and brush your lashes before using mascara on them. Using a wrong mascara brush will also do no good. Take this tip: use a water-resistant light mascara to help keep it from running.

Blush-on

The old adage goes by smiling wide and applying blush-on to the apples of your cheeks. But the clown-like rounds are far from flattering. Besides, that makes your face look saggy or jowly. Avoid using too much blush-on if you want to keep your makeup simple yet chic.

Lip Liner

Wearing a lip liner that is too dark in comparison with your lipstick may give the illusion of having a ring on your lips. Your lip liner should be of the same shade as your lipstick to avoid jarring.

Eye Liner

Too much liner will attract attention to your eyes are and sometimes, if gone wrong, you may end up looking ‘Goth-like’. Make sure to apply a thin stroke very close to your eyelid.

Powder/Compact

You’d think that powder or a compact can never go wrong. We’re sorry to say that it sometimes does. Women who apply powder or compact to set the makeup in place don’t usually realise that it accentuates the wrinkles and fine lines on their face. Make sure to apply compact sparingly and avoid the under eye area.

Eyebrows

Overly tweezed eyebrows make a face look considerably thinner and older. Go for a shape that suits your face type. If you have scanty brows, use a pencil two shades lighter than you hair colour and make soft, short strokes and blend them in properly. This will give your face a lift while adding to the oomph.

Blending it in

Any makeup artist would agree that when wearing makeup it shouldn’t be overwhelmingly obvious. Learn to blend your makeup well. Using a soft round sponge, blend your makeup keeping in mind to highlight your best features and downplay the flaws.

And you’re good to go! We hope this helps you when you wear makeup next time around. Remember ‘Less is more’.

Beauty shortcuts that cost you more than what your makeup did

At times, in this fast-paced life we hardly find time to spare for vanity. Hence, you may find yourself rushing through your makeup routine more often than not. While taking the easy way out is okay at certain times, some of the beauty shortcuts are best avoided. It must be understood that beauty does not come with the swish of a wand. Here is a list of some beauty shortcuts to avoid.

Sleeping with your makeup on:

Makeup certainly makes you look pretty and helps you feel more confident. But if you are too lazy to remove your makeup before bed, you might do a lot of harm to your skin. Sleeping with makeup enlarges the pores which may lead to bacteria that would only bring more acne. Be sure to use a good cleanser to remove your makeup. Coconut oil is also an effective natural option for makeup removal. But be sure to use a toner afterwards to help close the pores.

Applying makeup over makeup:

In a bid to save time, some women tend to apply makeup on a face that already has previous makeup on. This must be avoided at any cost, as too much makeup will harm your skin and clog your pores resulting in blackheads.

Avoiding sunscreens:

Stepping out for a lunch date and it is bright outside? Taking a trip to the beach? Planning to go shopping on a sunny afternoon? Don’t forget to apply sunscreen. The sun’s harmful UVA and UVB rays can profusely harm your skin and in the long run it may lead to different types of skin cancer.

Using dirty makeup brushes:

Using an unclean brush to apply makeup will badly contaminate your skin. When it comes to skin care, one cannot take any chances. If you don’t have time to clean your brush, use a new spare one.

Heat-styling wet hair:

While it is alright to blow dry your hair once in a blue moon, try not to heat-style your hair very often. Too much blow drying or ironing could damage the hair beyond repair. Your hair may become dry and brittle and lose its shine. If it’s really necessary to use a drier, make sure you keep the temperature not very high.

How to enhance your best features using makeup

Do you have a hard time enhancing your facial assets? Ever had a makeup-gone-bad experience? We all did. But what we did not do was take advice from the right source. No problem, there’s good news for all. The Brunette Diaries spoke to a few local MUAs and makeup pros and had all our doubts cleared about how to enhance the best facial features without looking caked-up.

Also read: 10 most common makeup blunders and how to avoid them

Our experts had us turning red in shame when they quizzed us about the CTM. We stood guilty. So lesson number one is: Always cleanse, tone and moisturise your face! Healthy and flawless skin is essential if you want to sport minimal makeup. Experts suggested a weekly face pack for a healthy glow.

The primary rule is, to prime before applying makeup. This takes care of the uneven skin and makes application of products easier.

Then we proceeded to the base of the matter – yes, the base. It’s best to use a foundation in a shade exactly matching your skin tone. Natural looking skin grabs the most attention. So it is crucial to pick the right shade. Further, use a concealer and highlighter to make thin lines on your favourite areas and best features.

Pick a foundation that matches your skin tone

If you have sexy, high cheek bones, use a little bit of blush to highlight them. If your eyes give competition to a doe (just saying!) then mascara should be your best friend. Apply some highlighter on the inner crease of your eyes to enhance them further.

Blush on is best to highlight cheek bones

This may interest you: Beauty shortcuts that cost you more than what your makeup did

If you’re proud of your pout, flaunt your favourite colours on your lips. We’re talking peaches, plums, hot pinks, scarlet, fuchsia etc. Apply little bit of foundation on the centre of your upper lip before finishing off with gloss, and voila!

Experiment with bolder colours on your lips

Finally, take a clean, fluffy blending brush and work your way all over the face.

Check out: Fashion habits that are bad for your health