You are a working woman who is pressed for time as you juggle your domestic life and your professional one. At times, you do not have enough time to cook luxurious meals to take to work for lunch, and finally end up spending money to buy food from your office cafeteria or hotels. But can this be an everyday affair? No; right? Home-cooked meals are always the best as it is healthy and nutritious, and cooked as per your preferences. So, here are a few healthy lunch options that can help to save time as well as provide healthy amount of nutrition and your choice of taste.

Salad

If you are someone who watches weight, then salad is a good option. Chopping a few onions, tomatoes, carrots, cucumber and coriander, and mixing them with boiled corn, a pinch of salt and few drops of lemon can be an easy early morning recipe. You can even add legumes and mushrooms to the salad. This big bowl of salad with your favourite veggies can provide you with the necessary vitamins and minerals. If dicing these vegetable can be hectic during mornings, you can chop them the previous night and store in the refrigerator. All you have to do when you wake up is to mix and pack them.

Roti roll

There are many easy sabzi recipes that can go well with rotis. You can make chapati dough the previous night and store in the refrigerator. The next day, you can make the chapatis and a quick sabzi and pack your lunch. Alternatively, you can stuff the sabzi inside the roti and roll it. While eggetarians can make scrambled eggs, non vegetarians can opt for chicken sausage roll.

Dal rice

Dal rice is one of the most favourite food combinations in India. It does not require too much effort and is easy to cook. You can mix dal with rice and pack as one, rather than carrying both in different lunch containers. Remember to mix extra dal to avoid drying up of your lunch.

Vegetable pulao

Pulao is a mix of rice with veggies and few spices, and can be cooked easily. You can chop some veggies the previous night and store them in the refrigerator to keep them fresh. There are many ways of cooking pulao, but an easier option would be to cook the raw vegetables along with spices and rice together.

Idlis

Idlis are a south Indian speciality cooked by steaming rice batter. Best combinations for idlis are chutneys. There are a variety of options; but, coconut or peanut chutneys can be made easily when you are in a hurry for your day’s work. Pack a couple of idlis along with any chutney and your lunch for the day is ready.

Stuffed parathas

If making the batter/dough and chutney/sabzi separately is a tough job, stuffed parathas are a good option. When you are preparing the chapati dough, you can mix spinach and roll it to make palak (spinach) paratha. You can also combine potato, paneer, radish and onions to the dough to make the respective paratha. In this way you don’t lose out on your veggies as well as a home-cooked lunch. Stuffed parathas can be combined with curd or pickles.

Now, can you give yourself a reason to not pack lunch from home?

Any kid would tell you this – Maggi noodles is the best food on planet Earth! The fondest memories of my childhood are watching TV and enjoying my own hot bowl of mouth-watering Maggi noodles. And very honestly even as an adult, I can’t seem to get enough of Maggi. Nobody can! But you can do so much more with your favourite Maggi; here are some recipes. Enjoy!

Maggi Masala Tikki

Maggi masala tikki

Ingredients:

1 packet Maggi noodles

2 boiled potatoes

1 finely chopped onion

1 cup of vegetables of your choice

Bread crumbs

Salt to taste

3 tablespoons ginger-garlic paste

1 teaspoon chaat masala

Chopped coriander leaves

Oil for frying

Method:

Make Maggi as per instructions on the pack making sure to keep it dry, if you have leftover Maggi you can use that too. In a big bowl, grate the boiled potatoes, add the vegetables to it and mix it with Maggi. Add bread crumbs to help form tikkis. Add the chopped onion, ginger-garlic paste, salt, chaat masala and coriander leaves. Make round tikkis with the mixture and shallow fry in some oil.

Mag n Cheese

Mag n Cheese

Ingredients:

1 packet Maggi

1 tablespoon butter

1 cup of grated mozzarella cheese

Half a cup grated cheddar cheese

Half a cup boiled corn

Water

Salt to taste

Method:

Bring 1 cup of water to boil, now add Maggi and the masala tastemaker to it. Also add boiled corn and 1-2 pinches of salt. Half-cook the noodles and turn the flame off. Grease a baking tray with butter, transfer the noodles to the baking tray and add the mozzarella and cheddar cheese to cover it completely. At this stage you can choose to add your choice of vegetables however, that is optional. Place the baking tray in a preheated oven for 5 minutes on 150 degrees.

Tip: Make sure when you cook your Maggi noodles, it isn’t too watery.

Maggi Poha

Maggi poha

Ingredients:

1 packet Maggi

2 tablespoons oil

1 boiled potato

1 finely chopped onion

1 cup boiled green peas

Half a teaspoon finely chopped green chillies

A sprig of curry leaves

Half a teaspoon mustard seeds

Salt to taste

A pinch of asafoetida (hing)

Coriander leaves to garnish

Method:

Cook Maggi noodles without adding the tastemaker to it. Once cooked, drain the excess water. In a heavy bottomed pan, heat oil and add mustard seeds, curry leaves and onions. When the seeds crackle, add asafoetida and green peas and chillies. Finally add the remaining ingredients along with pre-cooked Maggi and its tastemaker. Fry for 5-10 minutes. Serve hot garnished with coriander leaves.

Maggi Noodle Bhajiyas

Maggi noodle bhajiyas

Ingredients:

200 grams paneer

Half a cup corn flour

Half a teaspoon finely chopped green chillies

1 packet Maggi

Salt and pepper to taste

Oil for frying

Method:

Break the Maggi cake into small pieces and boil until half cooked (without adding the tastemaker). Make small cubes of the paneer and add them to a big bowl. Now add green chillies, salt and pepper, Maggi masala tastemaker and corn flour to the paneer and mix well, making sure not to break the paneer. Finally, coat each paneer cube in the half cooked noodles and deep fry until golden brown. Serve with delicious mint chutney.

Quick Recipe For Mint Chutney: In a blender, add 1 cup each of mint leaves and coriander leaves, salt to taste, 1-2 teaspoons of sugar, juice of one lemon, and blend with 2-3 tablespoons of water. Drain and serve.

Mango Maggi Surprise

Ingredients:

1 packet Maggi

1 cup thick mango syrup (made with mangoes and sugar)

2-3 tablespoons caramelised sugar

1 cup chopped mangoes

Method:

Boil Maggi until fully cooked (we don’t need the tastemaker for this recipe) and drain out the excess water. In a heavy bottomed pan, caramelise the sugar with

Boil Maggi until fully cooked (we don’t need the tastemaker for this recipe) and drain out the excess water. In a heavy bottomed pan, caramelise the sugar with a little bit of water and two drops of oil. In a bowl, add the cooked Maggi, caramel, and mango syrup and mix well. Add the chopped mangoes on top of the noodles and refrigerate for 2 hours before serving.

Mango Syrup: In half a cup of water, add chopped mangoes and 2-3 tablespoons of sugar. Cook until syrup boils and forms a layer of shine on the top. Cool and use.

Maggi Noodle Soup

 Maggi noodle soup

Ingredients:

1 packet Maggi

1 can of creamy sweet corn

3-4 cups of vegetable or chicken stock

1 cup chopped vegetables

1 cup shredded boiled chicken

2 tablespoons corn flour

1 teaspoon sugar

Salt and pepper to taste

2-3 tablespoons spring onions finely chopped

Method:

In a heavy bottom vessel, cook the creamy sweet corn in the stock for 5 minutes. Add the vegetables, chicken, salt and pepper, and sugar and simmer for 10 more minutes. In a separate vessel cook Maggi as per instructions; let it be partially soupy. Mix the corn flour with half a cup of water and add to the soup. Now add the Maggi to the simmering soup and mix well. Garnish with spring onions and serve in separate bowls.

So there you are! Do give these recipes a try. Bon appétit!

Comfort levels differ in the initial stages of love. Understanding may be present in the relationship, but being able to perceive problems and personalities early, may be harder than you expect. Usually, couples tend to ruin new love by getting into things too quick. Let us look at a few common mistakes that couples make in new love:

Let your feelings develop and do not force them

Asking for help too often

You can ask him for help once in a while, but if you do it too often, you may make him question your intentions. He may believe you are taking advantage of him. Do not behave like he is your husband already, this will scare him away.

Double dates

Double dating can be fun to show off your new boyfriend. But if you keep doing this, he may misunderstand you. He may believe that you want him around just as eye candy.

Overdressing

Do not be a diva every time you meet him. Men perceive this as fake. In a new relationship, it is important to be yourself and not fake so he is not scared away.

Cribbing

Usually, women have a habit of setting things straight right at the beginning of the relationship so that they are not taken for granted later. Men are repulsed by women who crib about things they do even without knowing them that well.

White lies

At the beginning of a relationship, it is important to build trust steadily. You cannot expect him to trust you from the word go. As you build this trust, even the small white lies that you tell can ruin this trust.

Physical involvement

Be slow when it comes to committing to certain things. Do not be hasty when it comes to being physically involved. Be patient, show that you love him and not his body.

Couples in love usually rush things

When it comes to new relationships, be sure to take things slowly. For you do not know what you rush in to.

Sometimes you don’t have all the time in the world to just take care of your fitness. Here we list for you a few easy 15-minute workouts that will make you look fabulous in no time.

Dumbbell sumo squat

If you want proper shaped legs, back, shoulders and also a great-looking posterior, this exercise will work wonders for you. Stand with your back straight, toes pointed out and your feet shoulder-width apart. Grab two dumbbells of equal weight in each hand. Squat down with arms extended keeping the lower back taut and upright. Keep on holding the pose for a few seconds before you lift yourself up to the starting position again. Repeat this process three times.

Dumbbell sumo squat shapes legs, back, shoulders and hips

Burpee

If you are running short of time but need a full work out then this is the apt exercise for you. Stand straight. Then come to a complete squat down position with your hand placed in the front, and your knees near your chest. Now spring like a frog and push your legs behind as required for push-ups. Do a push-up and now go in the reverse order to reach back to the original standing position. This workout tones your arms, shoulders, legs and endurance. To reduce the difficulty level, you can avoid the standing part of the exercise.

The sequence of Burpee

The reverse plank

This exercise is much harder to do than it looks, but it is advantageous as it tones the abs, triceps and posterior muscles in your body. Sit down on the floor and place your palms beside your hips. Pressurize onto your heels (toes up) and palms to lift your frame. Keep your body in a straight line as you continue to look up to the ceiling and hold the position for 30 seconds. You might not be able to keep the straight position for more than two or three breathes in the beginning. It’s only normal!

Reverse plank
An easier version of the reverse plank

Comfort levels differ in the initial stages of love. Understanding may be present in the relationship, but being able to perceive problems and personalities early, may be harder than you expect. Usually, couples tend to ruin new love by getting into things too quick. Let us look at a few common mistakes that couples make in new love:

Let your feelings develop and do not force them

Asking for help too often

You can ask him for help once in a while, but if you do it too often, you may make him question your intentions. He may believe you are taking advantage of him. Do not behave like he is your husband already, this will scare him away.

Double dates

Double dating can be fun to show off your new boyfriend. But if you keep doing this, he may misunderstand you. He may believe that you want him around just as eye candy.

Overdressing

Do not be a diva every time you meet him. Men perceive this as fake. In a new relationship, it is important to be yourself and not fake so he is not scared away.

Cribbing

Usually, women have a habit of setting things straight right at the beginning of the relationship so that they are not taken for granted later. Men are repulsed by women who crib about things they do even without knowing them that well.

White lies

At the beginning of a relationship, it is important to build trust steadily. You cannot expect him to trust you from the word go. As you build this trust, even the small white lies that you tell can ruin this trust.

Physical involvement

Be slow when it comes to committing to certain things. Do not be hasty when it comes to being physically involved. Be patient, show that you love him and not his body.

Couples in love usually rush things

When it comes to new relationships, be sure to take things slowly. For you do not know what you rush in to.

Whenever we need to go out to a party or a function, one of the major things that we are apprehensive about is “How will my hair look?”, “How are they supposed to look?” Here we dole out some tips to you ladies so that you flaunt what you’ve got! So, glam up and look your best.

Before you embark on a mission to change your hairstyle, ensure that it is always well conditioned, and don’t forget that conditioning hair serum – it is a saviour! Now, choose your style!

Up-dos

Updos can make you look stylish instantly

Opt for a deep side parting, start at the left temple and sweep across to the right ear. You should go for one of them, either go for a super slick wet-look up-do or leave a few strands loose on your face for a soft, dainty feminine feel.

Mermaid Waves

Mermaid curls look extremely casual and sexy

This is good news for all the lazy ones! The latest trend this year is laid-back, fuss-free mermaid waves. The more randomly placed and tousled the better! All you have to do is plait your damp hair and sleep.

Short hair

Pixie cut looks fashionable and chic

Bob cut is back and how! This cut has ruled the roost on the ramp this year, and more and more girls out there are opting for this easy-to-maintain look. Try a side part long pixie cut, an undercut inspired by a punk or you can go for a close crop also.

Fringes

Whether you have a short bob cut or a bowl one, you can make a statement from your fringe this year. If you are the one who prefers a soft cut then long fringes will frame your face.

Sport a fringe like Priyanka Chopra’s

Wet look

The season’s most in look is the wet look and is wearable. Yes, seriously! Spread high shine serum on your hair before styling and go out flaunting that wet look of your hair.

Low ponytail

Abandon bad hair days by mastering the fashion ponytail. Super sleek and secured low at the nape of the neck or brought in front; make a low ponytail and finish with a ‘spritz’ of high gloss hairspray for a chic look.

Bring your low ponytail to the front like Selena Gomez does