Growing up Durga Puja always felt like a much-dreaded annual feat. I would usually start pacing myself for the last four days that a younger hormonal me would sum in three words, “heat, traffic and gatherings”.

If given the choice to play thumb war and win a burger or to possibly do ten push ups and then win a burger, most of us would choose thumb war. Why? Because it is as simple as it sounds and takes up less energy and time. So, the question eventually pops -- are we slaves to simplicity?

My two year old nephew, who I hoped would grow up to be a vegetarian, if not vegan, is neither anymore. He started off on a good note with eating miso mashed potatoes and date brownies, but slowly he learned to *ask* for food.

Writer Emily Esfahani Smith, in her TED Talk, told the world that happiness is not the answer to a healthy life, but rather, having meaning to it. So what does it mean to have a meaningful life?

Spice up your taste buds with healthy spices in your diet. According to the International Organisation for Standardisation, there is no clear-cut division between spices and condiments.

Knowing what type of nutrients are present in the processed food that we eat and their exact amount is the key to being a cautious eater. Food labels or nutritional labels make it much easier to compare food and find nutritional values that suit the body.

The course I took was a holistic immersion into three limbs of yoga. The daily practice consisted of two hours of breath work (pranayama), two hours of meditation (dhyana), one hour of chanting, as well as one hour of exercise (asanas).

“Oh God! My baby wouldn't eat anything and I mean anything at all!!!” If you are a mother, you'd definitely be able to relate to these words, so much so that it almost becomes a national dilemma. And why not? All the mothers in the world are complaining about the same thing- Bangladesh, Japan or Germany!

It's one of those days; you have nowhere to go, so you are sitting at home, but that sudden random crave for something so abstract kicks in, and as luck would have it, nothing from the many scrolls in Foodpanda or Hungry naki's offers can appease it.

Aren't we always on the lookout to prepare snacks for our friends, children and colleagues? Most of us have encountered days when a close one drops in without a call and we wonder what to offer besides tea and coffee.

As we are living in the modern and 'evolved' era, all aspects of life and people's lifestyles have taken a turn, a leap. Old perceptions are going as people embrace new and unprecedented techniques, methods and inventions.

With boatloads of meat now stockpiled in the freezer post Qurbani, all sorts of recipes now fight for attention in my mind. This brainstorming took me down the road of 'haleem' craving and I set a goal of finding out the origin of this popular dish and the result was extremely interesting.

Dating back to around 2000 BC, the chocolate we know and see today used to be consumed as a fermented drink with spices and wine. The chocolate we see neatly stacked in stores is the end result of numerous steps on the cacao pod.

For the beef, rub thick sweet soya sauce all over the meat. Heat a little oil in a pan and seal the pot on all sides. Place in a deep braising dish. Pound garlic, ginger, coriander root and onion to a paste.

Excessive consumption of red meat is not only linked to heart diseases but increases your chances of developing other alarming health issues. And after days of continuous consumption of red meat, the palate can certainly use a different feel.

For most of us, our home is where we spend most of our lives in. It is where we wake up and go back to bed, where we relax and let go and feel safe.

Country chickens are all native domesticated fowl that are bred by local farmers on a small-scale basis in natural environments – without much interference from farmers.

Let's just agree that everyone has a favourite burger. Some like the classic BLT (for us its beef and not bacon), others (read: plebs) like their burger with truckloads of sauce and meat sans veggies.

The first thing to keep in mind is the welfare of the animal prior to slaughter, as well as your connection to it.

Thanks to the discovery of artificial sweeteners, your sweet tooth can enjoy delicacies, once in a while. Giving you that adrenaline rush, you craved so much!