Sunday 31 December 2017

Keeping my children mosquito safe

As mothers, we tend to fight a never ending battle with diseases and infections. If nature would allow, I am sure each mother would love to set a protective kavach (layer) around her babies to protect them from anything and everything negative. While there are infections and diseases beyond our control, we definitely wouldn't want our babies to have diseases that could have been avoided by taking simple precautions. Mosquito related diseases are one such example. Mosquitoes often come uninvited wherever we go and bring with them harmful diseases like Dengue, Chikungunya, Malaria etc. Therefore, when it comes to these diseases, each mother wants to play safe by keeping mosquitoes away from their little ones.

Being a mother to a toddler and an infant, I have to look for mosquito repellent options which work at home as well as in the playground. My 2.5 year old son just hates being confined indoors while my 5 month old daughter gets cranky each time a mosquito bites her. Here is a list of options I have tried over a period of time and my experience with each one of them.

1. Mosquito Nets
This is the first option that comes to our mind the moment we bring our little ones home for the first time. We feel scared to use chemicals for newborns hence mosquito nets come in as a safe option. I too invested in a baby mosquito net. 

While it seemed like a good option initially, soon I realized that it was tough to monitor the baby through the net at night. My daughter loves kicking and would often kick away the net, forcing me to explore other options. So, I purchased a large, camp size mosquito net which fitted on my double bed. 

Life was good, till summers came calling. No matter how much cooling the AC gave, it was always stuffy inside the net. I felt imprisoned. Also, it was tough to move in and out of the net at night and the baby would often wake up by the noise. It was time to kick away the net and look for other options.

Since I was least inclined towards the smoky mosquito coils, Good knight Activ+ was my obvious choice of mosquito killer machine. My parents used Good knight when we were kids, so I decided to zero down on the tried and tested brand. Needless to say, I wasn't disappointed at all! I would shut the windows in the evening and switch on Good knight and this ensured a good night sleep for my children. I even have the option to switch from a Normal to Active mode when the mosquito menace is high. We carry the machine with us while travelling and even plugged it in the train compartment. 

While it worked wonders for my daughter, I was still worried for my son who loves playing outside in his T-Shirt and shorts. However, the next option solved my problem.

This has come like a boon to mothers of hyperactive toddlers since it is certified pediatric safe. Since overdressing your kids isn't a viable option in all weathers, the outdoor mosquito repeller works wonders. All I have to do is play a 4 dot game with my son and I can take a sigh of relief that he is safe from mosquitoes while playing in the park.

While the Roll-On is a natural product, the strong smell of citronella oil & eucalyptus oil sometimes turns my son off. But I soon realized there is another option that my son just wouldn't be able to refuse!

My son loves animals, so when we got him these patches, he just jumped with joy! Keeping mosquitoes away is now a fun activity as my son chooses his patch of the day!

This is a great option to do away with the mosquitoes who love to play hide and seek in the room. Just four shots in the corners of the room keep the mosquitoes at bay.

These easy and child friendly options help me stay tension free about mosquitoes, for prevention is always better than cure!

Thursday 23 November 2017

The Love Affair and Vermicelli



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I was happily married to Maggi....till vegetable vermicelli lured me into an extramarital affair!

No matter how much the advertising gurus fool us, each time I eat a bowl of ready to eat noodles, my health conscious heart says, "Get a life dude!"

The love affair began soon after my son was born, and the bond has gone deeper and deeper ever since!

The advantages are many - easy way to include vegetables, the goodness of durum wheat vermicelli, no preservatives and most importantly, the ease of preparation. In fact, a night before I delivered my daughter, I wanted to eat something spicy but was feeling too lazy to cook, so it took me 10 minutes to prepare this vegetable vermicelli. Its the best alternative to preservative laden ready to cook stuff, and can make up for a quick, healthy breakfast, snack or solution to a midnight hunger pang!

Ingredients
For preparing 2 plates of vegetable vermicelli, you need
Roasted vermicelli - 2 small katori/1 cup
Onion - 1 medium, sliced
Tomatoes - 2 medium, finely chopped
Capsicum - 1 medium, coarsely chopped
Potato - 1 small, cut into small thin pieces
Carrot - 1 chopped
Peas - 1 fistful
Green chillies - 2 
Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
Curry Leaves - 3-4
Red chilli powder - 1tsp
Salt - to taste
Vegetable/Oilve oil - 1tbsp

Lets get started!

Method 

Heat oil in a pan. Add mustard seeds and curry leaves. Enjoy the spluttering for a minute
Add sliced onion and saute till golden brown
Add the potatoes, peas and capsicum
Add the chopped carrots and tomatoes
Add salt and red chilli powder. Cover and cook for 4-5 minutes or till the vegetables are tender
Add water just to cover the vegetables and increase the flame to high. Adjust seasoning
Add the roasted vermicelli and mix well. Cover and cook on low flame for 3-4 minutes

Veggie vermicelli is ready!!!