WBB-Balanced Breakfasts - The Mega Roundup!

Breakfasts are the most important meal of the day, and we often tend to neglect them completely, or just gulp something down with a cup of caffeine or juice! But I guess we all know that we need to pay more attention to our breakfasts as this is the meal that lays the foundation of your day, giving you energy and invigorating your brain cells so you can meet the challenging tasks ahead! At least during the weekends, we should have enough time to make something delicious yet wholesome for our families, right??!! So to give justice to this first meal of the day, I chose "Balanced Breakfast Meals" as this month's theme for WBB#20. I was a bit skeptical about this as the theme sounded challenging, and required some planning. So I thought I wouldn't be getting so many entries. But all you fabulous cooks out there proved me wrong, and we gathered 106 winning entries!! that's enough ideas for balanced meals for several weekends, right??!!

This indeed was a mega roundup. Thanks once again to everyone for playing along and sharing your ideas and recipes with us. The batton for the next round of hosting lands at EC's WBB-Microwave, so hope to see you all there! And now without any more rambling, let's get to the roundup!

Bread/Eggs/Biscuits
1. Asha's Classic Omelette, Pear Salsa and Toast
2. Lisa's delicious Winter Frittata
Anuzi's Curried Egg Salad on Toast
Veena's American Omelette
Deeba's Grilled Toast
Hima's Pizza Sandwich and a Fruit pizza
Radha's Healthy Sandwich
Pooja's Bread-Moong and OJ Breakfast
Kalai's Spring Vegetable Frittata
Ricki's Onion-Potato Bread with Carrot Pate
Srivalli's Jam and Cheese Sandwiches
Vandana's French Toast
Chow Vegan's Leek and Mushoom Quiche
Vaishali's Whole-wheat Challah Bread
Vani's Spicy Bean Sandwich
Margot's Guava Jelly Toast with Peanut Butter
MS's Baked Egg with Pico-de-gallo
Foodblogga's Asparagus-Mushroom-Parmesan Frittata

Pancakes/Muffins/Baked Goodies
Carol's Ricotta Crepes with Blueberry Sauce
Manju's Mango-stuffed Whole-Wheat French Toast
Rina's French Toast with Hashbrowns and Grapefruit
Revathi's Wholegrain Pancakes with Oats
Kaykat's yummy Oat and Corn Pancakes
Dhivya's Oatmeal-Raisin and Cinnamon Pancakes
Nick's Peanut-butter and Peach Bran Muffins
Saswati's Pear and Rum Souffle Omelette
Nick's Healthiest Pancakes
Ashley's Pumpkin-Pecan-Raisin Muffins
Eskay's Oatmeal and Flaxseed Muffin
Dhivya's Ricotta Pancakes with Berry Sauce
Ivy's Cypriota Olive Pies
Christina's Skim Milk Bicuits
Arundathi's Savoury Crepes
Jugalbandi's Peanut-butter Cupcakes
Michael's Blueberry Muffins with Hazelnut Streusel
Jill's Oatmeal-Raisin Muffins
Ben's Whole-wheat Breakfast Crepes
Archana's Wholewheat Pancakes with Bananas and Honey
Mansi's Low-Fat Pear and Almond Cake


Dosas/Parathas/Idlis
Mansi's Vegetable-Cheese Parathas
Shaheen's Raagi Idiappam and Potato Ishtu
Sowmya's Instant Healthy Dosa
Lavi's Oats Oothappam
Veena's Wheat Bhakhri
Miri's Appam and Vegetable Stew
A-kay's gorgeous Paneer Parathas
Red Chilli's innovative Pumpkin Idlis
Divya's Radish-Carrot Parathas
Uma's Spinach Parathas with Mango Juice
Sia's wonderful Mooli Parathas
Remya's Appam and Egg curry
Priya's Moong-Sprout Dosas
Hima's Vegetable Dosa with Pear-Pecan Chutney
Bharathy's Tender Coconut Dosas
Cham's Vegetable Pancakes
EC's Cheese Dosas
Sagari's Paper Dosas
Jan's Nutritious Adai
Jayashree's Vegetable Dosa
Raaga's Cauliflower-Cheese Tortilla Wraps
Indosungod's Sunny-side-Up Dosai
Arundati's Onion Uttapam
Sushma's Raagi Idlis
Raji's Udad Dal Kozukattai
Alamelu's Raagi Dosay and Badaami Haalu
Trupti's Palak Paneer Dosa
Renuka's Dosa Cassata
Meera's Brown Idli with Sambhar and Fruits


Fruits/Sprouts/Drinks
Bhawna's Moongdal and Lentil Chaat
Sandeepa's Whole Green Microwaved Mung
Kamala's Kambu (Bajra) Koozh
Madhuram's fiber-rich Cereals and Banana Smoothie
Jayashree's nicely Balanced Breakfast
Gaurav's Strawberry Smoothie
Sreelu's Sprouted Mung Chaat
Nandita's Hummus-Cucumber and Sprouts Wrap
Lisa's Tropical Breakfast Risotto
Meeta's Baked Beetroot with Apple-Horseradish Dip
Adria's Bean Salad
Nag's Cereal and Fruits
Arfi's Lazy Sunday Breakfast
Johanna's Blueberry-Banana-Oat Smoothie
Cenk's Homemade Granola
Suganya's Yogurt Vermicelli
Jayasree's Cornflour Roti with Sprouts Kurma


Oats/Granola/Grains/Bars
Christine's Oats with Apples and Yogurt
Alexandra's Granola with Yogurt and Raspberries
Shibani's Oat and Raspberry Bars
Jan's Coconut Oats
Laavanya's Peanut-Butter Oatmeal
Suganya's Granola Bars
Shankari's Pistachio Oatmeal
Jules's Vegan Flapjacks
Frances' Oats and Strawberry Cereals

Tidbits and Snacks
Trupti's Veg Lollipop
Madhavi's Soybean and Tofu Cutlets
Vineela's Burrito with Potato-Horsegram Gravy
Sriranjini's Macaroni with Soy Nuggets
Swati's Missi Roti, Kuku Omelette and Fig Shake
Kalva's Kaju-Vegetable and Tomato Upma
Roma's Vegetable Nutri-Pie
Cynthia's Sauteed Squash
Vaishali's Nut Bagel with Tofu Scramble
Coffee's Nutritious Poha
Caroline's Superfood Strata with Red-pepper Coulis
Kathleen's Super-Balanced Breakfasts
Garam Masala's Scrambled Tofu
Medhaa's Beet-Carrot-Potato Pancakes
Trupti's Veg Lollipops
Nanditha's Rice Balls in Lentil Soup
Mansi's Steamed Rava-Spinach-Corn Dhokla

That was an amazing roundup indeed. If I've forgotten any entry, I apologise; please send me an email and I'll add it:) Thanks again for your love and support!

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AeroGarden - Grow Herbs and Flowering Plants in Your Kitchen or Office!

Aerogarden, the name must not be unfamiliar to many of you who may have seen these cute-looking miniature garden units that boast of growing plenty of varieties or herbs and plants without much maintenance! For those of you who may not have heard of these, Aerogardens literally bring your garden into your office, kitchen or any other space you want to make green. Last year, they had introduced their first edition mainly for herbs and greens, but at a price label of $150, it was still out of reach for the general mass. But due to growing popularity and demand, they have launched a revamped version which grows not only herbs, but other decorative flowering plants as well, and has the added benefit of a price cut!!

So what is an AeroGarden? Well, its basically a NASA-tested aeroponic technology that grows plants in water, nutrients and air – so simply and easily that anyone can succeed. With the starter kit, you can choose from over 50 different seed kits, from fresh herb varieties to cherry tomatoes, salad greens, chili peppers, lettuce, mint and now even flowering varieties like petunias! Fully automated garden with built-in grow lights, no dirt, no weeds, no mess and requiring no special care except following instructions, this is like a dream-come-true for garden-lovers! AeroGarden is truly a boon for cooks like me who love to use fresh herbs and vegetables in their cooking but do not have the luxury of having a huge garden space to grow them. Some of its interesting features are:

- Available in black, white or silver-colored models
- The AeroGarden unit, 2 daylight-spectrum bulbs, preseeded bio-dome grow pod, time-release nutrients, and tending and harvesting guide with recipes
- Self-monitoring system that adjusts for best growing conditions
- Automatic alert system that notifies when more water or nutrients are needed
- Organic-based, 100% natural tool requires no dirt or natural light; grows 5 times faster than soil

The best part is this - they have recently launched "The $99 AeroGarden-3" which targets an entirely new category with an increased focus on flowers and home decor; For the first time, anyone can grow a beautiful, blooming flower garden right inside their home, office or kitchen, any time of year. This also includes more than 40 new herb, vegetable and flower seed kits, including exotic plants like Purple Basil and Mini Roses and Japanese Herbs! To know more about this, check Aerogarden-How it Works section and find out for yourself. .

Here are some more interesting Aerogarden Reviews, and from what I read, it looks like a really cool and efficient way to grow germ-free and healthy plants right insode your home! And with the new price cut, its more affordable too. I am seriously considering of buying one, and if anyone has used it before, please share your opinions with our readers. Hope it intrigues some of you too - after all, who doesn't love home-grown organic plants and herbs, right?!!

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Tips to host the Perfect Super Bowl Party

Super Bowl is around the corner, and with just about a week to go, I'm sure everyone is on a planning spree! Whether you are throwing a party at your place, or have been invited to one at a friend's place, deciding on the menu and organizing everything so you are enjoying the game rather than stressing yourself out at the last minute is always a good idea. Super Bowl is not a formal party event; it's just a bunch of sports-lovers getting together, cheering their favorites, jeering at the losers, and having fun together. So don't stress yourself out and try to be more relaxed about. I scoured the net and magazines for some fun ideas and thought it would be great to share these with you. Basically, a big-screen TV, lots of finger food, chips and salsa, and chilled frozen beers would do the trick! But if you want to play the perfect host, here are some additional tips!:)

Invite Friends and Family
Duh!! That's so obvious:) but still, no game night party can be fun when there's just the 2 or 3 of you sitting in front of the TV. To get the real excitement going, invite as many friends as you like, the more the merrier!! You need friends for cheering, passing comments, jumping up and down, shouting with glee or cussing the player for a stupid move, and finally, to share the joy of victory or lend a shoulder to cry on when your favorite team loses!! This is what makes the game more fun, right!

Food and Drinks
Once you are done with the invitations, the next thing obviously is the Food, because that's what we all love!!! To make things simpler, you can always arrange a pot-luck, and ask each or some of your friends to bring in one entree. Division of work is easier and can often work out well. But if you are like me, you'd like to take the cooking-forefront yourself, so it's necessary to plan ahead. Food needs to be simple, so sandwiches, finger-food, chips, dips, and cookies work out the best. You don't want to spend time cooking or heating up food while the others are enjoying the game!! Ordering pizzas or long foot-long subways works great too. You can also find tonnes of super-bowl recipes on Rachel Ray's emag site! You'll also find some nice recipes right on this site, in the Entrees/Snacks section:) Keep you snack table simple for this night, and leave your gourmet stuff for some other time!

Setting the Mood
It always helps if you have sme props and table settings to compliment the game. Use stuff like megaphones, miniature footballs, and whistles for calling penalties. It can be fun for the kids too. Clear your seating area of ornate furniture. Some comfortable chairs, bean-bags or a rug spread on the ground with pillows and cusions would work best! Planning simple fotball trivia games with small themed prizes add a lot more fun to the event. You can organize this before the game or during half-time to keep the momentum going. And lastly, if there are kids, it's always a good idea to keep some toys out for them so they don't feel neglected:)

Setting the Buffet Table
Game Nights always have to be buffet nights, so set two tables, one for all the appetizers, drinks and beer cans, and the other for the food. It's advisable to use aluminium containers that you can pop into the oven when required; for meat and chicken, you might even go for the warming trays. Paper plates and plastic cutlery with packs of napkins should be stacked at one end of the table. Make sure you have enough ice to survive the game, and ask people to re-use their glaases and pitchers by marking them with their initials. This can be fun too:)

Wrapping It Up
Once the game is over, and all the hugging and crying has subsided, it's time to clean up! There's nothing wrong in asking your friends to help clean up. Dump stuff into large trash bags and take their help in loading the dishwasher, as well as moving back the furniture! Trust me, you'll feel way more relaxed when all this is cleared immediately, rather than getting to it later.

Always remember that parties are a time for fun, and that includes the hosts too. Pre-planning will help a lot in keeping things organised, and you will not be stressed at the end of it all. Follow these simple tips and hope you have a blasting Super Bowl Party!!

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