Green Moong in the Microwave

Mommy is tired, it is late Thursday evening, there are no fresh fruits for the next day afternoon snack at school, so Mommy retrieves the lone chocolate pudding cup from the pantry and packs it for snack next day.

“That is not a healthy snack”, pipes in the 4 year old whose snack is being packed
“Mmmmmm…” goes Mommy, “not very but it is ok to have once in a while”. Mommy reassures both the kiddo and herself. After all a chocolate pudding once in two weeks can do no big harm given bigger scheme of things like global warming or even tumbling economy, she thinks.

“Does it have sugar? More or less?”, the kid is relentless

“The sugar is high no doubt but it has some calcium too”, Mom tries to reach for the last straw frantically reading the nutrition content at the back of the pack. She has no other snack option left for Friday and it is either this or goldfish & pretzels at school

“Is calcium good?”

“Yeah calcium builds your bone and teeth and there is plenty in milk. But you are right about this pudding not really being healthy, maybe I will find you something else for tomorrows snack”, finally says Mom who is now guilty of her own doing

Am I glad or what? I like the 4 year olds awareness but I don’t want her or us to overdo it and then go on a junkfood binge in her teens. I feel a balance is necessary and if I deprive her of some things for too long, it will only be more coveted

I try to make her eat healthy but I am not paranoid about it. Edibles like chips, soda and candy were strictly prohibited till age of three. After that she was allowed some in moderation but since she does not like any kind of soda and chips are not stocked at home she gets to eat them only occasionally.

Given that she was a pretty picky eater initially and would not munch on her veggies, I see a great change in her however. For a long time the best way to get veggies into her were making her favorite chicken stew and rice. She liked eggs and also developed a strong love for fish by the time she was 3, and also became more experimental about eating around at that time. Though she wouldn’t still munch on a raw carrot she was more open to trying out new vegetables and even new dishes.

These days she eats a balanced Indian meal at home, ok maybe not everything that I cook but she tries out most of them. She is also more aware of the food she eats and even munches on baby carrots with a dip, piping in a question every now and then about the health benefit of the meal offered. Though aware of the golden arch, she is not really interested in them or their toys and happy to share a sandwich with us at Panera breads instead.

I think her school and her teacher also has an important role to play in her food and I am really thankful for that. ***Knock on Wood***.But for all moms who despair about their little ones meal habits, I can only assure it gets better so don't break your head over it.

This Whole Green Moong in the microwave is a quick and delicious way to get the goodness of the grain if you haven’t had the time to sprout them. You can soak them for a couple of hours or overnight. Since I did it for breakfast, I soaked them overnight.

This is usually eaten by itself and you can serve it for breakfast, lunch or snack whatever you prefer. Since my friend R~ taught me this we make it pretty often at home and you have infinite possibilities to jazz it up the way you wish.

I just realized I could send this for WBB#20 -- Balanced Breakfast at Mansi's Fun and Food. It has Whole Grains and also cucumber & onions, so it meets her requirement I guess, so there it goes.


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Green Moong in Microwave

What You Need

Whole Green Moong ~ 2 & ½ cups of the soaked moong

Whole Cumin/Jeera ~ 1tsp
Asafoetida/Hing ~ ¼ tsp
Green Chillies ~ 5-6 chopped fine

Fresh Ginger ~ an inch of ginger chopped in juliennes
Corriander Powder ~ 1 tsp
Amchur Powder ~ 1 tsp
Red Chilli Powder (optional) ~ according to taste

Salt
Olive Oil ~ ½ tbsp

For Garnish

Finely chopped cucumber & red onions
Lime Juice ~ 2-3 tsp

How I did It

In a microwaveable bowl add olive oil, asafoetida, cumin seeds and chopped green chillies
Microwave for 2 minutes

To it add the green moong which had been previously soaked.
Add about 2 cups of water
Add fresh ginger, coriander powder, amchur powder and red chilli powder and salt
Microwave for about 10-12 minutes

Depending on the time you have soaked the moong, the amount of water and time to microwave may vary. This is the reason I do it in chunks of time.
After 10-12 minutes check the water and the moong. If it is not done and the water has dried up add some more water and microwave for 3-4 more minutes

Continue this till the moong turns soft and moist with no extra water

Garnish with lime juice, chopped cucumber and chopped red onions.

Have a healthy bowl


BTW, if you are a Mom and are on the verge of deciding on schools for your kid, you might find good information on Desi Momz Club this month. Most of them are about school admissions in India and you can send your input if you like.

Trivia: Mung bean starch, which is obtained from ground mung beans, is used to make transparent cellophane noodles