Monday, April 19, 2010

Kid Friendly Product review: Activia Vanilla Waltz

This is not a paid advertisement, its just a review of one of the products that we *love*, and Oh boy, do we love our Activia! Its one of those products whose line we want to try over and over not just for its good taste, and ahem, its pro-biotic benefits, but for the variety too! This new dessert selections, with a name like "Vanilla Waltz" made me want to buy it right away! For the kid's lunchbox, I like to include yogurts and healthy foods such as these. I freeze the yogurt overnight, so by lunchtime next day, its ready to eat.

So, here's what I think of this particular flavor: "Vanilla Waltz" by Danone Activia.


Texture: absolutely creamy, firm,almost like eating a good quality Shrikhand!
White, creamy with flecks of real vanilla in it.


Flavor: Very Vanilla, very good! Love it.


Nutritional Value:  1 Serving: 110g
Calories 120 Sodium 55 mg
Total Fat 4 g Potassium 0 mg
Saturated 3 g Total Carbs 18 g
Polyunsaturated 0 g Dietary Fiber 0 g
Monounsaturated 0 g Sugars 16 g
Trans 0 g Protein 5 g
Cholesterol 15 mg
Vitamin A 2% Calcium 10%
Vitamin C 0% Iron 2%

I'm waiting for the fat free version.................I would still buy this again, and pack it in the kid's lunch box.

Sparky and Spunky: ***** stars out of 5-though
Spunky did complain that there were flecks of  "pepper" in his yogurt. I had to explain to him that it was from a real vanilla bean!

Sparky ate 2 tubs in one sitting. Man oh Man. 

Desi Mom: ***** stars out of 5

Desi Dad: Not applicable, he rarely eats yogurt. His Loss.

More to come in the next posts.
-Desi Mom

Tuesday, April 6, 2010

Tantrum Zone: Indian food vs Non-Indian Food.

 Getting Dinner on the table is such a production in our family.

"What do you want for dinner?"the question that is asked just about everyday, sometimes around 5-6 times just to get a satisfactory answer from the rest of the family.

I get some very interesting responses. Desi dad almost always says, "whatever you want, as long as it is Indian", and the kids chime in...." Sparky: "aarrggh,no.........NOT Indian food!!!!!, or "you made daal-bhaat yesterday, no fair, I'm not having it AGAIN!!!!!!!!",  or Spunky: " oh man...that's four days in a row of Indian food, momma" they say and proceed to flop down with their heads on the table or say something incoherent in French.(the kids go to a French Immersion program at school).
Kids are so dramatic. I am at a loss sometimes, but very rarely do I give in and make something different for the kids. I just don't want to make it a habit. They grumble, complain that the daal is too spicy, the curries are too red ( tomato sauce! hello!), the rotis don't have enough butter on them and on and on, but desi dad and I refuse to give in, and they sit there, making faces much like Calvin in the cartoon and mumbling in French " oh mon dieu.." and such, ALL WHILE eating their dinner. I hate doing it, but I guess I am trying to teach them to be appreciative of what's put before them. I try new things, and some of them are either a hit or a miss-(they love chhole-bhature though, or fat rotlis as they call them!).

Now, if I serve quesadillas, pasta or any other non-Indian items.....they gobble it up without so much a tweet out of both of them.Dinner is inhaled and done with in under 15 minutes and they're out the door. Wow.

Does this sound familiar in your household?

Picture Courtesy: google.

Monday, April 5, 2010

Our First Post - Who We Are.....

We're a family of four, with two growing boys ages 6 and 4 :Sparky and Spunky. Both of us, Desi mom and Desi dad are originally of an East Indian origin. We were both born in India, but had moved to the US/Canada respectively in our teens. So, we like to say that we have a balance of both the Indian and Western cultures. Our young kids are our pride and joy and we do the best to provide a safe, healthy lifestyle for both. We've been experiencing a lot of challenges lately, mostly cultural , as in our kids asking us "Why do we have to eat Indian food every day?????!!!", " Mommy, why can't I eat a pig or a cow?" or the best one yet, "Why is our God an elephant???", do these sound familiar??

Although we're doing our best to sort it out, it can be quite....let's say interesting. Join us, won't you and see if you can find a little of yourself and your family in ours.