Happy 2022! I decided to start the New Year off with one of my favorite breakfasts, palappam. Palappam is a Kerala delight! It’s like a pancake, but it’s made from ground rice, coconut, and coconut milk which is then fermented overnight before cooking. The whole process of making the batter takes about 24 hours. Then…
Podcast Episode 2: Mood & Meds
I know it’s been nearly two months since my first podcast episode! I finally got my act together to record another episode. Baby steps! In today’s episode, I discuss mental health and the stigma around it and its treatments. I offer some personal experiences here, and I hope you find this helpful! As always, I…
Role Models for My Daughters: Leena Nair
This week, luxury brand Chanel announced that Leena Nair would become its new global CEO. This is huge news, since Nair is only the second woman of Indian origin to become a corporation’s global CEO (the first being Indra Nooyi of PepsiCo). Nair was born in the Indian state of Maharashtra where she studied Engineering…
My 2021 Audiobooks (and Actual Books!)
It’s already that time when I review the books I have listened to this year! Last year’s list was much shorter than I would like, but between having a new baby and dealing with a pandemic, free time was not in abundance ;) I haven’t read a ton of books in previous years as I…
5 Diverse Children’s Books
Growing up, none of the books I read featured Indian or South Asian characters. Nowadays, I am thrilled that there are so many options for children’s picture books and chapter books that cater to diverse readers. As I mentioned in a previous post about my favorite South Asian authors and books, introducing diversity at an…
Vegan(ish) Pasta Bake
We are not vegan, but I often enjoy trying new vegan recipes simply because they look delicious and are (usually) full of wholesome, nutritious ingredients. When I want to find a vegan (or vegan-ish with modifications) recipe, I usually look to Nisha at Rainbow Plant Life or Sadia at Pick Up Limes. Their websites have…
Teaching Kids About Thanksgiving
November is National Native American Heritage Month! I wish I could say I knew this before last Thursday, but a recent incident led me to this realization which I want to discuss further here. I thought hard about whether I would address this topic on my blog, but ultimately I felt a duty to address…
Five Fall Soups
One of my favorite things about the fall season is the comfort of homemade soups! Especially on colder and rainier days like today, a warm bowl of delicious soup just makes things so much better. Moreover, I love homemade soups because they are quite simple, quick to make, and healthy. I’ve already made a number…
Body Image in the 21st century
The helpful folks on social media I follow whom I mentioned in this podcast are: @BreeLenehan @justget.fit @deliciouslyfitnhealthy whose podcast I mention is Make it Simple And check out noom.com which was invaluable for me!
South Asian Authors I Love
Over the last two years, I have become more intentional about reading/listening to books written by a diverse array of writers. I seek out books, new and old, written by authors of color, not only for their different perspectives and outlooks on life and the world around them, but also to show solidarity for people…
Value Sources
Lately I have been thinking a lot about external influences and the forces which guide our decisions. Especially with social media, where we constantly are bombarded by images of what literally millions of people around the world have, experience, and look like, it is easy to become sucked into wanting to change or adjust our…
Role Models for My Daughters: Sunisa Lee
This is a too-long-delayed “role models” post! I’m picking this series back up by highlighting an amazingly talented young woman, Sunisa Lee. I never knew who the Hmong people were until my first day of freshman year in college. That’s when I met my dear friend Kou who has been a pillar of friendship for…
pen . paper . storm 