CookGourmet - Delight At My Doorstep...

It is a thing of two weeks past when an invite had been extended out to me by the gastronomically inclined folks at Cook Gourmet. They expressed their interest to 'end my long search for new & exciting recipes every day'.

'We'd love your review' was what prompted the Blogger in me to go ahead and check out what was on offer.

These were what I noticed on their website at first glance.

After a mail from their Marketing Head, who was quick to explain to me, that their mission is to make incredible home cooking accessible to everyone - from the novice cook just getting started to the experienced chef, I decided to give it a try.  

Each week they send all the pre-measured and perfectly proportioned ingredients a budding kitchen connoisseur needs, to prepare delicious and healthy meals at home.  

They introduce their members to new ingredients, flavors, and cooking techniques with seasonally-inspired recipes that are always delicious, fun and easy to prepare. 

With around a dozen recipes segregated according to Meal Preference (Veg/Non-Veg) and Timeline (Previous Week/This Week/Next Week), the What's Cooking section looked like this: 

As you could very well guess, I ordered the Crispy Crusted Red Snapper with Sweet Chili Sauce & Red Pepper Salad prepared by Chef Nikkhil Kanwar. 

Finer details such as the calorie count of the dish, the utensils to facilitate preparation at home and explicit specification of the trivial ingredients (like salt) which would not be provided had also been taken care of. 

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Along with the attention being paid to customer-friendliness of the entire website, a week-long Days slot and a two-hour time slot await you at Checkout. 

You could choose any particular day in the week, ahead of the present and a particular timing (say 3-5) to get your recipe box delivered, with compliments. 

After I had cooked my savory recipe, I promptly reviewed it on their portal first. I found my testimonial to be one among many other positive ones. 

Are you wondering about the snapshots of what was delivered and made for, in reality? I have saved the best for the last. 

Presenting,  the ingredients to Crispy Crusted Red Snapper with Sweet Chili Sauce & Red Pepper Salad cooked at home by Yours Truly, thanks to CookGourmet! 

Dry ingredients came in small zip-lock pouches. Fluids like oil and sauce came in air-tight bottles. Sliced and chopped veggies came in air-tight packaging. The main ingredient, Red Snapper was shielded by a Freeze Pack - all stickers labeled appropriately in Green circles or Red. 

The Recipe Box was also accompanied by an elaborate recipe card which made preparing this savory delight a piece of cake.

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Now, for the plating: 

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My first experience with Cook Gourmet has been pleasant. I would like to suggest to them, two improvement points - a minor one for the website and one for the packaging of their recipe box. 

• On the 'My Account' page, my profile picture loads as a broken image. This had happened thrice. I do not know whether it is because my network connection is managing with tortoise speed this week or an error at the backend, but I found it proper to bring it to their notice as a part of this review. 
• I know that I'd be suggesting a complete makeover to their packaging but presently - if mishandled - the fluid ingredient bottles slide and wobble. They have been made air-tight to prevent spillage, thankfully. Could Cook Gourmet go ahead with a packaging similar to that of stationery kits, that have slots for appropriate items? It would be a pleasant change, in my opinion. :) 

I look forward to ordering, receiving and preparing many more CookGourmet delights in the future! Thanks CookGourmet for an opportunity to host you over. 

Yours is a finely crafted concept and I wish it keeps going strong. :) 

#ChampIsBack, And Says #NaMosteUSA!

#NaMosteUSA took the Indian tabloids by storm,

Once bitten, twice shy, was PM Modi in the USA. 

The Town Hall with Facebook's prime was warm, 

A visit to the Silicon Valley earned a unanimous Aye! 

This affair echoed in and around Indian homes,

However, a bit twisted was the scenario in ours. 

What fun is some sugar sans its spice? 

NaMo in the USA, Google captured my fancy! 

Was it because he met Indian CEO Pichai? 

Or their planning of a WiFi Rail Net in India? 

None, I say, as you are gravely mistaken,

Their launch of Nexus 5X instead, caught my eye! 

In dreams, an aspiration turned to reality,

LG & Google's Nexus 5X restored normality. 

What went wrong in the first place, you may wonder,

The PM's most reliable device had been stolen - a blunder!

The thieves were smart, the device, however, smarter,

Penetrated the security cover, but failed through Nexus Imprint.

It was but, an essential feature to privacy, no starter! 

Fingerprint sensing put to use, no intruder would it mint! 

They succeeded in stealing, not in stalking,

All of NaMo's love for Google - succinctly organized. 

On the Drive, YouTube would have his Gmail streaming,

Unable to fathom hacking his lifeline, however hard they analyzed!

Helpless chaps, they were forced to return, take a U-turn,

Only and only NaMo's Champ it was - the Nexus 5X.

Its battery cried over their numerous futile attempts,

Marshmallow recruited USB Type-C for lightning speed! 

Ten minutes past plugging, NaMo's Champ lasted four hours.

Celebrations at Townhall - #ChampIsBack, all rejoiced! 

The Champ united with its premier owner,

Those thieves were now in prison, having underestimated Nexus! 

Nexus 5X saved the day, 

Top-line performance was a star!

In the dimmest ambiance, was found, a way,

Features which were assets, to take it afar!

~~~ 

I am participating in the #ChampIsBack activity at BlogAdda.

Let Us Pledge To #ProtectHerHeart...

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We are not humans. We parallel our lifestyle in today's times with that of a mechanized robot, whose gotten too busy making a living, that he's forgotten to make a life. 

Come to think of it, we are merely existing, not living. A majority of the human race today is busy meeting deadlines, running errands, completing projects, putting ourselves together. 

Our lifestyle is now governed by not what we would LIKE to pursue, but what we HAVE to do. Our only folly? It had been aptly highlighted by David Muecke. 

"A hectic life usually lacks attention to detail, and often the details are people."

I would like to add my two cents to it by saying that most often, those people who lack our attention also include our own selves. 

Being a woman who has been (attempting to) maintain the work-life balance since the past three decades, I can testify to the fact that I realize too, that I neglect my physical well-being every now and then owing to various factors which influence our lives and lifestyles in today's so called modern world. 

Progressing towards a perpetually connected world also weighs heavily on the yardstick of maintaining good health too, thus limiting my physical activity. 

Our lax and lazy-bones alter ego has been successfully overpowering our active and on-the-go self, over the years. 

Especially us ladies - we overlook the fact that this ignorance - towards our own well-being - is NOT bliss now. A bane rather than a boon, in the long run, would surface, where we might have to confront long-term illnesses.

Gradually, it is becoming harder to realize that physical activity is more about physical endurance - brisk walking, jogging, working out, Yoga - and less and less about just running errands and doing the chores of the house. 

I feel that the time is not far when our muscles, organs, and even the heart would go on strike against our nonchalant attitude towards our soul's temple - our precious body. 

Given the increasingly harrowing time constraint of twenty-four hours -  'just' twenty-four hours in a day which seem too small a time-frame to pass, existing through our daily routines, most of us - including myself - have to make time to spend on and to pamper ourselves. 

That pampering is also when we decide to take time out of our so-called 'busy schedule' to spend some of it upping the 'physical activity' meter. 

Fortunately or not, it now takes us a 'test' to remind us on a scale of 'Just Keep Going' to 'Take Immediate Action' how ignorant we've truly been. 

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I am talking about Saffolalife and their #ProtectHerHeart initiative which prompted me to take their Weight-Heart Test to come to terms with some awe-inspiring facts regarding my own self. 

Based on providing some vital stats, I was greeted by 'Kindly Take A Note'. I hope that this Note does not lose its way through the numerous Post-It Notes on an erstwhile office desk! 

I sincerely do. 

It also presented a clearer picture of how this anchor of the family's walk over turbulent water is ever-proceeding towards accumulating rust. 

There are some pointers which I hope to adopt, towards the achievement of a healthier me and a healthier heart on my inside, just in time for my Birthday this month. For it is my heart which bears the brunt of not only emotional and psychological but also physical ordeals. 

Well, of course, it won't be a 'build-in-a-night' case in point. It would take persistence and determination. And, I've made a promise to myself. My spouse has made it to himself and to me too. We've pledged to #ProtectHerHeart because we don't want these figures to engulf her while she rudders the house and home impressively albeit neglecting her own self all the time. 

Most certainly, we would not like the consequences of lack of self-care to profess themselves on her delicate being down the timeline too. 

That Her in #ProtectHerHeart is Yours Truly. :) 

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Well, I have prepared a seven-point checklist to ensure that we - my better half and me are able to match ourselves up to the seemingly herculean task of #ProtectHerHeart to achieve a healthier lifestyle for both of us. 

That checklist goes by the acronym PROTECT. Each letter signifies a minor addition or change to our present-day routine which would add up to a major improvement over the horizon. 

Put Our Hearts Together, Pledge Together...

Rationalize Those Pros-Cons, Become Better...

Outsmarting Each Other With The Pep Talks...

To Alleviate Stresses Over Some Brisk Walks...

Evaluating What's On Our Plates Over Dinner...

Coming Through Each Day As A Person, Fitter...

The Worries Vanish As We #ProtectHerHeart!

In addition to this, religiously following a sharing of household duties, getting up to obtain some fresh air, each day - inhale and exhale - deep breathing, along with pushing ourselves for that forsaken Health Checkup, would go a long way in assisting us to uphold our Pledge. 

We've promised ourselves to fulfill this Pledge to #ProtectHerHeart over the year. Have you and your better half taken it up too? :) 

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I am joining the Saffolalife #ProtectHerHeart initiative and pledging my support to better heart health in Association with BlogAdda.

Pampers Premium Care Is #SoftestForBabySkin

Being a parent AND being a blogger has its perks at times. It can be quite insightful at times.

Had it not been for being a Mommy Blogger, how would I have had the pleasure of attending the Launch of Pampers Premium Care Pants, held in collaboration with BlogAdda?

In case, you haven't read about that on my blog, head here. The parting gift from RewardMe's side also included a pack of Pampers Premium Care Pants for me to review, by presenting it to my cousin who has a chubby angel to keep her going.

She visited us last week for a family get-together and decided to stay the night over. As always, she had carried along all the baby essentials which she knew, would be required for and by her bundle of joy.

Her carry-around kit include diapers too, without a doubt, as she knew that there would arise a need, once in the night, to change the baby's diaper.

These Premium Care Pants had come to me at the most appropriate time and I urged her to switch from her current brand to Pampers for the day.

After having been the end consumer of the product for a day, my cousin turned out a happier mother. She was the one now, urging me to bring her more of those. I felt like she was in love with those pants. She very much is, I tell you.

As I had to pen it down (type it, on the blog) I asked my cousin for her point-by-point feedback. She gave me a five-factor checklist.

Comfortable fit, as the Pants came with a stretchable waistband.

Softness to touch, in the material, the Pants were made up of. My cousin highlighted the fact that the leg cuffs in the pants were ample to stretch too, as it was also elastic and ensured a snug fit for the baby.

She was all praises for the efficient Gel-Lock technology which had been illustrated on the pack, and that ensured breathability for the child's skin throughout the night.

What surprised her was the fact that the next morning, she did not need to (however she did) change the Pants post-bath even though they were dry as new. Since she was using the Pants for the first time, and as a cautious mother, in general, she decided to keep infection at bay. I was quick enough to remark about the 12-Hours-Dryness being promised by Pampers. :)

She was also glad to notice a thin yellow-colored strip on the bottom of the Pants which had been labelled as a Wetness Indicator on the outside packaging, which turned to blue to alert timely changing.

Also, the provision for hassle-free disposal was a convenient and welcome feature in the Pants, according to my cousin.

I also informed her of the Baby Lotion and made her read about its demonstration by Tara Sharma (on my Blog, of course) which left her relieved and thankful to Pampers as a confident Mother.

I would also like to inform all Mothers who would be willing to try this product, about its price point.

Have a look at the Pants which I received for review.

All in all, my cousin is now an ardent fan of the newest Premium Care Pants being offered by Pampers!

I hope you would try and like this Product for your baby if you are a young parent too. :)

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This blog post is written for the Pampers #SoftestForBabySkin activity in association with BlogAdda

#StandUpComedyInStyle If You Live In Style!

Being an amiable stand-up comedian is no easy task. It takes a lot of inborn wit, humor and guts to face the masses to pursue Stand-Up Comedy as a full-fledged profession. You must possess an enviable degree of articulation and expression of thoughts so as to prove your mettle in the world of comedy. 

As easy as it is to laugh off the shortcomings of others, as difficult it is to bear the brunt on one's own self. The person who masters the art of laughing off his own follies, however harsh they may sound or seem to be, is the person who can think of pursuing stand-up comedy as an art. 

It is not that a budding comedian can become a stand-up comedian in the span of a single night. It takes persistence and determination to achieve any goal that one may set his eyes upon. Stand-Up Comedy is about rekindling the flame of bravery, within oneself to step up and face those first few jokes with nobody laughing and convincing yourself that you are good enough to get on stage again and prove that you have what it takes to sustain your survival as the one with the funny bone. 

Recently, I came across the LiveInStyle website. These people are doing an outstanding job at encouraging budding talent in the field of Stand-Up Comedy - youngsters and elders alike - who search for a suitable platform to showcase their unrecognized talent, by teaming up with Comedy Hunt on Youtube - and prompting people to exhibit their bold moves - verbally and wittily. 

The website also showcases some very interesting listicles - for instance, '5 Life Lessons You Can Learn From A Stand-Up Comedian', 'How to tell a story like a stand-up comedian', '5 Questions Stand Up Comics are Asked Every Day' and such which give the common audience an insight of what it is like to live as a Stand-Up comedian. 

Other than that, there are also some 'About' sections which focus the limelight on the stand-up comedians of today's times whose approach appeals to the youth, namely Kannan Gill, Gursimran Khamba, Vir Das and Vipul Goyal. 

It is also becoming a trend nowadays that stand-up comedians appear for paid stints at events and parties in the city, so as to lend a cheerful note to such social gatherings and enlivening the Party while showcasing their talent.