Artwork

This art is drawn by a maid's daughter. She does cleaning works with her mother in other's houses whole day in order to support her family. She has sketched her thoughts with limited material which was given to her from a home where she works.
She wants a better life, she wants to study, she wants to go to school! But she knows that she will soon be tied to a man in the name of marriage, she doesn't know how much elder than her will he be & of what character. She knows that after that it wont be a happy ending, then she will work in other's homes for the rest of her life in order to earn for her offspring & her in-laws just like her mother has been doing ever-since.
She wants to feel better than just a maid ('masi') but she doesn't know how to? She is just sketching hoping for a future better than the past!

Look at her more arts: Artwork2

Drawrite.

Sleeplessness

Sleeping pattern of children overseas
In developed countries the babies have sleeping patterns. From toddlers to kids they have fixed bed time. They know they have to be on the bed by that time. The time is somewhere between 7:00 pm to 8:30 pm. You won’t hear a kid after these timings because their bedtime starts. As a result, the parents get time to finish up the chores and take a good sleep themselves to get refueled for the next busy day. 

Sleeping routine is not disturbed
Both the parents normally work, so the whole family enjoys a proper routine which in fact is good for the health and over all family tie. They do enjoy parties on the weekends & on holidays but without disturbing the kids’ sleeping routine. This is beneficial for the brain & body development of the little ones. Babies and kids are not seen taking a nap in the evening, as their long pampering bed time approaches soon after the evening.

Sleeping pattern of children in PAKISTAN
Kids are active at night
On the contrary, the sleeping pattern of children here in Karachi is "amazing". Babies sleep pattern is not even discussable. Babies & toddlers are seen sleeping whole day & been active whole night! If not whole day but at least during large chunk of the day they sleep. 

How sleep routine is adjusted? 
Now let's see the sleep timings of school going kids. If tomorrow is school, so the kids will sleep early i.e. between 10:30pm & 11:30pm. This time is too early to sleep in Karachi. If its a holiday next day then everyone is in very very relaxed mood. The dinner is not at the dining table until its after 10:00 pm & that’s even early for many families. Then obviously the kids in the house can’t feel to sleep until its midnight. They go to the bed after 1:00 am or two three hours can be added to that time.

Preparing the kids for that party...
If there is a very important party here we call it dawat, dawat means a dinner with the whole family & may include extended family just for the sake of it & not generally requires a reason to throw that party. Then to prepare the kids for that party which will take place between 10:00 pm and 1:00 am, the kids are made to sleep in the afternoon for two, three, four hours. Then kids are fresher than ever at 7:00 pm which should be normal sleepy time for a kid.  Then the kids don't disturb adults while they are busy gossiping & showing off during the party. 

Eventually, sleep routine is such that it’s not a routine any more. It’s just an effort put to disturb the natural sleeping routine.

Sleeplessness is the starting point of illnesses
The same kids when they are in their teens or early twenties, they are seen totally awakened during the night, chatting, talking, partying, whatsapping, watching movies, hanging with their laptops & androids because they have forgotten what a sleep is! Then they are not attentive in their works, duties, and studies. When there is no sleep, the whole next day is lazy seemingly busy. This is because parents didn’t even try introducing a very important habit of sleep. This sleeplessness is the starting point of many problems & illnesses. 

Its an untold & undiscovered flaw in the parenting style that they try to adjust sleep of their children according to their own interests & business!

How to prevent a sleepless night?

If any family has a proper sleeping schedule, then it’s harder than said to adjust with nocturnal peers / buddies. The family want to be part of parties & dine outs but due to time adjustments, it seems like a mission to accomplish. And people go like, "Why you sleep early?" Huh!
Man! I do not sleep early. I am a parent. I have a thousand things done before I go to bed. It's for my kid's sleep pattern that I need to be home before their sleep time...........

Thoughts by,
Engr. Ayesha Alam Khurram

TODAY'S MOTHER AND FATHER

Written by,
Architect Shahneela Farhan for Facebook PF & Google PF

10 Minutes Exercise

It's a common thinking that exercise is very difficult & time taking. It's true that if you are training properly you need to time yourself & sync yourself with specified sets & reps of an exercise.

But here is a 10 minutes exercising routine for those who are busy or not keen to do regular exercise. It doesn't require any equipment or specific clothing. You just need your running shoes or stay bare feet. 

The tips are about how to do on the spot jogging. Stand on a comfortable place. Take few deep breaths. Start jogging on the spot continuously for 10 minutes. You will notice that its not very easy to even jog at a place continuously for as less as 10 minutes. Do it at least 3 days a week. When you get regular at it, you will start losing weight and you will feel fresher. You can jog indoors or outdoors.

You have to keep in mind that jogging while intake of junk wont leave a positive effect on your body. You have to stay away from 

J-U-N-K. 

See 2 Minutes Diet Plan for more information about eating healthy as opposed to junk.
See also Exercise or Dieting

Consult your physician if you must before starting any workout routine.

Tips by,

Engr. Ayesha Alam Khurram

2 Minutes Diet Plan

Some people have desire to lose weight others want to gain. People who are extremely conscious of their health try to stick to one diet. Others stick to a diet and then try another one but seems like no diet is working for them and they are still gaining weight. If not gaining then definitely not loosing also. People who are celebrities, sports personnel, & those who totally stick to a diet plan and exercise routine have personal dietitian & personal trainer.

But you and me, we are busy. We don't have time to stick to one diet & properly plan it. If one specific item in the specific diet menu is missing, that means the whole plan is ruined and you are not on that diet plan any more. Here is a 2 minutes tip for a good dieting routine! 

See also Which Diet Can Keep You Healthy, Smart, & Trimmed? 

2 Minutes Dieting Plan

Here is a method, in which you don't have to go for specific shopping and worry about specific meal & separate menu. You can eat what is cooked in the home. Yeah! Just fit in with others in the home. You don't have to put extra time to buy your dieting list & don't have to put extra effort to cook your diet menu separately. Just follow the equation:

Easy Dieting = Water + Balanced diet - Junk Food

Water: Drink lots of water. The purpose is to drink water. It takes two minutes to fill a water bottle and keep it with you. It also takes two minutes to make detox water. Detox water is simply water with lemons, citrus fruits, cucumbers, ginger & mint. Remember the goal is to drink lots of water every day. Don't worry about buying specific fruits & veges for it. If you have lemon at home add it to water. Likewise when you have other detox fruits add those. Or simply water! No soft drinks. 

Detox water  

Balanced Diet: You don't need to go for a specific grocery. Your meals should include salad + greens + fruits. The two minutes tip is that you don't have to plan for a specific item, just grab whatever is available at the meal time, any veges any fruit any leafy green. If no salad is available on the table, grab a whole cucumber or carrot and eat it with your meal. Takes 2 minutes! When you add these to your platter, meal will automatically become less resulting in weight loss. 

Fruits & veges

Bread & pasta

Red meat & rice

Dairy

Junk food: Keep the junks for occasions. Don't eat fries, burgers, cakes, pizza, every now & then. No soft drinks! Dine out as less as possible. If you totally skip junks, you will eat all someday. White or plain flour is unhealthy which is main ingredient of burgers, naans & pizzas. Use whole wheat or whole grain instead.

Junk    

The best thing is that you don't need to plan & prepare anything separately. You don't need to put extra time and effort. You can fit in to family meals! There is no hassle of counting calories & macronutrients. You won't go crazy measuring your inches every now & then. The 2 minutes dieting plan will work slowly, effectively, & long lastingly with no side effects as is the case with diet plans.

Eat everything but mindfully!

See also 2 HIGHLY NUTRITIOUS DOUGHS FOR ROTI (flat round bread)

See also Exercise or Dieting

Tips by,
Engr. Ayesha Alam Khurram for PF

Which Diet Can Keep You Healthy, Smart, & Trimmed ?

There are various diet plans and diet menu. It's hard to determine that which diet plan will work best for you. Many people put a lot of time, money, & effort to find out that which type of diet plan best suits them. Then they stick to it for specified days. But once they stop practicing that diet plan, they can go unhealthy again. Because one can stick to few things for few days & resist delicious cravings for a limited time and after that everything goes wrong again.

How to find out which diet plan is best for you? Ask a dietitian or a nutritionist or a fitness trainer? Everyone can't do it or they don't have time to do it. Here are few diet plans discussed with their effects on the body that will help you determine that which diet is best suited for you.

Ketogenic Diet

This diet is high in fat. It allows eggs, green salad, cheese, cream, oil, some veges, some nuts, fish, chicken, & beef in a strict quantity & timings. It doesn't allow fruits, sweets, sugars, rice, bread, pasta, many veges like potatoes. Keeping a count of grams of fat, carbohydrates, proteins, & calories is important if one adopts this diet. A meal planner chart is a must.

Keto Diet

Atkins Diet

You have to watch on grams of carbohydrates, % protein, and % fats. It allows few veges, red & white meats, oils, cream, & butter. It doesn't allow grains, bread & pasta, nuts, legumes, many veges, & dairy other than cream & butter.

Atkins Diet

Mediterranean Diet

This diet allows yogurt, fruits & veges, grains & oats, fish & chicken, cheese, eggs, nuts, brown rice, olive oil, legumes, nuts, rarely red meat. It doesn't allow white bread, crackers, sweets and sweet cakes, ice-cream, sugars, oil except extra virgin olive oil, & refined grains. A meal plan chart is needed but macronutrients i.e proteins, fats, carbs are not counted on regular basis.

 Mediterranean Diet

Paleo Diet

Its a cavemen diet, go wild! This diet allows specific red & white meats, eggs, leafy greens, some veges, some fruits & nuts, natural oils, dairy is very limited. It doesn't allow grains, legumes, sugars, pasta, cereal, most dairy, & processed food.

Paleo Diet

Blood Type Diet

Fitness geeks even go one step further and they stick to the diet that are specific for their blood group. Strange! They eat the ideal food that react best with their type of blood. How can they get all those nutrients that they miss out?

Blood Type Diet

Other Diets
There are various other types of diets like vegetarian diet, detox diet, high protein diet, low carb diet, green smoothie diet, etc.

Drawbacks of These Diets

You need to limit starch, sugars, grains, fruits and much more that you can miss out. These diets cause headaches, irritation, smelly breath, dizziness, weakness, constipation, sleeplessness & fatigue. Counting calories forever is a must or get deshaped. Constant worrying about yourself, your waist & inches that you are doing so much and there is no result!. No peace of mind. You can't stay happy during family meals. One can miss out many things and can keep extra cravings for all those things & one day loose control and eat it all!!!

You need to constantly count & maintain percentages, worry about your own special meal apart from family meal, and keep checking your weight & inches all the times. Plus, exercise is a must while following these diet plans other wise whole effort can ruin.  

Dieting Plans are Good for
The diet plans are good for artists, sports persons, media personnel, on screen people and those whose part of job is to stay healthy & to motivate people.  
But for layman, for you & me, for busy ones, and for less motivated people who don't have time, whose routine are tough, or those who simply want an easy way to stay healthy, 2 Minutes Diet Plan is the best & easy way out.

Written by,

Engr. Ayesha Alam Khurram for PF

2 HIGHLY NUTRITIOUS DOUGHS FOR ROTI (flat round bread)

When you knead the dough for roti (flat round bread), you use whole meal flour or plain flour. Right? Here are tips to make your dough highly nutritious with no extra effort.

Add gram flour (besan) to your roti dough

After putting dry flour into kneading pot, add some sifted gram flour to the dry flour. You can add 10-40% gram flour as compared to the amount of flour. It depends on your taste how much you want to add. Even a little amount of gram flour will add extra nutrition to your roti without extra effort. First mix the gram flour into the dry flour to make sure it has spread evenly. Then start pouring water and knead as per your own steps. Make roti with this and it will be nutritious and delicious! 

Tip: Adding few drops of fruit vinegar or synthetic vinegar makes the dough soft and keep the dough safe from bacteria.

Gram flour

Add semolina (sooji) to your roti dough

First you need to sift and dry roast semolina until it changes colour slightly. Don’t over roast it or you might loose the nutrition present in it. Leave it until it is at the room temperature.

After putting dry flour into kneading pot, add some roasted semolina to the dry flour. You can add 10-40% semolina as compared to the amount of flour. Mix the semolina into the dry flour to make sure it has spread evenly. Then start pouring water and knead as per your own steps. When the dough is kneaded well, you can use it as per your requirements. Enjoy a delicious roti or even paratha!

Semolina  

See how to Freeze Your Roti Dough

Written by,

Engr. Ayesha Alam Khurram