Thursday, March 20, 2014

Combination of fresh greens, vegetables, fruits, fragrant herbs, beans, sprouts, tofu, cheese, rice, pasta, meats, fish or poultry, nuts and seeds — salads can be a perfect accompaniment or a complete meal in itself. Not only does a salad add visual excitement, it also adds flavour, crunch and lends character to the meal. 

They can be served chilled or warm with sweet, spicy or creamy dressings. The key to a good salad is at least three primary colours and simplicity in flavour.What makes a salad such an integral part of healthy eating is that you can eat as much of it without worrying about calories. Depending on the other ingredients and the kinds of dressing, content of proteins, fats and carbohydrates vary.

Dressings usually are a clever balance between tangy and sweet. Always choose cold pressed oils like extra-virgin olive or sesame and for a sharper taste mustard can be truly magical.
Creamy dressings can be made lighter with hung curd and low fat mayo, ketchup and mustard. The tang can be provided with natural acids like malt vinegar, rice vinegar or the robust balsamic vinegar, or simply orange juice and lime. Throw in some toasted seeds like sunflower, sesame, flax and nuts to add the crunch.

Low on calories and loaded with fibre, vitamins, minerals and antioxidants, salads can help beat the flab without your the need to portion control. They can be treated as free foods, with the exception of potatoes, sweet potatoes, and other starches which need to be limited.

Salads provide certain vitamins and antioxidants, such as vitamins B and C and folic acid, which get destroyed when heated. They also provide special disease fighting plant pigments called phytochemicals, which have antioxidant properties. These chemicals protect us from chronic degenerative diseases such as cancer, cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, cataract and ageing.

One of the major concerns of salads is their microbiological safety. Make sure that raw vegetables and fruits are thoroughly washed in salted cold water or potassium permanganate solution, if possible. Choose organic produce whenever possible.

 If you have a garden, grow as many fresh vegetables, fruits and herbs as you can, organically. Over-ripe or bruised vegetables and fruits can be a source of infection. Make sure that you do not leave cut fruits and vegetables for long durations. In general, avoid eating salads outside the house or in cheap eateries.

With endless varieties and novel combinations right from the good old Russian, coleslaw, tossed green and Caeser to the exotic ones like nicoise, Greek, salads are surely a recipe to good health.

Saturday, March 15, 2014


Holi is a spring festival also known as festival of colours, and sometimes festival of love. So don't ruin you and your loved ones on holi by using Chemical Colours. Only use organic colours while playing Holi.

Holi is also celebrated to renew old friendships and ties and forget rivalries and small fights. While renewing such friendships do not forget to renew your relation with us as before!!

For seeking more information on this please refer to our story on Holi colours in Consumer Voice Magazine. Log on to http://consumer-voice.org

Be Safe!!
Happy Holi to all from Consumer Voice Family!!!

Monday, March 10, 2014

New India Assurance's 'New India Asha Kiran' policy gives 50 per cent discount for girl children,

Government-run general insurer New India Assurance today launched a special health insurance scheme for families with girl children.
The scheme, 'New India Asha Kiran', has been launched on the eve of International Women's Day.
"We have launched this product, specially designed for families with only girl children, on the occasion of International Women's Day. This product is reasonably priced as discounts are offered for insuring girl children," Chairman and Managing Director of New India Assurance G Srinivasan told reporters here.
"We hope this product receives sound response from consumers," he added.
As per the company, this floater policy gives 50 per cent discount for the girl children. In case of accident to parents, the sum insured will be placed as fixed deposit in the name of the girl children.
"Though we don't have any concrete estimate of how many families are there with only girl children, we think around 20-30 per cent families may come under this segment," Srinivasan said.
The recently piloted product for domestic workers would soon be available for retail customers, he said.
The country's largest general insurer would come up with more innovative products in the coming months. "We will soon come up with such innovative products," Srinivasan said.
The state-run insurer posted a 36 per cent rise in net profit at Rs 701 crore in the third quarter ended December 31, 2013 from Rs 517 crore in the same period last year.
COURTESY: THE FINANCIAL EXPRESS (http://ow.ly/upnoT)

Thursday, March 6, 2014

As Android is the most widely used mobile operating system, it is more vulnerable to malware attack. Keeping this in your mind, do the needful for enhancing the security. If your device is found with some odd issues no doubt it’s been affected with malware. Be aware that all the vital information in your device can be traced and downloaded by a third person with cruel intentions. If you are not careful enough with the security, all your data can be shared all over the World Wide Web.

Below listed are the security tips for your Android device, as listed by TOI.


1. Download Anti-Malware Apps

Instead of focusing on the malware threats, think about what can be done to protect your Android device, apps and data. There are plenty of security apps available and make sure that you download and use them. Android anti-virus apps like Kaspersky, AVG, Avast and Norton are best among them. Recommended free anti-Virus apps include Lookout and TrustGo.

Do bear in mind that your job will be a lot easier, if you have an app that handles very kind of security issues at your disposal.

2. Avoid surfing and app downloading from unsecured sites

Recent report from security researchers show that the leading cause for malware attack is surfing through adult content websites. What the users can do is try not to get connected with such sites. Downloading apps from unofficial app stores is another source of malware infection on Android phone or tab. Try avoiding such malicious mobile apps installation by using official Google Play app store. There is a check box in the Setting menu of any standard Android device which enables and disables unofficial apps, so activate it.
 

3. Secure your network

Securing your network is the first and foremost thing that you should do to protect your Android device. Avoid using public Wi-Fi connection whenever you wish to access internet or do online banking. As long as you are sharing the network with the public, hackers can easily sniff out your packets and trace your password. Protect your information by using apps like Hideninja VPN so that it’s not easy to sabotage your information. If you feel that your device is being hacked, Wi-Fi protector can ward off these hackers. SecDroid can also help you out to enhance your network security. Always remember to turn off your Wi-Fi and Bluetooth when they are not in use.


4. Install a lock App

If your Android device contain any personal data that you wish no one should access, then it is sensible to use a lock app on it. Lots of apps are available on play store which offers extra protection to your personal data. Cerberus and Avast Mobile Security are best among them. These apps ask your password or PIN number which you need to be entered to access the protected information. If your Android device is stolen or lost, no one will have an access to your protected data.


5. Keep a backup of your Data

Having a backup of your data is very crucial in the era of Smartphones. Imagine a worst scenario where your Android is being hacked or stolen. In such scenarios all your personal data in your device will be lost if you don’t have appropriate backup in place. Even though you could retrieve your missed device, chances are that hackers who have managed to access your phone will render it useless. If you keep a back up, you can restore your device back to normal. You can use cloud to create a back up, or opt for traditional means such as desktops or flash drives for such purpose.


6. Activate Google’s Android Device Manager

If you lose your device, Android Device Manager can help you to track your device on Google Maps. It allows you to ring the device loudly for five minutes and even erase the entire data. To verify whether it’s enabled, you can go to the Setting Menu and tap on Security. You can also enable it through the Device Administrators setting under Security Settings.


 7. Create multiple user account

If you want your Android tablet to be shared with your spouse, siblings or anyone, having multiple user account will help you to protect your privacy. In Jell Bean Android tab, there is an option to create multiple user accounts. General account can be created for anyone who wants to use your device. This option is available under the Setting inUsers section.



8. Never save your passwords

Many users have a habit of saving passwords of online sites or services on their phone without thinking about its aftereffects. If you do so, your personal data is more prone to hacking. Hence avoid saving password on your device especially when it comes to banking or payment apps.




9. Check out Plan B

If you found that your Android device is lost, before planning to buy a new device check out ‘Plan B’. This will help you to get the back up of SMS, contacts, call Logs and location emails and also will track your device. Try to install Plan B from Google play store which can send the location of the device to your Gmail account.


10. Allow app permissions

Before installing an app from Google play, a pop up will come with requested permissions to show you what permission the app needs. Apps need certain permissions to do things, so go through it and ensure that they make sense; for example, an alarm app doesn’t require a permission to access your text messages. This is an important step you need to follow as all apps in the Play Store are not safe. Courtesy: SiliconIndia 


Wednesday, March 5, 2014

Prepare to pay your full-unsubsidized-electricity bill from April. Subsidy for consumption up to 400 units, announced by the Sheila Dikshit government and later increased by the Arvind Kejriwal government, will cease in the new financial year as there is no provision for it in the interim budget for 2014-15 approved by Parliament on Friday.

On December 31, 2013, Kejriwal had slashed electricity rates by 50% for consumption up to 400 units. The Congress government had also been subsidizing the first two slabs of 0-200 units and 201-400 units. The Delhi cabinet had approved the subsidy for the January-March quarter and it was to be reviewed as the government had ordered a CAG audit of power companies. 

The state government had also prepared an estimate of Rs 669 crore for power subsidy in the April-September period but, sources said, this did not figure in the 'vote on account' approved by Parliament. "If the subsidy estimate is not in the budget, it cannot be given. This is a call that will have to be taken by the next elected government," said a source. Courtesy: TNN


Monday, March 3, 2014

Now you can buy more than one cylinder per month

lpg cylinderPost government decision to raise annual quota of subsidised cooking gas, the Cabinet allowed consumers to buy more than one subsidised cylinder in a month. The government had raised the annual cap on supply of cheaper LPG from nine to 12 cylinders of 14.2-kg each. Therefore it paved way for one cylinder in a month.
These developments lead to a public unrest as they generally require more than one cylinder in a month. The Oil Ministry cleared a proposal for consideration of the Cabinet suggesting that consumers should have the freedom to book a refill after 21 days, within the overall cap of 12 subsidised bottles in a year.

According to sources the Cabinet headed by the Prime Minister agreed with the proposal. The sources also added that raising the cap from nine to 12 cylinders will impose an additional financial burden of about Rs 3,801 crore per annum.

The government had initially capped the supply of subsidised LPG cylinders to six per household annually in September 2012 which was further raised to nine in January 2013. Consumers who exhaust their quota have to buy LPG at the market price of Rs 1,258 per cylinder whereas; subsidised LPG costs Rs 414 per cylinder in Delhi.

In addition to the above mentioned developments, the Cabinet Committee on Political Affairs (CCPA) also decided to scrap the decision of making Aadhaar cards mandatory to get subsidy on domestic LPG cylinders. However, the decision to delink Aadhaar cards from the subsidy has not been implemented due to certain clarifications that are awaited from the Cabinet. Courtesy:PTI