McDonalds Dollar Menu

1. McDouble – 2 Beef patties with a slice of American cheese and topped with pickles, onions, ketchup and mustard (390 calories)
2. McChicken -  Crispy, breaded chicken patty with lettuce and mayo (360 calories)

Burger King Value Menu

BK Value Menu seems to be higher in calories compared to other fast food joints.

1. Double Cheeseburger – 2 Beef patties and 2 slices of American cheese topped with pickles, yellow mustard, and ketchup (450 calories)
2. Classic CHICK’N CRISP Sandwich -  Crispy, breaded chicken patty sandwich with lettuce and mayo (470 calories)
3. Spicy CHICK’N CRISP Sandwich -  Crispy, breaded chicken patty sandwich with lettuce and firecracker sauce (460 calories)
4. BK Single Stacker – Beef patty, American cheese and bacon (380 calories)
5. WHOPPER JR. Sandwich – Beef patty topped with tomatoes, onions, lettuce, mayo and pickles (340 calories)

BK introduced a new line of burgers in 2012 known a Toppers Burger. It is priced at $1.99, slightly higher than the value menu.

1. Mushroom & Swiss BK Toppers Burger – Beef patty with sauteed mushroom and swiss cheese and griller sauce (410 calories)
2. BBQ BK TOPPERS Burger – Beef patty with American cheese, onions rings and BBQ Sauce (400 calories)
3. Bacon & Cheddar BK TOPPERS Burger – Beef patty topped with cheddar cheese, bacon, pickles, mayo and ketchup (500 calories)

Wendy’s Everyday value Menu

1. Jr. Cheeseburger Deluxe – Beef Patty topped with American Cheese, pickles, onions, tomatoes and lettuce (350 calories)
2. Cheesy Cheddar burger – Beef patty with Cheddar Cheese (300 calories)
3. Crispy Chicken Sandwich – Breaded chicken patty topped with lettuce and mayo (380 calories)
4. Monterrey Ranch Chicken Sandwich – Breaded chicken patty topped with lettuce and Monterey Jack (400 calories)

Arby’s Value Menu

1. Jr Roast Beef Sandwich – Thinly Sliced Oven Roasted Beef (210 calories)
2. Jr Chicken Sandwich – Breaded chicken patty topped with lettuce and mayo (320 calories)
3. Jr Ham & Cheddar Sandwich – Oven roasted ham topped with Cheddar Cheese (210 calores)

Sonic Evryday Deals

1. Jr. Burger – Beef Patty with pickles, mustard and ketchup.
   
2. Jr. Deluxe Burger – Beef patty topped with tomatoes, onions, lettuce, pickles and choice of mayo, ketchup or mustard (380 calories)
3. Chicken Strip Sandwich – 2 Chicken Strips with lettuce and mayo (450 calories)
4. Jr. Deluxe Cheeseburger – Beef Patty topped with American Cheese, pickles, onions, tomatoes and lettuce (450 calories)
5. Jr. Double Cheeseburger – 2 Beef patties and 2 slices of American cheese with ketchup, mustard and pickles (600 calories)

Jack in the Box

1. Chicken Sandwich – Breaded chicken patty with lettuce and mayo-onion sauce (415 calories)
2. Jr. Jack – Small Beef Patty topped with lettuce, tomato, pickles, onions, ketchup and mayo-onion sauce (325 calories)
3. Hamburger Deluxe – Small Beef Patty topped with lettuce, tomato, pickle, ketchup and mayo-onion sauce (325 calories)

Slightly Higher than Value Menu ($1-$2)

1. Jumbo Jack – Beef Patty topped with lettuce, tomato, pickles, onions, ketchup and mayo-onion sauce (489 calories)
2. Jumbo Jack with Cheese – Beef Patty topped with 2 slices of American Cheese, lettuce, tomato, pickles, onions, ketchup and mayo-onion sauce (572 calories)
3. Big Cheeseburger – Beef Patty topped with American and Swiss cheese, ketchup and mayo-onion sauce (557 calories)
4. Hamburger Deluxe with Cheese – Beef Patty topped with 2 slices of American Cheese, lettuce, tomato, pickles, ketchup and mayo-onion sauce (408 calories)
5. Jr. Bacon Cheeseburger – Small Beef Patty topped with American cheese, bacon, ketchup and mayo-onion sauce (387 calories)

Name – Five Guys Little Cheesburger

Price -  $4.59

Verdict – Awesome

Score – 8.5/10

Essential Cookware

1. Frying Pan – A good size to begin with is 10″.
2. Saucepan – Recommended sizes are 1 qt, 2 qt and 2 .5 qt.
3. Sautepan & Skillets – Atleast 12″ size is recommended. Choose one with lids.
4. Pots/Stockpots – Large Covered Pots 3 qt or bigger are recommended.
5. Pressure Cooker (Must for Indian Kitchen)
6. Tava or Flat Griddle

Beginner's Cookware

Non Stick Pots & Pan

A must for your daily cooking needs. You will need nonstick frying pans, saucepans & skillets. Frying  pans are needed for scrambling eggs, shallow frying fish and meat. Smaller Saucepans are useful for making Tea/Coffee and the bigger ones for Stews and Curries. Skillets are needed for stir-frying vegetables and meat.

Try a beginner non stick cookware set from Target like Chefmate 8 piece Cookware Set. Target often sells good quality stuff when compared to other Retail Stores and you don’t have to shell lot of money.

Stainless Steel Cookware

Stainless Steel Skillets and Saute Pans are useful for sauteing vegetables, browning chicken and meat, making Fried Rice, stir frying Noodles and so on. Stainless Steel saucepans are useful for deep-frying, boiling & blanching vegetables, making sauces and gravies. Ikea has affordable Stainless Steel Cookware Sets like this 5-pc Stainless Steel Cookware Set.

Rice/Pasta Pots and Colanders

You will need big stainless steel pots for boiling rice, noodles, pasta and for draining, you will need Stainless Steel Colanders. Here are a few good ones

1. 3 qt Stainless Steel Pot at Ikea
2. 5 qt Rice/Pasta Pot with Lid at Ikea

Tava/Griddle

You will need a tava or flat griddle for making Chappathis, Dosas and other Indian Flat Breads. Cast Iron Indian tavas are best as they can retain high heat. If you can’t find a Tava, you can buy an Electric Griddle. Look out for Black Friday Sales and you can buy a griddle for around $10. If you don’t have a tava or griddle, you can use a non-stick frying pan.

Pressure Cooker

Pressure Cooker serves multiple uses like boiling lentils and pulses, cooking meat, cooking rice, making biriyani etc.

Extras

You will need Kadai, Idli Maker and Puttu Kudam for occasional use in your Indian Kitchen.

Nickelodeon Kids SpongeBob Watch

This watch features Nickelodeon’s SpongeBob SquarePants and is packaged in a Tin Gift Set along with a Jellyfish Sweatband. I purchased this watch for $12.35 and it made a lovely gift.

Say No to Processed Food

Here are a few steps which will help you attain this weight loss

1. Eliminate tea and coffee from your diet. It may sound difficult specially if you have the habit of drinking a cup of tea/coffee every morning. When you eliminate tea and coffee, you are cutting down extra calories from milk, creamers and sweeteners. I used to have 2 cups of Tea with milk and sugar every single day and I have successfully removed it from my diet. It was difficult for the first few days but now I am completely ok and I don’t get headaches if I don’t drink tea/coffee.
2. Say no to all packaged and processed food like bread, cakes, cookies, cereals, biscuits, chips, instant noodles. These instant foods are high in Glycemic Index (GI) and will spike your blood sugar levels, followed by a steep drop which will leave you feeling more hungry.
3. Give up your sodas and fruit juices for two weeks. If you are craving for something sweet, grab a fruit like tangerine, clementine, apple, kiwi and so on. I love clementines and these have helped me curb by sweet tooth.
4. If you use White Rice daily, it is time to eliminate it from your diet. Replace White Rice with healthier grains like Whole Wheat, Oats, Bulgur, Quinoa and so on. I have eliminated White Rice from my diet. If I feel like having Carbohydrates for lunch or dinner, I will go for 1/2 cup of quinoa and it keeps me full. If you are on an Indian diet, try replacing Rice with Chappatis.
5. Include more protein with every meal instead of carbohydrates. Try adding a lean protein to your breakfast, lunch and dinner like Whole Eggs, White Chicken Meat, Turkey, Fish, Lentils, Pulses and so on.
6. Add more vegetables to your diet. An easy way is to start lunch and dinner with a healthy vegetable salad and soup. The salad can be something simple like Cucumber and Tomato Salad in Balsamic Vinegar. Prepare a healthy soup like Hot and Sour Vegetable Soup.
7. Remember to begin your day with a healthy breakfast. Avoid sandwiches, donuts and cereals. Instead, chose something like oatmeal with fruits, grilled chicken and vegetables in a whole wheat wrap, omelet with vegetables, pancakes made with grated vegetables and so on.
8. If you regularly have icecream for dessert, try replacing it with yogurt topped with fruits. Greek Yogurt is especially good.
9. Say no to unhealthy deep fried food. Instead, try stir-frying, grilling or baking. I bake my fish and grill my chicken and I love the taste.
10. If you feel like snacking, grab a few nuts like Peanuts, Almonds, Walnuts and so on. Remember it should be a very small fistful. Boiled Eggs and vegetables like Baby Carrots and Cucumber sticks make a good snack.
11. A little bit of physical activity can help boost your metabolism. Sweep your house or vacuum the carpets. Get on your knees and clean your bathroom floor. Even better, if you can get outside and walk for half an hour. Try walking to your grocery store. If your work involves sitting in front of a computer, remember to get up and walk to the break room or anywhere else every hour. I walk to the laundry kiosk every day with a bag full of laundry clothes and it is a good exercise for me.