What drives VIP ..?
there are 3 things that drive me: Nature, Sunlight & spicy Indian food
I love nature – as a young man, my first travels in India were to far places: Haridwar, Rishikesh, KedarNath & BadriNath which connect the river Ganga; some of the most holy & natural places in India … i was enchanted to see waterfalls in our hike to KedarNath, taking the bath in Gaurikund & the views of majestic Himalayas .. then i came to USA, and a visit to Lake Tahoe, Yosemite National Park & Monterrey CA in 1991 made a huge difference in my life, more than the technology of Silicon Valley, i was immersed in the natural beauty of CA & till today visiting National parks have been my greatest pastime ..!
my second driver is Sunlight – some would say that Sunlight is also part of nature, so why am i considering it differently ..? yes, sunlight is part of nature, but it is different in the sense that it comes directly to you room in your home where you may spend good amount of your time .. you don’t have to leave your home to get into nature for sunlight & it has a special connection with me as i am born in the month of Leo – ruled by Sun, per Western Astrology .. & then i moved to Las Vegas in 2014: for Sunlight .. why i couldn’t find Sunlight in CA is a long story .. living in Vegas, long walks, hiking and camping became part of my daily life .. made me more energetic than ever,
and finally it is spicy Indian food .. another funny aspect of my life is that i never entered in kitchen until i arrived in Vegas .. but then to explore this third venue of energy, i learned a few intricate details of Indian cooking in 2017-2018 .. & what can i say, it has opened a new chapter in my life, in controlling my mood as well as energy level .. & with these sources of energy, i feel boundless ..!
Trading & cooking
as they say, it is never too late to learn something new … & i can say proudly that beside perfecting my trading (for which the foundation was built 17 years ago as in 2017), cooking has become my second most passion (for which the foundation is set in 2017), which will grow with me in next quarter century.
food is not only the source of energy, but an important factor to improve the state of your mind (in addition to meditation & yoga) & the state of your emotions / feeling … a happy mind & a healthy body are the main drivers of success in trading ..!
& you can only control & fine tune the food by your own cooking – just to match to your expectations ..!
your food choices should be based on two things 1) climate you live in & 2) type of work you do … & the rest (kind & types of diet) is all non-sense … first, if you live where you are born & typically do what your parents did in their life, then you should change nothing because you are the results of that your parents did something right in their life & you don’t need any doctor / nutritionist tell you do the medical mumbo jumbo .. & as i say “IF you like he product (you), then keep the plan ..!”
you should only think of changing your diet if 1) you move to a new location which has a totally different climate – let’s say you are born in India and decided to work in Siberia – just to give an extreme example or 2) your parents ran a business and you decided to become an athlete .. totally different profession .. 3) if you have a medical problem … then, of course, you need to make some adjustments accordingly; otherwise, simply stay with the same
then some people ask, what should i eat ? how do i make sure that i get the right nutrition ? – well, the answer is anything & everything that is available at your grocery store; hopefully locally grown … as a human body, your existence is an outcome of millions of years of work done by nature (aka evolution) … you exist because nature has done something right over those years … & has provided nutrition to your ancestors by way of food that grows naturally & locally … so you don’t have to think much about that
for those who would like to change their diet to lose weight – i have a simple mathematical solution – your weight is simply an input / output problem like any other system – if weight is a problem, simply reduce your input, or eat certain items in smaller quantity … you don’t need to change your diet
further, sometimes knowing more hurts you; e.g. when you think of your food as iron, zinc or magnesium, then as a creative human mind, you start looking for alternatives and produce those things in laboratory (as vitamins & equivalent pills) and science can tell you that they are the same, but they are not; so enjoy your apple or avocado & trust nature that it’s good for you, & don’t try find out what’s inside ..!
B’fast
Lunch
Snacks
Dinner
Specialty
Sweets
your food choice should be based on two things 1) climate you live in & 2) type of work you do … & the rest (kind & types of diet) is all non-sense … first, if you live where you are born & typically do what your parents did in their life, then you should change nothing because you are the results of that your parents did something right in their life & you don’t need any doctor / nutritionist tell you do the medical mumbo jumbo ..!
you should only think of changing your diet if 1) you move to a new location which has a totally different climate – let’s say you are born in India and decided to work in Siberia – just to give an extreme example or 2) your parents ran a business and you decided to become an athlete .. totally different profession .. 3) if you have a medical problem … then, of course, you need to make some adjustments accordingly; otherwise, simply stay with the same
then some people ask, what should i eat ? how do i make sure that i get the right nutrition ? – well, the answer is anything & everything that is available at your grocery store; hopefully locally grown … as a human body, your existence is an outcome of millions of years of work done by nature .. you exist because nature has done something right over those years .. & has provided nutrition to your ancestors by way of food that grows naturally & locally .. so you don’t have to think much about that
for those who would like to change their diet to lose weight – i have a simple mathematical solution – your weight is simply an input / output problem like any other system – if weight is a problem, simply reduce your input, or eat certain items in smaller quantity … you don’t need to change your diet
further, sometimes going deeper into Science to find a solution may hurt you; e.g. when you think of your food as iron, zinc or magnesium, then as a creative human mind, you start looking for alternatives and produce those things in laboratory (as vitamins & equivalent pills) and science can tell you that they are the same – but they are not … so enjoy your apple or avocado & trust nature that it’s good for you, & don’t try find out what’s inside ..!
here are the milestones in my cooking journey:
2021
– & then i changed the whole diet style under the Wellness program … although i still cook most of the items but the frequency is different.
2020
– new ingredients to my kitchen: Gur (original cane sugar), honey, coconut, Imli, cashews, pistachio, peanuts, pine nuts, fennel seeds (Saunf), basil, soy sauce, Schezwan chili sauce & sesame seeds.
– added different oils to do the cooking including: desi ghee, canola oil, olive oil & mustard oil
– added Italian and Chinese dishes
2019
– diversified with addition of a sweet section, which now includes, kulfi, mawa barfi, kheer, vermicelli & suzi halwa
2018
– use of solid spices (खड़े मसाले) – cardamon (black & green), black pepper (whole), cloves, bay leaves (tej pat), cinnamon sticks, asafetida (heeng), black seeds (kalonji), fenugreek (methi), nutmeg (jaifal), red chili (whole), anar dana (dry pomegranate seeds), coriander seeds, cumin seeds, kasuri methi, ginger, baking powder & tea leaves resulting into v2.0 of some of the dishes; in addition to grind spices, which include: turmeric, coriander powder, cumin powder, chili powder, khatai (amchur, mango powder) & the mother of all – garam masala
– 80+% of my meals are home cooked, obviously when I am in Vegas
2017
– eliminated all canned food from my meals, although i still use some frozen (pre-cooked) items
– built a Gourmet Kitchen as part of living experience in Lake Las Vegas
Black Pepper
chemical name: Piperine; potassium (K), calcium (Ca), phosphorus and magnesium (Mg); Vitamin B
detoxifies your body; prevents cancer; cleanses your intestines and stomach; helps in regulating heart rate and high blood pressure; helps in producing red blood cells; of course, an immediate solution to throat and cough problems; plus, helps in activating Turmeric; therefore, go together in most Indian recipes
Tumeric
chemical name: Curcumin; rich in phyto-nutrients that may protect the body by neutralizing free radicals (pollution, sunlight) and shielding the cells from damage
reduces Inflammation; fights Free-Radical damages; & improves Immune System.