How I ate salad for five days straight so I could eat chaat on the sixth day and other such stories

If you know me at all, you know how much I love a good salad. While someone else would reach out for a bowl of mac and cheese or a brownie, when seeking comfort, I could very well be slurping on green juice. So when my Food Editor Suman Quazi dared me to survive on salads for five days flat, it felt less like a challenge and more like a piece of cake (forgive the analogy). Relax, it was only over lunch. For dinner, I could eat whatever I liked. Read the full story here to find out all about my salad binge with Sequel's 5-day programme.

While I ate healthy, our Digital Writer Tarini Sood was drinking healthy, and for a month, no less. She is a recent addition to the non-dairy milk brigade and swears by the boons of drinking nut milk (think good skin, high energy levels and so on). In a tell-all story, she writes about her almond milk making and drinking experiment, that outlines the pains and joys of an apprehensive convert, who swapped desi doodh with fresh, homemade almond milk.

The other half of our team is totally on the other end of the spectrum. In this piece, our in-house chef Pratiksha Kunder finds herself thinking of hot pakoras and hotter chai during this time of the year. She passes on her monsoon crush to us with this piece on the rainy-day classic. Cosy up this season with her heartfelt ode to the milky Indian beverage, this story also packs in a selection of six chai recipes.

And then, there's a little something for those of you who want to step out, even if it means for a short while, and with their masks on. This month, Senior Digital Writer Devika Manghnani looked around for cafes and restaurants in Mumbai that you can work out of, just in case you want to change things up and take a break from working from home. There's also Social Media Strategist Sroojana Iyer's rather romantic compilation of the best restaurants in Mumbai that offer a charming view of the rain, alongside good coffee and even better food.

I highly recommend clubbing these reads with our video on the railway-style cutlet, a snack that's sure to take you back to the lovely journeys of your childhood. You must agree with me when I say that the Indian Railways had a strong food and beverage scene even back then. There is also a personal favourite recipe, another chaat from our kitchen—this one made using Mumbai's favourite vada pav. That salad phase didn't last too long, did it?

Until next time,
Sonal Ved