RAMADAN being the holy month. A month of blessings.
This month requires us to maintain a healthy lifestyle so we can fulfill our spiritual and physical requiremets of the day.one hot topic every day in the month of Ramadan is ” what to prepare for Iftar ?”
Oily and fried food stuff with a lot of sweets and drinks is a regular iftar menu. but a very important questions we need to ask ourselves is about health concern.we surely need energy to regain the body strength but the fast we keep from dawn to dusk is a regular time in which body utilizes the food energy stored from the consumption of sehri. once the food energy ends,the body uses fats to provide energy and we reach the time to break the fast.
This proves that overeating is not a solution to regain the energy for the whole day as body has its own mechanism.
FOODS TO BE CONSUMED IN SEHRI..
slow digesting foods which are also called complex carbohydrates,should be consumed more in sehri time as they take longer time to digest while making you feel less hugry during the day time. few examples of such food are : lentils,oats,bran,skinned potatoes,beans and fruits.
FOODS TO BE AVOIDED AT IFTAR..
Always start eating with something light ,specially something in liquids would be preferred as it will help to hydrate the GI track. always remember to eat slowly or it could lead to over-eating or cause indigestion.
fast burning food which include white flour or fried food and oily food should be avoided. items like sweets,cakes and biscuits are not an ideal choice either.you should also restrain from very spicy food.
FOOD ADVICE FOR THE WEIGHT WATCHERS….
Weight watchers are os micsinver concerned about the food intake.what they want is a diet which can provide them high energy with a low calorie intake.let us look into some snacks and meals that provide us with high energy while keeping the calorie count low.
1. FRUIT SALAD: a bowl of fruits like apple,watermelon,banana and pear can give you a bowl full of energy.
2. CEREAL: a cereal bowl high in fibre with some raisins mixed with honey and milk is a tasty yet energy filled meal
3. ALMONDS: eat a handful of almonds to maintain your energy level.
4. YOGURT: 8 ounce of yogurt if included in your diet can provide you with a good source of vitamin B. you can add fruits in your fresh yogurt to give you a different taste.
5. BOILED EGG: boil your egg and eat the egg white which will provide you with a great source of protein.
6. RED OR GREEN BEANS: one cup of beans can easily cover half of your daily requirement of potassium .you can simply boil the beans and add them in your pasta or salad to enjoy the energy food.
7. SMOOTHIE AND SHAKES : milk and fruits combined is a nutrition bomb. add few seedless dates to your drink before you blend it to make a delicious fruit shake, to provide you with more power and taste.
8. BERRIES : yummy and scrumptious berries are a massive source of nutrients and antioxidants. be it fleshy red strawberries or tasty blue berries, add them in your fruit bowl, cereal, shake or salad ad benefit from the tasty source of energy.
9. DATES : they provide quick energy as they digested easily and fast
consumption of dates after breaking your fast, provides you with a balanced and healthy diet.
TIPS FOR THE MONTH OF RAMADAN…
• Avoid over eating
• consume a good amount of water during iftar and sehri time, to avoid dehydration
• eat slowly digestive food in sehri
• eat high energy food in iftar
• avoid fried,oily and spicy food
• reduce caffeine and smoking habits before Ramadan to avoid addiction issues
• Adjust your medication schedule if you are on any special medication
• Diabetic patients should keep a regular check on their sugar level to avoid high or low level of sugar in blood
FOODS TO AVOID
• Deep fried foods, eg pakoras, samosas,fried dumplings
• high sugar/high fat foods, eg indain sweets such as ghulab jamun , rasgulla , balushahi , baklawa
• high – fat cooked foods, eg parathas,oily curries, greasy pastries.
HEALTHY / ALTERNATIVES FOODS
• Whole grains, eg chickpea ( plain or with potato in yogurt with different indain spices) , samosas baked instead of fried, and boiled dumpling
• milk based sweets and puddings
• alternate with chapattis made without oil,and baked or grilled meat and chicken.
COOKING METHODS TO AVOID
• Deep frying
• frying
• curries with excessive oil
ALTERNATE COOKING METHODS
• Shallow frying – usually there is very little difference in taste
• grilling or baking is healthier and helps retain the taste and original flavour of the food,especially chicken and fish
• start with measuring the oil used in curry and try to bring the oil content down gradually eg reducing 5tbsp to 4. this a good way of reducing oil without noticing much difference in the taste.a useful tip is to use more onions and tomatoes in the bulk of the curry.
RAMADAN DIET
SEHRI
• Brown bread sandwich +1 fruit + 1 skimmed glass milk /1 cup green tea/tea
• Oats upma – 1 bowl / oats cheela – 2 in no. + 1 fruit + 1 glass skimmed milk / 1 cup green tea/tea
• Muselli/ Wheat Flakes + 1 Fruit + 1 Glass Skimmed Milk+tea
• 2-3 Egg Whites ( Omelets/ Scrambled ) + 2 Phulkas / 2 Sliced Of Brown Bread + 1 Fruit+1 Cup Green Tea/tea
• 2 Stuffed Paratha ( Raddish / Cauliflower /Palak ) Without Ghee / Butter / Oil + Curd / Raita + 1 Fruit+tea/green tea
IFTAR
• 2 Dates +1 Fruit + 5 Almonds / 2Walnuts +Grilled Chicken ( 2-3 medium pieces ) + Salad
• Chicken Tikka + Salad +soup
• 1 Bowl Sprouts Chaat + Green Chutney +Curd +Salad
• 2 Moong Daal Cheela + Green Chutney + curd + salad
• Chicken Sheekh Kabab + Salad +soup
• Chicken Sandwich +soup+salad
• Paneer Tikka + César Salad +soup
• Besan chilla+gren chutney+salad+curd
• Vegetable daliya+curd
• 1 small wheat roti+veg+salad+soup
• Soya granules/soya chunks kebab/vegetable+salad+soup
Post ifftari : Green tea
INSTRUCTIONS
• Prepare Chicken Instead Of Mutton
• Avoid Organ Meats , Deep Fried Foods And Rich Gravies And Deserts And Sauces
• Drink Good Amount Of Liquids Like Neembu Pani , Coconut Water , Chaas , green Tea , Barley Water , Vegetable Juices in Iftaari
• Use Healthy Cooking Methods Like Grilling , Baking , STEAMING , microwaving and Shallow Frying than
• deep frying