Healthy Diet During Ramzan

How to Eat Healthy During Ramzan?

The Muslim Holy month of Ramadan (or ‘Ramzan’ in India) is the important month of the Islamic calendar, when Muslims fast during daylight hours.

Those who are physically able to, are required to fast each day of the entire month, from sunrise to sunset.  

Here are some tips for eating healthy during Ramzan:

• During Suhur/Suhoor (pre-dawn meal): switch to complex carbohydrates like brown rice (parboiled rice/semi-polished rice), whole wheat breads/atta/pasta as these take time to be digested and hence will keep you feeling full for a longer period of time.
• To avoid acidity: Eat foods rich in fiber like vegetables, fruits, whole pulses/legumes. Avoid coffee, spicy and fried foods as these tend to increase the gastric secretion that can irritate the lining of the stomach.
• To avoid weight gain: Avoid fried foods like namkeens (chivda/mixtures/sev/ghatia), samosa, fried chicken, fried fish, sweets,pastries, chocolates, desserts, biryani (on a daily basis), ghee, butter.
• To avoid dehydration: Between Iftar and Suhur, drink loads of water, tender coconut water, lemonade, buttermilk/chaas and also eat fruits and vegetables that contain a lot of water/moisture like watermelon, muskmelon, pineapple, cucumber, all gourds (like bottle gourd, turrai, ash gourd).
• Choose healthy methods of cooking: Opt for grilled/baked non-veg instead of fried.
• Instead of high calorie desserts: Opt for fresh fruits on a daily basis, these not only have less calories but will also provide you with the all-important fiber and water.

For those who are looking out to eat healthy during Ramzan, here is a sample Indian diet that is balanced and does not go overboard as far as calories are concerned:

Breaking the fast (at sunset): Dates + Water

Iftar is the Dinner - the meal which ends the day's fast. Options you can consider for dinner meals -

Option 1: Rice with Gajar Methi sabzi along with Masoor Dal and a piece of Tandoori Chicken along with Cucumber and Tomato salad with a glass of Buttermilk/Chaas. A bowl of watermelon.

At Bedtime: Skimmed milk.

Option 2: Phulkas with Baingan Bhartha and Channa Masala along with Grilled Chicken Kabab and Mixed veg raita. A bowl Muskmelon.

At Bedtime: Buttermilk.

Option 3: Rice with Fish curry and Cabbage and Peas sabzi along with Chickpea Salad with peppers and tomatoes. A bowl of Pineapple.

At Bedtime: Ragi malt.

Suhoor is the meal eaten pre-dawn before the day begins for fasting. Options you can consider for your early morning meal :

Option 1: Veg Daliya Khichidi with Kadi and Stir fry mix veggies with a piece of Grilled chicken and Carrot and Mint salad. A bowl of Papaya.

Option 2: Brown or Semi-polished rice with Beetroot Sabzi and Radish Sambar with Mixed Veg Salad and a glass of Buttermilk. A bowl of Strawberry.

Option 3: Jowar Roti with Bhindi Sabzi and Chicken Curry with Mint Raita and Tender Coconut Water. A bowl of Banana.

Eating healthy through Ramzan will not only be easy on your stomach but will also make sure that you don’t put on unnecessary weight during the month. Keep the feasting and all the yummy biryanis and kheer’s for Eid-after all, everyone deserves to indulge in some feasting after a month of fasting!

Eat, Pray and live healthy this Diwali

Flooded with sweet boxes on Diwali? Worried on how to deal with those extra sweet boxes? Here are some tips:
Diwali always brings back fond childhood memories of buying new clothes, bursting crackers and the house filled with the yummy aromas of various sweets and savouries being made at home. Preparations for Diwali would start a week or two in advance and the goodies stored in boxes for eating and distributing among friends and families during the festival. The more we gave the more sweets and other goodies that we got back in return. Though this happened just once a year, by the end of the festive season we got to the point of having an overload of sweets.
Read the whole article on Citizen matters: Eat and Live Healthy this Diwali
Published on 25th October 2013

Here's wishing you all a Happy, Healthy and Safe Diwali :)

The coconut controversy – is it really all bad?

My inputs on coconut oil: published 19th September 2013 in Health.india.com:

Read: The coconut controversy – is it really all bad?

Healthy Indian Foods to Eat during Ramadan

You can eat healthy even during Ramzan fast. A satiating meal in the morning is the secret. Here are some tips on how to go about it.
Here's : How To Eat Healthy Food during Ramadan (Published in Citizen Matters 19th July 2013)

Healthy Monsoon Munchies

Published in Citizen matters on 9th July 2013: Enjoy the rains with these Healthy Monsoon Munchies

Grilled Sabzi/ Curry Sandwiches 

While you are tempted to eat some hot snacks during the rains, why not make the snack a bit more healthy? Here are some tips: click here to read more.

Tips for A Healthier, Fitter Family

Image Courtesy: bbc.co.uk

 The old saying that "A family that eats together stays together" not only holds good even today but needs to be tweaked a little to suit today's health conscious world . It should now read as "A family who eats healthy and exercises together stays fit forever!"
As a dietitian my goal is not only to get my client on the right 'eating' path, but also to extend the benefits of healthy eating and regular exercise to his/her family. Many a times clients (mostly women) give up as it gets difficult to make two different menus-one would be the regular food for the family and the other for themselves. My solution-if the present food and eating habits has resulted in weight gain and other related health problems,then it is advisable to change it not just for yourself,but also for the whole family.  To do that you need to make subtle changes not just in the cooking but also in the family's outlook towards health. Here's how you can bring about a change in your and your family's health:

1. Reduce oil used for cooking to half of your currant usage. 
2. Avoid making or buying fried foods like chips, pakodas, fried chicken and such on a regular basis.
3. If you must, then buy the smallest available packs/size of fried foods,sweets,chocolates, cakes-that way there won't be any left overs for snacking on later.
4. Use whole grains like brown/semi-polished rice, whole wheat flour, whole wheat pasta, 100% whole wheat breads and locally grown millet and grains like ragi/nachni(finger millet) and jowar(sorghum).
5. Switch to eating fruits for desserts on a regular basis.
6. Buy skimmed milk, low-fat cheese, non-fat plain yogurt
7. Munch on healthy snacks like fruits, salads, a handful of nuts, edamame salad or other cooked beans/pulses like a chickpea salad.
8. Drink water when you are thirsty and with your meals instead of juices, aerated drinks, beer or energy drinks.
9. Buy only 100% fruit juices( or you could make fresh juices at home) instead of those loaded with sugar.
10.  Include a variety of seasonal vegetables (and not just potatoes) with every meal.
11. Avoid red meats like beef, pork, mutton(goat meat) and instead have fish or poultry.
12. Eat your meals together as a family and not in front of the television.
13. Try to inculcate the idea of physical fitness by including the whole family in outdoor fun activities like walking, trekking, hiking, biking, swimming or even playing outdoor games together.
14.  Include kids and/ or your spouse when cooking so that the resulting meal is a family effort.

Old habits are hard to change, the trick is to be persistent! Try introducing one or two changes every week, that way the changes may actually go unnoticed. Just bear in mind that IMPOSSIBLE can easily turn into I'M POSSIBLE!!

It’s Time to …..Spring Clean your Diet

With spring just around the corner, people are getting ready to welcome the warmer months by clearing the junk, dust and dirt accumulated over the past few months and storing away the woollies for the next winter. This year along with spring cleaning your house, how about cleaning your diet too?
Spring cleaning the diet follows the same principles as that of cleaning your house-throw out the junk and stock up on the good stuff. Here are some tips to help you to start with:
Things to throw out/stop:
• Bhujias, sev, chivda/farsaan
• Chips, French fries and other fried stuff which are the regular snacks on cold winter evenings.
• Butter/ghee and the 5-10 liter oil bottles which was being liberally used on almost everything from dals to rotis,
• Egg puffs, aloo buns, vegetable puffs/patties
• Parathas, poories,pakodas/bajjis, samosas, vadas, butter chicken,
• All those ‘garam garam’ halwas-carrot, mung dal, sooji, kaju and such.
• Alcohol that was used as an excuse to “warm the cockles of the heart”!
With warm weather, the thought of oily, heavy food can make people sick in the stomach. Warmer weather calls for lighter cooking methods, more salads, fruits, buttermilk/chaas, and yogurts/curd.

Here’s a Simple Indian diet for Spring/Summer:
Early morning: Hot water or Tea
Breakfast: Idlis + chutney and papaya
Mid-morning: Masala chaas/buttermilk OR Tender coconut water

Lunch: Brown rice/semi-polished rice
Dal palak + cauliflower peas sabzi
Yogurt+Cucumber salad

Evening: Tea/ coffee with fruit chaat
Dinner: Phulkas with capsicum sabzi
Masoor dal,
Carrot raita
Mango

Don’t forget to keep yourself hydrated with at least 10-12 glasses of water every day.

Eat Healthy This Ramzan

The Muslim Holy month of Ramadan (or ‘Ramzan’ as it is known in India) begins on August 1st this year. Ramzan is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar, when Muslims fast during daylight hours. Those who are physically able to are required to fast each day of the entire month, from sunrise to sunset. Eid Al-Fitr, which is expected to be around the 30th of August, marks the end of Ramzan.
Here are some tips for eating healthy during Ramzan:
• During Suhur/Suhoor(pre-dawn meal): try to switch to complex carbohydrates like brown rice(parboiled rice/semi-polished rice), whole wheat breads/atta/pasta as these take time to be digested and hence will keep you feeling full for a longer period of time.
• To avoid acidity: eat foods rich in fiber like vegetables, fruits, whole pulses/legumes. Avoid coffee, spicy and fried foods as these tend to increase the gastric secretion that can irritate the lining of the stomach.
• To avoid weight gain: avoid fried foods like namkeens(chivdas/mixtures/sev/ghatias), samosas, fried chicken, fried fish, sweets, desserts, pastries, chocolates, biryanis(on a daily basis), ghee, butter.
• To avoid dehydration: between Iftar and Suhur, drink loads of water, tender coconut water, lemonade, buttermilk/chaas and also eat fruits and vegetables that contain a lot of water/moisture like watermelon, muskmelon, pineapple, cucumber, all gourds(like bottle gourd, turrai, ash gourd).
• Choose healthy methods of cooking: opt for grilled/baked non-veg instead of fried.
• Instead of high calorie desserts: opt for fresh fruits on a daily basis, these not only have less calories but will also provide you with the all-important fiber and water.
For those who are looking out to eat healthy during Ramzan, here is a sample Indian diet that is balanced and does not go overboard as far as calories are concerned:
Breaking the fast (at sunset): Dates + Water

Iftar(dinner - the meal which ends the day's fast):
Option 1:
Rice +Gajar Methi sabzi +Masoor Dal+ Tandoori chicken+ Cucumber and tomato salad+ Buttermilk/chaas
Watermelon
Bedtime: Skimmed milk
Option 2:
Phulkas
Baingan bhartha +Channa Masala +Grilled chicken kabab +Mixed veg raita
Muskmelon
Bedtime: Buttermilk
Option 3:
Rice
Fish curry +Cabbage and peas sabzi + Chickpea salad with peppers &tomatoes
Pineapple
Bedtime: Ragi malt

Suhoor (pre-dawn meal)
Option 1:
Veg Daliya Khichidi
Kadi + Stir fry mix veggies
+ Grilled chicken + Carrot and mint salad
Papaya

Option 2:
Brown/semi-polished rice
Beetroot sabzi + Radish sambar + Mixed veg salad
+Buttermilk
Strawberry

Option 3:
Jowar roti
Bhindi sabzi + Chicken curry+ Mint raita
Tender coconut water
Banana

Eating healthy through Ramzan will not only be easy on your stomach but will also make sure that you don’t put on unnecessary weight during the month. Keep the feasting and all the yummy biryanis and kheer’s for Eid-after all, everyone deserves to indulge in some feasting after a month of fasting!