Indian Cuisine Diet Tips | Indian Drinks For Weight Loss, Pregnancy

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Indian Food Diet How can an Indian food diet help me staying healthy and losing weight? I am fond of Indian food but I have heard it can be calorie dense. Please suggest food options while choosing Indian foods? (August 4, 2011)
Indian food has been known to be a diet which usually has balanced meals. If you are getting your meals at home, Indian food can be quite sumptuous yet low in calories. Each meal has some protein, carbohydrates, minerals and roughage. The problem would arise if you are eating Indian food outside. You should pick foods like roasted meats or kebabs with less butter or cream, yogurt-based salads or raitas and whole wheat bread like chapattis. Even dal or lentils can be a low fat protein, provided it has no cream or butter added to it. If you cannot resist the curries in Indian food, avoid the rich creamy curries or eat smaller helpings of these curries as they are heavily calorie laden curries. Sometimes upping the spice factor can also help control your portion size. Indian food also uses a lot of legumes and lentils so it is a nice, healthy alternative to meat.
Submitted by N on August 4, 2011 at 06:09


What to drink with Indian food? What kind of drinks go well with Indian food and spices? Well, it depends entirely on what you are eating. If what you are eating is really fiery, it is best paired with a wine. A wine will not only balance the heat but will go well with the layering and complexity of flavors in the meal. If you plan to eat spicy vegetable dishes, a light, crispy, fruity wine will go well with your meal. Meaty dishes such as lamb that have a slightly heavier and intense flavor and go well with red wine. If you are still not really sure about a white or a red wine, champagne is your best bet. The effervescence of your drink will go well with the multilayered flavors of your Indian dishes. In addition to these drinks, beer is also a great option and goes well with spicy curries as it helps cool down the heat and spice in the food. For those who are game for experimenting with drinks with an Indian menu, mixing together a lassi, which is an Indian drink made by blending together live yoghurt and water, is a great idea. You could add some sugar and salt to it to enhance the taste. The bottom line, however, is if you like what you are drinking, with Indian or any other type of food, that’s the right choice.
Submitted by N on July 30, 2011 at 11:10


What is an Indian diet plan for weight loss? Here is a great vegetarian Indian diet plan for weight loss. Before breakfast have two glasses of water with one tablespoon of fenugreek powder. At breakfast, you can have some vegetable soup, one cup of mixed vegetables, two spoons of peanuts. If you are hungry before lunch, you can snack on two carrots, half a cup broccoli, and beans. For lunch, have one cup cracked wheat, a lentil curry, yoghurt, and a small fruit. In the evening, you can snack on any fruit such as pears, apple, grape fruit and cantaloupe. You can occasionally have an unsweetened cup of tea. Dinner should be the same as what you had at lunch. Before going to bed, you can have a cup of milk and one fruit. Indian food can sometimes be really heavy, so try and find some low calorie Indian food substitutes for weight loss. In addition to following your Indian meal plan to lose weight, try and include some exercise in your daily routine. A brisk walk and 15 to 20 minutes of yoga will help you lose weight. Increase your intake of water and avoid fried foods, refined sugars and flours, and carbonated drinks as far as possible.
Submitted by N on July 20, 2011 at 11:05


Can pregnant women eat Indian Food? Is Indian food good for pregnant women? Well, the answer is simple: if you love spicy food, go ahead and eat it. Your baby will be just fine. Indian food during pregnancy’s first trimester is perfectly alright. Later on in your pregnancy, you may have problems such as diarrhea, heartburn, bloating and gas that might be aggravated with spicy foods, so spicy Indian food during pregnancy’s second trimester may not be a good idea. Another advantage of eating Indian food is the different spices used to prepare the food have many good health properties. Another interesting thing to note is that Indian food need not necessarily be spicy. If you want to continue eating Indian food, you can look for non-spicy alternatives that taste as good and are healthy as well. For those planning on breastfeeding their baby after their pregnancy, here’s a bit of advice. Avoid eating food that causes gas and has too many spices in them. The gasses and flavors from the food you eat can be passed on to the baby through the milk and babies have very sensitive digestive systems. No matter what, you need to remember that your baby is dependent on you for its nutrition. You need to maintain a well-balanced and nutritious diet with focus on nutrients that are important for your baby.
Submitted by N on July 13, 2011 at 11:03


Can Indian food cause diarrhea Some people are just not used to spicy foods and have an Indian food and diarrhea problem. For those who eat Indian food regularly, their body probably gets used to it, but those who eat it once in a while (a take-away for example) are most likely to suffer the next day. It is possible that Indian food could give you diarrhea when prepared with plenty of spices or if it is too greasy. This is especially the case if you frequent a restaurant or get a take-away. If you prepare an Indian meal at home, then it is easier to control the ingredients that go into it and chances of your getting sick are less likely. Also, it helps if you do not suffer from gastrointestinal intestinal problems such as irritable bowel syndrome and acid reflux. There is no list as such of Indian foods causing diarrhea, but it is generally found that foods cooked with hot peppers are the main culprits. Eat Indian food and your constipation problem will be taken care of to some extent. However, you need to make sure you are eating the right kind of food. Include high fiber content in your meals and drink plenty of liquids including vegetable juices, fruit and water.
Submitted by N on July 6, 2011 at 10:57


Nutrition Tips on Indian Food Diet Indian foods are usually savory and spicy and those who have a taste for it enjoy even small meals of Indian food thoroughly. There are a number of healthy food options when choosing an Indian menu and even small portions can greatly satisfy the taste buds of an individual with a taste for Indian food. However, one thing to bear in mind is the number of calories packed in sauces and gravies as these are made with copious amounts of clarified butter or oil and fat. If you are seeking to shed weight and are calorie conscious, then opt for such foods that include rice in the meals as that way, the need to order for an additional dish is eliminated. Roasted papads make a great way to start a meal better than deep fried potato dumplings or samosas. Roasted papads without oil can be topped with a savory mix of chopped tomato with onion or can also be had with a yoghurt dip and chopped cucumbers. refrain from oily pickles or sweet chutneys if you are calorie conscious as these have a high density of oil and salt. Choose vegetable, seafood or chicken gravies rather than red meat gravies as the latter can have a greater amount of saturated fat in them. Gravies made from creamy sauces or thick rich curries are usually the worst culprit as these have large quantities of cream or ground almonds and cashews as the gravy base to thicken the sauce. Tandoori foods are the best choices when selecting Indian food as these are often without a sauce and do not have gravies that come with it. Tikkas and bhuna dishes are also pleasant to the palate and healthier than thick curries. When choosing ice, select plain boiled rice over pulaos and biryanis and the latter dishes have large amounts of fat added to them while cooking.
Submitted by C N on June 26, 2008 at 06:40


Read more questions in Food Nutrition

Indian Food Diet

How can an Indian food diet help me staying healthy and losing weight? I am fond of Indian food but I have heard it can be calorie dense. Please suggest food options while choosing Indian foods? (August 4, 2011)

What to drink with Indian food?

What is an Indian diet plan for weight loss?

Can pregnant women eat Indian Food?

Can Indian food cause diarrhea

How can an Indian food diet help me staying healthy and losing weight? I am fond of Indian food but I have heard it can be calorie dense. Please suggest food options while choosing Indian foods?
(August 4, 2011)