Here are ten reminders/ basic tips to stay on the healthy track, rather than go off the deep end into daily fried foods and sugary snacks:
- Drink a lot of water from Iftar to Sehri — keep a count and drink at least 1 litre or more.
- Avoid caffeine. If you are a tea-drinker, limit yourself to one cup of tea after Iftar/ dinner and one at Sehri. Choose a decaffeinated tea option at Sehri so that you can get your sleep in the morning.
- Coffee is a big no-no as it totally messes with the sleep cycle.
- Avoid overeating at Iftar. Open your fast with a date, some water lemon-infused Rooh Afza and a piece of fruit.
- Go directly into dinner time after your Maghrib prayers and right after your minimalist Iftar.
- Dinner should incorporate a salad and vegetables. Have a nourishing soup made with veggies and pulses. Avoid too many spices. Have a green smoothie with a quinoa salad if you want to avoid desi khana.
- Add nuts, seeds and oats in your diet for slow-release energy throughout the day. Sehri is the best time to eat that bowl of porridge with some crushed almonds, walnuts and hazelnuts, raisins and dried fruit like figs, cranberries and apricots.
- If you do get that 10pm snack craving, keep fruit nearby or reach for your nut mix. Treat yourself to chips, once or twice a week, if you can’t resist a salty snack, but don’t have too much.
- Have yogurt at Iftar and Sehri to keep your gut health optimal. In fact, have it in the form of a smoothie with fruit at Sehri.
- A boiled egg packs a lot of nutrition and is also the perfect Sehri choice.