With Ramadan soon starting and another year of over 12 hours fast, thought we would share some tips and food suggestions for eating well in the month (also relevant for shorter fasts).
In order to comfortably complete all fasts and have an effective month, what you eat plays a critical path.
There are the general well-known guidelines for meal times:
- Avoid food and drinks with high sugar content
- Hydrate
- Avoid greasy food, such as fried foods
- Try to have healthy balanced meals
- Avoid caffeine
We decided to share some specific ingredient or meal options for both Suhoor and Iftar:
Suhoor
Eating at suhoor is very important for health, additionally it has a lot of Islamic blessings.
For suhoor you should focus on eating meals which are release energy slowly and will keep you full for longer.
Some options to consider for suhoor:
- Smoothies
- Eggs
- Oats
- Yoghurt
- Potatoes or sweet potatoes
- Ensure to drink water at the end of Suhoor meal or finish meal with a glass of warm water infused with squeeze of fresh lemon
Iftar
After a long day of fasting, at iftar is very easy to overeat and reach for foods which are not the best.
It is advisable to break fast with dates, pray namaz and then sit down to eat main meal. Alternatively have some soup or salad before praying. The little break stops you from binge eating.
Additionally, it is important to not reach for a full glass of drink once you have broken your fast (as tempting as it may be), this will fill you up and it is important to fill up on food and not drinks.
Avoid too many pieces of fried savouries, most guidelines state avoid completely however think for majority of us this is not possible. Therefore, the next best thing is to eat less. Remember do not fill your table with a variety of fried savouries, choose one item to make for iftar.
Some options to consider for iftar:
- Dates
- Soups
- Salads
- Vegetables
- Grilled meats
- Stews
- Chapattis (used medium flour)
Afters
If after your main meal for iftar, you feel a like a little some sweet to eat, below are some suggestions.
Make sure to avoid heavy and sweet desserts, or limit to once in the week.
- Watermelon
- Strawberries
- Apples
- Jelly
Drinks
It is vital to ensure you hydrate sufficiently between iftar and suhoor with the right drinks, not fizzy sugary options.
- Simple plain water is the best option, although not always preferred
- Fruit flavoured water
- Coconut water
- Mikshake (simple flavoured semi skimmed or skimmed milk)
- Warm water with fresh lemon
- Herbal based teas (check to ensure no caffeine)
- Lassi
- Ayran
Final Tip:
Plan out meals, so you have all the right ingredients and easier to stick to the right foods
I pray you have a blessed and healthy month.
