Healthy lifestyle challenge

"My main aim is to add some healthy stuff to our regular normal diet enjoying the food without any guilt."
I liked the above statement, the aim is to "enjoy the food"

Home made meals with a little awareness of what we're adding, makes a huge difference!!

This is what I do -
1) Sprouts are a powerhouse of nutrients - I make 2 dabbas (total 1/2-3/4 kg raw beans/legumes) of various sprouts every week - Add it to upma, kichdi, fried rice, dals, sabji, chaat, or just eat as such - if leftover at end of week, I make dosas by grinding them with chillies and jeera!!

2) Make dosa or idli atta with grains of jowar, bajra, wheat, ragi etc instead of rice. Add red puttu rice instead of raw white rice for dosa/rice upma etc and red boiled rice instead of idli rice for idlis!
Instead of udad dal, I use black udad and soya combination for idlis/dosas!

3) Add finely chopped veggies to dosa/idli just before making them!
Add finely chopped green veggies to the chapati atta and use milk/curd instead of water - nutrient-dense and soft rotis at your service!!!
Use cooked and purreed dal/pumkin/palak to make chapati atta instead of water !!

4) Add veggies to food that dont have too many veggies in original recipes - eg- rice rava upma, kichdi, poha, dhokla, chapati atta etc

5) Ensure a snack of veggies/fruits for elders and nuts/seeds for the kids - I usually give my son a mix of badam/cashew/dates/groundnuts for his school snack! and for my FIL I give diced cucumber and apple combi with pepper jeera powder!!!

6) Make chaats, bread, cakes, pizzas, snacks, cookies, chocolates, burgers at home instead of store bought preservatives and sodium filled processed junk!!!
Make bread, cakes pizzas etc in multi grain style, grind sprouts into the batter!
Bake burgers instead of deep frying them.

7) Include variety of cereals and dals - In a week ensure you include ragi, jowar, bajra, rice, wheat, corn etc for cereals and for dals/beans, include tuar dal, channa, moong, rajma, chole, moth, karamani, soya etc...

8) Eliminate/Minimise deep frying and eating out

9) Add flax seeds to your diet - include in batters, chutneys, podis, sabji etc- not too much, just 2 tbsp per person per day - develops brain for kids and keeps heart healthy for elders!

I do more ... but have to rush now.. ;-)

The main thing is to be aware of what goes inside you !!!

Eat healthy :thumbsup
and Keep smiling! :thumbsup
Harini

 

Latha,
Me too me too - all the veggies below in addition to the sprouts
Also corn and beetroot for some dishes

Another tip is to add raw/cooked salads to meals -

Use a chopper to chop very finely -
1 cup carrots, 1/4 cup beetroot, 2 green chillies, 1/2 cup cabbage - add lime juice from 2 lemons - no need for even salt !!!

yummy ... I just had it now along with lunch, finished before I saw your photo idea :-0 ... maybe you can add boiled corn too - it is in season right now

 

I eat 2 tomatoes for breakfast everyday.
When I feel eating something crunchy, I snack on one or two fresh carrots.
I have changed from tea to grape juice.
For lunch I eat vegetables only and completely avoid rice.
But!! by 7pm I will lose control myself and make noodles or fried rice and will have it stomachful before I sleep

 

Dear vandv,

Better take heavier breakfast than heavier dinner... have your tomatoes and carrots with 1-2 phulkas for dinner, have noodles/fried rice etc for breakfast

 

latha,
nice thread and very informative,
harini,
nice ideas.will try to implement sprouts in my food..my DH has been asking sprouts for lunch.but then if i pack them in his lunch with lemon juice would it be ok or will it turn bitter?
my suggestion,
no potatoes in the dinner and finish dinner by 7 or max 7.30 so that you have atleast three hours before sleep.if you feel like snacking in those 3 hrs while watching TV then take fruits

 

:rotflas harini said it is better to take a heavy breakfast than a dinner. Or you can limit your intake and still enjoy the fried rice or noodles without guilt for dinner. Just check the quantity and Oil you use. Best wishes.:thumbsup

 

dropped by to add one more.
usually when we eat out,we have options of combo meals which include fries and softdrinks. if we control on that part and take only the desired item, it wont be heavy on our weight as well as our pockets..