Beauty and Care
Happy Belly, Happy Soul
What is the main goal of Ramadan? A person who is given the opportunity to be present in Ramadan, this is a sign that Allah wants him to draw closer to him and devote himself to Allah.
Heavy excessive food decreases our spirituality and mental awareness, a person who eats too much develop hardness in his heart. It seems that what is good for our spiritual health is also good for our physical health. Subhan Allah ?
To help you out, here’s a good example of best foods and times to eat:
Suhoor:
Want to stay active and lose weight during Ramadan? Don’t skip sohour! Skipping suhoor will cause the breaking down of your amino acids and this will result in fatigue , low metabolism and depression , and it will lead to strong cravings , especially sugar.
Prep before hand some snacks and keep them in the fridge for a quick suhoor, or blend a nutri-packed smoothie. We’ll give you ideas on some quick ones, so keep on reading 🙂
Best Suhoor Foods:
– The Thirst Quenchers: Fluid-rich foods like cucumber, celery, watermelon, tomato and lettuce. Avoid salty foods.
– The Slow Energy-Releasers: Go for lean protien and complex starchy foods for energy, choosing high fibre or wholegrain varieties where possible as these tend to be digested more slowly. Foul, boiled eggs, lentils, greek yogurt, Quinoa, steel cut oatmeal, brown rice.
– Water: no brainer right? but you’d be surprised as the month goes by as to how many forget to drink at least 2-3 glasses pre-dawn. Lemon water or cucumber water are also great alkanisers, prep some the night before.
Worst Suhoor Foods:
–The Thirst Monsters: Avoid drinking coffee during sohor , its a diuretic and will keep you dehydrated during fasting hours. Also avoid fried foods and junk foods that are heavy on your belly, bog you down and are packed with sodium and condiments that will leave you dehydrated too!
– The Sugar Rush-Energy Crashers: Sugary juices, refined foods like white breads or processed cereals. Will give you an energy peak but leave you crashing too early during the day.
Ideas for Suhoor: All can be prepped ahead of time 😉
- Vegetable Packed Foul or Indian Dhal (keep spices to the minimum)
- Brown Rice (with eggs, can be made ahead of time and just heat up)
- Boiled Eggs
- Overnight Oats
- Protein Nutri Smoothie
- Rice Cakes with unsalted almond butter, bananas & chia seeds.
Recipes:
Overnight Oats:
Mix 1/3 cup rolled oats with 1 tsp chia seeds then add 1/2 cup almond milk or greek yogurt. Alternate layers in your jar with the oat mixture and nuts and fruits of your choice. You can add banana or strawberry slices, chopped dates or apples, chopped almonds, tbsp of peanut butter, drizzle of honey, sprinkle of cinnamon… Go as basic or as creative as you want! Make sure to close the jar tightly and leave it in the fridge overnight, and just pop it out for s nourishing and fullfilling suhoor!
Power Smoothie:
Blend 1 cup of almond milk, 1 ripe banana, 4-5 chopped mejdool dates, 2 tbsp of peanut butter, 1/4 cup of oats, sprinkle of cinnamon. Make it as creamy as you like by adding yogurt too! Store in a tight container and just sip up for suhoor!
Exercise:
Try to incorporate light excersice in your day to help with weight loss. Best is to go for a short walk around your neighborhood an hour before iftar. It relaxes your soul, frees your mind, allows you some time for dhikr and taffakur, and you get to shed some pounds too!
Iftar:
One word: Divide! Don’t fall in the trap of eating soo much all at once. Divide your fast breaking meal: one at the regualr iftar time and one after Isha or taraweeh prayers. That will help with digestion and energy levels making you feel light, and also sustain your ibadah nights.
Break Fast Meal:
- Start with 1-2 glasses of water, rehydate instantly and avoid drinking with the meal.
- Follow up with dates, a Prophetic sunnah and gets your body ready for what is to come.
- Soup, fluid rich and fulfilling, preferably not cream based.
- Veggies Or Fruits
In between, fill an on-the-go bottle with lemon or cucumber water to sip throughout.
After Taraweeh Meal:
- Avoid fatty , deep fried, and heavily creamy foods. Would slow you down and make you feel bloated and heavy.
- Slow down on sugary drinks, just go for water , sugary drinks actually changes your brain chemistry and drives you to over consume food . Same for heavily sweetened deserts, if you must because you’re invited over, take a tiny portion, we know you can do it despite the temptations! 🙂
- Get your lean proteins, complex carbs and green veggies to replenish all those needed nutrients. Keep your portions reasonable , remember Ramadan is a great opportunity to loose weight!
- Make your favorite Ramadan recipes healthier by stewing, baking, roasting, steaming or grilling and avoid frying. Add herbs and light spices instead of salt to flavor your meals.
We wish you a happy belly for a happy soul! ?
This was so helpful..thank you! I’ve been making so many bad choices since God knows when, but now I can finally eat right to feel full throughout the day! ?
Yes! it’s all about balance ❤️❤️
Amazing, never heard of overnight oats before, sounds yummy and time saving! do i add warm milk or it can be cold?
It’s a life saver! and you can use cold milk it’s ok dear ❤️❤️
Loved this, wanted to ask about lean proteins, what does that mean? no fat? or something else ? also where can i find Quinoa ?
Yes! Quinoa can be found in whole food stores or Seoudi and Gourmet
“Heavy excessive food decreases our spirituality and mental awareness” if people only knew what Ramadan is about! thank you for writing this, we all need the reminder.
Right?! the whole point is missed! Hope you had a blissful Ramadan ❤️❤️
Thanks for the tips. Very informative
You’re most welcome love ? glad they were useful
Thanks a million for the great ideas and superior advices happy Ramadan and well be wise to drop the size to wear EMMA as it’s our prize??
Love u Emma and proud??
so cute! that rhymed ? love you too Onss ?
Thank you Emma! Great tips for Ramadan! Keep it up!
You’re most welcome love ?