When you are looking to lose stubborn belly fat, our Indian food from across the region has interesting ingredient combinations and amazing dishes.
Most of the ingredients used in Indian cooking find a reference in Ayurveda and its solution for eating healthy.
When we talk of weight loss diet, it is often to the Western or Oriental cuisine we turn to.
But when you are looking to lose stubborn belly fat, our Indian food from across the region has interesting ingredient combinations and amazing dishes.
Table of content
Indian food – with a mix of grains, vegetables, lentils, dairy and meats – are not only tasty but also help you shed excess weight when cooked right and eaten right.
Since losing weight is a tough task, you have to remember to create a calorie deficit whatever food you eat.
That will ensure effective fat burn for transforming it into energy needed to function properly. In fact, one of the best ways to eat is cooking with seasonal fruits and vegetables that are found in your region.
Why Indian food make sense
Most of the Indian foods mentioned below find a reference in Ayurveda and its solution for eating healthy.
The most interesting thing about Indian cuisine is that it encourages you to eat all the six tastes – bitter, astringent, salty, sour, pungent and sweet.
In fact, the Indian course meal starts with bitter or pungent or spicy foods because they are catabolic in nature which helps in cleansing the palate and burn calories.
While, sweet, sour and salty tastes are anabolic nature that helps in building muscle mass and boost health. Astringent foods help in fast weight loss as they are rich in protein.
10 Indian food items to add to your meal plan
1. Ajwain or carom seeds
Seeds with pungent taste add a unique flavour to Indian curries.
Ajwain is a popular seed often used in North Indian and Bengali cooking. It helps relieve indigestion and many respiratory ailments.
Since it helps in fat absorption in your body, and stimulates gastric juices, adding the seeds in your cooking or even fried savouries promotes better digestion and weight loss.
2. Saunf or fennel seeds
Saunf is cooling in nature, which helps alleviate excess heat from the body post-meal.
Since it is sweet and astringent in taste, it also helps in reducing the acidity in your body.
Fennel seeds are anti-flatulent. Eating these seeds post heavy meal prevents bloating and indigestion.
Fennel can help with nausea and cramps
3. Puffed rice
Puffed rice is made from beating and popping rice grain to make an easy to digest cereal. It is often used in Indian savoury snacks.
It is low-cal and fat-free, which is why you can eat this to fill yourself up when trying to lose weight.
4. Moong beans
Looking for high-quality proteins and good carbs, add moong beans to your diet.
It is had in its various form – as sprouts, halved, or de-husked – to make different kinds of Indian dishes. Most Indian cuisines have moong beans in one form or another.
5. Lauki or doodhi or bottle gourd
Bottle gourd is virtually fat-free – home-cooked lauki ki sabzi has only 73 calories.
It is rich in fibre and has 92 per cent water content. It is amazing for your digestive issues and keeps your body well hydrated.
It is a rich source of vitamin A, C, niacin, folate, calcium, magnesium, phosphorous and potassium. Since it is fibre rich it keeps you fuller longer.
It is a great vegetable to have at dinner time since it soothes and relaxes the body.
6. Karela or bitter gourd
Bitter gourd, which belongs to the cucumber family, is a low-cal vegetable with a bitter taste. It helps in cleansing the palate and also burns extra calories due to its catabolic nature.
Karela dishes are often eaten at the start of a meal. It is a rich source of vitamin C and boosts immunity.
It also helps in lowering acid levels in the stomach and prevents indigestion.
7. Dalia or broken wheat
Dalia or broken whole wheat is a rich source of B vitamins, E, and protein. It adds healthy carbs to your body and improves body metabolism.
Since it is fibre rich, it prevents constipation. A bowl of dalia will keep you fuller longer thus helping in weight loss.
8. Ragi
Ideal cereal to add if you want to control your blood sugar. Ragi can be had as a drink, as a breakfast cereal, as flour for rotis and dosas.
It is a good source of proteins and essential nutrients. As it is rich in fibre, it keeps you fuller longer.
9. Curd
The curd is a fermented dairy product. It is a probiotic that helps in keeping your digestive tract healthy.
Curd can be had alone or for enhancing the taste of various foods. It provides strength to bones and teeth due to rich calcium content.
Regular consumption of curds also lowers the cholesterol levels and reduces high blood pressure. Curd made from low-fat milk helps in keeping you full longer and can be used in your weight loss diet.
10. Jaggery or Gur
If you are looking to detox your body, eat jaggery on a daily basis.
Jaggery made from sugarcane juice cleanses the liver by flushing out nasty toxins from the body. Gur or jaggery is loaded with antioxidants and minerals like zinc and selenium.
It prevents free-radicals (responsible for early ageing) from forming in the body. It is a natural sweetener which is a great sugar replacement.
It also adds an interesting nutty taste to the food. Jaggery boosts resistance against infections, hence building stronger immunity.
Eating Indian food
Since Indian food is one such that encourages stimulating all the various parts of the taste buds on your tongue, experience all the six tastes in each of your meals.
Add these foods to your daily weight loss meal plan to ensure a healthy body. Using these ingredients will ensure using age-old healthy recipes from your mother and grandmother, that really boost health.
QUICK BYTES
Is Indian food healthy?
Yes, when cooked right, Indian food is very healthy. India food encourages you to stimulate all your taste buds and ensures use of lot of vegetable and digestion improving seeds and spices. It has dishes that encourages your body to burn more calories.
What kind tastes are there in Indian food?
The most interesting thing about Indian cuisine is that it encourages you to eat all the six tastes – bitter, astringent, salty, sour, pungent and sweet.
What is a typical Indian diet?
Typical Indian diet combines a lot of cooked seasonal vegetables and immunity boosting spices. Whole cereals are staple along with dal(cooked lentils), curd, and ghee.
Thanks, it is great post , I lost 22 pounds in under a month. I looks and feels great, and I landed an amazing new lady in my life. For more Click the link https://bit.ly/2wB8yUz