High-energy foods to help you through Ramadan
Happy Ramadan! It’s hard when we cannot celebrate as we may normally would due to lockdown but we pray and hope that you and your friends and families are home and safe. To help you in the last few days of Ramadan, below are some high-energy foods to keep you going. 💪🏽
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Fruit and yogurt
When fasting, sometimes it’s the simplest foods that the body prefers and that are the easiest to digest, at least at first. And fruit and yogurt is one of those delicious combinations that is high in energy, has naturally occurring sugars and is probiotic. Use whatever fruit you have available to you at home but there are some wonderful, juicy summer fruit options available in the supermarkets right now, like strawberries. Bananas are good too because they are high in potassium and have naturally occurring sugars that release energy slowly. 😉 Drizzle over a little honey for some extra pizzaz!
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Green smoothie
A nice big green smoothie for Suhoor is sure to set you up well for the day, providing you with vital nutrients, giving you your daily dose of necessary green and releasing energy slowly through the day. During this difficult time of lockdown, use whatever greens you have available but one great recipe is to simply blend kale, cucumber, celery, green apple, beetroot, blueberries, ginger, cinnamon, water and a dash of fresh coriander together and viola! It will help keep you hydrated, detox you and is absolutely delicious!
Oats
Overnight oats or porridge for Suhoor will help you greatly. As a wholegrain, oats are not only a sustained source of energy, they are also an under-recognised and under-appreciated superfood. They help maintain healthy blood sugar levels, which are at risk of going down when you fast, especially in the heat, and are packed full of vitamins, minerals and fibre. Have them with milk and you get a good doze of calcium too. Add some goji berries, pieces of fruit, nuts, seeds and a drizzle of honey or maple syrup and you have the perfect bowl of energy and nutrition to keep you going all day long!
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Nut butters
Nut butters have a high content of protein, fibre and essential fatty acids and can be used as an alternative to dairy butter or margarine or are great to eat with fruit. There are a wide variety of different options to choose from, like the common almond, hazelnut and peanut butters to the less well-known cashew, pistachio and macadamia nut butters. Although almond butter is considered the healthiest, each has something to offer. Walnut butter for example, is high in omega-3’s and a great option if you are vegan or vegetarian, while pistachio butter is great if you need a dose of electrolytes, especially after a day of fasting in the heat. Alternatively, a mixed nut butter can provide you with a wider variety of vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, fiber and fats than a single nut butter can, but they are harder to find in supermarkets.
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Legumes
Legumes (beans, peas, lentils, chickpeas and soybeans for example), are a significant source of protein, fibre, carbohydrates and minerals. They are also a great source of slow-burning energy. Chickpeas in particular, are very healthy and as well as protein and fibre, provide the body with vitamin B and manganese. They can be found in a great number of delicious Middle Eastern recipes but are also mouthwatering roasted with spices and toasted into salads. You can consume legumes through traditional south Asia dishes like dhal, in soups and salads and in fantastic south American dishes like burritos and chilli.
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Healthy, wholesome, homemade meals
Although it can be tempting during Iftar to go all out and gorge on delicious fried foods, mouthwatering desserts and yummy junk food because you’ve been craving it all day, try having a hearty homemade meal full of healthy options that will replenish you well and be a source of energy that’s realised slowly overtime, keeping you going for longer. This might include wonderful traditional south Asian foods in which the chapattis are made of wholewheat flour, the rice is brown rice and the curries packed with protein and lots of different vegetables or pasta and noodle dishes, for example, also made of wholewheat flour and packed with healthy, lean proteins and dark green leafy vegetables.