Indian foods are favored for their flavors, aroma, and plethora of street foods. Every state has an exotic taste of foods, which are unique from other parts of the country. But managing a healthy lifestyle with such food is highly impossible. Many Indian Street foods have high-calorie value. And are filled with the highest amount of carbs. The unfamiliar fact about Indian foods; they have inbuilt nutrients required to maintain our fitness and immunity. A solid example that satisfies this statement is finger millet porridge. A quarter cup of this drink has 189 calories, with six grams of proteins and four grams of fiber. It also helps in diabetes control, improvising brain and kidney health.
The myth about these foods is we cannot consume them daily. It is only for old-aged people with a lot of health issues. There is a famous saying in Thamizh “Unnave marundhu.” which means food is medicine. These fancy foods like idly, vaadai, Pongal, and poori came into existence only after the ’90s. Earlier before that people mostly consumed porridge, vegetable stew, etc. the calorie count of these foods is comparatively low also their metabolism level was high because of manual work.
One’s lifestyle and fitness are greatly dependent on their food style. Working out for hours and consuming high-calorie food is utter waste. Paradoxically, consuming low food results in fatigue and serious issues. A woman is recommended to take two thousand calories per day and two thousand five hundred calories per day for men. But nowadays we consume twice and thrice the amount than required.
Let’s break down this scenario: A cup of coffee contains 229 calories. Idly each has 39 calories. The vegetable stew contains 172 calories. We approximately consume 600 calories for breakfast. For lunch, we consume 750 calories. For the evening we consume 100 – 200 calories approx. And for dinner, we consume 600-700 Cals approx on the whole nearly three thousand calories.
But in the olden days, they consumed food with low calorific values and high nutrition rates. The finest example is the following menu Kambu porridge has 97 Cals, Meals with rice and vegetable stew has 700 calories and dinner has 250 calories specifically old rice with curd, Kalli, etc. these foodstuffs have high fiber content and fewer carbohydrates and thus they are more active.
My grandmother usually says this to me every time, “if you eat to fill your stomach you will eat abnormally; if you eat for a taste, you are reducing your life span. But if you are eating for yourself, subconsciously, you are making you and your surroundings healthy.”
Food is all about enjoying and experiencing. The more consciously you eat, the elite will be your lifestyle. It doesn’t mean cutting your food. But consume mindfully for healthy and better living.
