The holy month of Ramadan can increase our spiritual faith and inner peace, it also gives us a chance to focus on a healthier lifestyle.
Sehri is one of the most important meals during Ramadan to keep your energy levels high all day long. In this scorching heat, it is a must to eat the right foods throughout Ramzan, especially at the time of sehri. Eating the right foods for Sehri guarantees that you are nourished and hydrated in this intense heat.
In this hot weather, to keep yourself hydrated and consume a well-balanced diet, we present to you ten perfect sehri meals that boost your energy levels.
1. Fruit Salad
The killer summer heat makes one weary and sluggish, So choose a vitamin-rich small bowl of fruit salad every day. Every meal you consume during sehri should be balanced with fruit salads. Fruit salad is a healthy dish to keep your energy level balanced in fasting. You can take Fresh fruit salad during both sehri and iftar time to keep your body hydrated and full of energy in this hot weather.
2. Paratha
Paratha is the main item of Pakistani sehri. It is a flatbread that is made with wheat and cooked with ghee, butter, or oil. They are thicker than roti and stuffed with repeatedly folding. You can easily eat it with any curry or egg. Also, you can paste mashed potato, chicken, and spinach in between the two flatbreads to enjoy it with a different style.
3. Sehri Qeema
Qeema and paratha/roti is a highly energetic food that is full of proteins. It can be of any meat including beef, lamb or chicken depends on your choice. You can easily prepare it for around half an hour and can add different vegetables and potatoes to it for more taste. Also, you can refrigerate it in the freezer for almost a week so that you don’t need to prepare it daily. You can easily prepare it for around half an hour and can add different vegetables and potatoes to it for more taste.
4. Shami Kebab
Shami kebab is a famous dish in sehri. The meat used for preparing these kebabs is normally beef, chicken, and mutton. Eating Shami kabab can tantalize your taste buds will make your mornings brighter.
5. Protein-Rich Egg
The egg is considered an excellent source of protein. An egg is one of the most used breakfast items all over the world because it can keep you feeling full for a long time. It is also full of nutrients including iodine, iron, choline, folate, riboflavin, vitamins B6 and B12. It is not only a tasty food item but also full of health as well. You can prepare it with different options including cheese omelet, half fry, hard-boiled, or can have it with roti or paratha.
6. Yogurt
Yogurt is a delicious and nutritious item to eat in sehri, providing calcium as well keep one hydrated. It is rich in probiotics, high in protein, and low in carbohydrates. It is a good source of animal protein with important vitamins and minerals including calcium, magnesium, potassium, vitamin B-2, and B -12. You can add some sugar to it to enjoy the sweet taste of yogurt.
7. Whole-grain cereal
Whole-grain cereal is an excellent healthy diet that has all the essential nutrients of a grain. It is considered a nutritious sehri item that is full of fiber with key vitamins and minerals to keep you healthy. You can also add some fruits like strawberry or blackberry or can add nuts as well to make it healthier.
8. Nan Chana
Naan is a flatbread that is prepared in tandoor and chanay is a dish of chickpeas that are cooked in different styles all over Pakistan. In Punjab, they are normally prepared with a curry including chicken or potato while in Karachi they are normally prepared as plain curry. You can enjoy chanay with paratha or puri as well.
9. Lassi
Lassi is a special drink of Pakistanis which is a preferred choice for many people in summers. Pakistanis love this salty, savory, and sweet drink for its tangy flavor and known for its cooling properties. It is a mixture of yogurt, milk, and sugar. You can also include some fruits in it to make it tastier. It is a great thirst quencher. This lassi yogurt will keep you cool and hydrated which is very important during fasting. This lassi will satisfy your stomach and soul with its freshness and unique taste.
10. Daliya (Oatmeal)
Porridge is a known energizer in our traditional cuisine. Daliya is a great source of important vitamins, minerals, fiber, and antioxidants. This means that oats are among the most nutrient-dense foods you can eat. Fiber makes you feel satiated and you don’t feel hungry soon. It is also very beneficial for your digestive system. Eat a small bowl of Daliya in Sehri with some fruits and a few dates
11. Dates and Banana Shake
Dates are a blessing from the Historic quarter and are as delicious as nutritious. These are a pack of a nutritional punch including a whole list of calcium, iron, phosphorus, sodium, potassium, magnesium, riboflavin, niacin, vitamin A and vitamin K. Bananas are rich in potassium and slow-burning carbohydrates quality. It is a well-balanced drink compared to the greasy snacks which spoil our health and diet regime.
12. Chicken Paratha Quesadillas
Have some leftover chicken in the fridge and no idea what to do with it? Worry no more. Chicken quesadilla is the perfect recipe for both sehri and iftar as it packs the nutrition of grains and the heavens of cheese. Just add the chicken and cheese filling inside a steaming hot paratha to give this Mexican recipe a desi touch.
13. Phaniyan
Phaniyan is a well-known item of Ramadan that can be prepared in no time. It is one of the most selling items in the month of Ramadan all over Pakistan. It is a highly nutritious food that keeps you energized throughout your fast. You can have it with milk or tea to enjoy your sehri.
14. Besan Kadhi
Loaded with vitamins & minerals, besan kadhi is perfect for fasting. is also rich in many nutritious ingredients for you such as protein, calcium & phosphorus, and are many health benefits. Besan Kadhi is considered a promising and nutritious meal that helps keep you healthy.
15. Three-bean salad
If you have set your mind on eating healthy and are struggling with what to eat during sehri then here’s your meal. We present to you the three-bean salad which is packed with proteins and fibers and is relatively low in calories.
All these food items are superb to have the required energy and strength in this Ramadan month. I hope you will enjoy these popular sehri items.
What should you avoid?
- An improper amount of salty and spicy items will create an imbalance of sodium levels in your body makes you very thirsty while fasting. You need to avoid salted nuts, chips, pickles, and food items that contain sausages as well.
- Caffeinated drinks such as Tea and coffee lead to insomnia and restlessness. Moreover, these drinks make you dehydrated for the rest of the day as you need to intake more water during the time of Sehri. Instead, try lassi as a beverage at sehri.
- White flour, chips only provide the feeling of a filled stomach that lasts for a couple of hours, and then again you feel the urge of eating. These types of food items must be avoided.
- When you consume something with processed or excess sugar on an empty stomach (or otherwise it pumps the insulin in the body that leads to fat storage, so avoid sugars at Sehri. Also, they will digest faster and make you hungry. If you need to sweeten something up, try honey or gur.
- High-fat dairy such as mozzarella and cheddar cheese or whole milk is also not appropriate for sehri. Because the fatty products are very hard to digest and will thus leave you feeling bloated and tired.
- Deep-fried foods that are the cause of heartburn, since it is cooked at high temperatures which kill all the nutrients. It is also high in fat content which means that it will make you thirsty soon enough. Fat is also very hard to digest and thus causes bloating and acidity. therefore all types of fried food should be avoided during sehri.
