It sounds strange that Ramadan is a time when we are thinking about food a lot. I think it is a normal feeling as its helps us get through the fast and we can imagine the tastes that we’ll be savoring with the family later.
Spending the whole month skipping meals can make us feel tired and drained, since we are not providing our body with a regular supply of energy. For some people skipping meals can also make it hard to stick to healthy eating goals, and when they do finally sit down for an “iftar” meal, they are too hungry to make something wholesome choices and end up choosing stuff they crave when they let themselves get too hungry. For me that’s clearly not the smart choice. I feel if they want to maintain their energy levels and performance steady throughout the day, it is essential that they should make the right choice of meals. This can only be accomplished when we prepare meals with a creative and positive frame of mind. We are full of compassion and empathy and making healthy food choices reinforces these feeling and recharges us.
There is no doubt that the connection between food selection and positive moods is very clear. We can enjoy a wide variety of positive food categories like vegetables, fruits, nuts, seeds, lean meat, chicken and fish, but the art is how we prepare them. We can easily prepare healthy and balanced diets if we use nutritious and low-fat ingredients. For example, before we prepare meats we need to remove all the fat from it. To avoid deep fried food, the best way is to invest in a quality nonstick frying-pan that helps fry anything without lots of oil.
Eating, drinking and food choices are important for both cultural and religious reasons and cannot be ignored in Ramadan. It promotes overall health and well-being, but particularly in this month what we eat also impacts how we feel. This is the reason my cooking schedule is more involved during Ramadan as compared to the rest of the year. I have my own guiding plans that help me to shop and store my food properly. It also gives me a head start for planning my meals. For instance the week before Ramadan I like to make ‘samosas’ and spring rolls and freeze them. But when I serve them on the table to my family I like to bake them instead of deep frying. I also store dates as they are healthy and a good pick-me-up snack. In the same way I like to prepare the fruits in advance such as mangoes, pineapple, strawberry and pomegranate in small plastic bags and freeze them. I feel it is an easy way to nourish our body with essential nutrients. All I need is a blender and a base, such as water, milk or yogurt and I can make nutritious smoothies.
I love traditional recipes such as ‘Pakoddas’, ‘Samossas’, ‘Chana Chat’, and ‘Dhibbada’ but I don’t mind experiencing non-traditional cuisine recipes as well. For me it is fun and creative that we try different recipes. For me the variety of cuisine will provide us an opportunity to try out diverse foods from diverse cultures. I remembered last year in Ramadan I made tuna fish kababs and these were very popular among family and friends. This recipe was easy, healthy and flavorful and one of the best sources of mood-boosting in Ramadan. I would recommend trying it at least once during this holy month.
Recipe: Tuna fish kebabs
Ingredients:
- 4 medium sizes potatoes boiled
- 2 medium-sized tuna fish cans
- 1 fish stock or vegetable stock
- 1 tea spoon turmeric powder
- 1 tea spoon black pepper
- 1 tea spoon salt
- 1 table spoon fresh chopped green chilly
- ½ cup of fresh chopped spring onions
- 1 cup breadcrumbs
- 2 eggs
- ½ cup fresh chopped onions
- ½ cup of fresh chopped coriander leaves
- 1 table spoon olive oil
Preparation:
Boil the potatoes and season with salt. Knead together to form a soft dough. Now place the tuna fish and fish stock in a large bowl with greased steamer and cook for 5 minutes until opaque and cooked through. Add the oil, turmeric powder, and fresh chopped onions into it and mix with tuna fish and cook for less than 5 minutes. Flake the fish with a fork and place in a large bowl. Add the potatoes, spring onions, chilies, black paper and fresh corianders. For frying mix the eggs well. Shape the kebab and dip in egg and then coat in breadcrumbs. Heat the oil and fry the Kebab until brown. Serve with chilies sauce or ‘chutney’. Garnish with corianders.
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It makes sense to prepare our food for breaking fast by good, nutrient-rich and flavorful food that can recharge ourselves after a long fast and boost our mood. For me, there is a strong connection between food and good moods. The truth is that it impacts our behavior and emotions for better or worse. But in Ramadan in particular if we prepare tasty, balanced and healthy meals, it not only energizes us but we also get the rewards. Therefore we should maintain a positive attitude and atmosphere with those around us and also engage in deeper reflection in order to refocus our lives. We need to be grateful for what we have and we should express gratitude for our blessings that are reflected in this holy month. Finally, we need to celebrate the spirit of Ramadan in a way that our children look forward to it each year and also help build wonderful childhood memories. Happy Ramadan to everyone!