Bengali diet and healthy? Possible!

Bengali diet and healthy? Possible!

by Editorial Team
My inches.

When we decided to write this article and asked Bengalis in our office about their diet and the fact that we want to make it healthy, they laughed out loud saying that there is no such thing as a 'healthy' Bengali diet. Their day begins with luchi aaloo (a roll of maida roti filled with fried potato stuffing) and ends with traditional sweets, with endless cups of tea throughout the day and some more fried dishes, not to forget rice and fish.

Taking up the challenge, we decided to bring the healthy back in a Bengali diet, without taking away their favourites. Rather, modifying it a little to make it tasty as well as nutritious. Here is the diet plan. (Read: Healthy Bengali khichdi recipe)

Start your day with 10 pieces of almonds soaked in water overnight and a cup of green tea. For breakfast, have two rice/besan/oats cheela with vegetables and one katori of sprouts curd. Or, you can even opt for two wholewheat phulko luchi with one katori aaloo and sprouts subzi each.

Calorie count:

Cheela + veggies + curd – 320

Phulko luchi + aaloo + subzi – 328

As a mid-morning snack, have a fruit and a glass of buttermilk. This will keep you full till lunch.

Calorie count:

Buttermilk – 151

Fruit – 100

Start your lunch with a side of salad and along with it, have a bowl of vegetable chicken (remember, add less oil), a piece of baked karela with paneer filling and one katori of destarched rice or two rotis.

Another good option for lunch is two multigrain rolls of chilly chicken with hung curd vegetable dip.

Calorie count:

Salad – 30

Chicken – 150

Karela – 80

Rice/roti – 173/89

Rolls – 350

Curd dip – 50

You can opt for a cup of tea with digestive biscuits a while after lunch.

Calorie count:

Tea – 80

Biscuits – 44

If you crave for a snack in the evening, opt for a healthy one like a bowl of jhal muri/kala chana chat/steamed corn chat with veggies or a wheat paneer roll. And if you crave for something sweet, have one baked rasgulla or a small katori of mishit doi.

Calorie count:

Chats – 150

Roll – 200

Desserts – 80 to 150

Begin your dinner with a bowl of salad again and grilled fish curry. Choose fresh-water fishes such as salmon, tuna, and sardines as they are healthier. With this, have a bowl of home-made soup. If you aren't too fond of soup, have a katori of green, leafy vegetable and two rotis.

Calorie count:

Salad – 90

Grilled fish curry – 200

Soup – 60

Green vegetable – 100

Rotis – 89

A healthy tip is to always eat desserts as a mid-morning or evening snack instead of the night! By making a few dietary changes, any kind of meal can be made healthy. Here are the recipes of phulko luchi and baked karela. (Read: A healthy south Indian meal plan for you)

Sample meal plan provided by HealthifyMe, the world's first Indian nutrition tracker.

 

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