What do we eat food for if not for sustenance, nourishment and enjoyment? Having been at Indian restaurants several times in the past 2 weeks has given me (forgive the terrible pun) food for thought on how to eat well at Indian restaurants.
After all, you'll get calories (sometimes plenty) to keep up with the day (which is the sustenance part) at an Indian restaurant, and also have a good time (the enjoyment part). But how do you get the best nutrition (the nourishment part)?
Click the 'Read More' link below to see the rest of the article and to find out how you can win a copy of "The Healthy Indian Diet."
After all, you'll get calories (sometimes plenty) to keep up with the day (which is the sustenance part) at an Indian restaurant, and also have a good time (the enjoyment part). But how do you get the best nutrition (the nourishment part)?
Click the 'Read More' link below to see the rest of the article and to find out how you can win a copy of "The Healthy Indian Diet."
Like everybody, I don't always come to an Indian restaurant with the intent to find something healthy to eat. Sometimes the enjoyment of a tasty dish and the company outweighs everything else. But I wondered what advice would I have if you wanted to know what's healthy. This has led to many thoughts (which I'll share over a few blog posts), but today I'll mention my two favorite dishes in terms of tastiness -- saag paneer and chole -- because speaking of nutrition, they're fantastic.
Saag paneer has tons of spinach as well as onion or other vegetables, a blend of spices and cubes of cheese (hopefully real and without added sugars). I feel from what I've read that the nutrition from these ingredients outweighs the use of heavy cream. Chole is made of a superstar legume, the chickpea, as well as plenty of vegetables like tomatoes and using a blend of spices that includes turmeric.
Saag paneer has tons of spinach as well as onion or other vegetables, a blend of spices and cubes of cheese (hopefully real and without added sugars). I feel from what I've read that the nutrition from these ingredients outweighs the use of heavy cream. Chole is made of a superstar legume, the chickpea, as well as plenty of vegetables like tomatoes and using a blend of spices that includes turmeric.
This raises a question: what do you eat this stuff with? Usually naan and rice, right? If you've been reading this blog or "The Healthy Indian Diet" book, you know why I'm against eating white rice. Studies have increasingly shown that refined grains are bad for your health. And having heard that naan at most places is made of enriched (wheat) flour, I skip naan too.
But if I can make sure the naan is made of coarsely ground wheat, which keeps a lot more of the germ and bran (the nutrition and fiber containing parts of wheat grains), then I'm all over that naan. Brown rice is great too because it has more nutrition and fiber than the white stuff. Fortunately, more restaurants (like Kiran's, as the owner explains in a recent Houston Chronicle article -- which by the way shows in pictures an assortment of healthy dishes pictured below) are listening to people and offering brown rice and whole wheat naan as options.
But if I can make sure the naan is made of coarsely ground wheat, which keeps a lot more of the germ and bran (the nutrition and fiber containing parts of wheat grains), then I'm all over that naan. Brown rice is great too because it has more nutrition and fiber than the white stuff. Fortunately, more restaurants (like Kiran's, as the owner explains in a recent Houston Chronicle article -- which by the way shows in pictures an assortment of healthy dishes pictured below) are listening to people and offering brown rice and whole wheat naan as options.
There's more I'd like to say on oils, ghee and lassi versus mango lassi, but I'll save that for later. Right now, I'm curious: when you feel like eating healthy at an Indian restaurant, what do you get?
Feel free to write your answer on the Facebook page or email me at raj.r.patel.md at gmail dot com. Thanks! I'll draw a name among those of you who respond and mail out a free copy of "The Healthy Indian Diet" or something equivalent.
Feel free to write your answer on the Facebook page or email me at raj.r.patel.md at gmail dot com. Thanks! I'll draw a name among those of you who respond and mail out a free copy of "The Healthy Indian Diet" or something equivalent.
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