Balanced meals, restricted portions are key
BREAKFAST
Have a light breakfast such as fruit, nut and yoghurt smoothie with no added sugar. One can have coconut water in between meals. A mid-morning snack of one portion of a fruit would be fine. Fruit juices are an absolute ‘no no’ as they are loaded with sugar and have no fibre.
LUNCH
Load half your plate with salad full of raw garden-fresh greens, tomatoes and cucumber and have it first, followed by a sauteed vegetable dish and one portion of wholemeal bread/chapati.
AFTERNOON SNACK
Have a fistful of nuts – walnuts,
almonds and cashews. Avoid fatty food, sweets and sugary juices. Remember the old saying, ‘Don’t let your eyes get bigger than your belly.’
DINNER
Start with a light clear lentil/vegetable
soup. Then load a quarter of your dinner plate with salad, have it after soup. After this, have your main course which can be a meat stew or grilled fish, a sauteed vegetable and one portion of bread.
FOR DESSERT
Usually people indulge their sweet tooth during Eid but it is advised not to overload the system with too much sugar and restrict the portion size of dessert. Green tea is a good finale to dinner.
SLEEP
Try and get up early, have breakfast and then do not go back to sleep. One can do this by playing board games with family, involving in home chores so that by evening the body is tired and one can have an early dinner and retire to bed. It is important to avoid long siestas in the afternoon.