Make your Ramadan this year special, fruitful, and life changing.. It is a time to eat less not more food, helping the needy, organizing a food or gift drive for poor families, and strengthening family ties. Fasting promotes healing and rejuvenation of the body, mind, and spirit. In fact, it frees up energy that your body normally spends on digesting food. The liver can break down toxic chemicals circulating in the bloodstream now with a lighter work load. As long as you do not end your fast in a large feast, you can gain many health benefits: clearer skin, overcoming addictions, improved immunity, mental creativity, better attitude and motivation, weight loss, and lower blood pressure. Follow these steps to get through Ramadan with better health, some weight loss, and an elevated spirit: Breaking the fast At the call for maghreb prayer, start with a glass of water to replenish fluids, several dates, and a short prayer. A glass of water before mealtime diminishes your appetite. The sugar in dates will give you a quick boost of energy, which are much needed after a long fast. Dates are easy to digest and rich in B vitamins, fiber, calcium, magnesium, potassium, and iron. Beverages It is difficult to get enough vitamins, anti-oxidants and fluids during Ramadan. Drink one cup of freshly squeezed orange or grape juice to stimulate digestion. Try a glass of water with the fresh juice of half a lemon and a teaspoon of honey to cleanse the liver and help break down fat. Pineapple juice can promote weight loss and improve digestion. An excellent refreshing cold beverage common in Ramadan is licorice drink. Licorice is a mild laxative, a remedy for fever, coughs, lung problems, and ulcers, and is low in sugar. Use with caution if you have hypertension. Salads Almost unheard of during Ramadan, they are low in fat and calories and give your fasting body much-needed vitamins, fluids, and fiber. Try tabouleh, Greek green salad with feta cheese, or a salad of fresh watercress and spinach leaves, olive oil, lemon juice and crushed garlic or a garbanzo bean salad. Soup It is a comforting and healthy mainstay of Ramadan. The famous lentil soup is rich in protein and free of fat and cholesterol. Make this soup that is loaded with anti-cancer and anti-aging beta carotenes with sautéd chopped onions, shredded carrots or chopped orange pumpkin cubes. Puree in a blender and season as you wish. Sambusa An Iftar dining table without sambusa is incomplete. The key here is to bake the sambusa rather than fry them, as fried sambusa soak up too much oil. Brush a baking tray with a little vegetable oil, arrange the sambusa, and bake for 10 to 15 minutes until golden brown. Be creative with fillings. Try ground meat or chicken with onions and pine nuts, spinach, or low fat cheese with parsley and black seeds, or cooked vegetables with curry powder. Main course After all those starters, your main course should be very light. Avoid highly spiced foods with rich sauce and fried foods because they will cause indigestion. A big meal places a heavy load on the stomach and digestive system after a long fast. Steamed rice and sautéed vegetables is ideal. Or you can have baked fish or baked chicken breast with steamed vegetables. Suhoor should be light Quick healthy suhoor ideas include: grilled cheese and tomato sandwich, yogurt with whole wheat crackers, a glass of milk and a slice of toast with jam or honey, a small vegetarian pizza, hummus with whole wheat bread and cucumbers, or tuna with lemon juice. I find a boiled egg with toast to be filling without making you feel bloated. Finally, eat your favorite fruit. Avoid salty foods so you will not be thirsty the next day. Try not get to bed for about two hours after eating suhoor.
