How to Enjoy Home Food and Not Gain Weight

Indians love home food; or what everyone fondly calls ghar ka khana. Ask people what their feel-good meal is, and a resounding majority will promptly say daal-chawal. In essence, this lentils/pulses and rice-based meal combination is healthy. But why is it that when enjoying this staple food, many often go wrong? In fact, many think that home food makes it impossible to eat healthy and be weight-conscious. For instance, how many times have you
thought or heard that to eat healthy you must only enjoy bland and tasteless food? This couldn’t be further from the truth. Here’s why home food – Especially Home Food That You Enjoy – is your best bet for weight control and healthy eating.

Make Portion Control Your Best Friend: Chances are you knew this already. But who can control how much white rice you put on your plate, right? Wrong. Your relationship with certain foods will make or break your relationship with delicious home food. The top 5 home food culprits are:

1. White rice
2. Oil (Fried and greasy)
3. Bread
4. Red meat
5. Cakes, bakes and sweets (mithais)

Natural and Whole Foods like whole grains, nuts, dairy, lean meats, vegetables, and fruits are all involved in the staple Indian diet. What tips the scales to the wrong side is the amounts of white rice, oil, sugar, red meat, and bread (slices, rotis, naans, rumali rotis, puris, kulchas etc) that accompany all the other healthy dishes. Ensure that you control portions of these five throughout your day/week, and your daily meals will automatically become more balanced.
The Best News You’ll Hear Today: The spices, onions, roasted masalas, and tangy flavours that constitute the much-loved Indian diet are okay. They aren’t bad for you. Of course, if you have ulcers, acid reflux, or some other digestion or heart related ailments, then you must depend on your doctor’s advice. But if you don’t suffer from any such issues, then the basic flavours that make you love Indian food are all okay. This immediately clears most steamed/grilled lean meats, stir-fried and sautéed vegetables, whole grain preparations, snacks like fruit chaats, etc.
The Bottom-line Remains: Home food is what you eat every day. It’s what you enjoy. Why leave it aside for some dry, bland dishes that you hate? Make it healthier by prioritising nutrients from healthiest to simply healthy. Then begin portion control and frequency. Don’t throw the curry out with the diet control.
Therefore, home food isn’t the culprit here; it’s your portion control and ingredient-usage patterns. No matter how healthy a food is, if you over-eat and fail to observe portion control, you will sabotage your balanced eating plan. So, drop those dry digestive biscuits and, instead, pick a bowl of your favourite daal, chicken, or vegetable. Bon appétit!