Fasting Ramadan with Ease
Have you noticed that during Ramadan our bodies feel more rested? It is because fasting gives your digestive system a rest, and this can energize your metabolism to burn through calories more efficiently. If your digestion is poor, this can affect your ability to metabolize food and burn fat.
Fasting can regulate your digestion and promote healthy bowel function, thus improving your metabolic function. According to some researchers, not eating anything for just one day has shown to help the body clean up the toxins and regulate the functioning of other organs of the body including liver and kidneys.
Know the foods that hydrate your body
When fasting, we’re slowly being dehydrated over the course of the day, so once we break our fast and during the non-fasting period we need to have foods that put water into our body, not deplete it further. It can be difficult to eat a lot of watermelon or squash, even though they’re super-hydrating foods, but you can make juices out of the fruits, and soups out of the vegetables to give your body the additional water it needs.
Avoid salty spice mixes and condiments that sneak their way into our rice and meat dishes only to leave us wondering why we’re so thirsty afterwards. A great way to break the fast is to enjoy your favorite dates, of course. They can be consumed at the suhoor (pre-dawn meal before the fasting day begins) or at the iftar (meal at the time of breaking the fast) followed by soup to preface your main meal. Consider limiting coffee and tea which are very dehydrating to the body, to about half of what you normally drink.
There is a long list of food that can help you stay hydrated in Ramadan, the following is one of the most popular recipes for both iftar and suhoor.
Dried Fruit Salad Recipe (Khoshaf)
Ingredients:
- 8 ounces dried figs
- 8 ounces dried apricots
- 8 ounces pitted prunes
- ½ cup dried cranberries
- ½ cup raisins
- ¼ cup pine nuts
Method:
- Place the figs, apricots, prunes, cranberries, raisins, and golden raisins in a bowl. Pour in just enough water to cover. Cover the bowl and soak overnight, at least 8 hours.
- Pour the fruit with the soaking water into a saucepan. Stir in the pine nuts and honey. Bring to a simmer; cook, stirring occasionally, until the fruit is tender but still holds its shape, about 30 minutes.
- Remove from the heat; return the fruit and liquid to the bowl, being careful not to break up the fruit. Cool to room temperature, can refrigerate once cooled down.
Bon appétit!
