Ramadan is a special time for Muslims around the world, marked by fasting, reflection, and community. This holy month provides an opportunity for spiritual growth and self-discipline. It's a time for looking inward and practicing mindfulness through fasting and giving back to those in need. Each evening, fasting is broken with delicious food and good company. Eating healthy during Ramadan 2023 does not need to be hard and can still include all of your favorite delicious treats!
Making mindful choices about what we eat during Ramadan can significantly impact our energy levels and overall well-being, helping us to fully embrace the blessings of this month. For a very successful Ramadan where you're not feeling tired all day long, the food you eat will make a huge difference.
Prioritizing Healthy Eating During Ramadan
During Ramadan, it's important to focus on nourishing your body with high-quality foods. Instead of letting convenient or hunger dictate your iftar choices, prioritize balanced meals, stay hydrated, and make mindful food choices to keep your energy levels steady throughout the day, even while fasting. Eating healthy during Ramadan can be super fun and delicious.
General Tips for Healthy Eating During Ramadan
- Eat high-quality protein!
- Get enough high-quality sleep: Aim for at least 8-9 hours per night. When you get enough sleep, 8-9 restful hours per night, your chances for good gut health, good mental health, and weight loss improve drastically!
- Drink plenty of water: Skip the sweet sugary drinks and teas after dinner. Aim for 8-10 cups of pure plain filtered water. It is recommended drinking half of the water at Suhoor, and the other half at Iftar so your body isn't hit with so much water to process all at once. Stay hydrated and make sure to drink plenty of fluids. You can also do this by eating water-dense fruits or soups. The goal is to consume the equivalent of 8 cups of water to avoid dehydration.
- Load up your plate with Veggies: The best thing you can do at the Ramadan dinner table is to load half your plate with veggies! Eating a lot of fruit and vegetable is especially important if you are trying to lose weight during Ramadan. Aim for at least 6-8 cups of fruits and vegetables. If there is no salad, look for a soup, as most traditional Arabic soups, like Shorbat Adas, are made with healthy lentils. You can also add hummus to your plate which is loaded with high fiber and gut healthy chickpeas!
- Choose whole grains: Whole grains are another healthy food option during Ramadan that will not only keep you full for longer but also help support weight loss. Choose brown rice, freekeh, couscous, bulghur, and whole wheat pita bread whenever possible.
- Be mindful of sweets: Long term healthy eating definitely includes dessert! But be mindful of the sweets you are eating. If you opt for the sweet Arabic tea one night, eat fruit as your dessert instead of the quatayef.
- Avoid certain foods: Avoid fast food, fried food, food with too much added sugar, soda, alcohol, pork, caffeine and refined white grains. Cut down on processed foods and those with refined carbs such as sugar and white flour.
- Stay Active: Ramadan is not an excuse to drop all physical activity. From the lens of physical wellness, fasting in Ramadan is intermittent fasting at its finest. Research shows that when you fast from sunrise to sunset, Autophagy kicks in -a process by which the body cleanses out destructive and dysfunctional cells and regenerates healthy ones.
Suhoor: Fueling Up Before Dawn
Suhoor is the meal eaten before dawn, and it's the most important meal, so make sure not to skip it. It's crucial to make suhoor a priority. Focus on satiating recipes high in protein and fiber. Because this meal is pre-dawn and preparing nutritious meals may not be easy, I recommend prepping those that can be, ahead of time. Wake up for ‘Suhoor.’ This is the meal eaten before dawn. Have well-balanced meals. Make sure each of the two meals includes complex carbs, high-fiber food, and protein-rich foods.
- Easy Suhoor Ideas: If you don't have time to cook in the morning, or are struggling to get up, meal prepping overnight oatmeal or chia seed pudding is an excellent and healthy suhoor option.
- Sample Suhoor Recipes:
- Khagina: This recipe comes together in a pinch if you have all your veggies prepared ahead of time. This Zucchini with Scrambled Eggs is a take on my childhood favorite side dish, Torai Anda! These Khagina Muffins are the perfect grab and go breakfast!
- Chia Oat Cereal: Another meal prep-friendly recipe. This wholesome and nutritious chia oat cereal is filling and meal prep friendly for crazy mornings when all you have time for is to grab breakfast and go! This Keto Chia Seed Pudding recipe is a base recipe. Just add your toppings of choice and make it your own!
- Homemade Granola: This homemade granola recipe is a great base recipe that can be added to with any mix in of choice. Approved by my most toughest critic, my 12 year old son! This is a great recipe to batch prep to eat as cereal or sprinkled on top of your yoghurt of choice! Eat it warm straight out of the oven with a pat of butter and a drizzle of honey! So good!
- Gluten-Free Pancakes: Fluffy buttermilk pancakes that are gluten-free with no refined sugar! Plus, they are melt in your mouth and ready in under 30 minutes!
- Keema: This easy keema recipe is ready in under 30 minutes making it a quick and easy weeknight recipe. Plus it's meal prep friendly too!
- Middle Eastern Inspired Recipes: As with all other suhoor recipes, though, a little prep the night before goes a long way, so do as much as you can the night before.
- Zaatar Manakeesh: Zaatar Manakeesh is a Mediterranean flatbread that’s made with dough and zaatar spice.
- Homemade Labneh: This homemade labneh is a tangy Mediterranean-style yogurt cheese made with just two simple ingredients, full fat yogurt and salt. It takes a little waiting, but is so worth it.
- Shakshuka with Feta: Shakshuka with Feta is a one skillet meal like eggs in purgatory.
- Additional Suhoor Recipe Ideas:
- Chewy Oatmeal Breakfast Bars.
- One pan oven baked oatmeal.
- Protein baked oats.
- Scrambled oats.
- Scrambled eggs.
- Shakshuka Recipe.
- Sheet pan eggs!
- Baked Feta Eggs.
- Base quiche recipe.
- Smoothie recipe.
- Date shake with bananas and almond milk.
- Coffee smoothie recipe.
- Green smoothie.
- Healthy Smoothie Bowls.
- Sheet Pan Pancakes.
- Southwest breakfast burrito.
- Homemade granola.
- Homemade muesli.
Iftar: Breaking the Fast with Nourishment
When it’s time to break your fast, you can have your pick of so many different foods to eat. Traditional Ramadan food typically includes spiced rice, flat bread, meat, and salad. It's important to break your fast with dates and water. An average serving of dates has 31 grams of carbs. That will give you the right amount of energy after a long day of fasting. Iftar is the meal to break the fast at sundown.
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- Breaking the Fast in Two Parts: One of the most helpful tips is to break up iftar into two parts. Instead of energizing you, the meal ends up making you feel more tired and groggy. It is recommended starting off with a big glass of water and a little something that will give your body a boost of natural sugars. “This signals to your body that you’re not in starvation mode,” she says, allowing you to slow down and be mindful, which is what Ramadan is about.
- First Bite Ideas: Enjoy these right at sunset, drink some more water, and then take a few minutes to prepare the rest of your iftar.
- Date-and-Nut Bite: In Islam, a glass of water and some dates is the recommended way to break one’s fast. These laddus add a little more substance to that ritual, thanks to the pistachios and almonds.
- Oatmeal Cookies: This oatmeal-date cookie recipe is one of favorites. The oats and wheat flour make them both filling and nutritious, while the dates, which are used instead of raisins, add a satisfying chew and caramelly sweetness.
- Cucumber Salad: A refreshing, low-lift start to your iftar that also happens to be hydrating, thanks to all the cucumbers.
- Melon Salad: Full of juicy watermelon, fresh berries, and herbs, and dressed with a Thai-inspired mixture that’s beyond delicious, this dish is what every fruit salad wishes it could be.
- Substantial Iftar Dishes: After you've had one of the bites above, you can settle into preparing something more substantial.
- Lamb Haleem: This version of the porridge-like dish, though, comes together in an Instant Pot, which dramatically reduces both the cooking time and the effort.
- Kala Channa: This recipe is a take on the classic kala channa preparation that you’ll find in many Bengali Muslim households during Ramadan.
- Bhuna Khichuri: It gets its signature smoky and toasty flavor from the lentils that get dry-roasted in a wok before cooking.
- Air-Fryer Salmon: It just takes 15 minutes of work to prepare air-fryer salmon, slicked with a tangy-sweet tamarind glaze that complements the richness of the fish.
- Hummus Bowl: I love using Winter Salad Hummus Bowl recipe as a flexible, build-your-own formula, changing up the hummus flavor and adding just about any type of vegetable.
- Hariyali Murgh: Just four ingredients get blended together to create a flavorful marinade that tenderizes and infuses the chicken overnight.
- Ramadan Soups: These Ramadan soup recipes make the perfect iftar and pair wonderfully with other easy Ramadan recipes.*Learn how to make this authentic healthy Lebanese Crushed Lentil Soup in 30 minutes!*This vegetarian and vegan Lemon Rice Soup recipe is quick, comforting, and nutritious.*This tomato lentil soup is made with green lentils simmered in a tomato and vegetable broth base with carrots, onions, celery, and red bell pepper with a mix of spices.*Moghrabieh is a traditional Lebanese stew and is a firm family favorite.*This White Bean Soup is so good!*This Roasted Red Pepper Soup is made on the stovetop with red roasted bell peppers, fresh basil, thyme, and garlic simmered in a vegetable based broth and blended until smooth.*Simple to make, baked feta soup is full of rich flavors.*Cracked freekeh soup with an aromatic warm broth loaded with shredded chicken, onions, and spices.*Chicken lentil soup made with red lentils, shredded chicken, carrots, tomato pasta, and spices, simmered on the stovetop and ready in 30 minutes.
- Ramadan Stews: If you're looking for new vegetable beef stews to try, this Lebanese inspired Peas and Carrots Stew (we call them yakhneh) is hearty, nutritious and utterly comforting.*This one pot Lebanese bean stew is so easy to make and loaded with flavor.*This traditional Lebanese kafta and potato stew is a hearty meal that the whole family will love!*Kibbeh in yogurt sauce is a comforting & popular Middle Eastern recipe.*Molokhia is a traditional Lebanese stew recipe made with jews mallows or jute leaves, shredded chicken, a lemony broth and lots of spices. This is my mom's authentic recipe!*This eggplant stew has Middle Eastern flavor roots! The tomato base is mixed with harissa, garlic, and spices. Chunks of eggplant simmer with chickpeas for a full meal.
- Ramadan Side Dishes: These dishes add the perfect balance of textures and flavors to complete the meal.*Mujadara is a Middle Eastern lentils and rice recipe with crispy caramelized onions.*This creamy vegan Hummus Pasta is a healthy Mediterranean inspired recipe!*Simple and easy to make, turmeric rice is a great side to serve with Mediterranean and Indian dishes.*This Tomato Rice is made with brown rice, fresh tomatoes and warm Mediterranean spices. It's the perfect side dish and I'll show you how to prepare it!*Roasted broccoli that’s crispy, caramelized, and totally snack-worthy-seriously, I could eat the whole pan!*Air fryer baby potatoes are so easy!
- Ramadan Chicken Recipes: These iftar recipes with chicken add flavor, nutrition, and a great protein boost to my Ramadan spread.*Traditional Lebanese Chicken Kafta is so quick and easy to make with simple ingredients.*These Grilled Chicken Shish Kabobs are flavorful & easy to make!*Easy homemade chicken shawarma recipe made with chicken thighs and a shawarma marinade that has been passed down through my Middle Eastern family for generations.*Freekeh with chicken is a delicious and well-balanced meal made with the ancient grain and served with toasted nuts & herbs.*Try this Authentic Shish Tawook recipe - a popular Lebanese grilled chicken skewers recipe.*This Harissa Chicken uses a sweet, smoky red chili pepper paste as a marinade and then is seared in a skillet. Serve with rice or stuffed inside a pita.*Za'atar chicken drumsticks and thighs roasted in the oven is your answer for what's for dinner tonight.*Try my flavorful Lebanese Cilantro Chicken with a garlic and lemon marinade.*This Mediterranean chicken salad is made with marinated chicken breast that has been seared and sliced on top of a bed of greens with homemade vinaigrette.
- Other Ramadan Main Dishes: These tasty entrees have big flavor.*This Shish Kabob recipe uses beef, sirloin steak to be exact, that has been marinated and skewered together with veggies and then grilled for 8 minutes!*These lamb kabobs are made with lamb loin or leg skewered together with onions, marinated in a Mediterranean-style sauce, and grilled medium rare.*Beef Shawarma Wrap is a popular street food especially in the Middle East.*This lamb chop recipe uses a simple marinade on the chops that are then flash-seared on each side and finished off with baking in the oven.*Juicy and full of flavor, these easy grilled lamb burgers are quick and easy to make.*Shish Barak is a delicious Middle Eastern recipe that's made with spiced-meat stuffed dumplings in a creamy mint yogurt sauce.*Quick and easy to make this traditional Lebanese Hashweh is made with simple ingredients and is wonderfully spiced and flavorful.
- Vegetarian Ramadan Dishes: Vegetarian dishes can be just as satisfying, packed with plant-based protein, fiber, and lots of flavor.*This black bean soup is so filling, easy to make, and creamy-yet-chunky!*The trick to this kale soup? Blending some of the potatoes and beans for that perfect creamy texture.*This roasted cauliflower salad is really easy to make. The oven does practically all the work, and with the creamy tahini dressing, it’s the kind of salad that’s actually exciting to eat.*Use up extra vegetables with this delicious Vegetable Lasagna!*Ratatouille is a visually stunning end-of-summer meal that is easy to prepare and so good!
Sweet Endings: Desserts and Drinks for Ramadan
Fasting all day always leaves me craving something sweet, so I make sure to save a little room for dessert. Whether it’s the rich sweetness of a dessert or the simplicity of a nourishing drink, these Ramadan food ideas always satisfy my sweet tooth.
- Ramadan Dessert Ideas:*Sfouf is a Middle Eastern semolina turmeric cake, made with simple ingredients, no eggs and no butter.*Make homemade baklava in a fraction of the time with this deliciously easy method!*Lebanese Rice Pudding {Riz Bi Haleeb} with rose water, and pistachios! This Middle Eastern rice pudding is easy, homemade, and full of creamy goodness!*This easy almond cake is made with almond flour and semolina as the base, with slivered almonds on top and almond extract in the batter. Takes 10 minutes to prep!*Whether you call it Namoura, Basbousa, or just Semolina cake this recipe will delight. Made with semolina flour, almonds, and topped with a simple syrup.
Snack for times between iftar and suhoor
I’m a notorious snacker, always looking for things to munch on. You could even say that snacks are the most important meal of the day for me. But since that’s not a lifestyle I can have in the daytime during Ramadan, after-iftar snacks are crucial. Here’s what I’ll keep stocked close at hand.
- Mutabbal shamandar: This beet and tahini dip makes it super easy to sneak more vegetables into your Ramadan regimen. And as the recipe's headnote suggests, it does get better with time, so make enough of it so you have a week’s worth for snacking. Get the recipe →
- Tangy mixed nuts with cornflakes: Eating cereal for your entire suhoor may not be the move, but turning it into part of a snack is highly encouraged. (By me, at least.) In this recipe, a box of boring cornflakes gets zhuzhed up with chaat masala, almonds, and cashews to become a crunchy snack that’s ideal for after-iftar grazing. Store a double recipe in an airtight container for when you still need a little something to nibble on.
- Soft-boiled tea eggs: The oolong tea, soy sauce, and aromatics give these snackable eggs deep flavor-they’re also an excellent accompaniment to your iftar or suhoor. If you’re not into noshing on eggs as is, eat them over some ric…
The Benefits of Fasting During Ramadan
Fasting has always been more than a spiritual act - it's a complete mind-and-body reset. When the body isn’t constantly digesting food, it can go into a deep cleansing mode. This detoxifies the liver, kidneys, and other organs in the body. All of which helps improve our overall health and well-being.
- Lose weight: By skipping lunch and not eating until the sun sets, you will most likely consume fewer calories and less fat throughout the month. This may result in weight loss.
- Lower blood sugar: One of the immediate effects of fasting is lowered blood sugar.
- Detoxify your body.
- Reduce appetite: During the month, many people notice an appetite reduction.
- Improve metabolism: By skipping meals during the day, your metabolism may become more efficient. We’re giving our digestive system a break. That makes it more efficient.
- Mental Health Benefits: There are amazing mental health benefits that come from this month-long ritual of sacrifice and self-discipline.
- Physical Wellness: Research shows that when you fast from sunrise to sunset, Autophagy kicks in -a process by which the body cleanses out destructive and dysfunctional cells and regenerates healthy ones.
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