Food Trends Archives - Fun4fitness

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While the lockdown is in full swing, we are all stocking up on food, drinks and other essentials that we need. Or at least we think we need to during the lockdown! Here is a complete healthy shopping & eating guide for you to follow during the lockdown!

Pre-Planning Is A Must!

It is essential that you pre-plan what you are going to need for the next 2 weeks. Make a list of what you and your family would need during the next 1-2 weeks and once you get to the market, stick to the list! This will help prevent overbuying and will also help you avoid multiple trips to the market.

Be A Smart Hoarder

Food has a life-span, some shorter than others. Ensure you do not overstock on perishable foods such as they will only go to waste or you will end up over-consuming them. While fruits and vegetables are an essential part of any healthy diet, try and store up on foods with a slightly longer shelf life such as beans, root vegetables, etc. Other foods that have a longer life-span such as lentils, grains, and cereals might be a better option to stock up on.

Got Pulse?

A healthy and well-balanced diet is the best thing you can give your body during this lockdown. Lentils such as kidney beans, chickpeas, and black beans are rich in fiber, vitamins, and minerals. They can also be cooked into various delicious and healthy meals!

Spice It Up

Spices are one of the easiest ingredients to store, use and offer a ton of health benefits. Avoid fancy dried herbs and exotic spices. Instead opt for the usual commonly used spices such as haldi, pepper, cloves, garlic, ginger, etc. These simple spices will add flavor and a boost of good health to every meal!

Know Your Grains!

Did you know, whole grains can make up for a whole day’s quota of your carbohydrate intake? Foods rich in carbohydrates are known to help increase serotonin levels, which in turn can help lower stress levels naturally! You can easily store whole grain foods such as wheat flour, rice, bajra, pasta or even vermicelli without worrying about food spoilage.

Snack on This!

Many of us like to hoard up on junk food and unhealthy snacks simply because they are cheap, have a long shelf-life and tasty. Well, the downside of these foods is that they are high in salt, sugar, fat and offer up almost no nutritional value at all. Unhealthy snacking can seriously affect your weight since we are all holed up in our houses this lockdown. So opt for some dry fruits and nuts instead. They can be eaten plain, roasted or even added to meals!

Know that you know these guidelines, ensure that while you are stocking up on the right kind of food to help you and your family stay healthy and happy during the lockdown!

While maida and whole wheat flours have dominated the market till now, in 2020 we see a rise of a unique range of flours! Today we have varieties of nut, fruit & even vegetable-based flour readily available in the market! Let us look at these flour varieties and the health benefits they have to offer us.

Almond Flour

As the name suggests, almond flour is derived from the healthy nut itself, almonds. This flour is gluten-free and high in protein, magnesium, vitamin E, monosaturated fats. Almond flour is also low on carbohydrates and is known to help protect the body from free radicles which can increase one’s risk of heart disease and cancer. However, this nutty flour should not be consumed in excess as it is rich in Omega-3 fatty acids which can cause inflammation, as well as bloating.

Coconut Flour

This flour is solely prepared from coconuts. It is loaded with fiber and is known to help stabilize blood sugar levels, promote digestion and heart health. It also acts as a great weight loss superfood for individuals who are trying to lose weight or are on a diet. Since this flour is stripped of its fat content, it is heavy on fiber which can in turn make it difficult to digest for some individuals.

Banana Flour

This fruit-based flour truly packs a punch of vitamins and minerals. Its is abundant in potassium, magnesium, zinc and other essentials minerals. Banana flour can help lower cholesterol levels naturally, aid nerve activity, and boost brain and heart health. This flour is also rich in resistant starch which can prove beneficial for individuals suffering from diabetes.

Sweet Potato Flour

This veggie-based flour is abundant in fiber, vitamins and minerals which promote gut health, support a healthy vision, enhance brain function and can protect against cancer. Also, sweet potato flour, as its name suggests, is naturally sweet. While this may mean you do not need to add any artificial sweeteners to the flour, it also means that one would need to consume this flour in small portions.

Now you know all you need to about the various flour varieties available in the market, its time to make a healthy and right choice! But remember, while each of these flours are surely healthy and nutritious, they all come along with their fair share of health advantages and disadvantages.

Bitter foods re often shunned for their unappealing taste. However, bitter foods just happen to be loaded with a variety of plant-based chemicals that can have significant health benefits when eaten regularly. Here are 5 easily available bitter foods you should add to your diet right away if you want to lose weight quickly and naturally.

Radical Radish

Rich in potassium, vitamin B6 and vitamin C, radish is one bitter food that has a ton of health benefits to offer! Regular consumption of radish can help ward off constipation problems, prevent blood sugar spikes and even help improve oral health.

Go Crazy for Karela!

This green food is packed with phytochemicals that help prevent the onset of cancer, as well as diabetes. Karela is also known to possess antibacterial properties that clean the blood, boost immunity and fight inflammation.

Cool Cucumber

Cucumber has zero fat, making it an ideal food for people who are trying to lose weight. This green fruit is 90 percent water which helps keep your body hydrated, flushes out toxins from your system and in turn aids natural weight loss.

Coffee Time!

Coffee may not be as bitter when you have it with milk and sugar, but plain black coffee is surely as bitter as bitter foods come! Coffee beans can act as a powerful detoxifier for the liver and colon. Drinking this beverage can help increase your attention, boost performance and burn away body fat!

Unsweetened Cocoa

Dark bitter chocolate or cocoa is known to have heart health, as well as weight loss properties. Eating bitter chocolate can help widen blood vessels, reduce inflammation and reduce the risk of a heart attack or stroke. This type of chocolate can also help curb cravings and help you control your appetite, in turn aiding weight loss.

So stop avoiding bitter foods and make sure you add them into your diet right away to enjoy natural weight loss and a ton of amazing health benefits!

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Who doesn’t love a relaxing evening of binging on their favourite shows while chomping on some tasty snacks! But while you catch up on those shows, make sure those extra calories don’t catch up to you! A study conducted by Harvard Health in 2013 claims that distracted eating may add to weight gain. The study found that multitasking while consuming food can slow down the food savoring process and causing one to lose track of their food intake. But fear not! You do not have to give up on snacking while watching TV. Pooja Bhargava certified Health Coach and Fitness Trainer has put together a list of healthy snack options you can chomp on guilt-free while binge-watching your favourite shows!

A bowl of fruit & nuts

Nuts are loaded with minerals and omega 3 fatty acids which promote hair growth and reduce one’s risk of heart disease. Fruits, on the other hand, are low in calories, sugar and high in minerals and vitamins! Combine these two foods together for a healthy and wholesome snack.

Banana & Almond smoothie

Banana and almonds are two healthy foods that complement each other perfectly! Loaded with essential nutrients and minerals this smoothie will help keep you full for longer and help you increase your daily protein intake!

Hummus & Veggies sticks

Hummus is a tasty and low-fat snack, which is especially good for vegetarians as it high in protein. Club it with some vegetable sticks or on top of whole wheat toasted bread to enjoy a wholesome snack.

Sprouts Bhel

Loaded with sprouts and veggies, this bhel will surely help fill you up and the best part about it is that you can enjoy it guilt-free anytime you like!

Click here for this Healthy Bhel recipe

Yogurt Fruit Bowl

Yogurt is loaded with nutrients & protein that help boost the immune system & fight off osteoporosis. This festive season skip the sugary desserts & opt for some sugar-free desserts, such as this low-fat yogurt fruit bowl!

Air-Fried Chips

Air-fried foods are certainly a healthier option compared to fried foods. Air fryers use significantly less oil than deep fryers and produce foods with lower fat content, calorie content and oil usage as compared to other fried foods.

Now that you have a healthy variety of snacks to choose from, we wish you a happy bingeing!

Gluten is a specific protein found in grains like wheat, barley and rye. It is a binding agent and gives dough its elasticity and ability to rise. It is composed of the proteins glutenin and gliadin (found in wheat), secaline (in rye) and hordein (in barley). There is no nutritional benefit in gluten itself but there are a lot of health benefits to be gained from foods containing gluten.

I strongly advocate whole grains and I fear that gluten free diets are depriving people with nutritional energy sources that are the staple foods of families who have been eating it for generations. The fiber, vitamins and minerals found in whole grains make us feel fuller and satisfied and keep us from eating more in order to feel satiated If you need a gluten-free diet, you need to be extremely smart about managing it.

Who Needs A Gluten-Free Diet?

People who suffer from celiac disease or gluten insensitivity need a gluten-free diet. Also, people with an auto-immune disorder, which has a negative impact on the intestines when gluten is ingested, need to avoid gluten.Villi, which are small finger-like projections on the surface of our small intestine, are vital to the absorption of nutrients from the food we eat. With damaged or flattened villi, gluten intolerant people cannot get the nutrition they need from food and they become under-nourished no matter how healthy the food they eat may be.

The symptoms celiac disease or gluten intolerance can be gas, bloating, changes in bowel movements, sudden weight loss or weight gain, fatigue and weakness. But beware of self-examination and uninformed conclusions. It is easier said than done – you may need to log everything you eat and how you feel within 2 hours after consuming that food. Try this for one week with gluten products and one week without gluten products.If you think you may have a problem with gluten, a blood test can be done which detects abnormal levels of certain auto antibodies. In certain severe cases, an intestinal biopsy may detect damaged villi.

Can a Gluten-Free Diet Lead to Weight Loss?

There’s no evidence that a gluten-free diet leads to weight loss. In fact, moving from “regular” processed foods to gluten-free ones may result in weight gain. A lot of over-the-counter products are been sold as gluten-free products, but unfortunately not all the foods are healthy. Some are very high in saturated fats or cholesterol. Others may be very high in their carbohydrate contents, thus high in sugars. Many gluten-free diets are made with refined flour, which is fiber drained, leading to high sugar levels and hence more fat storage. It is almost like someone who is avoiding sugar to lose weight and ends up eating lots of sugar-free but fat and calorie-rich sugar-free laddoos and mithais. Besides, gluten-free diets are two to three times expensive than the regular foods.

We are what we eat and hence eliminating any food from our diets unnecessarily and extensively won’t do any good but shall harm you instead.A balanced diet with the right nutrients and their quantum according to your body weight requirements, naturally occurring fiber in local fruits and vegetables,cereals,and a good physical activity will ensure your goal towards weight loss. Switching to the right food for the right reason is the real long-term solution.