Saturday, August 14, 2010

The "Surviving Ramadan" Breakfast.

Canon firing to indicate end of fasting.
Ramadan is the Islamic month of fasting. During this period, Muslims refrain from eating and drinking from dawn to dusk. Many Islamic countries go one extra step by imposing this as a law and prohibiting anyone (Muslim or otherwise) from eating or drinking in public during the day. This can play havoc with anyone who is on a carefully controlled diet.

Once nice thing about the month of Ramadan is the shorter working hours. While the usual working time is 9 hours, most people (including myself) work for only 6 hours during this period. So in reality, we (non-Muslims) need to manage the fasting for about 6 hours only.

Protein-heavy breakfast with eggs, lean meat & Milk
If there is one thing I have learned during my research on diet and nutrition, it is that eating proteins keeps you feeling satiated longer since proteins take longer time to break-down.

Keeping this fact in mind, my Ramadan-month breakfast is basically a protein-heavy breakfast consisting of scrambled eggs, lean meats (chicken or turkey), cheese and milk along with some carbs.

Here's the nutritional data of my ideal breakfast that will keep the hunger pangs away for 6 to 7 hours.


ItemCaloriesFat(g)Carbs(g)Protein(g)
1 Scrambled Eggs1007.416.8
Whole Wheat Bread1381.823.27.2
Low-Fat Milk1224.811.48.1
1 Kiri Cheese Cube 18g585.60.31.4
3 Turkey Slices600310.5
1 Apple72019.10.4
**TOTALS**55019.65834.4

I sometimes drop the apple and replace it with an extra scrambled egg (2 scrambled eggs for breakfast). This will drop the carbs, and increase the proteins. However, the calories remain almost the same.

With this breakfast, I can complete my days work without feeling irritable or anxious for my next food fix.

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