How to Balance out a Breakfast

We've all been there before. You wake up - chow down a couple of biscuits, and rush out the door only to find your stomach growling at work an hour later. The likely culprit? An unbalanced breakfast, or none at all.

Eating in the morning jump-starts our metabolism, resulting in the production of energy. Some foods do this quickly, but briefly, therefore leaving us starving well before a 9 AM meeting has run its course. Other kinds of food keep us charged and focused all morning. It is in your interest to thus build a balanced Breakfast by choosing a food from each of these four key categories. Once you do so, you’ll stay energized right until lunchtime and more.

1. Protein (The Foundation)

Ample protein in the morning sets the stage for the day up ahead. It controls cravings and keeps you focused right through your day job. Start with Eggs, Milk or Beans, and feel free to diversify with other foods such as Dal or Yogurt if you are in the mood for something heavier as the days whizz by. All of these foods ensure that proteins are never in short supply within, to your advantage. Adding protein also ensures be satisfied for longer, because it helps keep blood sugar stable.

Also feel free to read our blog post on the benefits of protein from a few months ago.

2. Carbohydrate (The Energizer)

Without adequate and complex levels of starch at Breakfast, you might find yourself lagging behind the rest of the day as early as noon. So remember to pack in sufficient quantities of whole grains and fibre into your diet, in addition to vegetables and fruit to ensure enough antioxidant power and filling fiber. Studies also show that eating whole grains lowers the risk of many chronic diseases, such as coronary heart disease, diabetes, and cancer, and also contribute to body weight management and gastrointestinal health. Some rich sources of carbohydarates include rice and wheat, as well as high fibre cereal and nuts.

3. Fat (The Marathoner)

Fat is in it for the long haul, keeping you full and on the ready for several hours at a time. Of course, you'd be much better off choosing healthy options within the genre, such as avocado, nuts, or seeds. Cheese and Butter work as well, but keep them to a bare minimum to prevent cholesterol levels from shooting up over time. As a thumb rule, when choosing fats be careful to stay away from the bad fats - the saturated ones can cause you a lot of harm.

4. Garnishing (The Flavour)

Try a cinnamon into your bowl of yogurt, some slilces of fruit with Cereal. Pleasure your palate with a sensory boost of flavor to round out your breakfast. Get creative every morning at Breakfast!

Soulfull is a popular pan-Indian producer of some healthy and popular Breakfast items, with generous quantities of all the ingredients and nutrients listed above, and are overall rich in protein, fibre and flavour! Head over to their e-commerce portal at www.soulfull.in to stock up on some of their products today!

Saluting Women: Nutrition in Traditional Cooking

Foods from the land and sea once provided everything for people. Today, a mix of market and traditional food is common for most people, but the latter remains an important source of many nutrients, both in North and South India. On this hearty occasion of Women's Day, we elucidate on the rightful need of the nutrients that only traditional cooking can bring, with a pat on the back on all the women in the country who remember their recipes in this globalized, cosmopolitan society.

Indian cuisine reflects a 5000-year history of various groups and cultures interacting with the subcontinent, leading to diversity of flavours and regional cuisines found in modern-day India. Later, the Mughals, British, and Portuguese influence added to the already diverse Indian Cuisine with the assimilation of their own dishes and tastes, but Indian cuisine as a concept forged ahead and still remains highly relevant today.

The traditional Indian diet is one characterized by little meat, plenty of pulses, vegetables, rice and wholegrain wheat, making it low in fat and high in fibre. In the past, ghee tended to be used sparingly as it was expensive for less-wealthy families, but the situation is different today, and the benefits of ghee far outweigh the price in any case. In addition, dairy products are readily available and two glasses of milk a day provide just the right amount of calcium to the growing Indian child. Indian sweets and jaggery are given as a treat, and are not something to be eaten daily.

Since a lot of the side dishes are full of vegetables, beans, and lean protein, the nutrition in Indian food is abundant. There will always be a whole wheat option for naan, called roti, and typically you will find brown Basmati rice can be subbed for the white rice which is the usual base. Therefore, Indian meals provide nutrition in the form of antioxidants, fiber, vitamins and minerals.

As far as the numbers go, there are 152 calories in a 1 small cup serving of South Indian Sambar. Coupled with only 1.2g Fat, this liquid serving is often mixed with carb-rich rice to provide for a full meal - often lunch or dinner in the average South Indian home. Newer substitutes have tried to flaunt their style, but the Sambhar has remained strong, alongside many of its pan-Indian counterparts - Kheer, Rasam and Pulao among them.

So go ahead ladies, celebrate the wonderful occasion of women's day by delving into the age old and nutrition-rich recipes from your region. Rice, Wheat or Ragi - you know it's good for health!

A popular ethnic Indian cereal is the aforementioned Finger Millet, known as the Ragi, particularly in South India. Soulfull is a popular manufacturer that specializes in the production and marketing of a wide variety of Fills, Flakes, Idli and Dosa mixes. Head over to soulfull.in to stock up on your favourite items on the occasion of Women's Day today!