Ramadan is the month of tall dining tables with many Egyptian dishes that are irresistible. However, Ramadan shouldn’t be an excuse for not following our style of healthy eating.
Good news! We’re bringing you 4 yummy dishes that you can find them in any Egyptian home in Ramadan but with healthy tweaks that will make you eat whatever you want without gaining extra calories.
The sexy vine leaves!
For years vines leaves have been mistakenly considered as a fatty dish. However, if we think a little about it, vines leaves is vegetable and most of the ingredients that are stuffed with are vegetables too. So, it’s the way of cooking and the simple trick is reducing the quantity of rice and increasing the quantity of vegetables. You’re still on the healthy track if you ate 1 cup of rice (the size of yogurt cup) per day. As of minced meat if you chose red meat with no fats, then you’re safe.
Ingredients:
½ kilo vine leaves
Minced meat
Rice (measure the quantity with yogurt cup, one for each serving)
Olive oil
Chicken/beef broth (for removing the fat, keep it in the fridge, the fat will flow on top so you can remove it)
Tomatoes, onions, parsley, cilantro, dill, chopped (the quantity has to be double the rice quantity)
Salt, pepper, and spices to taste
Steps:
-Mix all the ingredients, except oil, together without frying on heat, so this will make the recipe lighter.
-Stuff the vine leaves and roll.
-Grease a pot with the olive oil and you can add slices of onions and lemons. Then place layers of the vine leaves in the pot and pour the chicken broth until it covers the vine leaves.
-Put it on medium heat until the vine leaves soak the broth, and then put it to low heat until it’s cooked.
Cream mushroom soup, the yummy indulgence
Yes creamy and healthy can co-exist. The idea is that instead of using cooking cream, you can replace it with low fat yogurt and add some vegetables to your soup and when you puree them, this will add to its creamy base. Besides, to maintain the desired thickness to your soup, instead of frying flour in butter, replace them with cornstarch and water and it will give you similar result.
Ingredients:
1 tablespoon olive oil
3 leeks, chopped
½ onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 cup mushroom
1 cup chicken/beef broth (check removing its fat in the first recipe)
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 cup yogurt
1 tablespoon thyme
Salt and pepper to taste
Steps:
-Cook leeks, mushroom, onion, and garlic until tender, then add salt and pepper.
-Add stock, yogurt, thyme, and cornstarch after stirring it in water. Leave it on heat for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
-Remove it from heat and leave it to cool, and then blend it in a blender or food processor.
Sambousek, the enjoyable nibbling!
Baking instead of frying it will take care of the matter.
Ingredients:
Sambousek slices
Low salt feta cheese
Peppers, chopped
Black olives, chopped
Green onions, chopped
Mint, chopped
Salt and pepper to taste
Steps
-Mix all ingredients together, stuff the slices, and roll.
-You can grease their tops with egg instead of oil and place it on a baking dish with parchment paper. Leave it in the oven until their color turn to gold.
Macaroni béchamel, as important as Nelly Karim series
Yes béchamel can be healthy! Besides, take portion control as a rule. Break your fasting with salad to help you feel full.
Ingredients:
Penne macaroni boiled with salt & without oil
2 cups chicken/meat broth (check removing its fat in the first recipe)
3 tablespoons flour
4 tablespoons light powder milk
Cooked minced meat
Ground pepper
Steps:
-Put powder milk and flour on medium heat. Pour the broth and stir until smooth and consistent. Add the pepper.
-Put half the macaroni in a baking dish. Add the minced meat and some of the béchamel. Then add the rest of the macaroni and the sauce.
