The Week-End Binge--Indian Style
Here's something everyone is guilty of: enjoying too many high-calorie foods on the week-end. Even if you're a caloric angel during the week, there's something about the end of the week and all the social activities it brings that entices you to fill your plate with higher-calorie foods.
When those social activities include Indian food, it's tempting to think that you can get away with over-indulging. Indian food is often a dream combination of health and taste: every meal includes a variety of vegetables, leaner meats (e.g. chicken), and lower-glycemic grains like whole wheat flatbreads or basmati rice. However, this dream turns to a caloric nightmare when prepared, as most restaurants do, with a heavy hand of hidden fats like butter, ghee or full cream. And if you think home-made foods are better, think again: home cooks are often guilty of the same thing, often adding lots of extra fat in the belief that the food will taste better. So how many extra calories are consumed in eating a rich Indian meal vs a healthy Indian meal?
If eating healthy Indian with USDA recommended quantities of grains, vegetables, dairy and proteins, the caloric total for one meal should range between 300-500 calories.
When eating a rich Indian meal, though, according to myfitnesspal.com, the caloric total can reach a whopping 3000+ calories. Here is the breakdown:
Appetizer:
1 samosa: 175 calories
2 pieces of vegetable pakora: 120 calories.
Main Course:
one plate of Indian food, served Buffet style is 1500 calories. Of course, no one ever stops with one plate, so 1.5-2 plates is 2250-3000 calories.
Dessert:
Gulab Jamun: 150 calories
6 oz of Kheer: 200-400 calories
Grand total: somewhere between 2895 and 3845.
And that doesn't even include drinks like lassi, exotic fruit juices, or alcoholic beverages.
