HOW I GET THROUGH RAMADAN

 

Ramadan has become an enjoyable month for me, something that my husband & I do together, being surrounded by family, playing cards, binge watching survivor and really just relaxing and taking it easy.

 

When it comes to nutrition in Ramadan, it is so incredibly important to make sure you are eating a wide variety of fruit, vegetables, whole grains and legumes. Being plant based, I’m quite cautious of this anyway but having one main meal a day during this month you really must be aware that you aren’t missing out on any vital nutrients. It is easy to become deficient and feel like crap if you aren’t careful.

 

The best way to do this is to PLAN. Each week, write a plan or a menu out. Each day make sure you have a bit of everything. Thankfully, my in-laws do this and I just add in my plant-based dish to the mix for Iftar (the meal where we break our fast).

One day include legumes, one day include a wholegrain of choice (brown rice, barley, buckwheat etc.) and make sure you’re eating cooked vegetables every day. Also, stock up on your favourite fruit so that it’s available for you to snack on later.

 

 

Normally after this, I’m semi-full. I give it about 5-10 minutes and I eat a small-medium portion of whichever dish has been prepared that day. Bamyeh, Fasoulia, Basella, Mloukhiyeh, Ma’loobeh and the list goes on. A vegetarian dish of some sort. There is always rice involved because that is my favourite staple, I have brown basmati rice but sometimes opt for white depending on the day. I eat around 1 cup of the rice and unlimited amounts of the vegetables. I try not to over eat. I eat until I feel content and satisfied. 

  

 

In Ramadan, I eat pretty small amounts of raw vegetables. For me at least, they are difficult to digest. Because we go all day without food, it is incredibly easy to feel bloated or constipated throughout this month which isn’t a nice feeling. Generally, raw veggies bloat me. When I add it into my regular days at lunch or dinner, it doesn’t bother me as much but during Ramadan I become so hyper alert with what I feel that I prefer to stick to cooked vegetables only.

 

As I said, it is so easy to feel bloated or constipated during this month depending on what you’ve eaten that day. If I do have salad, or maybe a few pastries which can be fried and contain regular flour (I’m only human), I always take my digestive enzymes while I’m eating to give my tummy a little extra help with digestion. The ones I take are Ultrazyme by Douglas.

 

Some people choose to take them every day, in particular those who eat meat and dairy, because those foods take longer to digest and can sometimes cause discomfort or constipation.

 

I’m someone who needs to drink 3 L of water per day to be fully hydrated. Anytime I drink less than this, I get a headache and feel quite low in energy. After Iftar, about 20-25 minutes after eating I have a cup of ginger tea or some form of tummy digestion tea, I love the this brand. I usually wait a full hour before starting to drink water – just to give my body a chance to digest my food first. The way I monitor my water intake is by drinking from a 1.5 L bottle. I make sure to finish 2 of these before I go to sleep. I do sleep really late in Ramadan, around 4am, so I have plenty of time to do this.

 

I experimented a lot with this. The best combination that I’ve found is having a bowl of vegetable soup – all the ones in my E-book are ones that I rotate between. If I’m feeling extra hungry I will also have a bowl of vegetables. Roasted, grilled, baked in the oven or maybe some leftovers from Iftar.

I don’t eat any staples like rice, beans or bread because they make me feel too heavy at that time of night personally. I eat at around 12AM (this is given that I’m going to sleep at 4AM) I always allow 3 hours before sleeping.

I realize that the soup and vegetable combination really keeps me FULL. I am completely satisfied without feeling like I’ve stuffed my face and can’t sleep afterwards.

 

1. How do you avoid headaches?

When I’m dehydrated I get headaches - It’s an instant thing now.  In Ramadan during the fasting hours, especially if I’m moving around a lot I do get a dull headache which only goes away once I’ve drank about 1.5 litres of water. The only thing you can really do is MAKE SURE you’re getting in at least 2.5-3 L of water each night.

Inversions are a great fix for headaches, you don’t have to do a crazy headstand, you can simply lie on the floor and put your legs up the wall so that you’re in an L shape position – stay there for 10-15 minutes, close your eyes and take very slow deep breaths, this always works for me!

 

2. When is the best time to work out?

I personally don’t work out in Ramadan, I consider it my “time off”. I work out 5-6 days a week regularly and this month is my time to just enjoy the peace. However, after Iftar I try to walk a lot. Whether its outside or in a mall, just walking for about an hour or two makes me feel so much better.

I also stretch at night once my food is digested, I love doing pigeon, lizard, half splits, forward folds, headstands (great to relieve a headache) or simply foam rolling. I personally feel very low energy during the fasting hours and would never opt to work out before breaking my fast, If I was going to, it would be after!

I know a lot of people who choose to work out before Iftar and they manage just fine – this is a personal choice and you can decide based on how you feel!

 

3. How do you avoid eating all the dessert? 

If you’re eating in a typical Arab household, you will most definitely have a long table of delicious Arabic sweets laying out in front of you after Iftar. From Attayef to 3awameh. There have been times where I think “Whatever, I’m going to have some” and then later on my mild headache turns into a REALLY bad one because of the sugar. I feel so terrible after having sugar, syrups, white flour and refined things like that.

It’s easy to stay away when you don’t feel good after having it! I also always make sure I have a dessert option. I need something sweet for sure. I love Biccy Boms by Livias Kitchen (available in Whole Foods) or I will see if a vegan refined sugar free dessert can be prepared. My E-book has 5 of my best recipes which are totally Ramadan friendly.

 

4. Do you eat anything between Iftar and Shoor?

I do. I eat fruit! At around 10PM (3 hours after Iftar) I eat my portion of fruit (which I'm doing right now actually). Whatever is available in the kitchen. I also might have a handful of raw nuts that have been pre-soaked overnight – this makes them more easily digestible and allows us to extract all their nutrients.

 

5. What eating habits to avoid in Ramadan?

I am plant based so I don’t have any animal products, that also applies to Ramadan. You can read more about this here. The only thing I really try to avoid in Ramadan is the refined and processed foods. Foods that are made with white flour, refined oils (vegetable, sunflower etc.) and refined sugar.  Foods that are deep-fried and heavy on the dough – yes, they taste great but don’t keep me full for long at all. I like eating foods that keep me satiated.  

 

6. What do you do if you have a 3azeemeh? (invited out)

I struggled with this last year. We had a lot of outings to restaurants or family houses and normally Iftar is filled with meat and chicken, or yoghurt-based dishes. There were times where all I would eat is soup and salad and plain rice. I would try to fill up on the soup and salad which contained all the nutrients! I would then make sure to have a filling Shoor to make up for that.

This year we have less outings and I will either do the same thing or take a vegetarian dish if it is someone close to us/family members we are going to. I won’t just cave in because the options are lacking, even though I’m hungry it still doesn’t justify me consuming animal products or highly refined foods.

 

     7. How do you avoid getting thirsty?

Here are my little tricks to avoid getting overly thirsty

- Brush your teeth every couple of hours - this really makes the biggest difference for me, the water and the minty-ness makes you feel fresh again.

- Don't eat too much salt. Salt is a killer and can really leave you feeling parched. Soy sauce is another one, maybe don't have any in Ramadan! I always make sure my food is lightly salted using Himalayan pink salt or rock sea salt, never ever table salt!!!!!!

- Limit any strenuous activity, if you can. 

 

 Thank you for reading! Leave any questions or comments below 

L x