HEART HEALTHY HOME FOOD

 

For a healthy heart, home-cooked food can be simple, tasty, and Indian-style. The main idea is to include more vegetables, whole grains, pulses, nuts and seeds, while keeping salt, sugar and deep-fried foods moderate.

❤️ Heart-Healthy Home Food

🌅 Breakfast

• Vegetable oats/upma
• Moong dal chilla with vegetables
• Vegetable poha
• 1–2 whole-wheat rotis with vegetable bhaji
• Idli with sambar

🍛 Lunch

• 2 whole-wheat/bajra/jowar rotis or a moderate portion of brown rice
• Dal/rajma/chana
• 1–2 vegetable dishes
• Salad
• Plain curd or buttermilk

☕ Evening

• A small handful of unsalted nuts
• Roasted chana
• Fruit
• Sprouts chaat

🌙 Dinner

• Vegetable dal khichdi
• Roti + dal + vegetables
• Vegetable soup + moong dal chilla
• Light vegetable pulao + raita

🥦 Foods to include regularly

• Oats, whole wheat, jowar, bajra and other whole grains
• Dal, beans and sprouts
• Green leafy vegetables and other colourful vegetables
• Fruits such as apple, guava, orange and papaya
• Unsalted almonds/walnuts and seeds in small portions
• Fish, if you eat non-vegetarian food

Limit

• Deep-fried snacks and fried papad
• Excess ghee/butter
• Processed meats
• Packaged salty snacks
• Sugary drinks and excessive sweets
• Very salty pickles, chutneys and ready-made foods

Simple rule: Make about ½ your plate vegetables, ¼ protein (dal/beans/egg/fish), and ¼ whole grains, with a small amount of healthy fat.

If you tell me whether you want vegetarian or non-vegetarian, I can give you a 7-day Indian heart-healthy home-food menu.

Avocado paratha Recipe

 

Avocado Paratha Recipe 🥑A

Ingredients

• 1 ripe avocado
• 1½ cups whole wheat flour
• 1 small onion, finely chopped
• 1 green chilli, finely chopped (optional)
• ½ tsp cumin seeds
• ¼ tsp turmeric
• ½ tsp red chilli powder
• ½ tsp garam masala
• ½ tsp chaat masala or amchur
• Coriander leaves, chopped
• Salt to taste
• 1–2 tsp oil
• Water, as needed
• Ghee/oil for cooking

Method

1. Cut the avocado, remove the seed, and mash the pulp until smooth.
2. In a bowl, combine wheat flour, mashed avocado, onion, coriander, spices, salt and cumin.
3. Mix well and knead into a soft dough. Add a little water only if needed.
4. Cover and rest the dough for 10–15 minutes.
5. Divide into equal portions and roll each into a paratha.
6. Heat a tawa and cook the paratha on both sides.
7. Apply a little ghee or oil and cook until golden spots appear.
8. Serve hot with curd, pickle, chutney or raita.

Tip: Avocado makes the paratha naturally soft, so you don't need much oil. 🥑✨