Preparing the Best Indian Dinner for Weight Loss involves healthy, nutrition-rich, and balanced meals. It includes a variety of vegetables, whole grains, protein, fiber and healthy fats.
Consistently, including balanced dinner meals into your daily diet increases metabolism, boosts immunity, helps with muscle repair and recovery, and contributes to long-term weight management.
However, if you are looking for a vegetarian diet a question may come to your mind what to eat in dinner for weight loss? Vegetable soups and juices, smoothies, boiled vegetables, stir-fried vegetables, tofu, paneer, lentils, chickpeas and vegetable salads are the options that can be of great choice for weight loss dinner recipes vegetarian Indian. These recipes are filling, low fat, sugar-free and provide ample amounts of fiber and important nutrients required for the body.
In this article, we will explore Indian vegetarian dinner for weight loss.
Before that let’s have a look at the benefits of including healthy weight-loss Indian dinner recipes in your daily diet.
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Benefits of Eating Healthy and Balanced Indian Dinner for Weight Loss
Indian cuisines provide numerous benefits for weight loss due to its diverse and nutritious ingredients.
Let’s understand the benefits…
1. Rich in Veggies: Indian dishes often include a variety of vegetables, which are rich sources of high fiber, and vitamins and low in calories thereby promoting satiety and helping digestion.
2. Rich in protein: Dinner dishes such as lentils(dal), green moong, chickpeas, paneer, and tofu promote the feeling of fullness and prevent night snacking and overeating. It also provides strength and supports muscle and bone health.
3. Whole grains: Including whole grains in your dinner such as oats, corn, barley, buckwheat, whole wheat, and millets provides you with long-lasting energy and prevents sugar spikes.
4. Spices: We use different spices in our cuisines to enhance the aroma and flavor of the food. But do you know, that the spices very often that we use in our dishes like turmeric, ginger, cumin, fennel seed, and black pepper have anti-inflammatory properties as well as aid in digestion and boost metabolism.
5. Healthy Fats: Coconut milk, avocado, coconut oil, olive oil, peanut oil, sesame oil, sunflower oil, and nuts are the sources of healthy fats that promote satiety, provide energy and optimize overall health.
6. Improves Metabolism: A well-balanced meal including various nutrients improves metabolism supporting your weight loss goals.
7. Controls Blood Sugar Levels: A balanced meal maintains the blood sugar levels preventing sugar spikes and cravings for sugary food that can lead to fat storage in the body.
Best Indian Dinner for Weight Loss
Here, we have a list of weight-loss dinner dishes vegetarian Indian which are found more effective in achieving and maintaining weight loss goals.
They are low-carb, low-calorie, high-protein, and high-fiber dinner choices and are the best Indian dinner for weight loss.
1) Vegetable Soup
The vegetable soup consists of a mix of veggies like carrots, tomatoes, spring onions, cabbage, cauliflower, beans, capsicum and various seasonal vegetables. These vegetables are rich in vitamin C, antioxidants, vitamin A, vitamin B and essential minerals. Vegetable soup keeps you full and satiated, lowers your appetite and helps to boost your immunity.
2) Pumpkin Soup
The pumpkin soup is loaded with fiber and rich in vitamin A, vitamin C, Vitamin E, minerals and antioxidants. Pumpkin soup helps fight infection, boosts immunity, good for eye health, supports heart health and nourishes skin. It also improves metabolism and helps to shed weight.
3) Tomato Soup
Tomato soup is low in calories and fats which makes it a great choice for those who want to reduce weight. It is a rich source of lycopene, an antioxidant that is known to reduce cellular inflammation.
It is also an excellent source of vitamin C, a powerful antioxidant that boosts immunity, improves the absorption of iron, heals wounds, and lightens skin. It also contains other important nutrients like vitamin A, calcium, carbohydrates, and fiber.
Incorporating tomato soup regularly into your diet keeps you active, energetic and healthy. It is good for diabetics as well as heart patients.
4) Apple Beetroot Carrot (ABC) Juice
ABC juice is full of fibers, anti-oxidants, essential vitamins and minerals. This juice improves vision, delays the aging process, and keeps the bowel health regular and functioning.
ABC juice works wonders for those trying to shed weight, it helps to detoxify, boost immunity, improve metabolism, and support cardiovascular health.
Adding this juice to your dinner, and consuming regularly provides a number of the above benefits. People suffering from kidney disease or low potassium restriction should consult their health expert before including this juice in their diet.
5) Sweet Potatoes
Sweet potatoes are low glycemic index foods that can be consumed in different ways. It can be boiled, baked, fried, sautéed, and can be incorporated into your dinner meals.
Sweet potatoes are an excellent source of fiber, vitamins and minerals. They also contain a good amount of antioxidants that protect our body from free radical damage, inflammation and chronic disease.
Fiber and antioxidants present in sweet potatoes improve the growth of healthy gut bacteria. This way, it keeps your bowel regular and aids in weight loss.
6) Kala Chana Chaat
Kala Chana is rich in protein, fiber and carbohydrates. It is an energy-giving food that can be beneficial for those who have more physical activity in their routine or those who are interested in weight management. Kala chana is usually soaked and can be eaten in raw or boiled form.
For kala chana chaat, you add chopped tomatoes, diced onions, lemon juice, coriander leaves and salt as per taste to Chana. Kala chana chaat promotes fullness, controls hunger and keeps you satiated.
7) Stir Fry Veggies
Stir fry is the recipe where you sauté different seasonal veggies like beans, carrots, bell pepper, spring onion, mushrooms, broccoli and zucchini, together until cooked. To add more protein value, you can add tofu or paneer cubes to the dish. Veggies you can pick of your choice according to season.
To add more nutritional value, it can be seasoned with roasted sesame seeds or flax seeds. This dish is the perfect choice for those who are vegans and wish to reduce weight.
This Stir Fry dish is low in fat and carb, glucose and lactose-free. It is high in fiber, vitamins, and protein making it the perfect choice for weight loss goals.
8) Indian Daliya
Daliya is the broken wheat which is cooked along with split yellow dal (moong dal), and various vegetables and dashed with spices to make it tastier and more flavourful.
Daliya is low in calories, and high in protein, fiber and complex carbohydrates. It is also a good source of minerals. The high fiber content in Dalia promotes the growth of healthy bacteria inside the gut. These good bacteria improve digestion leading to better absorption of nutrients and are found beneficial for constipation, gut health and aids weight loss.
Daliya is a complete meal and one of the best Indian dinner for weight loss. It is also found helpful in maintaining cholesterol levels, good for heart health and diabetes.
9) Green Moong Salad
Salads are of different types like fruit salads, vegetable salads, sprout salads and many more. As the name suggests, here you prepare a salad of green moong. Soaked green moong is blanched first and then chopped tomatoes, onions, green chilies, mint leaves, salt and lemon juice are added all together.
Moong is gluten-free and an excellent source of fiber, protein, carbohydrates, vitamins and minerals. Studies suggest, 100 grams of raw moong beans contain 43% of the recommended daily values of protein and 43% of the recommended daily values of fiber.
It is also a great source of folate which is beneficial for early pregnancy to reduce the birth defects of the brain and spine of the fetus in the womb.
10) Masala Oats
Masala oats are a savory dish that can be included in dinner. It is made from oats with the addition of seasonal vegetables and various aromatic spices.
Masala oats are high in fiber, protein and antioxidants. It helps with digestion, controls blood glucose levels and aids weight loss. It is also loaded with several vitamins and minerals like vitamins B, E, K, and C, calcium, iron, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, selenium and zinc. These nutrients help to boost metabolism and support bone health, heart health, wound healing and immune function. It also helps to lower cholesterol and maintain the blood pressure.
Always prefer plain oats instead of buying flavored oats as they may contain added sugar, salt, or preservatives. Masala Oats are nutritious and can be customized by adding different vegetables, spices, and toppings making them tastier and healthier.
11) Bottle Guard Juice
Bottle guard, also known as dudhi or lauki is a vegetable that is cut into pieces and blended until smooth to make bottle guard juice. Mint leaves, lemon, ginger, pepper, black salt, nuts, and seeds can be added to enhance the flavor.
Bottle guard juice is a refreshing, hydrating and nutritious vegetable juice. It is rich in fiber and low in calories making it a preferable choice for weight loss and diabetes. It’s loaded with essential nutrients like calcium, phosphorus, folate, vitamin K and zinc. This juice aids digestion, strengthens bones, and boosts overall immunity.
12) Vegetable Salads
Vegetable salad is a great choice for those who want to shed their weight. It is prepared in various ways, with raw vegetables, grilled vegetables and sometimes with boiled or steamed vegetables. In any way, it will benefit your health providing vital nutrients to your body.
Vegetables like carrots, beetroot, cucumbers, tomatoes, onions, zucchini, avocado, cabbage, and broccoli when used for salads, enhance the nutritional value and help digestion. The above vegetables are low in calories and contain a good amount of vitamin A, Vitamin C, potassium, calcium and iron.
You can use pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, or sesame seeds to add a little crunch and nutty flavor to it. These seeds are loaded with protein, fiber, copper, magnesium, manganese, phosphorus, zinc, iron, vitamin E and vitamin B. It’s rich in antioxidants and healthy fats too.
Along with the above veggies, you can add lemon juice, mint leaves, coriander leaves, black pepper and extra virgin olive oil as well, to enhance the flavor and nutritional value of the salad.
13) Lentils Soup
Lentil soup is a great choice for weight-loss dinners. This soup can be made from a split red lentil (masoor dal) or deskinned green gram (moong dal) of your choice. This soup keeps you full for long and avoids overeating.
According to Ayurveda, moong dal is the most preferred dal as it is lighter to digest and has good nutritional value.
These lentils are rich in fiber, protein, iron and vitamin B complex. It also contains minerals like potassium and magnesium which is good for bone and heart health.
Lentil soup is beneficial for weight loss, heart health, diabetes, digestive health and blood circulation.
14) Suji Vegetable Upma
Suji or Semolina is a coarse form made from wheat. 100 grams of Suji contains 360 calories,13 grams of protein, 186 grams of potassium, 73 grams of carbohydrates, 6%of iron with low fat and sodium. Adding vegetables to suji to make upma increases its nutritional value. Upma can be included in breakfast or dinner for a weight-loss diet. Eating upma regularly prevents anemia, boosts energy, improves bowel movement, provides healthy muscles, and supports heart health.
15) Palak Paneer
Palak paneer is a combination of palak (spinach) and paneer cooked together with a dash of aromatic spices. Spinach is low in carbs and rich in fiber. According to USDA, it’s an excellent source of potassium, calcium, sodium, iron, vitamin B6, Vitamin K, Vitamin A and vitamin C. Paneer is a rich source of protein. The above nutrients of the palak paneer dish make it extremely healthy and beneficial for eye health, heart health and oxidative stress.
Precaution
You can achieve your weight loss goals more effectively by focusing on a balanced diet. But you need to take some precautions when you are on your weight loss journey.
For optimum results, include the above-mentioned best Indian dinner for weight loss and follow these tips.
- Use smaller plates to control portions and prevent overeating. Even though you are eating healthy food, it should always be taken in moderation. As overeating may give rise to weight gain.
- Include sources of protein such as tofu, paneer, curd and legumes, and salads in every meal to keep you full and satiated to support your weight loss goals.
- Instead of deep frying prefer grilling, baking, steaming and roasting methods of cooking to reduce fat intake.
- Avoid soft drinks and sodas, white bread, pastries and cakes, frozen meals, fast food, packed and processed food as they may contain unhealthy additives and are often high in salt and sugar.
- Ensure you drink plenty of water throughout the day to keep yourself hydrated and flush out the toxins from your body.
Conclusion
- All the dinner recipes mentioned in this blog post are vegetarian and the best Indian dinner for weight loss as they are low in calories and fat, and high in nutrients and fiber that keep you satiated for a long and prevent overeating.
- These foods are of great choice for your dinner as they help to reduce overall weight and belly fat.
- Along with these weight loss diets; regular physical activities like cardiac exercises, strengthening exercises, or yoga accelerates the weight loss goals.
- You should also drink sufficient water like 3 litres to 5 litres of water daily to flush out the toxins from your body and keep your body well hydrated.
FAQ’s
1] Can I skip dinner for weight loss?
Ans. Skipping dinner is not a very good choice and is not recommended in routine. Once a while is okay, depending on the calorie intake taken in the rest of the day.
2] How to reduce belly fat?
Ans. To reduce belly fat….
- Eat fiber and protein-rich diet.
- Add yogurt to your diet to improve digestive health and provide easy bowel movement.
- Reduce intake of sugary, fatty and carbohydrate-rich food.
- Avoid alcohol, processed food and aerated drinks.
- Stick to your time for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Dinner should be done before 7:00 pm.
- Always keep your dinner light, low in calories and rich in fiber.
- Do physical exercise at least for 30 minutes 5 days a week.
- Sleep at least for 7 to 8 hours a day.
- Reduce your stress by being social, spending time with nature, doing meditation or any physical cativity, and getting involved actively with your favorite hobby.
Q3] Can I lose weight without exercise?
Ans. Yes, of course, you can reduce weight without exercise. But you need to maintain a balanced, low-calorie diet. However, people who are suffering from hypothyroidism, diabetes and obesity, are recommended to do physical exercise to boost their metabolism and reach their weight loss goals.
Q4] What is the best Indian dinner for weight loss?
Ans. Here is the list of easy and quick weight loss dinner vegetarian Indian…
- Pumpkin soup
- Vegetable Soup
- Sweet potato
- Kala chana chat
- Stir fry beans
- Masala oats
- Daliya khichdi
- Suji vegetable upma
- Lentil soup
- Vegetable salads
- Tandoori Paneer
- Palak Paneer
- Green Moong chat
References
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8069426/
A plant-based diet for overweight and obesity prevention and treatment
Adherence to Vegetarian Diet and Weight Loss: A Meta-Analysis
Vegetarian Diet: An Overview through the Perspective of Quality of Life Domains
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