Trip on these low-cal Italian dishes on your next restaurant outing
Mumbai: Indians love eating out and there’s no reason why it can’t be healthy and guilt free eating. Dining out at a restaurant should never be an excuse for anyone of us to eat unhealthy foods.
One thing that each of us needs to keep in mind is that eating nutritional and healthy food does more than just keeping your body in shape, it keeps your heart healthy and fit. In order to live a hearty life maintaining a balance diet and lifestyle is necessary.
“Eating right is vital if you’re trying to want ot live a long healthy life. We often think that when you go out you can’t find low-cal food, but every restaurants menu has something or the other according to your diet. Just make the perfect pick and eat in small portions,” says Dr. Indumathi Kuberman, a Diabetologist.
“I have been suffering from Diabetes for a decade now. Most people with Diabetes are unaware of the significance of a healthy diet on blood sugar management. Diet coupled with exercise and medication are 3 key ingredients to managing sugar level and cholestrol well,” says Seema Pinto, who recently launched an initiative ‘Diabetic Food Trail’.
This initiative was launched for all those people who love eating outside but not always know what to eat and how much to eat. You can’t always find out a number of calories, fat, carbohydrates in a dish given on a menu. But wouldn’t it be great if we could list some of those dishes with details of nutritional values?
Here’s a list of dishes that you can definitely trip on your next food outing:
Cajun spiced chicken with barley, oats and risotto
This is one of the best combination of flavours and a must taste to delight your palate. The oat, barley and risotto are sautéed with chopped ginger, garlic, coriander. The spice mix consists of spicy cayenne pepper, oregano, dry parsley leaves, freshly crushed pepper and has a bit of earthy herbal touch. The chicken breast is marinated in Cajun spice and balsamic vinegar and then grilled till the meat is tender and juicy. The dish is served over a bed of creamy white sauce risotto with finely sliced fennel and onions.
Nutritional value- 275kcals, 32.3g carb, 6.7g fats, 8.2g protein.
Lemongrass and kafir lime marinated steam fish with coconut oats
Served on a bed of oats cooked in coconut milk, this main is really delicious and is made up in such a manner that you can savour the richness of sea food. The fish is marinated in lemongrass and kafir lime to give it a must tangy flavour. Every ingredient is picked up very delicately to make this dish and the result is no doubt worthy.
Nutritional value- 265kcals, 6.8g carb, 14.6 fats, 19g protein.
“We were approached by Diabetic Food Trails and since diabetes is a big issue in India, we agreed to take up the challenge as a way of giving back to society. Keeping in mind the dietary constraints of diabetics, we have crafted the menu so that they enjoy their meal in a restaurant like ours,” says Irfan Pabaney, chef and owner of the restaurant The Sassy Spoon, Mumbai.
Roasted vegetable ravioli
This beautiful green spinach ravioli is stuffed with fire roasted crispy vegetables, served over the bed of creamy cheese. The filling is delicious and has a smoothing blend of caramelized sautéed onions, finely chopped red pepper bells, ricotta, zucchini and a hint of mozzarella cheese.
Roasted Vegetable Ravioli showcases the freshness of the exotic vegetables with a smoothing taste of the tangy sauce. This makes a perfect main course and can be shared by two if you tend to eat a two or three-course meal.
Nutritional value- 503 kcals, 82.6g carb, 10.5g fats, 21.5g protein.
Smoke chicken grass noodle salad
The freshness of the salad hits your taste buds as soon as you take its first bite. Apricot and chilli dressing adds zing to the boiled chicken and veggies. When a salad is tossed with right dressing it can even make a simple plate of greens memorable, and this is what this salad is all about.
Nutritional value- 478 kcals, 50.8g carb, 19.6g fats, 24g protein.
“When we were asked to design a special dish keeping in mind calories and carbohydrates, it was a tough job but a challenge which we were ready to take. Every dish’s detail was first sent to the nutritionist and then we decided whether it was fit for the menu,” says Chef Gylston Gracias, City Chef of Smoke House Delhi, Mumbai.
Every dish serves around 2-3 people and nutritional value is based on per serving, he adds.
A meal is never complete without scrumptious and flavoursome dessert. One can always opt for Sour cherry cheese cream cake with sour cherry compote (Nutritional value- 198 kcals, 10.4g carb, 16g fats, 3.7g protein) and Blueberry pannacotta with blueberry compote (Nutritional value- 137 kcals, 16.6g carb, 6.8g fats, 2.5g protein).
Now enjoy your meal, and believe in the motto ‘Eat healthy, stay healthy!”
The nutritional content given above may differ restaurant to restaurant based on what ingredient the chefs of the aforesaid restaurant have used and it is only an approximation given by an independent nutritionist.
(Photo credit: Priyadarshini Patwa)
