TRIBUNNEWS.COM – Eating together is part of the Eid tradition. The menu is also unique, there are vegetable ketupat, chicken opor, rendang, and many more.
Not only at home, we also usually get typical Eid dishes when visiting relatives’ homes.
Well, this situation tends to increase calorie intake significantly.
“Usually we receive guests, serve food to guests, visit. The total increase (intake) can be very significant.”
Read: Measuring the nutritional content of Lontong, Rice and Ketupat, which is healthier?
This was stated by Nutrifood’s Nutrition & Wellness Consultant, Moch. Aldis Ruslialdi, SKM, CNWC in the media kulwap session, last Friday (22/5/2020).
Even though this year’s Eid holiday tends to be spent at home, you also need to be aware of the increase in calorie intake on Eid day.
Read: How to cut fried chicken calories to make it healthier
Moreover, if you have planned to cook, order or serve a number of dishes.
Here are tips for dealing with your diet so you don’t eat too much food on Eid.
1. Limit sugar, salt, fat
The Ministry of Health provides recommended consumption limits for sugar, salt and fat.
The suggestions are 50 grams (four tablespoons) of sugar, five grams (one teaspoon) of salt, and 67 grams (five tablespoons) of oil.
Why does sugar, salt and fat (GGL) intake need to be limited?
Read: Tips for serving low-sugar grass jelly on Eid al-Fitr, suitable for diabetes sufferers
Because, on Eid, GGL intake will tend to increase significantly compared to usual days.
Sugar intake, for example, tends to increase due to consumption of Eid cakes.
Meanwhile, fat and salt intake also tends to increase, but from side dishes such as opor, liver fried chili sauce, curry, and others.
The Ministry of Health also introduced the “Fill My Plate” concept which needs to be applied at every meal to meet nutritional needs.
Simply put, in this concept we are asked to fill half the plate with vegetables and fruit.
Meanwhile, the remaining half is filled with carbohydrates and staple foods (side dishes).
Apart from GGL intake which tends to be excessive, overall food intake will also increase.
“Because it’s impossible to eat only 1/6 of one plate of opor? So, in terms of quantity and nutritional guidelines, it’s a bit messy,” said Aldis.
Some strategies that can be applied are, for example, not consuming too much sauce when eating opor and taking the breast rather than the thigh.
Another way is to limit eating Eid cakes to only 1-2 a day.
Because, according to Aldis, one Eid cake can contain more than 40 calories, so consuming just four Eid cakes can make us consume more than 200 calories.
“Don’t carry a jar with you, just take the cake when you want to eat it,” he said.
2. Serve fruit
Instead of serving snacks that are high in sugar and fat, there’s nothing wrong if this year’s Eid also serves fruit.
A number of families may have implemented this since the previous Eid.
Apart from being healthier, fruit can also be an option if we are tired of eating snacks high in sugar and fat.
“Sometimes there is a feeling of boredom too, so maybe the presence of fruit can increase the variety of food consumed during Eid,” he said.
This article was published on Kompas.com with the title Tips to Prevent Cramped Eating During Eid
