What is Fasting Food?
The practice of abstaining from eating food for a fixed time period is called fasting. Fasting food refers to the exceptions of food items that one can consume while they’re fasting. Traditionally, our cultural rituals have dedicated days for fasting in a calendar year for different reasons. During this time, the person who has kept the fast can consume fruits, milk and preparations of fasting food items, commonly known as “vrat ka khana”.
Health Benefits of Fasting
There are many health benefits of fasting that are supported by Science as well. Most of them are associated with improving mild to chronic health issues such as controlling blood sugar, cleansing the gut and sustaining the heart’s health.
People practise fasting to strengthen their faith, and it benefits their spiritual strength and awakening of true self with self realisations. Those with an awareness of their being fasts to let go of the dependency on food & water to as bare minimum as possible by consuming vrat ka khana, which is considered to be made with sattvik ingredients, or those food items that do not causes aggression or generates stress in the normal functioning of the body.
Fasting from time to time helps in weight loss naturally and also assists in controlling cravings and hunger pangs in daily routine. Once you learn the art of fasting, you can adapt to do it regularly for shorter periods of time like intermittent fasting.
How to Practise Fasting?
Fasting involves putting a break from consuming our everyday meals & drinks for some time. It also depends on the rituals and customs involved in the type of fast you’re keeping.
Some fasts are monitored from sunrise to sunset. These fasts involve the consumption of fruits, water and fasting food grains like kuttu or buckwheat flour, quinoa, samvat, singhara and amaranth flour. These grains are available along with many other ready-to-eat vrat food online as well as vrat ke chawal and upwas namak.
While many fasts are inclined with the rising of the moon. These fasts are kept without consuming any kind of food all day long, and once the moon rises, the fast is broken with water and something sweet, post which you can have a meal of your own choice.
Types of Fasting Food Grains & Their Health Benefits
Fasting food grains can be divided into different categories, as per the suitability of your health & taste preferences. Amongst the common options, these grains are easily available, have been used for ages and cater to all the nutritional requirements of your body while keeping a fast.
Kuttu ka Atta- Known as Kuttu ka Atta in the common language, Buckwheat Flour is the most preferred substitute for fasting flour. It is used in preparations of all kinds of fasting food like paranthas, pakodas, puris. Kuttu ka atta is gluten-free and is made with high protein and lesser calories that is easy to digest as well.
Amaranth ka Atta - Amongst all the vrat food grains options available, Amaranth ka Atta is a fasting food grain that has the highest protein. Amaranth atta contains an amino acid called Lysine which is a complete protein source. Amaranth contains phytosterols that help decrease bad cholesterol and is high in calcium & iron, maintaining the body with two of the most important minerals. Amaranth atta contains excellent fibre content that resolves digestive disorders, blood pressures issues and decreases bad cholesterol.
Organic Sabudana- Another famous fasting food grain, Sabudana is a kind of melt-in-your-mouth texture that is used to make Sabudana khichdi, Sabudana papad, and creamy Sabudana Kheer. Furthermore, this Upwas food contains a high quantity of starch content and is also used to prepare vrat food like vrat chips, vrat snacks online available for fasting materials. It contains all the much needed vitamins, calcium, proteins, and fibres.
Singhara ka Atta- Chestnut flour or singhara ka atta is prepared with grounding dried chestnut fruits. It is gluten-free and low in calories. This grain is suitable for people who want to lose weight as it is high in energising minerals and good carbohydrates that makes you feel full for a longer period of time, reducing cravings. This atta helps in preparing different types of vrat food items like tikki, halwa and paranthe during the fasting period.
FAQs
What kind of grains are suitable for fasting food?
When you’re observing a fast, you can consume kuttu ka atta, amaranth atta, singhara atta. These grains are suitable to prepare different types of preparations for upwas ka khana.
What type of food can be prepared with gluten-free grains for vrat food?
With fasting food grains you can prepare multiple dishes like khichadi, paranthe, vrat chips, vrat ke ladoo, fasting snacks, etc.
Can we eat rice during fasting?
Barnyard Millet or Samvat rice is commonly known as vrat ke chawal and preferred to be consumed during fasting. It is used to make sweet dishes for fasts like kheer and halwa as well.
What kind of fasting snacks can be consumed?
During a fast, one can have different kinds of fasting snacks made with rock salt or sendha upwas namak. You can have vrat chips prepared with potatoes or vrat ke ladoo made with jaggery as well as makhana and peanuts roasted in upwas namak. You can also buy fasting snacks online at amala earth.
