Click here to view. Falooda recipe. Falooda is a dessert, if you look at it technically, but practically it is an any-time snack! This exciting combination of sweetened rose-flavoured milk with falooda sev, subza seeds, vanilla ice-cream and all the works is a delicacy that appeals to all. It is quite sumptuous and satiating, and you will often find people stopping by at a roadside vendor to have a glassful of Falooda to keep them comfortably going till the next meal. Indeed, what a tasty way to chase hunger away!

Is Falooda healthy?

No, this is not healthy. Let's see why.

Let's understand the Ingredients.

What's good.

1. Milk and Low Fat Milk : 1 cup of milk provides 70% of the Recommended Daily Allowance of Calcium. Milk promotes strong bones. The Calcium in Milk helps to protect your teeth against gum disease and keeps your jaw bone strong and healthy. Milk is low in carbs and therefore does not raise blood glucose levels. However diabetics must consider including low fat milk as advised by their dietitian only so as to avoid any fluctuations in blood sugar levels. Protein is another key nutrient which milk is rich in - 8.6 g from a cup. So all those looking to build protein stores can add milk and its products like curd and paneer to their diet. One cup of Milk gives 10 grams of carbs.  Low fat milk has lower fat and the same benefits of milk. 

2. Strawberries : Strawberries are chock-full of a phytonutrients, which are good antioxidants and reduce body inflammation. This pink-red coloured fruit abounds in vitamin C. You will be surprised that a cup of strawberry is enough to fulfills your day’s requirement of vitamin C, which helps in building a healthy immune system and keeping all types of infections away. These high vitamins C count benefits in preventing cancer and also fighting the existing the cancer cells if any. Strawberries are a rich source of potassium and magnesium, which helps in lowering blood pressure. With a glycemic index 41, they can be added in limited quantity to a diabetic meal too. Moreover they are a very good source of fiber too. A cup of strawberry yields 4.6 g of fiber, which is a boon for weight loss.

What's the problem?

1. Sugar : Sugar used in the recipe is also called white poison. It is a simple carbohydrate with zero nutritional value. On intake, sugar will cause inflammation of the body which will last for many hours. It will spike your blood sugar level and shut down the fat burning process. This also causes high blood sugar levels in your body. The development of prediabetes comes from uncontrolled eating sugar and refined food products for many years and the classic symptom is if you have excess belly fat. This leads to diabetes and further onwards to heart attack, high blood pressure, strokes, impotence and kidney damage. 

Can diabetics, heart patients and over weight individuals have Falooda?

No, this recipe is not good for diabetics, heart and weight loss. Sugar will spike your blood sugar level and shut down the fat burning process. This also causes high blood sugar levels in your body. The development of prediabetes comes from uncontrolled eating sugar and refined food products for many years and the classic symptom is if you have excess belly fat.

Healthy Indian Drinks 

Healthy Indian drinks to choose from tulsi tea recipe, masala chaas, low fat chaas recipe, unsweetened Indian chocolate almond milk with dates and neem juice. 

Unsweetened Chocolate Almond Milk, Indian Chocolate Almond Milk with Dates

Can healthy individuals have Falooda?

No. 

8 Pointers to get healthy on a Indian diet

1. Eat healthy and say yes to good home cooked food. Prefer whole grains like oatmeal, quinoa, buckwheat, barley and healthy flours like bajra flour, jowar flour, quinoa flour, wheat flour etc. rather than refined ones like maida. Have healthy Indian fats like ghee, coconut, coconut oil in your diet.

2. Opt out of junk food, packaged food, deep fried foods. Prefer steamed snacks and other non-fried snacks. Check out some Healthy Indian Snacks. Remember to eat small frequent meals through the day as that will keep you always full and prevent your blood sugar from dropping. By starving your body through some diet, will not help you one bit. In fact, dieting will make you binge on 2 to 3 meals which is not good. 

Skip having Indian junk foods like pav bhaji, bata vada, pakoras, gulab jamun as they cause your body to have insulance resistance. The resultant is your body will store more carbohydrates as fats, causing storage of fat in the stomach causing a paunch and slowing down of our fat burning process. So its a bad cyle which causes you more more hunger and fatigue every time you eat junk food. 

3. Have 4 to 5 servings of vegetables and 2 to 3 servings of fruit is a must. Follow the logic of a vegetable in each main meal of the day and a fruit in-between meals. Check out a few Healthy Indian Soups and Healthy Indian Salads  recipes using this food group.   

4. Cut down on sugar and salt in your diet and pick honey ( very small amounts) or dates to sweeten your food. Slowly cut the sugar habit as this is not going to happen over night. Sugar  is also called white poison. It is a simple carbohydrate with zero nutritional value. On intake, sugar will cause inflammation of the body which will last for many hours. It will spike your blood sugar level and shut down the fat burning process. This also causes high blood sugar levels in your body. The development of prediabetes comes from uncontrolled eating sugar and refined food products for many years and the classic symptom is if you have excess belly fat. This leads to diabetes and further onwards to heart attack, high blood pressure, strokes, impotence and kidney damage. 

Salt and blood pressure. Apart from stress and obesity, one of the main reasons for high blood pressure is excessive sodium and salt intake. Most people find it difficult to limit the amount of salt in their cooking, thinking it will affect the taste of their favourite dishes. 

This is not true. Bajra and jowar are rich in potassium and critical for those with High Blood Pressure as it lessens the impact of sodium. Eating more Potassium Rich Foods will remove more sodium from your body through urine. So include the basic bajra roti and jowar roti in your daily diet to have with Lower Blood Pressure Subzis Recipes. 

5. Befriend a few healthy seeds and nuts like chia seeds, flax seeds, sesame seeds, walnuts and almonds. 

6.  Sprouts are called ‘living food’. They are high is most nutrients and easy to digest as well. Let them feature in your meals at least thrice a week. Also Read : All Benefits about Sprouts. 

7.  Exercise 45 minutes every day. No excuse. You can walk fast, run, do weights, play your favourite sport or go to the gym. No activity reduces muscle tissue which will lead to muscke loss and all kinds of problems with that. 

8.  Sleep early and get up early. Get your body into rhythm and it will function best. Sleep helps your body to recover and makes you look much younger. Also getting good sleep prevent muscle loss. 

Falooda is high in

1. Calcium : Calcium  is a mineral that makes bones stay strong. Required from kids to adults.

2. Phosphorous : Phosphorous works closely with calcium to build bones. 

Note : a recipe is deemed high in a Vitamin or mineral if it meets 20% and above the recommended daily allowance based on a 2,000 calorie diet.

How to burn 407 calories that come from Falooda?

Walking (6 kmph) = 2 hrs 2 mins

Running (11 kmph) = 41 mins

Cycling (30 kmph) = 54 mins          

Swimming (2 kmph) = 1hr 10 mins

Note: These values are approximate and calorie burning differs in each individual.