Click here to view. Tomato Upma recipe.This is a quick and easy breakfast with an appetizing aroma and the tangy flavour of tomatoes. The Tomato Upma is made with everyday ingredients and is absolutely no-fuss.

Is Tomato Upma healthy?

No, tomato upma is not healthy. Made from tomato, rava, onion, oil, green chillies and spices. 

Let's understand the Ingredients.

What's good.

1. Tomatoes : Tomatoes are extremely rich source of Lycopene. Tomatoes are a powerful antioxidant, super rich in Vitamin C, good for heart. Tomatoes are a Pregnant women's friend and are rich in Folate or Folic Acid which helps your body to produce and maintain new cells, especially red blood cells. Read about 13 amazing benefits of tomatoes.   

2. Onions : Yes, its a great antioxidant. The phytochemical present in onions along with their Vitamin C help boost your immunity. The chromium in onions help regulate your blood pressure. The sulphur in the onion which brings you tears is actually good for your eyes. Raw onions keep your heart healthy and see here for total benefits of onions. 

3. Coriander (kothmir, dhania) : Coriander is a fresh herb often used as a flavour enhancer in Indian cooking. It is mainly used as a garnish. This is the best way to use it - no cooking. This preserves its vitamin C content which helps to build our immunity and bring that sparkle to the skin. The antioxidants vitamin A, vitamin C and the quercetin present in coriander works towards strengthening our immune system. Coriander is a fairly good source of iron and folate – the 2 nutrient which help in the production and maintenance of red blood cells in our blood. Good for reducing cholesterol and good for diabetics. Read 9 benefits of coriander to understand details. 

4. Urad Dal : 1 cup of cooked urad dal gives 69.30% of folic acid of your daily requirement of folate.  The folic acid in urad dal helps your body to produce and maintain new cells, especially red blood cells. Being rich in Phosphorus it works with Calcium to build our bones, high in fibre and good for heart, good for lowering cholesterol and good for diabetes. See here for 10 super benefits of urad dal. 

What's the problem? 

1. Rava (semolina, sooji) :  What's good? Semolina is a fairly good source of Magnesium and phosphorus which is necessary to keep our nervous system healthy and working. What's the issue? Fibre is one key nutrient for weight loss and semolina is devoid of it. Semolina is not suitable for diabetics. For details read is sooji healthy?

2. Vegetable Oils : To some vegetable oil is only soyabean oil, while some promote it as a mix of oils like soyabean, canola, sunflower, corn and other omega-6 rich oils. These are often cheaper options than many oils, but they are highly processed oils. They are undoubtedly not to be reached out for, whether you are looking for salad dressings, sautéing or cooking.  The 5 best oils used in cooking are olive oil (low temperature short time cooking), avocado oil, canola oil, coconut oil and peanut oil. You must read the super article to find the facts of  which oil is the healthiest avoid vegetable oil. 

Can diabetics, heart patients and over weight individuals have Tomato Upma ?

No, the issue is Rava which will spike your blood sugar. 

Can healthy individuals have Tomato Upma?

Yes, but in restricted quantity and try and have more healthy food with this meal.

What is a healthier option to Tomato Upma ?

We suggest using quinoa veg upma recipe which has ZERO rava in it. 

Quinoa Veg Upma, Vegan Breakfast

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. 

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. 

Tomato Upma is high in

1. Vitamin C :  Vitamin C is a great defence against coughs and colds.

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 213 calories that come from Tomato Upma?

Walking (6 kmph) = 1hr 4 mins

Running (11 kmph) = 21 mins

Cycling (30 kmph) = 28 mins       

Swimming (2 kmph) = 37 mins

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