Click here to view. Vegetable Fried Rice recipe. An all-time favourite tiffin treat, the Vegetable Fried Rice is a tasty and satiating one-dish meal, which can be made in minutes, but stays fresh for over five hours. The crunchy veggies add a splash of colours and myriad flavours to the dish, while the readily available sauces add an enjoyable pungency to it. The wide assortment of veggies and bean sprouts in the Fried Rice also ensure that your kids get ample nutrients.

Is Vegetable Fried Rice healthy?

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

Let's understand the Ingredients.

What's good.

1. Spring Onions : The sulfur compounds in spring onions are known to keep blood pressure under check. Here the sulfur compounds and antioxidant quercetin together help to keep blood sugar levels under control by increasing the production of insulin making it good for Diabetics. Spring onions have also been identified to lower cholesterol levels in the body. The vitamin C also puts you at less risk of heart disease. Being very low in calories and fat and encompassing a basketful of nutrients, they are looked upon as a weight loss vegetable too. See detailed benefits of spring onions. 

2. Capsicum (Bell Peppers) : Rich in vitamin C, capsicum protect and maintain the lining of the heart. Low glycemic index (40) colourful capsicum are immune boosters. Colourful capsicums are not only visually appealing but also good for your eyes too, as they contain antioxidant Lutein, which protects the eye from cataracts and degeneration of the eye. Capsicum is high in Folate or folic acid, which is important for rapid growth and multiplication of red blood cells and white blood cells in the bone marrow. See detailed benefits of capsicum. 

3. French Beans ( Fansi ) : French Beans is rich in folic acid.  A deficiency of folic acid can also lead to anaemia, as like iron they are equally necessary to make red blood cells. Without enough folic acid, you can get easily tired. Pregnant women can also benefit from its folic acid count. It’s effective to achieve weight loss, overcome constipation, control blood sugar levels,  treat high cholesterol as well as prevent cancer. See here for detailed 15 benefits of french beans. 

4. Carrots (gajjar) : Carrots have the nutrient Beta Carotene which is a form of Vitamin A, helps prevent deterioration of the eye as one gets older and prevents night blindness. Carrot is great for the eyes.They relieve constipation, lower blood pressure, have fibre and lower cholesterol. Read the 11 super benefiits of carrots and why to include in your daily diet.

5. Cabbage ( Patta Gobhi + Red Cabbage) : Cabbage is low in calories, relieves constipation, good for diabetics. Cabbage has high levels of flavonoids and anthocyanins and has long been used as a herbal medicine. Rich in Antioxidants in turn lowers the risk of infection and inflammation of the body due to eating processed foods. Red cabbage also called purple cabbage has slightly high levels of flavonoids and anthocyanins than green cabbage and has long been used as a herbal medicine. It has same health benefits to offer as the cabbage otherwise.See here all benefits of cabbage. 

6. 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.   

7. Bean Sprouts Benefits :  Bean Sprouts are one of the most complete and nutritional of all the foods that exist. With lots of dietary fiber to their credit, beans sprouts add bulk too stools and makes the passage of stools through the digestive tract easier. This helps to avoid constipation. With significant amounts of iron, beans sprouts help to maintain the red blood cell (RBC) count. A good RBC count means no sign of anaemia. Bean sprouts are a boon for heartpatients. They help maintain cholesterol levels and good for   diabetics. See detailed benefits of bean sprouts in bean sprouts glossary.

What's the problem?

1. Rice : Here are the pros for rice. Rice is a great source of complex carbohydrates, which is an important source of energy for our body. Rice is low in fibre and therefore a good option for people suffering from diarrhoea. What's not good in rice. Foods like rice are high in Glycemic index are not suitable for weight loss, heart patients,  diabetics as they affect the blood sugar control levels. See details of is white rice and parboiled rice good for you?

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 Vegetable Fried Rice?

No, this recipe is not good for diabetics, heart and weight loss.

Can healthy individuals have Vegetable Fried Rice?

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.

8.  Sleep early and get up early. Get your body into rhythm and it will function best. Sleep helps your body to recover.

Vegetable Fried Rice 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 198 calories that come from Vegetable Fried Rice?

Walking (6 kmph) = 59 mins

Running (11 kmph) = 20 mins

Cycling (30 kmph) = 26 mins          

Swimming (2 kmph) = 34 mins

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