Eating Chana Dal in various ways helps in reducing your sugar levels

Chana Dal has low GI and hence is a MUST in your Kitchen shelf.

Wednesday, October 19, 2016

Eating Chana Dal in various ways helps in reducing your sugar levels

Chana Dal has low GI and hence is a MUST in your Kitchen shelf.

That, there is a direct connection between what you eat and your sugar levels has been experienced by me, several times. If you eat a relatively carbohydrate-free diet and have foods with a low Glycemic Index (GI), your sugar levels will come to normal, even slide below that.

Chana Dal has a very low glycemic index value, with low fat and high protein. It also contains good amounts of iron, B vitamin, calcium and is low in fat. In fact, most of us in India always store Chana Dal and Besan in our kitchen, but I never gave it so much importance as I do now. My mother used to always tell me that chana dal and besan are very heavy to digest and that it creates flatulence. So, I rarely used it in my diet. However, now that I have completely given up wheat, I've realised that Chana Dal and Besan are totally digestible. They admirably keep your numbers low, so please make them as your best friends in the kitchen.

As per my experience, if you combine wheat and chana dal/ besan, it is very heavy. for example, Dal Pakwan, the Sindhi cuisine or Maharashtrian `pithla' (if it is eaten with chapatis). With bhakri, `Pithla' is totally digestible. Like I said, try not to have any Carbohydrates until lunch time. Bread of course has to be forgotten if you want to reduce your sugar levels (my toaster now is relegated to the store room).  Instead, make Besan cheelas for breakfast. Add chana dal in vegetables like snake gourd, turi (ridge gourd) and make chutney out of soaked chana dal with freshly grated coconut, green chillies, a dash of garlic, salt and lemon. Remember an important point - most of the Besan available in the market is mixed with corn flour (corn and corn flour are very bad for Diabetes). Tragically, the government permits this mixing of corn flour to besan. So, ideally, you should get the chana dal ground from your nearby flour mill. I know that is a pain, so when I'm lazy to do that, I find that the `Samrat' brand of Besan seems purer than others.

What to snack on? Your kitchen must have Rajgira, Mahabaleshwar chanas and roasted peanuts

The main secret in Diabetes is to have a nutritious food but that which is easily digestible. I go out of the house everyday at 10 a m and return at 8 pm or so. Hence, I used to carry two snacks besides lunch and they used to be like Besan Cheelas or dhoklas or sometimes I used to indulge in bhel (without the murmura as that is part of the rice family). Although I would enjoy them, I found that they were a bit heavy for an early evening snack, unless sometimes, when I used to very hungry at that time. So, now I have discovered Rajgira (not the chikki which contains sugar or gur, only the flakes) which is so high in protein and calcium and feather light to digest. So, what I do is fill up 200 ml bottle with Rajgira flakes and whenever I feel hungry after lunch or before lunch (with Nitric Oxide salad breakfast you may be hungry after an hour or two) or in the evening, I pour a palm-ful from the bottle and have it. You have to get used to eating it - I simply love it now. Over and above, fistful of Mahabaleshwar chanas and roasted peanuts are great evening snacks. Definitely store them in your kitchen. And if you really feel hungry around 4or 5 pm, I also indulge in onion pakoras made out of besan or moong dal pakodas. Diet when you have Diabetes should be delicious and one that gives you joy and happiness. 

Moong dal, Whole Moong and  Chilkewali Moong Dal

Moong Dal is of course known to all as the lightest protein - nourishing when you take ill. However, along with that, store whole moong and chilkewali moong dal in your kitchen. Whole moong for making sprouts for your Nitric Oxide salad. When you feel lazy, buy the sprouts from outside, otherwise make them out of whole moong. Simple way - soak 2 cups in the morning. At night, remove the water and tie up tightly with a muslin cloth, put it in the utensil you have soaked in. Put a lid and keep it overnight in your Micro Oven. Great sprouts. Do the same for Matki. Besides, Besan cheelas, you can make delicious chilkewali moong dal dosas for your breakfast. You can make lovely khichadi with chilkewali moong dal and brown rice. You can also add it to palak or methi and make lip-smacking dal with a nice tadka of garlic and red chillies. Remember, Diabetes means, having delicious food.

If you have to eat wheat, then go for Khapli Wheat

That, Wheat is the major cause for Diabetes is gaining ground. Not only have I experienced it, but that wheat is a cause of other disorders too is being well established. Do read this post by Dr William Davis, (cardiologist, /author/crusader) who says ``"Let’s be clear on this: Grains and sugars CAUSE type 2 diabetes. Wheat is the worst of all grains and therefore wheat causes diabetes. (Wheat also causes type 1 diabetes...The amylopectin A “complex” carbohydrate of wheat, given its unusual susceptibility to digestion by the salivary and stomach enzyme, amylase, raises blood sugar to sky-high levels. You know my line: Two slices of whole wheat bread raise blood sugar higher than 6 teaspoons of table sugar. (And, no, it does NOT mean eat white bread!)'' (http://www.wheatbellyblog.com)

Khapli Wheat or Emmer wheat is our traditional, desi wheat and is not genetically modified like the wheat that we get in the market.  It is darker and has a longer grain. It's atta is not at all sticky. It leaves your fingers easily when you knead it. Therefore, it does not stick to your stomach walls and hamper digestion. It is very tasty as well. I mostly have bhakris and once in a while have Khapli atta chapatis. Best is to make methi parathas of Khapli wheat. Tastes delicious! You get Khapli wheat atta in ABC Farms in Pune and leading stores like Chandan on M G Road, Pune. You can order online too. It costs between Rs.70 to Rs.100. I like the coarsely ground variety from ABC Farms. This atta has lot of husk in it.

You can read this article in the website www.authoritynutrition.com  which I folllow very closely for information on wheat. https://authoritynutrition.com/modern-wheat-health-nightmare/

Tomorrow: Lip-smacking Breakfast Recipes (dump that bread!)