When you are following a healthy eating plan in order to lose pregnancy weight, you might think that enjoying some Indian food wouldn’t be an option.
Even though Indian food looks like it should be relatively healthy with all of that meat, vegetables, pulses and salads – the way it’s cooked can negate all of the health benefits from the ingredients.
It is often cooked in ghee which is clarified butter, and many dishes go heavy on sugar, cream or coconut cream.
But the good news is that there are some dishes that you can choose from an Indian restaurant or home delivery that won’t undo all of your hard work.

Entrees

Quite often pappadums are placed on the table before you’ve even ordered, and it’s easy to just eat them mindlessly.
But just two of those fried goodies and you’re looking at 250 calories – that’s before you’ve loaded them up with dips or chutneys.
Many Indian entrees are deep fried (think samosas, onion bhajis or curry puffs). These are best avoided when you are trying to lose pregnancy weight. Save yourself for a main course instead, or go for a grilled meat skewer style entrée.

Main meals

Mains to avoid are those that are cooked in butter, coconut cream or cream. Dishes such as Butter Chicken, Rogan Josh, Korma and Chicken Tikka Masala are some examples that are best left alone.
Try to go for the less saucy options as these tend to have less likelihood of cream or sugar being added.
Things like Tandoori Chicken are a great ‘dry’ option. Tandoori options are cooked in a clay oven and a lot of their flavour comes from the smokiness of the oven. They tend to be marinated in spices and yoghurt rather than butter or cream.
Some good options are the kebab style grilled meats that are often marinated in fresh herbs, onion, lemon and spices.
Many Indian restaurants prepare lovely fish or prawn dishes that are only lightly marinated and grilled. These are a great option.
Anything with the words ‘deep fried’ in the description is best avoided for obvious reasons.

Side dishes

Those seemingly innocent side dishes such as a biryani rice are fried and are very high in calories. You are better off with some plain boiled rice (ask for brown rice if they have it) or better still just fill up on the veggies.
A naan bread feels like a treat to mop up the lovely sauce, but it is also a high calorie option (around 250-300 cals).

Making Indian food at home

Another great option is to make your own Indian food at home. This way you can control what goes in and what stays out. Plus you can bulk it up with more veggies or pulses to add even more nutrition.
We love:

• Chicken Tikka Masala
• Pumpkin Lentil and Pea Curry
• Spicy Lamb Meatball Curry (pictured above)
• Prawn Spinach Curry
• Simple Lamb Curry (pictured right)
• Tandoori Fish Fillets
• Prawn Coconut Curry

If you want to lose pregnancy weight and would enjoy 28 days of meal plans, recipes and exercises to do – why not join our next 28 Day Weight Loss Challenge?

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