15 Indian Breakfast Options That Must Be Avoided

Many studies have proved that breakfast is the most important meal of the day and it has to be made a power meal. By power meal, they mean that it should have balanced amount of carbohydrates, high amount of fibre, protein, vitamins, minerals, iron and other nutrients. People often say that the breakfast needs to be a king sized meal, lunch like a common man’s meal and dinner has to be like that of a beggar’s. But this notion has been misconstrued as people have designed a king size breakfast menu without taking a note of the health quotient.

When it comes to Indians, we all have the habit of filling our stomachs till we feel like it would explode after having all those three meals of the day. The sad part is that we fill ourselves with food stuffs that are devoid of nutrition and are rather too much fried or cooked or filled with preservatives. In fact, having those butter rich food has become a matter of pride for people and they find it awkward looking at people who live on salads and other healthy options.

We have gradually adopted the ‘live to eat’ approach that is causing a havoc on our health. It is because of our unhealthy food culture that India is populated with people who are obese, diabetic, heart patients, etc. In fact, India is the diabetic capital of the world. Every disease is linked to what we eat. If we eat right now, then we can save ourselves from a future where all our savings would get exhausted in settling medical bills. If you wish to live a healthy lifestyle, give your breakfast menu a makeover by replacing these 15 Indian breakfast options that must be avoided with healthy substitutes so that you ensure a healthier future:

1. Rice Idli

Since decades, people have been advocating to have steamed food in breakfast instead of fried. But they mistakenly think that rice idlis fall in the category of a healthy breakfast. These idlis are made from white rice, which is one of the causes why you put on weight. Though steamed or fried, idlis can be had occasionally if you are a health conscious person. However, recently people have started opting for the ragi, rava and oats idli that are way too healthier than rice idlis.

2. Vada Pav

Who can resist this awesome, spicy and aromatic delicacy from the Maharashtrian platter? Of course, you cannot control your temptation even when you are not hungry. Vada is made from potato fillings coated with gram flour batter and sandwiched between a slit pav or salted bun. A single vada pav can provide you with a mighty 200 to 250 calories along with high amounts of fat and cholesterol. This is an extremely spicy snack that can take a toll on your stomach within hours of eating. Moreover, if you practise eating vada pav outside, then the cheap quality ingredients and poor hygiene will invite many diseases for you.

3. Parathas

North Indians often prefer parathas in breakfast as they are apt at satisfying the morning hunger pangs. But often the parathas are made by mixing wheat and refined flour owing to which you may face difficulties in digesting those heavy carbohydrates in them. Moreover, loathing them butter and ghee just makes them even unhealthier. Just don’t let your breakfast become a slow poison for your body. Make simple wheat, ragi, jowar and bajra parathas with less oil and have small quantities of such foodstuffs.

4. Medu Vada

One of the most loved snacks from South India that seems to enjoy increasing number of fan following across the nation. But this deep fried delicacy is rich in saturated and transfats with high cholesterol ensuring that they are unhealthy to the core. Additionally, it contains black gram lentils, which are difficult to breakdown in the body. You need to ditch these yummy medu vadas as two pieces of them provides you with whopping 334 calories. Rather go for some easy to digest breakfast options.

5. Puri Sabzi

People in the Northern and Western India are very fond of having puris in their breakfast and lately, people have invented so many recipes of puris that are actually lip-smacking. But these deep fried puris have nothing but varieties of fats and cholesterol that can have hazardous effects on our health till we reach even 40s. In fact, puris are a major cause why people suffer from acidity and heart burn issues.

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6. Bread Toast

Getting late to the office and having nothing available to eat in the kitchen? Then just gorging onto the bread toast with blobs of butter seems to be your saviour. But remember, bread is made from refined flour, which is very high in carbohydrates and is unsuitable for people leading a sedentary lifestyle. Moreover, butter is rich in fats and cholesterol. Combining the two is the recipe of a perfect health disaster.

7. Noodles

No doubt Maggi has been banned and is predicting to return soon, but yet there are other noodle manufacturers who are pitching their stuff as a healthier option for breakfast. Since it is quick and easy to prepare, most of us blindly resort to having them without taking notice that they are made from refined flour. Even if they claim their noodles to be made from wheat or ragi, they are loaded with preservatives and they have no freshness and no nutrition in them.

8. Fried Eggs

Eggs are a good source of protein and gives you lots of energy if you have them in breakfast. But the process of frying kills out all the essential nutrients and all you have in your plate is a food rich in taste and poor in terms health. Start consuming boiled eggs if you really want to give yourself a protein boost in the morning.

9. Chole Bhature

Chole bhature is one of the most popular food stuffs in the North India and is even unhealthier than puris. Bhature is made from refined flour while the chole preparation comprises of high quantity of oil. You won’t believe that you can fulfil half of your daily calorie requirement just with one plate of chole bhature. Still thinking of having them in breakfast?

10. Masala Dosa

Don’t believe if someone recommends you to have masala dosa in breakfast. They are made with white rice and is made with oodles of vegetable oil. Moreover, you get inside a high calorie potato preparation that is fried. Eating them will only give you more and more reasons to become fat. Instead go for rava or oats dosas made with olive oil in a non stick pan. They are comparatively healthier option.

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11. Samosa & Pakoras

Samosas and pakoras are the all time favourite option for people who are always in a rush. These yummy but deeply fried food items consist of all the ingredients necessary to get you in shackles of obesity, high blood pressure issues, heart problems, etc. With refined flour, oil and potatoes, you are getting yourself readied for a distorted lifestyle.

12. Kachori

People especially in Rajasthan don’t think twice before eating one or two kachoris in breakfast as they believe that all you need to work is energy, which they find in these cheap foodstuffs. Besides causing gastric issues in your stomach, those kachoris have no nutrition value as they get lost in the process of frying.

13. Namkeen

This is the favourite pass time of Indians and most of the Indian snacks such as pohas and upmas come garnished with namkeen in various parts of the country. Namkeens contain lots of preservatives so that they have long shelf life but these preservatives cause a rise in the level of LDL or bad cholesterol in the body. Abstain from gorging onto namkeens every time you feel like having something.

14. Fafda-Jalebi

The famous Gujarati breakfast dish that is actually a deadly combination of a fried snack and a sugar coated dessert. Fafda is a farsan that is mainly unhealthy because it is prepared in oil that has been already used several times. Moreover jalebi is first deep fried and then is coated with thick sugar syrup. Both the dishes are extremely unhealthy and including them in your breakfast menu will ensure that your digestive system gets weak sooner along with other health disorders.

15. Cereals

Since last few decades, we came to believe that a breakfast filled with cereals gives us the right nutritional and energy kick while maintaining our weight. Moreover, when cereals are had with milk, then we assume to have calcium included in our breakfast. Recently, many researches proved that the cereals we love to have in our breakfast is actually coated with lots of preservatives that does not get digested in our stomachs forming a thin coating inside causing multiple disorders in stomach in the long run.