Light Dinner Suggestions

According to the time-tested principles of Ayurvedic medicine eating heavy hard to digest foods at night is the seed for all disorders – from fatigue, excess weight through to serious disease.

These problems are magnified if also eating late. Eating a ‘light’ dinner (according to appetite) reasonably early (digested by the time you go to bed) is one of the single most important things you can do for your lifelong health, happiness and personal performance.

GUIDELINES:

Where possible dinner is ideally ‘meat–free’ (avoiding cheese/heavy sweets also good), however this should only be done very gradually.

If cutting out meat entirely from your evening meal is not practical for you to begin with, realise that all meats are not digested the same – if you are going to eat meat at night

  • favour ‘lighter’ meats – fish, turkey, chicken and

  • avoid ‘heavier’ meats – pork, lamb, beef etc

* A piece of grilled fish and vegies is much better than a steak or pork chops.

GOING MEAT-FREE

If you are in the habit of eating meat at night, it is not necessary to immediately withdraw it from the evening meal (or easy to know how to substitute for it). The following can be used
while you get used to lighter (meat-free) dinners.

Instead of eliminating meat completely, start by simply reducing the quantity of meat.

E.g. rather than a full steak; eat ¾- then ½, then ¼ etc.

Aim to just gradually increase the number of meat-free dinners – E.g if meat-free twice a week now, increase to 3 times a week, then 4 times etc.

When happy to eat ‘meat-free’ – options include:

  • Cous cous

  • Pasta or Rice (with tomato based sauce, dahl as sauce – or very light cheese sauce)

  • Khichari (rice and dahl cooked together – recipe available)

  • Noodle dishes – stir-fries etc

  • Soups – vegetable, pumpkin, dahl/lentil soups etc etc

*** Note; this is just a guide – basically there is no restriction other than that your meal should be largely digested by the time you go to sleep.

Generally, if you wake-up in the morning feeling ‘light’, clear and refreshed – dinner was appropriate. If you wake-up feeling heavy, sluggish or dull – you may need to lighten your dinner, eat earlier and/or get to bed earlier.

These recommendations are based on the eternal, universal principles governing human digestion – without question, the more you follow them the healthier you will be and the better you will feel!

RecipesMark Bunn