How many calories does one serving of Nourishing Barley Soup have?
One serving of Vegetable Barley Soup gives 61 calories. Out of which carbohydrates comprise 38 calories, proteins account for 10 calories and remaining calories come from fat which is 13 calories. One serving of Nourishing Barley Soup provides about 3 percent of the total daily calorie requirement of a standard adult diet of 2,000 calories.
Click here to view. Nourishing Barley Soup recipe. Barley is a cereal that is not usually used in everyday cooking. It is however a great source of protein, iron and fibre and tastes good too, if cooked with flavourful ingredients as I have done in this broth. The combination of masoor dal along with barley i.e. a pulse with a cereal makes this soup a complete source of protein, which is otherwise lacking in a vegetarian diet. The vegetables add plenty of colour and fibre to this nourishing broth. Add freshly ground pepper towards the end to perk up this soup.
Is Vegetable Barley Soup healthy?
Yes, this is healthy. Made from barley, masoor dal, tomatoes, spring onions and pepper.
Let's understand the Ingredients.
What's good.
1. Barley (Jao) : Barley is diabetic and pregnancy friendly. A high fiber diet for years has been paired with reduced risk of heart disease. The fiber (2.73 g) from barley helps reduce blood cholesterol levels. Additionally folate, potassium and magnesium also work together to support a healthy heart. The B vitamins (thiamine, riboflavin and niacin) along with magnesium and potassium have been identified in supporting nerve health and lowering high blood pressure. See here for detailed benefits of barley.
2. 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.
3. Masoor Dal (split red lentils), Whole Massor : 1 cup off cooked Masoor dal gives 19 grams of protein. Being rich in Phosphorus it works with Calcium to build our bones. Whole Masoor or masoor dal is rich in Folate, Vitamin B9 or Folic Acid which helps your body to produce and maintain new cells, especially red blood cells. Masoor dal is is good for diabetics and a healthy heart. See detailed 10 health benefits of masoor dal.
4. 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.
5. 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.
6. Coriander (kothmir, dhania) : Coriander is a fresh herb often used as a flavour enhancer in Indian cooking. It is mainly used as a garnish. This is the best way to use it - no cooking. This preserves its vitamin C content which helps to build our immunity and bring that sparkle to the skin. The antioxidants vitamin A, vitamin C and the quercetin present in coriander works towards strengthening our immune system. Coriander is a fairly good source of iron and folate – the 2 nutrient which help in the production and maintenance of red blood cells in our blood. Good for reducing cholesterol and good for diabetics. Read 9 benefits of coriander to understand details.
Can diabetics, heart patients and over weight individuals have Vegetable Barley Soup ?
Yes. Barley is diabetic and pregnancy friendly. A high fiber diet for years has been paired with reduced risk of heart disease.
Can healthy individuals have Vegetable Barley Soup ?
Yes. This is a healthy soup. No cornflour or maida used. Tomatoes are extremely rich source of Lycopene. Tomatoes are a powerful antioxidant, super rich in Vitamin C, good for heart.
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. No activity reduces muscle tissue which will lead to muscke loss and all kinds of problems with that.
8. Sleep early and get up early. Get your body into rhythm and it will function best. Sleep helps your body to recover and makes you look much younger. Also getting good sleep prevent muscle loss.
Nourishing Barley Soup 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 61 calories that come from Nourishing Barley Soup?
Walking (6 kmph) = 18 mins
Running (11 kmph) = 6 mins
Cycling (30 kmph) = 8 mins
Swimming (2 kmph) = 10 mins
Note: These values are approximate and calorie burning differs in each individual.