This guide focuses on balanced eating the Pakistani way. Our balanced plate guidance, recipe ideas, and meal tweaks, will hopefully help you in staying true to your traditions and values whilst creating a healthier lifestyle for you.
Protein
Protein makes up 1/4 of your balanced plate, and here are some protein sources staple in Pakistan:
Chicken
Lamb and Mutton
Goat
Paneer
Yoghurt
Tandoori meat (grilled meat)
Keema (minced meat)
Chapli Kebab
Variety of nuts and seeds
Eggs
Fish
Gosht (meat)
Meat curries like Salan, Karahi, or Malai Boti
Complex Carbohydrates
Carbohydrates should comprise 25% of your balanced plate.
Try to opt for complex carbohydrates as much as possible, which contain more fibre, vitamins, and minerals. This will keep you fuller for longer and help stabilise your glucose levels after eating.
Remember, boiling or baking some of these carbohydrate foods can be much healthier than traditional cooking methods like frying.
Some carbohydrate options include:
Breads:
Chapati/Roti
Naan
Puri (deep-fried bread)
Paratha (stuffed bread)
Missi roti (spiced roti)
Makki roti (made from cornflour)
Thepla (spiced roti)
Kulcha (layered flatbread)
Other carbohydrate sources include:
Dhokla (steamed gram flour cake)
Dahl (lentils)
Chole (chickpeas)
Chawal (rice)
Mogo (cassava)
Papadh (poppadom)
Aloo (potatoes)
Biryani
Vegetables
Try to make up 1/2 a plate of these colourful vegetable options:
Gobi (cauliflower)
Saag (spinach)
Baingan Bharta (aubergine)
Kadu (courgettes and squash)
Kerela (bitter gourd)
Gajar (carrot)
Mutter (peas)
Pindi (okra)
Various vegetables can be added to curries, rice, parathas, samosas, bhajis, yoghurt (to make raita) and sabji (a dry and spicy vegetable dish).
We also aim for 1-2 portions of fruit a day. A portion is roughly 80g of fruit or 2-3 tablespoons.
Fats
Including at least one serving of fat with each meal ensures the meal is satisfying and filling.
Here are some fat sources typical in a Pakistani diet:
Ghee
Butter
Full-fat yoghurt
Paneer Cheese
Cream
Nuts
Coconut oil
Try to keep your intake of trans fat low. These can be found in deep-fried foods such as chevda (fried snacks), pakoras and bhajis, and samosas.
Trans fat can contribute to the development of chronic conditions such as heart disease and type 2 diabetes when eaten in excess.
Following this, we’ve created a Pakistani balanced plate for you to use as a guide when bringing these food groups together to make a meal:
Here’s what your balanced plate could look like:
1/4 of your plate comes from complex carbs such as potatoes, rice, chapatis, or paratha
1/2 of your plate comes from vegetables such as dry vegetable sabji, salad, or steamed/cooked vegetables
1/4 of your plate comes from protein such as meat, chicken, fish, paneer, lentils and beans (bear in mind, these will count towards your complex carbs too), and Greek yoghurt.
Second Nature Recipes
Here are some Second Nature Recipes with a Pakistani influence:
Spiced roast chicken (Sajji)
Here are some traditional recipes from Pakistani culture and and nearby regions:
In addition, here are some other traditional Pakistani flavours and recipes that are Second Nature friendly:
Breakfast
Lunch
Dinner
Snacks
Drinks
Dips and sauces
Dessert
Salads
How to balance Pakistani meals
Some of our Second Nature coaches have provided some top tips on making healthier tweaks to a traditional Pakistani meal:
Make thinner, smaller rotis
Use wholemeal flour for rotis
Increase vegetables and protein with each meal, e.g., adding meat, fish, and eggs to curries, using yoghurt instead of cream, and adding vegetables to rice and curries.
Have 1-2 dishes per meal or thali only
Practice nutritional label reading
Bake or air fry instead of deep-frying snacks and portion these
Use cauliflower rice, brown rice, or basmati rice. Mix wholegrain and refined rice 50/50, or swap to wholegrain rice a few days a week.
If you are after some Pakistani meal ideas, here are some suggestions
Dahl with Greek yoghurt and mixed vegetable sabji
Any vegetable curry (if you add potato to this, remember it will count towards your carb intake) with chapati and Greek yoghurt
Paneer curry with wholegrain rice and peas
Add more fibre to meals using wholegrains and legumes.
For example, Nihari is a popular Pakistani beef or lamb stew, often eaten for breakfast.
To make Nihari healthier, you could thicken the stew with whole-wheat flour, oat flour, or rolled oats for added dietary fibre.
Similar tweaks can be made to this haleem recipe:
https://www.thebigsweettooth.com/oats-haleem-easy-haleem/#recipe
Or with Pulao, which is rice cooked in a meat broth with dried fruit and carrots - try to add more vegetables than dried fruit to make it higher in fibre and lower in sugar.
You can also increase the protein in this dish by adding soya chunks, moong daal or paneer, making a balanced one-pot meal.
Celebrations
We know big parties are a big part of Pakistani celebrations and festivals. Most functions have buffet-style settings or table service where dishes are brought to your table to share.
Here are some tips you can keep in mind for these occasions:
Go for the sabji or salad option for half your plate
Enjoy what you fancy in moderate portions, such as samosas, aloo tikki chaat, and pakoras. If you want to try a few things out, keep the portions small for them to prevent overeating.
Mindful eating: Eat slowly, enjoy, and register fullness cues. You might not need more than one plate or have to return for seconds when dishes have been refilled on the table.
Share desserts if you truly want one
Drink lots of water
Try to stick to one plate of food unless you still feel hungry after 15-20 minutes of eating
Most functions will end with boxed sweets/mithai. These are loaded with sugar, syrups, sweetened condensed milk, and other forms of sugar. Consider re-gifting some of your boxed sweets to neighbours or taking them to work for others to enjoy.
Moderate your intake of sweet drinks (such as masala chai), as these are generally high in sugar. Opt for Soda/sparkling water flavoured with mint, lemon/lime or other fruit as a healthy alternative.
Enjoy fruit, crushed nuts, rosewater, cardamom, cinnamon, or coconut for sweet flavours in cooking and baking instead of sugar and jaggery.