There’s no doubt that one of the hardest part of the fasting day might not even be going without food, but going without water. That’s why it’s super important to hydrate during the non-fasting hours, all throughout those hours. It’s easy to remember to do if you make a huge jar of a natural, hydrating drink and keep it on hand to fill up large cups to drink after eating the Iftar meal, take it on the go to the taraweeh prayers, and more.
I made this wonderful large jar of fruity coconut water earlier in the day, refrigerated it and took it out at Iftar time. I drink as much as I can throughout the night and before it’s time to stop eating and drinking once again. Use fresh fruits you have on hand, the best coconut water you can find (or just water) and fresh herbs from your garden to make it extra special and refreshing.
This past Ramadan I got really used to drinking smoothies at iftar and sometimes even at suhoor. Now here were are a couple of months out, and they are very much still on my radar, especially since I’ve frozen so much of the fruit that was leftover and still gets left over from weekly shopping. But what I decided to do this time around was to make packs of fruits, combining the ones I wanted to have together in a smoothie since it’s just easier to take it right out of the bag and add the things you can’t necessarily freeze so well. Here’s what I do:
Gather your favorite fruits, freshest fruits, most seasonal fruits and think about what combos you’d like to prepare in a smoothie. Then, get proper freezing bags, plus think about what liquids you’d like to add to the smoothies once they’re prepared fresh (I don’t actually advise freezing milk, yogurt, coconut water or any creams but just showed them here for visual purposes).
Mark the bags, using freezer tape and nice and bright markers like Sharpies, which don’t bleed when cold or frozen.
I personally like to combine dates with figs, dates with apricots, figs with bananas, pineapple with banana and coconut flakes.
Proportionally, I bag enough for one or two, but not more than that at a time so that they’re easy for everyone in the house to make their one when they want, especially for breakfast.
For example, I put 2 large figs (cut in half so that when they’re frozen they’re easy on the blender), 1/2 banana, 1/2 cup whole milk. Really delicious and makes about 12 ounces of a very smooth smoothie when blended until all the lumps are gone.
One last word of advice is to use whole milk products such as whole-milk yogurt so that the resulting drink isn’t too watery. Coconut water is so excellent in smoothies, too, but you almost never need as much as you think because the fruits have so much water in them, too, especially after they’ve been frozen.
I’m not really sure where I got the inspiration for this ‘green smoothie’ recipe, but I think it was the multitude of magazines and sites online talking about detoxing. I am not big on fad diets or any kind of dieting at all, really- just overall healthy eating as a lifestyle and something that is committed to through a definite change in habits.
And the detox regiment that comes with Ramadan with full instruction: fast from dusk until dawn, not even a sip of water. If that’s not giving the body’s digestive system a rest, i don’t know what is.
Combine that with eating super healthy real food when you actually are eating, and you’re giving your body a whole lot of TLC. That’s why I love this smoothie and would have it either for suhoor or iftar as a starter. Either time of day when you’re fasting for about 17 hours, as we are now, is going to be really nice.
Here are some of the super healthy ingredients I used:
I use frozen strawberries, but you can use fresh strawberries and then some ice. I also use fresh spinach, fresh pineapple, mango and banana.
First add the most difficult to break apart- whether it’s ice or something frozen, in this case the strawberries. You technically could also use frozen pineapple, banana, spinach, etc. Just adjust the ingredients amount a bit because if more than one item is frozen, it’ll be a lot more watery than this recipe.
So, in go the strawberries first. Aren’t they beautiful?
I love them also because they’re organic (thank you, Costco).
Next add the second most difficult to break up, the pineapple.
The pineapple should be diced, to make it easier. It’s such a fibrous fruit, subhanAllah. And oh, so good for you since it has all those wonderful digestive enzymes. Great for a fasting person since it aids in the digestion of other foods you’ll have during non-fasting hours, insha’Allah.
Add the mango, which should be chopped or diced. We’re getting to the softer ingredients, as you can see.
Next the bananas. I love how they just slide right in…
They are there for the taste and texture, making it sort of thick.
Add the spinach leaves are last, but not least. It’s what makes this drink so…special. I know you might not want to put spinach in this, but you must. Seriously, you have to try it if you’ve never done this before. I promise you it won’t taste like you’re eating grass. Doesn’t it all look so pretty in the blender? That makes it more appealing, for sure. And the leafy greens are just hiding innocently at the top hoping you don’t take them out at the last minute.
Blend away, blend away. It gets greener…it does. I just wanted to show you the pretty pink color first.
Because this is the final result. Definitely a green smoothie.
The first time I ever had Keema (that wonderful Indian-spiced ground beef dish) was during one of my very first Suhoor (pre-dawn) meals with family friends. I was invited to spend the weekend with them in Chicago during Ramadan. I had no idea whatsoever that people actually ate savory foods for a meal so early in the morning.
If you live anywhere in California or nearby, you’ve probably heard of date milkshakes and the pretty well-known stands at farms and orchards who sell them. I have lived in California, driven through it many times from all different angles and have never tried one, but I’ve heard plenty about them.
A date shake perfect for iftar, and a great way to incorporate dates into your diet (more…)
For some reason, during Ramadan I tend to see, make, eat and enjoy appetizers the most. It’s nice to have something light but substantial at the initial breaking of the fast, but it’s more than that for me. Maybe it’s because when the fast-breaking time comes every evening, it’s one of the sweetest moments I experience (whether the appetizer is sweet or savory). I love biting into something I can hear crunch, maybe because it then actually feels like the sound of food. I’m not sure what it is, but I enjoy it.
One last word of advice is to use whole milk products such as whole-milk 
