Train Travel in India is an experience relished by everyone. However, Summer can be a fun-spoiler especially when ordering food on the train. With rising temperatures it is important that you choose your train foods carefully and pay great attention to what you consume.
Light and Healthy train foods are your best bet to deal with the scorching summers. Oil-rich and heavy foods can make you feel sluggish, tired and bloated. Light food options keep you active, hydrated and refreshed.
Why Light and Healthy Train Foods are Good for Summer
Indian Summers are notorious for their high temperatures. Our bodies naturally lose water and energy during such heat. Heavy junk foods add on to the misery by further dehydrating the body and making us feel tired.
Light and Healthy food in train have several advantages that make them perfect for long journeys:
- Keeps you Hydrated: Water rich food items like Fruits and Curd provides the body with essential nutrients and helps compensate for the fluids lost due to the high heat.
- Keeps you fresh and energetic: Unlike Oily and heavy food items, light food items don’t make you lethargic. On the contrary, they keep you refreshed and keep you energetic for a longer duration.
- Reduced food wastage: Light and Healthy train foods stay fresh for a longer duration of time and reduces the chance of any food wastage.
Now that we have discussed the advantages of Light and Healthy train foods, let’s not waste any time and head on directly to the best food options during Summer.
Best Train Foods to Order This Summer
Curd Rice
Curd Rice is a quintessential South Indian delicacy which has now become a popular train foods for travellers across the country. This simple and wholesome dish is composed of very humble ingredients.
Steamed Rice is mixed with a creamy combination of Curd, Mustard Seeds and Curry Leaves. Garnishing of finely sliced cucumber pieces and Pomegranate adds another layer of freshness and converts the dish into a chill bonanza.
This pure vegetarian food items has several benefits during summers:
- Natural cooling effect: Curd has a natural cooling effect on the body
- Nutrient Rich: Rice contains Carbohydrates which keeps the body energetic. Curd on the other hand contains Proteins and Calcium which aids in Muscle Maintenance and Bone Health.
- Easy on the tummy: Curd Rice contains curd which is also a probiotic and improves gut health.
As you peek through your window and look onto the gorgeous view passing by, a bowl of Curd rice can be the most soothing experience during summers.
Fruit Salad
There are hardly any train foods that come close to the Fruit Salad, for consumption in summers. This combo of seasonal fruits such as Mango, Banana, Oranges, Watermelon, Papaya, Pineapple and many other fruits would give you a spike of energy, freshness and nutrition.
Some benefits of choosing Fruit Salad during summer:
- Hydration Punch: Fruit Salad contains up to 90% water content and keeps your body hydrated and energetic.
- Nutrient nourishment: Fruits contain vital nutrients such as vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, Potassium, natural sugars and fibers.
- Easily Digestible: This dish is completely organic with no requirement of cooking and is gentle on your stomach.
Fruit Salad is the perfect fit for people looking to order Light and Healthy food items on the train. Travelers can also choose this dish if they want Pure Vegetarian or Jain food on the train.
Sprout Salad
Sprout Salad is a fiber rich, crunchy and organic Summer food which every health-conscious traveller should opt for. Composed of sprouted Moong, Chana and other legumes, this dish is often garnished with lemon juice, chat masala, black pepper, rock salt and mint.
This tasty bowl will leave you in awestruck and wanting for more. Here are some of the advantages of this dish that make it a summer superfood:
- Plant based protein for Sustained energy: Sprout Salad is rich in fibers and protein. Unlike carb-heavy food items, this keeps you refreshed and energetic for longer.
- Antioxidants and Micronutrients: Sprouts are rich in Vitamin A, C, K AS as well as Folate and Magnesium. This boosts immunity and keeps you safe when travelling through crowded trains or railway platforms.
- Digestion aiding enzymes: Sprouts contain enzymes that help break down food easily and aids in digestion. This becomes vital when going for a long train journey.
Sprout Salad is one of the most healthy and fulfilling food items you could choose for train food delivery. It also happens to be an affordable alternative for Fruit Salad.
Poha
Poha, the unsung hero of Indian Cuisines can be your perfect train partner this summer. The dish is a light blend of soaked and cooked flattened rice, spices, ginger, tomatoes, herbs, curry leaves, lemon juice, slices of cucumber, peanuts and even pomegranate.
Benefits of consuming Poha during summers:
- Low Glycemic Index: Poha has a Low Glycemic Index. This means that your blood sugar doesn’t spike after intake.
- Prevents Motion Sickness: Many people suffer from Motion Sickness on trains. Poha is a natural remedy for such people as it acts as a mild stomach stabilizer.
- Balances salt level: Our body suffers Sodium loss due to excessive sweating during the summers. Poha contains salt which helps balancing the lost salt levels.
The dish emanating from Maharashtra has become a common breakfast meal across the country. However, this light and tasty train food can be consumed any time of the day without you feeling bloated or full.
Lemon Rice
Lemon Rice is another South Indian contribution to this list. This tangy dish consisting of fresh rice, flavored with lime juice, handful of peanuts and curry leaves for garnishing, will leave you fresher than a big glass of espresso.
This bowl full of limey freshness is one of the perfect train foods to try this summer. This tasty tango of peanuts and rice has several benefits apart from its top notch aroma:
- Brightens your mood: The busy Railway Stations, crowded boarding and constant noise can make travellers feel low on energy and mood. Lemon contains Vitamin C and reduces Cortisol, our body’s stress causing hormones.
- Boosts Skin Health: Vitamin C in lemon helps produce Collagen which helps in Skin elasticity.
- Enhances Iron Absorption: Lemon Rice helps in easy absorption of nonheme iron which is found in plant based foods. If consumed with iron rich foods, Lemon Rice can enhance the iron absorption in our bodies.
Lemon Rice is a refreshing combination of taste and health benefits. Whether you are travelling on a train for a long journey or on a short trip, Lemon Rice is a wholesome dish that never disappoints.
Drinks Option You can Pair with Train Foods
We have discussed the best train foods to order during summers. But do you know what is more interesting than your food? A beverage to pair it with.
Here are some of the drinks you can pair with your food order in train:
- Curd Rice with Buttermilk: Buttermilk is a natural digestive and cooling which makes it a perfect fit with Curd Rice.
- Fruit Salad with Coconut Water: Coconut is a natural energizer filled with electrolytes making it the best partner of Fruit Salad.
- Sprout Salad with Lemonade: The citrus lemonade and earthy flavors of a Sprout Salad are a perfect match which aids in digestion and provides ample protein.
- Poha with Masala Chai: The sweet and refreshing Masala Chai goes well with the savoury taste of Poha. The combo can be the perfect start for your mornings.
- Lemon Rice with Aam Panna: The sweet-sour taste of Aam Panna and citrusy blast of Lemon Rice is a refreshing duo which will keep you refreshed as well as hydrated.
Conclusion
Choosing the right train foods during summer is crucial for a comfortable and enjoyable journey. Who wants to board the train to their long sought travel destination only to feel bloated and fatigued?
Right food options that are light and healthy for your body are the perfect way to go. Dishes like Curd Rice, Fruit Salads, Sprout Salads, Poha and Curd Rice satiate your taste buds while providing ample nutrients to beat the heat.
So, the next time you board a train this summer, choose RailRestro’s recommended list of train foods and stay ahead of the heat. Stay cool, stay energized and enjoy your rail journey to the fullest with the right food in train.