Bottle Gourd for weight loss – Bottle Gourd recipes

Bottle gourd for weight loss? ………… yes, you got me right.

Bottle gourd is really effective in weight loss and I am going to share with you how. Before we start with that, let’s get to know what is bottle gourd.

Bottle gourd is a green vegetable and we use it in many different forms like curry, halwa, barfi, juice and many more. Bottle gourd really tastes amazing be it consumed as a curry or sweet. Bottle gourd’s scientific name is “Lagenaria siceraria” and it has many regional names in India such as ‘ghiya’, ‘dhoodhi’ and ‘lauki’. Lauki is the most commonly used name across India. Lauki can be found with a variety of shapes, they can be huge, rounded, small and bottle shaped. Usually you see them in bottle shape, which gives it the popular name. Bottle gourd is cheap and readily available vegetable, yet bottle gourd for weight loss, is amazingly effective. So, in this post we are going to share with you some delicious bottle gourd recipes which are not just yummy but will also lead to weight loss.

Table of content:

• Health Benefits of Bottle Gourd
• Bottle Gourd for Weight Loss
• Bottle Gourd recipes – Lauki juice
• Bottle Gourd Recipes – Lauki Raita
• Bottle Gourd Recipes – Lauki Curry

Bottle Gourd Benefits on Health

 Most amazing health benefits of bottle gourd is that it is full of water (about 92%) and minerals, that keeps your body hydrated. This explains why our grandma used to cook Lauki during summer; so that our body stays cool and hydrated. Lauki is rich source of Vitamin C, Vitamin K, Vitamin A, Vitamin B, Vitamin E and essential minerals like iron, sodium, calcium, zinc, magnesium and potassium.

Lauki is very easy to digest, helps in curing stomach problems like constipation, flatulence and piles. Lauki contains huge amount of water so it is one of the healthiest vegetables for diabetics and good for them who are recovering from illness and injury. With high content of sodium, potassium, essential minerals and trace elements, bottle gourd is very effective in maintaining healthy blood pressure reducing risk of heart diseases to a great extent. Lauki contains very low fat and cholesterol. Bottle gourd is good for alleviating bronchitis and asthma. Since, it is very low in calory, you will feel relaxed and cool after consuming lauki. Now a days, people are cooking lauki more often, after being more familiar with its health benefits.

Bottle Gourd for Weight Loss

if you are aiming to shed those extra kilos, you must go for lauki because it works wonder to reducing those extra flabs and keeping you healthy. Most of us are not aware that bottle gourd is very effective for weight loss. Even Ayurveda recommends that bottle gourd is an excellent source for weight loss and hence, bottle gourd for weight loss is gaining fast popularity in the fitness world. Lauki is full of water and packed with dietary fiber which keeps your tummy full for longer time. This super vegetable is powerful house of nutrients and very low in calory. 100 grams of lauki contains about 15 calories and 1 gram of fat. Now you have good reason to add lauki in your diet. Lauki is not only helpful in weight loss but is also good for skin and prevent hair loss.

Bottle gourd recipes

Having said that, I will now try to share different types of yummy yet healthy bottle gourd recipes:

Lauki Juice:

If you really want to reduce extra flabs try out this Lauki juice for weight loss. Lauki juice is great drink to keep your body cool. Best time to consume this juice is early morning – empty stomach every day. Lauki juice is full of fiber and that helps to keep your tummy full for longer time. Since, Lauki is diuretic in nature which help to flush out excess toxins from your body and hence it helps to reduce weight.

In this bottle gourd recipe juice I have added some extra powerful remedies which will help you to reach your goal

Ingredients:

• 1 small Lauki
• 7- 8 mint leaves
• 1 small piece of ginger
• 1 small amla
• ½ tsp lemon juice
• Chopped coriander leaves
• ¼ tsp black salt/ kala namak
• ¼ tsp black pepper
• 1 cup of water

Instructions:

• Take Lauki, peel it and cut into cubes
• Take 1 small cup or Lauki pieces
• Cut amla in to small piece and throw the seed out
• Now take a juice jar or a blending jar
• Put all the ingredients in to the blender
• Now blend the ingredients for 3-4 minutes
• Take the juice jar out
• Take a glass, strain the juice into the glass
• Finally, Lauki juice for weight loss is ready to consume.

Nutrition Facts
Serving size: 1 cup
Servings: 1
Amount per serving
Calories	20
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 0.2g	0%
Saturated Fat 0.1g	0%
Cholesterol 0mg	0%
Sodium 13mg	1%
Total Carbohydrate 4g	1%
Dietary Fiber 1.6g	6%
Total Sugars 0.1g
Protein 0.8g
Vitamin D 0mcg	0%
Calcium 55mg	4%
Iron 2mg	11%
Potassium 85mg

Note: Always use fresh Lauki to make lauki juice and avoid if it is bitter in taste. Do not keep Lauki juice for long time, it is important to consume Lauki juice immediately once you extract it because it has tendency of getting oxidized when exposed. Do not sieve Lauki juice as it drains away the essential fibers.

Read more: 3 Detox water for weight loss and flawless skin

Side effects of Bottle Gourd juice

1. Gastrointestinal problems: Excessive consumption of bottle gourd juice can result in digestive issues like diarrhoea, flatulence, and abdominal pain.
2. Toxicity: Bottle gourd contains a toxic substance called cucurbitacin. Consuming bottle gourd juice in excess can cause toxicity, which can lead to nausea, vomiting, and even death in extreme cases.
3. High blood sugar: Bottle gourd contains natural sugars in good quantity, which can result a spike in blood sugar levels in people with diabetes.
4. Allergic reactions: It’s fairly unlikely but some people may be allergic to bottle gourd juice and may experience symptoms like itching, hives, and difficulty breathing.
5. Mineral imbalances: Bottle gourd juice contains high levels of water and low levels of electrolytes like sodium, potassium, and magnesium. Drinking too much bottle gourd juice can lead to mineral imbalances in the body.

Though Bottle gourd juice is considered a magically healthy drink, but excessive consumption can result in some side effects, which we must be careful of.

Lauki Raita:

We generally consume raita during our lunch time so why not add some delicious and healthy Lauki raita for weight loss in your diet. Lauki raita is packed with nutrients and minerals, helps is losing weight. Let’s check out the lauki raita recipe (bottle gourd recipe – Raita)

Ingredients:

• 1cup grated bottle gourd
• 2 tbsp oats powder
• 1 cup curd
• Chopped coriander leaves
• ¼ tsp black pepper
• 1 chopped green chilly
• ¼tsp black salt
•  ¼ tsp roosted cumin seeds
• 1 pinch asafetida

Instructions:

• Boil grated Lauki for 10 minutes, once it cooks switch off the flam and strain out the water.
• Now let it cool down, take a bowl and add curd and Lauki in to it.
• Now add oats powder and mix well.
• Add black salt, asafetida, black pepper and mix well.
• Make coarse powder of dry roasted cumin seeds with the palm.
• Add chopped coriander leaves and green chili.
• Now your Lauki raita for weight loss is ready to serve.

Nutrition Facts
Serving size: 1 cup
Servings: 2
Amount per serving
Calories	125
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 5g	6%
Saturated Fat 3.1g	15%
Cholesterol 16mg	5%
Sodium 426mg	19%
Total Carbohydrate 6g	2%
Dietary Fiber 0.7g	2%
Total Sugars 0.4g
Protein 13.6g
Vitamin D 0mcg	0%
Calcium 76mg	6%
Iron 1mg	3%
Potassium 107mg	2%

You can skip substitute your lunch with this Lauki raita for weight loss for 1 month you will see the transformation in your body, by that time you may have lost weight for sure. You will also see glow on your face and reduced hair loss.

Read more: Protein rich diet of a vegetarian for weight loss

Lauki Curry:

Special Lauki curry recipe (Bottle gourd curry recipe) for weight loss, I often add this Lauki curry in my diet because it is very effective to help you reaching your goal and it is highly nutritious. So, try out this Lauki curry for weight loss recipe at home.

Ingredients:

• 1 small Lauki
• 1 tomato
• ¼ tsp Cumin seeds
• 1 Green chilli
• ¼ tsp turmeric powder
• Cooking oil
• Salt to taste
• coriander leaves

Instructions:

• Take Lauki, peel it and cut into cubes.
• Now boil the Lauki till it get soft, once the Lauki is cooked, drain out the water and let the boiled Lauki cool down.
• Make tomato’s puree.
• Take cooking oil in a sauce pan and add cumin seeds, green chili, turmeric powder and sauté for a min. Add tomato puree and sauté it again
• Add boiled Lauki and salt; sauté it for 5 minutes.
• After 5 minutes switch off the flame, add coriander leaves to and your Lauki curry for weight loss is ready to serve
• Serve it hot and enjoy

Nutrition Facts
Serving size: 1 cup
Servings: 1
Amount per serving
Calories	32
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 1.2g	2%
Saturated Fat 0.2g	1%
Cholesterol 0mg	0%
Sodium 508mg	22%
Total Carbohydrate 5.2g	2%
Dietary Fiber 0.2g	1%
Total Sugars 0.1g
Protein 1g
Vitamin D 0mcg	0%
Calcium 356mg	27%
Iron 1mg	4%
Potassium 272mg	6%

Tryout this Lauki curry for weight loss and you will be surprised by the results.

Read more: Vegetable soup for weight loss

Guys I feel if you add something to your dieting schedule, follow it for a month and try out another one for next month. Sometimes it gets monotonous to follow the same routine day in day out. So I usually prefer to follow alternate routines each month.

Hope this gave you some good idea about bottle gourd for weight loss, thanks for reading this.