Ramadan is one of the most blessed months in Islam, and we need to make sure that we are spending as much time as possible in it in Ibadah, to earn the most good deeds that we can (we all become a little greedy for good deeds, right?). These steps encompass almost everything that we can and should before Ramadan, to make our Ramadan days free for worshiping only ALLAH. Lets begin with those steps:
A) Prepare your body for this blessed month
Allah has made our bodies so flexible that we can do so much with them. When we are fasting in this holy month, we make our bodies starve – for Allah – so we NEED to make sure that it is in the best of its condition.
- Get your blood work done to see if you have developed any deficiency and if your vitals are good. If not, then start treating your body with what it needs.
- Do not delay your fitness goals to after Eid – because weight loss should be ALWAYS done with a lifestyle change, so start making healthy choices NOW.B) Make goals for your Ramadan.
B) Make Goals for Your Ramadan
Get a notebook and a pen, or just type them in your notes app in your phone, but write them down (since research shows that one is more likely to follow the goals if they are written down).
- How much Quran do you want to read
- How much of the translation/dora-e-Quran do you want to do
- If you want to go to any Islamic classes or the time in which you will be doing it (for example, you can note that: Listen to Dora-e-Quran daily while cooking/or driving)
- Calculate your Zakat and write it down where and how much do you want to spend it (If you are planning to give it out in Ramadan)
C) Get on Deep Cleaning
This point is for people living in places where there is very little dust like UK, USA, Canada, etc. You can actually clean up your fans, curtains, rugs, deep corners that need cleaning once every 2-4 months and make your house Ramadan and Eid ready. Despite wherever you live, you can always clean up the clutter and organize the following:
- Pantry
- Drawers
- Closets
- Garage/store
D) Get done with Your Shopping – all of it!
This is such a humungous time consuming activity. Get your Eid shopping done, get ready with gifts if that’s something you want to do on Eid.
1. Not just yours, get your family’s Eid outfits ready as well
2.Decide on the gifts or whatever you want to give to your kids and also other kids (in your friends and family) and buy/prepare them.
E) Plan Your Meals and Get Your Freezer ready
Planning out meals saves so much time, as before I used to do this, I used to spend more time in thinking what to make rather than making it (sigh!!!!!).
I usually always have some ready to eat things in my freezer that only needs thawing (and sometimes baking time) and the meal is ready in no time. But Ramadan is a time, where I genuinely don’t want to spend extra and unnecessary minutes cooking.
Some Iftar items that can be prepared in advance are:
- Samosas
- Spring rolls
- Lebanese Kababs
- Shaami Kababs
- Phulkis for dahi phulki*
- Croquettes (also known as chicken and cheese balls)
- Boil chanas and make packets of them
Some meals/dinner items that can be made ahead of time are:
- Qorma
- Haleem
- Chapli Kabab
- Kabab gravy
- Koftas (meat balls)
- Biryani masala (gravy for the Biryani)
- Chicken Maryland
- Yakhni for Pulao
- Bhoonofy gosht/meat in onions and tomato and freeze it. Thaw it, add some vegetable and it becomes a meal.
- Marinate chicken and keep freeze it up – you can make Nando’s chicken, Chicken Aaloo Bukhara, steaks etc.
I usually make 1-2 sweets every week, be it a cake or cupcakes, or kheer, some form of pastry – yeah I have a HUGE sweet tooth (I don’t eat a lot of it, bus bana k he khush ho jaati hun – only someone who has a tendency to gain weight in minutes will understand this!) so here are some ideas on freezable desserts (WHATTT??!!!):
- cookies – (do give my MUST TRY MELT IN THE MOUTH COOKIES – recipe coming by the end of this week
- Home made Kulfi
I plan to eat very healthy (hopefully and inshaAllah) in this Ramadan. Here are some things that work for me. I just thought of jotting them down, in case I can help anyone.
Healthy suhoor ideas:
– One roti/whole wheat bread with egg or leftover meat sauce (no cooking in sehri) along with 4-5 Tbs of yogurt with honey
– Frittata
– overnight oats with berries
Healthy Iftar ideas:
– Smoothies for Iftar
– Chana chaat
– Lobia chaat
– Air fried pakoras
– Fruit chaat or only fruits of your choice
Healthy Dinner:
I would like to have carbs free (or low carb) dinner. Only 1 small roti (of paira of not more than 3 inches big) or not more than 2/3 cups of cooked rice with proteins and greens.
I usually just eat whatever I make for my family, with salad or quinoa, or make some baked chicken and/or boiled eggs.
Haleem or lentils (without Tarka) is another great option.
F) Involve Kids in Ramadan
Make them excited and look forward to Ramadan even more!! Read Islamic books to them, do some Ramadan and Eid crafts with them. I will share more ideas on them next year, but for this post here are some of my favorite ones:
- Ramadan Calendar:
Do a countdown to Ramadan, or count the Rozas, and give a nice little gift to your little ones for everyday of Ramadan.
2. 30 days 30 good deeds:
Write some nice deeds in a mason jar/sticky notes and ask your kids to select one daily and do them to earn a prize.
3. Welcome Ramadan basket/tray/bouquet or EID edibles to close friends, family and Neighbors
We usually send dates to our neighbors with before the start of Ramadan (We live in USA, so we like to inform our neighbors about our traditions and culture and it’s a very friendly way of doing that). And like to send some homemade cupcakes or sweets on Eid again with a note of what we are celebrating and we thought of sharing that celebration with them
All of the things stated above are super simple and easy (including the DIYS!) and hopefully will make you Ramadan ready. Do everything now, so you can focus your time and energy on the important stuff in Ramadan – building a connection with ALLAH! Have a blessed Ramadan!
