Ragi idli to grilled fish: Parliament's new ‘health menu' serves up nutrition-packed dishes for MPs
Health Menu
' plans to serve up a plateful of nutrition for lawmakers, officials and visitors to the temple of democracy.
Designed at the instance of
Lok Sabha Speaker
Om Birla to support wellness without sacrificing flavour, the revamped culinary offerings aim to nourish parliamentarians and officials as they navigate long hours of debate and decision-making during Parliament's sessions.
Explore courses from Top Institutes in
Select a Course Category
healthcare
others
Design Thinking
Technology
Data Science
CXO
Management
Degree
Public Policy
Healthcare
Product Management
Operations Management
Project Management
Cybersecurity
Data Science
Others
Finance
Digital Marketing
MBA
MCA
Leadership
PGDM
Artificial Intelligence
Data Analytics
Skills you'll gain:
Duration:
11 Months
IIM Lucknow
CERT-IIML Healthcare Management India
Starts on
undefined
Get Details
The
Parliament canteen
has rolled out this special menu that blends tradition with nutrition to promote healthier lifestyles in the corridors of power.
Along with delicious curries and elaborate 'thalis', also on offer are millet-based meals, fibre-rich salads and protein-packed soups, part of a broader effort to support a healthy diet.
Each dish has been carefully crafted to be low in carbohydrates, sodium, and calories while remaining high in essential nutrients. Besides, the Health Menu has the number of calories mentioned against the names of the dishes.
Live Events
"Each dish is carefully curated to meet the highest nutritional standards - low in carbohydrates, low in sodium and low in calories, while being high in fibre and rich in protein," the menu stated.
Millets, thrust into the national spotlight during the UN-declared International Year of Millets in 2023, take the centrestage in the menu.
Highlights include 'Ragi Millet Idli' with 'Sambhar' and 'Chutney' (270 kcal), 'Jowar Upma' (206 kcal) and a sugar-free 'Mix Millet Kheer' (161 kcal).
Popular Indian staples like 'Chana Chaat' and 'Moong Dal Chilla' also feature prominently.
For lighter snacks, MPs can choose from a range of colourful salads such as 'Barley' and 'Jowar Salad' (294 kcal) and 'Garden Fresh Salad' (113 kcal), alongside warming bowls of 'Roast Tomato' and 'Basil Shorba' and 'Vegetable Clear Soup'.
Those preferring non-vegetarian meals have not been left out, with lean options like 'Grilled Chicken' with 'Boiled Vegetables' (157 kcal) and 'Grilled Fish' (378 kcal) on offer.
The beverage menu mirrors this health-first approach with green and herbal teas, 'Masala Sattu' and jaggery-flavoured 'Mango Panna' replacing sugar-laden sodas and traditional sweets.
Recognising the urgency of promoting healthier choices,
Prime Minister Narendra Modi
, in his recent Mann Ki Baat address, stressed the need for nationwide awareness and collective action to combat obesity -- particularly through reducing edible oil consumption.
The
Lok Sabha
Speaker has been organising regular health check-up camps for parliamentarians when the House is in session. Several experts have also delivered lectures on having a healthy lifestyle and diet for parliamentarians.
Reinforcing this commitment, the government has launched several initiatives, including the
Fit India Movement
, National Programme for Prevention and Control of Non-Communicable Diseases (NP-NCD), POSHAN Abhiyaan, Eat Right India and Khelo India.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
NDTV
2 hours ago
- NDTV
"Horror Show": Gaza Hospital Says 21 Children Dead From Starvation In 3 Days
Gaza City: The head of Gaza's largest hospital on Tuesday said 21 children have died due to malnutrition and starvation in the Palestinian territory in the past three days, while Israel pressed a devastating assault. Gaza's population of more than two million people is facing severe shortages of food and other essentials, with residents frequently killed as they try to collect humanitarian aid at a handful of distribution points. "Twenty-one children have died due to malnutrition and starvation in various areas across the Gaza Strip," Mohammed Abu Salmiya, the director of Al-Shifa Medical Complex in Gaza, told reporters. Abu Salmiya said new cases of malnutrition and starvation were arriving at Gaza's remaining functioning hospitals "every moment", warning there could be "alarming numbers" of deaths due to starvation. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called Gaza a "horror show" in a speech on Tuesday, with "a level of death and destruction without parallel in recent times". After talks to extend a six-week ceasefire broke down, Israel imposed a full blockade on Gaza on March 2 this year, allowing nothing in until trucks were again permitted to enter at a trickle in late May. However, stocks accumulated during the ceasefire have gradually depleted, leaving the territory's inhabitants experiencing the worst shortages since the start of the war in October 2023. Chaotic scenes have become frequent at aid distribution areas since the US- and Israel-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation effectively sidelined a vast UN aid delivery network in Gaza. The UN on Tuesday said Israeli forces had killed over 1,000 Palestinians trying to get food aid since the GHF began its operations in late May, with most near the foundation's sites. Israeli military spokesman Nadav Shoshani posted a video online on Tuesday evening, showing what he said was "950 trucks worth of aid currently waiting in Gaza for international organisations to pick up and distribute". "This is after Israel facilitated the aid entry into Gaza," he wrote on X. The US State Department said later that President Donald Trump's envoy Steve Witkoff was heading to the Middle East for talks aimed at finalising a "corridor" for aid to Gaza, without giving further details. - Latest attacks - Earlier Tuesday, Gaza's civil defence agency said Israeli strikes had killed 15 people, after the World Health Organization said Israel attacked its facilities amid its expanding ground operations. Agency spokesman Mahmud Bassal told AFP that Israeli strikes on the Al-Shati camp west of Gaza City had killed at least 13 people and wounded more than 50. Most of Gaza's population has been displaced at least once during the conflict and the Al-Shati camp -- on the Mediterranean coast -- hosts thousands of people displaced from the north in tents and makeshift shelters. Raed Bakr, 30, lives with his three children and said he heard "a massive explosion" at about 1:40 am on Tuesday (2240 GMT Monday), which blew their tent away. "I felt like I was in a nightmare. Fire, dust, smoke and body parts flying through the air, dirt everywhere. The children were screaming," Bakr, whose wife was killed last year, told AFP. Reports of the latest death count came as the Roman Catholic church's most senior cleric in the Holy Land, Latin Patriarch Pierbattista Pizzaballa, said the humanitarian situation in Gaza was "morally unacceptable". Pizzaballa spent three days in Gaza after an Israeli strike on the territory's only Catholic church last Thursday which killed three people. - New ground operations - WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus accused Israeli troops of entering its staff residence, and forcing women and children to evacuate, as they handcuffed, stripped and interrogated male staff at gunpoint. Israeli forces meanwhile expanded ground operations in Deir el-Balah following intense shelling of the area in central Gaza on Monday. The civil defence agency's Bassal said two people were killed in Deir el-Balah. The Israeli military said later its troops "identified shots being fired toward them in the Deir al-Balah area, and responded toward the area from which the shooting originated". The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) estimated that between 50,000 and 80,000 people were living in the area, which until now had been considered relatively safe. Some 30,000 were living in displacement sites. OCHA said nearly 88 percent of the entire Gaza Strip was now either under evacuation orders or within Israeli militarised zones, forcing the population of 2.4 million into an ever-shrinking space. Despite what Guterres described as "devastation... upon devastation", Israeli far-right leaders met in Jerusalem to discuss plans for redeveloping Gaza as a tourist-friendly "riviera", with a permanent Jewish presence. Israel's military campaign in Gaza has killed 59,106 Palestinians, mostly civilians, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory. Hamas's 2023 attack, which sparked the war, resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, most of them civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official figures.
United News of India
5 hours ago
- United News of India
National mission uncovers 18.85 lakh sickle cell cases
New Delhi, July 22 (UNI) The ongoing ambitious National Sickle Cell Anemia Elimination Mission has revealed a significant public health challenge, with more than 18.85 lakh individuals identified as either suffering from Sickle Cell Disease (SCD) or carrying the trait, according to the data shared by the Union Health Ministry today. As of now, six crore individuals have been screened against a target of seven crore. Sickle cell disease — also called sickle cell anemia — is a group of inherited disorders that affect hemoglobin, the major protein that carries oxygen in red blood cells. Of those screened, 2.15 lakh individuals have been diagnosed with the disease, and 16.7 lakh have been identified as carriers. Health experts have flagged the numbers as concerning, especially given the chronic nature of the illness and the burden it places on affected tribal populations. A total of 2.6 crore health cards have been distributed by states to facilitate continued monitoring and support, as per the statement by the Ministry. Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Telangana, Karnataka, and Uttarakhand have reported remarkable progress in meeting their screening targets. However, the highest number of diagnosed cases has emerged from Odisha, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, and Gujarat — indicating high disease prevalence in these regions. Screening is being carried out using validated Point-of-Care Testing (POCT) kits that allow for rapid and confirmatory diagnosis. A centralised digital dashboard and SCD portal have been established to consolidate data and improve coordination among states, says the statement. The Mission, inaugurated on July 1, 2023, by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Shahdol, Madhya Pradesh, seeks to eliminate sickle cell anemia by 2047. It envisions universal screening of seven crore individuals aged 0–40 years in tribal and high-burden districts by FY 2025–26, supported by robust awareness campaigns and counselling services. Health authorities have underscored the need for intensified outreach, sustained counselling, and follow-up mechanisms for those diagnosed. The large number of affected individuals now identified underscores both the scale of the challenge and the urgency of addressing it through integrated national and state-level health systems. UNI AJ SSP
NDTV
5 hours ago
- NDTV
India Sends Burn-Specialist Doctors To Treat Those Injured In Dhaka Air Crash
New Delhi: India on Tuesday night said it is sending a team of burn-specialist doctors and nurses to Dhaka to treat those injured when a military jet crashed into a school. At least 31 people, including 25 children, were killed when the military jet crashed into the Milestone School and College in the capital Dhaka's Uttara area on Monday. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had expressed condolences at the loss of lives in the tragic air crash and had conveyed assurances of support and assistance. "A team of burn-specialist Doctors and Nurses with necessary medical support are scheduled to visit Dhaka shortly to treat the victims," the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said. "They will make an assessment of the condition of patients with recommendation for further treatment and specialised care in India as necessary," it said in a statement. The MEA said additional medical teams may also follow depending on their preliminary assessment and treatment. It is learnt that the team being sent has two Delhi-based doctors -- one from the Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital and the other from Safdarjung Hospital. The Bangladesh Air Force has formed a high-level investigation committee to determine the cause of the accident.
