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I eat poha and upma because they're 'light' - are they really?

I eat poha and upma because they're 'light' - are they really?

Poha and upma are genuinely fine breakfasts - but they're not automatically diet food regardless of how they're made. A home bowl of kanda poha (flattened rice, onion, peanuts, a proper tempering) runs close to 400 kcal, and a rava upma made with a generous ghee tempering can land in the same range. The tempering oil, any ghee garnish, and the peanuts are the real levers here - not which of the two dishes you pick.

10 Jul 2026 · Burnie Academy

Poha and upma get treated as automatically 'safe' breakfasts because they sound light - flattened rice, semolina, a quick tempering. But the tempering oil, any ghee finish, and a generous hand with the peanuts can push either dish well past what most people assume. See where the calories actually sit, and you can keep both in your breakfast rotation with a clearer sense of what's adding up.

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