Diwali – Celebrating Health!
April 10, 2024
The end of the monsoon brings in the soothing winter breeze and a gamut of eagerly looked forward to festivals. The entire package of the joy, the rituals, ethnic costumes, and primarily the get-togethers in these festivals unite us all. Apart from these, one of the most undetachable parts of festivities is the Food!
Diwali is here, with all its excitement and the mouthwatering delicacies it has to offer – both sweets and savory snacks are a crucial part of the festival of lights.
The delicious Diwali recipes, both authentic and adapted, could have healthy ingredients too, yet they can be calorie-dense. All the deep-frying in ghee, refined flour, sugar adds loads of energy you probably won’t use!
Let’s look at some ways to tackle sugar and fats with mindfulness this Diwali!
1. Healthy Ingredients For The Rescue!
- Choosing healthier ingredients to modify the recipes will go a long way. Prefer foods that suit your taste and the recipe
- As simple as replacing white sugar with jaggery or brown sugar, will prevent the harm of white sugar on your health
- Using dry fruits as a binding agent instead of ghee and sugar syrup. For example, Dates can be used for their texture and natural oils to bind laddoos.
- Whole wheat flour, millet flour in replacement for refined flour wherever possible. Whole wheat chakli, Besan aalu bhujiya are some healthy ways to enjoy traditional dishes.
- Including functional foods to increase the nutritional content of the recipes. For example – Cardamom, fennel, fenugreek seeds, turmeric, etc
2. Explore Seasonal Food!
Winters give our body the superpower for efficient digestion and better metabolism. Utilize this to build your immunity, and strengthen gut health. Plenty of seasonal foods have incomparable health benefits.
Such foods work wonders to protect from opportunistic diseases.
Traditional recipes like ‘Sarso ka saag’ ‘Mooli ka paratha’ and ‘Gajar ka halwa’ in winters. These are some examples of how to consume seasonal foods in India.
3. Sugar Restricted Recipes Save The Day!
Gone are the days when sugar-restricted diets belonged only to diabetics, we are increasingly aware that such diets are beneficial for the normal population too. Such a diet is about restricting foods high in easy calories and high glycemic index foods.
The festive season demands variation, oodles of dishes. Maintaining your blood sugars despite the frolic events around is considerably tough.
Look at our recipe section for healthier alternatives
4. Quality Eating Over Binge Eating!
We’ve all heard that moderation is key. With respect to diet, let’s give some reasoning to it!
Portion control and mindful eating will cut some slack for your efforts to restrict calories. Quantity eating/ Binge eating leads to excess calorie intake, indigestion, nausea, and many more side effects. It takes a toll on your health if continued for a long time.
Having a balance is always fruitful.
Q tip:- Quality eaters will have perks to enjoy more variation than Quantity eaters!
Remember to eat desserts to conclude a meal and not consider it as a meal! And of course a dessert is always a small portion
5. Healthy Traditional Recipes With A Twist!
Various ancestral Indian dishes have nutritious compositions. Indian cultural foods inherently have healthy qualities. Twisting the methods of cooking can do wonders without compromising the taste! These methods can involve baking, steaming, grilling, etc.
Lowering the fat, sugar content is the key to decreasing the calories.
For example, baked chekkalu (gram flour and pulse Crackers), Oats chivda, and whole wheat baked Mathri.
These are some innovative ways to create healthy traditional recipes.
Select your favorite dish and let us know in what way you can turn it healthy!
6. Post-Diwali Detox!
Detox is not just from alcohol, Our body expects a detox from fatty and sugary diets as well.
Consider going lighter in your diet post the festive buzz.
Opt for more green and colorful veggies, low GI fruits, and fluids. Choose sugar-free vegetable juices/ soups, smoothies, salads than a carb/fat-rich meal. This diet is rich in antioxidants, anti-inflammatory functions.
Detox will help your system take a rest and repair itself.
Follow the diet with moderate physical activity.
Detox days can last up to 1-2 days, as major energy balance needs to be maintained.
These methods will help you smartly achieve guilt-free yet delicious holidays! Mindfulness and self-care will help you motivate and take small steps towards your health goals.
Be a part of all the celebrations wholeheartedly. It is important to remember that food connects us socially.
Being healthy should not just be an approach but turn into a Lifestyle!
When Lord Rama freed Sita from the confinement of Ravana, the true message of Diwali was born, Victory of good over evil, the Victory of truth, and the Joy of righteousness.
Similarly, why not let our body celebrate the richness and purity it deserves.
Let’s assure to make this Diwali a celebration of happiness, lights, colors, and GOOD FOOD!
Food that our system cherishes!
