HEALTHY POINTERS FOR DIWALI

HEALTHY POINTERS FOR DIWALI

Sweets and Festivals go hand in hand. And when it comes to Indian festivals, especially the grand Diwali, sweets are many, along with all kinds of rich dishes.

When you eat that Diwali sweet, do you find yourself thinking: “If I walk for 20 mins, I’ll undo the calories” – and that never happens does it? Because that would mean 20 mins more than your usual workout for each piece you eat.

Here are some tips on adopting healthy ways of eating this Diwali.

Moderation is the mantra to enjoy festive food. Eat fatty foods, sweets and other fried snacks in little amounts.

If you are making sweets yourself, use low fat ingredients- like low fat milk and other dairy products.

 Use natural sweeteners like honey, jiggery, dried figs and dates to make sweets and avoid using refined sugar or artificial sweeteners. They taste just as good.

One can make healthier sweets like kheer, puran poli (sweet rotis with a filling of tuvar dal and jaggery), fruit-salad, fruit pies, custard and shrikhand at home.

A simple date halwa

Take a tablespoon of ghee  add in half kg of dates. Then,  stir it continuously till the dates get softer. Once it reaches a thick paste-like consistency,  add a handful of grated almonds on top, spread it in a dish and cut it into pieces. A healthy, home-made date halwa is ready.”

Squeeze the syrup out of mithai before eating.

Eat sweets in the earlier half of the day rather than at night.

Opt for dark chocolates with higher cocoa content

Before eating snacks, remember to drink water to bring in the feeling of fullness.

 Instead of loading your plate to the brim with sweets, just take a few, may be one or two, items and eat them slowly and gradually.

Even if you indulge, balance it out. For instance, if you eat dessert, then compensate by not having sweetened fruit juice or aerated drinks with your meals.

Be careful of how much food you 'taste' while preparing festival goodies. Often, while cooking we tend to eat more than normal without realising.

Enjoy the company of the people around you, as much as you enjoy your meal. While eating, take small bites and relish your food. Most importantly, eat without guilt!!!!!

WISHING YOU ALL A HAPPY N HEALTHY DIWALI

NUTRITIOUS SNACKS FOR KIDS

● Cut a papaya into square pcs, chop some dates, sprinkle with peanuts, almonds or cashewnuts. Your nutritious papaya treat is ready.

● Peel and cut some carrots. Put them in your mixer-grinder add honey, sugar, cardamom and nutmeg pd along with milk. A delicious healthy milkshake is ready.

● Whip curds with an egg beater. Pour it in a fancy glass bowl add pomegranate, a dash of salt and pepper and finely chopped capsicum pcs and your curd craze is ready.

● Add dates, a little dry fruits like almonds, walnuts, anjir, kismis and also fruits like pomogranate, grapes to kurmura bhel and make it nutritious and antioxidant rich.

● Pattice of leftover veg.

● Soak mushroom in water, drain n sauté lightly in a non-stick fry pan adding capsicum, green onion salt and pepper

● Soak some rotis in milk for sometime, add jaggery, stir on fire till milk thickens and jaggery melts. Chop and top with sliced almonds.

● On a low fire add some til seeds, jaggery and chopped mixed dry fruits. Roll into small balls when slightly warm, good chocolate substitute is ready.

● Milk substitute – basundi, kheer, milkshakes, custard, pudding, shrikand, fruit yoghurt, cheese, panir, raitas.