You’re probably wondering who would want to inculcate any kind of healthy habit while cooking your annual Diwali goodies. It’s hardly the time to watch what you eat, count those calories or cut back on the festivities. But given the number of festive feasts you’re likely to indulge in, a little mindful eating, a little careful cooking can help ensure that you get through the season feeling fabulous.
And no, none of the points below will ask you to avoid sweets or give up on the Diwali snacks altogether. A few intelligent tricks and kitchen hacks is all it takes!
Find a suitable substitute
Many calorie rich dishes can be made less indulgent by simply substituting the fat or the sugar with a less heavy ingredient. This doesn’t always change the richness of the dish completely, allowing you to enjoy the dish, while also staying light. For example refined sugar can be replaced by palm jaggery, coconut sugar or stewed dates. Refined flour can be replaced with whole wheat flour, millet flours or rice flour, or a combination of them, depending on the recipe. Unhealthy fats can be replaced with healthy fats, or their quantities reduced, and the softness and aroma be achieved by using other ingredients like fruit pulp and/or eggs.
Fried isn’t always bad
Some of the best Diwali namkeen or savoury goodies are fried and can really pile on the calories if you’re not careful. But avoiding those calories doesn’t mean you should stop cooking them altogether. Instead, try finding ways to reduce or eliminate the process of deep frying, where possible. Use a healthy oil, pan fry, shallow fry where possible. You can achieve the same level of crunchiness and crispiness by using other kitchen appliances like a kuzhi paniyaram pan for pakodas and fritters, or oven for roasting/baking ingredients on a baking sheet in an oven for the same crunchiness minus the calories.
Introduce Green Tea To Your Festivities
Consuming so many sweets and savories during the festivals out body can get flooded with toxins that will making us feel heavy all day. By paying a little bit of attention, we can overcome this feeling.
Sipping a few glasses of green tea before and during the time of meals helps in relieving the heaviness and also aids detoxification. Green tea is filled with antioxidants, vitamins, and general goodness that will help you feeling light and less bloated. Sipping the green tea before, during and after meals is also known to enhance the digestive functions in the body. This means that you are less likely to have flatulence and stomach upsets. So go ahead and indulge in some great flavored Green Tea like Tetley Ginger Lemon and Honey Green Tea or Tetley Cinnamon & Honey Green Tea
Try these dishes, each with a healthy twist this Diwali, sip some Green Tea along with it and see how you can make it a healthy festive season for your family! You can also try these special Diwali Special Sweets & Savoury Snacks too!
