The festive season is here and our excitement is at its peak. After celebrating Navratri, Durga Puja, Karva Chauth, we are now celebrating the festival of lights – Diwali. One of the most important festivals of Hindus, Diwali (or Deepawali) is celebrated with great joy and enthusiasm all over India. And food plays an important role in the celebration. While it’s hard to say no to festive treats, healthy meals are often in short supply this time of year. However, don’t worry! You don’t have to completely give up your favorite dishes during the festivities – instead, just replace them with something healthier.
Here are 9 food tips you can try during the festive season:
Consider Sugar Alternatives
Festivals are not complete without sweet dishes, no matter how many there are. Consuming delicious sweets can definitely affect your health, making you more susceptible to weight gain and diseases like diabetes. Add natural sweeteners like dates, cardamom, figs and saffron to kheer, halwa, fruit salad and rava sheera.
switch to regular soda
If you’re out to drink, have plain soda or sparkling water instead of sweet syrups, sweetened carbonated drinks and fruit juices. Apart from significantly reducing calories, it will help reduce your total sugar consumption.
(Also Read: 7 Ways To Manage Blood Sugar Levels During This Festive Season)
Consider roasting instead of frying
Here’s a solution to save you from overindulging in fried foods during the festive season. Consider roasting all the foods you normally fry. Roasted foods are not only delicious, but also offer some promising health benefits. It improves the texture and deepens the flavor of what you’re cooking. For a healthy meal during Diwali, roast all the vadas, samosas, bhajiyas, spring rolls and cutlets instead of frying them.
Introduce Real Food-Based Dips
If you are used to dipping your kebabs and cutlets in mayonnaise, try dahi (yogurt) based dip which is lower in calories and fat and healthier for you. Yogurt is rich in protein, rich in calcium and rich in probiotics. Otherwise choose the famous Indian chutney, be it the spicy coriander chutney or the sweet but spicy tamarind chutney.
Swap white and milk chocolate
Although it may be fun to treat yourself to an entire bar of chocolate, eating too much puts you at risk of gaining weight. Instead of gifting white and milk chocolate this season, try switching to dark chocolate. While white chocolate doesn’t actually contain any cocoa and therefore doesn’t offer any health benefits, the cocoa in dark chocolate contains antioxidants, which may help prevent excess weight gain.
(Also read: Diwali: 6 sugar-free sweets for healthy indulgence)
reach for cinnamon tea
It’s easy to consume too much sugar during the festive season, so if you feel like you’re eating more sugar than you should, go ahead and make a cup of cinnamon tea. The soothing tea may also help lower blood sugar due to cinnamon’s effects on blood sugar.
Replace salted nuts with raw nuts
Keeping a watchful eye on your salt cravings is just as important as keeping an eye on your sweet tooth. Reduce salt intake; Replace salted nuts with raw nuts as they are rich in heart-healthy fats, fiber and protein.
Go for the simple but instead of the salty one
replace with fruits
Choose fruits instead of snacking on Indian sweets. Fruits are rich in essential nutrients and have many health benefits. Apart from this, they will also satisfy your sweet cravings. It may also provide anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties. Unlike sweets, fruits are usually low in calories and high in fiber. Save sweets for rare occasions.
prepare sweets at home
Instead of buying sweets for festivals, try preparing them at home with a healthy choice of ingredients. Some options you can try are coconut barfi/laddu, ghia katli, energy balls with dry fruits, carrot cake and whole grain cookies. Make nut-based sweets or chikkis (the original Indian energy bar). Nuts are a powerhouse of carbohydrates, proteins, fiber and good fats, providing you with instant satiety.
Author Biography: Simrun Chopra is an experienced health coach and founder of Nourish with SIM
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