Eating Right this Diwali

Celebrating Diwali can be a bother if you think about eating right. Pavithra N Raj, Dietician Executive, Columbia Asia Hospital, Bangalore tells Sapna Sarfare about eating right during the festival.

It’s the time of the year when every Indian will pull out their fineries and celebrate with sparkling joy. Diwali is here and with it comes the whole package of enjoying good food and being in a high spirit. Sweets & savories are part of these celebrations and even the most health freak person breaks rules to gorge on these. And yet one needs to control these outbursts for a healthy body. Being calorie friendly is the word here. After all, India is a country full of festivals and no self-control means a ballooned you.

And that is Pavithra N Raj, Dietician Executive, Columbia Asia Hospital, Yeshwanthpur, Bangalore, is making sure you get some tips this Diwali which can be followed. She reveals, “In most of our sweets, sugar is an integral ingredient and Indians in particular tend to have an affinity towards sweet. But instead of consuming an enormous amount of sugar, try alternatives made of jaggery like Bengali Sandesh made from khajoor gur. Roasted Chikki made of sesame/peanuts and jaggery is delicious in taste and is not unhealthy at all.”

She advices those with an urge to try or think about sweets like laddoos and jalebis to head for the sugar-free section for the same delicacies. Pavithra adds, “Some stores add sweeteners like stevia, which is superb for health. It’s better to say no to those extra sweet mithai and switch to healthier options; after all, you don’t want a mini heart attack this festive season.”

Or go for dry fruits or dry fruit sweets like Dry Fruit Laddoos which are healthy & delicious. “These healthy power packed snack does not have any unhealthy ingredients and are easy to prepare. Stock healthy snack like these at home and keep them easily accessible to kids. Everyone should allow themselves a daily treat because there is no reason why a 100- 200 calorie snack can’t fit into a healthy diet. But we should always be aware about our portion sizes. If we eat 2-3 sweets or half a bowl, then it will only give 250-300 calories.”

To balance out your total calorie intake, cut down on other carbs and focus on healthy snacking. “Small portions of nuts or seeds and fresh or dried fruit are an apt snack. Fill in your plate with extra salads & fruits and taking as much as liquid,” Pavithra suggests.

The most important thing is to make workout a must to maintain your body balance. Pavithra says, “A brisk walk of minimum 20 to 30 mins is recommended as it helps in burning excess fat in the body.”

Last but not the least, she adds, “A few suggestions to maintain balance in our body are to replace fruit toppings instead of icing, dark chocolate instead of chocolate, sweets with fruits, and baking instead of frying.”

Now that the advice session is over and fitted in your minds, you can enjoy the Diwali festivities with the healthy eating options and a whole lot of fun.

Photo Credit: Food-India.com & www.kollywoodkings.com