Healthy Eating during Festivals

Diwali is a time of celebration! A time to meet friends, to eat goodies and to enjoy with your near and dear ones. Food is an integral part of all our festivals, and Diwali is no exception! Refusing a sweet while longing for it or eating it and then feeling guilty is definitely a no-no. After all, it is a time of celebration.  

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So how do we ensure that we maintain our health goals while not compromising on any of the fun? 

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Here are some tips to make your Diwali snacking yummy as well as healthy. Try to follow these and stay happy and stay healthy! 

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• Diwali sweets can be made at home such as dry fruits ladoo using jaggery, coconut sugar, dry dates powder and dates as healthy sweeteners.
• Ladoo size can be reduced upto TT ball size instead of tennis ball.
• Make sure to focus on portion control at least for two meals a day. 
• Try to indulge in sweets mostly during the day rather than late nights.
• Choose milk based sweets rather than ghee based. 
• Choose chena for rasmalai or rasgulla rather than maida or milk powder. 
• Include traditional snacks, made out of besan [gram flour], puffed rice, rice flakes, cornflakes, makhana, dry fruits and baked nuts instead of deep fried ones to preserve the nutritional value.
• After a heavy meal, always remember to walk around the house for 10-15mins. 
• Do not miss your salads during the festive meals. It could be just a plain cut cucumber but it is important!
• If the dishes in your meal are calorie rich/ calorie dense, consciously make an effort to reduce your rice or roti consumption for that meal.
• If you are not working out for a few days during the festival, keep a target of 8000-10000 steps a day.
• Walk and talk with your guests or relatives. It’s easier to complete your target step count!
• Hydrate yourself well throughout the day. Add chia seeds in your water bottle.
• Try not to include both deep fried food and sweets in the same meal as much as possible.
• Switch to baked options if feasible. 
• Make sure you follow the portion control while snacking on a variety of snacks together.
• Avoid usage of refined oil for cooking and frying, instead use cold pressed oil like soybean oil, canola oil, sunflower oil, peanut oil, rice bran oil, or safflower oil.  
• Avoid the usage of the same oil repeatedly for frying or cooking. 
• Preferably include the dry snacks as mid meal snacks rather than combining them with the main course.      

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Most importantly, if you have been off track due to Diwali, it is fine. Just make sure to get back to your schedule once you wrap up with the festivities. 

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Wish you all a very happy Diwali!!