Naturally, it's hard to maintain weight in these fun times! Starting from the eastern Durga puja to Dussehra to Diwali then Christmas and Lohri, it is a good four months of indulgence. Not to mention weddings, as the winters are considered an auspicious time to marry. With all the celebrations, comes a truckload of fried food and sweets. A lot of these foods are hard to resist and one just can’t help but eat. Excessive indulgence brings with it tons of guilt and to pacify the guilt, you tell yourself it’s the festive season after all and everyone indulges. This makes you indulge even more and you postpone eating healthfully to the first of January. As a result of this, the pounds just pile on and bring with it more guilt.
Indian sweets are loaded with milk, milk products and dry fruits...and calories!. With all the extra calories, it’s not surprising that this is when people put on the most weight. With the festive season, any diet caution goes for a toss. Add to this the social gatherings, all the alcohol, the late-night snacking, etc.
The solution lies not in giving up food totally, but in changing the way you eat during this season. Read on for some guilt-free and slimming tips through the festive season…Reports say that majority of the Diwali celebrating communities undergo a nearly 20 per cent weight gain during this festival. But you don't need to give up those savouries, altogether, but change the way you eat during this season.
Be picky- Don’t eat because you’re being offered. Friends and family will try to force-feed you, but be firm with them. If you must for courtesy, then eat a small portion.
Indulge in the healthy sweets- We have the guide to the healthiest Indian sweets. Sandesh is a healthy option- since it is dairy-based and is steamed. There are many low sugar desserts also available. For instance, try a range of sweets that are sugar-free and made up of chenna (cottage cheese) or gur (jaggery), so that they don't play havoc with your blood sugar.
· Have halwas and fried sweets in moderation or just for taste. Rather switch to mithais (sweets) made from chenna, which is rich in protein. Try sweets such as rosogulla, chenna murki, chum chum as these are low in fat and high in proteins.
· Go for jaggery-based mithais over the refined sugar-based ones as the nutritional value of jaggery is higher than sugar. Jaggery also contains carotene, Vitamin-B, iron and magnesium.
· While making gajar ka halwa, make sure you avoid butter and ghee/mawa/khoa completely. It should be made completely from toned milk.
· Eat dry roasted nuts and dry fruits in their natural form instead of the fried, salted or sugared version.
· Use skimmed milk to prepare dishes like shrikhand, rice puddings like kheer, phrini, Bengali sweets, fruit custards, etc.
· Make salted munchies such as mathris, shakarpalis, chaklis, kachoris, etc, using high-fibre flour such as finger millet or bajra, ragi or soya flour along with wheat flour. Add green leafy vegetables such as methi (fenugreek), palak (spinach), kothmir (coriander) or mint to salted snacks.
· Baking is healthier than fried snacks.
Indian sweets are loaded with milk, milk products and dry fruits...and calories!. With all the extra calories, it’s not surprising that this is when people put on the most weight. With the festive season, any diet caution goes for a toss. Add to this the social gatherings, all the alcohol, the late-night snacking, etc.
The solution lies not in giving up food totally, but in changing the way you eat during this season. Read on for some guilt-free and slimming tips through the festive season…Reports say that majority of the Diwali celebrating communities undergo a nearly 20 per cent weight gain during this festival. But you don't need to give up those savouries, altogether, but change the way you eat during this season.
Be picky- Don’t eat because you’re being offered. Friends and family will try to force-feed you, but be firm with them. If you must for courtesy, then eat a small portion.
Indulge in the healthy sweets- We have the guide to the healthiest Indian sweets. Sandesh is a healthy option- since it is dairy-based and is steamed. There are many low sugar desserts also available. For instance, try a range of sweets that are sugar-free and made up of chenna (cottage cheese) or gur (jaggery), so that they don't play havoc with your blood sugar.
· Have halwas and fried sweets in moderation or just for taste. Rather switch to mithais (sweets) made from chenna, which is rich in protein. Try sweets such as rosogulla, chenna murki, chum chum as these are low in fat and high in proteins.
· Go for jaggery-based mithais over the refined sugar-based ones as the nutritional value of jaggery is higher than sugar. Jaggery also contains carotene, Vitamin-B, iron and magnesium.
· While making gajar ka halwa, make sure you avoid butter and ghee/mawa/khoa completely. It should be made completely from toned milk.
· Eat dry roasted nuts and dry fruits in their natural form instead of the fried, salted or sugared version.
· Use skimmed milk to prepare dishes like shrikhand, rice puddings like kheer, phrini, Bengali sweets, fruit custards, etc.
· Make salted munchies such as mathris, shakarpalis, chaklis, kachoris, etc, using high-fibre flour such as finger millet or bajra, ragi or soya flour along with wheat flour. Add green leafy vegetables such as methi (fenugreek), palak (spinach), kothmir (coriander) or mint to salted snacks.
· Baking is healthier than fried snacks.
