Navaratri 2023: Navaratri is here and it’s a time of celebration among Hindu devotees. During these celebrations, people eat heartily and spend time with their families. As people tend to go overboard with food during these festivals, it is important to be conscious about what to eat and how much to eat.
According to Shweta Gupta, Head Dietician at Fortis Hospital Shalimar Bagh, since it’s one of the most celebrated months of the year, it is advised to keep your health also under supervision.
“The trickiest part is tackling the sweet tooth, especially health-conscious and diabetic people. As a qualified nutritionist, my advice would be that one should try and control the portion size, that is the first mindful step one should take. Your portion size should be equal to the size of the waist one wants (small, medium, or big),” Gupta told Financial Express.com.
The second way can be preferring home-prepared sweets over the market-based ones, she said.
“Since the demands are high during the festive season, the sweets (available in sweet shops) are prepared well in advance, and a lot of preservatives are added to make them last long, to avoid the chemicals one should prefer freshly home-prepared sweets,” she explained.
‘Use natural sweeteners’
Gupta maintains that another way can be choosing healthier options like rasgulla or any sweet from which extra sweets can be squeezed out.
“While preparing ladoos, one can choose a natural sweetener like dates instead of sugars, or while preparing kheer one can add cinnamon, or fruit like banana or dates to substitute the simple sugars. Another option can be adding either stevia leaves or monk fruit sugar to taste like sugar and yet not add to the calories or sugar levels,” she emphasised.
Some healthy sweet options that you should try:
- Sabudana Khichdi
- Makhana Kheer
- Sweet Potato Kheer
- Fruit Chat
- Dates and Nuts Barfi
- Sama Chawal Kheer
- Coconut Ladoo
- Amaranth Ladoo