Dussehra special: Eat more, gain less!

The grandest of all Indian festivals are here: Navratri, Dussehra and Diwali. As you get ready for the parties, the fun and frolic, be prepared to pile on some extra pounds too. After all, Indian sweets are loaded with milk, milk products and dry fruits...and calories!

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. 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.

FOOD FOR THOUGHT

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.

Using sugar syrup is also a good alternative. It not only retains the taste but ends up decreasing your calorie count multiple times. Try and make as many mithais as you can at home rather than trusting your local sweet shop. This gives you more flexibility and puts you in a better position to put a stop on your sugar intake.

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.

LOW CAL SNACKS

Various low-calorie sugar-free sweets are available in market, which offer some nuts rich and low sugar options. Make judicious choice of less fattening sweets such as rasagollas rather than gulab jamuns. Other less fattening Diwali sweets include sandesh and pedas.

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.

Healthy tidbits:

• Bake salted snacks instead of frying them. Bake cutlets or kebabs instead of frying them.
• Serve roasted papads if you have to.
• Decorate biryanis with baked onions instead of fried ones.
• Serve meals with rotis or phulkas or steamed pulao instead of puris or parathas or biryani.

KEEP THE SUGAR AWAY

Use half the amount sugar that you normally need in the recipe. Retain the sweetness by adding the pulp of fruits like orange, strawberry, papaya or purees made of dry fruits like dates or prunes.

As fruits contain natural sugars, vitamins, minerals and, most importantly, fibre, the result is a more nutritious and delicious sweet. Balance your intake of sweets and desserts by eating less rice, bread, chapatis and other high calorie dishes during the main course of a meal. That way, you will be able to eat a small portion of a sweet or sweet dish without exceeding your caloric intake.

DETOX

Now, leave the couch for some exercise to shed your extra calories. It is astonishing to know that to lose one pound of weight you need to burn 3,500 calories - not all at once but over a period of time.

At least 30-45 minutes of regular, intense exercise is necessary, especially following the festive season. Post the festivals and the wedding season, adopt a detoxification plan to cleanse and feeding the body with healthy nutrients and eliminating toxins from within.

Eat plenty of fibre-rich, unprocessed, oils/ghee-free food. Emphasise on fresh foods including organically-grown fruits and vegetables. Beets, radishes, cabbage, broccoli and various fruits such as oranges, apple, pear, pineapple, etc. could be a great idea to have for at least one or two days.

Enjoy the festive season and keep these pointers handy to tackle the 'calorie-packers' exactly the way you keep a bucket of water ready while enjoying the fire crackers.

On the whole, enjoy the festive season!

Manita Jangid is a nutritionist and food writer and lives in Jaipur.