While festivals are a time to celebrate, eat and have fun with our loved ones, check out these ways in which you could make your festivities health-friendly!

 

The season of festivities is right around the corner, and we cannot but excitedly wait to make the most out of it. A time of complete traditional and homely celebrations, we get excited to be able to enjoy the whole season to the best of our abilities. From decoration to dressing, let’s not forget the delicious spread of the festive feast; everything is planned out meticulously and in advance.

Everyone has a particular trait of foodie in us, and festivals make the food more special. From savoury to sweet, every item is cooked in perfect detail, and its aroma is enough to satisfy our hunger. However, while we love to devour food during these times without a second thought, our health often gets overlooked with these food items. But don’t worry, as we have listed out some innovative ways to turn your festive delicacies into all things healthy. So let’s check them out!

#1. Use alternative sweeteners

Sugar is that one essential ingredient that finds its way to the list of top needed items during festivals. Having a variety of sweet dishes is mandatory, and some people find its absence to make the celebrations quite bland and incomplete. However, we must not forget that refined sugar is unhealthy for the body and can lead to health issues like obesity and diabetes. But we can always try to use equally effective alternative natural sweeteners that do not affect the original taste. While jaggery is one of the best sugar alternatives, other ingredients include honey, dates, fresh fruits, cinnamon, saffron and more.
#2. Healthy dips and sides

The best thing to accompany a fried item is a smooth and tasty dip. For instance, many find french fries incomplete without ketchup or sandwiches without mayonnaise. While these are undoubtedly delicious and complement the food item, they are unhealthy for the body since they contain a lot of fat content. Try replacing them with yoghurt-based dips, or you can even opt for the commonly available Indian-style chutneys, such as those made with coriander and mint or the one made with tamarind and whole spices.
#3. Switch to dark chocolates

Agree or not, we love chocolates despite our age. With the variety of chocolates available to suit every taste, we tend to become spoilt for choice. And with the onset of festivities, we are bound to exceed our chocolate consumption for the sheer love of it. However, while we may like to eat a whole bar of regular chocolate by ourselves, it would be even better if we consume dark chocolate instead. Dark chocolate, instead of white and milk chocolate, contains pure cocoa and no added sugar, making it a healthy alternative nonetheless.
#4. Choose raw nuts in place of salted nuts

Our metabolism is trained in a way to crave salty and savoury items more than sweet items. These satiate our hunger quickly and quench the eagerness to munch something all the while. During festivities, we tend to consume a lot of salted nuts, like cashews, almonds and peanuts, which act as a snack on the go. However, if we try replacing them with raw and unsalted nuts, it would be all the better. It will reduce the salt intake in our body, making us feel less bloated and more active. In addition, raw nuts help to kick in a lot of energy and protein content in our system and are healthy by all means.
#5. Cinnamon tea to the rescue

Festivals have a weird way of adding in a lot of excess food than is required by our bodies. From sweetmeats to savoury delicacies, people consume a lot of extra food that is acceptable to the average body. As a result, a lot of weight gain takes place, along with the feeling of lethargy seeping in. Therefore, we must be more active and livelier if we wish to celebrate festivals and rituals. To make that happen, try to consume a strong, brewed cup of cinnamon tea instead of regular tea. Cinnamon has medicinal properties that energise the body instantly and curb excessive hunger. It also helps to lessen blood sugar levels that come with eating a lot of sweet food.
#6. Roast instead of fry

Fried items are a mandatory element of all festive menus and are the sure-shot eye candies of a delicious festive spread. From fried fritters to fried sweets, it is the most loved item by all. However, while we enjoy their taste, we often overlook that these are mostly deep fried, and by consuming them, we consume a lot of oil content. However, roasting instead of frying can be a great option to relish that same taste in a healthy way. Unlike frying, it does not burn the texture of the food and instead slowly simmers it to cook to perfection.