Navratri 2021: A nutritionist tells us what to eat while fasting
Navratri 2021: Instead of simple carbs or deep-fried stuff, people who are fasting must include light and nutritious foods in breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Nutritionist Avanti Deshpande suggests some healthy meal options for those keeping fasts.
Navratri 2021 is here and the days of fasting and feasting have just begun. A satvik meal is best during your fasting period while deep fried food should be avoided. Fruits, milk, milk products, fruit juice, kheer, rajgira, sago, bhagar, singhara are some of the healthy foods one can have to keep their energy levels up.
"Children, older people, nursing mothers, pregnant women or people with medical condition like Diabetes, heart disease, cancer, tuberculosis, renal disease, any other illness should not keep fast as this may impact their health," says Shweta Mahadik, Clinical Dietitian, CDE, Fortis Hospital, Kalyan.
Navratri is not just about fasting and performing the rituals but is also about cleansing your body with the right food. Often for fasting, we rely on dishes which are made out of oil, salt, fat, or simple carbs. As a result, we end up breaking the vow of keeping a track on our diet and then feel contrite about it, says nutritionist Avanti Deshpande advising her Instagram followers to follow a healthy upwaas.
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Deshpande also suggests breakfast, lunch and dinner options during Navratri fasts.
"Start the day with a glass of water with lemon or amla juice," she says.
Breakfast
Puffed Rajgeera 1 cup + milk 1 cup + dates 3-4 + almonds 8-10
Sago kanji
This super-simple recipe is light on stomach and loaded with anti-oxidants and resistant starch. Take 1/2 cup sagi and 1 cup water. Cook it and add salt and jeera powder
Sweet potato kheer
Take one boiled sweet potato. Add a cup of milk, 3-4 khajur and sprinkle in some elaichi powder
Fruits 1-2 or 2 bowls + mixed dry fruits 1 handful
Lunch
Cucumber or red pumpkin raita (with curds) 1 cup
Upwas roti (made with rajgeera, sago, kuttu aata) 1
Optional sabji - rajgeera or bhendi (only if permitted in your diet)
Thin buttermilk 2 glasses
Snacks
Sweet potato sauteed with ghee + mixed dry fruits
Coconut water + rajgeera laddoo
Milk 1 cup + mixed dry fruits powder 1 tbsp
Fruits unlimited or fresh fruit juice
Dinner
Stew made with cucumber and potato
Varai rice 1 cup with peanut curry 1/2 cup and ghee 1/2 tsp
1 upwas roti with white butter (1/2 tsp) & pumpkin sabji 1 katori (or rajgeera sabji/bhendi sabji 1 cup)
Smoothie - milk 300 ml + dry fruits 1 fistful /fruit 1 bowl + rajgeera puffed 1 cup
Deshpande also suggests people to "not forget to have enough water."
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