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The festive season is around the corner, and Dussehra or Diwali are synonymous with happiness and indulgence. But what about those who suffer from diabetes, heart and liver diseases, or even cancer? They often tend to ignore their regular dietary habits and end up eating a lot of oily and refined food. An imbalanced diet rich in fat, sugar and salt, high pollution level including noise pollution, and erratic routines are common during this time, and can be dangerous for those with any of these ailments. But this should not deter them from enjoying the festivals. A little care is all that is needed to make enjoy yourself without compromising on health.
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Here are some healthy recipes and tips to include in your lifestyle without any guilt or fear.
Puffed sago snack (for cancer patients)
Ingredients
- 5-6 cups Saggubiyyam Borugulu/Puffed Sago*
- 1/3 cup Groundnuts
- 1/4 cup roasted Dalia
- 1/4 cup dry Coconut, finely sliced into 1" pieces of 2 mm thickness
- 6-8 Garlic pods with skin (slightly crushed)
- 4-5 Red chillies, broken
- 1/4 tsp Citric acid crystals
- 1/2 tsp Turmeric powder
- 1 tsp Red chili powder
- 1/4 cup Curry leaves
- 1 tsp Mustard seeds
- 1 tsp Cumin seeds
- 3-4 tbsp Oil
- Salt to taste
Method:
-Clean the puffed sago and keep them aside. If it is not crisp slightly roast them in a kadai over low flame for 3-4 mins or until it becomes crisp.
-Clean and dry the curry leaves from a kitchen napkin. Heat oil in a big kadai and crackle mustard seeds and cumin seeds.Add ground nuts and fry them until they turn red. Add dry coconut pieces, garlic pods and fry until they are crisp.
-Then add red chillies (optional), curry leaves and roasted daliya and give a quick stir and fry for 1-2 minutes.
-Turn off the flame and add turmeric powder,red chili powder,Salt and citric acid crystals together and mix well.
-Add puffed sago and again mix well until the masala coats the sago.
-Now switch on the flame and roast the sago again for 2-3 minutes on low flame.This will make it crispier. Let it cool down completely.
-Store in an air-tight container.It stays good for 15-20 days and even up to a month.
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Oats and nuts laddoo – no sugar /no added fat
Ingredients:
- 1/4 cup quick cooking Oats
- 14 pitted good quality Arab Dates
- 5-6 Figs(Anjeer)
- 12-15 Almonds
- 8-10 Walnuts
- 2 tbsp Pistachios
- 2 tbsp Flax seeds
- Desiccated coconut
Method:
-Dry roast oats for 2-3 mins and coarsely powder them and keep it aside.
-Dry roast flax seeds until they start popping up and pulse them in mixer for few seconds. Do not powder them completely, just grind coarsely.
-Warm almonds,pistachios and walnuts separately one by one and crack them to tiny bits.
-Soak finely Chopped figs and dates in hot water for 30 minutes. Remove water and run it in mixer for a minute or two. The idea here is to get a sticky mixture as this is the main sweet base and also the binding agent.
-Now in a hollow bowl add the ground dates-fig mixture, powdered oats, almonds-pistachios-walnuts mixture and crushed flax seeds.
-Mix them well and check for the sweetness of the mixture. Add sweetness according to your preference, either add more ground dates or figs mixture or you can add powdered sugar to balance a sweeter taste. Finally make small balls out of it.
-Store them in an air tight container. It stays good for quite a while.
Raw Banana Dahi Vadas
Ingredients
- 2 - Raw bananas boiled
- 2 tbsp Rajgiratta
- 1 tsp Salt
- ¼ tsp Red chilli powder
- ¼ tsp Black pepper powder
- ½ tsp Coriander powder
- ½ tsp Cumin (jeera) powder
- Fresh coriander leaves
- Mint leaves
Method
-Mash boiled bananas with the help of forks. Mix all the ingredients and knead well using hand to make a soft dough.
-Divide into 10-12 portion of equal size.
-Shape them into vadas (like tiny dough-nuts), keep aside.
-Air fry the vadas in small batches till each side is golden brown
-Soak in thick curd and add toppings.
Whole wheat vegan nankhatai
Ingredients:
- Whole wheat flour – 1 cup
- Gram flour – 1/4th cup
- Desi khand/brown dugar – 1/2 cup
- Cardamom powder – 1/2 tsp
- peanut butter/vegan butter/ almond butter – 1/3 cup
- Almond Milk – 1 – 2 tsp
Method:
-Preheat oven at 180° C for about 15 minutes.
-Line a baking tray with parchment paper or grease the tray with oil.
-Sieve the flours, khand/ powdered brown sugar, and cardamom powder together in a deep bowl. Mix them well.
-Slowly add some melted butter to the bowl containing the flour mixture and mix it well to make stiff dough. You can also add a tablespoon of almond milk if required.
-Now make small balls out of the dough.
-Gently press them to flatten them. Make a design on them using a fork or toothpick.
-Place them on the baking tray and bake in the preheated oven for about 20-25 minutes.
-Serve them warm. You can also store the nankhatai in an airtight container for 2-3 weeks.
Who said you can’t enjoy the festivals if you are ailing?
(The author is a lifestyle coach and diet counsellor. She tweets @Bipasha1sugati)
