Diwali is just around the corner, and it’s time for some tips on how you can keep yourself fit this festive season. Gorging on deep fried puris and kachoris, ghee dripping sweets and salty namkeens can really bring you down, find vegan alternatives that are healthier. Inspired by the popular Vegan Diet, here we tell you the things you can have this Diwali without gaining a single calorie. And it’s so easy to maintain!
But, before that let’s see what the vegan diet is.
Veganism began as a strong initiative against animal cruelty which soon became a way of life and a diet form. A Vegan Diet is solely based on plant foods. It doesn’t include the use of any animal products, not even ghee, butter or milk.
Depending on the type of plant foods you consume, there are about seven types of vegan diets. For instance, you maintain a whole food vegan diet when your diet incorporates only fruits, vegetables, whole grains, legumes, and nuts. On the contrary, 80/10/10 (yea, it looks like a date) emphasizes having raw foods and prevents you from eating fat-rich plant foods.
How can you be Vegan this Diwali?
Breakfast:
Start your day with fruits. The most nutritious food, you can either have a single type of fruit, or you can jumble them all up in a delicious fruits salad. For a tasty alternative, try smoothies! All you need is plant yogurt along with your favorite fruit. Blend them in the mixer, pour it in a bowl and serve with berries or dry fruits. You can even have cereals, chia seeds or flax seeds with soy milk.
Lunch:
Eat chapattis and simple dal (without the ghee or the butter) for your mid-day meals or lunch during Diwali. You can even cook some vegetables with minimal spices, oil, and salt. Boiled sweet potatoes mixed in black pepper will not only add taste but will also be a filling alternative for your Diwali lunch. If you are a rice person, opt for brown rice and couple it with baked broccoli, beans, and other green leafy vegetables.
Snacks:
Why fear when nuts, dry fruits, and berries are here? Instead of munching on the namkeens, samosas, and pakoras, grab your bowl of dry fruits and nuts in the evening. This delicious and healthy bunch will not only add sweetness to your mouth but also to the lit evening Diwali gupshup. You can even couple it up with a glass of tasty fruit juice.
Dinner:
If paneer is your favorite food item, then the best substitute for it is tofu. It is also known as bean curd and is made from soy milk. Tofu can be baked, boiled or stir fried with flavorful herbs. Instead of chili paneer, you can always make chili tofu in less oil. It is spicy, and it is healthy. Since we are talking about dinner, it is always best to keep it light.
Different vegetable soups can serve to be a sumptuous meal for you at night. You can even make the mouth-watering Vegan Colcannon Soup. It is the soup you would want to have to curb weight gain. The soup is prepared in olive oil with chopped onions, garlic, vegetable broth, sweet potatoes, kale, salt, pepper and water.
Desserts:
How can Diwali night end without desserts? After all, Diwali is the festival of lights, happiness and lots of ‘mu mitha’. But laddoos, jalebis and gulab jamuns would only invite those you want to ignore - calories. The best alternative for that is apple kheer. Healthy and sweet, apple kheer is made with soy milk, jaggery and of course, apples. You can even have sesame coconut laddoos, sesame laddoos and amaranth laddoos to feed your laddoo craving. Unlike other laddoos, these laddoos are not made with ghee or vegetable oil but the seeds oil itself. You can even churn delicious rabris with plant milk to serve yourself as well as your friends and family.
And your Diwali vegan diet is all set.
Now, you will not have to worry about gaining extra calories anymore. Enjoy the festival and the party this Diwali. Don’t be too harsh on yourself. Enjoy a few cheat hours with the delicious sweets as well.
For more information on what you should and should not eat during the festive season, just download FITPASS – your ultimate fitness app. Through its in-app diet and nutrition solution, FITFEAST, you can connect with expert nutritionists available round the clock. You can even track your calories, log your meals and set water alarm. Get your diet sorted this Diwali with FITPASS.
