Healthy Diwali hacks: Discover how to enjoy traditional sweets, savouries with a healthy twist

Dr Sonali Shrikant Wagle, diabetes unit, KEM hospital and Research Centre, Pune explains how you prepare healthy Diwali pharal at home.

It's that time of the year when families celebrate Diwali, enjoying the delightful aroma of traditional sweets and savory treats known as Diwali pharal.(Photo: Getty/Thinkstock)

Listen to this article

00:00

1x 1.5x 1.8x

Written by Dr Sonali Shrikant Wagle

It’s that time of the year when families celebrate Diwali, enjoying the delightful aroma of traditional sweets and savory treats known as Diwali pharal. While sharing these delicacies with family and neighbors is a must, the time-consuming preparation often leads many to choose ready-made alternatives. However, this convenience comes at a cost—health risks associated with these snacks.

Here are some ways to not only prepare healthy treats at home but also indulge in calorie-dense foods without facing all the negative consequences.

Making a healthy pharal:

1. Reduce oil intake: When deep-frying snacks, use good quality unprocessed cooking oil—less is better. Place items on tissue paper to absorb excess oil. Opt for homemade cow-milk ghee over dalda or vanaspati ghee when using saturated fats.

2. Bake instead of frying: Roast groundnuts and dal for snacks instead of frying. Bake sev and chakli instead of frying them.

3. Use different flours: Choose moong dal flour for shav instead of gram flour. Experiment with soybean shev and ragi shev. Mix wheat flour and maida in laddu, karanji (gujia), and shakkarpare, ensuring a lower proportion of maida.

4. Make healthy laddus: Use oats, seeds, dry fruits, dates, almonds, walnuts, and raisins for nutritious laddus.

Story continues below this ad

5. Replace ingredients: Opt for fresh coconut over dry in snacks like chivda. Sweeten snacks with jaggery or dates instead of sugar.

Live healthy this Diwali:

1. Lighter breakfast: Replace your usual breakfast with low-calorie options to save room for evening calories.

2. Cut calories at work: Limit tea or coffee to 1-2 cups, saving 200-250 calories. Avoid colas with lunch to avoid an additional 145 calories.

3. Step up workouts: Add extra minutes to your workout routine before and after Diwali to burn additional calories.

Story continues below this ad

4. Fiber and water-rich foods: Choose snacks rich in fiber and water content.

5. Reduce portion size: When visiting friends and relatives, eat less to enjoy a variety of foods. Opt for less calorie-dense sweets or choose nuts and fruits.

6. Skip dinner: After an evening of snacks, consume low-calorie foods—skip rotis and rice, opting for a glass of buttermilk or skipping dinner altogether.