Wish you all very Happy Navratras.
Navratras are touted to be the most auspicious days of the year. Many people are used to fasting for either all the nine days or tend to opt for specific days like the pair of first and last, even days, odd days and many other combinations whichever suits them. Whatever your choices be, you need to look your best on these days too. The general norm is to eat once in the evening or at night. And, the food is not the regular grains and rice but made from the flour of a fruit which is called ‘Kuttu’ in hindi. And, it is extremely tasty. No doubt about it. So, since you would be sticking to a diet which includes no junk and additives, you can as well take this time off to get a detox session for your body. You do not have to try hard to do anything. There are only two scenarios: one is if you eat only the evening food and abstain from everything in whole of the day or other is if you take fluids whole of your day.
- If you are among the category to abstain from everything until evening dinner, not only your stomach will get the much needed relief but also your liver.
- If you are among the category who indulges in fluids all time in the day, keep on drinking appropriate amount of water and fruit juices. Keep away from heavy fruits like banana and papaya. Citrus fruits and berries are the best. Or, watermelon, pomegranate and apple juices will also do a good job.
- If you can indulge in vegetable juices, stay away from fruit juices as they have high sugar content and may cause blood sugar spikes. Spinach juice, tomato juice, carrot juice are among the best to fill you.
- Stay away from dry fruits as they are heavy for your body.
- Buttermilk is a great way to go about.
- You can also drink coconut water as it is extremely healthy and filling for the body.
- Now, during your evening food, eat as much as you can. Take a lot of yogurt. Do not bother with sugar and salt. Generally, it is only ‘sendha namak’ which is used but some people are used to having yogurt with sugar. Avoid that. Another tip is to replace whole potatoes with baby potatoes. Baby potatoes are rich in many vitamins which the big ones miss and they are not very heavy on carbohydrates too. And, of course, they are much more tasty than their counterparts.
- Avoid fried items like kuttu pakodas and puris. Stay with kuttu parathas made with less or no oil and sabudana khichdi which requires no oil. Use oven to make the parathas.
- Do not forget to overfill yourself with parathas or whatever you are having because it helps curb your cravings as well as hunger.
Following these guidelines for all days you fast will help your body to relax and throw away as many toxins as possible. And, do not become a couch potato in your fasting days. Stay reasonably active without overtiring yourself. A little activity as getting up from one chair and sitting down in another after every half hour also helps.Another issue which I want to address is that people tend to overeat a lot during fasts which is absolutely normal and will not affect you if you eat properly. But, many restaurants and stalls are offering ‘vrat ka food’ these days which includes a whole range of delicacies from kuttu ka pakoda and puris to desserts acceptable during fasting. This whole menu adds up to more calories than you should eat in a day which ends up making you fat rather than helping in cleansing your body and overtaxes your system also. A home made food is always healthy and delicious so stick to it and make your fasts worthwhile.