Deepawali, the festival of lights, is just a few days away. This festival offers us a platter of goodies - parties, card sessions, chocolates, sweets, food and wine. And as we tuck into the festive cuisine, our regular diet has an add-on of calorie rich foods like sweets, fried snacks, dry-fruits and much more. As a consequence what happens to our weight is anybody’s guess. Then how do we ensure that the festive times don’t take a toll on our health?

Moderation is the key to enjoy festive food and still keep the weighing scale in balance. Go slow on fatty foods, sugar and starches like breads & potatoes.

However, we can include a lot of fresh fruits in our diet during and after Diwali. We can also opt for sugar free sweets and chocolates which are available aplenty in the market. Home made sweets are the best. One can make sweets like kheer, gujia, shrikhand, gulab jamun, date pudding, phirni, fruit cakes, fruit-salad and so many others at home.

Make use of low fat ingredients- like low fat milk, products low in sugar, when you're making sweets and snacks. If you're able to say no to oily food in every-day life, try and extend that to festivals as well.

When it is snack time, drink a glass of water beforehand. It will make your stomach partially full and as a result you will eat less, which will help minimize the calorie intake. Don't go to any party ravenous, eat a light snack -- yogurt, soup, salad or nuts. Limit alcohol to no more than two small pegs for men and 1 for women and avoid sweetened beverages and last but not least, look out for vegetables in the menu.

Running away from food will not help you cut calories the key is moderation. And remember that bad diet habits can harm your health. A balanced diet and regular exercise are important for a healthy life.

Oats Idli

Ingredients

• Oats-1/2cup (Grind in order to make a powder)
  
• Suji (semolina)-1/2 cup
  
• Yoghurt- 1 cup
  
• Water- 1/2 cup (approximately)
  
• Salt- as required
• Fruit salt—3/4 tsp (optional)
• Oil -for greasing
  

Preparation
Grind oats in order to make a powder and keep it aside. Put oat’s powder, suji, yoghurt, and salt in a bowl and beat the mixture well. Add enough water to make a smooth batter of thick yet slightly pouring consistency. Keep the idly batter aside for 15-20 minutes. Boil 2 cups of water in a cooker and grease the idly stand. Now add fruit salt to the prepared batter and mix well. Put 2 tabs of batter in each idly cup. Place the idly stand in boiling water and cover with the lid. Cook in steam for about 15 min on medium flame. Remove the idlies and serve hot.

Serving Tips : Tastes good with mint chutney and samber

Soya Nuggets in Yogurt Sauce

Ingredients:

• Soya Nuggets 1/2 Cup
• Green Peas 1/4 Cup
  
• Besan 2 tsp
  
• Yogurt 1/2 Cup
  
• Onion 1 small
  
• Tomato 1
  
• Green Chillies 2
• Ginger Garlic Paste 1 tsp
• Cumin Seeds 1 tsp
• Turmeric Powder a big pinch
• Red Chilli Powder 1/2 tsp
• Coriander Powder 1 tsp
• Asafoetida a pinch
• Salt to taste
• Lemon Juice 1 tsp
• Oil 1 tsp
  

Preparation
Remove stems, wash and slice green chilies. Peel and finely chop onion and tomato. Whisk yogurt with half a cup of water and keep aside. Bring water to boil in a saucepan, add few pinches of salt, tsp of lemon juice and Soya nuggets. Cook until soya nuggets turn soft (about 10 minutes). Heat oil in a pan, add cumin seeds and asafoetida. When cumin seeds start spluttering, add green chills, ginger garlic paste, onion and salt. Once onion turns translucent, stir in tomato, ginger garlic paste, turmeric powder, red Chilli powder, coriander powder and besan. Fry for a minute and add yogurt, Soya nuggets and green peas. Sprinkle few pinches of garam masala at the end. Let simmer for around 5 minutes and remove from heat. Serve hot with steamed rice or chapatti.

Variations : Soya nuggets can be replaced with Soya granules, Chicken pieces or mushrooms if you wish.

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