Search Results for: navratri

March 27, 2020 By Neha Goyal 4 Comments

Immunity Building Recipes For The Fasting Season

It’s Chaitra Navratri and that means it is the fasting season. With the coronavirus spreading rapidly, it is imperative that you take care of your health by consuming good food which is permitted during this fasting season. We have compiled a few nutrient-rich immunity building recipes and herbal concoctions to help you get the most during your fast! Have a look.

Immunity Building Recipes For the Fasting Season

1. Turmeric Tea

Benefits of turmeric are not unknown to us. This tea is full of anti inflammatory ingredients to help fight infections.

Ingredients:

Organic Turmeric Powder – ½ Tsp
Water – 200ml
Ghee or coconut oil – 1-2 tsp
1 pinch freshly ground black pepper
Ginger juice – ¼ tsp
Lemon juice – ½ tsp
Raw organic honey – 1 tsp

Method:
Take water in a pan and add turmeric powder. Let it boil for 10 minutes. Strain the tea into a container & allow it to cool for 5 minutes. Add the rest of the ingredients and blend for a while to get a strong immunity boosting tea.

2. Panakam (Pronounced as Panagam in Tamil)

It is a traditional South Indian drink specially prepared on Ram Navami. This wonder drink is thought to prevent illness due to seasonal changes.

Ingredients:

Water – 4 cups
Powdered jaggery – ½ cup
Edible camphor (optional) – ½ pinch
Tamarind pulp – 4tbsp
Dry ginger powder – ½ tsp
Freshly ground black pepper (optional) – ¼ tsp
Tulsi leaves – 3 to 4
Freshly ground cardamom powder – ½ tsp

Method:
Soak jaggery in water until it dissolves completely. Now strain the mixture and add camphor, tamarind pulp, ginger, black pepper and cardamom powder. Let it sit for half an hour so all the flavours can infuse. Strain the liquid to remove any particles. Add roughly hand-crushed tulsi leaves and serve. You can adjust the quantity of jaggery and other flavours as per your choice.

3. Green Smoothie

This smoothie can be considered as a meal replacement. It is full of nutrients that can boost your immunity.

Ingredients:

Cucumber roughly cubed (do not remove peel) – 1 large
Banana – 1
Handful of spinach leaves
1 Kiwi or handful grapes
Chia seeds, Watermelon seeds, Pumpkin seeds – 2 tbsp each
7-8 soaked almonds

Method:
Soak all seeds in ½ water for around 2-3 hours. (You can also soak them overnight if you’re planning to have this smoothie for breakfast). Now throw all the ingredients in a blender & blend until smooth. You can add water to adjust the consistency as per your choice. Your green smoothie is ready!

4. Papaya Smoothie

Most of us consider citrus fruits when it comes to getting our daily dose of Vitamin C. But you will be amazed to know that papaya has almost the same amount found in an Orange. Along with that, it’s a great source of Vitamin A too.

Ingredients:

Papaya cubed – 2 cups
Fresh curd – ¾ cup
Chia seeds – 2 tbsp
Fresh orange juice – ¼ cup
7-8 cashews
Cardamom powder – ¼ tsp

Method:
Soak cashews and chia seeds in curd for 2-3 hours. Now throw all the ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth. Adjust the consistency using more orange juice or water. Your smoothie is ready!

5. Orange Delight

Ingredients:

Apple cubed – 1
Boiled & cooled chopped carrot – ½ cup
Orange – 1 cup
Ginger – ½ inch piece
Lemon juice – 1 tbsp
Sunflower seeds and Flax seeds – 2 tbsp each
4 walnuts
Handful of roasted foxnuts

Method:
Soak the nuts and seeds for minimum 2 hours. Throw all the ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth. Your orange smoothie is ready.

As you can see, these immunity building recipes are fasting friendly and a great detox as well – which is the main scientific purpose of fasting. Use these immunity building recipes as a part of your meals to stay healthy at all times! For more immunity building and healthy recipes, tune in to cooking classes on GOQii Play.

Stay Safe, stay indoors and #BeTheForce!

October 15, 2015 By Rimjhim Chaturvedi 1 Comment

How to fast right? This Festive season

Today marks the third day of Navratri and most men and women fast through these 9 days of the festival. But, does anyone know what it means to fast right? Yes! You read it right! Fasting right! One would question, what could possibly go wrong with not eating?? The answer – A lot! could go wrong.

Many people fast during the navratri for various reasons. Some for religious beliefs others to just weigh a little lighter or just give your system a break or detoxify! Whatever, be your reason for fasting, it is important to do it right !

When done properly fasting has its own benefits for the body. It helps in re-setting the electrolyte balance, detoxification and freedom from bloating and water retention.

Well, a healthy fast should not put your body through stress. It should help you achieve your goal or purpose of fasting and make you feel good emotionally and not leave you irritable or feeling drained or sick. It should give you a feeling of fulfilment and accomplishment and make you feel energetic the next day and reduce cravings.

Starting the fast –

Start your day with a glass of warm water.
Have tender coconut water as this will keep you hydrated and energized through the day.

Through the day –

Do not stay hungry for a long period of time as that would bring about a drop in the metabolic rate, lower blood glucose levels and blood pressure resulting in giddiness and headaches. Staying hungry for a long time sends out a famine signal to the body which then goes into a conservation mode. It conserves all the energy or calories from your next meal and stores it as fat for future use fearing it might have to go without food for a long time! Bang goes your efforts to loose weight and burn fat! Therefore, it is advisable to have plenty of fruits and cucumber through the day as it will keep you hydrated and provide essential micro nutrients to keep you going. It will also help the body balance it’s pH and stay alkaline. Make sure you include papaya as they are one of the best foods to cleanse the liver, purify blood, reduce inflammation and remove harmful toxins. Also, if you eat papaya through the day, it will help in digesting the meal that you eat later during the day. It will help prevent constipation that might occur after fasting.
Drink tender coconut water or buttermilk. These would provide you with all the essential electrolytes and energy and also help the body attain an alkaline pH.
Snack on unsalted nuts and dry fruits and makhana (foxnut) through the day. Makhanas (foxnut) are a rich source of fibre, calcium and potassium ad are an ideal low calorie snack. CAUTION – they are highly addictive too!
Avoid sugar through the day. Have natural sugar in the form of dates, raisins, figs, apricots and prunes. Use jaggery and honey to sweeten things.
Avoid dairy products like milk and yoghurt. Choose coconut milk or almond milk. A fast is beneficial when we maintain an alkaline pH and dairy or milk is highly acidic in nature. That is the reason why some people experience acidity, bloating and discomfort during or after a fast. So, have buttermilk, coconut water, nimbu pani with honey or coconut milk instead and reap the benefits of fasting.
Avoid tea and have herbal teas instead. You can even sip on warm water with lemon and honey through the day. Lemons are great sources of vitamin C, which helps make glutathione, a substance needed for detoxifying the liver. They also contain a phytochemical called limonene, which enhances phase two detoxification of the liver and get rid of chemicals inside of the body.

Ending / breaking / opening the fast –

Always break your fast by having a glass of water or coconut water as this would hydrate you and activate your digestive enzymes and intestines and prepare your body for the food you are going to eat.
Certain fasts require you to break or open the fast by eating certain foods. In that case, have a glass of water and after 5 minutes have a small quantity of the recommended food item and then have fruits. After that you can eat a proper meal.
Refrain from a fat laden meal at the end of the day and avoid puris, kachori and deep fried sago vadas as they are deep fried and loaded with fat and also a source of empty calories in large amounts which are nutrient deficient. Moreover, eating a fried dish after a day’s fast is difficult to digest and leads to acidity. Opt for healthier options like roasted or boiled sweet potato and Singhada or lotus seeds.

If you are required to eat kootu ka atta ( buckwheat flour) or singhade ka atta ( water chestnut flour) then opt for healthier options like cheelas * instead of deep fried puri, kachori or pakodi. Remember not to feast while you fast!

Besides having powerful antioxidant properties and being a rich source of beta carotene, vitamin C and potassium, sweet potatoes contain a strong chelating agent – compounds that can bind heavy metals like cadmium, copper, mercury, and lead to help detoxify the body.

Use Sendha namak (Rock salt) instead of regular iodized salt or table salt. Sendha namak is low in sodium ad rich in potassium and helps in re-setting the electrolyte balance.
If you are fasting for entire 9 days, one will have to get back to normal diet very gradually. Start by having coconut water. Move over to a non citrus fruit like apple or banana. Then have semi solid foods and finally progress to a proper whole meal !

Please do not fast if you have a medical condition or are unwell and / or are on medication.

So, this navratri wish you happy FASTING! Try fasting the above mentioned way and transform your body. Feel the changes at many levels and do share with me.

Feel free to write in and ask for recipes * cheela recipe, reasoning behind the tips or if you have any queries.

September 22, 2014 By CHARMI GOGRI 2 Comments

Dandiya workouts- mix dance and fun with fitness

An Indian Festival without traditional food is like a Morning without sun. Since the festive season is back in India there are the greater chances of binging on sweets and savouries, which may result in gaining a few extra kilos! But, not to worry as Navratri is just around the corner and is one of the fun ways of keeping one fit, active, fresh and perhaps shed a few kilos.

Navaratri is one of the glitzy and noisiest festivals and commits huge participation of people every year across the nation. People swirl to the tunes of Garba and Dandiya in colourful attires; they strike wooden sticks to the rhythmic beats of Dandiya music in clockwise and anticlockwise movements. Though the devotional aspect of the dance is well documented, not many are aware that Dandiya is not only fun but also is an ideal way to keep in shape and banish stress.

According to fitness experts, it is an excellent form of exercise that is emotionally, mentally and physically satisfying. Apart from that, it burns as many calories as jogging or swimming. The dance forms in the Garba and Dandiya includes exercises like Shuffles, Squats, Jumping Jacks, Shoulder press and waist rotation

Some of the health benefits of Garba and Dandiya workouts include:

Flat Belly: Most of the people out there are looking for any kind of exercise to maintain their body mass index. Navratri is one of the best occasions to shed extra kilos. Garba and Dandiya workouts are a great way to lose fat especially around the belly. The continuous dance movements help performers lose an estimated 300 to 500 calories an hour depending on the intensity of the dance.
Improved Blood Circulation: Dandiya performance utilizes the muscles from head to toe which increases the blood circulation throughout the body and in turn nourishes the muscles. This provides immense health benefits similar to that of aerobic exercises. Moreover, Dandiya is recommended as a good cardio exercise as it requires a very fast pace which increases heart rate. The dance steps involved in Dandiya stimulate the central nervous system as it requires both hand and foot movements. Moreover, this dance form is very effective for reducing bad cholesterol LDL and blood sugar and increasing the good cholesterol HDL.
Relaxant: Dandiya acts as a greatest stress buster and helps in relaxation of mind. It releases endorphins or brain chemicals, which melts away tension and relaxes the mind, body and soul. This in turn makes people happy and is one of the major physiological benefits to overall well-being. In short, Dandiya Raas lifts one’s spirits and reduces stress.
Other benefits: Dandiya not just improves cardiovascular strength and physical agility, but it also helps improve gait and posture and develops a grace and elegance. It makes you more coordinated and teaches you to move more gracefully. Also, Long hours at work, inadequate rest and a high level of stress take a toll on the quality of life. Garba and Dandiya are a social activity which enables the performer to develop co-ordination, concentration and team spirit as performers have to strike their sticks in a coordinated manner to the beat of the music. So to do this correctly and in rhythm, they have to be completely focused.

In conclusion, Dandiya is a novel alternative to aerobics and cardiovascular exercise. So what are you waiting for? Buy yourself the perfect Dandiya sticks and dance away towards better health and embrace yourself to the tunes of Garba music this Navratri!!