Festive time is the most awaited time of the year. It allows us to reunite with our relatives, celebrate together and of course devour our favourite recipes to our heart’s content. In a diverse country like India, every state has a plethora of recipes connected with every festival. Eating these dishes with our loved ones once in a while brings back the memories of great time spent together and makes us understand the importance of family.
But these extra calories contribute towards extra kilos and we run the risk of packing on a few pounds over the festive season. What you eat plays a pivotal role in making you lose weight, just as much as regular exercise. To shed the festive hangover and help you fit into your party clothes again, here are five easy breezy diet recipes for you.
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1. Oats Idli
This is a revamped version of your everyday rava idli and is much more fibrous and nutritious. The high fibre content in oats idli makes it easier to digest. This is one of those recipes that are low in carbohydrates and high in protein. All you gotta do is create a seasoning of your favourite spices and add it to the powdered oats. Further, add dahi to the batter and steam it in idli steamer plates. You can enjoy the idlis with homemade mint chutney that adds so much freshness to the recipe.
2. Egg Chaat
This is a tangy blend of eggs and crunchy onions topped with spices and some lemon juice. Not only does the recipe have good fats but also very high protein content. Take 2-3 boiled eggs and cut them in half. Now add some tomato sauce, chilli sauce and salt into a bowl. Put this fusion onto the top of the eggs and mash it well. Don't forget to add finely chopped onions and lemon juice for that extra kick. This can be a quick evening snack especially when you don't feel like putting in a lot of effort.
3. Coconut Rice
This recipe is one of the staples in the southern part of India and has been their best-kept secret for lustrous hair and hydrated skin for the longest time. In our diet-friendly recipe, we add a modern-day twist by using finely grated cauliflower instead of white rice to avoid unwanted carbohydrates. It's an amalgamation of aroma, taste, and nutrition. All you gotta do is take a couple of spoons of olive oil and add some finely chopped cauliflower to it. Let it cook in the pan for some time and then add chopped coconut to it. Don't add too many spices and try to keep it simple. The final result will be simple and flavourful. This is a recipe that you can eat guilt free.
4. Quinoa Dosa
This is a healthy twist to your regular masala dosa and adds a lot of nutritional value to the dish. There is no use of rice but it is as crispy as one would like it. Moreover, it's an instant recipe and doesn't involve any kind of fermentation. All you have to do is soak dal, quinoa and rolled oats for 4-5 hours and then grind them to make a fine paste. Add cold water gradually to make the texture of the batter smooth and not too runny or thick. To add more nutrients you can even add some methi seeds to the batter.
Try to keep the batter for an hour before using for better results but if you don't have time then you can use it instantly as well. The dosa gets cooked with a couple of spoons of oil and you get an extremely crunchy and nutritious snack or dinner option. To make it heavier and more filling you can add cottage cheese as stuffing.
5. Chana Chaat
This is probably one of the easiest diet food recipes that neither requires a lot of effort nor ingredients. If you are a culinary naive and want to start eating healthy then this is the right recipe to start from. You might doubt the taste of the recipe but to your surprise, it's quite appetising. Just boil some black chana and add freshly cut vegetables like cucumber, onions and tomatoes to it. Sprinkle some white salt and chat masala to elevate the flavour and finalise the dish with the hero ingredient which is lemon juice. The chaat is crunchy, refreshing and very light. It's one of the best replacements for packaged chips and snacks.
All of these recipes are very nutritious and at the same time quite hassle-free to cook. None of them requires you to have extraordinary cooking skills or require you to use any over-expensive ingredients. After cooking these recipes, you will see significant improvement in not only your weight but also your gut health.