Winter warm-ups
After the scorching summer heat, Delhiites are eagerly looking forward to the winter. But the nip in the air also brings with it, cold and flu. So it’s time to watch your health and eat foods that boost your immunity level.
We love to eat nuts and desi ghee during this time, don’t we? And if you’re tempted to indulge in a nutty feast, experts suggest you must watch your weight.
Says dietician Dr Nailja Kapoor from Diet Well, “Vitamin C is a natural anti-oxidant and boosts immunity. One should have amla. If you don’t like its taste, try amla murabba or amla candies. If you are following a diet chart, avoid murabba. Amla can even be had in its preserved form. Ajwain keeps you away from cold and flu. The best way to incorporate ajwain in your diet is by adding it in your chapattis.”
Dr Deepak S. Bhanot suggests that one should also make optimum use of jaggery. “The body needs to be warm enough to fight the cold, so you must have jaggery in food or milk. Apart from that, til is a good option to keep you warm in peak winter,” he says.
While nuts are a perfect way to keep your body warm, if your diet plan doesn’t allow you to have some, fret not, make a powder of nuts and dry fruits and use it in milk and other recipes. You can even use it to make a protein shake at home,” he adds.
Among the homemade recipes, til ka ladoo from the grandma’s kitchen boosts your immunity.
Says homemaker Sonia Nathani, “Kids today don’t follow the age-old customs and just don’t take desi ghee. I do make pinnis at home and ensure my kids eat them. All you have to do is rub ghee into the flour to get bread crumb consistency. Fry till it turns slightly brown. Cool for five minutes and add powdered sugar, almonds and mix. You can add milkmaid to this to get a mixture which is neither too dry nor too wet. Form into round pinnis and cool before serving,” she says.
To this Dr Ishi Khosla adds, “Traditional sweets prepared at home in desi ghee are great immunity boosters, but an overdose should be avoided. Take them in minimum quantities. To stay fit, avoid excess of sugar in any form.”
Apart from that, winters are also the time when many of us tend to feel low, and Dr Asha, a gynaecologist suggests one should take oranges and spinach in this weather. “Not only they are rich in vitamin C, but they also have high amount of folate. Folate (Folic acid) is said to play an important role in enhancing moods,” says Dr Asha.
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