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Yes, with a little planning and restraint, you can celebrate Diwali without feeling like you’re missing out
Diwali, the Festival of Lights, is celebrated throughout the country. Food is also an important aspect of the festival, with sweets being the highlight. While eating too many sugary and refined sweets is bad for anyone, it is especially bad for people who have blood sugar issues.
During any festive season, people with diabetes must be extra cautious when it comes to their sweet intake and consumption of other high caloric specific foods. But they can certainly celebrate and indulge in moderation if they have been managing their blood sugar well. The key will be to exercise restraint and carefully control portions while keeping a close eye on overall calorie and sugar intake.
Plan Your Meals
Consult a nutritionist or use a meal planner to keep track of your total carbs and fats. So, if you know that one laddoo equals one portion of your carbohydrate quota, you can adjust the rest of your meal accordingly. The same rule applies to fried foods or savoury foods, as excessive fat consumption can lead to weight gain, which can impair blood glucose control.
Opt For Healthy Desserts Or Sugar-Free Sweets
To keep your sugar levels under control, avoid sweets that are high in oil and ghee and loaded with sugar.
Desserts should be made at home with healthier ingredients such as dates and stevia instead of sugar; ragi, millets and jowar flour instead of maida; and low-fat ghee instead of hydrogenated vegetable oils. Use unsweetened almond milk or skimmed dairy milk instead of full-fat milk.
If you do want to indulge in some sweets this Diwali, you can also go sugar-free. But keep in mind that, even with sugar-free treats, you must practise portion control.
Be Careful With Alcohol Intake
Alcohol, like sugar, contains empty calories that can quickly raise your blood sugar levels, so choose a drink with fewer calories, such as vodka or whisky. Also, limit yourself to one or two drinks maximum.
If you don’t want to drink alcohol, try fresh lemon and mint juice (above) without sugar or coconut water.
It is best to avoid mocktails and cocktails if you have diabetes.
Also make sure to include some form of healthy snack alongside the drink to prevent hypoglycemia or low blood sugar levels.
Skip Packaged Foods
Juices, aerated beverages, chips, popcorn, sauces, bread, instant noodles, and other packaged foods should be avoided. This way, a little indulgence in home-cooked Diwali snacks won’t harm your health. Stay hydrated by drinking water and other non-carbonated beverages such as green tea or lemon juice.
Switch To Ingredients That Are Low On The GI Scale
This is the most important thing to remember: look for foods that are low on the GI scale. These are foods that are high in fibre and/or protein while being low in simple carbs and sugar, resulting in no blood sugar fluctuations.
Add Fruits And Nuts
Diwali is a time for gifting, so, if you’ve accumulated boxes upon boxes of dry fruits and nuts, why not transform them into delectable desserts?
Despite the fact that most nuts and dry fruits are high in calories and fat, they have low GI scores, making them suitable for diabetics.
Furthermore, they are naturally sweet, so no added sugars are required.
Dry fruit laddoos (main image) made with dates, figs, pistachios and almonds, are one of the healthiest Diwali sweets for diabetics because they have no added sugars and are high in nutrients.
It is always beneficial to be aware of and educated about our health, and it is always preferable to prevent illness by making wise decisions to keep ourselves healthy. A little mindfulness can keep your Diwali spirits high without making you feel like you’re missing out.
Images: Shutterstock
Disclaimer: All views are the author’s own. Healthntrends cannot be held liable for any mishap arising thereof
Also Read: Go Back To Sleep And Other Ways To Kick Your Food Cravings
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