What’s the new diet in the market?food
I am bewildered with the presence of fad diets our economy is dumped with. Every meal, every item in the refrigerator demands a huge amount of explanation from my husband and brother.
What happened to my mom’s way of cooking and serving up a delicious scrumptious meal? Are these recipes forsaken now in newer homes? Maybe.
Our outlook may have become western but our style of cooking remains indigenous.
I vouch for expert opinions – how can someone decide about the food on my plate? Don’t get me wrong, what I mean is that my grandmother was an expert in guiding us and educating us about the right measure, nature and characteristic of food, so in that manner aren’t all grandmothers and mothers nutritionists serving their families exceptionally well?
Anything which reaches me in the rawest form is best for me. Fresh produce from the farm to my table with lesser distance is my idea of nutrition. Packaged food should be distant on my platter.
I do acknowledge and accept that with the advent of international cuisines and foreign imports-spices from all over the world just a grocery store away, we have a new arena to explore. The world is in our kitchen now and I’m delighted with the choices. My concern lies with the obnoxious behaviour and attitude with which people have shunned rajma chawal and ghee and chosen black bean gravies, olive oil and brown/black rice. This disharmony leads to my agony.
During times when there was no pollution, lesser stress levels, ample time to prepare meals and enough workout sessions on the field and doing household chores, staying fit was a necessity and not a luxury which it is today.
A healthy lifestyle is not about lifting weights, running endlessly on machines, your protein intake or calorie count. It’s about conscious awareness you create within yourself about the circumstances you breathe, eat and work in. You cannot triumph with physical fitness over mental balance, it would not last long. Therefore each diet dies within a month of its inception.
The Indian meal is rich in vitamins and nutrients required to satiate you. Eating well has to be your lifestyle, not a fashion journey you take on every month. You don’t have to buy the expensive ‘low carb’ or ‘no-fat’ foods. Just check your portion of food you have been eating. Anything in excess is harmful, be it ghee, butter, egg whites, no carbs, no sugar or any other fad comfort food you relate to.
“You are what you eat.” Only if you eat well, you think well; when you think well, you surely get into making life-altering decisions with your physical regime work and health. Everything only falls in order once you are satisfied and in-sync with all your energies. Do away with the unnecessary bit and eat clean.
A healthy, well-nourished brain and body are enough to keep you afloat and roaring. It’s not about how soon you reach your target, it’s about how well you did on your journey to reach the mark. Create healthy habits, not restrictions.
While I write this bit, I’m relishing my Aloo paratha and tea.
Bon Appetit!
rashipidwani@gmail.com