Every new year starts with a resolution to eat mindfully and lead a healthy lifestyle. However, it is seldom followed up on after a month. Because being healthy is not something that happens overnight, we need to make more long-term changes in our life.
You can start today by replacing all your unhealthy and fatty foods in the kitchen with healthier alternatives. You can start with this simple list of 5 foods and snacks to add to your pantry and incorporate in your daily diet to inch closer to your goals.
1. Turmeric everything
Dadis and nanis don’t joke when they suggest you apply turmeric on pimples or have it in your milk. Turmeric is rich in antioxidants and anti-inflammatory properties. It helps in strengthening overall immunity, reduces cell damage, eases pain and inflammation. But you might be wondering how a millennial kitchen can make use of a simple yellow powder! Well, that is not the actual turmeric we would want you to use. We are talking about the node curcuma longa which looks like ginger.
Image credit: Turmeric Ashwagandha Latte Mix/VahdamTeas
However, you don’t even have to buy that. The world knows how to make 20-something year olds have their haldi-doodh with a pleasant taste and the least amount of effort. Saffola, as well as Vahdam teas have various options for the golden turmeric milk mix. Just add the mixture to your everyday milk for a boost of immunity as well as other added benefits. If you’re not a milk person, it can also be added to your green tea.
Image credit: Saffola Immuniveda Golden Turmeric Milk Mix
2. Cold-pressed almond oil is not just for external application
We all might have heard that almond oil is great! Why is it so? Well, almond oil is full of vitamin E, and it’s a great source of magnesium, phosphorus, and copper. The antioxidant-rich oil is also anti-inflammatory and boosts immunity.
Image credit: Mantra Herbal Cold Press Almond Oil
So how can you include almond oil in your daily life? It is best used for salad dressing and it’s sweet aftertaste will make you a fan! Apart from salads, you can use almond oil for low-heat baking, or as finishing oil on top of a dish to give it that punch of extra flavour (and nutrition).
Image credit: Fresh Vintage Farms
Mantra Herbal sells a version of Kashmiri Badam Rogan Almond Oil which is good for both application and consumption. Since it contains omega-3 fatty acids, almond oil may also help you maintain healthy cholesterol levels and improve your memory – so get trying!
3. Healthy cereals because a paratha is not the only breakfast food
Image credit: Nourish Organics
We Indians love our aloo puri-chole bhature and obviously our breakfast staple, stuffed paranthas. But it’s time to give that a break. Not only are these options a bank of sodium and cholesterol, but they are also super unhealthy regular options if you are not leading a healthy lifestyle where you regularly exercise and eat healthily.
Breakfast cereals is not an innovative idea, but it is pathbreaking in terms of healthy intake of food. Nourish Organics has a wide range of cereal, granola, and muesli options which you can include in your diet for a thrust towards healthy and mindful eating. Some of our favourites are Amaranth Muesli which is high in protein and antioxidants, Cranberry Super Grain Granola which is filled with hearty millet and quinoa, nuts, and seeds, and much more.
Image credit: Nourish Organics Cocoa Crunch Granola
These can make for perfect snacks, toppings for a fruit smoothie, a warm bowl of porridge, or over your favourite yoghurt.
4. Nuts and seeds to top everything!
Image credit: Nourish Organics
The power of nuts and seeds is unmatched; they are the superfoods of the century and there is no denying that. Just grab a handful of them on the go or add them to your sandwiches, egg, milk, smoothie, yoghurt, topping for hummus, soup, salads, and beyond! They make for the perfect craving enders which are packed with nutrients.
Nourish Organics has a few options which should be on your kitchen shelf to help you transition into that healthy lifestyle you aim for. Their Omega Seed Mix is a powerful blend of sunflower, buckwheat, pumpkin and flax, and their Fruit & Nut Trail Mix is a blend of raw almonds, cashews and walnuts, with dried fruits, are our favourites.
Image credit: Nourish Organics
Nuts and seeds are full of fibre, healthy plant protein and antioxidants, and make for the perfect pick-me-up snack.
5. Veggie chips
Image credit: TBH
There is no denying that hunger pangs make us binge eat unhealthy foods more than our own will. While it is a widely known truth that unhealthy foods cost cheaper than healthy alternatives and that is where most of us fall back on our resolutions.
However, To Be Honest (TBH) has flavourful and affordable alternatives to our 10 rupees deep fried potato chips we run after. They offer vacuum-cooked veggie chips like our tamatar, bhindi, arbi and more. Don’t be afraid of stocking these because you won’t put them down once you start eating them. Our personal favourites are Spiced Okra with Coriander and Crunchy Tomato with Mint.
Image credit: TBH
Lead: Instagram/ Kriti Sanon & Yami Gautam
