Let sweets please your taste pallet without hurting your health.

Holi is a well-loved festival celebrated across the country with great joy and fervour.  Each region has its own unique way of celebrating the festival, with its own traditions, stories, sweets and significance. A celebration of Holi remains incomplete without the traditional sweets and beverages. However, with people adopting health-conscious lifestyles there aren’t many takers for the traditionally rich, deep-fried sweets that have been a hallmark of this special day. Let us look at healthier alternatives for these traditional sweets.

Gujiyas

Gujiyas are a favourite of all ages, young and old alike. They are deep-fried pockets of sweetened dough that have been filled with khoya, nuts and sugar or jaggery that are dipped into the sugar syrup, cooled and served warm or at room temperature. While delicious beyond measure, they do pack a load of calories. A healthy alternative is to make the dough pockets with unsweetened dough and have a healthier filling of cottage cheese, nuts and date paste for sweetness. They can be baked instead of being fried and dusted with brown sugar or crushed sugar substitutes like Kaloree1 for sweetness instead of dipping them into the sugar syrup, creating a tasty, healthy alternative.

Chaat: Dahi Vada, Papdi Chaat, Aloo Chaat and More

Chaats are a year-around favourite and more than welcome on Holi as a refreshing snack between rounds of fun and play. Its many variations include dahi bhalle, papdi chaat, aloo tikki, and gol gappe and make many mouths water. While a healthy snack in itself, chaat can be made healthier by baking the bhallas, papdi and aloo tikkis to give it an oil-free twist. Low fat yoghurt can be used for the curds and the channa stuffing for the pani puri or golgappa, can be replaced with boiled gram or sprouted moong dal or grams.

Thandai

Holi will be incomplete without thandai. This traditional drink can be made healthier by replacing milk with skimmed milk and sugar with healthier sugar alternatives like Kaloree1 without compromising with the beverage’s taste.

With just a little planning and preparation beforehand, you can have a healthy and happy Holi.