As the temperature drops and we bid adieu to summer, the festive fervour is in full swing across the country. Shardiya Navratri is the first of these festivals and it commenced on September 26, 2022. During the nine-day Hindu festivity, devotees worship nine different avatars of Goddess Durga and some also observe a fast. Sabudana, kuttu, samak, singhara and aloo are some of the common ingredients consumed during the Navratri fasts. Celebrity nutritionist Rujuta Diwekar recently took to Instagram to share a full-day meal plan for Navratri 2022. She included a range of options for all the meals of the day including early morning, breakfast, lunch, dinner and even mid-meal snacks.
(Also Read: Navratri 2022 Special: 7 Unique Vrat Recipes to Make Fasting Fun)
"Navratri, amongst many other things, is about staying disciplined with food to help nurture the creative and the feminine principle in our physical bodies," wrote Diwekar in the caption of her post. She said that following a fasting meal plan during Navratri would offer immediate benefits such as smoother digestion, better moods and hormonal balance, and improved skin and hair health. "These meals add the much-needed diversity to our diets, beat the monotony of roti sabzi, dal chawal and are a good way to infuse essential fats, minerals and phytonutrients into our lives," she added. She further said that the meal plan could be tweaked according to the region and local availability.
Here Is the Navratri meal plan shared by celebrity nutritionist Rujuta Diwekar:
1. For the first meal of the day that was to be consumed upon rising, Rujuta Diwekar recommended options like a handful of nuts, overnight soaked raisins, or fresh fruit.
2. For breakfast, Rujuta Diwekar suggested multiple recipes such as singhare ke pakore, sabudana khichdi or even sweet potato with dahi. Aloo ki kheer and chana poori halwa could also be consumed as per Diwekar but only towards the end of nine days of fasting.
(Also Read: 5 Don'ts For Weight Loss Journey Shared By Celeb Nutritionist Rujuta Diwekar)
3. For lunch, it was all about different kinds of sabzis paired with kuttu, rajgira or singhare ki roti or even samak ke chawal. You can choose from alu sabzi, arbi, makhane ki sabzi and even kuttu ki kadhi.Rujuta Diwekar also suggested making the upsacha thalipeeth.
4. For mid-meal snacks, there were plenty of suggestions made by Rujuta Diwekar such as fresh fruit, shakarkandhi ki chaat or sabudana wada with dahi. You could also have some drinks like a milkshake, chaas, shikanji or kheer.
5. For dinner, Rujuta Diwekar recommended keeping it light with samak ke chawal paired with dahi. Alternatively, you could savour paneer sabzi with rotis as suggested for lunch. The nutritionist also suggested jhangora (barnyard millet) kheer for the final meal of the day.
Take a look at the full meal plan post by celebrity nutritionist Rujuta Diwekar:
About Aditi AhujaAditi loves talking to and meeting like-minded foodies (especially the kind who like veg momos). Plus points if you get her bad jokes and sitcom references, or if you recommend a new place to eat at.