HEALTHY START TO THE NEW YEAR! YOUR GUIDE TO CULINARY APPROPRIATE ADAPTATIONS!

As we move into the new year 2023 with a whole list of aspirations and expectations that all goes well for each one of us in terms of work, health, family and more it is important to keep in mind the importance of a balance in our diets, the fact that we need to be having a strong immunity in our systems to overcome any sort of infections or viral, dealing with Covid-19 has been a learning for all of us and since we all are aware that we need a strong immunity level built up taking place during the recovery days a few tips from our culinary collection can also assist us do it well.

Most people these days are adapting themselves to various styles and methods and combo treatments from allopathy to Ayurveda, naturopathy and more! We must however take all advice and reconfirm any readings with our nutritionists and then only take up one or more of them to help better suit our system and help it heal faster.
Firstly, we need to be strong come what may, since stress pulls down our immunity levels drastically which is not a good sign instead we need to be calm, patient and slightly more alert once the tests are positive. Let us now look at a few helpful pointers listed below as suggested by a few experts and studies on the culinary Covishield.
Trivia on Culinary Aspects & Tips to Boost Immunity!

1. Drink warm/lukewarm water at least 3 to 4 litres, throughout the phase and continue following it for days and weeks to go.
2. Alter your diet immediately as we have heard “You are what you Eat!” Now it would be Eat light, feed wise & rest right to sit up upright to face the tide!” it is time to eat limited, but nutritious and low in oil & fats, sodium and spices.
3. It is suggested to be on a protein rich diet ideally while recovering, would be great to be on vegetarian diet ideally which is also protein rich. Also follow the policy of cook fresh eat fresh! Do not store the cooked food for a long time and again re-heat & consume.
4. As a guide to keeping inflammation and bacterial growth at bay, we would suggest to keep wheat away from the diet for a few days and also keep away wheat based products for a while, instead recommended to consume brown rice, pulses like rajma, black eye peas, and opt for gluten free flours like oats flour, soy flour etc for your chapattis etc.
5. We also need to keep away sweets and sugar in all forms hence none of your favorite Gulab jamuns, malai sandwich or rossogulla, phirni etc for some time, it’s time to revamp your diet.
6. Mucus formation needs to be taken care of in the system during these times, therefore it is suggested to avoid milk and milk based/dairy products as well not to be included in the diet for a while.
7. On a positive note, one can try consuming roasted pounded Flaxseed powder, 1 -2 tsp per day, depends on how well you can have the intake and acceptance by your body, also try having organic honey a tsp or so in a day, it does have benefits to offer as well.
8. We have often heard of fresh turmeric being great when it comes to remedial measures and it has been handy in our kitchens since ages now, try fresh ground turmeric paste with a little crushed black peppercorns and a few tulsi leaves and have it as a mix in the morning to start your day on an empty stomach, it has worked for many.
9. During this recovery and rebuilt of strong immunity levels in our body it is important to make healing energy available on our plates as well and what better than a small portion of boiled rice, with a dal which is made non-spicy, less oil and salt a little drinkable works well. Furthermore, we are aware of the best nutri rich voted Indian favorite dal khichdi- have this made with yellow or green moong dal, mildly to low in spices and salt levels. For the dessert and sweet tooth lovers go for a small portion of a ripened sweet papaya!
10. Taking positive culinary moves to waive off the positivity from the test reports would be to include tisanes or herbal teas, ginger- cinnamon tea or a combination of black pepper and tulsi chai, have this few times a day in small portions with no sugar and no milk, try adding giloy though!
11. Drumsticks as we mentioned in our immunity boosting list earlier is a true friend and support here, have a nice light soup made with drumsticks- I make this like a shorba but with no oil, just with curry leaves, pepper, ginger, choose between ajwain or jeera, a touch of lime, turmeric, fresh coriander, mint with cut up drumsticks in boiling water with a pinch of pink or Himalayan salt if available, cook the drumsticks in the soup pot, extract and strain out the flavors of the drumstick, nice and mild, sip on this one for a few days!
12. A few foods from the Pre-Biotic category are also helpful and come handy here to boost up our immunity levels for instance gradually we can start using a little garlic, ginger, onion, ripened banana, fresh coconut, fermented foods, brinjal and even raw tomatoes in our healthy cooking drive to also support good gut bacteria in our system which goes for a little toss due to antibiotics.
13. Experts also suggest to include sattu in the special diet after the initial few days it is possible to do a desi protein shake kind of concept here and sattu goes well with roasted jeera powder as well, having a couple of spoons of this mixture should be good.
14. Sprouted and ground moong dal or mix dal dosa or cheela concept being made with very little oil on a non-stick tava with light seasonings and flavorings like ginger and onion should be good to start now, can also use little sprouted kabuli chana once in a while in the above.
15. For those who wish to opt for eggs, may think of including 1-2 boiled eggs or a simple omelette to go once in couple of days with some multi-grain bread or gluten free slice bread.
16. Almonds soaked overnight and eaten in the morning would be a good start to the day, have 6-8 of them per day, along with these one can also think of having raisins, figs or Anjeer as available or any other dry fruit as well of your choice can be consumed.
17. We all need a little twist of taste on our palate during these times, try a sweet potato and sprouted cooked/boiled moong dal tikki, with a touch of ginger, green chili, salt and coriander /mint and have them like small tikkis shallow fry on a non-stick with very little oil for a change add a little crushed melon, sunflower seeds for a crunch in them.
18. Here are a few recipe suggestions which can be easily made and are healthy as well which are a perfect add on to the cooking list with the onset of the new year.

By: Dr. Kaviraj Khialani- Celebrity Master Chef.