Celebrating Holi

Holi is a Hindu festival celebrating spring, love, and new life. It's also the festival of colour and includes dancing, singing and throwing powder paint and coloured water.

Holi marks the arrival of spring, so it's usually celebrated in March and typically lasts two days.

The purpose of this guide is to encourage our members to enjoy a happy, healthy Holi.

While we know there are many variations of traditional Holi meals, we have presented a range of traditional foods below.

However, if you celebrate specific family traditions during Holi and would like guidance on navigating anything in particular, please message your health coach.

The importance of planning

Traditional Holi meals, such as a traditional thali, tend to be rich and heavy, so if we want to celebrate Holi while keeping our health goals in mind, we must be mindful of balancing our meals.

This might mean planning your week and ensuring that you're organised on the days that you are enjoying some traditional foods.

For example, if you're eating dinner out, you might want a nutritious breakfast and lunch prepared for the day of the meal and the day after.

Consider the balance

It's tradition to make sweet Indian foods on the first day of Holi. However, this doesn't mean we have to overindulge.

Consider how much of each sweet food to make based on the number of family members, friends and visitors you’ll likely receive.

Also, be mindful of your intake of foods high in carbohydrates and sugar, such as samosa, pakora, bhajia, kachori, Jalebi, barfi, Gulab Jamun, Malai Kulfi, halwa and ladoos.

Enjoy a healthier dessert or sweet snack

Fruits are an offering at Holi. You could pair fruit with nuts or yoghurt for a more nutritious, protein-rich snack or dessert.

Consider making a delicious fruit raita by putting apples, pomegranate seeds, and bananas in a bowl of curd with salt and chat masala.

Eat a balanced plate

When putting together a Holi meal for your friends and family, think about the healthy balanced plate model, and make sure that many delicious protein and vegetable options are available to balance the traditional carbohydrate-rich foods.

Some traditional protein dishes include dosa, dahi vada, and various lentil dishes. Here are some recipes for you to consider:

For our vegan members or anyone who'd like to try a plant-based dish this Holi, here's our senior health coach Deepa's family tofu saag recipe:
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(Serves 4) Cooking time 25 minutes
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Ingredients:

2 tablespoons oil

1 red onion, finely chopped

1 tsp mustard seeds

2-inch ginger, minced

7 cloves garlic, minced

1 green chilli, minced

1 teaspoon salt, adjust to taste

1 teaspoon ground coriander

½ tsp garam masala

1 teaspoon cumin powder

½ teaspoon turmeric

1 whole bag of spinach, chopped.

½ bag of kale, chopped

Knob of butter

200g tofu, diced
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Method:

Grind the garlic, ginger and green chilli (optional) into a paste using 2 tbsp of water.

Heat oil in a heavy-bottom saucepan over medium heat. Add the mustard seeds, and once they start to pop, add the onions, ginger, garlic and chilli and fry until the onions are brown.

Tip in the chopped spinach and kale and cook until the water has evaporated and the spinach and kale have softened.

Add all the spices except the garam masala and cook for 5 minutes.

Blitz the cooked spinach and kale mixture using a hand blender until smooth.

Add in the tofu, garam masala, 2 cloves of garlic and a knob of butter and slow cook for 5 minutes. Serve with salad, quinoa and a dollop of Greek yoghurt.

You can also balance out your plate with some additional vegetable side dishes. Here are our top suggestions:

Creating a healthy Thali

A Thali is often a traditional part of Holi celebrations, though often it can be high in refined carbohydrates and sugar. Here are a few ideas you could use to make this delicious meal more nutritious:

Stay Hydrated

Make water your drink of choice; sparkling water, naturally flavoured water, coconut water, herb or fruit tea (without sugar) to hydrate yourself throughout Holi.

Thandai/Bhang is a traditional milk drink that contains many healthy spices. However, it can also contain a lot of sugar.

Consider decreasing or replacing the sugar, such as adding cinnamon or vanilla.

If you prefer a traditional Thandai, choose one daily and consider the serving size. Consider having this in place of a dessert.

Join in the fun and increase your cardio!

On the second day, everyone comes together to celebrate this joyous festival by singing, dancing, and pelting powder colours made from dry flowers and water on each other. This is a perfect opportunity to increase your activity while celebrating your culture.

If you are concerned about how much activity you'll be able to participate in, consider which aspects of the Holi celebration are most important to you and focus on that.
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After Holi

Consider re-gifting any leftover sweet foods to other family members so your kitchen returns to its healthy space as soon as possible.
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Deepa’s Tip:

"Let's add a healthy twist to our celebrations by enjoying the delicious roasted coconut from the fire in creative and nutritious ways.

How about trying coconut chunks with a sprinkle of chaat masala for a burst of flavour as a snack or grating some coconut into your morning porridge for some extra sweetness?".
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You can also use the coconut in any of these delicious Second Nature recipes:

Toasted Muesli

Anzac cookies

Spiced Coconut Porridge

Bura na mano Holi hai!

Written by Simi Ryatt