September 2034
Food
Skinny Up Your Fridge
Naini Setalvad shares eight smart hacks to make your refrigerator an ally, rather than your adversary in meeting your weight and fitness goals
Refrigerators come in all sizes -small, big, tall, short and even wide but never narrow. Even we humans come in all sizes. This doesn’t mean we should imitate refrigerators and aim to be wide and unfit.
When it comes to maintaining a healthy life style, your refrigerator plays a crucial role. It’s often the first stop for nutritious meals and snacks. However, many of us have a tendency to stock our fridges with items that may not align with our health goals.
Fortunately, making a few smart substitutions can help you “skinny up” your refrigerator as well as your waist. Let’s dive into some com mon refrigerator hacks and explore healthi er alternatives that will keep you on track without compromising on flavour.
Lets get saucy
This may sound harsh but like Maslow’s dog we too are severely conditioned to make certain food choices. For example, whenever some thing continental is placed in front of us, we automatically reach for the tomato ketchup. This habit is so ingrained in us that now even Indian delicacies are doused in ketchup. This preservative laden
condiment adds
u n n e c e s s a r y
calories to our
meal. It also
raises our daily
intake of sug
ar considerably,
putting us at the
risk of Diabetes
a n d other illnesses. I would recommend swapping the ketchup with home made salsa which you can store in your fridge. It’s fresher, high on fibre and delicious as well.
•Store cooked grains and batters: When you
come back from a long day at work
and don’t have the patience to
cook a meal, you automatical
ly reach out for junk in your
fridge. Instead, it is better to
keep a container of pre-cooked
grains like barely, amaranth,
and brown rice to whip up an easy
one-pot meal. Idli and chilla batter are healthy alternatives you can keep stored.
Soup stories
Another no-brainer to reduce cooking time as well as your inches is to keep the fridge stocked with soup. Make a
large batch of vegetable
soup over the weekend
and freeze it. Whenever
the need arises simply
defrost by heating and
drink up. A thick soup
before a meal will fill up
your tummy with the re
quired nutrients and prevent
you from binging on grains.
Bread Delight
I enjoy eating bread. There, I have said it and let’s be honest, most of us do. It’s a staple that is easy to use, easy to store and very satisfying. On the other hand, the factory processed breads are stripped of any nutrients and full of pre
servatives and stabilisers. Made
of Maida, these breads have
no fibre and hence raise
sugar levels. Instead of
asking you to complete
ly avoid
bread, I
would
a s k
you to
c h o o s e better alternatives. Whole grain arti- sanal breads made in
Food 41
small batches at local bakeries are the best op tion. Whole wheat, millet, rye are rich in fibre, do not raise sugar levels, and are filling – this ensures you do not over-eat and put on weight.
Location Change
We are more likely to pick the first thing we see in our fridge and we often place unhealthy foods at eye level. Aim to store some veggies on the top shelf rather than just in the crisper so that your hand reaches out for healthy foods like pre-cut vegetables, vegetable purees, veg
etable dips as they are filled with flavour and nutrients but contain very few calories.
Spread thin
If you have children at home, then your fridge is going to be stocked with cheese spreads and mayonnaise. If it’s in your fridge, you are bound to get tempt- ed to have them yourself. But why feed these to the kids in the
first place? Be
sides adding
u n h e a l t h y
fats and cal
ories to your
meals; they
are not do
ing them or you
any good. Keeping a 42 LifePositive | SEPTEMBER 2024
hung curd dip, flavoured with different herbs is a better replacement. The protein and probi otic rich curd will help you get in shape. Keep ing veggie dips like babaganoush is also a good idea.
Ditch the sodas
With the soaring temperatures in our country, one reaches for aerated and flavoured drinks to replenish electrolytes and hydrate themselves. However these packaged drink are nothing but sugar and food colouring. They are a known cause of obesity worldwide. If plain water is not your first preference then naturally fla
vour your water with seasonal fruits, lemon and mint, ginger etc.
No more wasted food
Keep a habit of scanning the fridge once a week and bring ahead the items that need to be fin ished like opened tomato paste or any yogurt. Keeping it in the front will remind you to use them while cooking at home which is a health ier option than ordering food from outside.
These small changes will help skinny up your fridge and your body too!
RECIPES
Salsa
Ingredients
• 200 gm tomatoes
• 100 gm green capsicum
• 1 tsp red chilli powder
• 1 tsp oregano
• 1 tsp chilli flakes
• 2 – 3 garlic flakes, grated
• 1 tsp balsamic vinegar
• Salt to taste
Method
1. Boil the tomatoes, and peel the skin.
2. Place 2 boiled tomatoes in a blender. Add
Orange infused water
Ingredients
• 1 orange sliced into thin segments • ¼ cup fresh mint leaves
• 1 litre water
Method
1. Put orange segments and mint leaves at the bottom of a big glass jar,
2. Add water to the jar till full and place in the fridge.
3. Serve chilled
red chilli powder, balsamic vinegar and salt to it and blend.
3. Chop the rest of the tomatoes finely. 4. Roast the capsicum directly on the flame till little blackened.
5. Scrape off the skin and chop the capsicum finely
6. Add the chopped tomatoes and capsicum to the tomato pulp
7. Add the oregano, garlic, vinegar and the chilli flakes to the salsa
8. Chill and serve
Naini Setalvad is a nutritionist, specialising in lifestyle and immunity disorders. Her foundation, Health For You, throws light on healthy food habits. Contact her at healthforyou@nainisetalvad.com
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