How to Build a Balanced Fasting-Day Plate
Navratri and the festive season bring fasting days, family meals and a lot of food. On fasting days, the usual trap is one heavy dish, a long gap, and hunger by evening. A simple plate can help. Think of it in four parts.
1. Something filling
Start with a base that keeps you going. Kuttu or singhara roti, samak rice or a boiled sweet potato are all familiar choices that fit most fasting traditions. Keep the portion sensible: a base should anchor the plate, not cover it.
2. Something with staying power
Add a food that helps you feel full for longer. Curd, paneer, peanuts and makhana are common choices on fasting days. A small handful or a bowl is enough. This is the part most people skip, and it is often the reason hunger arrives so early.
3. Something fresh
Bring in vegetables and fruit. Lauki, pumpkin and cucumber work well as a cooked or raw side, and a seasonal fruit adds sweetness without reaching for the fried snack. Fresh food also adds colour and texture, which makes a plain plate feel like a proper meal.
4. Something to sip
Water often gets forgotten on fasting days. Plain water, buttermilk or lemon water with sendha namak are easy ways to stay hydrated through the day.
Fried snacks are still welcome
Fasting food is also festive food. Sabudana vada, aloo tikki and other fried favourites do not have to disappear. They just work better as one part of the plate than as the whole plate.
A sample fasting day
- Morning: a glass of buttermilk and a banana.
- Midday: kuttu roti with lauki sabzi and a bowl of curd.
- Afternoon: a handful of roasted makhana or peanuts with a seasonal fruit.
- Evening: samak rice, paneer and a cucumber salad.
Adjust this for your own tradition, taste and routine. There is no single right way to fast.
A note on health
If you have a health condition, are pregnant or are on medication, speak to your doctor before changing how you eat or fast.
Plans built around your food
RiteFood is a personalized nutrition app that builds meal plans around the food you already cook and eat, with healthy recipes from cuisines around the world and connections to organic and natural food vendors. Get RiteFood on Google Play.
