Navratri 2022: Foods to Eat and Avoid During Fast

Make sure to include these healthy foods and avoid the ones as advised to follow the Navratri 2022 fasting rules.

Sharad Navratri 2022 is quite special because we will be celebrating the festival with full enthusiasm and preparations this year after the fear of Covid has subsided. Navratri is a significant nine-day festival in which people observe fast, worship the nine forms of Goddess Shakti, shop for family and make great Vrat recipes to stay healthy throughout.

It is a fun and interesting festival with various rituals and the rituals or fasting rules differ from community to community. Devotees avoid non-vegetarian foods and alcohol during Navratri. They follow a sattvic diet and we are here with a list of foods you can eat and avoid while observing fast.

Navratri Foods to Eat

1. Dairy products can be a great addition to the Navratri fast diet since they replace the protein needed from pulses and meat. Paneer, yogurt, and milk can be used to prepare various Vrat recipes. Yogurt, buttermilk, and raita are rich in probiotics that keep digestive issues at bay while the high protein intake keeps you full for longer.

2. Flour like Kuttu ka Atta or buckwheat and Singhare ka atta can be consumed while observing fast. They are a great replacement for refined and normal wheat flour. These flours take time to get digested and keep the blood sugar levels constant.

3. Fruits are great for people observing the Navratri 2022 fast. Even if there are doubts about other food items while you are on fast, fruits in no way will break your fast. You can include fruits like like strawberries, oranges, kiwis, cherries, and jamun which are rich in fiber and vitamin C.

4. Vegetables like potatoes and green vegetables (Brocolli, spinach) are rich in iron, vitamin C, fiber, protein, calcium, selenium, and magnesium. You will have to cook them without onion and garlic to follow the fasting rules. You can use cooking methods like boiling, baking, and grilling to keep the nutrients intact.

5. Just like flour, pseudo-grains like Samak rice, Amaranth, and buckwheat can be used to prepare Vrat meals. You can prepare Navratri-special meals like khichdi, Tikki, and Laddoo.

6. In terms of adding taste and spice to the Vrat ka Khana, you can use sendha namak instead of table salt, chilies, tomatoes, jeera, coriander, and Garam masala. Sendha namak is a highly crystalline salt with low amounts of sodium chloride and is purer than table salt.

Navratri 2022: What not to Eat

1. During the Navratri fast, all kinds of pulses and legumes, including dals are not allowed.

2. Devotees observing the Navratri fast must avoid the consumption of alcohol and all non-vegetarian foods.

3. Consumption of regular flour like wheat, refined flour, rice flour, corn flour, and sooji are prohibited.

4. The meals prepared for the people observing the fast must not have table salt, onion, or garlic since these are strictly prohibited in the Navaratri fast and they also produce heat.

5. It is advised to avoid spices that generate heat and these include heeng, methi dana, dhaniya and garam masala.