Yesterday was World Food Day, and this year the spotlight was on eating right. We speak to experts and citizens to find out what young India is eating.
It is as easy as two shakes of a cat's tail to get hangry (millennials’ guide to a cranky, hungry person), when hunger strikes one. And, soon, diet plans go out the window. While the mission for World Food Day (16 October), is to achieve zero hunger worldwide, this year’s focus was on people eating a balanced diet and eating enough.
But does eating enough mean eating to your heart’s content, or to simply eat right and on time? We ask Kavita, a dietician, who explains, “What prevails in society is that anybody who gains weight just needs to (be on a) diet and eat less. However, eating healthy does not equate to going on a diet.”
On the subject of eating right, she says, “You need to incorporate all kinds of nutrients in your diet to avoid any kind of deficiency disease.” She feels that one must eat food in substantial quantities in order to survive. “You just need to adopt healthier options by talking to your dietician or reading books by good authors,” Kavita suggests.
With globalisation and liberalisation, there are too many unhealthy options — namkeens, pretzels, pizzas, burgers, and tacos, among a world of others. When options increase, cravings follow suit.
Sanjana Parashar, a corporate professional, reveals that she cannot resist diving into a cheesecake. “For me, it's very difficult. But nowadays, if I want to have something spicy, I tend to look at options that are more on the healthier side. For example, chickpeas.” As a way to curb her sweet tooth instincts, she resorts to jaggery and roasted channas, along with some regular trekking to burn the calories. “Healthy food or, as a matter of fact, healthy eating is not boring. We feel it is boring because we are not aware of the options. For example, I did not know that you could cook many dishes with broccoli,” she says.
Ambar, another junk food lover, shares his cheat sheet and says, “I have relegated the weekends to all my junk food needs. As far as weekdays go, it is strictly home-cooked food, and outside food of any sort, even if it is ‘healthy’ is off-limits.” As for eating healthy, he usually replaces lunch with fruits and cuts down on my dinner. He feels that it helps in losing weight and restoring nutrients. Though you can always cheat, don’t turn it into a habit and stick to your beans because Willy Wonka ain’t coming.
