Your guide to Navratri fasting:
The golden rule to a healthy life is neither too much nor too less. Whether it is work, play, food or fasting, it should be done in moderation.
Here’s how you can plan your fast for the nine days of Navratri:
Day 1 to 3: Follow a fruit diet. You can eat sweet fruits like apple, banana, sapota, papaya, watermelon and sweet grapes. And you can also have Indian gooseberry (amla) juice, bottle gourd (lauki) juice and tender coconut water.
Day 4 to 6: On the next three days, you can have a one-time meal of the traditional Navratri diet (given below) along with fruit juices, buttermilk and milk for the rest of the day.
Day 7 to 9: During the last three days, you can follow a traditional Navratri diet.
Protip: Observe the fast with yoga and meditation. Gentle yoga poses, stretches, twists, and bends complement the fasting process. It speeds up the detoxification process and you will feel uplifted and energized.
In case you have a health condition, it would be best if you consult a doctor before fasting and remember to do only as much as you are comfortable with.
Stock your kitchen for 9 days:
A traditional Navratri diet is one that pacifies our digestive fire. It can be any combination of the below ingredients:
- buckwheat (kuttu) roti
- fasting rice (shamak rice)
- dosa from fasting rice
- dishes made from sago (sabudana), water chestnut (singhara) flour, rajgira
- yam (suran), colocacia (arbi), sweet potatoes
- clarified butter (ghee), milk and buttermilk. (All these have a cooling effect on our body.)
- yogurt combined with bottle gourd (lauki) and pumpkin
- fluids like tender coconut water, juices, vegetable soups. (Besides providing energy, they prevent dehydration and flush out the toxins released during fasting.)
- fruit salad made with papaya, pear and apple
When following a traditional Navratri diet, it is also recommended to:
- Use rock salt instead of common salt for cooking
- Use healthy cooking methods like roasting, boiling, steaming and grilling
- Be strictly vegetarian
- Avoid grains for the first few days
- Avoid any fried and heave food all together
- Avoid onion and garlic
- Avoid over-eating
Pro-tip: To fast is the best. What if you cannot? Simple, just follow the above guidelines. These will help you to cleanse your system and meditate better.
Break your fast
Congratulations on completing the fast! Enjoy the sense of achievement and the positive effects of fasting. Just go easy on the eating.
- Opt for light food for the first few days.
- Avoid heavy and fried meals at night.
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