Be a Kitchen QUEEN

Learn how to make healthy dips, jam and sauces at home to perk up the flavours in your food and avoid buying off-the-counter products high on processed sugar and preservatives,

- Naini Setalvad

Eating healthy is an art. It is a balancing act between nutrition and flavour. If you get this right, then you have won the battle. Many people believe that the more tasteless the food, the healthier it is. Let me bust this myth. Your senses play vital role in the food choices you make. A flavourful dish satisfies your taste buds as well as your mind, preventing cravings and binge eating. So forget munching on drab food and spruce up your daily food.

The easiest way to elevate your food is by adding condiments to it. Dips, and sauces are a foolproof way to make your food delicious without compromising on your health.

Important pointers

To ensure that your dips and sauces are nutritious, you need to keep a few pointers in mind. Firstly, make sure that there is no processed sugar in the condiment. The dips and sauces need to be made with good quality fat like nuts, seeds and cold-pressed oils. Palmolive oil should be avoided at all costs and they should be made with as fresh a produce as possible. If you are picking them off the shelf then ensure they are made without preservatives.

If you have fussy children at home who throw a tantrum at the mere sight of vegetables, then this is for you. Dips are a very convenient way to hide vegetables and should be always be kept stocked in your pantry. Serve them at snacktime and con your kids into getting their vitamins and minerals. One of favourites is a beet my root is it walnut dip. Not only packed with nutrients and healthy fats but it's also a complete hit with the kids. Tomato salsa with cucumber batons is also my go to. Yogurt dips with pumpkin, spinach, bottle gourd are a unique way of having these vegetables.