We must avoid all market made sweets no matter what the brand of the sweetmaker / sweet shop! This is because even the best sweet shops use large quantities of sugar, refined flour (maida), preservatives, chemical stabilizers and artificial colours! In some cases, the hygiene and quality of sweets also may be suspect. Even small quantities of such items have a highly adverse long term impact on your health - leading to insulin resistance, fat accumulation and lifestyle diseases such as PCOD, thyroid, diabetes, heart conditions and even cancer!
You may think that this is just once in a while that you are indulging in such junk food, however at Fitgalaxy we believe in making fitness into a lifestyle that must be followed at all times sustainably and without exceptions. When we start valuing our health and fitness more than temporary and instant gratification from market made sweets (which are the same as junk food), the choice of whether to go for such junk won’t exist in your mind.
Instead of eating such sweets, it is easy to make your own sweets at home spending less than an hour and at a fraction of the cost of expensive and dangerous market sweets.
We show you how to prepare gujiya with jaggery at home in less than an hour!
Ingredients:
- Jaggery: 100 gms, Grated Coconut: 30 gms, Almond: 8 pcs (finely chopped), Cashews: 8 pcs (finely chopped), Raisins: 8 pcs (finely chopped), Chironji: 6 pcs, Wheat Flour: 60 gms, Sooji: 60 gms, Milk: 60 ml, Elaichi Powder: 1 tsp, Ghee: 30 gms, Ghee: 2 tsp for kneading, Ghee for frying
Method:
- Heat a pan and pour 30 ml ghee. Add jaggery broken into small pieces to the pan and gradually melt it to a thick consistency.
- Add grated coconut, chopped nuts and elaichi powder, mix well.
- Spread the mixture in the plate and let it cool.
- Knead the dough with milk, 2 tsp of ghee and water to a hard texture.
- Roll out small pooris without any cracks. Take care not to roll out very thin in middle as the mixture may come out.
- Stuff the jaggery mixture in the middle and wet the edges with milk/water. Fold the rolled out dough and use fork to seal the edges.
- Heat required amount of ghee for frying in a thick heavy bottom pan. Heat it and deep fry the gujiyas for 2-3 minutes till golden brown in colour.
- Drain the excess ghee by putting them on a tissue paper.
- Serve garnished with chopped nuts.
Why you should avoid all market and synthetic colours this holi
Similar to market made sweets, are synthetic colours most commonly available in the market. These are highly dangerous and should be avoided completely. Remember that even after taking all precautions such as oiling etc, it still takes many days and sometimes weeks to get rid of all the micro-particles and chemicals in the colour which may not even be visible to the naked eye.
Market colours and what they contain
Green Colour
- Contains copper sulphate
- Side effects:: Eye allergies, temporary blindness
Red Colour
- Contains mercury sulphide
- Side effects: Cancer, mental problems, impaired vision, paralysis
Purple Colour
- Contains Chromium Iodide
- Side Effects: Bronchial asthma, allergies
Silver Colour
- Contains Aluminium Iodide
- Side Effects: Potent Carcinogen (causes cancer)
Blue Colour
- Contains Prussian Blue
- Side Effects: Dermatitis
Black Colour
- Contains Lead Oxide
- Side Effects: Causes fatigue, headache, abdominal pain, hypertension.
Pink Colour
- Contains Rhodamine B
- Side Effects: Eye irritation, respiratory problems.
Yellow Colour
- Contains Auramine
- Side Effects: Evidence of being a carcinogen
Preparing holi colors in less than 1 hour
Enjoy this festival with natural colors using beetroot, palak, turmeric / haldi at home in less than 1 hour!
Ingredients:
- Cornstarch: 15 tablespoon (5 tablespoons for each colour)
- Turmeric for yellow colour: 5 teaspoons
- Beetroot Juice for red colour: 5 teaspoons
- Spinach juice for green colour: 5 teaspoons
- Essential oil of choice or rose water (optional)
Make your own yellow colour
- Make a smooth flowy paste with turmeric by adding water/gulabjal.
- Take cornstarch in a bowl and mix the tumeric paste slowly.
- Stir thoroughly. Add the essential oil 2-3 drops and mix again.
- Now pour it in a wide plate. Put it out in the sun to dry. After an hour homemade colour is ready.
- Grind it dry in a blender to make it into a fine powder texture.
Make you own red colour
- Grind the beetroot with some water in a blender.
- Strain the mixture and gradually add it to the cornstarch.
- Mix the mixture thoroughly and add 2-3 drops of essential oil.
- Now pour it in a wide plate.
- Put it out in the sun to dry.
- After an hour homemade colour is ready.
- Grind it dry in a blender to make it into a fine powder texture.
Make your own green colour
- Grind the spinach with some water in a blender.
- Strain the mixture and gradually add it to the cornstarch.
- Mix the mixture thoroughly and add 2-3 drops of essential oil.
- Now pour it in a wide plate.
- Put it out in the sun to dry.
- After an hour homemade colour is ready.
- Grind it dry in a blender to make it into a fine powder texture.
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