Ritu Gorai - Mast Mom's Health Mantra

Ritu Gorai leads a no - nonsense & complete Momsense social support group for networking amongst Mumbai based mothers called JAMM's. Journey About Mast Mom's is an award winning network that helps connect mothers online + communicate offline as well.

We met up with Ritu Gorai to learn about her Health Mantra.

What is the common ‘health’ question you come across in your various JAMM forum’s with regards to food?

The most discussed topic around ‘Health’ across various JAMM forums is around getting kids to eat healthy. Mothers are always on search for ideas to make healthy food interesting for their children and stir kids away from the charm of ‘Junk’ food.

I believe children form their habits and views based on what they see at home. The best way to get kids to eat healthy food and stay away from ‘Junk’ food is to “Practice What You Preach” – so we as parents should adopt healthy eating habits and our children will follow.

Mothers are also looking for losing excess calories specially the ones gained around pregnancy and get fitter themselves.

One of the common mistakes that people make when picking up packaged food is to look only at the 'Expiry Date' and getting swayed by the health claims in front of the pack. As Mothers, we are responsible for health of our children and family, so we should  also look at the back of the packing for Nutrition Facts and the ingredients. My mantra for picking packaged food is that higher the number of terms I don't understand in the ingredient list the further the pack stays away from my home ;).

I understand you have certain food restriction, so tell us how you discovered it?

I had skin breakouts, severe indigestion and hyperacidity due to food intolerances.  Fortunately, my elder brother is an allergy management specialist hence finding out the list of allergens was very quick and act upon in an informed manner. This is when I discovered the healthy world of plant-based diet.

I was a non-vegetarian as a child but gave up all meat and seafood after a discussion with my grandfather during a Diwali puja. My grandfather’s explanation and the reasons for not consuming meat touched me so deeply that since that day I have been a vegetarian.

 This incident leads me to believe that rather than dictating healthy eating habits to kids explaining to them the harmful effects of eating ‘junk’ food will stir them towards choosing food right for them rather than getting swayed by the marketing by food companies or peer pressure from friends.

What is the dietary regime you follow, to ensure you get enough nutrition in spite of the limitation of food you can consume due to the restriction?

Post embracing a Plant based diet which worked magically for me, I can proudly say that I am healthy, active and more important do not have any lifestyle disorders or pain points such as PCOD, Blood pressure, Hypertension etc. I also do not suffer from any nutrition deficiencies due to the diet that I follow.  I do not feel I am living in any restricted food indulgence just because I follow a plant-based food.

I keep my meal simple by having either a smoothie in the morning or salads during the day. I start my mornings with a fruit on a daily basis. I have two fruits a day one in the morning and another has a mid-evening snack. However, the most important aspect is having the fruit in the right manner, I never have a fruit post meal but always an hour before which is the healthy & correct way of consuming a fruit.

How do you manage when you attend various social and professional functions?

Organic fruits or dried unsalted nuts in my handbag come to my rescue whilst travelling. I always eat before leaving or carry freshly homemade tiffin along.

Well in Mumbai there are plenty of options to indulge in vegetarian/Jain as well as vegan food.  When I travel and if it’s a long duration, I prefer staying in service apartments where I can then source my fresh veggies and stir my meal and if that is not possible then I carry ready to cook meal kits but that would be my last rescue resort. 

Do you feel restricted and have a need to indulge in a diet cheat?

Not at all... its all in the mind !

As a mother what are the health mantra’s you follow for your child?

My Mother who would never hand us a piece of Indian sweets but would instead gives us fruit inculcated my Habit of eating a fruit. So given an option between a cookie and a fruit I still choose a fruit.

I have also followed the same with my daughter. Her snack box usually contains a fruit and a home cooked meal like a mini Dosa or mini Idli.  I avoid giving her biscuits or any other quick fixes package food in her snack box.

My lunch comprises of a big bowl of Salad and a good portion of dal, rice and Sabji. Even my daughter enjoys her salad bowls.  My daughter, who sees me enjoying my favorite snack, Pav Bhaji full of different veggies, also enjoys eating her vegetables.

My daughter Sara barely has access to any online gadgets. I ensure that she does plays in the garden or has a physical activity almost every single day. Sara strictly eats home made fresh food daily every 3 hours.

Share with us a healthy recipe your stir in 2 minutes that replaces a popular package foods

I love roasting makhanas / lotus seeds or making a healthy smoothie full of greens.

Green Smoothie 

Green Smoothies are a great way to start your day.

It's best not to use the same greens everyday but to alternate between different kinds such as spinach, mint, coriander, celery greens, spring onion greens, beetroot greens etc.

Bananas, and other pulpy fruits make good smoothies but watery fruits like watermelon and oranges can also be used.

Mix about 1/3 or less greens and 2/3 fruit and a bit of water to make a great smoothie. Nuts & Seeds can be added.

Ingredients

• 1/3 cup mint leaves
• 1 juice of ½ lime
• 2 -3 frozen large bananas, slightly defrosted
• 1 tsp orange zest
• 1/2 tsp grated ginger
• 1 tbsp soaked raisins

Method 

Place the mint leaves and lime juice in the blender. Add some of the bananas and blend to crush the mint leaves well. Add rest of the ingredients and blend well. Add water as needed. Pour into glasses and serve immediately.