Raksha Bandhan 2026: Dietitian suggests simple swaps to make festive feast healthier

Give your Raksha Bandhan feast a makeover by choosing healthier swaps, so that you don't derail your fitness goals.

Raksha Bandhan celebrations are centred around food. It includes elaborate festive thalis, boxes, and mithais. Siblings exchange gifts and feed each other a lot of tasty sweets and snacks. But these festive treats are also loaded with a lot of added sugar and refined carbs, all of which can derail your fitness goals.

You can make Rakhi celebrations healthier by swapping a few ingredients. Dietitian Simrat Kathuria, a celebrity nutrition consultant with over 16 years of experience, simplified how small ingredient swaps and careful portion sizes can make your festive meals healthier and more nutritionally balanced!

How can you make your festive savoury snacks healthier?

Savoury snacks are a fan favourite during celebrations, but you can swap them for healthier alternatives. Even changing the cooking method or the main ingredients can make them lighter and more nutritious.

Kathuria suggested, “Chana, lightly sautéed or makhana, can be made instead of deep-fried snacks. Refined-flour preparations can be replaced by whole-grain or millet-based preparations. Seasonal vegetables and salads can be used to add fibre, vitamins, and minerals to the dish, while dal and sprouts can be used to add protein, and paneer or curd to add a creamy texture.”

When you make these swaps, you reduce the Rakhi thali's reliance on less nutritious foods without compromising its festive appeal.

Add roasted makhana, chana, salad, dal, paneer, curd, homemade laddoos and infused water! (Picture credit: AI generated)

How to make your Rakhi sweets healthier?

As per the dietitian, it is best to reduce your reliance on highly sugary, store-bought sweets. Homemade options allow you to control the ingredients and the amount of added sugar.

She recommended including nuts and seeds and using less sugar when preparing sweets at home. You can try options such as ragi laddoos, date-and-nut ladoos, fruit pudding, or homemade shrikhand. Make sure you limit sugar in these.

What to have for a beverage?

During festivals, the consumption of sweetened fruit juices, soft drinks, and energy drinks increases. Healthier alternatives include unsweetened lemon water, buttermilk, or water infused with refreshing ingredients such as cucumber, mint, or fresh berries.

Note to readers: This article is for informational purposes only and not a substitute for professional medical advice. Always seek the advice of your doctor with any questions about a medical condition.