When 33-year-old Sonia Vadlamani realised she was on the brink of lifestyle diseases due to being overweight, she decided to make a change. “I was a hoarder of junk food and making the transition to healthier food wasn’t easy. Apart from seeking help from a dietician and nutritionist, I started researching on my own about the benefits of various food products. This piqued my interest in food,” she says. From there, writing a food blog was but a short step. Today, the chemical engineer who moved to the city from Raipur 17 years ago, flaunts a fit body and runs a food blog where she promotes healthy recipes. From smoothies and salads to festive delicacies like carrot cake, she gives everything a healthy twist.
In May 2017, she started her blog fitfoodiediary.com where she documented her experiments with food. “When I started off I just had 150 followers in the initial four months, that has now grown to 13,000 followers. The numbers only explain that more people are looking towards healthier alternatives,” she says. Sonia now holds a diploma in Nutrition and Health Education from IGNOU, India.
Nutrition over calories
Sonia is optimistic about changing dietary habits in people. She says that a lot more people are now avoiding sugar-laden drinks and looking towards fresh fruit juice or sugar-free drinks. “These days one can see the healthy products on the racks of superstores rather than the ready-to-eat foods. Millets are getting popular too. This implies that people are taking health much more seriously,” she adds. She says it is no more just about taste, but also about health and nutrition.
- Begin your day with the classic upma. Use red rava and sprinkle wheat germ over it. Add that crunch with a topping of flaxseed and sesame seeds.
- Make your oats in yoghurt rather than milk. Yoghurt contains more antioxidants that are useful for the body.
- Team your idli with hummus or yoghurt to push up the nutrition factor
As a food blogger, Sonia feels it is her responsibility to debunk the misconception that healthy food is difficult to make or not very tasty. A check through her blog and one knows that healthy food is not just easy to make but also Instagram worthy.
She puts up recipes that are a quick nutritious fix to the boring oatmeals or salads. “I make a conscious choice to include ingredients that are local and easily available. Wholegrain and millets make frequent appearance in my recipes,” she explains.
Sonia has realised that the awareness about good health can come from children. Through the workshops she hosts for women and children, she has noticed how children retain what she has said and educate their parents about adopting healthier lifestyles.
Sweat it out
A regular gym goer, Sonia believes in the ‘eat healthily and exercise regularly’ philosophy. “Focus on losing fat, not just weight,” says Sonia. She hopes that the gyms culture in the city are also an indication of increased focus on wellness and fitness.
Sonia is working towards making videos of her recipes.
- For oats:
- 1/2 cup steel-cut oats
- 1 cup water/ milk
- For toppings
- 1 cup strawberries/ any seasonal fruit of your choice
- 2 tablespoon flax seeds
- 10-12 almonds, pre-soaked & chopped
- 2 tablespoon pumpkin seeds
- 3 tablespoon chia seeds
- 2 tablespoon peanut butter/ any nut butter
- 3-4 omani dates, deseeded & cut in strips
- 2 tablespoon cacao nibs
- 1 cup almond milk/ any milk of your choice
- Instructions
- Heat the water/ milk in a saucepan and add oats once bubbles start appearing. Keep stirring constantly to prevent lumps from forming.
- Reduce the flame and allow to simmer for 20 minutes, until soft, porridge-y texture is achieved.
- Serve in bowls. Add almond milk to adjust the consistency to your liking.
- Add toppings and devour!
