Don’t we feel like going out in the rains and eating something hot while it’s pouring!

Following is the list of some of the foods you can choose to satisfy your taste buds during monsoon.

Beverages: Rasam, vegetable or dal soups, hot mild coffee, tea or masala milk, lemon ginger tea and green tea (best enjoyed without milk.)

Food: Butta, idli / dosa with sambhar, jowar/ bajra/ nachni roti served with well cooked vegetable of your choice and how I can keep you away from the piping hot bajiya and wada pav (whole wheat pav, to be STRICTLY enjoyed in moderation preferably at home)

You can take following precautions for a healthy monsoon!

At home

Wash vegetables thoroughly before cooking them especially leafy vegetables like coriander, methi, mint, cauliflower which may not only contain larvae and worms but also dirt from the streets. If possible, opt for non-leafy vegetables e.g turi, tinda, parwal, gavar, karela, dudhi etc.

Wash fruits before cutting and eating. Go for seasonal fruits, as they are less likely to be infested as compared to other fruits. You can choose from variety of exotic fruits like peaches, litches, cherries and jamuns.

Chicken, fish and eggs should be cooked to a well-done stage.

Pasteurized and boiled milk should be preferred.

While eating outside…

During monsoon, bacteria easily breeds on cold foods due to high moisture content in air. Also in India most of our vegetable markets are on roadside with no proper storage facilities for the vegetables. Cars and people splash dirty water from puddles onto the vegetables of roadside vendors.

Caterers, restaurants and especially roadside food stalls may not wash them properly before using them. Therefore avoid eating the street-side foods like fruits slices, cold cut sandwiches and foods that have been cooked and stored for hours before they are dished out to you. Also avoid eating raw salads at parties and gatherings that have been kept in open for long. Have light and freshly cooked home meals or at hygienic places outside.