Food is a mood-lifter, no matter what your preferences or dietary restrictions are. If mainstream Diwali menu is not for you, we recommend a quick list of dishes you can gorge on this festive season.

For The Vegan

Vegans can’t just change their diet because it’s Diwali. Actually, no one can. But there are enough vegan desserts and dishes that you can add to your menu if your lifestyle demands it. The perfect snack can be  freshly made sabudana vada, which is made with tapioca pearls. You can find the recipe on the Insta accounts of many food bloggers.

Coconut plays an important part in the dessert menu for vegans and while coconut laddoos will be the ideal pick-me-up, indulge in a rice kheer made with coconut milk instead of dairy to add a twist to the usual choices.

For The Diabetic

Yes, diabetes restricts people from eating a lot of heavy festive dishes, but there’s always a healthier way out. Nutritionists recommend to go easy on artificial sugar, so instead of Sugarfree, use sweets made of natural sugar such as jaggery ,dates and raw honey. So if a classic gaajar ka halwa is your go-to dessert, make it with dates instead of sugar and you’re sorted.

For The Tipple Lover

Without suggesting a Diwali booze-binge, people who take the festive season to be more about enjoying their drinks than about gorging on sweets should first prep with foods that will help them avoid hangovers and keep them fresh to continue the festivities. While no one would recommend fatty foods normally, eating a big meal or something fatty will ensure that the alcohol is absorbed a bit more slowly by the system.

If you’re conscious about the combination of fatty food and booze, nutritionists always recommend a big bowl of salad before you start drinking for the night.  A sprouts salad will keep you full and let you enjoy your cocktails rather than binge-eating finger food all night.

For The Gluten-Free

Gluten-free does not have to mean fun-deprived or your regular meals. A quick snack you can try is beetroot tikka, where you can use besan instead of breadcrumbs to coat the beetroot-masala mash and fry.  For dessert, the easiest options that you can find in the market would be besan laddoos made with gluten-free besan and flourless rasgullas.

For The Keto Friendly

The ketogenic diet is a very low-carb, high-fat diet that involves reducing carbohydrate intake and replacing it with fat. Keto laddoos and barfi are the easiest to find in the market if you prefer to pick up some dessert than make something at home. To snack on, a quick fix of Keto carrot fries where you just dice up carrots, add some curry powder, extra virgin olive oil and oregano to it and bake it, will do the trick. Your card party snack is sorted.