Healthy and Tasty: Why Millet-Based Snacks Are the Future of Smart Eating

Introduction

From vegetables, grains, oils, or even ready-to-eat foods, healthy eating options continue to increase daily. Eating smart is a lifestyle that many want to adopt but are often confused about where to start. Ingredients like avocados, blueberries and kale are propped up as must-have additions to healthy eating, but did you know that millets also make a nutritious, healthy and tasty addition to your day-to-day meals?

With 2023 being declared the ‘International Year of Millets’ by the Food and Agricultural Organization, along with the United Nations, millets and their advantages were brought to the forefront. Read on to understand how millet is nutritious, it improves global food security, and how millet-based snacks can revolutionize healthy snacking practices.

 

Health Benefits of Millet-Based Snacks

You must have already seen different kinds of millets and millet-based snacks in your local supermarket’s aisles. Known to be able to grow in dry regions of the world, including countries like India and those in Africa, millets are also pest-resistant, making their crops a good option for farmers living in these climates. With soil fertility and limited fresh water affecting the crops grown, millets as a food crop gains significance. Even if you prefer to consume your millets as snacks, let’s understand the various health benefits they bring to the table:

1. Rich in Nutrients

Millets are high in nutrition providing the necessary vitamins and minerals needed for proper body functioning. Iron and calcium are present in millet. While iron supports blood health and reduces the occurrence of anaemia, calcium is recommended for maintaining strong bones.

2. Alternative for Food Allergies

Food allergies arise when a certain food item or substance in a food item is consumed which the immune system reacts to. Allergies to dairy, nuts, soy and gluten are the most common. People who are allergic to gluten cannot eat items made from wheat and barley but millets can be consumed as a suitable substitute in their diets.

3. Aids in Digestion and Gut Health

As a great source of dietary fibre, millets help your digestive system to function properly by improving gut bacteria, regulating bowel movements and reducing the risk of gastrointestinal issues.

 

Improving Global Food Security with Millets

Food security, as defined by the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO), is “when all people, at all times, have physical and economic access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food that meets their dietary needs and food preferences for an active and healthy life,” as defined at the 1996 World Food Summit.

In the last few years, research on food security has been increasing to understand how it is impacting how we eat. With extreme conditions like drought, flash floods, extreme heat, and unseasonal rains, accompanied by limited fresh water resources and depleting soil fertility – the future of food is not bright. Farmers in India face many challenges owing to the aforementioned reasons and also need to use high amounts of chemical fertilizers to grow their crops and prevent pest damage.

Growing millet for farmers resolves a lot of these issues and is believed to be a crop that can improve the food security of nations struggling with extreme conditions. As millets can easily grow with minimal water and are resistant to pests, farmers can easily harvest a good crop. With more people switching to eating healthy, this can potentially support farmers in receiving more money for their crops and resolve some of their challenges.

 

Popular Millet-Based Snack Options

Healthy snack options are flooding the market but how can we trust a label saying it is ‘healthy’? Millet-based snacks are high-quality and can be consumed in different forms, satisfying the cravings of those who prefer either sweet or savoury when snacking.

1. Millet Chikki

Referred to as ‘brittle’ in English, chikki is made with jaggery and nuts and boasts a high nutritional and protein value. Both jaggery and nuts have high iron that helps boost energy. Instead of the nuts, millets are roasted and made into chikki. Owing to the natural sweetness of roasted millets, the amount of jaggery needed is minimal, thus making for a truly healthy snack.

2. Millet Soup

A simple and easy-to-make recipe, millet soup is a great way to start your meal. You can add any vegetables and flavourings of your choice to suit your tastes.

3. Millet Cookies

Everyone feels snack-ish around 4 pm while sipping piping hot tea or coffee. Many prefer to accompany their beverage with biscuits or cookies that are more often than not filled with maida and preservatives. As an alternative, millet cookies are healthy, rich in fibre and also satisfy your craving for a snack.

4. Millet Papad

Papad or papadam is made out of a variety of lentils such as rice, black gram, tapioca and even potatoes. The lentils are ground into a powder, then combined with water to make a dough which is rolled out in smaller circles and dried till it is firm. Millet papads can either be deep-fried or roasted. Making papads out of millets is slowly gaining popularity for its incredible flavour and numerous health benefits.

5. Millet-Based Noodles

Earlier made from maida, readily available dry noodles in supermarkets also have whole-wheat options however, this still doesn’t cater to those people with gluten allergies. Using millet-based noodles for your favourite Asian dishes allows you to enjoy your favourites without compromising on your health.

6. Millet Pasta

Similarly, with enthusiasts of Italian cuisine, pasta made from millets lends its natural nuttiness to traditional ingredients used in the cuisine, making it a nutrition-packed meal that doesn’t cut corners with the taste.

 

To Wrap It Up

Nobody knows what the future will look like. But many people are realising that switching to sustainable eating encompasses not just the end-product that is being consumed. The process of growing its ingredients, how they are prepared, packaged and then sold, also contributes to sustainability. The popularity of millets among health and sustainability-conscious consumers is forging a new path in the future of smart eating.

Another advantage of millets is their affordability. Eating healthy doesn’t need to be expensive if you are aware of the nutritional value of elements in your diet. For the farmers belonging to cooperatives and FPOs, growing millets promotes sustainable farming practices that benefit their incomes, communities and the environment.

While millets can be consumed as is, the real value addition lies in converting them to millet-based snacks like millet chikki, papads or even millet pasta. If you are looking to experiment or just aiming to switch to healthier eating, shop ncuihaat.online’s wide collection of millet-based snacks. Incorporating millet into your daily routine is easy when you shop for snacks on ncuihaat.online.

 

Aslo Read: The Amazing Benefits of Herbal Tea