Kirti Yadav talks on what keeps her going and on healthy eating.

Meet a mum who’s going all out to promote healthy eating. Kirti Yadav is a mum who is also a food entrepreneur and someone who is ensuring a community joins her to promote this initiative.

Kirti shares with Mums and Stories, “As a child, my mother was very particular about homemade food, as most moms were back then. Eating outside food was an occasional affair. Even though I hated it that time, it’s only now that I understand the importance of it. I was never a junk food person but the real change happened following my daughter’s birth. My pregnancy weight at its highest was 74kgs. This of course made my pregnancy very difficult. That was what pushed me to read up on healthy eating. Now it’s become a way of life. I lost 23 kg by eating right and healthy. It hit me that now that I’ve lived the experience, I can talk about it.

I believe in a holistic living environment where moderation is the rule.

My family is vegetarian so meat was never introduced to me. I have slowly educated myself and realized that milk causes more than a few issues in my body and hence I stopped consuming it completely. Eating raw, natural, and unprocessed food is the rule of thumb I try to follow.

I think what happens is with so many easier choices of dairy and meat available, many people would not be tempted to experiment with new fruits and vegetables in creative ways. I make a conscious choice to use more of these in my meals. I believe consuming local and seasonal produce is your safest bet. I stay in in Karnataka in India where ragi, millets, and rajmudi rice is available in abundance. When I go back to my hometown and my mother serves me the traditional Indian roti with ghee, I relish it. Food should be enjoyed and not stressed about. Once you know your body and what it needs, you appreciate and respect the food that sustains it.”

( Photograph courtesy- Kirti Yadav)

Talking about her ventures Kirti shares, “My social media handle ‘KirtiKeepGoing’ says it all. I identify myself as someone who just ‘keeps going’. I guess when I thought about this name, I had just one thing in my mind- ‘come what may I will keep moving and keep going.’ My dream and hope to do something for the society and have something to give back also pushes me to keep going. I am lucky to also be supported and motivated by my family; especially my husband and father. The entrepreneur bug has bit me hard and after my first venture, I have started two more ventures both focusing on healthy food.

KuKClean which stands for Kitchen, U and Kirti’s Clean cooking is a humble start to share and spread awareness of healthy eating and work towards “EatRightIndia” mission. So essentially KuKClean is a local-based nutrition dense approach toward holistic living and weight management. With my team of nutritionists and food experts, I attempt to promote healthy habits and helping individuals to develop long- lasting and sustainable eating habits. This is the first step in empowering people to live a healthy life.

We have started a Facebook Community with name “KuKClean” and truly anyone who is conscious about their health- mothers, fathers, bakers, chefs, cooks, or simply someone who enjoys eating can join. “

Debunking a few misconceptions on healthy eating, Kirti shares, “I think people who say healthy eating is boring or makes you boring are just trying to justify their eating habits. Healthy eating is not the same as starving or dieting. People think that’s what it is and what they need to follow when they want to lose weight. Healthy eating is not a weight goal that needs to be achieved – it’s a lifestyle around mentally and physically better habits that are formed and maintained.

( Kirti Yadav during one of her sessions on clean eating.)

Do remember that kids will follow in your footsteps, they will imitate you!

My daughter generally sits on the kitchen slab and enjoys watching whatever I am doing. She especially loves helping out and does simple tasks like mixing the cake ingredients, peel peas and green beans, and even toss salads. She often even wants to decorate plates and click pictures- daughter see, daughter do. Whatever you are passionate about- cooking, dancing, craftwork, gardening- involving your kids always pays off. These memories never fade. Spending time with them is the most important thing in their foundation years and they might just pick up the passion like you.”

Kirti advises other women to analyze their situations and take the plunge to take up something they love. She mentions, “Women are very strong and emotionally adept humans. I suggest that you as a woman analyze your situation, since everyone’s’ is different. Not everyone, for example, has a support system. Women do tend to take on the nurturing role and think way too much about their family, kids and responsibilities to everybody else. So it’s time to become selfish and find what YOU want to do. It will take lots of time. But the journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.

Don’t compare your position or journey with others and don’t get swayed by false images. It’s your journey where you have to improve every single day and there is no competitor but yourself.

A good practical tip to keep in mind – Make and maintain a diary where you list one accomplishment each day. It can be as simple as putting an eyeliner or making your first fully-vegan healthy dish. In the span of a few days, you will realize you have already come ahead.

Personally for me becoming a mother and an entrepreneur went hand in hand.  I always wanted to do something and not plough away at a 9-5 job. My husband and I took the conscious decision of me taking a break and giving myself time to think. While I was taking complete care of my daughter, I was also working on my health and improving myself. She has taught me to manage time, to be more patience, and mostly to be happier and love myself. Now I don’t think and worry about things like I would- I just “Keep going”

Mums and Stories thanks Kirti for sharing her journey and we hope many others will be inspired to get on to a much healthier eating lifestyle.

( All photographs are subject to copyright).