Maria Goretti: Her Cooking Blog, Fitness & More

Maria Goretti who is already in her forties is lean and lithe. She is a dancer, an advanced PADI diver and a half-marathoner. She is also a mountain climber; a telly-show host; a cookbook author and the top of it is a hands-on mom. She returned from Paris last month, having completed a six-week intensive patisserie course at Le Cordon Bleu. Thumping up dreamy delights (going by her rather luscious posts on Insta) and not having gained a single kilo even after all that food tasting.

Maria says that her fitness schedule is erratic. She is having a pretty hectic schedule as she is busy with her shoots, her show and her family, and dances too cannot be overlooked. About her aerial yoga, she said that she has been lucky enough to inherit fit genes.

The fitness freak Maria starts her day with a banana since she is an ardent lover of that fruit and also drinks a glass of warm water. That is followed by a grasp of dry fruits: two each of cashews, walnuts, almonds; five of raisins and pistachios; one each of fig and apricot.

Her Breakfast consists of two eggs, sunny side up (that is how she prefers taking eggs) with a slice of cheese. Lunch is vegetarian: dal, vegetables (“no apple gourd please, though I love dry, stuffed karelas in the masala that is typical of the Jaipuri preparation of the vegetable”), with pickle and papad.

Her dinner; when it is meant for all four of her family i.e., her kids Zeke Zidaan, Zene Zoe and husband Arshad are together, they mostly have either lamb or chicken, with a soup and sautéed or grilled vegetables on the side as it adds a lucrative taste to it.

She said at about 4 pm every day, there’s an espresso. “I am a coffee person, I dislike tea. I don’t like bread — however fresh and good it might be — and milk. Though I love ice cream and yoghurt. In the evening, I also have a snack. It could even be paani-puri with the kids if I am picking them up from some class,” she says.

She further added that she firmly believes in going with the flow. “Even in class in Paris, when we were to taste what we were baking, we devoured everything because we used to be starving. The idea is to burn what you eat. I have always been on the run. Studying in Paris, I was walking from my school to my apartment. The weather was great and I loved exploring the city on foot.”

“I’d die if I had to go on any crazy diet, especially the ones where you have to weigh the amount of food you can eat. I am 5 feet 1 inch in height and weigh 56 kg. Ideally, I should weigh 48-50 kg.” Also, she mentioned that she genuinely does not care about it.

So what’s her midnight snack? “Roti with a cold, cooked sabzi (veggie) from the refrigerator,” she replies promptly. “Though my all-time comfort pick is chocolate. I like velvety, gooey chocolate and can eat chocolate at any time of the day or night. I am not fussy like that,” she laughs, confessing to having indulged in tons of nougat in Europe.

“My anthem is to stay happy. The feeling instantly translates into your physical and emotional well-being. I started pursuing my passion for baking rather late in life, but I am going for it with gusto now. My belief is to smile, be positive. Don’t be too hard on your own self. Try it. Enjoy what you do and stay active. Things then instantly have a way of falling into place,” the multitalented mom said.