Usha Shrotriya Is Making Time-Tested Nutrition Accessible For Modern Moms

Pregnancy is a critical period that demands careful attention to nutrition and well-being. Our ancestors understood this intuitively and relied on time-tested methods to support moms-to-be and foster healthy births. Today, as women balance numerous responsibilities like their careers and family life, incorporating these traditional practices with contemporary nutritional science can offer a holistic approach to pregnancy. Thus, brands like Mama Nourish-- founded by an entrepreneur and mother who naturally understands this intricate balance-- are pioneering ways to merge classic wisdom with modern needs.

Usha Shtroriya spoke to SheThePeople about how her brand was established to offer traditional nutritional solutions to contemporary women. Kickstarting her entrepreneurial journey in her 60s, her journey has been nothing short of extraordinary and inspirational.

Here Is An Excerpt Of The Interview

Can you share a bit about yourself-- educational background, where you grew up, where you are now? What were you doing before you started Mama Nourish?

I was born and brought up in a small village called Sambhal in Uttar Pradesh in 1960, where I also completed my schooling and did my graduation BA from Rohilkhand University. I was married to a family from Hapur in UP, from where my husband’s job took us to Bazpur in Uttarakhand where we spent close to 25 years.  

I’ve always been a curious learner, and passionate about cooking. My love for cooking and learning is what has always pushed me to experiment with traditional recipes. I drew inspiration from my mother and mother-in-law, cherishing their wisdom and also from those other grandmothers in the neighbourhood.

I just loved listening to their experiences and learning to cook new recipes from them. So I raised a family, saw my three children grow and settled in bigger cities like Delhi and Mumbai. I have closely seen very different worlds, from the one where I was born to the one I live in today. It was just in my sixties that a family conversation turned into an entrepreneurship opportunity for me. I am learning and enjoying it.

How did you turn traditional recipes like 'gondh laddus' into a product for the modern market?

During the long COVID break, my love for cooking reignited and I was often busy making many healthy traditional recipes. It was when I was blessed with my grandson in 2021, just after the delta wave, I was in Mumbai and I made dry fruit-good (gum acacia) laddus for my daughter-in-law, Apurva. She loved it as a snack, this would keep her full during hunger pangs. 

In September 2021, I had to travel back and Apurva’s gondh laddu was over. Apurva wanted them and was having a call with me trying to learn gondh laddus over a video call, and I must say it was impossible. Her eagerness to learn and my understanding of her life, and upbringing, led us into a stark realisation-- that 'grandmothers' legacy' is endangered, and our traditional recipes are headed to go extinct for the next generations.

Yash (Usha's son) and Apurva’s generation may most likely not be able to benefit from or pass on what we have inherited over generations. Over numerous calls, our family discussions turned into new product development to make gondh laddu in the form of convenient bars. Bars, because they could be available anywhere. Trying to make these recipes easy to take to the office and talking to people led us to believe it could turn into something big.

My son and his friend Kunal had very strong convictions; especially after they surveyed working professionals in the country. I had faith in the goodness of these timeless recipes, which I had learned from many grandmothers from personal experience and having seen so many across generations benefitting from them. With all the right intent, we started working on converting the recipes of laddus into LadduBars.

What makes 'gondh laddus' so special for pregnant women/new moms?

Gondh laddus are part of the Indian postpartum tradition, made of gondh (gum acacia), nuts, seeds, and ghee. The gondh and methi laddus are known to stimulate lactation in new mothers and provide nutrients such as calcium, iron, protein, potassium, zinc, and vitamin A. They strengthen the body, boost immunity, meet increased calorie needs, and provide sustained energy.  The laddus we learnt were often sweetened by jaggery or white sugar, but knowing today’s sedentary lifestyle LadduBars do not use any refined sugar and are sweetened by just two dates. 

Technically, these LadduBars are packed with macro and micronutrients like Calcium, Iron, Protein, Potassium, Zinc, and Vitamin A, all necessary for the recovering body of a new mother. Thus it helps strengthen the body, aiding lactation and postpartum recovery. A new mother often feels very hungry, it is because she feeds a new life, so she needs more energy and nutrition. In our times, elders used to take special care of new mother’s food habits because they knew only healthy mothers would have happy and healthy kids. 

How did you learn about the right nutrition for women? What was healthcare and wellness for women like back in your day? 

Back in our days, we learnt about nutrition and healthcare primarily from our mothers and grandmothers. Traditional knowledge was passed down through the sharing of experiences. We relied on home-cooked meals with locally available ingredients. I have also lived with my children and seen their busy lives closely in big cities. Personal and family medical conditions and experiences have been the biggest teachers of health and nutrition for me.

I am 64 years old, and I have raised three kids; all of them were born through normal delivery. I have also seen more than two dozen deliveries very closely over the last three decades, including those of my daughter and daughter-in-law. Every pregnancy is unique but still, there are many golden quotes of wisdom and advice that elders have been sharing.

We largely depended upon the advice of more experienced mothers. There was no Google or YouTube to look for answers to curiosities. Today, an expecting mother or a new mother is far more equipped with technology but is challenged as she may be on this journey alone in a distant city. So the challenges of our times were different from women of the modern day. Mobile and the internet also equip any woman to know and read from experiences and understand scientific perspectives.

However, I still believe that fundamentals do not change and good from both eras must be taken. Since the mother’s body undergoes tremendous stress and transformation, this period is crucial for healing her body. Dietary restrictions, and specific recommendations, such as easily digestible mung daal, warm water, gondh or fenugreek laddus, ajwain ka pani(carom-seed infused water), increased milk and dry fruit intake, etc were generally adopted motherhood practices.

Today science often validates many of these traditions which developed over thousands of years after experimentation and experiences. For example, carom seeds/ ajwain is a lactation stimulant with anti-inflammatory, antiviral and antibacterial properties. Additionally, it supports bone health and aids digestion. Maybe our grandmothers did not know these facts but they experienced the benefits and hence recommended it.

I learnt a great deal about nutrition from my health journey. I was diagnosed with diabetes in 2020 when blood sugars were hovering at 500+ and I had to be admitted to a hospital in Delhi. It took me a couple of months but through dietary and lifestyle changes, I have been able to keep my sugar levels in absolute control. I do not take any form of sugar or artificial sweeteners. I left gluten-based grains and rice for the first couple of years and practised yoga and a 10,000 steps a day regime.

Today's generation has different challenges, they are almost left to depend heavily on unhealthy processed food which is available when they have to sit for long hours in the office, commute for hours in big cities, and live in small flats, life becomes sedentary. Even today, at 64 years of age, I just love walking and would get restless if I didn’t complete my 5,000 to 6000 steps. All these things have helped me appreciate the goodness of both worlds, one in which we grew up and the one in which our children live.

Could you share what an average pregnancy journey was like back in your day? What was the support system like for you when you were expecting? What was your diet like when you were a mom-to-be?

An average pregnancy journey back then was filled with traditional practices. Along with pregnancy, the postpartum recovery period was also significant with many special postpartum recovery recipes like gondh and methi laddus. Our mother or mother-in-law would often tell us to do certain tasks like sitting in a squat position. The support system in those days generally included our families with our mothers and grandmothers giving all sorts of advice on what to do and what not to do. We also regularly went for doctor checkups, my mother-in-law who was a music teacher would be very particular about not missing scheduled doctor’s appointments.

My diet as a mom-to-be was a traditional nutritional Indian diet with a lot of fresh fruits, vegetables, whole grains, pulses, ghee, sprouts, soaked nuts and dairy products like milk. When I became a new mother, I consumed special postpartum recipes. I had three of my kids through normal delivery. So, it was a journey extended beyond giving birth.

Are there any other wellness and self-care practices from your younger days that you would like to share with women of today?

Back in those days, we led a balanced lifestyle relying on healthy home-cooked food and engaging in physical activity. We also had enough quality sleep, which is difficult for today's generation in their high-pressure professional career-based urban lives. With no internet or social media, we learned about self-care and wellness practices from our mothers and grandmothers. Whether it's related to diet, skincare or any other self-care routine we depended more on natural remedies.

What was your experience like starting a business in your 60s? Do you have any words of advice to motivate people of the older generation to chase their dreams?

It is both exciting and challenging. Age is just a number to pursue your dreams. But I must say, I had always wanted to do some kind of business. But never had the opportunity amidst other responsibilities. Never thought I would do it now. I just love cooking and taking challenges, so when discussions started emerging on how to transform laddus in a way that can be packaged and taken everywhere, I just started working day and night experimenting. It must be after 70-80+ failed trials that we landed close to what we thought would be the right solution.

Yash, Kunal, Apurva, and Kamya (Kunal's wife) were very closely bringing their experiences and professionalism to the table. So I led the recipes and format, while they passionately believed so much in this and started working to ensure that Grandma's legacy is not endangered. Today Mama Nourish has served about a lakh LadduBars which are super healthy. These are not just my recipes but also of many more grandmothers from across the country. I wish our mission grows and India eats grandmother’s LadduBar instead of any unhealthy snack.