Recipes

FOOD

Only eat food made with love.  Think about it.  Most people will choose and enjoy what is appealing to the eyes first, then seductive to the tongue.  When you eat food made by someone with lots of love and care like grandma, grandpa, mom or dad, you can eat a small plate and feel full with complete satisfaction.

On the other hand, you go to a fast food or fancy restaurant and eat extra large servings of fancy food with fancy dessert but feel sick after and still not satisfied.  The person cooking did not have you in mind, may not be happy or is completely disconnected from the food.  This energy is felt in the food you eat so be mindful where and what you choose to eat.  

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The six tastes according to Ayurveda should be present in your diet.  Based on your constitution, some tastes are more necessary than others.  

In today's fast food culture, people eat lots of sweet, sour, salty but don't focus on the other 3.  This results in digestive disorders and obesity due to the imbalances according to your constitution.

SWEET:         (Good for Vata & Pitta, in excess will increase kapha congestion) 

SOUR:            (Good for Vata, in excess will increase acidity in pitta and kapha congestion) 

SALTY:           (Good for Vata, in excess will increase acidity in pitta and water retention for kapha)

PUNGENT:     (Good for Kapha-breaks up congestion, in excess will increase foul smell for pitta and unground vata)

BITTER:          (Good for Pitta & Kapha-balancing and cuts through toxins, in excess ungrounding for vata) 

ASTRINGENT:     (Good for Pitta & Kapha-balancing, in excess will create ungrounding for vata) 

 

 

 

MAIN INGREDIENTS:

1 cup Green Mung Beans

6 cups Water

1 and 2 tsp. Ginger – chopped root (or 1 tsp of dried powder)

1 tsp. Tumeric

1 tsp. Rock or sea salt (to your taste) (you can always add black salt before eating to adjust the salt taste.

Traditional (thorough) Method:

1. Soak 1 cup Green Mung Beans overnight. Soaking is optional when using a pressure cooker, though soaking is always helpful to get rid of gas. Rinse the beans two to three times when soaking them to remove unwanted materials that are released during soaking and add new water each time.
2. Boil the water, add washed green mung beans.
3. Add ginger, turmeric and salt.
4. Bring to a boil for ½ hour to 45 minutes.  If using a pressure cooker, it will be for 20 -30 minutes.  
5. You can drink the liquid portion as a protein drink. 

Optional things to add in:

Cardamom-small green (5 pods)

Clove (2 pods)

Cinnamon (1/2 tsp)

Black Pepper (1 tsp)

1 Bay Leaf

Cumin (1 tsp dry)

Coriander powder (1 tsp dry)

1/2 tsp. Garlic – chopped

1 and 1/2 tsp lime juice at the end to taste

ENJOY!

Here is a great tea recipe.

1 tsp Cumin
1 tsp Coriandor
1 tsp Fennel

Boil 2-3 cups of water, add these dry herbs and boil for 5 minutes. Strain into a thermos and sip as needed throughout the day.

Also, you can have any decaffeinated teas like chamomile, ginger, tulsi teas.

Ingredients: (available at Indian Stores or Whole Foods)
1-cup yellow split mung lentils
1-cup rice (basmati) (the best in texture, quality, nutrition and digestion)
2 teaspoon turmeric
½-teaspoon Asofetida (also called HING, it's a great digestive aid)
2-tablespoons of olive oil
1-teaspoon salt or to taste

DRY HERBS:
1-teaspoon cumin
1-teaspoon coriandor
1/2-teaspoon black mustard seeds

Option to add: Fresh Ginger, mint
1-teaspoon of sesame oil or ghee (optional)
Fresh Coriandor (optional)

Cooking Directions:
Soak Mung Lentils and rice overnight or for at least 3 hours (not necessary if you don't have time). Rewash before cooking.

1) In a large pan, heat olive oil.
2) Add the 3 herbs cumin, coriandor and mustard seeds (it's ok if you don't have anyone of these but taste is great with all 3)
3) When dry herbs starts popping, add the turmeric to get a golden color.
4) Add the washed lentils and rice
5) Add 6 cups of water
6) Add salt and asofetida
7) Bring to a boil and then lower the temperature to SIMMER-LOW.
8) Let it simmer for 20 minutes. Garnish with Sesame oil and fresh coriandor.
9) You can also add ghee to your plate if you wish.

ENJOY!