In a few more weeks many of us will be in full Thanksgiving Day mode. Perhaps we’ll be traveling great distances to see our family and friends and spending time deciding what we are going to prepare for dinner.
Ah, yes dinner: turkey, sweet potatoes and everyone’s favorite, pumpkin pie.
This year why not think about an Ayurveda Thanksgiving. It’s not difficult to incorporate your Ayurveda lifestyle into holiday traditions. And if you’re new to Ayurveda, it’s a great time to implement some basic dietary and lifestyle advice.
So if you could magically change the typical Thanksgiving Day into an Ayurveda one, what would it look like? What would you need to do? More importantly, what would you eat?
Here is a look at what an Ayurvedic Thanksgiving looks like and how you can adhere to your Ayurvedic lifestyle on this grateful day.
Do you need to travel to get to your Thanksgiving destination? No problem, but try to avoid traveling on the day of Thanksgiving. Wednesday is a much better day to travel Ayurveda-wise. More auspicious.
Not sure what color to wear to dinner? Ayurveda has the answer. Natural, organic fabrics are always best. Choose the color of your clothing carefully. Color is of importance in Ayurveda.
One should be wearing yellow, off-white or golden tones on Thursdays.
One should not snack throughout the day to avoid digestion issues.
Leave 4-6 hours between meals. Eating between meals weakens digestion.
Drink a cup of warm water with fresh ginger to aid digestion.
You should not overeat or under eat on this day as both can disrupt the digestive fire, your capacity to digest and absorb your food.
Organic, freshly prepared foods are ideal for an Ayurvedic Thanksgiving. Processed or frozen foods, though convenient, are not healthy.
Avoid cold and damp foods. Since it is close to the winter season, consuming those qualities will only increase those qualities in our bodies.
Good news: you can still eat turkey. But Kaphas and Pittas need to stick with white meat and save the dark meat for Vatas.
Avoid the following food combinations like the plague: fruit and vegetables, fruit with milk, bananas with milk. All are examples of poor food combinations in Ayurveda. Poor food combining leads to toxins in the digestive track.
Skip any cold drinks in favor of room temperature water, but hold off drinking with the meal as it stalls digestion.
Thinking about serving wine? Only if it is white and served at room temperature, preferably 4 hours before or after the meal.
Sweet potatoes anyone? Only if your guests are Vata and Pitta and not Kapha. Sweet increases the Kapha quality in Kaphas.
Other vegetables on your menu? Be sure to check over an Ayurveda food plan to make sure you have suitable vegetables for each dosha.
What about a slice of pumpkin pie? Probably not for Kaphas, who in a perfect world would avoid all sweets like the plague.
Should you nap after dinner? Not if you are having an Ayurvedic Thanksgiving! You would be best to have a brisk walk after dinner.
Thinking of packing up left overs for your guests to take home? No need to for an Ayurvedic Thanksgiving. Left overs are not so great because all the prana (energy) has left the food. It is best to cook just enough food for the day.
Stop eating 3-4 hours before you go to bed for ideal digestion.
Speaking of going to bed, in Ayurveda there is a perfect time for that. 10pm, so plan to get home in enough time to go to bed, before the craziness of Pitta time begins and your mind gets more active.
So there you go! Everything you need to turn your Thanksgiving Day into an Ayurvedic Thanksgiving. Enjoy!
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