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Heavenly Saffron Oatmeal Recipe Saffron is one of the most expensive spices known for its color, flavor and medicinal properties. Saffron is derived from the flower of Crocus sativus, commonly known as the Saffron crocus. This exotic spice is a native of Southern Europe and also grows in many countries including Spain, Italy, France, Greece, …

Vegetables are one of mother nature’s simple miracle foods. No matter what diet you currently subscribe to—paleo, vegetarian, vegan, macrobiotic or ayurvedic—unless you are a pure fruitarian or breatharian, there’s a 99.9 percent chance that you, my friend, are a fellow vegetable eater. Vegetables have a way of uniting us. We may have our foodie …

If you make a big pot of tomato sauce from scratch, do you taste-test it to make sure it’s good? Sure. And if it’s not good, you adjust right? Add a little more salt, pepper or garlic. Maybe a smidge of sugar or extra basil. Perhaps it needs oregano! And you putz around adding things …

Turmeric is a healthy orange root that’s often advised to take on daily basis. There’s a lot of ways you can take it including the popular Golden Milk. Keep reading to learn why turmeric is so important and check out the turmeric smoothie recipe below. It’s delicious! About Turmeric Turmeric has been used in India …

By Vedika Global Ayurveda Clinical Specialist Shubha Lisa Lesser

Spring is officially descending upon us. In the Bay Area, there are daffodils, cherry blossoms, colorful birds and sneezes everywhere you go. Many of us may be experiencing some extra mucus or sluggishness, which is putting a small damper on enjoying this warmth. If we keep eating the heavy meals that were so appropriate over the winter just a few weeks ago then there will be no break from the runny noses over the upcoming spring season.

Spring is the time for renewal and it is the ideal time to jump head first into that new workout or to increase the intensity of your Yoga Asana practice. It is recommended to pursue an active lifestyle, such as walking or exercising, and not to sleep in the daytime. Sedentary lifestyle increases Kapha Dosha, a bio-psychic force comprised of earth and water elements (which is naturally increased in the body during the springtime), so we should do our best to be active. We now have more reason to go hiking and we get rewarded with not only the magnificence of the lush spring bloom, but also with our health.

Spring Diet Tips

A large part of following Ritucharya (a seasonal regimen) according to Ayurveda pertains to the diet.

Last week we returned from a Holistic Health Cruise where a variety of presenters discussed a diversity of topics. All seemed to agree on one thing. With all the popular diets these days – Paleo, Vegan, Atkins, South Beach, Raw, one’s head could really spin. So what do all these diets have in common? Avoid processed, …

A turmeric latte is a healthy, aromatic hot drink made of turmeric and milk. It’s a fantastic way to add more turmeric to your diet. Turmeric latte benefits are numerous. Turmeric and its active ingredient curcumin have shown to be beneficial in a number of a health conditions.  In this article we share a turmeric …

Turmeric offers many health benefits.  It has both anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidant properties.  It is used to relieve swelling and pain due to headaches and wounds and it also possesses anti-bacterial properties, so it prevents infections and heals wounds. Turmeric soothes the mind so it is ideal to drink 1-2 hours after dinner when you prepare for …

Here’s a healthy, delicious recipe starter. The main ingredient in this recipe is spinach. Low in fat and even lower in cholesterol, spinach is high in niacin and zinc, as well as protein, fiber, vitamins A, C, E and K, thiamin, vitamin B6, folate, calcium, iron, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, copper and manganese. Green Veggie Patties Ingredients …

Though dates are highly nutritious and delicious they are heavy on the digestion and may aggravate Kapha dosha. To pacify the aggravated Kapha and in order to make them light for digestion, dates can be pickled. Here’s a fantastic recipe for date pickle, as well as some great information about the nutritional benefits of dates. …

Oh Golden Milk! Ayurveda is brilliant for its herbal wisdom, such as the benefits of turmeric – but even more so, for its genius in combining. Making dishes, tonics or formulas to create a balanced, whole, all-six-tastes intelligence that super charges healing is a unique forte in Ayurvedic medicine. It’s one of the many reasons …

When the family gathers around the table for a delicious meal, it would be great to have a healthy, tasty vegan dish. Here’s a mouthwatering aviyal recipe, mixed vegetables in coconut cream. This dish is famous in southern parts of India for its rich flavors and healthy ingredients. Aviyal Recipe: Mixed Vegetables In Coconut Cream …

INGREDIENTS: –  4 oz fennel –  2 oz cardamom –  1 oz orange peel –  ½ oz cinnamon Take 1 oz of this blend (about ¼th cup) to 6 cups water along with 2 tsp fresh grated ginger. Boil down to 4 cups. ( 15-30 minutes on slow simmer. The longer you simmer, the stronger …

What’s the BEST thing about winter? If you thought comfort food, I would definitely agree! And… What’s even better than comfort food? How about comfort food that heals! Let’s face it, the back end of winter can be pretty miserable. The cold, heaviness of this time of year often shows up in your mind and …

To me it’s children who make summer. Otherwise, you just have time passing by. But with children, there’s surfing, swimming, kayaking, biking, yoga in the park, picnics at the beach, aloe on the sunburn, shoulder rides, and a whole lot of salty hugs. Of course, there’s another thing that makes the season: ripe, juicy peaches. Since we have an …

Ojas building recipe? What’s Ojas?  You could say that Ojas is the biology of love. Soma is the principle of love in the world, and Bhakti is the nectar of divine love in the heart. But then, it just sounds like more distraction. Better, I think, to translate the words into a feeling, to offer …

Welcome Beloved, pull up a seat and let me help you unwind. I know that there are times in life when you just feel like you need an escape. Sometimes life gets so hectic and there is so much going on around us and within us, that we don’t know how to just let go. Well, let …

INGREDIENTS: –  4 oz cinnamon –  2 oz cardamom –  2 oz fennel –  1 oz ginger –  ½ oz clove –  ½ oz black pepper Take 1 oz of this blend (¼ cup) to 6 cups water. Boil down to 4 cups. (15-20 minutes on low simmer. The longer you simmer, the stronger the …

So coconuts are not really seasonal in the UK right now….or ever. Never-mind, we’ll gloss over that in the knowledge that with autumn in the air, these creamy, nourishing morsels of heaven are still a perfect snack for soothing Vata. Guilt-Free Vata Snacks Recipe If you’re following a wellness plan and are bemoaning the fact that …

Most of the daily routine centers on what you do the first two hours of the morning. This includes tongue scraping and the oral care habits we discussed in the previous article called ‘A Lover’s Morning Routine‘. Now we’ll learn how to nourish the rest of your body with easy self-care. Morning Routine Step 1: Get …

Spring provides such an abundance of wild greens, it is an adventure to harvest them. These flavorful, mineral rich greens lend themselves well to soups, salads and sautés. I use this recipe as a formula, substituting any wild or grown greens that I have. Creamy Nettle Soup Recipe With Yogurt Ingredients 4 tablespoons butter 1 …

Facial mask recipes bring a quick juicy boost and relieve the feeling of tightness or dryness instantly.  Apply on a cleansed face and neck on a weekly basis.  Keep the mask on for 15-20 minutes before rinsing with a warm water and washcloth. These facial mask recipes are perfect for dry, thin skin or Vata type skin. …

Good digestion is the crux of healing in Ayurvedic medicine.  Most of us, at one time or another, have directly experienced discomfort from making the wrong food choices, eating under stress, or on the run.  Though ideally you’ll learn to change your habits if you frequently experience discomfort, these three herbal digestive tea blends can …

Vata people and kapha people might usually find coconut oil too cold to use. But in the heat of the summer coconut oil is such a panacea of soothing bliss! Coconut oil has many applications. It is great for soothing your skin after a day in the sun. It’s lovely to mix with salt as an exhilarating, exfoliating …

Try this Pumpkin ‘Mac and Cheese’ Brown Rice recipe to balance and pacify your Vata dosha this season. This recipe is plant-based to reduce the digestive demand that meats and processed ingredients can have on a weak Vata digestion.  Here are some of the Vata-pacifying ingredients in this recipe. After that, if you keep scrolling, …

The internet proliferates with recipes for Ayurvedic foods. You can find ‘Ayurvedic’ recipes for everything from smoothies to popsicles to kale chips. What makes these recipes particularly Ayurvedic? Is it the spices, the ingredients or the combinations? How can you determine whether a recipe is Ayurvedic or not? Ayurvedic foods are not necessarily Indian—any cuisine …

Ingredients: 500 grams French beans (haricot verts) or green beans, finely chopped 2 tbsp coconut oil ¾ tsp mustard seeds 1 tbsp sunflower seeds, crushed 2 pcs green chilies, finely chopped 6-8 pcs curry leaves, washed and dried on paper towels 1 large onion, finely chopped Salt to taste 1 cup/sachet basmati rice  Instructions: Boil the sachet …

Chermoula is a spice-infused North African herb sauce and a staple of Moroccan cuisine. It is traditionally made with cilantro, garlic, coriander, smoked paprika, chili paste, lemon and olive oil. Chermoula has powerful detoxifying properties thanks to cilantro, which binds to heavy metals and carries them out of the body. Use chermoula as a marinade …

We will all go through many losses in our lifetime — from the loss of a relationship, a beloved pet or a job, to the loss of a loved one or to a life you once knew due to financial changes or declining health. How we move through these life events depends on how we …

Living a healthy balanced lifestyle includes pleasure. The pleasure of enjoying a tasty meal, the fragrance of flowers, the beauty of a sunset and the sensual sensations and pleasures of touch. Pleasure increases your physical and emotional wellbeing and in Ayurvedic terms, your ojas. “It is the Ojas which keeps all the living beings refreshed …

Ahh, don’t we all just wait for the warm, delicious rays of the sun to soothe away the winter? If you are a kapha (Ayurvedic earth and water body type) you spend your life waiting for the inspiring warmth of the sun. Summer is a time of outdoor fun, long warm nights in nature and inspiration that …

I LOVE summer and the warmth it brings (makes my vata very happy), but whew, some of these days the heat is more than I can manage. I have a significant amount of pitta in my constitution, and when heat meets heat, it’s on! There’s a general understanding in Ayurveda that like increases like and …

Cooked pumpkin has many health benefits. As an Ayurvedic practitioner, it’s easy to advise you to give your kids pumpkin. As a mom however I understand it’s not such an easy task. So here are five different Ayurvedic pumpkin recipes for kids, all of which are healthy and tasty. But first let’s look at the benefits. …

Apple cider vinegar (ACV) is made in a two-step fermentation process. Acetic acid is the main active component. This main active component has various benefits for fat loss. Apple cider vinegar recipes can reduce fat storage, increase fat burning, improve blood sugar and insulin response as well as reduce appetite. Recent research found that adding 1 …

The health benefits of raisins include relief from constipation, acidosis, anemia, fever and sexual dysfunction. They have also been known to help in attempts to gain weight in a healthy way, as well as for their positive impact on eye health, dental care and bone quality. Raisins In Ayurveda Raisins are madhura (sweet) in taste and …

Often called the “Alligator Pear” due to its pear shape and alligator-like external texture, Avocado is quite nutritious. It contains around 20 vitamins, minerals, and is loaded with healthy fats - excellent for skin and hair health! 

Meet The Rhythm of Autumn With Ayurveda What can we drink as we move into autumn? As Vata holds strong, coming out from under Pitta’s bright light of summer, there’s more warm drinks, more focus on grounding. Warm, moist, delicious. Vata dosha thrives on sweet, sour, and salty tastes. Sour and salty tastes also nurture …

Don’t get me wrong I love spa days, massages, pedicures and the like, but I find it nearly impossible to make time for them these days (truth be told I’ve never consistently made time for them in my life!). Thing is, like many of us, I grew up believing that these sorts of activities are …

Vata people and kapha people might usually find coconut oil too cold to use. But in the heat of the summer coconut oil is such a panacea of soothing bliss! Coconut oil has many applications. It is great for soothing your skin after a day in the sun. It’s lovely to mix with salt as an exhilarating, exfoliating …

Dates are highly nutritious, rich in vitamins and minerals and a great energizer. According to Ayurveda, dates are sweet and astringent in taste, sweet in their post digestive effect and they have a cooling property. They alleviate Vata and Pitta doshas, and possess heavy and oily attributes. They are beneficial to the heart and used …

Plantain Chips- Tropical Superfood Snack At the first glance, plantains look like bananas. While bananas and plantains have similar nutritious qualities, plantains are more nutritious than bananas. More than 120 countries including India, Uganda and Colombia grow plantains. Plantains are starchier, contain less sugar than bananas and can be added to many cooking recipes. Unlike …

Pumpkin dal recipe is a thick, pumpkin based lentil curry which is soothing, nutritious and tasty. This recipe is made with moong dal and is packed with protein and low carbs. Moong dal, otherwise known as green gram, is one of the best vegetarian superfoods. The combination of moong beans and pumpkin makes this recipe …

When I start working with clients who have never cooked much (or at all) for themselves, they often respond with disbelief when I tell them that they will soon enjoy Ayurvedic cooking at home for three meals a day. This presents a change from the eating habits of many people in our modern times, with meals made up …