Let Food Be Your Medicine and Medicine Be Your Food.
Hippocrates
RECIPES
Here are a few favorites...recipes continue to be posted when I can, so scroll down to see added recipes. I am due to add many more creations I've discovered and soon coming ways to have kids dive into the healthy foods too.
Before cooking, check in, what's your state of mind, it'll go into your food so proceed with that awareness.
Prepare and cook your meal,
optional of course chant om namah shivayah, or sing your favorite song, whatever uplifts you, it makes the food taste amazing and full of love and joy, give thanks, enjoy and savor the tastes.
I use only organic non-GMO food, most of the time with possibly an exception or two by I try my best, so I don't list this in the ingredients but know that I hope you can have access to organic ingredients as well!
Kitcharees:
Kitcharee's are a combination of split mung dal (beans) and basmati rice, making a complete protein and a very nourishing and digestible meal. It is the main food eaten during Pancha Karma, an ayurvedic cleansing process; it's a blood purifer, and it helps to rebalance the digestive tract which in turn helps to balance the mind, nervous system, and as a result the other systems of the body as well.
There are many recipes and variations, herbs and spices to add. I will continue to add variations here. (I always use organic, when available, so it isn't listed below because if it's available organic then that's what I used).
Basic Kitcharee
½ cup organic yellow mung beans (aka mung dal, and moong beans, split yellow lentils can be used if necessary but may not work as well)
1 cup organic white basmati long grain rice
1-2 pinches asafetida (hing) or 1 tsp extra cumin powder
2-3 Tbsp ghee or coconut oil
1 tsp cumin seeds or powder
1 tsp black mustard seeds
1 tsp coriander powder
1/2-1 tsp turmeric powder
dash of nutmeg
½ - 1 tsp sea salt
Handful of cilantro (or add 1 additional tsp coriander powder)
Vegetable options: 2 chopped carrots and/or 1 chopped celery stick, 2 cups peas, or 1 cup chopped cauliflower
4-8 cups of water
*Yellow moong/mung beans can be found online on Banyon Botanicals or John Douilliard's site Life Spa. If absolutely necessary, you can use split yellow lentils, but soak them for 12-24 hours, drain, then fill a pot with water, add the lentils, bring to a boil, dump water, then follow recipe.
A note on beans:
Mung beans are the most digestible bean, added with rice it makes a complete protein meal. Lentils are next in line in term of high protein and digestibility.
While lentils don't need to be soaked I believe they are best soaked first to break them down which helps release their nutrients and makes them most digestible; it is best for digestion to soak them at a minimum of a couple of hours, but overnight is great. I prefer and find it much more of an amazing recipe to soak beans and grains in my new found soaking practice...check out the "soaking" section. Soaking is a necessary step for vata types and anyone with challenged or sensitive digestion, or for fall time of year. After soaking you will rinse the beans a few times before begining the recipe. If you soak them for more than a few hours you will be draining the water and refilling bowl at least once a day. (Whole green mung beans are great for sprouting, more on soaking page.)
Rinse and strain mung beans and rice
In a sauce pan heat ghee and seeds until they pop
Add powders
Add mung beans and rice and salt
Sauté 1 minute
Add vegetables here or steam them separately and add at the end…if using peas add them at the end (I sometimes add them in the middle of the cooking time to keep them less cooked)
Sauté 1 minute
Add 6 cups of water
Bring to a boil, boil for 5 minutes
reduce heat to a simmer
cook with lid a little ajar for 30 minutes, longer if using split yellow lentils
stir occasionally to prevent burning at the bottom
recipe will thicken, but add extra water if mung beans aren’t done and water has dried up,
when almost done add a handful of cilantro chopped and/or your steamed vegetables
optional: add a little Bragg’s liquid amino acid to taste
Try to eat the kitcharee, as with any prepared meal within 24 hours (48 hours at the longest) to maintain its health, life and freshness. It’s best fresh as the prana (energy/vital life force) is the highest then.
Good luck, relax and enjoy.
Om Annapurnaya Namaha
How we prepare and eat our food is just as important as what we are consuming.
(New) Easy Kitcharee for Winter and Vata
1/2 cup yellow mung/moong beans
1 cup basmati white rice
3 TBSP oil coconut, sunflower, or ghee
1/2 tsp cumin powder
1/2 tsp-1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp coriander powder
1/2 tsp ginger powder (or slice ginger and put 1 TBSP in, optional)
1/2 tsp cinnamon powder
1 tsp turmeric powder
1/2-1 tsp sea salt (pink himalayan or the like)
a dash of ground pepper
preferably get the mung dal and rice scooped and into a bowl, fill with water and let it soak a few hours or overnight, strain and rinse and strain a few times, set aside
put the oil in the pan and let it melt, add seeds first, let that sit for 1/2 a minute or so then add the other spices
add the strained mung beans and rice
stir into the oil and spice mixture for a minute
then add 6 cups of water
optional instead add 4 cups of broth and 2 cups of water
stir and let it cook 30-45 minutes, add extra water if needed, stir and let cook longer, you want it to not get dried out but instead be an oatmeal consistency, not soupy but not dry mash potatoes, somewhere in between those two.
My family loves to add a little bit of Braggs Amino Acids into their bowl of kitcharee.
GHEE RECIPE:
2-4 sticks of butter, organic and unsalted;
Put in a large saucepan and bring to a boil;
Turn down the heat to simmer gently for 20-30 minutes depending on your stove
(gas stoves will cook the butter faster so lower heat if browning happens too quickly);
skim the top foamy layer continuously with a clean spoon (discard or use that day for cooking or dessert purposes);
Use a spoon to stir frequently feeling for a change in the texture of the pan bottom;
When the bubbling begins to wane and become silent, and the bottom feels waxy for a moment, it's done; White solids should be at the bottom of the pan;
Let it cool;
Strain through cheese cloth into a clean and dry glass jar;
Let it cool completely before closing the lid so that condensation doesn’t happen.
It is important to always use a clean and dry spoon to scoop out ghee as ghee can last on a shelf, if cooked and stored correctly, for years when water or other substances haven’t contaminated it.
Ghee’s benefits: ghee is the finished product of milk solids being removed to turn the butter into a highly digestible, quality oil. Ghee can be eaten by lactose intolerant people, it helps kindle digestion, and can soothe digestive troubles; it oils your insides to increase the quality of the bowels, internal organs, joints, tissues, skin, and hair. Its okay for cholesterol worried people, it is not fattening, that doesn’t mean to have excessive amounts as too much of anything isn’t great. Ghee is a golden healthy oil that could alter your life if you can embrace it.
Some ideas for it's use:
2 tsp in warm water or warm milk to help elimination, or for a digestive and rejuvenative tonic, add a little nutmeg and have before bed to aid sleep
cook with it
put on toast with cinnamon for a sweet treat or on toast with CCF (cumin, coriander, fennel powders)
put on steamed vegetables or steamed rice, add to your morning oatmeal (cook the oats in it before adding the water)
apply to your hands before washing dishes to protect your hands
Ghee and Oatmeal recipe:
Heat 1 cup of oats with 2-4 TBSP of ghee until nutty
Add 2-2 ½ cups of water, bring to a boil, let it simmer 5-10 minutes or until done
Optional ideas: stir in a bit of cinnamon, nutmeg, or cardamom powder, a drop of vanilla, and a couple dabs of maple syrup, raw honey, or brown rice syrup
Oatmeal
Soak whole or steel cut oats overnight
optional but a good idea: add 2 TBSP of a sprouting agent either yogurt (cow or goat), lemon juice, or apple cider vinegar), stir, cover, and let sit over night
In the morning, add additional water and bring to a boil then cook at med-low for about 25 minutes.
Add cinnamon, cardamom, and ginger powder
(1/4 tsp of cinnamon and cardamom and just 1/8 tsp ginger...I have this premixed and use it often in many recipes and in tea--premix recipe to have on hand: cinnamon and cardamom are equal parts and ginger half as much as the others, mix and store in a spice jar)
add ghee and a dab of maple or brown rice syrup
YUM! and so healing for the nervous and digestive systems which in turn brings you joy and an over all great way to start you day.
Stewed Apples:
peel and chop apples, add 1-2 inches of water, simmer for about 15 minutes
Enjoy Warm
(optional: add a drizzle of honey, maybe some ginger or cinnamon)
Stewed Apples Delight
1 apple
1 pear
1 TBSP raisins
1/3 cup water
peel and chop the apple and pear, add raisins, heat for 15-20 minutes
Enjoy Warm
Mama Melanie's VEGETARIAN CHILI
1 cup quinoa
1 cup kidney beans
1 package frozen corn (frozen food has less prana and so is not ayurvedically ideal but can be fine at times when added to a recipe like this)
1 sweet potato (omit for kapha types, brocolli or more carrots)
2 zuchinis
2 carrots
2 small beets or 1 larger one
1 granny smith apple
2 tsp cumin
1 tsp coriander
1 tsp fennel
1/8 tsp cayenne powder
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp cinnamon powder
1/4 tsp ginger powder
1 tsp sea salt
1 clove of garlic (omit for pitta types)
3 TBSP olive oil or sunflower oil
2 cups of water or 1 cup of water and 1 cup of vegetable broth
Soak kidney beans overnight or for a few hours, drain, rinse, drain, cook in plenty of water, bring to a boil, boil for 2-5 minutes, strain, then fill with water again and bring to a boil, cook for 1 hour, or when they are done, add 1 tsp of cumin, and 1/2 tsp of sea salt to beans.
wash, peel, slice and chop vegetables, except corn, all into small pieces, steam them until soft but not too cooked, about 15-20 minutes. (I usually bake the sweet potato separate in a casserole size pan with 1/4 inch of water, sometimes covered at 400 degrees for 25 minutes but if you have room in one pot for all these vegetable then great, otherwise start the sweet potato, then prepare the other vegetables and put them in a steamer in a pot with water).
put the oil in a pan, add cumin and garlic, then add the other spices, add quinoa that's been washed and drained, stir well, add liquid either 2 cups of water or 1 cup of water and 1 cup of vegetable broth, cover and cook for about 15 minutes
rinse corn with hot water
when quinoa is done, add beans, corn, sweet potato and all vegetables
makes 6-8 servings
GLUTEN FREE CORN BREAD
1 cup cornmeal
1 cup brown rice flour
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp sea salt
1 egg or 2 egg whites
4 TBSP of sunflower oil or ghee
1 TBSP up to 4 TBSP of sweetener: either apple concentrate, brown rice syrup, barley malt, or maple syrup
1 cup milk ( oat milk, rice milk, any could work)
1 TBSP sucanat optional
1 tsp ginger powder optional
shift dry ingredients, mix wet ingredients, carefully mix the two together without overmixing,
Preheat oven to 400 degrees, lightly oil 9 x 5 loaf pan, a muffin pan, or an 8 x 8 pan, oil the pan a little with ghee, sunflower oil or coconut oil, put in oven for 5 minutes, then take out of the over and put mix into it, optional sprinkle a mixture of sucanat and ginger powder over the top of the mix, cook for 25 minutes or until done, where the center does not stick to a toothpick. The muffins will be done sooner. YUM enjoy.
These are not too dry and not too moist, they are okay for kapha, pitta and vata. Vata and Pitta would want to use more sweetener and any milk: rice, oat, goat, cow: kapha would want to use less sweetener and oil, use sunflower oil option, and use oat or rice milk. Vata and Pitta may want to add a little ghee on top of their bread when they are ready to consume.
NEW VERSION OF GLUTEN FREE CORN BREAD
SO GLUTEN FREE CORN BREAD take 2:
1 cup cornmeal
1 1/2 cups rolled oats ground into a powder (I use a coffee grinder that's set aside only for spice and grain grounding)
1 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon powder
1/2 tsp ginger powder
1 egg or 2 egg whites
2 TBSP of sunflower oil or ghee
1 TBSP up to 4 TBSP of sweetener: either apple concentrate or maple syrup
1 cup milk ( oat milk, rice milk, any could work)
1 TBSP sucanat or coconut sugar optional sprinkled on top
sift dry ingredients, mix wet ingredients, carefully mix the two together without overmixing
Preheat oven to 425 degrees, lightly oil 9 x 5 loaf pan, a muffin pan, or an 8 x 8 pan, generously oil the pan a little with ghee, sunflower oil or coconut oil, cook for 25 minutes or until done, until a knife or tooth pick comes out clean from the bread's center. The muffins will be done sooner. YUM enjoy.
BUTTERNUT SQUASH BREAD GLUTEN-FREE
1 1/2 cups butternut squash cooked and pureed
1/2 cup pure organic grade B (or A) maple syrup
1/4 cup oil (sunflower oil works great, or melted coconut oil or melted ghee)
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
Mix all these ingredients together then add:
1 1/4 cup gluten-free flour mix (Arrowhead Mills heritage blend or pancake and baking mix are yummy organic choices)
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp sea salt
1 tsp cinnamon powder
1/2 tsp nutmeg powder
a dash of ginger powder
Mix all ingredients
grease a 8x8 pan or a a 9x5 or a muffin tin with muffin cups
cook at 350 degrees for 30 minutes, muffins might be ready 5 minutes sooner and bread pan may take 5 minutes longer
YUM!
BAKED GOODS:
Cooking without white sugar and white flour and instead using sprouted sourdough or gluten free-flours can be a healthy choice for you.
We digest gluten flours best in the fall and winter; some flours are okay for spring but most will be bloated or digest it poorly and not realize it's the flours.
Did you know that gluten for many folks, especially if you're gluten sensitive leaves you to not absorb B vitamins. Gluten can create an inflammatory response in the body for some and seems to disrupt some vitamin absorption. (The ayurvedic protocol for this is to restore the digestive system). Look into this for yourself and see if you feel better off of gluten, try for a week to be wheat and gluten free and see how you feel. You may not be affected but the way we have been over exposed to gluten has left it a challenge to our bodies. Wheat is not bad, it's just the way that we eat and prepare it and the over consumption of it when it is traditionally in our history harvested in the fall but with certain farming practices it's harvested throughout the year and our body wasn't meant to digest it that way. Digestive restoration will help some to find less reactions to it and when consuming wheat choose sprouted and organic, or sourdough options. I find personally for me when I've addressed any digestive imbalances I can digest spelt flour and sourdoughs. The other dilemma with wheat is that the wheat we use today isn't the wheat we used 50 years ago, it was modified long before there was something called GMOs.
back to something yummy:
BANANA MUFFINS
You can use pureed pumpkin or sweet potato or butternut squash instead
wet ingredients:
1 1/2 cups banana mashed (or pumpkin or sweet potato puree)
1/4 cup sunflower oil or liquified coconut oil
1/2 cup maple syrup, or brown rice syrup (no agave and do not cook honey)
1 tsp vanilla
dry ingredients:
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 cups of flour of choice here's three options 1.) for more moist 1 cup oat or sorghum flour, 1/4 cup amaranth flour OR for less moist 1/4 quinoa flour, 1/4 cup tapioca flour, 1/4 cup potato starch, 1/4 cup coconut flour, 1/4 oat flour 2.) Bob's Mill Gluten free all purpose baking flour 3.) 1 cup sorghum flour, 1/4 cup teff flour, 1/4 almond meal or really any variation of the three
(use coconut oil or ghee or butter to lightly oil pan or muffin tins)
Mix wet ingredients, mix dry ingredients, then combine but don't overmix, spoon into oiled (with coconut oil or ghee) muffin pan (the small muffin pan works great), or an oiled pan for bread.
Bake at 350 for 30 minutes
If doing muffins they will be done in about 25 minutes, check once to make sure they aren't browning too fast.
Cover with foil if top starts to brown.
Brown rice flour is picky, don't open oven during cooking more than one time
Optional: either sprinkle ground sunflower seeds over the top before baking to make a tasty slightly crispy top, or sprinkle a mixture of sucanat, oat bran, and cinnamon
Yum they are good and a healthy snack for kids too.
WINTER (or anytime) SMOOTHIE
1 cup of soaked almonds (blanch/skin them after soaking for about an hour)
1/2 pitted dates
1/2 tsp cinnamon powder
1/4 tsp ginger powder
1 cup almond milk
2 cups water
1 TBSP of oil, hemp, sunflower, ghee, or coconut
1-2 TBSP of carob powder (optional, it's great without this)
Blend all together for a while, yum, drink sitting down and relaxed
This drink will nourish your ojas, your reservoir of reserve energy within.
Red Lentil Soup
1 cup red lentils (soak overnight or up to 24 hours, rinse three times and drain)
1 TBSP of oil either ghee, coconut oil or sunflower oil
1 tsp coriander powder
1 tsp cumin powder
1/8 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp turmeric
1/4 tsp-1/2 tsp pink salt
2 carrots peeled and chopped in rounds
2 celery sticks chopped
Cook lentils in 4-5 cups of water, bring to a boil then turn to low, after 15 minutes add carrots and celery, cook for another 25 minutes or less. Lentils should be fully cooked and vegetables tender. Turn off heat, puree with a hand blender or let cool and blend in a vitamix.
garnish with cilantro
Serve alone or over with rice
RICE
Long grain white rice is the most digestible and isn't a refined version of brown rice as many thing, it's more digestible and lighter.
1 cup rice, soak for a few hours, rinse and drain
cook with 2 cups of water or broth
when done add 1 tbsp of ghee or coconut oil and 1 tsp or more of cumin powder
YUM!
more recipes coming.....