Eating Healthy Can Be Easy

People-On-the-Go are often searching for food on the go. Mornings are short, meetings are long and the day leaves little time for food. In that case, people tend to turn to fast food when looking to eat. This kind of eating often leads to poor food choices e.g. McDonald’s, Chipotle, and Wendy’s. Sometimes fast food can leave you hungry and unsatisfied. The following meal recommendations are meant to be quick, good for you and Ayurvedic.

An Ayurvedic breakfast should be light and eaten between 7am and 8am. The Ayurvedic Tradition suggests that this meal will make you less hungry for lunchtime.

• Whole Grain Toast – Topped with Almond Butter, Avocado, Ghee with Cinnamon.

• Oatmeal with Dates and Almonds

• Coconut Milk, Almond Butter, Date and Vanilla Bean Smoothie

• Papaya Sprinkled with Ginger & Lime

• Fruit with Honey

• Applesauce with Ginger & Ghee

• Banana Smoothie with Lime and Cardamom

The easiest and quickest way to make lunch and dinner is to make them together!

Prepare enough dinner so that you have a meal for tomorrow. This could mean that you make a rotisserie chicken and save the leftover chicken for a chicken salad or a chicken wrap. You can prepare crock-pot meals in the morning before you start your day. They are simple and easy to do. Below is a recipe for Lentil Soup to be made in the crock-pot:

2 cups butternut squash (peeled and cubed)

2 cups carrots (peeled and sliced)

2 cups potatoes (chopped)

2 cups celery (chopped)

1 cup green or red lentils

¾ cup yellow split peas (or just use more lentils)

1 onion (chopped)

5 cloves garlic (minced)

8-10 cups bone broth soup

2 teaspoons herbs de provence

1 teaspoon salt (more to taste)

Add all ingredients to crock-pot. Cook on high for 5-6 hours on high or 7-8 hours on low.

Top with:

2-3 cups kale (stems removed, chopped)

1 cup parsley (chopped)

½ cup olive oil – rosemary olive oil or other herb infused oil is delicious

For a quick lunch or dinner meal. Take a look at the recommendations below:

• Rice topped with arugula and roasted sunflower seeds.

• Sweet Potato with Kale and Ginger

• Raw Zucchini Noodles & Mint Walnut Pesto

• Angel Hair Pasta in Pumpkin Sauce

• Curried Lentils and Coconut Rice topped with Roasted Carrots

• Vegetable Stew

• Coconut Sweet Potato Soup

The Ayurvedic Tradition understands that modern people live a fast paced life and want them to be able to eat in order to maintain a balanced life. That means eating healthy and nutritious foods. The aforementioned foods and meals are small changes that can affect you positively and keep you away from processed foods that can be harmful to your body. Try one meal this and see how it helps to save time during your day!

How To Sweeten Your Life

In Ayurveda sweet flavors are associated with love, sharing, compassion and joy. We know this by how much we crave them and the emotional release we get when we eat them. We taste sugary flavors with the tip of our tongues. Sweet foods are well tolerated by Pitta Dosha and Vata Dosha. Sweet foods aggravate Kapha Dosha.

Americans however, over-consume sweet and sugary foods. According to the Center for Disease Control “The leading sources of added sugars in the U.S. diet are sugar-sweetened beverages, grain-based desserts like cakes and cookies, candy, and dairy desserts like ice cream.” Therefore, It’s important to know which sweeteners are best for our bodies.

Refined White Sugar

This sweet crystalline substance is extracted from sugarcane. This processed sugar gets its sweetness from sucrose, which is broken down by the body into an even ratio of glucose and fructose.

Evaporated Cane Juice

Evaporated Cane Juice is created by crushing sugar cane to extract the juice, then purifying that juice, removing the water and turning it into fine crystals. However, unlike refined sugar it still contains a bit of molasses. Otherwise, Evaporated Cane Juice is the sister of your table sugar.

Palm Sugar

Palm Sugar is a sweetener from any type of palm tree. Sources of Palm Sugar include: sources of palm sugar are the Palmyra, date, nipa, sugar and coconut palms. It is produced by boiling collected sap until it thickens.

Honey

Bees produce honey from floral nectar or other insects (aphid honeydew) through regurgitation, enzymatic activity, and water evaporation. The honey is stored in honeycombs and then harvested by humans. Honey can be purchased raw/unfiltered or further processed.

Maple Syrup

Maple syrup is made from the xylem sap of sugar maple, red maple as well as black maple trees. Sap is extracted by drilling holes into their trunks, the syrup is then processed by heating to evaporate much of the water, leaving the concentrated syrup.

Stevia

The sweetener, Stevia, is extracted from the leaves of the plant Stevia rebaudiana. Steviol Glycosides are up to 150 times the sweetness of Sugar. Stevia has 0 calories and has little affect on diabetes.

Sugar Alcohols

Sugar Alcohols are found in fruits and berries. The carbohydrates in the foods are altered through a chemical process into Sugar Alcohols more commonly know as: sorbitol, mannitol, xylitol, isomalt, and hydrogenated starch hydrolysates. The benefit of this Sugar substitute is that it is not well absorbed into the body and that it operates as a laxative. The negative is that “sugar-free” or “diabetic” foods do contain these sugar alcohols which do, in-fact, elevate blood sugar levels.

Agave Nectar

Agave Nectar is made by extracting sap from the Pina (the center of the Agave plant) filtering it, then heating it at a low temperature. This process breaks down carbohydrates to sugars. Low temperatures are used in the processing of Agave, which is why it is considered a “raw” food. Agave Nectar is considered “Low Glycemic” meaning that it won’t trigger the body’s mechanism for fat storage.

Agave Syrup

Agave Syrup is modified to be no different than High Fructose Corn Syrup.

Brown Rice Syrup

Also known as “Rice Syrup” or “Rice Malt” is derived by culturing cooked rice starch followed by further processing. Studies have shown Brown Rice Syrup to contain significant amounts of Arsenic.

What does it all mean? Sugar is complex. You should try to limit your contact with any sweetener that is processed further than 1 to 2 steps. Raw Honey is a great Ayurvedic alternative to processed sugars. The Center for Disease Control suggests “Reducing the amount of sugary drinks and sugary foods each day and replacing these with plain water and fruit might be a good way to reduce added sugars intake.” Use whole fruits as a sweetener rather than using a sweetener. You’d be surprised at the amount of flavor a raisin or date can add to a bowl of oatmeal. Lastly, limit your intake of sweet foods. Treat yourself once a week rather than once a day and when you do, make that treat high quality. Really indulge in a decadent piece of cake or truffle don’t waste your craving on something that you know you won’t be satisfied with.

Happy Eating!

December Chills

December is a month of late-night parties with friends. It’s a time when we must be mindful of our bodies and its desires but we must also learn to move in the rhythm of the what’s happening around us. Otherwise we will cause ourselves greater stress.

DECEMBER IN THE MIND

It’s a sentimental month when children return home from school, brothers and sisters from their homes in other places, or grandparents come to meet a grandchild for the very first time. It is also a month where we take the time to remember the sound of the laugh of those we’ve lost. We come to appreciate the moments we have with the people that surround us. Remember that some may suffer from Seasonal Affective Disorder and will need to schedule time outside while the sun is out in order the counter the affects of the disorder. If you find that you or someone you know is showing signs of depression, please seek help from a medical professional.

GENERAL DIET

December is a month of hibernation for animals in the wild. The air is cold and isn’t conducive to strenuous exercise. Therefore, it at this time that the three Doshas re-focus their eating to better serve their bodies for the winter. Kapha Dosha should avoid heavy milks and creams during this time this will lead to a buildup of mucus. Vata Dosha must remember to stay hydrated at this time as the dry weather can be harsh. Pitta Dosha must remember to eat on time in order to maintain balance during this time of year.

MULLED WINE – is a spiced, warm alcoholic drink originally from Scandinavia. It was originally made to revive messengers and postmen who traveled in the cold!

INGREDIENTS

• 2 cups red wine (Cabernet Sauvignon)

• 2 cups apple cider

• 2 tbsp mulling spices

• 3 tbsp peeled and grated fresh ginger, packed

• 2 tbsp orange peel

DIRECTIONS

1. Stir together all ingredients in a saucepan. Heat on low/medium heat until mixture is bubbling.

2. Once bubbling, let simmer for at least a half hour, or longer. Strain before serving.

If after simmering you find the ginger flavor to be too strong, you can add equal quantities of wine and cider and heat to slightly dilute. That said if you're not sure on how you'll feel about ginger's bite here, I suggest starting with a smaller quantity of grated ginger and tasting throughout to see if you'd like to add more.

Stay warm this Holiday Season. Remember to listen to you your body and provide it the utmost care. From all of us at L’Esprit Therapy, have a Happy Holiday!

Alyssa, “Ginger Mulled Wine”, www.ymsequinedlife.com, October 18, 2016,

https://www.mysequinedlife.com/ginger-mulled-wine/