In anticipation of the upcoming spring cleanse, I thought I’d put all of the wonderful recipes offered in one easy to find spot.  These ayurvedic recipes will cleanse and detox the lymph. If you’d like someone else to do the cooking, why not join us in at Purification Meets Paradise in Costa Rica!

When we think about cleansing the body, it’s good to think about unplugging the drains so that the toxins can empty from the body.  The best way to do this is through hydration, foods and the support of herbs.

White Bean and Kale Soup
Vegetarian Times Issue: March 1, 2008 p.71 — Member Rating:
“My soup was inspired by the seasonal ingredients available at the farmers’ market in Boulder, Colorado,” explains Amanda Mauser,
a 14-year vegetarian and student at Johnson & Wales University in Denver, Colo. “I used smoked paprika to provide the smoky flavor
of the pork found in traditional Portuguese kale soup.”

Ingredient List
Serves 6
1 Tbs. olive oil
1 small onion, halved and thinly sliced (1 cup)
3 cups chopped kale
1 small garnet yam, peeled and diced (1 cup)
1 Tbs. smoked sweet paprika, plus more for garnish
1 Tbs. curry powder
1 bay leaf
4 cups low-sodium vegetable broth
2 15.5-oz. cans great Northern beans, drained and rinsed, divided
2 Tbs. red wine vinegar
Directions
1. Heat oil in saucepan over medium heat. Add onion, and cook 8 minutes, or until lightly caramelized, stirring often.
2. Add kale, and cook 4 to 5 minutes, or until wilted. Stir in yam, paprika, curry powder, and bay leaf; cook 1 minute more, or until fragrant.
3. Add broth, and bring to a simmer. Reduce heat to medium-low, and cook 30 minutes, or until kale and yam are tender. Purée 1 cup beans with 3/4 cup water in blender or food processor. Add purée and remaining beans to soup. Simmer 10 minutes, then stir in vinegar. Season with salt and pepper. Sprinkle each serving with paprika.
Nutritional Information
Per SERVING: Calories: 165, Protein: 9g, Total fat: 2.5g, Saturated fat: 0.5g, Carbs: 34g, Cholesterol: mg, Sodium: 543mg, Fiber: 10g, Sugars: 7g

PG Refreshingly Cool Drink – especially nice for hot afternoon or evening

Put 11-13 fresh mint leaves (woody stems removed, but soft green stems are okay to include) into a Vita Mix or a blender.
Add 2 good sized cucumbers, ends trimmed, but peel still on, coarsely chopped (close to a pound – give or take)
Add the juice of 5-7 fresh limes (between 1/4 and 1/2 cup)
Add water to just cover the cukes.
Kick on the machine and proceed to mix everything into a smooth puree.
Strain into a pitcher or glass jar. (Barbara used paint straining bags which can be found at Lowe’s, Home Depot, or hardware type places.)
Makes about a quart.

When ready to drink mix 1/2 cup of juice with equal amount of water. (Or maybe try coconut water, or another cleanse approved liquid of your choice.)

Recipes for the cleanse:
5 Ripe medium pears
1/2 cup apricot nectar
1/4 cup water
1/8 tsp dry ginger
2 cloves
1 cardamom pod
1/16 tsp sea salt
Wash, quarter and core pears. Chop in 1/2 in pieces/ Put all ingredients in medium saucepan and cook uncovered over medium heat for 15 min or until soft. Serve warm.

Avocado spread – from The Ayurvedic Cookbook by Amanda Morningstar
1 ripe avocado
1 Tbsp lemon juice
1/8 tsp fresh ground pepper
1 TBsp fresh coriander leaves, chopped

Mash all ingredients in small bowl. Delish on a rice cake!!!

Cauliflower soup-from Tanish Peelgrane
2 CLOVES GARLIC, MINCED
1 TBSP FRESH CHILIES OR DRIED RED CHILIES, MINCED (AND OK FINE, RED PEPPER FLAKES IF THAT’S WHAT YOU’VE GOT)
1 TBSP GRATED FRESH GINGER
1 TSP TURMERIC
1 TSP CUMIN
1 TSP CORIANDER
1/2 TSP CINNAMON
2 CUPS CUBED RED POTATOES
1 HEAD CAULIFLOWER, CUT INTO FLORETS (ABOUT 4 CUPS)
4 CUPS VEGETABLE STOCK
SALT
1/4 CUP BASMATI RICE
2 TBSP LEMON JUICE
4 TBSP FRESH CILANTRO, CHOPPED (MORE IF YOU’RE LIKE ME AND LIKE A HEAVY CILANTRO GARNISH)
BLACK PEPPER

DIRECTIONS:

IN A LARGE SOUP POT OVER MEDIUM HEAT. WATER SAUTE, GARLIC, GINGER, CHILIS AND A TSP SALT. COOK, STIRRING OCCASIONALLY, ABOUT 10 MINUTES.

ADD THE TURMERIC, CUMIN, CORIANDER AND CINNAMON TO THE POT. STIR CONSTANTLY FOR A MINUTE OR TWO TO LET THE SPICES GET FRAGRANT.
ADD THE POTATOES, CAULIFLOWER, STOCK, AND ANOTHER TEASPOON OF SALT TO THE POT.

COVER THE POT AND BRING THE BROTH TO A BOIL. ADD THE RICE AND COVER THE POT AGAIN. LET SIMMER FOR 15 MINUTES, WHEN VEGGIES SHOULD BE TENDER.

THE RECIPE SAYS TO PUREE 2 CUPS OF THE SOUP IN A BLENDER. I USED MY IMMERSION BLENDER (THE TURMERIC STAINED THE BOTTOM… WHOOPS) AND JUST BLENDED UNTIL IT WAS THE CONSISTENCY I WANTED.

MANGO AVOCADO SALAD ROLLS
Here’s another recipe: You can also do a web search for low fat, gluten free dairy free recipes and find bunch of great ideas!
We have a couple of Ayurvedic cook books at the studio with recipe ideas too!

Thanks to LifeThyme Wellness

Ingredients

6 rice paper sheets
1 mango, peeled, pitted and sliced into thin strips
1 avocado, peeled, pitted and sliced into thin strips
1 ounce dry rice vermicelli or mung bean noodles
1 cup shredded dark green lettuce
1 cup fresh cilantro, basil and/or mint leaves

one batch Citrus Dipping Sauce (recipe follows)

Procedure

Bring a pot of water to boil, add vermicelli or noodles and cook 2 minutes. Drain and rinse with cold water. Lay a clean kitchen towel on the counter, and have another clean towel handy. To soften rice papers, fill a large bowl with hot water, and immerse rice papers for about 30 seconds (they will be pliable, but will still have stiffer parts). Place all six papers in a single layer on towel, three along the top, and three along the bottom. Pat the tops gently with other towel. Begin by placing a few slices each of mango and avocado on the bottom third of each rice paper, followed by approximately ¼ cup vermicelli or noodles, 1/6 cup shredded lettuce, and a 1/6 cup of fresh herb leaves. Begin rolling rice paper into a cylinder and stop half way. Fold in left and right sides and finish rolling. Makes six rolls. Wrap tightly in damp paper towel and plastic wrap. If rice paper hardens slightly after storage, spray with water mist.

CITRUS DIPPING SAUCE

Combine the following
1 Tbsp thawed orange juice concentrate
½ Tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp grated orange and lemon rind
pepper

QUINOA TABOULEH

from LifeThyme Wellness

Ingredients

1 cup quinoa, uncooked
1 tsp salt
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1/4 cup olive oil -substitute flaxseed oil
2 cloves garlic, crushed
black pepper to taste
4 scallions, minced (whites and greens)
1 cup packed minced fresh parsley
10 leaves fresh mint (or 2 Tbsp dried), minced
1 small cucumber, seeded and minced
1/2 cup cooked chickpeas (optional)

Procedure

Rinse quinoa in a fine sieve. Drain well, and place in medium sauce pan. Add 2 cups water (or stock) and bring to boil. Cover, reduce heat to medium and cook 12 minutes. Drain well, spread on paper towel lined baking sheet and cool for 5 minutes. Transfer to a bowl. In a small bowl, combine salt, lemon juice, oil, and pepper. Pour over quinoa and mix thoroughly. Add all other ingredients, cover and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes before serving. Serve cold. This recipe is even better the next day.

Here are some more recipes from HCCB Goes Raw

Refreshing Grape Mint Salad
This dish is light, easy and quick to make. It’s refreshing, digests well and is always a hit.

300g of green grapes sliced or chopped
1 tablespoon of shredded fresh mint

Mix the grapes and mint together in a bowl. Allow to sit for 20 minutes for flavours to blend. Gorgeous served on a bed of fresh greens. Serves one as a main or two as an entrée. This is also awesome with pineapple instead of grapes.

Waldorf Salad
2 apples, cored and chopped
2 celery stalks, chopped
Handful of raisins (soaked)
2 cups romaine lettuce, torn

Magenta Salad
Here is a rough idea of measurements, but really it’s a dump, taste and add type of recipe.

1 beet
2-3 apples
1 carrot
½ cup of raisins (soaked)
1 tablespoon flaxseed oil
Juice of 1 lemon
½-1 teaspoon cinnamon
½-1 teaspoon raw honey

Use a food processor to shred or finely chop
the beetroot and carrot. Dice the apples by
hand so that the textures vary. Add these all together in a bowl. Then add the raisins, flaxseed oil,
cinnamon, raw honey and juiced lemon. If it is too dry add more oil or lemon depending on your likes and tastes. If the apples are really sweet you may want to leave out or cut back on the honey. Depending on your likes, you can add more raisins. Beets are generally pretty strong in flavour, so you want to have a greater ratio of apple and
carrot.

Green Goddess Salad Dressing
1 avocado
1 clove garlic,
crushed Juice of 1 lime
1 stalk celery, chopped
1 shallot, chopped
1⁄2 teaspoon dulse
2 tablespoons water
Blend until smooth.

Easy dressing:
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
1 tsp apple cider vinegar (optional)
1 tbsp flaxseed oil (opt.)
1/4-1/2 tsp garlic powder, to taste
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes, to taste (less if you don’t like spicy foods!)
1/4-1/2 tsp ground cumin, to taste
1/2-3/4 tsp kosher salt, to taste (I used 3/4 tsp)
freshly ground black pepper

Quinoa Minestrone
1/2c Quinoa
minced garlic
finely diced shallot or leek
2c coarsely diced cabbage
1c sliced carrots
1/4c finely diced celery
red kidney beans
grilled portabella mushroom- grilled with balsamic vinegar or lemon juice
artichoke hearts
rosemary

Moroccan carrot salad
500-700g carrots, coarsely grated
1/4 cup grapeseed oil (you can substitute with olive oil)
3 tbsp fresh lemon juice
1/4 cup parsley
2 cloves garlic, mashed or minced
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp sweet paprika (substitute with 1 teaspoon paprika and 1 tsp sugar)
Pinch of salt
About 1/2 teaspoon harissa, 1 tablespoon minced green chilies, or 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
Method: Mix all ingredients in except carrot in a bowl. Taste and adjust flavours as you like. Add carrots, coat completely, then refrigerate for at least two hours or for up to 2 days for the flavours to mature. The marination provides for a fantastic flavour. It also means that this is a salad that can be made in excess with leftovers tasting even nicer the next day

Carrot ginger soup recipe is:
1lb carrots (shredded or finely chopped)
1 shallot (finely chopped)
1 clove garlic (finely chopped)
1/2 stalk celery (finely chopped)
1tbsp fresh grated ginger
1 box of veggie broth (approx. 2.5c)
parsley
1/4c coconut milk
1/4c coconut water

Saute (with no oil in a non-stick pan) garlic, shallot and celery, add ginger (can throw in a pinch of cumin here if desired), then carrots and allow to soften. Next add the veggie broth and cook until all ingredients are soft. Throw in a blender with coconut millk and puree- add coconut water to taste and to thin if desired. I like to puree in a litte parsely, but it can just be garnish. I also like a bit mint pureed in.

Cream of Broccoli Soup
1 CUP OF BROCCOLI WATER SAUTE WITH LEEKS. AFTER BROCOLLI IS TENDER AND STILL BRIGHT GREEN ADD 1/2 CUP VEGETABLE BROTH OR WATER ADD THE HERBS. (BASIL AND ROSEMARY, PEPPER AND THYME FOR A MINUTE OR SO). PLACE IT ALL IN VITAMIX OR BLENDER OR FOOD PROCESSOR ADD 1/2 CUP RICE DREAM AND BLEND UNTIL SMOOTH.

FRESH GRATED GINGER ADDED TO THE BEETS WITH SOME LEMON AND SCALLIONS AND SOME CUMIN SEEDS IS ALSO TASTY

REMEMBER TO EAT FRESH AS MUCH AS YOU CAN!

APPLE, CARROT, BEET JUICE CAN BE A GOOD BREAKFAST ADDITION!

Are you stressing about the upcoming gift giving season?  Why not give a gift that will change a life?  There are a number of charities where you can invest in people around the world who are trying to climb out of poverty by creating a business.  These groups take your financial gift, bundle it with other and give a hand up to towards purchasing livestock, seeds for crops, materials to create items for sale.  Heifer.org and Kiva.org  are just two.

It’s a great way to teach kids how to step outside of their own world and see the big picture.  They can follow the progress of their donation/loans and decide how and where they want their gift to go!

If you want to give a gift of healing, Purification in Paradise, my annual retreat in Costa Rica is a wonderful ayurvedic detox and chance to heal with yoga, breath, relaxation and fun.

Stop drinking iced water and switch to warm water…always!!  When did we start drinking water iced?  It doesn’t make sense to put something cold into the throat and stomach where it can constrict the capillaries.   Our body has to work much harder to digest it!  Water has to be digested/assimilated like everything else, so if we make it hard our already taxed digestive system becomes more inefficient.

Warm water softens the tissue of the throat, esophagus and stomach and helps ignite the digestive process.

It’s amazing how much easier it becomes to drink warm water and in the winter especially, it just feels good!  Try it!

Isn’t it amazing how quickly time passes?  It was just summer and now we’re only days away from the solstice.   We all look forward to the slow increase of daylight but this is a very special time of year.  It’s the time when the earth pauses, the nights are longer and there’s more time for rest, for breathing.  Most of us, myself included work against this natural pause by doing more, going more, eating more, buying more.

So today, I’m going to pause, take a breath, slow down while I eat, talk to someone who I haven’t made time for…..want to join me?

After three days of returning to an Ayurvedic diet, the extra lbs are finally beginning to slide away.  It’s been simple to go back to basics:  no snacking between meals, drink warm drinks, kindle my digestive fire with a bit of ginger, lemon and salt before eating.  I feel so much better when I eat until I’m only 2/3 full rather than stuffed and overflowing!  My entire being is happy when I’m not a little piggy!!!

How are you doing?

Yesterday was a good day, followed all my morning practices and had rice, vegies and beans (kitchadi).  I then developed a headache and nausea!  Seems like my body was ready to expel anything that wasn’t nourishing it!  We forget what delicate machines our bodies are and quickly they react to both nourishment and malnourishment.

After a good nights sleep, I’m feeling good but taking it slower with food…remembering to chew every bite 32 times-one bite for each tooth.  Since I had a tooth pulled, maybe I can get away with 31 chews!

This is such a special season but a challenging one.  Let’s support each other towards balance and health as we enter the craziness!

• It’s 3 days after Thanksgiving and my body is screaming to get back to healthy eating.  I don’t know about you but my routine goes out the window during holiday season.  I love the special time with friends and family though and today, my body and mind are pushing for some vata pacifying foods and exercise!

Until I can get to Costa Rica for the annual yoga retreat and cleanse, I’ll be using the ayurvedic diet to bring some balance back into my body.  Please join me if you feel ready to cleanse your body, lose weight and lift your mood.

1) Fresh out of bed-brush the  teeth and scrape the tongue-scraping the tongue stimulates digestion. If there’s coating, it’s a sure sign that  there is coating in the digestive tract.  Mine is slightly gray in color…more on that later!

2) Drink cup of warm water and a little squeeze of lemon.  It starts the detox process by softening tissue and encouraging eliminations.

3) Oiling-It’s really cold this morning, so the warm sesame oil (organic, cold pressed) is going to feel great!  Warm the sesame oil by putting the container in some warm water (I use the water from the kettle that I’ve boiled for my hot drinking water).  Let it sit for about 5 minutes, then using just a small handful (about a tsp) rub it into the skin limbs first.  You can rub your ears, scalp and torso too.  Don’t use to much or you’ll feel your Thanksgiving bird!

4) Neti-rinsing the nose with warm salt water cleanses some of the nasty travel germs that I’m sure I’ve picked up.  It makes sense to wash our nose just as we brush our teeth and clean our ears.  A little warm, salted water is dripped into the nose.  I’m already starting to feel a bit lighter and cleaner!

5) Nasya-can’t forget to oil the nose as well.  Nasya drops can be the same oil that you’ve used to oil the body.  It can be swished inside the nostrils with a q-tip or using a dropper, put 4 drops of warmed oil in each nostril.  The nasya helps prevent the sinuses from becoming dry.  If they dry out, then the body creates more mucous to protect itself.!

Funny how simply taking care of myself in a few small ways, gives me a kick start to my cleansing diet.  I’m off to create a delicious, healing breakfast.  Please share your thoughts and experiences too!  Check back tomorrow for more great ways to heal from the ancient science of Ayurveda!

Let’s keep at it together and I hope to see you in Costa Rica in the Spring!

If the last few days have been an orgy of eating and drinking, it might be tiem to retreat to yoga and ayurveda to bring some balance in!  Start simply, this morning, have a cup of hot water with a little squeezed lemon.  It will help rehydrate and cleanse the body.  Follow with a few minutes of quiet breathing.

We hope that you’re Thanksgiving is full of good friends, family and wonderful food.  Remember, to nourish yourself with yummy vegies and fruits as well as the other goodies of the day!  It’s a great time to give thanks for the rain, earth, wind and sun that created our food, and everyone who works to bring it to our tables.

We’re grateful for you in our lives!

Please feel free to add your thoughts, experiences and yummy recipes to the blog as we clean out, lighten up and strengthen!