Vegetarian Vitality

In this video, British chef Jamie Oliver presents the issue of childhood obesity, particularly in America and urges us to all do something about it. The First Lady, Michelle Obama, recently  launched her “Let’s Move” campaign in February to raise awareness about childhood obesity.

According to Oliver, the current generation of children is set to live 10 years fewer than their parents because of obesity.

But what can each of us do to make a difference?  Taking the decision to eat fresh, local foods that are organic where possible is a first step. And sharing our knowledge of food and cooking with others or supporting those who do is another. Other ideas are offered in the video so please watch it and share your comments and ideas below.

At this time of year when it’s snowing and cold i.e. the season of Kapha according to Ayurveda, raclette is a popular meal here in Switzerland. Even though it is a simple dish of cheese with potatoes and usually a side salad, people like it because you do most of the cooking at the table so it is a very sociable and easy meal.

I recently received an invitation for a raclette lunch. The host told me she planned to offer fruit after the meal as something light after the heaviness of all the cheese. She asked for my professional thoughts.

In Ayurvedic nutrition – based on a system over 5000 years old – it is considered better to eat fruit alone or leave it alone. There are scientific reasons for this.

Fruit digests much more quickly than other food and should be free to leave the stomach quickly. If you mix it with other foods it tends to ferment because digestion is delayed. So it’s better to eat fruit away from food.

So what can you do to end of a heavy meal on a light and healthy note so that digestion continues at a reasonable pace? Here are my tips and suggestions.

1. Leave the table slightly hungry. Aim to have a small portion of your stomach empty when you eat. Remember the analogy of the washing machine (see Key 1 of 5 nutritional Keys to vitality in your life). Ideally you leave the table feeling satisfied but aware you could eat more. In this way, even if the individual items of food are heavy, your system should have the capacity to digest them.
2. Share – order one dessert, ask for two (or more) plates and spoons and share it. This works well in a restaurant.
3. Sip a freshly-made lassi – enjoy a glass of this yogurt-based drink in its savoury form at the end of a meal to enhance digestion (perhaps not after a raclette though!).
4. Spices aid digestion and ginger is one of the best (and one of my favourites). Enjoy one or two pieces of crystallised ginger at the end of a meal to round it off on a sweet note. Carry with you a handful in a small container so you’re prepared.
5. Contemplate before consuming. Savour your sweet – whether it’s a piece of crystallised ginger, a halva sweet or even a piece of chocolate, enjoy it to the full by holding it in your hand for a few moments and smelling it before putting it in your mouth. Once it’s inside, hold it on your tongue for a few moments before chewing it. Contemplating what you plan to consume helps you to satisfy your senses.

What next? Think about what you usually have at the end of the meal. How might it be affecting your digestion? What can you do to leave the table feeling satisfied and comfortable? Start making adjustments if needed. Further questions? Feel free to contact me .

Recently a Nutri-Jyoti News subscriber contacted me with a request for Ayurvedic nutrition advice. The subscriber has been a vegetarian for many years and complained of

• chronic low agni
• getting severe pains on the left side of … stomach
• waking up at night with this sharp pain and also vomiting
• returning pain after fasting all day and eating fried food followed by a banana in the evening

The subscriber had also noted that the pains come when digestion did not work properly or when “I am eating too much late at night or perhaps bad food combinations.”

The Ayurveda nutrition suggestions I made were as follows.

• Include more fresh ginger in your diet to help to improve agni levels. It is also good for nausea.
• Avoid eating fried food in the evening. It is heavy on your digestive system especially if no other food has been eaten all day.
• Fruit should be eaten away from meals or before meals (see  post on this topic).
• Eat heavy foods or your largest meal between midday and 2pm when your digestive capacity is highest.

I also suggested that the subscriber consult with an Ayurvedic doctor in their area for an examination and specific information about their particular case.

Learn how simple holistic  strategies can improve your health. Visit http://keystovitality.nutrijyoti.com to get your free e-course  AND your free subscription to the Nutri-Jyoti News.

With the holiday season most of us would have eaten not only more frequently and more than usual but probably much richer foods so we can easily answer this question for ourselves. However, what can we do when we’re feeling bloated and tired?

The issue of being bloated and tired is one which I teach clients to solve throughout the year. And to help you enjoy the rest of the holiday season, let me share ny 5 favourite solutions from Ayurveda nutrition and yoga:

1. Leave 3-4 hours between meals so that your digestive system has time to rest.
2. Go for a short walk  or sit in the yoga pose, Vajrasana for 10-15 minutes after eating your meal.
3. Drink as little as possible while eating.  If thirsty sip on some warm water or herbal tea.  Add a slice of lemon for your tastebuds and your liver!
4. Take your time to savour each mouthful and to give your stomach time to indicate that it is full to your brain.
5. Spice up each meal to improve digestion and stop you feeling bloated and tired.  If you’re out sprinkle a generous amount of black pepper or ask for the tabasco sauce.

Use these solutions to help you feel less bloated and tired over the holiday period and in the coming New Year. I’d love to know how you get on so please share your comments below.

Do you feel bloated and tired all the time? Are you ready to deal with why you ask yourself “Why am I bloated and tired” to get your 2010 off to a dynamic start?
Sign up to receive the FREE report “5 Nutritional Keys to Vitality in Your Life“.

Growing up I always associated cinnamon with sweet dishes and still like to add it to cooked apple. Apart from its very pleasant flavour, this spice is a strong anticeptic and can be used to sweeten the breath, purify the mouth and throat and strengthen the gums. It is also considered to lower blood sugar levels and ease colds.

Cinnamon is said to originate from the cinnamon tree, a small tree mainly grown in Sri Lanka. However, the dried bark of the cassia tree is native to South India. Cinnamon is one of the oldest spices because it is mentioned in the Egyptian scrolls, sanskrit texts and the Bible.

Ayurveda Advice

In Ayurveda it is good for Kapha and Vata because it is heating. Cinnamon has the sweet, pungent and astringent tastes. It helps to promote digestion and eases flatulence and indigestion. Useful for those of a weak constituion, it can be used with chamomile for stomach upsets.

Tip: Once bought store your cinnamon sticks in the dark in an air-tight jar. The taste of cinnamon powder is stronger but its flavour fades more quickly.

Recipe Time! – Spice Tea Muffins

2 handfuls dried fruit e.g. raisins, apricots, dates, figs (soaked – overnight if possible – and cut into pieces)
125 mls non-refine olive oil
125 grs unrefine cane sugar
200 mls Rooiboish tea
300 grs spelt/kamut flour
1/4 tsp cinnamon powder
1/4 tsp cardamom powder
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda

1.      Pre-heat the oven at Gas Mark 4 (350-375°F,180 – 190°C).
2.      Put individual paper muffin cases in a muffin tin.
3.      Put all the dry ingredients – flour, cinnamon, cardamom, bicarbonate of soda – (except the sugar) into one bowl and mix.
4.      Put the wet/moist ingredients – soaked dried fruit, oil, water,  – and the sugar into another bowl and mix.
5.      Pour the dry ingredients into the bowl containing the wet ingredients.
6.      Mix well. The mixture will fall easily from the spoon.
7.      Pour the mixture into the baking tin.
8.      Bake the muffins for about 20 minutes. You will be able to smell the muffins when they are ready.

What’s next?

1. Go shopping for the ingredients you don’t have – organic if possible.
2. Make and start enjoying the cake and share your experiences with us.

Turmeric is one spice which has received a lot of good press, particularly for its role in helping to beat cancer. In his book “Anti-cancer“, the doctor David Servan-Schreiber indicates that turmeric is
« a spice with astonishing properties … one of the most common ingredients used in Ayurvedic medicine for its anti-inflammatory properties. »

Turmeric has a heating action on the body but it also cleans the blood and stimulates the formation of new blood tissue. It is good for hyperacidity and helps heal stomach ulcers.

This root spice probably came from Indonesia and Malaysia where it has been consumed for thousands of years. Arab traders then brought it to Europe.

It is sold in powder form after being cooked and dryed. With the balancing effect it has on all, turmeric enhances digestion, especially of proteins, and increases the metabolism. Black pepper improves turmeric’s action to help it pass through the intestinal wall and thus be much easier to assimilate into the body.

Advice in Ayurveda

In Ayurveda, it has long been know that turmeric has many healing properties which include antiseptic, antibiotic and anti-inflammatory especially for arthritis and skin disorders. It is pungent and bitter in taste and can ease liver and stomach complaints and improve intestinal flora. A pinch of turmeric is also said to make it easier to digest milk.

Tip: Once you have bought turmeric it’s best to store it in the dark.

Recipe Time!

- Simple kitcharee (or rice & lentils)

(adapted from my book “Plans for dinner?”)

Serves 4 (as side dish)

100 grams basmati rice
100 grams red lentils
pinch salt
water (2x the amount of rice and lentils)
1/4 teaspoon turmeric

1. Wash the rice and the lentils until the water is clear (at least 4 times).
2. Put the rice, lentils, salt, turmeric and water into a pot and stir well.
3. Bring everything to the boil and keep boiling for 5 minutes.
4. Lower the heat and simmer for 10 minutes.
5. Cover, turn off the heat and leave to rest.
6. Serve with sautéed vegetables or salad for a simple meal.

What next?
1. Enjoy this dish and share your experiences with us below.

With the summer season, we often go for juices as a simple and healthy option. In Ayurveda it is considered preferable to consume the whole fruit or vegetable, but during the summer season and as part of a balanced diet, it could be useful for you to juice rather that eat fruit and vegetables whole.

Let me share with you 3 reasons why.

1.Each of us needs raw foods every day, and juicing is an excellent way to make certain you receive large quantities of such raw foods, probably more than you normally would otherwise.
2.Many of us have relatively compromised intestines as a result of poor food choices over many years. This limits our bodies’ ability to absorb all the nutrients from fruits and vegetables. Juicing tends to facilitate this absorption.
3.A few glasses of fresh juice each day is a great way to increase the nutrient density of our diets. There aren’t too many people who manage to eat a pound of raw carrots a day. But anyone can squeeze in an eight-ounce glass of juice.
Fruit juicing is certainly good for you, but it has one disadvantage over vegetable juicing: fruit juice tends to increase insulin levels when consumed. Carrot or beet juice function similarly to fruit juice.

So now you’re ready to have more juice, remember the following:

Avoid store-bought juices

Processed juices bear very little resemblance to fresh juice, either nutritionally or aesthetically. Store-bought juices tend to be pasteurized, a process that involves heating the juice at very high temperatures to maximize shelf life. While pasteurization is necessary to prevent spoiling, it destroys many of the juice’s fragile vitamins.

Drink juice as fresh as possible

Juice is best drunk freshly juiced. Vegetable juice is one of the most perishable foods there is and ideally it would be best to drink all of your juice immediately. Within a half-hour is best. Juices stored in the refrigerator lose their nutritional value rather quickly. As soon as a fruit or vegetable is processed in your juicer, the natural enzymes in the juice begin to break down the other nutrients.

Go for variety

It is very important to not have the same vegetables every day. The chances are quite high that if you keep juicing the same vegetables for any significant length of time you will become allergic to them. Variety is king.

Exercise:

1. Start the day with a freshly squeezed juice or a glass of fresh almond milk for the next 3 weeks.
2. Share your comments and experiences below.

When something is not going the way we want it to, when we’re feeling stressed or overwhelmed how many of us reach for a cake or something sweet?  I’d say we’ve all been there – and got the proverbial T-shirt.

Recently one of my followers on Twitter offered this quote:
“A contented mind is the greatest blessing a man can enjoy in this world.”~ Joseph Addison
It got me thinking about how to share the way that food can be (ab)used when our desire for contentment is involved.
In Ayurveda there is a simple formula as far as food is concerned: the 6 tastes – sweet, sour, salty, hot, bitter and astringent. It is considered important to include these tastes in at least one meal in a day to satisfy not only the tastebuds but also the mind.

Balancing examples of the sweet taste include ripe/ dried fruit, honey and maple syrup.

Balancing examples of the sour taste include lemons and yogurt.

Balancing examples of the salty taste include (sea/rock) salt and vegetables like celery.

Balancing examples of the hot taste include ginger, mustard seeds and cardamom (slightly).

Balancing examples of the bitter taste include turmeric and aloe vera.

Balancing examples of the astringent taste include pulses (legumes) and the tannins in tea.

I’ve given just a few examples from each group but there are many more. A good reference work with recipes is Ayurvedic Cooking for Self Healing - Vasant Lad

However, even if we diligently include all 6 tastes in our meal, it is equally important how we eat the meal.
Here are my 3 favourite tips:
1. take a few moments before the meal to give thanks for the food, its preparation and the substances that are going to nourish your body
2. chew each mouthful and savour each bite
3. wait a few moments after eating before getting up from the table.

What do you do to feel satisfied from the food you eat? Share your experiences below. Thanks!

Going with the flow

What does this involve on a nutritional level?

• following the rhythm of nature i.e.  the seasons for the produce we eat as far as possible,
• buying local and organic – the natural state of produce!

What does it involve for sleep patterns?

• going to bed between 10-11pm to be horizontal so that the liver can do its cleansing work.
• as a general rule going to bed earlier and waking up earlier.

What does it involve in terms of your attitude to life

• Savouring life – and everything it serves up to us.
• Enjoy all that it has to offer and to create a supportive environment. This support will help us to digest on all levels so much more easily even when a situation or food is not necessarily what we thought we wanted.

How do you go with the flow of life? Share your experiences below.

“Am I eating enough protein, especially as I want to move towards becoming a vegetarian?”

According to the World Health Organization we need a maximum of 10-15% protein in our daily diet. (This is, for example, the equivalent of 27 – 45 grams for a woman weighing 60 kg). This is not a large amount and most of us in the West easily take in more on a daily basis. 

And since we are able to store protein, as long as we are eating a varied whole-food diet every day, we’ll be getting enough protein, even if we decide to take it in plant form. 

In Ayurveda we are not told that we have to be vegetarian. What is important is to be conscious about what we are eating in relation to our activity or intended activity. Meat is intrinsically heavy and requires a lot of energy to digest. It is a very concentrated source of energy at all levels.

Traditional nutritional systems, like the Chinese and Ayurveda, sometimes suggest small amounts of meat as a quick way to build strength in tissues. However, questions are often raised nowadays about the quality of the meat because of how animals are kept and meat processed.

Simply put I have always found it much easier to get hold of quality plant-based protein sources. As a lacto-vegetarian, I eat dairy products occasionally but no red meat, fowl, fish or eggs. My diet consists mainly of whole-foods including nuts, seeds, pulses, grains, vegetables and fruits, all of which contain enough protein for me to cover my protein needs very well and consciously.

Moreover, a plant-based diet offers a lighter alternative to one that is meat-based. It can support those recovering from illness because less energy is used for digestion and more is left for the body to use in healing processes.

(c) 2009 Janet Gomez

About the author:  Janet Gomez, nutritional consultant, produces the “Nutri-Jyoti News”, a free bi-monthly e-newsletter for busy professionals. Feel ready to learn how to use nutritional strategies to manage your energy levels? Then sign up for her FREE e-course “5 Nutritional Keys to Vitality in your Life” at http://www.nutrijyoti.com