With a bumper crop of raspberries growing in my back yard I’m always looking for new ways to enjoy their health benefits.  Mostly, I gobble them up by the handful before they have a chance to make it into a recipe.   However,  I try to save some for one of my favorite Ayurvedic breakfast drinks….. Rose Milk Shake.  (See the recipe below).  These little berries are loaded with cancer fighting health benefits.

 Raspberries are a delicious fruit and  a very healthy whole food fruit as well. Research published in the May 2005 issue of the journal Biofactors shows that Raspberries are loaded with powerful phytonutrients and antioxidants that can support your immune system and help your body to ward off disease.

The antioxidants in Raspberries include ellagic acid which protects your cells from becoming damaged. Other nutrients in Raspberries include quercetin and other flavonoid molecules  classified as anthocyanins, and they belong to the group of substances that give raspberries their red color.  (Also found in grapes).

The anthocyanins in Raspberries are very powerful antioxidants that have antimicrobial properties as well, including the ability to prevent overgrowth of certain bacteria and fungi in the body such as Candida. The biggest contribution to raspberries’ antioxidant capacity is their ellagitannins, a family of compounds almost exclusive to the raspberry, which are reported to have anti-cancer activity.

 Raspberries are a great source of manganese and vitamin C that help protect the body from oxygen-related damage. They are also a good source riboflavin, folate, niacin, magnesium, potassium, B vitamins and copper. 

RASPBERRY-ROSE SHAKE

This is a cooling and refreshing drink for summer. When served warm, all body types can drink it year round.  Rose petals are known to nourish the heart and calm the mind.

This recipe makes 2 cups

2 cups organic milk  (you can use nutmilk, kapha should use lowfat)

2 tablespoons rose petal preserves  (rose petal preserves and rose water are sold in most Indian stores)

1 tablespoon rose water

1 cup fresh raspberries.

Mix all ingredients together in a blender.  Enjoy!

According to Ayurveda, Spring (kapha season) is the time to start incorporating more fresh greens and raw vegetables into our daily meal plans.  But if your digestive fire (agni) is low, you’re a vata type, or have had increased stress…….you may have difficulty digesting and assimilating these types of foods.  Raw foods do pack a powerhouse of enzymes and nutrients, but they also require a good strong digestive fire to break them down.

So how can you increase your greens and aide your digestion at the same time?  This recipe fits the bill!  Loaded with lots of digestive spices, and made into a soup, the vegetables are easy to digest because the blender has already broken them down into an easy to digest form, but also retains the nutrients.

And, it tastes delicious……isn’t that why we love to eat?  We love to stimulate our senses and taste buds!

Green Curry Soup

Servings: Two
Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups filtered or spring water

1 cup tightly packed chopped spinach

1 cup chopped broccoli stalks

1/2 cup chopped leeks

1 avocado

1 carrot

4 – 6 soaked sundried tomatoes

1 clove garlic

1 tbsp miso paste

1 tsp himalayan or celtic sea salt

1 tbsp coconut oil

1 tbsp cumin

2 tsp tumeric

1 tbsp tamari or nama shoyu

1/2 – 1 tsp cayenne pepper

Preparation:
Blend the water, spinach, broccoli and leeks in a blender until smooth.  (I recommend a Vita-mix blender, for the best textured soup.  Visit: https://secure.vitamix.com/acb/stores/4/?COUPON=06-004346&store=1 ).

Add the remaining ingredients and blend again until smooth. You can adjust the spices to taste.

This can be served chilled in the summer or in winter it’s nice to warm it up a little. If you are warming it on the stove, to preserve the enzymes, keep it on the lowest heat, stir constantly and make sure it doesn’t go over body temperature by dipping your finger in. It should be just warm, not steaming hot.

I like to garnish with a dab of organic plain yogurt or flaxseed oil and top with some crunchy kale chips.

Raw sauces and dressings are a great way to add flavor to your meals and they are packed with vital nutrients and enzymes.  Just what we need to rev up our taste buds and meatbolism after a long winter.  These are some of my newest favorites.

Creamy Red Pepper Miso Dressing

This recipe is good for all dosha types and is appropriate to eat during all seasons.  It’s qualities are Sattvic. *

It is soothing, nurturing and tasty.  Perfect for vata/kapha season, depending  on the climate where you live.

This recipe comes from Ivy Blank, based on a dish made by Drs. Smita and Pankaj Narem of Bobay.   It is specifically designed to reduce ama (accumulated toxins) and rest the digestive tract during illness,
convalescence or rejuvenation therapy.  It is reprinted with permission from The Ayurvedic Cookbook by Amodea Morningstar with Urmila Desai.

The mung beens are cooling by nature, yet are warmed by the addition of ginger and spices.   Adjust the type of vegetables and amounts of spices to suit individual needs or conditions.

A stick of Kombu can be added to reduce gas and add trace minerals.

* -Vata, -Pitta, -Kapha (without garlic)
* -Vata, +Pitta, -Kapha (with garlic)

In a pressure cooker, put:
 2-3 cups sprouted mung beans
 3-4 cups water
NOTE: if you don’t have a pressure cooker you can use an electric steamer,
or steam/simmer on top of the stove.

Bring to pressure and cook about two minutes or cook the beans and water in a covered sauce pan until soft.
Blend the beans and cooking liquid in a blender.  Set aside.

In a stainless steel soup pot, warm:
1 1/2 Tbsps. ghee or olive oil

Add:
1-2 inches fresh ginger root, (1-2 Tbsps.) peeled and finely chopped
1-3 cloves garlic, minced (omit for high Pitta)
1/2 – 1 tsp. cumin seeds
1/2- 1 tsp turmeric  (I use freshly chopped)
1/2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
2-3 bay leaves
1/8 tsp. each of fennel seeds, hing, cinnamon, and cardomom

Toss until coated and their aromas emerge.  Add to the spices and oil:
2-3 cups chopped vegetables ( broccoli, carrots, greens, sprouts, green beans
or asparagus work well).

Toss until coated.  Stir for two minutes then add:
4-6 cups additional water

Mix well.  Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer covered until veggies are cooked.  Add pureed mung beans to soup pot.  Stir. Bring to a boil again.  Reduce heat and let soup simmer for 5 minutes.  Add: 1/2 tsp salt, or to taste.

Serve.    I enjoy mine with a little Bragg’s amino acids instead of salt, a squeeze of fresh lemon, and some fresh chopped cilantro as a garnish, to encorporate all the six tastes in onedelicious meal.

Maple Pumpkin Spice Bread

1 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup all purpose flour
1 Tbsp ground cinnamon
2 tsp ground ginger
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 taspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 treaspoon ground allspice
1 cup pure Maple syrup
1/2 cup canola oil ( I use 1/2 melted ghee and 1/2 canola)
2 large organic eggs
1 cup pumpkin puree ( I use fresh not canned for best flavor)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup chopped hazelnuts (or seeds or nuts for your dosha)

1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Coat a 9 x 5 inch loaf pan with cooking spray.
Whisk together flour, cinnamon, ginger, baking soda,
nutmeg, and allspice in large bowl.

2.  Whisk together maple syrup and oil in a separate bowl.
Whisk in eggs, then pumpkin and vanilla.  Stir flour mixture
into pumpkin mixture with spatula.: add hazelnuts. Pour
into prepared loaf pan. Bake 40 to 50 minutes.  Cool on rack
5 minutes, then unmold, and cool on wire rack or transfer to
serving platter.

Served warm is best!

(Kapha can substitute 1/2 the syrup with 1/2 honey.)
I use all freshly ground spices whenever possible for the best flavor and health promoting benefits.

There are many reasons to eat a local and seasonal diet.  It supports local farmers and also what is most easily digested and assimilated by your body at that specific time of year.   This results in better, more complete nutrition, fueling your body with the nutrients it needs.

This recipe is perfect for Fall…….I just happened to have an abundant harvest of Butternut squash from my garden so it is the perfect time to find new ways to use it.  Of course, here in Western New York even though it is closing in on Vata season, we’ve had a lot of rain which makes it appropriate to balance Kapha needs as well.  The seasonings can be adjusted to your “dosha” (constitution)……Kaphas would most likely want to add a little fresh ginger. 

For many Vata types it is difficult to tolerate “raw” foods, but this recipe gives the benefit of raw, living foods with an abudance of enzymes, without straining “agni”, your digestive fires.  It provides the sweetness that balances Vata,   without processed or refined sugars.  Kapha types could even add a little cayenne or chili pepper for a spicey twist.

The variations are limitless.   Have Fun, Play with your food!

Butternut Squash Cookies

4 Cups peeled Butternut Squash, chopped into medium sized chunks

1 cup raisins

juice of one orange

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

1 teaspoon cinnamon

3 tablespoons raw honey  

Blendthe chopped squash in a food processor and transfer to a bowl.  Blend the raisins and orange juice in a food processor and add to the squash mixture.  Add the remaining ingredients to the bowl and mix thouroughly.  Drop by tablespoon fulls onto a lined dehydrator tray.  Flatten each cookie till they are 1/4 inch thick.  Set dehydrator to 100 degrees and leave in for 12-15 hours.

Processing note:  The first time I made this recipe I didn’t own a Vita-mix  blender so I  processed everything in my food processor.  I had a small Ronco dehydrator, without a thermostat or timer.  Don’t let the appliances stop you from trying this recipe.  Although I highly recommend investing in your health with a Vita-mix blender, ( http://snipurl.com/sbrdt ) and an Excalibur dehydrator, you can still successfully make the recipe without these items.  I lined the Ronco dehydrator with parchment paper.  Processing the foods in the Vitamix makes for a very smooth and thin mixture, so I added some ground golden flax seeds to thicken the mixture.  When processing in a food processor it makes for a chunkier “dough” and a chewier cookie.  Either way they are delicious and nutritious.  The Vita-mix and Excalibur allow for the highest quality and nutritional integrity in living whole food nutrition.

I have to admit I love beets, but for many years I couldn’t find something “tasteful” to do with the greens, other than steaming them or juicing them with other fruits and vegetables.  Since I am harvesting my own organic beets this year, I decided to find a nourishing seasonal recipe to put all the greens to better use.

But it also had to be Tridoshic, ( appropriate for all ayurvedic constitutions with very few adjustments) something simple, easy, quick and tasty….appealing to all.  This is it!  From Maduraham’s Eggless cooking……it is YUMMY!  It “fits the bill” on so many levels.  A little spice, a little protein, a good dose of cleansing and fiber-filled greens…… yet, it is warm, sweet, and comforting for the cooler days of September.  Depending on your dosha you can serve it with organic white basmati rice, (cooling in nature for Pitta), or brown rice, (warming in nature for Vata).  Kapha types will likely want to add a little more spice when serving and serve it with a small amount of barley or other Kapha friendly grain.

A FEW RECIPE NOTES:  The recipe calls for a pressure cooker but I gently steamed the greens until tender.  I used my vita-mix blender to grind a few dried chickpeas into flour and I also used it to blend/gring the dry ingredients and then added the yogurt.  It created a perfect consistency.

Beet Greens in Spicey Yogurt Sauce (Mor Kootu)

For Tempering:

3. Now grind together the coconut, cumin, chillies, besan. Add little water if required.

4. Mix this mixture with the yogurt and add enough water. This should be in the consistency of pancake batter or even thinner.

5. In a saucepan add the cooked greens, salt and yogurt sauce. Remove the pan from the stove after the first boil.

6. Add coconut oil in a small frying pan. Once it heats add mustard seeds and curry leaves. Once it splutters pour this in the kootu.

“Summer” Teriyaki Noodles       
A light and cooling summer recipe using zucchini for the “noodles”, instead of pasta, you’ll love it!  It’s quick, easy and yummy.  If you haven’t tried any living, raw food recipes, this is a great one to start with.  It’s the perfect blend of flavors and nutrients to keep you cool this summer, but well fueled for fun and activity.  Hemp seeds are a wonderful source of protein.

Serves 4

3 Tablespoons hemp oil
2 Tablespoons red wine
2 teaspoons tamari, (or soy sauce)
2 Tablespoons miso
2 Tablespoons raw agave nectar
1 Tablespoon fresh ginger, grated
1/4 cup hemp seeds
3 zucchinis
2 red bell peppers

In a small bowl, whisk together the hemp oil,
wine, tamari, miso, agave nectar, and ginger
until well blended.  Stir in 2 tablespoons
hemp seeds.

Using a japanese spiraler, mandolin slicer,
or vegetable peeler, make fettucini-style
noodles out of the zucchini.  In a large bowl,
add noodles and red pepper, pour on dressing,
toss gently.

Sprinkle with remaining hemp seeds and serve.

(Teriyaki not your thing?  you can
get creative, make up your own sauce
ideas to top the zucchini noodles.
I like fresh tomatoes, basil,
garlic and olive oil).

Let me help you on your Ayurvedic eating adventure……it’s much simpler than it seems.  Here is a well balanced tridoshic recipe……make it as a smoothie, a fruit bowl, or a chilled soup.  You can change the spices to make it “dosha-friendly”, Pitta types can add ice in the blender, Vata and Kapha types will probably enjoy at room temp, unless the heat is on where you live.  Want to get your kids to eat it?  Pop it in the dehydrator and Voila! Fruit Leather.

Cardamom Plum Delight

Makes about 2 cups

Ingredients: 

4 plums
1 banana
sprinkle cardamom
sprinkle allspice
dash sea-salt, (opt)
sprinkle almonds, or nut of choice

Preparation: 

Puree plums and banana in food processor until liquefied (if you want it thicker, add another half or whole banana). Sprinkle a very light bit of cardamom over the top, then a bit of allspice, then salt, if desired. Pulse briefly to combine. Taste and adjust, if necessary.

The almonds complement the plum perfectly, adding good fats and a little protein!  Cardamom aides digestion relieving acidity and gas, and bloating.

SInce we’re in the middle of Kapha season now
I thought it best to throw in a Kapha treat. 
This is always a favorite “raw” recipes.

If you aren’t familiar with raw/living foods,
no worry….it’s not as scary as it sounds.
It means the foods are LIVE with enzymes
because they haven’t been destroyed by heat.
(more on the benefits of enzymes coming soon).

Many raw foods are made in a dehydrator,
but if you don’t have one you can use your
oven on the lowest possible temperature.

Raw foods are not to be heated above
104-110 degrees in order to keep the
enzymes alive.  Put your oven on the
lowest possible setting and leave the door open 
a notch to circulate air flow.

The oats and agave nectar make this a perfect
choice for Kapha types.  The coconut adds
good fats, and the cacoa powder
and nibs are loaded with
antioxidants.  All in all, a healthy treat.
The oats and cacoa are both good for your
heart and lower cholesterol.

ENJOY!
INGREDIENTS:

1 1/2 cup raw, rolled oats
1/4 cup agave nectar

1/2 coconut cream, (or I use light coconut milk)
1/2 cup coconut flakes
1/4 raw cacoa powder
1/4 cacoa nibs
1 tbsp vanilla extract.
PREPARATION
Mix all the ingredients together.  You can adjust
the amounts to your own likes, there’s no right
or wrong with this, you can hardly make a mistake!

Scoop mounds, about a tablespoon,
onto dehydrator trays, flatten to desired cookie
shape with spoon or fingers. Dehydrate to
desired consistency,
or if using an oven, scoop onto
cookie sheets lined with parchment paper.

The longer the drying process the crunchier
they’ll be, if you like a chewy cookie
add more liquid and dehydrate for less time.