Written by John Immel, Asheville, NC

Using Recipes, Ingredients and Spices Medicinally

Ayurveda harnesses the power of food to heal. Food has an effect on your body that you can feel. Food can make you light or heavy, dry or oily, hot or cold, etc. We call these qualities digestive effects. Ayurveda believes that you can master your own health by paying attention to these qualities in your food, your body,and the world around you. These qualities help you choose the food that you need more intuitively. Ayurveda uses these qualities to cultivate your ability to adapt. Ayurveda also uses these qualities to improve your digestion. Western medicine looks at calories, proteins, fats, vitamins and minerals, i.e. the nutritional contents of food. However, Ayurveda believes that good digestion is the first step to good nutrition.

On Joyful Belly you can find a variety of tasty recipes, both familiar to the American palate and exotic. You create a personal grocery list of ingredients and spices. You can research every ingredient for detailed ayurvedic information.

Accessing Recipes, Ingredients and Spices

Click here for step by step instructions on getting started. Once you have signed up, there are three ways to get to recipes, ingredients and spices.

The first method is using the dropdown menu under 'Ayurvedic Diet'. From there, click on Recipes, Ingredients, or Spices. This method shows you all recipes, ingredients, and spices in our system, incuding ones not in your diet.

The second method is by browsing your 'diet search results' after creating a diet. This method only shows recipes, ingredients, and spices in your diet.

The third method is by clicking on 'My Account' and using the green horizontal bar. This options shows all recipes, ingredients, and diets in our system.

Browsing Recipes, Ingredients, and Spices

To the right of any list of recipes, ingredients or spices, registered users will see three symbols V,P, and K standing for Vata, Pitta, and Kapha. When there is a red slash across the V, P, or K, it means unhealthy for Vata, Pitta, or Kapha. When there is no slash, the food is generally safe for that dosha.

You will also see exclamation points next to contraindicated ingredients and spices.

Reading a Recipe, Ingredient or Spice

When you are looking at a recipe, ingredient, or spice, the first thing to check are the digestive effects.

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