In the Middle Ages, caraway seeds were served with a bit of sugar as a digestive after a big meal, much the way sugar coated fennel is eaten after a meal in India.
Love for cardamom resonates through history - for instance, ancient Egyptians chewed cardamom to whiten their teeth and sweeten their breath. Cardamom helps take the edge off of caffeine in the famous drink Turkish coffee. Cardamom is a member of the...
Carob is an evergreen shrub or tree in the bean family native to the Mediterranean. It is a hardy tree resistant to harsh climate and drought. Carob was eaten in ancient Egypt and used as a sweetener. It is the hierglyph for Sweet in Egypt...
Light, cooling cauliflower aids digestion, clears heat, and gently supports natural detoxification. It is the ideal reset food for those with strong enough digestion.
The spicy, burning heat of cayenne creates euphoria, is pain-killing, anti-inflammatory, anti-bacterial. As a strong pungent-irritant it improves digestion and dilates blood vessels.
This bright food is one of the lightest of root vegetables. It's the only root vegetable with as much flavor and freshness as leafy greens - something you can't get from a turnip or carrot. It satisfies without weighing you down. Imagine a root...
Celery seeds are actually a very small fruit, these "seeds" yield a valuable volatile oil.
The word for celery comes from the Greek word selinon which translates to 'parsley,' a close relative of celery. Celery's powers have been known since antiquity. Leaves of it were found in the garlands surrounding King Tut's tomb, and Homer makes...
Chamomile infuses your tea with a delicious floral aroma that is warm, light & airy. Its smell is reminiscent of apples, first noted by the Greeks, who named it 'ground-apple' (kamai=ground & melon=apple). Improve Sluggish...
Berries arrive just in time for late spring, early summer. Berries are lymphatic movers that complete the spring process of cleansing your liver. They are also liver tonics to protect your liver during summer. Berries are rich in anti-oxidants that...
The short answer is yes, chickpeas are good for you. Here are some of the ways: The fiber in chickpeas is nearly 75% insoluble and remains undigested as it reaches the colon. This significantly bulks up stools for a satisfying morning...
Cooling, lymphatic decongestant, alterative, anti-inflammatory diuretic, astringent, bitter. Mild demulcent. like Cleavers but stronger decongestant.
Maybe it's the name, or the pretty blue flowers that line the highway, but every time I think of chicory, I smile with the thought of a party in New Orleans.
Romance may be sealed with a box of chocolates, but passion for chocolate is as eternal as true love. Long before John Cadbury invented the chocolate bar, native meso-american peoples brewed chocolate with medicinal herbs. Chocolate has been used as...
Cilantro is the leaf of the coriander seed. Both the leaves and the seeds have citrus overtones. Cilantro, as a cooling herb, pairs well with hot spicy dishes.
Cinnamon is a small evergreen tree in the Lauraceae family native to Sri Lanka. Other members of this family include sassafras, avocado, camphor, and spicebush. Trees of the laurel family, including cinnamon, predominate in the world's laurel forests....
Cloves are an aromatic dried flower bud from a small evergreen tree native to India and Indonesia, in the same family as Eucalyptus and Guava (Myrtaceae family). Cloves resemble a nail in shape. The English name 'clove' derives from the latin...
Coffee as a SacramentWhat are your rituals around coffee? Coffee has become a sacrament in our culture. A client reports, "The only time my husband and I relax together is over coffee." My response, "If your marriage is dependent...
Collard greens, like other fibrous greens, can be difficult to digest for Vata dosha. Make sure they are cooked well!
Coriander is the seed of the cilantro plant. Its pleasantly fragrant aroma lifts the spirits and has a rustic feel.
Meso-Americans domesticated corn (also known as maize) in pre-historic times, and it spread through much of the Americas between 1700 and 1250 BCE. Traditionally corn, beans and squash formed the three sisters, widely cultivated by native American...
Cranberries grow in acidic bogs. Early settlers in North American thought cranberry flowers looked like a crane, and named them 'craneberry'. They are a major commercial crop in North America.
Hot, pungent, antiemetic, appetizer, digestive, spleen tonic; stimulates saliva.
Oft considered a vegetable, these elongated cylindrical delicacies are actually a fruit. They join watermelon and honey dew as succulent members of the summer friendly melon family. Originally from the Indian subcontinent, cucumbers are now grown...
Appreciated since ancient times, cumin's aroma has wafted through kitchens since at least the second millennium BC, even flavoring breads and soups mentioned in the Bible. The highly valued spice was a currency to pay tithes to priests. The ancient...
Daikon is native to southeast and east Asia. From white to purple to green to pink, Daikon comes in several varieties. It's also known as white radish, winter radish, long white radish, oriental radish, and mooli. In Japan, many types of pickles are...
When most people think of dandelion, they think of pulling this pesky weed out of their manicured lawn. It's the poster child for weeds. This is especially ironic because colonists brought the dandelion to the Americas as an important medicinal plant....
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Founder of Joyful Belly Ayurveda, John Immel, answers the question ‘What is Ayurveda?’