AJWAIN

(5.00 out of 5 stars) 1 review, 336 likes

SAVE FOOD

Ajwain is native to the Middle East and is still common in Egypt as well as Indian cooking. Like turmeric, ajwain is a spice used to enhance digestibility rather than flavor.

ALOE VERA GEL

(5.00 out of 5 stars) 1 review, 450 likes

SAVE FOOD

Aloe includes more than 250 species of flowering succulents and is native to Africa, Madagascar and Jordan. It is closely related to cactus, yucca and onion. For thousands of years and across many cultures, aloe has been used to heal a variety of...

ALOE VERA JUICE

(5.00 out of 5 stars) 1 review, 279 likes

SAVE FOOD

Aloe includes more than 250 species of flowering succulents and is native to Africa, Madagascar and Jordan. It is closely related to cactus, yucca and onion. For thousands of years and across many cultures, aloe has been used to heal a variety of...

AMARANTH

SAVE FOOD

Amaranth represented up to 80% of the caloric intake of the Aztecs before the Spanish conquest. Amaranth tastes somewhat like corn, but is somewhat less sweet. Others have described the taste as nutty, like bacon or wood, or slightly bitter. It is...

APPLE (COOKED)

(5.00 out of 5 stars) 1 review, 695 likes

SAVE FOOD

In Norse mythology, apples are said to provide eternal youthfulness. Apples appear in many religious traditions, including the bible, often as a forbidden fruit. Apples originated in Western Asia, where its wild ancestor still grows today. There are...

APPLE CIDER VINEGAR

(5.00 out of 5 stars) 6 reviews, 431 likes

SAVE FOOD

Often used for weight loss, vinegar strongly increases the flow of bile. Bile is a fatty, oily substance made by the liver, and stored in the gall bladder. It helps you digest fats. Since bile is also a fatty oily substance, draining bile from the...

ARTICHOKE

SAVE FOOD

Artichokes, a member of the thistle family, are a hepatoprotectant. Artichoke may be gassy for those with weak digestion. Artichoke is very high in fiber. It's chologogue properties, together with its high fiber content make it ideal to flush toxic...

ARTICHOKE HEARTS

SAVE FOOD

See the Ayurvedic Analysis of Artichokes page.

ARUGULA

(4.50 out of 5 stars) 2 reviews, 353 likes

SAVE FOOD

Its sharp peppery flavor is a sign that arugula is light and easy to digest for those with slow, cold digestion, or to help take a heavy meal and "lighten" it, so your body can assimilate the nutrients of the entire dish.

ASPARAGUS

(5.00 out of 5 stars) 1 review, 328 likes

SAVE FOOD

Asparagus has a delicate flavor and texture making it an ideal vegetable for gourmet cuisine!

BARLEY

(5.00 out of 5 stars) 1 review, 281 likes

SAVE FOOD

Barley has an ancient history, and was first cultivated in the Near East.

BASIL

SAVE FOOD

Basil's warm and spicy aroma adds a passionate flare to any dish, bringing the heat of the Mediterranean sun to your table. Its bright green color and vigorous flavor is unmistakable in pesto. It adds verve to a home-made tomato sauce, and is a perky...

BEET GREENS

(5.00 out of 5 stars) 1 review, 140 likes

SAVE FOOD

The astringency of the beet can cause a fuzzy feeling on the teeth.

BITTER MELON

(4.00 out of 5 stars) 3 reviews, 149 likes

SAVE FOOD

The bitterest member of the gourd family, bitter melon is a popular vegetable in south asia from India northward to China.

BLACK PEPPER

SAVE FOOD

The word 'pepper' is dervied from the South Asian word 'pippali'. Pippali (long pepper) is a famous herb in Ayurveda for lung and heart conditions, and is a close relative of black pepper. The word pepper gradually came to include the unrelated New...

BLUEBERRY

(5.00 out of 5 stars) 1 review, 333 likes

SAVE FOOD

Pop a few blueberries in your mouth and you'll notice reduced agitation, a relaxing sensation in the eyes, and cool feeling in your skin. These visceral signs are your personal cue indicating blueberries' beneficial effect on your liver, and their...

BROCCOLI

(4.00 out of 5 stars) 1 review, 335 likes

SAVE FOOD

Broccoli is packed with nutrients, high in fiber, and keeps the stomach satisfied for a long time. An entire bag of broccoli has about 100 calories, or the equivalent of two french fries at a fast food restaurant. Raw brassicas contain chemicals...

CARDAMOM

(5.00 out of 5 stars) 8 reviews, 539 likes

SAVE FOOD

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...

CAULIFLOWER

(5.00 out of 5 stars) 2 reviews, 285 likes

SAVE FOOD

Cauliflower causes gas in Vata types.

CAYENNE PEPPER

SAVE FOOD

The entire nightshade family (solanaceae) aggravates Vata and Pitta, due to the weak liver of these two body types. All peppers aggravate Pitta due to heat. Note that black pepper...

CELERY ROOT

(5.00 out of 5 stars) 1 review, 74 likes

SAVE FOOD

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. Imagine a root vegetable that's perfect for spring, and that...

CELERY SEED

SAVE FOOD

Celery seeds are actually a very small fruit, these "seeds" yield a valuable volatile oil.

CELERY STALK

SAVE FOOD

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

SAVE FOOD

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...

CHIPOTLE CHILI

SAVE FOOD

Smokey and sharp, tastes like a campfire.

CILANTRO

SAVE FOOD

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

SAVE FOOD

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....

COLLARD GREENS

SAVE FOOD

Collard greens, like other fibrous greens, can be difficult to digest for Vata dosha. Make sure they are cooked well!

CORIANDER SEED

SAVE FOOD

Coriander is the seed of the cilantro plant. Its pleasantly fragrant aroma lifts the spirits and has a rustic feel.

CUMIN

(5.00 out of 5 stars) 4 reviews, 287 likes

SAVE FOOD

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...

DANDELION LEAVES

(5.00 out of 5 stars) 1 review, 241 likes

SAVE FOOD

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....