
Acai means fruit that cries. Acai is a sweet & juicy fruit with a satisfying purple pulp. It provides rich nutrition, high antioxidant value, and fiber.
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...
Cabbage's cool, light nature makes it ideal for recovery from a few days of heavy foods. Cooked, it is soft yet bulky, providing ample fiber to clear and gently cleanse the GI. A hot steaming bowl of soft cabbage soup soothes as it satisfies. Though...
Raw brassicas contain chemicals that can block thyroid function called goitrogens. These chemicals are easily inactivated by steaming or cooking.
Cooling, lymphatic decongestant, alterative, anti-inflammatory diuretic, astringent, bitter. Mild demulcent. like Cleavers but stronger decongestant.
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.
Fronds of a coconut palm sway in a tropical breeze,...
Fronds of a coconut palm sway in a tropical breeze,...
Fronds of a coconut palm sway in a tropical breeze,...
Fronds of a coconut palm sway in a tropical breeze,...
Replenish ElectrolytesAt any corner market in sweltering India, Thailand or Bali, you can drink fresh coconut water out of the nut with a straw, and dig out the sweet meat with a spoon. Coconut water quenches even the strongest...
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.
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...
Hibiscus is from the same family as okra, cotton, and chocolate. More obscure members include durian, marshmallow root, & kola nut.
Honeydew, when fresh and ripe, is a succulent treasure. Floral accents perfume its lush green flesh. It's juicy sweetness seems to capture all the wholesome abundance of a teeming garden into a delightful green bowling ball. As a melon, honey dew is...
Jackfruit is grown in subtropical lowlands. They have the largest fruit of any tree. Like fig trees, jackfruit are in the moraceae family. Footnote: The information for this article was in part gathered from a 2019 study and survey of 28 students of...
Although Jicama appears like a dusty old stone, it's taste and texture are refreshingly sweet and crisp. Jicama is the only root in the bean family consumed as a food. Licorice root, the other edible root of the legume family, is largely consumed as an...
The origin of lemons are a mystery. Do they come from southern india? burma? or china? Speculation abounds. Genetic study reveals lemons are a hybrid of a sour orange and a citron.
Limes are strongly sour, thus encouraging secretions in the digestive tract and salivary glands. These secretions improve taste, digestion, and regular elimination (functioning as a mild laxative) Limes and Cleansing Lime's sour...
Pears are an ancient fruit eaten since pre-historic times. Older varieties of pear had a hardened flesh that required hours of cooking to soften. Impossible to eat raw, the Romans stewed pears with honey and spices. Around the 18th century pears were...
Glossy orange-red American Persimmons (Diospyros virginiana) grow wild from the east coast through to the Midwest. Akin to dates, Persimmons are very sweet & gooey. They are too sweet to ferment or rot, and thus perfect for drying. American persimmons...
Pomegranate comes from the latin words for apple (pomum) and seed (granatum), altogether meaning 'seeded-apple'. The seeds of the pomegranate are embedded in a white membrane that is also used for its medicinal qualities in Ayurveda. The french word...
Nothing is more refreshing on a hot summer day than a crisp salad. All year long, your Ayurvedic practitioner has been telling you to avoid cool foods, but in the summertime, that rule is put on hold. It is the perfect time to enjoy watery, crunchy...
The neglect of rose petal as a medicinal in western herbalism is astounding! A few hundred years ago, rose petal use was ubiquitous, in rose water, syrup, honey, sugar, conserve, julep, vinegar, electuary, wine, oil and ointment. It is still a popular...
Rosewater is the water leftover from the production of rose essential oil. It has a wonderful rose fragrance. As Ayurveda students, we sprayed ourselves with rosewater mist on hot days to keep cool. Rosewater is available in most Indian and Middle...
Watermelon is a special kind of fruit known as a pepo. It has a thick rind (exocarp) and fleshy center (mesocarp or endocarp). The sweet fleshy center is usually pink, orange, or yellow. Originally from South Africa, watermelon is a member of the gourd...
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Founder of Joyful Belly Ayurveda, John Immel, answers the question ‘What is Ayurveda?’