
Egg yolks are satisfying, creamy and soft. They have a high fat and nutrient content, containing everything necessary to nourish a baby chicken. This makes egg a strengthening tonic. Egg yolks are creamy when raw, and have a dry, pasty...
Strength & Energy Building TonicLong before the agricultural revolution, humans feasted off nuts. This ancestral food is still one of the best ways to strengthen your body. Warm and creamy almonds contain more protein per serving...
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...
Beans are the 'musical fruit' because they contain saponins to protect themselves against insects. Saponins form the sudsy foam on the surface of a cooking pot of beans. They prevent protein digestion resulting in stagnation and gas of the bowels.
Causes Weight Gain The abundance of starch in potato and their high glycemic index cause weight gain.This heaviness puts you to sleep and can slow digestion. Cools Inflammation Potatoes, un-remedied by spices...
Ancestors of the wild carrot came from Iran and Afghanistan, the center of genetic diversity for carrot. Carrots were bred from a species of wild carrot, called Queen Anne's Lace. Originally they were grown for their aromatic leaves and seeds. Since...
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...
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...
Like all roots cooked onion brings a grounding feel. Yellow onions are the standard onion in American grocery store shelves. White onions tend to be sweeter and crunchier. Red...
Regarded as both a force for good and evil, folklore and superstition abound when it comes to this little but poignant member of the onion family. A garland of garlic kept evil spirits and vampires away in the west. In an eastern Islamic myth, garlic...
Coriander is the seed of the cilantro plant. Its pleasantly fragrant aroma lifts the spirits and has a rustic feel.
Turmeric is a warm, yellow, earthy, slightly bitter spice used in ritual, medicine, and cooking. Turmeric paste is applied to bride and groom before marriage in some places of India, Bangladesh, and Pakistan. Although a deep yellow color, turmeric...
Staying Hydrated: Ayurveda's Approach to the Essence of LifeWater is the essence of life. Without it you cannot go on living. In fact, the sheer volume of water on Earth is what makes this planet unique. But how much do you really...
Rice builds ojas. Ojas is said to have the smell of burnt rice. Of rices, Basmati is the most sattvic and aromatic. Rice is nourishing and easy to digest giving more 'bang for the buck'. Rice offers more calories with less effort from digestive...
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...
IntroductionA steaming hot mug of ginger tea on a damp day warms up your bones and burns away thick, heavy congestion. When the weather is soggy, you feel tired and groggy. You naturally crave sunlight and heat. Pungent and light,...
Rich and creamy, milk is a soothing balm to both body and mind. As a schoolboy, I LOVED coming home to a cool, refreshing glass of milk. Milk's mild sweetness goes down easy. On hot days it refreshed me. On cold days, a warm glass of milk with hot...
Today, tomatoes are famous for their high levels of the anti-oxidant lycopene. They are also known as a nonlethal fruit making it safe to throw rotten ones at bad performers on a stage. Ayurvedically, tomatoes are sweet and sour. They aggravate...
Introduction You'll feel warmed to the bone and relaxed after eating molasses. The gooey and thick nature of this sweetener gave rise to the famous phrase "as slow as molasses." One client observed these qualities, "The molasses...
Star anise is a small evergreen tree native to China that closely resembles anise in flavor. Its licorice-flavored start shaped fruit is also grown in Japan and Vietnam. It has a dark brown color and contains six to eight seeded petal-like segments. ...
Winter squashes, including butternut, are eaten in the autumn after they have absorbed the sun's energy over the summer. This stored energy gives squashes a warm ojas building heartiness that can comfort you through colder weather. Where most tonic...
Spinach is heating in the digestive tract and drying. It is unusual because very few foods are both astringent and hot. It contains oxalic acid which provokes Pitta and is especially contraindicated for kidney stones. Cooking destroys the oxalic acid.
The name tarragon is a corruption of the French esdragon, derived from the Latin dracunculus, which means a little dragon.
Also known as devil's dung, stinking gum, food of the gods, and giant fennel, hing has a varied and suprising diversity of uses. Along the Tex-Mex border hing was used for wolf bait. The odor attracts wolves. In Jamaica, hing is used to protect the...
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.
Butter increases cholesterol, which is Kapha in nature. Eat organic butter only because the toxins are concentrated as the milk is concentrated. Ayurveda recommends ghee over butter because it is lighter for digestion. Every get thirsty after eating...
Black salt is a popular condiment in India. It consists of salt infused with sulfurous herbs and spices. It is a brownish pink color due to sulfides that also give it its unique pungent flavor.
Honey - The Nectar of the Gods This pure and natural heavenly gift from nature was the first sweetener known to man. Honey's sweet goodness has been an icon of abundance for centuries. It's golden syrup seems to capture the very...
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...
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Founder of Joyful Belly Ayurveda, John Immel, answers the question ‘What is Ayurveda?’