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...
"A tale that begins with a beet will end with the devil", wrote Tom Robbins in Jitterbug Perfume. For good reason too - cooking with red beets leaves the hands looking blood-stained. A chef who slaughters beets cannot hide - only run from the scene of...
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...
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...
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...
Also called string beans!
Plantains have a festive yellow color and as you might guess, they are members of the banana family. While any Caribbean island dweller relishes a sweet banana for dessert or snacks, plantains are the preferred savory option for a meal. Plantains...
Lamb fat is heavy. Muscle fats are widely used in ayurveda for convalescing (recovering from illness). However, muscle (mamsa) and muscle fats (vasa) are heavy for digestion. Downstream, they cause 'sroto-rodha' or blockage of blood. After several days...
If you've ever tasted peanut butter and chocolate together, you know why peanuts are addictive. John, our founder, had a client who loved peanuts so much she consumed a jar of peanut butter every evening.
Native to the dry hills of the Middle East and Central Asia, these little gems are among the world's oldest harvested nut trees, cultivated for over 9,000 years. Ancient Persians called them the "green gold," prized by kings and travelers alike for...
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Founder of Joyful Belly Ayurveda, John Immel, answers the question ‘What is Ayurveda?’
