How to Make Butternut Squash over Coconut Quinoa with Basil

SERVINGS: 4

PREP TIME: 15 MINUTES

COOK TIME: 30 MINUTES

SKILL LEVEL: EASY

MEAL: LUNCH-DINNER

PREPARATION: BOILED

EAT IN: AUTUMN-WINTER

FOR OCCASION: ROMANTIC, ON-THE-MEND, DINNER-PARTY, THANKSGIVING

How Does This Ayurvedic Recipe Improve Wellness?

CLINICAL AYURVEDIC REVIEW

Nourishing Basil Butternut Squash over Coconut Quinoa will soothe your body and mind. Butternut squash, soaked in coconut milk and ghee, carries a signature of comfort. Silky coconut milk and the freshness of basil form a perfect blend of satisfaction & lightness.

Simple yet vibrant ingredients with active flavors are the surprise found in this recipe, a rare combination for comfort food. Bright orange butternut is a feast for the eyes, yet satisfying. Red quinoa adds another dash of color to your plate and makes you feel strong and stable. This dish will fill you up without any sensation of tiredness after eating.

Bright and Aromatic

If you've ever picked fresh basil from a garden, you know how its aroma awakens the nose and brightens the senses. As you start to chop the leaves, the familiar scent of basil will fill your kitchen. Then, you'll feel your posture relax and lift all at once. That's not all - basil's aroma also stimulates enzymes in the stomach, preparing your body for optimum digestion.

Spice According to You

Red pepper adds a little bit of heat that sparks agni (your digestive fire) for comfortable digestion free of gas and bloating. The light sweat that comes to your brow after a few bites is your signal that the fire has been lit!

In this recipe, you can experiment with the level of spice you like. By reducing the quantity of red pepper flake and basil, Pittas may also enjoy this recipe. Those with fiery constitutions benefit from cool ghee and soothing butternut squash. Its heavy quality softens an agitated mind. Served room temperature, this dish is quite calming in the summertime for Pitta.

Slow Down, Soften and Savor

This recipe is excellent for dry, cold Vata Dosha suffering from constipation. The oily, nourishing quality of butternut squash cooked slowly in ghee and coconut milk helps to keep Vatas intestines moist for regular bowel movements. Quinoa, rich in fiber, completes this excellent recipe for constipation due to dryness. These qualities are especially helpful for Vata in late summer and fall.

Though a quite vibrant dish, this recipe may be a touch heavy for Kapha constitutions if you're not careful. You can reduce heaviness by adding extra red pepper flake and cooking the quinoa with water instead of coconut milk. Using these modifications, kaphas may also enjoy Basil Butternut Squash over Quinoa. They will feel even better if it's served hot!

AYURVEDA'S GUIDE TO VITALITY & WHOLESOME NOURISHMENT

Your Ayurvedic diet is tailored to your individual body and your specific imbalances. With an Ayurvedic diet you feel joy and satisfaction because what you are eating truly nourishes and balances you. Disease results from diets and lifestyles that are incompatible with your nature. By eating a personalized diet matched to your body, you experience optimal health. See How it Works.

See a complete list of all biocharacteristics.

INCREASES Increases These Biocharacteristics (Gunas) Functional Ayurveda helps you assess imbalances through 20 main biocharacteristics (gunas). Aggravating these characteristics weakens your body and causes imbalance. By knowing which characteristics are habitually imbalanced in your body, you will be able to identify and correct imbalances before you get sick. Every characteristic has an opposite which balances it (i.e. hot balances cold). You restore balance by favoring diet and lifestyle choices that increase the opposite characteristic. Learn More	LIQUEFIED ABOUT LIQUEFIED BIOCHARACTERISTIC Substances that thin fluids (lower viscosity of blood plasma). These may include blood thinners or mucolytic herbs. LEARN MORE ABOUT LIQUEFIED CLEAR ABOUT CLEAR BIOCHARACTERISTIC Clear refers to anything that cleanses or flushes out wastes, or that digests ama. LEARN MORE ABOUT CLEAR MOBILE ABOUT MOBILE BIOCHARACTERISTIC Mobile refers to anything that stimulates the nervous system, muscles, or activity. LEARN MORE ABOUT MOBILE
TASTES The 6 Tastes Taste is used to sense the most basic properties and effects of food. Each taste has a specific medicinal effect on your body. Cravings for food with certain tastes indicate your body is craving specific medicinal results from food. Taste is experienced on the tongue and represents your body's reaction to foods. Sweet taste causes physical satisfaction and attraction whereas bitter taste causes discomfort and aversion. Kapha should use less sweet taste while Vata and Pitta would benefit from using more sweet taste. One of the first signs of illness is that your taste and appetite for food changes. The six tastes are sweet, sour, salty, pungent, bitter, and astringent. Do you crave foods with any of the tastes below? Learn More	BITTER ABOUT BITTER BIOCHARACTERISTIC Bitter taste has cholagogue action - it is cold, clear, light, and stimulating. It increases digestive enzymes, laxative, and drying. LEARN MORE ABOUT BITTER PUNGENT ABOUT PUNGENT BIOCHARACTERISTIC Pungency is characterized by irritation, or sharp, spicy foods that irritate the mouth such as black pepper. LEARN MORE ABOUT PUNGENT
DOSHAS The Three Doshas / Body Types According to the biocharacteristic theory of medicine, people tend to get sick, over and over again, due to habitual causes and imbalances that are unique to the person. Your body type summarizes this tendency, showing you the 'type' of conditions and imbalances that frequently challenge your health & wellness. Using body type, you can also identify remedies likely to improve your strength and resiliency. Your body type identifies physical and mental characteristics as well as your personal strengths and weaknesses. The calculation of your body type is based on your medical history. The 3 functional body types (doshas), are Catabolic (Vata), Metabolic (Pitta), and Anabolic (Kapha). Catabolic individuals tend to break down body mass into energy. They are easily stimulated, hyperactive, underweight and dry. Metabolic individuals tend to burn or use energy. They tend to be rosy-cheeked, easily irritated, focused, driven, and easily inflamed. Anabolic individuals tend to store energy as body mass. If they store too much energy, they could gain weight easily and have congestion. Anabolic people tend to be stable and grounded. Learn More	PACIFIES AGGRAVATES
HAS THE FOLLOWING	Subtaste: Aromatic AROMATIC Herbs or spices with volatile essential oils that present strong aromas. Aromatic oils shock, refresh and numb tissue, with the end result of relaxing, opening and clearing stagnant fluids in tissues. SEE ALL 'AROMATIC' FOODS / HERBS
HERBAL ACTIONS (see all)	Medicinal Benefits, Uses & Herbal Actions of Butternut Squash over Coconut Quinoa with Basil Experiences are Personal Experiences vary according to the person and constitution. Individual results may vary. The list of herbal-actions below has not be approved by the FDA and should not be used to treat a medical condition. Cleanse & Detox: Burns Toxins BURNS-TOXINS An herb that detoxifies by helping your body metabolize toxins, as opposed to eliminating them. SEE ALL 'BURNS-TOXINS' FOODS / HERBS Mind, Stress & Sleep: Nerve Relaxant Grounding NERVE-RELAXANT-GROUNDING Encourages feelings of stability and heaviness. Makes you feel settled, mentally relaxed. Mildly sedates the nervous system to ease stress. Can bring a spacey or anxious person back to earth. Reduces agitation, irritation, stress and racing thoughts. SEE ALL 'NERVE-RELAXANT-GROUNDING' FOODS / HERBS , Relaxes Eyes RELAXES-EYES Eases tension in eye muscles, so the eyes feel less strained, often by supporting the liver. SEE ALL 'RELAXES-EYES' FOODS / HERBS Energy Vitality: Satisfies Stomach SATISFIES-STOMACH Provides a sense of gratification and fullness in the stomach. SEE ALL 'SATISFIES-STOMACH' FOODS / HERBS , Builds Stamina BUILDS-STAMINA Promotes strength, endurance and resistance in the body. Rebuilds weak tissues after a time of depletion. SEE ALL 'BUILDS-STAMINA' FOODS / HERBS , Nutritive NUTRITIVE An herb that is strengthening and nourishing. SEE ALL 'NUTRITIVE' FOODS / HERBS , Tonic TONIC A tonic herb restores function through strengthening tissue. This can happen through a combination of nourishing the tissue, and invigorating tissue metabolism. The tonic should not be withering, as in caffeine. SEE ALL 'TONIC' FOODS / HERBS Skin Care & Beauty: Diaphoretic DIAPHORETIC An herb that induces sweating, often by dilating blood vessels close to the skin. SEE ALL 'DIAPHORETIC' FOODS / HERBS Respiratory-Health: Flushes Sinuses FLUSHES-SINUSES An herb that relieves sinus congestion by flushing out mucus. SEE ALL 'FLUSHES-SINUSES' FOODS / HERBS Heart & Circulation: Cardiac Stimulant CARDIAC-STIMULANT Herbs that increase the heart rate. Useful in cardiovascular health, blood stagnation, and subjective feeling of heaviness in the chest area. SEE ALL 'CARDIAC-STIMULANT' FOODS / HERBS , Warms Head WARMS-HEAD An herb that increases sensations of heat and warmth in the head. SEE ALL 'WARMS-HEAD' FOODS / HERBS , Warms Ears WARMS-EARS Stimulates peripheral circulation to warm extremities, including the ears. SEE ALL 'WARMS-EARS' FOODS / HERBS , Rebuilds Fluids REBUILDS-FLUIDS Herbs or substances that create moisture in the body and increase fluids. SEE ALL 'REBUILDS-FLUIDS' FOODS / HERBS , Opthalmic OPTHALMIC Benefits the eyes, vision tonic. SEE ALL 'OPTHALMIC' FOODS / HERBS , Blood Tonic BLOOD-TONIC An herb that produces more blood cells in the body, or otherwise improves blood cell quality or hemoglobin content. Helpful for anemia and other types of deficiency. SEE ALL 'BLOOD-TONIC' FOODS / HERBS Kidney & Urinary: Diuretic DIURETIC Herbs that promote urine formation, thereby flushing the kidneys and urinary tract while eliminating any excess water retention. As diuretics reduce water retention, they are often used to reduce blood pressure. SEE ALL 'DIURETIC' FOODS / HERBS , Kidney Tonic KIDNEY-TONIC An herb that strengthens the kidneys. SEE ALL 'KIDNEY-TONIC' FOODS / HERBS Liver & Gallbladder: Livotonic LIVOTONIC An herb that strengthens the liver. It is helpful for people with a history of substance abuse, chronic liver issues from hepatitis and hemolytic anemias. Generally, liver tonics are oily, cool, sweet, mildly sour, or contain beta-carotene. SEE ALL 'LIVOTONIC' FOODS / HERBS Strength, Muscle Health: Muscle Tonic MUSCLE-TONIC Herbs that strengthen and tone muscle tissue. Helpful for people recovering from long term illness and debility, or after a sprain. SEE ALL 'MUSCLE-TONIC' FOODS / HERBS Constituents: Nitric Oxide NITRIC-OXIDE Improves circulation by dilating blood vessels. Protects blood vessels from damage. Improves athletic performance, libido, immunity, and brain health. SEE ALL 'NITRIC-OXIDE' FOODS / HERBS , Beta Carotene, Rosmarinic Acid ROSMARINIC-ACID Inhibits autoantibodies from binding to TSH receptors in the thyroid. SEE ALL 'ROSMARINIC-ACID' FOODS / HERBS , Fats, Betaine BETAINE Used to reduce homocysteine in the blood, which supports proper liver function and prevents fatigue and blood clots. Improves muscle stamina and weight loss. SEE ALL 'BETAINE' FOODS / HERBS , Saponins SAPONINS Can be used to make soap. Saponins stimulate mucus membrane secretion, liquefying mucus for easy removal (expectorant). SEE ALL 'SAPONINS' FOODS / HERBS , Phytates PHYTATES Phytates prevent absorption of nutrients. They are commonly found in all seeds, including nuts, grains, and beans. Sprouting greatly reduces phytate content, as well as long, slow cooking with vinegar. SEE ALL 'PHYTATES' FOODS / HERBS , Soluble Fiber, Zinc, Aromatase Inhibitor AROMATASE-INHIBITOR Blocks estrogen synthesis by inhibiting conversion of progesterone and testosterone into estrogen. SEE ALL 'AROMATASE-INHIBITOR' FOODS / HERBS , Carbohydrate, Folate, Magnesium MAGNESIUM Helps muscles relax. Laxative. SEE ALL 'MAGNESIUM' FOODS / HERBS

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Joyful Belly is a recognized school of biocharacteristics medicine.