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Add a small amount of water to the bottom of the saucepan. Strip kale of the central vein, chop into small pieces, and add to the water. Bring to a boil, add remaining ingredients and cover. Lower heat and simmer until Kale softens and turns a bright green.
Garnish with a wedge of lime.
How Does This Ayurvedic Recipe Improve Wellness?
CLINICAL AYURVEDIC REVIEW
How to Cleanse with Kale
In the spring, kale and other greens are a perfect choice to restore lightness and vitality. Greens are also an essential component to your yearly spring cleanse. If you haven't started your spring cleanse yet, or don't know how to cleanse, Kale with Coconut & Fennel is a great start.
Kale with Coconut and Fennel gently cleanses while it rejuvenates. The cleansing action of this recipe is mainly due to kale's bitterness, and secondarily to fennel, known for its ability to burn "ama" or toxins in Ayurveda. Here kale is cooked until soft and tender, so its bitterness is mild. Meanwhile coconut and fennel add sweetness and flavor, a popular flavor combination that will be appreciated by the whole family.
Sometimes, a few meals featuring greens as the main ingredient are all you need for a mild cleanse. Try Kale with Coconut & Fennel, served alongside fish. Or, if you are vegetarian, mung dal or black bean soup. Finally, serve a bit of brown rice for a complete and nourishing meal that promises to leave you feeling light and refreshed.
Whether you are recovering after a fun weekend of festivities, or simply taking a rest, Kale with Coconut & Fennel is a supportive choice. If only everything in life was so simple as a bowl of greens!
Cool Your Temper
Kale and coconut are both cooling ingredients that can calm any irritation, whether mental or physical. The bitterness of Kale draws angry bile out of the gall bladder and liver, making you feel cool as a cucumber. Your mind will simply feel relaxed and your eyes refreshed. Coconut is one of the best refreshments, a perfect way to cool you down as the heat of summer approaches. The cooling properties can even give you some relief from mild inflammation.
Bitter is Better
The leaves of all plants have a bitter component. Kale, endives, arugula and lettuce are some of the most simple, ubiquitously available greens in the grocery store. Bitters enhance and cleanse the digestive tract by stimulating GI movement (peristalsis) and the release of bile from the liver and gall bladder. Bitters were common in the diets of our ancestors and should be re-introduced as a main ingredient in the modern diet for health and longevity.
Bitter taste lightens Kapha body type's natural heaviness while cooling fiery Pitta. Kale is an excellent bitter but when undercooked it is hard and chewy, and hard to chew usually means hard to digest. Therefore, Kale should be cooked until it is soft and more digestible. Fennel and salt are both digestive aids for anyone who has trouble digesting kale. The sugar, coconut flakes and oil in this recipe add a heavy quality balancing the light quality of kale.
This recipe is one of our favorite staples on Joyful Belly. For more information, read more about bitter taste and greens.
Raw or Cooked?
Raw food offers nutritional benefits but is more difficult to digest, causing gas and bloating. The nutritional benefits are then outweighed by the toxicity of food fermenting in the gut. Indigestible food is considered poison in Ayurveda. The measure of good food is not just its contents, but its interaction with our body.
Cooked food is easy to digest but destroys some vitamins and enzymes. Neither is superior. The real answer to the cooked or raw debate depends on the digestive strength of the individual. Pitta people have the strongest digestive strength and can tolerate more raw foods than other doshas. Taken from The Raw Versus Cooked Debate.
WHY EAT AN AYURVEDIC DIET?
Eating Ayurvedically makes you feel nourished and energized. An Ayurvedic diet is
tailored to your individual body type and the specific imbalances you are working with
at any given time. Ayurveda shows you your specific body type’s needs and what
should be favored in your Ayurvedic menu. Watch as you eat less but feel more satisfied because what you
are eating truly nourishes you. Since Ayurveda believes all disease begins in the digestive
tract, food is your first medicine. By eating a healthy diet that’s ideal for your body, you
experience optimal health.
Is Kale with Coconut & Fennel Good for My Ayurvedic Diet?
Find out by taking this free, easy quiz.
You'll learn your body type, and whether Kale with Coconut & Fennel is a good fit for your body type. Time to complete: approximately 1 minute.
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.
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?
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.
Metabolic individuals tend to burn or use energy.
Anabolic individuals tend to store energy as body mass.
Catabolic people tend to be easily stimulated, hyperactive, underweight and dry.
Metabolic people tend to be rosy-cheeked, easily irritated, focused, driven, and easily inflamed.
Anabolic people are heavy, stable and grounded, but if they store too much energy, they could gain weight easily and have congestion.
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.
Here are the herbal actions of Kale with Coconut & Fennel:
Stimulates the release of gas. Helpful for bloating or cramping abdominal pain. Propels food downward. Carminatives typically expel gas by relaxing the muscles of the intestines.
An herb that increases appetite or settles a nauseas or nervous stomach. These generally increase the digestive fire, therefore relieving symptoms of sluggish or difficult digestion.
Expectorants help you eliminate mucus from the lungs. These herbs often work by increasing the quantity of mucus, or thinning the mucus. Expectorants are indicated when phlegm congests the lower respiratory tract.
Restores the proper function of the body by cleansing the blood and balancing blood chemistry. In Ayurveda terms, they pacify Pitta in rakta. They were traditionally used to revitalize and detoxify after a long winter.
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.
A vasodilator is an herb that widens the blood vessels by the relaxation of smooth muscle cells within the vessel walls, thereby increasing circulation systemically or to a local area.
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.
Cholagogues stimulate the production & release of bile from the liver & gallbladder. This refreshes and cleanses these organs, as well as increases bile in the small intestines.
Scrapes fats / cleanses blood vessels by 1) purging bile, 2) strengthening the liver's ability to metabolize fats, 3) by increasing uptake of cholesterol in the liver, and 4) by inhibiting fat cells.
John Immel, the founder of Joyful Belly, teaches people how to have a
healthy diet and lifestyle with Ayurveda biocharacteristics.
His approach to Ayurveda is clinical, yet exudes an ease which many find enjoyable and insightful.
John also directs Joyful Belly's School of Ayurveda,
offering professional clinical training in Ayurveda for over 15 years.
John's interest in Ayurveda and specialization in digestive tract pathology was inspired by a complex digestive disorder acquired from years of international travel,
as well as public service work in South Asia.
John's commitment to the detailed study of digestive disorders reflects his zeal to get down to the roots of the problem.
His hope and belief in the capacity of each & every client to improve their quality of life is nothing short of a personal passion.
John's creativity in the kitchen and delight in cooking for others comes from his family oriented upbringing.
In addition to his certification in Ayurveda, John holds a bachelor's degree in mathematics from Harvard University.
John enjoys sharing Ayurveda within the context of his Catholic roots,
and finds Ayurveda gives him an opportunity to participate in the healing mission of the Church.
Jesus expressed God's love by feeding and healing the sick.
That kindness is the fundamental ministry of Ayurveda as well.
Outside of work, John enjoys spending time with his wife and 6 kids, and pursuing his love of theology, philosophy, and language.
Comments & Impressions of 'Kale With Coconut & Fennel'
Do you like 'kale with coconut & fennel'?
Why or why not?
What makes it unique? Is there something you'd like to know about 'kale with coconut & fennel'?
Thank you for the raw vs. cooked debate answers. This is what I tell people but they don't believe me until they get sick. It is so important to have good digestion.
- Laurie Millar, Grass valley, CA, 06-13-10 (Reply)
All the tastes are here once you add a squeeze of lime, which protects the color, enhances mineral access from the greens. If you use chard instead, this recipe reduces astringency. Added sweetness, whether you add coconut or not, helps cool the heat of some dark leafy greens like spinach and chard. Magic taste transforming chemistry, all these things! I love fennel, sometimes toasty crisp othertimes sweetly plump. Or I choose toasted cumin seed even more often it seems. For those avoiding garlic, use a pinch of hing. 1-3 tsp of finely grated ginger is another choice instead of pepper, which in this version is mild enough to suit summer doshas. Melissa, also your recipe does sound awesome! Greg's chard of course is a much quicker dish than cooking with kale (or sub collards for kale).
This recipe has it all and really made me feel well nourished. The fennel, coconut and oil add a lot of depth and satisfaction. I also made it with some chick peas as a complete meal which was also delicious.
This recipe has it all and really made me feel well nourished. The fennel, coconut and oil add a lot of depth and satisfaction. I also made it with some chick peas as a complete meal which was also delicious.
This was so good and so satisfying! I didn't feel tired after eating this. And with the natural sweetness of the coconut flakes I think I might eliminate the sugar next time, too.
Thank you for the raw vs. cooked debate answers. This is what I tell people but they don't believe me until they get sick. It is so important to have good digestion.
- Laurie Millar, Grass valley, CA, 06-13-10 (Reply)
All the tastes are here once you add a squeeze of lime, which protects the color, enhances mineral access from the greens. If you use chard instead, this recipe reduces astringency. Added sweetness, whether you add coconut or not, helps cool the heat of some dark leafy greens like spinach and chard. Magic taste transforming chemistry, all these things! I love fennel, sometimes toasty crisp othertimes sweetly plump. Or I choose toasted cumin seed even more often it seems. For those avoiding garlic, use a pinch of hing. 1-3 tsp of finely grated ginger is another choice instead of pepper, which in this version is mild enough to suit summer doshas. Melissa, also your recipe does sound awesome! Greg's chard of course is a much quicker dish than cooking with kale (or sub collards for kale).
This recipe has it all and really made me feel well nourished. The fennel, coconut and oil add a lot of depth and satisfaction. I also made it with some chick peas as a complete meal which was also delicious.
This recipe has it all and really made me feel well nourished. The fennel, coconut and oil add a lot of depth and satisfaction. I also made it with some chick peas as a complete meal which was also delicious.
This was so good and so satisfying! I didn't feel tired after eating this. And with the natural sweetness of the coconut flakes I think I might eliminate the sugar next time, too.
* These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration.
The information and products on this website are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any
disease.