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Choose Russet or Yukon Gold potatoes for mashed potato recipes - thanks to their higher starch content, they are the best choices for smooth, creamy texture.
1. Peel potatoes. Keep half of the potatoes unpeeled for a more rustic effect.
2. Chop into small cubes for shorter cooking time. Place in a pot, cover with water and bring to a boil. Lower heat and simmer for 15-20 minutes or until potatoes are tender. If the potato sticks to the knife, it is not yet fully cooked. Strain, reserving 1c of the potato water (unless you plan to add heavy cream).
3. Mash gently with a potato masher. If you overwork the potatoes, the starch molecules will break resulting in a gummy, gluey end result.
4. Chop mushrooms and sautee with minced garlic in the butter. Mix with potatoes, reserved potato water, and remaining ingredients. Add additional butter and salt to taste.
How Does This Ayurvedic Recipe Improve Wellness?
CLINICAL AYURVEDIC REVIEW
Creamy mashed potatoes are a cozy way to celebrate November, satisfy your belly, and warm the hearts of friends, family and loved ones as you gather around the Thanksgiving table. A bowl of mashed potatoes can soothe the anxieties & worries of a cold autumn day, restoring ease and security to your day. Cooked garlic naturally adds warmth and a homey feel. Mushrooms and ghee bring savory richness that altogether makes this recipe a grounding comfort food.
Relax your Mind for Improved Sleep
Mushroom Mashed Potatoes are an excellent choice for those suffering from insomnia due to constant worries. Potatoes, mushrooms and garlic each make you feel sleepy in their own way. Potatoes because they are heavy and calming by nature. Mushrooms have an earthy taste that is a sign of their ability to keep you grounded and calm your nervous system. People may naturally crave garlic in autumn for relaxation and transition to a more inward-focused winter hibernation.
Restore Kindness, Affection, & Security
Comfort food is kindness food that makes you feel affectionate and brings out your cuddly side. A satisfied, happy belly naturally makes a person feel more comfortable. If your day has been erratic and stressful, this traditional comfort food truly nurtures a sense of security and ease of being.
*Note:
This remedy is helpful for deficient, under-nourished Vata constitutions only. For those feeling rundown, under-nourished from excessively light meals, and anxious about trying to get things done, a hearty bowl of Mushroom Mashed Potatoes is just what the doctor ordered. However, those with a Kapha constitution or who are overweight should take caution not to introduce the heavy qualities of mashed potatoes as a remedy for feeling overwhelmed, stressed, or anxious.
Digestibility of Potatoes
The fiber content of potatoes aids regular elimination, while their astringency binds overly loose stools. Potatoes are also soothing and demulcent, making them useful for cooling inflammation in the GI tract. The heaviness of potatoes, un-remedied by spices, can cause gas for Vata and can slow digestion for Kapha. You might feel as though you've eaten a brick after eating mashed potatoes. Spiced with black pepper, salt and garlic, Mushroom Mashed Potatoes will digest more easily than traditional recipes. Feel free to add more ghee or spices if you still find digestion difficult, but love mashed potatoes nonetheless!
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 Mushroom Mashed Potatoes Good for My Ayurvedic Diet?
Find out by taking this free, easy quiz.
You'll learn your body type, and whether Mushroom Mashed Potatoes 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.
Bland means doesn't have much taste. In Chinese medicine, bland taste refers to afood without little macronutrients, such as cabbage, radish or bok choy.
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 Mushroom Mashed Potatoes:
Sedative herbs create a sense of calm in the mind and body by specifically calming or quieting the nervous system. Excellent for anxiety, stress and chronic pain.
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.
An herb that literally calms the heart. These herbs are helpful in the treatment of anxiety, sadness, depression, or other emotional imbalances in the heart. Related to the Chinese Herbal Category 'calms spirit.'
An antioxidant is a molecule that inhibits oxidation. Oxidation is a chemical reaction that can produce free radicals that lead to a chain reaction causing damage or death to cells. Antioxidants terminate these oxidation reactions.
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.
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.
Mushrooms can be difficult to digest but black pepper is a digestive. Potato is a diuretic but salt is an anti-diuretic. These qualities cancel each other out. Even though the ingredients on their own are imbalanced, the 'formula' in the recipe pacifies Vata.
When a recipe is shared that is not appropriate for a particular dosha as this one for Kapha, it would be most helpful to have an alternative recipe provided for that dosha.
Mushrooms can be difficult to digest but black pepper is a digestive. Potato is a diuretic but salt is an anti-diuretic. These qualities cancel each other out. Even though the ingredients on their own are imbalanced, the 'formula' in the recipe pacifies Vata.
When a recipe is shared that is not appropriate for a particular dosha as this one for Kapha, it would be most helpful to have an alternative recipe provided for that dosha.
* 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.