How to Make Wild Rice with Cranberry & Almonds

SERVINGS: 4

PREP TIME: 5 MINUTES

COOK TIME: 45 MINUTES

MEAL: LUNCH-DINNER

STYLE: WESTERN

PREPARATION: BOILED, BAKED

EAT IN: AUTUMN-WINTER

How Can Wild Rice with Cranberry & Almonds Make You Feel Great?

AYURVEDIC ANALYSIS

Hearty wild rice is paired with twangy cranberry and rustic rosemary in this warm holiday favorite. Add hearty almonds for a satisfying dish that will please your guests both in taste and effect- Wild Rice with Cranberry and Almonds makes you feel great! It is at once satisfying and lightening so you can avoid that heavy sleepiness after holiday festivities.

Lighten Your Load

Wild rice is high in protein and fiber. It's "filling" quality encourages you to eat healthy portions. Like brown rice, wild rice is more difficult to digest than white rice because it is a whole grain containing bran. This bran, however, is helpful in weight-loss thanks to its high fiber content and scraping qualities. It also requires more energy for digestion, so that your meal can actually help you lose weight while feeling satisfied. Wild rice can be a challenge to digest for some Vata types with limited enzymes- for those with weak digestion, substitute basmati rice.

Additionally, rosemary is a diaphoretic (it makes you sweat) which encourages healthy elimination of toxins and fat reduction. It stimulates the central nervous system, giving you a sense of "get up and go" when you feel sluggish.

Warm Your Digestion

Rosemary and cranberry stimulate your taste buds and your digestion- their pungent and sour tastes heat up your digestive fire. Heating, stimulating rosemary encourages slow digestion to take a turn for the hot and firey. Cranberries give the sour taste that encourages secretion of digestive juices, so that your digestion is efficient and metabolism strengthens.

WHY SHOULD YOU EAT AYURVEDICALLY?

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. Foods that supplement your specific body type’s needs and digest easily create your 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.

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Is Wild Rice with Cranberry & Almonds Good for Me?

Find out by taking this free, easy quiz. You'll learn your body type, and whether Wild Rice with Cranberry & Almonds is a good fit for you. Time to complete: approximately 1 minute.

MEDICINAL QUALITIES

INCREASES Increases These Qualities (Gunas) Functional Ayurveda helps you assess imbalances through 20 main characteristics (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	CLEAR ABOUT CLEAR GUNA Clear refers to anything that cleanses or flushes out wastes, or that digests ama. LEARN MORE ABOUT CLEAR
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	ASTRINGENT ABOUT ASTRINGENT GUNA Astringency is characterized by constriction, drawing together, or drying. LEARN MORE ABOUT ASTRINGENT BITTER ABOUT BITTER GUNA Bitter is disagreeable and stimulating rejection, and a strong taste often associated with black coffee, dark chocolate, and most salad greens. LEARN MORE ABOUT BITTER
DOSHAS The Three Doshas / Body Types People tend to get sick, over and over again, due to similar causes and habitual 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. Learn More	PACIFIES AGGRAVATES
HAS THE FOLLOWING	EFFECT: Ojas OJAS Ojas is the essence of healthy tissue, immunity, stable energy and happiness. Substances that improve ojas are recommended after long-term illness, debility, emotional and physical trauma, and even sadness. LEARN MORE ABOUT OJAS , Alkalizing ALKALIZING An herb or food that makes the urine more alkaline (higher pH). This herbal action can be helpful for a number of inflammatory conditions. LEARN MORE ABOUT ALKALIZING , Rajasic RAJASIC Rajasic foods stimulate desire or nervous energy. Red meat, high protein food, garlic and onions stimulate desire. Rajasic foods include chili peppers, coffee, and anything that stimulates movement. LEARN MORE ABOUT RAJASIC TYPE: Grains CONTAINS: Tree Nuts, Allergens

MEDICINAL PROPERTIES

Experiences are Personal

Experiences vary according to the person and constitution. Individual results may vary. The list of actions below has not be approved by the FDA and should not be used to treat a medical condition.

Digestion:

Stomachic

STOMACHIC

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.

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Energy Vitality Strength:

Stimulates energy

STIMULATES-ENERGY

This category groups thyroid and adrenal stimulating herbs

LEARN MORE ABOUT STIMULATES-ENERGY

,

Nutritive

NUTRITIVE

An herb that is strengthening and nourishing.

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Heart & Circulation:

Vasodilator

VASODILATOR

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.

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Reproductive Health:

Emmenogogue

EMMENOGOGUE

Herbs which stimulate blood flow in the pelvic area and uterus. They are used to increase scanty menstruation, relieve menstrual pain, and other functions.

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