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Mung Bean Noodle Chow Mein 

(single meal dish: vegan, gluten free)

5.5 oz mung bean noodles (3 little bunches)

1 lb tofu (long thin slices)

2 carrots (long thin slices)

1 small red bell pepper (finely chopped)

2 -3 green onions (finely chopped)

1-2 inch ginger chunk (thinly sliced)

3 cloves garlic minced

1 cup basil leaves (chopped)

1/2 fresh lime (juiced)

3 T sesame seeds

2 T roasted sesame oil

2 T extra virgin olive oil

1/3 tsp turmeric

1/4 tsp chilpolte chilli 

1 tsp sea salt

1/2 cup hot water

1. Bring a pot of water to boil, add mung bean noodles.  They become clear when cooked; takes 3-5 mins.  When cooked, drain, rinse in cold water, drain and set aside.
2. In a wok or cast iron pan, add olive oil, ginger and tofu.  Cook until tofu is lightly brown and then add carrots and cook for a few minutes.  Turn off the heat and add red bell pepper and green onions.
3. In a pan, dry roast sesame seeds until lightly brown and add to the tofu veggies. Now in the same pan, saute garlic in roasted sesame oil for 1-2 minutes, add turmeric, chili, salt.  Add 1/2 cup water and boil for 1 min. (Use lid to avoid splashing) 
4. Mix everything together (noodles, tofu veggies, garlic water) and add lime juice and chopped basil.
5. Makes 5-6 servings. Serve room temperature.

How to create optimal digestion 
for good nutrient absorption 

“I am convinced digestion is the great secret of life.” 

~Sydney Smith

Having a healthy digestion allows all your cells, tissues, and organs to receive sufficient nutrition for a state of good health.  Ayurveda has some helpful tips for a healthy digestion:

1. Drink only room temperature or warm or hot water (avoid ice water and other refrigerated drinks).
2. Eat foods while they are still hot or warm (avoid cold and refrigerated foods).
3. Consider moderation in all foods.  For example, although nuts are healthy but too many will increase Vata (air and space energy) in your body and too many chiles will increase your Pitta (fire energy).
4. Eat freshly prepared foods, mostly vegetables and mostly greens.  (Avoid left overs, fried foods and processed foods)
5. Chew your foods thoroughly to allow the salivary glands to fully secrete the enzyme Amylase.
6. Use spices and herbs to enhance digestion; especially helpful are lime, lemon, ginger, black pepper and mint.
7. Eat simply as possible to avoid too much food combining.  Your stomach digests fewer food groups at a time more effectively.  Your stomach is not an electric blender!
8. Allow four hours between meals for eating protein, dairy, grains or legumes for stomach to regain its digestive powers.
9. If you need to snack, eat fruit or vegetables, or herbal teas because they are easier to digest.
10. Eat your dinners before or by 6:30pm because natural digestion energy slows down later in the evening.
11. Eat just the right amount so there is still stomach space for air, liquids and proper digestion. (tips: walk around before having seconds; use a small plate) 
12. Make your eating environment peaceful and pleasant because positive feelings enhance digestion.
13. Select food that are healthy and look desirable; they should be pleasing to the eyes, nose and mouth!   
14. Only eat when peaceful or happy because then you are more likely to make intelligent food choices and digest better.

When diet is wrong medicine is of no use.
When diet is correct, medicine is of no need.
~Ayurvedic Proverb

Stop Looking and Start Finding

I rarely find items when I felt pressured or anxious about them.  One time, I was about to go for a chiropractic appointment but I couldn’t locate my car keys; I was frantically looking and looking and I ended up finally calling and canceling my appointment.  A little while later when I stopped looking, I found my keychain resting in the deadbolt of the back door.  From this experience and many others, I have come to acknowledge that the anxiety that we feel hinders our intuition and sight for finding misplaced items.  Have you ever tried to remember someone’s name?  For me it comes so much easier when I deliberately stop thinking about that person.  Also, when I really want to figure something out or I want a solution fast, thinking about the problem over and over does not help with the solution; it isn’t until I change the subject and do something enjoyable and relaxing that I find an answer. There’s a reason why people tell you to “sleep on it.”

A good laugh and a long sleep are the best cures in the doctor's book.       
~Irish Proverb

Indian Cooking made easy!

A typical elaborate Indian meal will consist of dal (soup), subzee (vegetable dish), spiced rice, spiced yogurt, and chapaties (flat bread).  Authentic Indian cooking style takes quite a bit of time and requires many ingredients.  Over the years, I have taken typical North Indian cuisine and simplified it so that it is healthy, tasty, and easy.  Below are a few dishes to get started with:

Gajar Subzee (Curried Carrots)

14 med size carrots (chopped in small cubes)

2 inch ginger chunk (finely chopped)

1/2 tsp mustard seeds

2 T Safflower oil (or of your choice)

1 tsp sea salt

1/2 tsp turmeric powder

1 cup water

Dry roast the mustard seeds in a wide medium stainless steel pot.  When they start to pop, add the ginger, salt and oil.  When the ginger is browned, add chopped carrots and turmeric powder and cook with the lid for about 10 min on medium heat.  Now add the water and cook for another 10-15 mins without the lid, stirring occasionally. Serves 5-7. 

Split Mung Bean Dal (Soup)

1 cup split mung beans (or use split yellow lentils)

5 cups water

5 garlic cloves (minced)

3 green onions (minced)

1.5 tsp sea salt

1 tsp turmeric

1/2 green chili pepper, chopped (optional)

1 T extra virgin olive oil

  

Wash and rinse the split mung beans.  Add them to a pot with the water, garlic, sea salt, turmeric, and chili.  Bring the mixture to a boil and then let it simmer for about 45 minutes or until cooked.  Cooking time varies with different altitudes. After it is cooked, add green onions and let it sit with lid for 5 minutes.  Before serving add olive oil.  Optional: garnish with chopped cilantro and fresh lime juice if you like.  Serve over rice or enjoy as a soup. Serves 4-5.

How to prepare kichari (mung bean recipe for all seasons)

Kichari is a wonderful vegetarian protein-rich dish cooked in many Indian households and in many different ways.  My recipe of choice is given below; the ginger, garlic, onions, lime, cilantro and spices in this recipe help the beans to become more digestible and the tumeric adds the healing anti-inflammatory qualities.  Kichari is to be eaten fresh and not recommended as a left over.  In Ayurveda, fresh foods are considered to be full of prana, the life sustaining energy; when cooked foods are stored, prana is significantly reduced.  When a fruit or vegetable is eaten immediately after it is harvested, the taste is very flavorful, vibrant and energizing; this is because it is full of prana.  If you would like more energy from your food, then definitely eat foods that are freshly prepared.  Here’s my very simple kichari recipe:

1 ½ cups whole mung beans

½ cup basmati rice

10 garlic cloves, finely chopped

2 inch long ginger chunk, finely chopped

½ onion, medium size chopped

2 green onions, finely chopped

1  chopped jalapeno (optional if you like spicy!)

1 tsp tumeric powder

2 tsp sea salt.

12 cups water

Garnish:

3 Tbsp of extra virgin olive oil or ghee (clarified butter)

½ bunch chopped cilantro

juice of fresh lime

Boil mung beans in the water for 10 mins.  Add rice, garlic, ginger, onion, and spices and cook another 30 mins at med-low or until cooked; then turn off burner, add green onions and let it sit with cover for the last 10 mins.  Before serving, garnish with olive oil, juice of fresh lime and chopped cilantro. (For added flavor and digestive enhancers: Dry roast one teaspoon of cumin or fennel seeds in a separate pan, and add them to the pot at any time.)  Makes 6 servings.

How to have a healthier spring! a few tips to reduce kapha

According to ayurveda, the season of spring is an excellent time for cleansing the body of excess “kapha,” or the earth and water energies.  Excess kapha can aggravate allergies, asthma, increase fat, slow digestion and increase colds and flus.  Decreasing the kapha will reduce the heaviness out of the body so one can feel lighter and energetic.  In Ayurveda, “like attracts like” and “opposites balance or decrease”; therefore kapha is decreased by fire, air and space or foods that warming and light in quality.

Some tips to decrease kapha:

1. Drink plenty hot water with a little juice of fresh lemon or lime.
2. Use more ginger tea and or other herbal teas. 
3. Use more fresh ginger and juice of fresh lemon or lime in meals.  
4. Eat freshly prepared food and mostly fresh vegetables (lightly cooked).
5. Cook with spices such as tumeric, cumin, fennel, coriander and black pepper.
6. Garnish with fresh herbs, such as cilantro, mint, chives, basil or parsley.
7. Reduce dairy, heavy foods, cold foods, cold drinks, left overs, desserts, fried and processed food.

A great website for learning about ayurveda is jiva.com.