It’s Kapha season!

Ahh. Take a slow, deep breath.

In Ayurevda, it is the kapha time of the year now. seeing us through to late spring. The winter/early spring season holds the perfect antidote to the fast-paced movement of  summer and autumn This is a time to rest, reflect, hold space, vision, hibernate, and withdraw some of our outwardly-focused energy and redirect it inward.

On the other hand, the calm, peaceful nature of the winter/early spring can also seem a bit oppressive at times and can leave us feeling weighed down, heavy, stagnant, or uninspired. Actually, every season has the potential to either boost or reduce your sense of well-being depending on your natural constitution and any imbalances. 

If you have a predominantly kapha constitution, the qualities of kapha (slow, steady, moist, smooth, oily, cool, heavy) will be expressed in your body and mind. Your frame and build will tend towards strong and robust and you will likely have large eyes, a radiant complexion and thick, lustrous hair. 

You are probably friendly, compassionate and easy going too. If you know someone with a kapha personality then they are probably a really loyal and nourishing friend. When in balance, kapha types are the teddy bears amongst us, sweet in nature and an absolute pleasure to be around. 

However, the heavier qualities of kapha can sometimes leave kapha types feeling a little sluggish and lethargic; they are the soundest sleepers of all the dosha types. 

When it comes to getting things done then, kapha-dominated types tend to take their time! However, while they might be slow getting going, they are dedicated and absolutely dependable. 

Kapha types often have a sweet tooth and may struggle with their weight, especially when it comes to shedding pounds. With a  kapha-balancing diet however they can feel much more balanced. 

Here are some of the kapha dosha characteristics (please note that we all have some kapha in our bodies and minds):

How to balance kapha:

Ayurveda offers us changes in lifestyle, diet and medicinal herbs.

Lifestyle

• Enjoy daily exercise that gets your blood and lymph moving, such as power walking, jogging, cycling, yoga, swimming, a minimum of 5 days a week. 

• Staying warm and dry, regardless of the weather

• Lively and invigorating music, smells, experiences and company. 

• Saunas and sunbathing

• Trying not to over sleep – early bed, early rise!

• A daily massage with warm sesame oil

• Getting lots of fresh air 

• Trying new hobbies and activities, taking risks and being spontaneous – even taking a different route to work each day can help!

• Stimulating your body and mind on a daily basis

Dietary

Enjoy:

• Foods that are bitter, pungent and astringent in taste.

• Warm foods, both energetically and in temperature.

• Heating spices—like chili, black or cayenne pepper, ginger, cumin and cinnamon

• Whole, freshly cooked foods including lots of fresh veggies (favor warm cooked veggies as much as possible)

• Light, dry, and warm foods (both energetically and in temperature)

• Honey, in moderation, and never cooked.

• Only room temperature or warm drinks and herbal teas

• Most beans, mung dal, well-cooked tofu or tempeh, or warm soy milk are all okay.

• A minimal amount of high-quality sesame, sunflower oil, or ghee in your daily diet.

• Eating your meals at routine times.

• Taking a deep breath after swallowing your last bite and heading off for your next activity.

• Enjoy coffee and caffeine only in moderation.

Avoid:

• Foods that are sweet, sour and salty in taste

• Cooling foods both energetically and in temperature – no frozen foods or foods eaten straight from the fridge

• Heavy and oily foods such as cheese, milk chocolate, chips, nuts, pastries etc

• Heavily processed foods such as canned food or ready-meals.

• Overeating or eating heavy meals, especially in the evening

• Excessive red meat

• Foods or drinks which contain refined sugar or syrup, no carbonated drinks

• Deep fried foods

• Alcohol except the off glass of dry white or red wine

Herbal medicine

Please book an appointment with me so that you can be prescribed herbal medicine appropriate to you and your body/mind/spirit. 

Kapha-nourishing Mung bean soup

Read here

Mung bean soup

Mung Bean Soup

In Ayurveda mung beans are highly revered as they are full of goodness, are easy to digest and they are brilliant at drawing energy downwards to assist in digestion – great for those struggling to eliminate. 

You can also make this into my favourite, Pea and Mint soup by adding frozen peas and plenty of chopped fresh mint to taste. 

For 3 servings

Ingredients

• 1 cup of whole green organic mung beans soaked overnight or for at least 4 hours

• 1 cup of mixed and chopped veg such as peas, broccoli, carrots (optional)

• 1 cup of green leaves such as spinach or chard (optional)

• 2 litres of water approx.

• 1 tbsp of coconut oil or ghee

• 1tsp turmeric powder

• 1-2 tsps of garam masala (go easy if your pitta is strong.

• 1/4tsp of asafoetida (hing)

• 1tbsp fresh root ginger grated

• 2 cloves of garlic (again go easy if pitta strong and mind already agitated)

• Salt and pepper

• Vegan stock

• Freshly chopped herbs such as mint, basil, coriander etc to serve.

Method

• Heat the coconut oil/ghee in a large saucepan and add all the spices and stir until the aromas are released – be careful not to burn!

• Drain, rinse and add the mung beans and stir until they are coated with the spices.

• Add the water and bring to the boil, boil uncovered for 5 minutes stirring occasionally.

• Reduce the heat to low, add veggies and cover, leaving the lid slightly ajar. Cook until tender, approx. 20 minutes. 

• Add greens, grated ginger, stock and salt and pepper to taste and return to the heat for 5-10 minutes until beans are soft. Please note that adding salt earlier will make the beans take longer to cook. 

• Serve hot with any further fresh herbs. You can also blend for a creamy consistency. 

What does your tongue say about your health?

Have you ever wondered what your tongue can tell you about your health just by looking at it?

In Ayurveda, the tongue is key in diagnosis, and an Ayurvedic practitioner can get a pretty good idea of a person’s constitution and health just by looking at it – some of you have had the pleasure of showing me your tongue for this very reason!

Image credit https://vibrationalayurveda.com/the-tongue-darshan-parksha-1. (no copyright intended)

Have a look at your tongue next time you are near a mirror. Is there a thick, white coating on it? If so, you would benefit from tongue cleaning, and can read more here

The shape of your tongue can also help you to identify your constitution:

Vata – narrow and off centre

Pitta – medium width and pointy

Kapha – wide and thick

The colour of the tongue also gives information. A healthy tongue looks clean and pink and will have very little coating. Generally, in a relatively healthy patient, there is a slight coating on the back of the tongue, which indicates toxins in the colon undigested, unabsorbed or unassimilated form. 

Generally, a purple tongues indicates a vata imbalance, a rich red colour indicates a pitta imbalance and a very pale tongue indicates a dim fire and a kapha imbalance. 

The colour of the coating is also significant:

• Vata - dark brown/greyish/black coating

• Pitta - red/orange/yellow/green coating

• Kapha - whitish coating

The landscape of the tongue can reveal an even clearer picture:

• Ridged edges or teeth marks around the edge of the tongue indicate malabsorption. Products like artificial sweeteners and chemicals in the diet can compromise the intestinal wall and can prevent the body from absorbing all the needed nutrition from food.  

• Foam on the tongue can indicate candida, a yeast-like overgrowth, which is generally fed by too much sugar in the diet. 

• A puffy tongue or a tongue with waves along the perimeter is indicative of stagnant lymph. Eating meals too late at night or drinking wine in the evening can create a puffy tongue. 

Ulcers on the tongue can indicate a pitta imbalance and can be treated by a change in diet and medicinal herbs. Talking of such changes, this can influence taste and taste plays an important role in Ayurveda, but more on that another time. 

Obviously people are individual and complex and no single sign is absolute so any diagnosis will take into consideration various other factors such as digestive function (any bloating, heart burn, acidity, acid-reflex, constipation, excess flatulence etc.) and diet and lifestyle choices, which is the reason it is important to seek help from an Ayurvedic professional such as myself, so that we can use our experience and knowledge to help you individually.

Using a tongue clearer can be a really helpful way of removing topical toxins each morning and stimulating the digestive process to prevent the build-up of new toxicity. You can invest in a tongue scraper here

Understand your tongue!

Checking your tongue each morning can be a really helpful tool in keeping track of your personal health on a daily basis. I look at my tongue each morning and throughout the day if needed, to gain an understanding of my digestive function Noticing and understanding our tongue gives us direction as to where we might need to make adjustments with our food, herbal medicines and lifestyle choices such as sleep etc.

Image credit https://vibrationalayurveda.com/the-tongue-darshan-parksha-1. (no copyright intended)

Remember Ayurveda is all about self-knowledge and self-healing, it is a preventative approach, and your tongue is just one more place to gain insight!

If you know you are out of balance and feel to heal yourself, then do reach out. Ayurveda is amazing. More information here

CCF tea

Coriander seed, cumin seed & fennel seed

Here’s a tea which can be drunk between meals to flush ama from the system, kindle agni (digestive fire) and reduce digestive disturbances such as flatulence, bloating and acidity.

CCF can also help with malabsorption so that you don’t ‘waste’ energy by eating nutrients that your body can’t absorb. This tea may also help with constipation, loose stools, UTIs, lung congestion and fluid retention. 

Mix:

1tsp each of coriander seeds, cumin seeds and fennel seeds with 1.25litres of water and

Simmer with 1.25L of water for at least 8 minutes. Strain and drink throughout the day between meals.

Delicious dairy-free chocolate biscuits

A healthier option for a sweet treat!

Ingredients

175g organic oats

60g organic sunflower seeds

20g organic cocoa powder/cacao powder

40g organic coconut sugar

100ml organic maple syrup

65g melted dairy free butter or 65ml coconut oil

Method

• Preheat the oven to 180c/160c fan and line two baking trays with parchment paper

• Blitz the oats and sunflower seeds together in a food processor until you have a flour like consistency

• Tip the mixture into a large bowl and stir in the cocoa or cacao powder and sugar followed by the maple syrup and melted butter or coconut oil

• Combine the ingredients into a firm ball and leave in the fridge for 15 minutes

• Then use your hands to make small golf size balls of mixture which you can place on the baking tray and use a fork to gently push down on the ball to create a biscuit shape

  (The other option is to place parchment paper over the mixture and use a rolling pin to flatten it before using cookie cutters. I don’t find this works so well)

• Bake for 11-12 minutes before leaving them firm up on the trays before transferring to a wire rack to cool

  This recipe has been inspired from The Good Stuff by Lucinda Miller.

Balancing miso noodles

A yummy recipe to balance all the festive food!

Ingredients

4 cups of filtered water

8oz organic tofu cut into cubes

2 cups of chopped veg including some green leaves, such as sea beet (which you can forage at Saints and L’Eree), spinach, chard or kale

½ cup of sea veg, wakame works well

2 handfuls of organic rice noodles

2 tbsp of organic red or white or brown miso

Method

• Bring the water to boil in a large saucepan;

• Add the tofu, chopped veg and sea veg;

• Reduce heat to medium and simmer, covered, for about 10 minutes

• Meanwhile, prepare the noodles and add for the last minute of cooking

• Prepare the miso by mixing it in a bowl with some hot water (not boiling) to make a paste. Add to the soup and stir before serving.

  • Please note that you shouldn’t boil miso as this kills the enzymes

This recipe has been inspired from The Everyday Ayurveda Cookbook by Kate O’Donnell