What a yogi eats

I keep several journal-type notebooks in which I jot down inspirational quotes, notes from my current reading list, and reflections. Really, I have so many of these lying around my house that I sometimes lose track of them! I came across one of them the other day that I kept three or four years ago. In it was this really nice - and very simple - description from a book by Yogi Vithaldas of what a yogi eats (for the "why" get the book!):

• "light" foods such as fruits, vegetables, whole rice, fresh milk, fresh cheeses, and butter, should comprise the major part of the diet because of their capacity to stoke the jatharagni (digestive fire).
• Vegetarian diet is preferred (because meat foods are "heavy" and dwindle the digestive fire and/or generate ama, toxicity)
• unleavened bread is preferred
• depending on your body (and digestive) type, eat mostly raw or mostly cooked foods. The three major body/genetic types are vata, pitta, and kapha and vary according to their innate capacity for digestive power (among other things). In general, vata types should eat mostly warm, well-cooked foods, pitta types should eat a combination of warm, well-cooked foods and light, cool, raw foods, and kapha types should eat mostly raw, cool, light foods. Learn your type.

Recipe for a "Yogic Salad" - good for all types, especially pitta & kapha

leafy greens

shredded beets & carrots

tomato

nuts (fresh, raw, unsalted)

herbs such as parsley, watercress, chive, cilantro (to taste)

grated fresh coconut

simple dressing of good oil & freshly squeezed lemon with sea salt & cracked pepper

Recipe for a "Yogic Hot Meal" - good for all types, especially vata
beans (mung, lima, soy, navy, or black, depending on type) cooked well with a little onion, garlic, and a pinch of herbs such as marjoram, sweet basil, or thyme
whole, fresh rice

For more Ayurveda tips and balanced meals, visit this blog frequently! You can also use these online resources:
6 week mini-course on Ayurveda
optimal food combining
Suggested diet for your type

(Picture above is of Yogi Vithaldas)

Easy Nutrition

Fall is a natural time for detoxifying, cleaning up your diet, or beginning a new health habit. Fall is the season of change, of harvest, and of new beginnings (figuratively). Grow your personal arsenal of health tricks by following the Rule of Threes.

3 colors
Every time you eat a meal (snacks don't count here), choose 3 different colored foods. Not only will this amp up your vitamin intake, your plate will look more appealing and you'll satisfy your visual appetite as well. It's true that we eat with the eyes (Ayurveda places much more emphasis on this than does western nutrition), so creating an appealing visual palette will result in a happy, satisfied, postprandial tummy.

3 categories
At each meal, aim to choose something from 3 of the 5 major food categories (dairy, meats/beans/legumes, vegetables, fruits, whole grains). Your body is a very intelligent organism and absorbs nutrients more effectively when they come in a mixed bag. One of the best examples of this concept is how Vitamin C enhances iron absorption (so squeeze some fresh lemon on your salmon, eat a fresh tomato salsa with your rice and beans, or have a slice of orange with your duck).

3 breaths
Take three deep breaths between bites to slow down your mealtimes and allow your belly to rest. Unlike the "chew each bite 50 times" technique, this method of mindfulness-based eating allows you truly pause and enjoy the process of nourishing yourself. It will also discourage over-eating because of the volume-pressure relationship between the abdominal and thoracic cavities; when you inhale deeply you expand the thoracic cavity and compress the abdominal cavity. As most of us know, it's difficult (and uncomfortable) to breathe deeply when we've overeaten; inhaling deeply between bites gives you the opportunity to stop BEFORE overeating.