Ayurveda understands that the qualities of leafy greens are rough, dry and cold. Given that these qualities are already strongly present in winter, the key to winter greens is to cook them with warming spices and a slightly sweet, unctuous broth.
Nuts add a grounding, healthy fat, and pomegranate nibs add a burst of sunny sour, rounding out all six tastes. All together this makes a dish that delivers the purifying actions of leafy greens, without deranging Vata dosha.
Why Saffron?
Ayurveda describes saffron as having the following qualities: 1. Rasa (taste): Pungent, Bitter 2. Virya (potency): Heating 3. Vipaka (action): Pungent 4. Karma (qualities): Light, unctuous 5. Effect on the doshas: Balances Vata, Pitta & Kapha 6. Action on the mind: Sattvic
According to Ayurveda herbalist Puneet Agarwal, some of Saffron’s benefits are:
1. Antidepressant: The stigma and petal of saffron have an anti-depressant effect. The sattvic action of saffron on the mind helps in treating depression and anxiety.
2. Skin: It helps to treat dark pigmentation, dark circles under eyes, acne. A famous Ayurvedic preparation containing Kesar or saffron is Kumkumadi tailam. This medicated oil is applied on the pimple marks, dark spots, dark circles, wrinkles, etc.
3. Nervous system: Saffron strengthens the central nervous system, which makes it especially useful for debility, degenerative disease.
4. Musculoskeletal disorder: It is used in Ayurveda for Rheumatoid arthritis.
5. Digestive System: Kumkum or saffron helps to increase appetite. It also reduces indigestion, diarrhoea, vomiting and acidity.
6. Circulatory System: Saffron is a natural cardiac tonic and is used to treat diseases which originate from vitiation of blood. Strong affinity of saffron for the blood makes it useful in anemia (it raises hemoglobin levels), conditions of impaired circulation such as angina and cardiac congestion.
Simple Winter Salad with Saffron
Serves 2-4
Ingredients
5 oz. blend of leafy greens – spinach, collards, chard, baby kale
1 hearty teaspoon ghee, or olive oil as an alternative
1/2 teaspoon chai or garam masala spice blend – cinnamon, ginger, cardamom
1/8 teaspoon fresh grated nutmeg
8-10 strands saffron
2 tablespoons coconut or oat milk
dried cranberries
lemon, juice and zest
toasted pecans
pomegranate nibs
Wash and pat dry the greens. Melt the ghee in a medium-sized saucepan over medium heat. Add the spices, saffron and sauté for 1 minute. Swirl the pan so the spices and ghee are evenly distributed. Put the greens in. Cook for 1 minute, stir and cover. After 2-3 minutes, stir again. Add the coconut or oat milk and cranberries. Stir, cover and gently simmer for 2 minutes.
Remove from heat. Toss with 1 teaspoon fresh squeezed lemon juice, and garnish with lemon zest. Salt and pepper to taste. Plate with pecans and pomegranate nibs, and serve warm.
Healthy Holiday Guide
When we follow this season’s invitation to slow down, warm up, go inward, then it really has such rich and abundant gifts for us.
I want to share with you a personally curated collection of healthy holiday homemade care and recipes to inspire slowing down and easing into the serenity of the season.
I am also sharing here some of the gifts of my life – the crafts and elixirs, ayurveda and seva, and treasured art of friends.
AYURVEDA SUPPLIERS & PROVISIONS
Banyan Botanicals: My go-to, especially for Beauty Balm, Daily Massage Oil, Brahmi Oil, Ayurvedic herbs and Organic Mung Beans – LauraPlumb15 will get you a 15% discount at checkout
Mauli Rituals: Sumptuous Ayurvedic self-care – Use the code Laura15 for 15% discount
Sahajan: Ayurvedic Skincare with proven results – I love their Neem Eye Cream!
AromaVedic: Small batch, artisanal Ayurvedic skin and self care products
Rancho La Puerta: Give yourself a week of heaven. Get 20% off when you give them my name and the code RLP-PRP, reservations@rancholapuerta.com. I will be there the first week of March for Wisdom Keepers Week, and again the week of August 30th for classes in Ayurveda Cooking at La Cocina.
HOLIDAY HOMEMADE & HANDCRAFTED
Aromatic Foot Scrub (above)
Rose Beauty Bath Bombs
Give the Gift of Ghee
Homemade Gingerbread Cookies
Holiday Mendiants (top photo)
Cinnamon Cardamom Truffles (first photo below)
HEALTHY HOLIDAY RECIPES
Sweet
Dark Chocolate Raspberry Tart (first photo above)
Chewy Cardamom Cookies (second photo above)
Sweet Potato Latkes
Cardamom Banana Bread
Maple Pecan Energy Bites
Dark Chocolate Pâté
Savory
Baked Kitchari Loaf
Healthy GF Stove Top Stuffing
Parsnips Ecrasse
Green Beans with Cranberry, Coconut & Pistachio
NONPROFITS
Ramana’s Garden Children’s Home: A Sanctuary and A School (photo above)
Radha Seva: Sanctuary for Widows Who Care for the Temples of Vrindavan
Outdoor Outreach: Inspiring Youth with Transformative Encounters in Nature
Tree People
Food Banks
WISDOM GIFTS
✨ Research shows that people prefer experiential gifts over material ones. A gift of learning is perhaps the greatest gift of experience as it supports your growth, your potential, and your wisdom, and never expires. As a Solstice Gift, I am offering you 30% off select courses and classes of mine until December 31. Use the code Solstice30 at links below.
AYURVEDA
🌿 Introduction to Ayurveda
What are the five elements, three doshas and 20 attributes of nature – and what does this have to do with you? How does it help with health and healing?
In this two hour class you will learn what Ayurveda is, how it works, how this relates to you, and how you can work with Ayurveda to create a more sacred, sumptuous life for yourself.
🌿 Which Element Are You?
Which element expresses itself most vibrantly through you? What can nature tell us about our own unique nature?
Learn more about yourself and how to harmonize the elements in you in this 2 hour recorded class.
🌿 Introduction fo Ayurveda Cooking: The Medicine In Your Kitchen
Join me in my kitchen, where Ayurvedic wisdom comes home, where nature, in her great generosity, offers herself most fully to us—letting us touch, taste, smell, and behold her bounty while turning everyday meals into nourishing delights of balance and wellness.
Includes: 8 video lessons + 8 booklets + original recipes: unlimited access.
JYOTISH
🌿 Power of the Planets
What if the radiance of the stars held the story of you? Jyotish means the science of light and is the original science of existence. As a sister science to Yoga and Ayurveda, Jyotish is one of the most profound and efficient tools for recognizing the uniqueness of you.
Includes: 8 recorded classes + PDF’s for each, plus a page of inspiration and insight for each planet, and a bonus class on the Nodes.
INSPIRATION
🌿 Beauty & The Path of the Courageous Soul
A sacred exploration of the path of courage, and the support available to us from the divine – with myth, mantra, yantra and meditations, journal prompts, and suggestions to cultivate this gentle strength and radiant beauty in your everyday life.
Includes: 2 90-minute recorded classes + a course page with class enrichments & resources.
My signature course, Ayurveda Integrative Nutrition Consultant Training begins in January and is available now at a special 30% solstice discount with the code AIN30, plus extended monthly payment plans. It is the gift of health, empowerment and dharma all in one!
If you have your own favorites, please share in the comments below.
I wish you a radiant season of peace, light and love, and a happy new year.
xo Laura