People often ask about the best places to go in India, or the best retreat centers around the world, or the best Ayurvedic resources, or the best recipes for the season, or the best Ayurvedic remedy for imbalances. Recognizing that “best” is in the eye of the beholder, I do have a number of favorites that I want to share.
To that end, I’ve been dreaming up and crafting a project nicknamed The Best Guides: Awakening Radiance Wherever You Are.
I’ll be launching them on my lauraplumb.com website and sending them out in monthly newsletters as soon as they are all curated, collated and creatively caressed into being. My intention is to pack each one with juicy secrets, great inspiration, handy tips – and present it with a lot of white space, a template for ease of use. I want it to be like a beautiful invitation to come home. Home to nature. Home to love. Home to nature’s love. Home to the heart. Home to you.
Taking a cue from this current project I thought I’d share with you eight of Food-ALoveStory’s February’s favorites.
NB: As I am in the northern hemisphere, these are winter and late winter recipes. If it is summer/late summer where you are, the first recipe is still ideal. For more cooling recipes, please click this link. Whatever time of year, you can always look in the Categories on the right for your current season to get lists of balancing recipes.
ROSE PETAL TRUFFLES
Rose is the perfect invitation to love, the perfect antidote to love lost. It calms our inner winds, cools our wilder fires, and encourages our nurturing waters to flow. Rose soothes, heals and uplifts. It also makes these love truffles look and taste sumptuous.
FRUITY BAKED OATMEAL
Oats are considered to have a sweet taste, with soft, heavy, sticky, warm, and slightly oily qualities, making it ideal for Vata dosha, and balancing for Pitta. To make this dish work for this more Kapha season, consider hemp or pumpkin seed milk, omit the banana and double or triple up on the cinnamon and ginger.
KITCHARI BREAKFAST CREPES
Kichari in a pancake? It’s a real thing, and it’s good! Light, portable (roll it up, put it in a thermos to keep it warm, and take it to work) and delicious, it’s a sweet way to start the day strong.
MUNG BEANS & GREENS
Some people say that February is the season to clean. In India it is the advent of Spring which is the prime time for a cleanse, according to Ayurveda, in order to release the stagnation of winter and lighten up for the warmer days. For many of us in the north, though, Spring isn’t even close, so in February I like to balance the call to cleanse with the deep need for warmth and some comfort by cooking purifying ingredients with warming spices to create meals that feel hearty and richly nourishing but are light and easy on digestion.
KITCHARI BURGERS
February is ironic. It’s the shortest month, but it feels the longest. It’s always felt important to punctuate these winter days with festive foods and reasons to gather. Kitchari Burgers gives you a fun way to maintain your Ayurvedic ways while including your family, friends and picky eaters.
CAULI TACOS
On that note, as above, keeping it family friendly and casually festive, these Cauli Tacos are like a veggie version of the popular Baja Taco. Calling them Cauli was a play on the main ingredient cauliflower and Cali as in Baja California.
SUNSHINE SOUP
February is really the season to try, at least for your week night meals, to eat like your ancestors. Which means soup for dinner. This Creamy Carrot Tarragon Soup has been a favorite for the sunshine it offers, both in its color and its energizing nutrients.
WINTER WELLNESS SYRUP
Are you surrounded by poeple coughing, wheezing, sniffling and sneezing? Or maybe you are? In winter we need to keep our immune system strong. This syrup is especially good for coughs, mucus, heaviness and digestion. It takes a minute to make and you probably have all the ingredients already.