It’s been a long time since I’ve shared a collection of the Ayurvedic food writers who are inspiring me these days, but having recently returned from the National Ayurvedic Medicine Association (NAMA) Conference, I am inspired!

While at the Conference, I was able to interview a number of great Ayurvedic doctors, healers and foodies, and will be bringing that series to you soon. Meanwhile, here is a glimpse of the deliciousness being shared this season.

CREAMY GREENS WITH TURMERIC & FENUGREEK
Rumin Jehangir | Chit.Chaat.Chai

Meeting Rumin at the NAMA Conference was one of those where have I been moments. In addition to posting recipes to Banyan Botanicals Insight Blog, Rumin runs a beautiful website on Ayurveda called Chit.Chaat.Chai, which is a treasure trove that now having found, albeit belatedly, I am excited to explore.

This recipe of creamy greens is so beautiful, we have to try it, neh? Again, turmeric is a star – it’s just so great for spring (drying, cleansing, good for digestion and circulation). Turmeric is so potent, in fact, it was easily the spice star of the Conference. Over and over we heard about the research demonstrating turmeric’s efficacy in this, that and just about everything (which is addressed in the interview series).

In this recipe, turmeric co-stars with one of my favorite spices, Lady Fenugreek (I think of fenugreek as a lady, don’t you?). “Taste-wise, fenugreek seeds are bitter and pungent, and rich in the air, fire, and earth elements,” writes Rumin. Because of the fenugreek, she continues, “this is a great spring dish for all doshas, especially kapha. The element of fire, or transformation, can help to melt or dry up the mucus-y, wet, cold, and heavy qualities associated with kapha dosha… Adding a bit more heat to the diet using fenugreek helps to counterbalance excess kapha dosha along with promoting comfortable digestion.”

Read about fenugreek.

Get the recipe.

TURMERIC POLENTA WITH BEETS & GREENS
Claire Ragazzino | Vidya Living

I left for the NAMA Conference uplifted by the friendships of really wise women who gathered for a pre-conf Ayurvedic “Chai Chat.” One of those women is Claire Ragazzino who spoke of staying grounded through her latest move – and that was before storms flooded her home in Hawaii!

On creating balancing Ayurvedic meals, Claire writes, “As the season shifts, so does my spice box. Slowly as winter gives way to a warmer spring and summer, the mustard seeds give way to more fennel and coriander. Saffron and cardamom tint my homemade nut milks and an extra pinch of turmeric accompanies my grains and greens. Almost intuitively, I find myself reaching for certain spices that not only flavor a meal but bring balance and support to my body in the changing environment. My strong winter chai shifts to something a little lighter and fresher, welcoming in flavors that have more bitterness and astringency.”

In her Turmeric Polenta with Beets & Greens, the turmeric and mustard seed are the spices for spring. “Brown mustard seeds,” she writes, “are pungent in taste and warming in the post-digestive effect on the body. Turmeric is bitter, astringent and pungent in taste, and has a heating quality as well. These two work together to support Kapha. Other great Kapha reducing spices black pepper, cumin, ginger, garlic, coriander, clove, anise, cayenne, caraway, cinnamon, mace, marjoram, mustard seeds, orange peel, oregano, parsley, pippali, sage, tarragon, thyme.”

Get the recipe.

HOT OR COOL STRAWBERRY SMOOTHIE
Amadea Morningstar | Ayurveda Polarity Therapy & Yoga Institute

This jewel-colored juice is the first recipe in the Spring section of Amadea’s new book, Easy Healing Drinks from the Wisdom of Ayurveda, which was launched at the NAMA Conference. I got to meet her as we were both part of a group book-signing which I attended for Ayurveda Cooking For Beginners along with Susan Weis-Bohlen for her new book, Ayurveda For Beginners and my own wonderful teacher Dr Suhas Kshirsagar for his new book, Change your Schedule, Change Your Life.

This simple recipe is offered as a sneak peek to the book on Amadea’s blog, where she also offers a loving contemplation on the ingredients and their relationship to nature, to sustainability, and in particular, to honey bees. While I don’t love smoothies (cold, rough, a mish-mash of energies + blood sugar spikes), this recipe includes a genius spice that balances the sweet – and best of all, it’s made by warming it on the stove so it’s really more like a soup. Plus, who doesn’t love a recipe that pays homage to our dear mother bees?

“Spring is the time snow melts from the mountain, and wastes can most easily clear from our bodies,” writes Amadea Morningstar introducing the Spring Chapter of her new book, Easy Healing Drinks from the Wisdom of Ayurveda. Turn the page and you get this recipe.

In both the book and her blog post, Amadea gives dosha balancing variations, but with her book you get 76 more inspiring, healing and truly easy recipes. Because I love her and I love this book, I want to offer it to a reader: Leave a comment and I will randomly pick a name to receive a copy of her book she signed for me to give to one of my readers. 

Or, go straight to her blog and get the recipe.

Namaste from NAMA: With Drs Suhas and Manisha Kshirsagar, and Alka Mulakaluri