Foods for Pitta

Foods to Balance Pitta

This is a continuation of the Ayurveda of eating your way to a balanced state of mind body and spirit.

This entry is about balancing Pittas.

These ambitious organizers’ strengths include high mental reasoning, leadership tendencies and competitiveness. In imbalance, they have the tendency to be intolerable, jealous, perfectionists and power hungry. Imbalance will create problems in the circulatory system, sensitivity, allergies and inflammation (both internal (circulatory system and organs) and external (skin). .

If you are not a Pitta but exhibit any of the above symptoms, you can be suffering from a Pitta imbalance and can also follow the same advice to balance.

Things that can tip the scales to manifest these negative tendencies can be triggered by Pitta Weather – hot, damp – eating Pitta Foods – stimulating (caffeine), acidic(vinegar), fat, sour (citrus), spicy(chili peppers), hot, salty – or hanging out with Imbalanced Pittas – overly ambitious, workaholic, extremely envious, status seeking, compulsive, demanding, angry

The general rule is to eat raw and cold foods. These can be adding salads to your meals or following a raw food diet. Learn to favour flavours that are bitter, sweet and astringent and avoid those that are spicy, salty and sour.

The big no-no's are coffee, cigarettes, alcohol, red meat, vinegar, citrus and hot foods.

And the balancing foods can include algae, white fishes, all raw vegetables, natural sweeteners and dairy. An ideal diet is raw food.

A sample daily menu can be;

Breakfast

Pittas have a healthy appetite but can be irritable if their eating schedule is disrupted or late. A natural route to Pitta imbalance is to ignore hunger to maintain work or any external schedules.

1. Cold whole grains cereal with any seeds with cold milk
2. Cooked whole grains with roasted sesame seeds and fresh or dried fruits
3. Fruit smoothies made without yogurt (acidic)
4. Almond Milk made with soak almonds then blending it with water and any natural sweetener
5. Herbal non-caffeinated tea with any natural sweetener. Make an ice tea from herbal teas instead of black tea.

Lunch

This will be your main meal for the day. Make sure lunch is not later than 2:00pm
1. Raw Fish Sushi with vegetables and brown rice
2. Whole wheat pasta with nuts or legumes and vegetable
3. Salads with nuts or legumes – replacing vinegar with lemon juice or use only oil.
4. Dessert is fresh fruit as per Snack suggestions
5. on really hot days – ice cream

Snack

It is best to eat according to a regular schedule. So extend your habit to organize to your daily meals and snacks

1. Sweet fruits – melons, papaya, mangos, bananas
2. Smoothies made with ice, sweet fruit and milk
3. Smoothies made with ice, sweet fruit and natural sweetners
4. No sour fruits like citrus
5. No yogurt

Dinner

Eat non-oily, fresh and raw. To prevent acidic stomach and poor digestion eat at a regular schedule.

1. Whole grain pasta with cream sauce, young low salt cheese, nuts or legumes and fresh vegetable. Do not eat tomato sauce (acidic)
2. White fish with vegetables and brown rice
3. Salad with raw protein – nuts (sliced almonds), seeds (roasted sesame seed), legumes (hummus, tofu soaked in spices)
4. Veggie burger with steamed vegetables or salad ( depends on season) – No fries

Pitta Hors d’euves ( from the book Party)

The criteria for these dishes are;

• The food ingredients follow the Ayurvedic diet for Pittas
• Use whole organic food ingredients
• Minimal waste – edible containers
• The dishes chosen are from raw food diet which is very suitable for Pittas
• Please modify to suit your tastes


1. Seaweed Beet Salad and lettuce (the container)

a. Seaweed ---- choose your favourite seaweeds

i. Soak them in separate bowls- for fifty rolls the total amount of dry seaweed should be about a cup ( a cup and a half if you want more seaweed to vegetable) of dry volume
ii. Arame is easy with not further preparation needed
iii. Kombu and Wakame and other broad leaf seaweed need to be cut into pieces
iv. Nori is more suitable as a the wrap so don’t soak it.

b. Roast Sesame Seeds ahead

i. Heat a iron frying pan
ii. Add a pinch of salt and a teaspoon of oil
iii. Then add 500mg or raw sesame seeds
iv. Roast seeds with constant stirring for 1 minute
v. Put roasted seeds into a small bowl

c. Grate the following vegetables

i. 1-2 beets
ii. 3 carrots
iii. ½ onion

d. Sauce ----

i. Mix in one at a time the following---
1. ½ avocado,
2. 2 tablespoons tahini,
3. ¼ teaspoon ginger,
4. 1 tablespoon basil,
5. 2 tablespoon Lemon Juice
6. 2 tablespoon Lime Juice

e. Mix the vegetables with the drained Seaweed
f. Prepare Lettuce – wash, dry then cut into uniform pieces for wrapping
g. Put the vegetable seaweed mixture into each piece of lettuce
h. Sprinkle with the roasted sesame
i. Wrap lettuce around the mixture
j. Or leave it open


2. Tofu and Sprouts in Nori

a. Tofu Marinated
i. Drain one pieces of firm organic tofu and put it in a strainer to release excess moisture from the block
ii. Cut into square strips
iii. Mix marinade in a bowl with
1. ¼ cup Olive Oil
2. 2 Tables spoons Lime Juice
3. 2 table spoons Soya Sauce
iv. Put the drained tofu in the marinade and strore for hours or overnight

b. Rinse sprouts
c. Cut the Nori sheets into widths similar the lengths of the Tofu Logs

d. Drain Tofu of Marinade
e. Put the Tofu Logs along one end of the Nori sheets
f. Put sprouts in the same direction
g. Roll the 2 ingredients
h. Put a weight to keep it from unraveling (I used a Kitchen knife across the rolls)
i. Serve right away when finished rolling





Macadamia Lime Mousse ( makes 48 mini cupcake size tarts)

The Shell (the container)

a. Mix the following ingredients into a measuring cup
a. ½ tablespoon Lime Zest
b. 4 tablespoons lime juice
c. 2 tablespoons Vanilla
d. 1 teaspoons Himalayan Salt
e. 3 tablespoons Xylitol
f. 4 tablespoons Agave
b. Turn on food processor and then slowly add
a. 4 cups of macadamia nuts (raw of course)
b. 2 cups of shredded coconut (make sure it is still moist)
c. Then as your mixing cup of ingredients
c. Put cupcake papers into your cup cake tins (use tins for small cupcakes)
d. Put a teaspoon into the paper holders and then put a pieces of the cupcake paper on top
e. Use a shape ( I used the handle end of wide handled ice cream scoop) and press the nut mixture
f. Continue until you have used up dough (2 tins of 24 cupcake )
g. Put the mixture in the freezer

The Filling -

a. Mix 5 Avocado in the food processor or blender
b. Add the following ingredients one at a time
a. ¼ cup lime zest
b. ½ cup Lime Juice
c. ¼ agave
d. 2 teaspoons vanilla
e. 2 tablespoons of Organic Unrefined Coconut Oil
f. ¼ teaspoon Himalayan salt
g. 4 tablespoons Xylitol (add more if you want it sweeter)

c. Chill the mixture in the freezer for ½ Hour

d. After 30 minutes take out both the shells and the filling
e. Put a teaspoon of filling in each shell
f. Put the tarts back into the freezer
g. When you are ready to serve take out the tins of tarts and put a berry of your choice on top of the filling

Kapha Hors d’oeuvres ( from the Book Party)

Kapha Hors d’oeuvres ( from the Book Party)

The criteria for these dishes are;

1. The food ingredients follow the Ayurvedic diet for Kaphas
2. Use whole organic food ingredients
3. Minimal waste – edible containers
4. The dishes chosen are of a vegan diet is very suitable for Kaphas
5. Attempt has been made to be economical with time and number of ingredients by repeating ingredients in two or more receipes
6. The ingredients in the recipes are easily substituted
7. Fee free to modify recipes to suit your taste


Artichoke with Tofu Dip (light high protein sauce)

Artichokes (the container) ---- Clean and cook 4 artichokes
i. Cut the stems
ii. Remove the outer leaves of the i

ii. Put in steamer or simmering water for 10-15 minutes
iv. Remove the artichokes and rinse with cold water
v. Remove outer leaves from the heart
vi. And arrange the leaves on a serving platter
vii. Save the hearts and the inner leaves to snack on later

Roast Sesame Seeds
i. Heat a iron frying pan
ii. Add a pinch of salt and a teaspoon of oil
iii. Then add 500mg or raw sesame seeds
iv. Roast seeds with constant stirring for 1 minute
v. Put roasted seeds into a small bowl

Sauce ----Cook ahead - the Cauliflower as per below
i. Clean and cook half a cauliflower in 1/2 inch of boiling water (with a pinch of Himalayan salt) in a pot. Turn heat to low to simmer the cauliflower
ii. When Cauliflower is tender –
1. Mix 2 tablespoons of tapioca flour in a ½ cup of cold water . When tapioca is completely dissolved in the water; add it to pot and stir into mixture.
iii. Blend the cooked cauliflower mixture
iv. Let the mixture cool to room temperature
v. Divide mixture into 2 bowls. One for this sauce and one for the Tofu and Dark Greens Sauce
vi. Then blend in ½ raw onion
vii. Crush the saffron (a small box), then add it to the mixture
viii. Mix in the following ingredient into blender--- ½ Silken tofu, ½ avocado, 2 tablespoons tahini, ¼ teaspoon ginger, 1 tablespoon basil, ½ tablespoon rosemary, ¼ teaspoon coriander
ix. Put a teaspoon of mixture onto each artichoke leaf
x. Sprinkle with the roasted sesame


Dark Greens with Tofu in Cauliflower Avocado
i. Drain firm organic tofu and put it in a strainer to release excess moisture from the block
ii. Cook any dark green or mixture of dark greens from Rapini (Italian Broccoli) to Guylan (Chinese Broccoli) to regular broccoli, Kale or collards.
iii. Drain and let cool
iv. Take the bowl of blended Cauliflower ---
1. See cooked Cauliflower from recipe for Artichoke with Tofu Dip
v. In the bowl with cooked blended cauliflower blend in the following---
1. 1 tablespoon roasted sesame oil,
2. pinch of Black Pepper to taste,
3. 2 teaspoons Soya Sauce
vi. Blend in any of the following ingredients you prefer---
1. ½ avocado,
2. ½ Raw Onion,
3. 2-3 Scallions,
4. a Clove or two of Raw Garlic,
5. Tahini, any Spices you favour
vii. Cut the block of tofu into small cubes
viii. Cut the greens to small pieces
ix. Mix the greens with the tofu
x. Mix in the sauce until the tofu and greens are lightly coated.
xi. Put mixture aside for flavours to blend

The Shell

i. Defrost Phyllo Pastry
ii. Put a cut to size piece of Phyllo Pastry to a cupcake tin that is the size you want for the finished hors d’oeuvres
iii. Pop into oven for 5 minutes to brown and crisp up
iv. Let shells cool
v. Remove the shell from the tin
vi. Fill shells with the Tofu Greens mixture



Mini Apple Cranberry Strudel
Prepare filling ahead
i. Put the following items into separate small bowls
1. Cranberries - ¼ cup for 2 apples
2. Maple Sugar if you prefer a sweeter strudel
3. Sunflower Seeds ¼ cup per apple (you can roast them for more flavour- follow instructions for roasting sesame seeds in the recipe for Artichoke and tofu dip above
4. if you have a favourite ingredient you would like in your apple strudel – put that into another bowl
ii. Prepare Apples (granny smith or any tarte apple) for filling
1. Peel ½ an apple for each mini roll
2. Cut apple slices
3. In a bowl mix raw apple slices with 1/8 teaspoon of Cinnamon, Nutmeg, Ginger and ½ lemon Juice for each apple
The Shell
i. Defrost Phyllo Pastry
ii. Remove 1 sheet of pastry and put it on a clean surface
iii. Brush Olive Oil onto the pastry evenly
iv. Apply another sheet of pastry onto the oiled sheet
v. Again brush Olive Oil onto the pastry evenly

Start Rolling
i. On the prepare 2 layers of Phyllo Pastry apply the following items:
1. A row of Apples slices mixture across one end of the pastry
2. Sprinkle the cranberries across
3. Then a light sprinkle of the seeds
4. Lastly sprinkle --Maple sugar and or preferred item
ii. Tightly roll the strudel
iii. Put the mini roll onto a oiled cookie sheet
iv. Brush the top of the roll with butter or olive oil
v. Sprinkle seeds or maple sugar if you like
vi. Repeat the process until all your rolls are done

Food for Kaphas

Foods for Balancing Kaphas





Please excuse my Vata habit of wandering off into new projects and neglecting my blog duties. I have been cooking for Kristen’s book party and now I am in Munich researching natural products and ingredient to help me formulate anti-aging solutions to new research I had just learned in Chicago two weeks ago.

I will be sharing those concepts and solutions in future blogs but in this one I would like to continue the food and Ayurveda connection to beauty.

At the book party, many people asked for the recipes of the food served so I will share them using this opportunity to also give information about eating your way to a balanced state of mind body and spirit.

Let’s start with Kaphas.

These loveable savers have a slower metabolism which gives them a sensual, abundant beauty, physical stamina and youthful longevity. Picture the statue mother nurturing her child in Picasso’s “Mother and Child” 1922

But in imbalance, they have the tendency to be overweight and have diabetes, hormonal problems, depression and cancer.

If you are not a Kapha but exhibit any of the above symptoms, you can be suffering from What Ayurveda calls “Kapha vikrati”, a Kapha imbalance and can return to balance by following the same advice.

Things that can tip the scales to manifest these negative tendencies can be triggered by Kapha Weather – cold, damp – eating Kapha Foods – dairy, fat, sweet, cold, salty – or hanging out with Imbalanced Kaphas – depressive, possessive, over weight, dependent, greedy.

The general rule is to eat light and warm, favouring flavours that are bitter, spicy and astringent and eschewing those that are sweet, salty and sour.

The big no-no’s are dairy, red meat, oils, most sweeteners, simple carbohydrates and cold foods.

And the balancing foods can include white fishes, white meat of fowl, all vegetables lightly steamed, honey, legumes and whole grains.

A sample daily menu can be;

Breakfast

Many Kaphas do not at breakfast as they may not feel hunger due to a sluggish metabolism and still be metabolizing yesterday’s dinner. While Ayurveda suggests Kaphas can skip breakfast, I would suggest a light breakfast to sustain the demanding, stressful days of an urban professional.

1. Cooked whole grains with roasted sunflower seeds and fresh or dried cranberries
2. Black coffee or Yerba Mate tea with honey.

Lunch

This will be your main meal for the day

1. White fish with vegetables and brown rice
2. Chicken breast with vegetables and sweet potato
3. Whole wheat pasta with legumes and vegetable
4. Dessert is fresh fruit as per Snack suggestions

Snack

It is best to just stick to the three meals

1. Fresh tart apples like granny smith
2. Fresh berries
3. Absolutely no pastries
4. No sweet fruits like melons, papaya, mangos

Dinner

Try not to eat late or you will not want to eat breakfast which will throw off your digestion schedule. Eat light. To prevent prolonged digest I recommend vegetarian meals.

1. Vegetables with whole grain pasta without cheese or cream sauce
2. White fish with vegetables and brown rice
3. Legume and vegetable stews
4. Veggie burger with steamed vegetables or salad ( depends on season) – No fries

Kapha Hors d’oeuvres ( from the Book Party)

The criteria for these dishes are;
1. The food ingredients follow the Ayurvedic diet for Kaphas
2. Use whole organic food ingredients
3. Minimal waste – edible containers
4. The dishes chosen are of a vegan diet is very suitable for Kaphas
5. Attempt has been made to be economical with time and number of ingredients by repeating ingredients in two or more receipes
6. The ingredients in the recipes are easily substituted
7. Do ingredients to modify recipes suit your taste


Artichoke (the container) with Tofu Dip (light high protein sauce)

Artichokes ---- Clean and cook 4 artichokes
i. Cut the stems
ii. Remove the outer leaves of the artichoke bud as they are fibrous and have no meat
iii. Put in steamer or simmering water for 10-15 minutes
iv. Remove the artichokes and rinse with cold water
v. Remove outer leaves from the heart
vi. And arrange the leaves on a serving platter
vii. Save the hearts and the inner leaves to snack on later

Roast Sesame Seeds
i. Heat a iron frying pan
ii. Add a pinch of salt and a teaspoon of oil
iii. Then add 500mg or raw sesame seeds
iv. Roast seeds with constant stirring for 1 minute
v. Put roasted seeds into a small bowl

Sauce ----Cook ahead - the Cauliflower as per below
i. Clean and cook half a cauliflower in 1/2 inch of boiling water (with a pinch of Himalayan salt) in a pot. Turn heat to low to simmer the cauliflower
ii. When Cauliflower is tender –
ii. Mix 2 tablespoons of tapioca flour in a ½ cup of cold water . When tapioca is completely dissolved in the water; add it to pot and stir into mixture.
iii. Blend the cooked cauliflower mixture
iv. Let the mixture cool to room temperature
v. Divide mixture into 2 bowls. One for this sauce and save other one for the Tofu+Dark Greens Sauce
vi. In one bowl of belnded cauliflower--- blend in ½ raw onion
vii. Crush saffron (amount = a small box), then add it to the mixture

viii. Mix in the following ingredient into blender--- ½ Silken tofu, ½ avocado, 2 tablespoons tahini, ¼ teaspoon ginger, 1 tablespoon basil, ½ tablespoon rosemary, ¼ teaspoon coriander
ix. Put a teaspoon of mixture onto each artichoke leaf
x. Sprinkle with the roasted sesame


Dark Greens with Tofu
i. Drain firm organic tofu and put it in a strainer to release excess moisture from the block

ii. Cook any dark green or mixture of dark greens from Rapini (Italian Broccoli) to Guylan (Chinese Broccoli) to regular broccoli, Kale or collards.
iii. Drain and let cool

iv. Take the bowl of blended Cauliflower ---
1. Refer to ---- cooked Cauliflower from recipe for Artichoke with Tofu Dip
v. In the bowl with cooked blended cauliflower blend in the following---
1. 1 tablespoon roasted sesame oil,
2. pinch of Black Pepper to taste,
3. 2 teaspoons Soya Sauce
vi. Blend in any of the following ingredients you prefer---
1. ½ avocado,
2. ½ Raw Onion,
3. 2-3 Scallions,
4. a Clove or two of Raw Garlic,
5. Tahini, any Spices you favour
vii. Cut the block of tofu into small cubes
viii. Cut the greens to small pieces
ix. Mix the greens with the tofu
x. Mix in the sauce until the tofu and greens are lightly coated.
xi. Put mixture aside for flavours to blend

The Shell

i. Defrost Phyllo Pastry
ii. Put a cut to size piece of Phyllo Pastry to a cupcake tin that is the size you want for the finished hors d’oeuvres
iii. Pop into oven for 5 minutes to brown and crisp up
iv. Let shells cool
v. Remove the shell from the tin
vi. Fill shells with the Tofu Greens mixture



Mini Apple Cranberry Strudel

Prepare filling ahead
i. Put the following items into separate small bowls
1. Cranberries - ¼ cup for 2 apples
2. Maple Sugar if you prefer a sweeter strudel
3. Sunflower Seeds ¼ cup per apple (you can roast them for more flavour- follow instructions for roasting sesame seeds in the recipe for Artichoke and tofu dip above
4. if you have a favourite ingredient you would like in your apple strudel – put that into another bowl

ii. Prepare Apples (granny smith or any tarte apple) for filling
1. Peel ½ an apple for each mini roll
2. Cut apple slices
3. In a bowl mix raw apple slices with 1/8 teaspoon of Cinnamon, Nutmeg, Ginger and ½ lemon Juice for each apple

The Shell

i. Defrost Phyllo Pastry
ii. Remove 1 sheet of pastry and put it on a clean surface
iii. Brush Olive Oil onto the pastry evenly
iv. Apply another sheet of pastry onto the oiled sheet
v. Again brush Olive Oil onto the pastry evenly

Start Rolling
i. On the prepare 2 layers of Phyllo Pastry apply the following items:
1. A row of Apples slices mixture across one end of the pastry
2. Sprinkle the cranberries across
3. Then a light sprinkle of the seeds
4. Lastly sprinkle --Maple sugar and or preferred item
ii. Tightly roll the strudel
iii. Put the mini roll onto a oiled cookie sheet
iv. Brush the top of the roll with butter or olive oil
v. Sprinkle seeds or maple sugar if you like
vi. Repeat the process until all your rolls are done