Happier Eating

Tri-Dosha founder Sunita Passi provides an introduction to Ayurvedic principles in food and nutrition.

Food and health and culture go together in interesting ways. The Ayurvedic approach is to acknowledge that different people have different constitutions and temperaments shaped by their physical type. Each of those three types – doshas – has a different relationship with food, and eating with the outcome of healthy balance calls for acknowledging that difference rather than assuming we can all eat the same.

Ayurveda also acknowledges that changing how and what we eat in line with the seasons makes sense. Long before locally sourced foods became popular in the media, the ancient Sanskrit text Charaka Samhita was outlining exactly that kind of thinking. With that in mind, what would be good to eat in May?

Start off with the general rule of thumb that cooking fresh food daily is a good start. If you can stick with that, you’re already getting out of the habit of seeing food in terms of it being convenient or a treat. In either case, those are the wrong solutions to bigger questions about lifestyle that can lead down the route of binge and diet which advertisers would love you to fall for. You’re better than that.

As the weather hots up, the tendency is to want to eat less. What’s important is eating well, and foods that lean towards bitter are good: kale, chicory, broccoli, green beans, and red-leafed lettuce are recommended vegetables; and pomegranate and cranberry are ideal fruit. For flavourings think lime, cardamom, and coriander.

There are some great smoothies you can do with those ingredients: banana and a handful of kale with cardamom and cranberries and a plantmilk of your choice is a great way to start the day…or a better lunch than a limp plastic-shrouded sandwich.

If you’re not eating a plant-based diet, May is a great time to give it a go. Salads and stirfries are easily prepared and made in minutes. Any of the veg mentioned will work well in either, and take nicely to a handful of seeds and sprouts. And if you want to serve them with something – hot or cold – then quinoa is a grain that’s light and easily digested, and combines well with many flavours.

For your own Ayurvedic analysis and recommendations on eating right, book an appointment at our wellness centre at www.sunitapassi.com. We’ll be open in the first week of June 2019!

Until next time … Namaste!
Sunita x

Founder, Tri-Dosha
tri-dosha.co.uk