Learning Ayurveda

This week my husband and I committed to 5 days of eating specialized meals chosen from the practice of Ayurveda. This ancient form of natural medicine has its roots in India, and uses food as a healing modality. I've been interested in it for some time, and was finally ready to commit this year to a plan that would support my digestion and internal organs as my body makes the transition from Summer to Fall, and finally on to Winter.

Most of the meals were exceptionally simple: brown basmati rice, mung or adzuki beans, and vegetables. Some of the spices seemed odd to me, but once I got into the recipes they were much simpler than I had originally considered. The first 'kichadi' I made was meant to support the liver and gallbladder, using specific items like Burdock root and Dandelion greens along with a slew of Indian spices like black pepper seeds, coriander, cumin, and saffron. The dish seemed outrageously plain to my husband, who ended up adding outrageously hot home-made pepper sauce to it, but our overall reaction to its taste and flavor was OK.

The second kichadi was meant to support the kidneys, so I was really into it, and ended up liking it much better than the first. Again, the dish seemed very plain, compared to what I normally would cook or eat, but something about it settled my stomach, and it was just...good. Not fancy, not flashy, heck not even very colorful, but it had a subdued excellence to it that sat very well with my digestion.

As we hit Day 5 today, Jake was craving coffee (which he also gave up for this week), but otherwise was feeling pretty good. I took the week off from the gym and from running (very hard at first, but then I enjoyed wearing sweatpants all day so much that it turned out to be pretty nice) and am considering doing another Ayurvedic Week next week, too. I've noticed that certain foods I eat regularly cause a little Gi distress when being out of my diet for even a few days. I also focused on slowing down a little, which is hard for me, and rare.