Living Foods: Adopting a Raw Food Diet

Many yogis and yoginis the world over are joining the raw food revolution, that is preparing and eating meals centered around raw foods. Foods are raw if they are uncooked – never heated above 42 C/118 F degrees, unprocessed – as fresh and to their true form as possible, and organic – with no irradiation, preservatives or pesticides.

A raw food diet is a good way to detoxify the body. When practiced properly, it can eliminate toxins or other contaminants that are stored in the body’s fat and cells. Raw foods are also nutrient packed and are alkaline. In general, our bodies are too acidic and alkalis will neutralize them and introduce more oxygen into the blood, lack of which causes many diseases. Raw foods are also low in fat and sugars and can help one lose weight or just become healthier. Other benefits include less mucus in the body, better skin and hair, more energy, improved clarity of mind, better muscle and joint function and prevention of cancer and heart disease.

One of the disadvantages of raw food however, is that it’s hard to get the required energy (calories) from a purely raw lifestyle. Another problem with being 100% raw is that it takes more effort than preparing regular meals and meals or ingredients are harder to acquire all the time like when on the move, at work or spending time with friends.

So while we would never advocate a completely raw lifestyle, we know that incorporating raw foods into your diet can bring about significant changes to your physical and spiritual self.

But why not cook?

• Cooked foods are low in digestive enzymes, as heat destroys them but they are required for proper digestion.
• This will make you tired and sluggish, like you feel after a heavy cooked meal and sends your body into overdrive trying to make its own enzymes for digestion.
• Destroys life force. Raw foodists believe that raw food is live food with energy, while cooked food is dead. Similar to how a raw fruit or seed continues to grow or ripen, but a cooked one decays.
• Applying heat to food changes its ph balance it acidic. Acidic bodies are poorly oxygenated and therefore disease prone.
• Destroys vitamins, nutrients and turns minerals inorganic and therefore hard to absorb.

So if you’re thinking of adopting a raw diet into your lifestyle, consider these and choose foods that have straightforward ingredients, are easy to digest, full of nutrients and vitamins, and are not highly processed or complex.

• Start with buying organic. The difference food grown without added preservatives, hormones or chemicals will make in your life is magnanimous.
• Be gradual. Make healthier choices. Begin making and eating salads and sorbets and smoothies, lettuce wraps, dips and slaws.
• Get juiced. Jampacked with enzymes, organic minerals and vitamins, fruit and vegetable juices will give you vitality. Your immune system will be boosted. Don’t buy the bottled stuff either, squeeze your own and make different healthy variations. Plus you can take it anywhere with you for bursts of energy throughout the day.

Avoid poisoning by getting informed. Some foods must not be consumed raw as they can be toxic. Remember, awareness about the benefits and risks of the raw lifestyle are important as you take up the challenge but relax, eating raw is good for you, your body and your surroundings, it oft endorses the compassion aspect it shares with yoga as most raw foodists are also vegan and it is an excellent way to purify and simplify your life and diet.

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*Photo credits: Wild Tofu, su-lin, massdistraction, Food Thinkers, on flickr

5 Cooling and Easy Indian Drinks to Quench Your Thirst This Summer

There’s no better way to beat the Heat of the Summer than with a cool refreshing drink! But, keeping inspired living in mind, we’re you looking to inspire you with these all natural drinks of India. A country familair with sweltering summers, these traditional Indian beverages like Lassi, Nimboo Pani (lemonade- Indian style), Masala Chaas, Kayree Panha and more are made not just as a simple refreshment, but the natural cooling properties of their ingredients are designed to keep your body cool. So here’s a look at some super cooling and easy-to-make drinks…

Mango Lassi (Yogurt drink)
Mango Lassi is a refreshing sweet yogurt drink perfect for a hot day. Traditionally Lassi is a Salty drink where yogurt is blended together with water, salt and spices until frothy but a more recent twist on the drink is it’s sweet version either plain or flavored by fruit. Mango Lassi is very easy to make.It’s best made with fresh mangoes but can also be substituted by canned mangoes or even mango juice.

Mango Lassi Recipe:
1 cup plain yogurt
1/2 cup mango pulp (fresh or canned)
1 cup crushed ice
3 table spoons sugar / Use sugar substitute for a healthier option (or if the mangoes are sweet enough don’t use any at all)
A sprig of mint or a slice of mango to garnish

Blend all of the above. Add a little water if the consistency is too thick. Keep refrigerated. Serve chilled. Garnish with a sprig of mint. Makes 4 servings. It’s as Simple as that!

*Can’t find mangoes? Try strawberries or your favorite fruit and it’ll be just as good!

Nimboo Pani (Lemonade)
Loved in the US as pure simple “Lemonade”. Nimbu Pani is the Indian version of the same. It’s Lemonade with an Indian twist of Jaljira, a spice blend with cooling properties that packs a real flavor kick!

Nimbu Pani Recipe:
Juice of 4 lemons
Sugar/honey to taste
2 tbsps Jaljira powder (available at most Indian groceries)
Chilled water
Crushed ice
Lemon slices and mint to garnish

* Squeeze all lemons to remove juice and strain the juice to remove seeds. Pour into a large jug.
* Add all the remaining ingredients to get desired strength and sweetness and mix well.
* Serve in chilled glasses garnished with lemon slices.

Kairee Panha (Raw mango drink)
Made with fresh raw mangoes known for their cooling effects on the body and abundantly found in the summer months in India, Kairee (raw mango) Panha originates from the state of Maharashtra in Western India. It is a sweet-sour-spicy drink you’ll just fall in love with! This recipe makes 6 tall glasses.

Kairee Panha Recipe:
4 medium-sized raw green mangoes
2 cups sugar
1 cup water
1 tbsp coarsely ground black rock salt
1 tsp freshly ground pepper
2 tbsps Aniseed/fennel seeds ground coarsely
2 tbsps cumin seeds roasted and ground coarsely
Chilled water
Crushed ice
Sprigs of mint to garnish

Preparation:
* Wash, peel and grate the raw mangoes. Mix the mangoes, sugar and water in a deep saucepan and boil till the mangoes are soft.
* Put this mixture into a food processor and blend till smooth.
* Put the blended mix back into the saucepan and on a medium flame.
* Add the remaining ingredients and cook for another 20 minutes.
* Take off from the fire and allow to cool completely.
* Pour into glasses, dilute with a little chilled water if needed, mix well and add crushed ice.
* Garnish with a sprig of mint and serve.

Masala Chaas (Spiced buttermilk)
Chaas is Buttermilk. Masala Chaas is it nothing but a spiced buttermilk is served as an aperitif and digestive drink.It’s traditionally served in a small clay glass which adds an earthy flavor to it. While yogurt itself has cooling properties, the cumin is what makes this drink so special for the summer. Boiling a teaspoon of cumin in a glass of water to make a tea cures problems in the urinary tract, cleans the bladder and kidneys. And eaten simply or chewed it promotes digestion and boosts immunity making this an all round drink.

Masala Chaas recipe:
1/2 cup yogurt
4 glasses chilled water
1/4 cup of chopped coriander (cilantro)
1/4 cup of mint leaves
1 green chilly
1 tea spoon cumin seed powder
2 tea spoon Black Salt
Salt to taste

Method
Put all the ingredients in a blender till coriander and mint leaves crush very well. Serve cold.

Tender Coconut Water
No Recipes here. The absolute best cooling and refreshing drink there is! All natural- No artificial sweetening, no added flavors or colors….just plain Coconut Water straight from a coconut.

*Photo Credits: blueSkySunHigh, elana’s pantry, DraconianRain, ampersandyslexia, feministjulie on flickr.

Yogic Eating- Food For the Body, That Nourishes the Soul

The practice of yoga is usually followed by a change in eating habits. Food and the nourishment it provides our bodies has a close association with yoga itself, after-all yoga is not mere exercise but a life style. While you can choose what part of yoga you’d like to adopt to improve your life, the choice of following a yogic diet is just that- a choice. Followed by  But when your body and inner-self start feeling good, you tend to pay closer attention to what you put into your body and so you should.

A Yoga diet or the yoga approach to food is not your average calorie counting or complicated menu planning diet, nor does it suggest going without food. In fact just as we’ve all known this to be good, it preaches a well-balanced diet to eat in moderation – always! In yoga, food is just a means of keeping our bodies (the carrier of our souls) functioning, it’s a necessity and not to be looked at as living to eat. Those practicing this mantra over thousands of years have proven it to build a strong mind and body as well as longevity.

Yoga and It’s Vegetarian Ways

There’s no written rule in yoga that practice it means you have to be vegetarian, but yoga does try to elevate our consciousness to a stage where we feel love and compassion for all living beings—including animals. Eating them isn’t exactly compassionate. Plus, it’s believed that our bodies don’t really need meat for it’s functioning. Eating meat puts our body into overdrive to digest it making us feel heavy and some yogis over the years also point out that meat eating nations are ones that have shown the most aggressive behavior. Another reason for the association is that Yoga practices aim at cleansing the system to gradually bring the body to a peak of efficiency and sensitivity, meat carries the very same toxins yoga aims as flushing out. Hence, eliminating meat from your diet not only has immense health considerations but also secures a oneness with all living creators of the earth and ultimately the creator.

Many of us worry about getting enough protein if we switch to vegetarian food, also that everything will be tasteless. This couldn’t be further from the truth. Vegetarians get lots of protein in legumes, grains and so on. Even the U.S. Department of Agriculture places meat second to last in importance, behind grains, fruits, and vegetables. There’s now a vegetarian food pyramid and a wealth of scientific evidence proving the health benefits of the yoga diet. If you don’t believe this, take the 35 million odd Indians that practice vegetarianism from birth as part of their culture and religion.

* Photos by avlxyz, computix, Kaustav Bhattacharya on flickr

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