RECIPE ~ Cleansing Tea for Weight Loss & Rejuvenation

Happy New Year! A perfect time to share another gem from Food As Medicine by Dharma Singh Khalsa, where he shares this recipe which "has been used for centuries to dissolve fatty tissue... improves the beauty and youthfulness of the skin, cleanses the mucous membrane of the colon, and is an excellent source of vitamin C... is a diuretic and
helps reduce water retention, balances the appetite, and minimizes food cravings. Drink 2 or 3 glasses a day for weight loss purposes."

1/3 cup fresh or 1/4 cup dried mint leaves
2 cups cumin seeds
1 Tbsp fresh or concentrated tamarind
1/2 tsp black salt
4 lemons, sliced
1/2 Tbsp black pepper
3 litres filtered water

Combine all the ingredients in a pot and bring to a boil. (I also added a tablespoon of fennel seeds for flavour.) Lower heat and continue to boil, covered, on low heat for 2 hours. You may have to add up to 2 cups more water. Strain. Serve hot or cold. Store for up to 1 week refrigerated. The ingredients may be reused once to make more tea.

Makes 2 1/2 to 3 litres.

FOR INDIVIDUAL DOSHAS
This healing beverage is tri-doshic, though best suited for Pitta and Kapha types who have excess fluids or toxins stored in their bodies.

A Note About Spices and Pregnancy
Many of my friends are pregnant at the moment so it's on my mind what should be avoided in the diet during pregnancy. Weight loss during pregnancy is never a good idea, but after is safe if it's done gently and naturally (especially to keep breastmilk healthy and flowing). This recipe above contains a large amount of cumin, and although most household spices and herbs can be used as light seasonings during pregnancy, some could cause premature labor or miscarriage, especially if used in large quantities. These include anise, aniseed oil, basil oil, caraway, celery seed or oil, chili, cinnamon, cumin, fennel, lavender, marjoram, nutmeg, nutmeg oil, oregano, parsley, peppermint oil, raspberry leaf, rhubarb, rosemary, rosemary oil, saffron, sage, sage oil and thyme oil. Here is a page with a comprehensive list of herbs and spices to avoid during pregnancy, and another one with unsafe vs. beneficial herbs.

RECIPE ~ Vegetable Tea

I've just learned that the levels of acidity in our body affect our health greatly -- too much acid in our systems leads to illnesses, aging, and gives cancer cells the perfect environment to grow. According to my naturopath at Wellness Guru, most of our everyday foods are too high in acid, so not only should we avoid those foods, we should increase our alkaline intake. This recipe is an alkaline broth that I've been making almost daily and sipping on throughout the day. Give it a try! Your health will benefit enormously.

4 cups filtered water
1 celery stick
1 small or 1/2 a large zucchini
1 cup fresh parsley
1 cup string beans
1" piece of fresh ginger
lemon

Bring the water to a boil in a medium-sized pot. Meanwhile, chop all the vegetables and slice the ginger; add to the pot. You can also add a few slices of lemon, or squeeze in the juice of a lemon wedge at the end. Simmer on a low boil for half an hour. Store hot in a thermos and consume throughout the day. Makes about 4 cups.

NOTE: I call this a vegetable "tea" instead of a broth because it's almost flavourless, except for the lemony ginger and only a slight hint of vegetable taste. Have plain, or experiment trying with a bit of honey, or alternatively a dash of salt and pepper, up to you.

FOR INDIVIDUAL DOSHAS
Great for all the doshas!
VATAS benefit from sipping hot or warm water, tea or broth throughout the day everyday
PITTAS will do better cooling this tea down and sipping throughout the day everyday
KAPHAS benefit from not too much liquid throughout the day, so consume this tea (hot or warm) in place of juice, tea, etc.

RECIPE ~ Green Chai Tea

I love to start the day with a pot of fresh, hot chai made with green tea and sweetened with vanilla rice milk (even better with vanilla soy milk!). For gifts this holiday I made little packets of my blend of chai spices for friends to make their own brew at home. I thought I'd share the recipe!

See a cup of this milky chai recipe on an earlier post with a recipe for an excellent breakfast for each dosha.

1 cup dry green tea leaves
1/2 cup dry black tea leaves (orange pekoe, earl grey, darjeeling...)
1 Tbsp ginger powder
1 Tbsp whole cloves
1 Tbsp crushed cinnamon sticks
2 tsp cardamom powder
(add 1 tsp crushed fennel seeds for a lovely accent!)

Combine all ingredients and store in a jar or tin. Makes about 1 1/2 cups of dry green chai mix.

TO BREW:
Place one teaspoon of the chai mix in a metal tea ball or reuseable cloth tea bag. Or spoon one teaspoon per cup of hot water into a teapot. Steep several minutes and serve with milk (dairy or non-dairy) and sweetener.

Alternately, boil the mixture in a pot, simmering for 10 minutes or more, with extra slices of fresh ginger for an excellently pungent brew: use 1 cup of liquid (half water/half milk (dairy or non-dairy) is very nice) with 1 tsp chai mix for each cup of tea. Sweeten with honey or sugar if desired.

FOR INDIVIDUAL DOSHAS
VATAS an excellent Vata tea; use any milk and sweeten with honey or sugar (sucanat or turbinado)
PITTAS due to the spicy cloves and ginger, make a weaker tea; use any milk and sweeten with sugar (sucanat or turbinado) or maple syrup
KAPHAS an excellent Kapha tea; use soy milk and sweeten with honey

RECIPE ~ Dosha-Friendly Fruit Shakes

Sorry for the long silence, I was in Cuba for a week, dammit! And then the many crazy deadlines when I got back...

Alas, the weather's warming up which means it's a delicious time for fruits and smoothies! Some fruits are better than others for individual doshas, and soy milk is better for some and rice or almond milk for others. Here are some ideas for all of us! Pictured above is the Vata smoothie.

VATA TROPICAL SHAKE
half a banana
half a mango
1/2 cup pineapple
1/2 cup orange juice or almond milk
dash each cardamom and cinnamon
1 Tbsp ground flax seeds

PITTA FRUIT SMOOTHIE
half an apple
1 pear
1/2 cup cherries
1/2 cup vanilla soy milk
a few mint leaves (optional)
1 Tbsp ground flax seeds

KAPHA SUMMER COOLER
half an apple
1 peach
1 cup strawberries
1/2 cup soy milk
dash each turmeric, cardamom and cinnamon
1 tsp ground flax seeds

Wash and chop fruit and place in a blender with remaining ingredients. Blend on high for 30 seconds. Blend with a few ice cubes for a thicker, cooler drink. The flax is an added bonus for Omega 3s and fibre.

DOSHAS & FRUIT
VATAS need sweet and juicy fruit (bananas, berries, grapes, kiwis, mangoes, melons, oranges, pineapples) and are best avoiding dry or crunchy fruits (raw apples, cranberries, pears, dried fruit and raisins). Almond, rice and cow's milk are good beverages to blend with (avoid soy).
PITTAS need sweet, dry fruits (apples, apricots, cherries, dates, figs, melons, prunes, raisins) and should avoid sour, juicy or astringent fruit (bananas, sour berries, grapefruit, lemons, peaches, rhubarb, tamarind, strawberries). Any milk is good for Pittas.
KAPHAS do best with dry, sour fruits (apples, apricots, cranberries, grapes, lemons, peaches, pears, prunes, raisins) and should avoid sweet, heavy fruits (bananas, coconut, dates, kiwis, mangoes, melons, oranges, pineapple). Choose soy milk for drinking and blending (avoid almond, rice and cow's milk).