Beet the Blues Away- a mission statement of sorts

A word of explanation for all visitors: I am not an expert of Ayurveda, though I would like to be. I am an expert of many, many things- but not that. I am here as a curious and hungry adventurer, seeking out the delights of this super healthy cuisine and the intricate philosophy that it is built upon!

I am what most people call "a starving artist". I often like to say that I never starve and in fact, I eat very well- HOWEVER, winter really got the best of me in these past few weeks and I allowed myself to succumb to a routine of General Tso's and Grandma slices, three cups of coffee, Dulce de Leche ice cream, lots of Tobasco on the eggs, salt and vinegar chips galore!!!! Well.... lets just say that this joyful period of my life simply couldn't last. A few days ago, after recuperating from a neverending bout of the flu I felt like I had to do something to prevent myself from getting so downtrodden again.

Ayurveda probably first poked its ancient head into the room of my consciousness when I was about fifteen years old, working at a yoga studio. In those days you couldn't get me to touch a mango lassi with a ten-foot pole, but now here I am- TWELVE years later (Jesus...) not only a self-declared enthusiast of Indian food, but ready to embark upon a journey into the complex, sacred doctrine that has for thousands of years been serving up tasty delights.

I will share two things with you for tonight.
The first is this website which seems to be very carefully put together:

http://www.holisticonline.com/ayurveda/ayv_home.htm

Also, if you are interested in finding out what your "dosha", or body-type is without going through the extensive tridosha diagnostic test which is in the holistic online site, go to this simpler one:

http://store.chopra.com/dosha-survey.asp



OKAY! One last thing for those of you who have managed to get this far- a recipe.
This one I cooked up the other night to go alongside some rice and beans, and because it is so tangy and colorful, it makes a great side-dish for fish. It is good for balancing Kapha and also for balancing Vata. If you are Pitta, this one's not for you.



Lemony Beets with Spinach (serves 2)

Ingredients:

two large beets, washed, peeled, and diced into chunks the size of your pinkie nail
a lemon
a handful of fresh, clean spinach
a smaller handful of cilantro (optional but tasty!)
two tablespoons of grapeseed, safflower, or sunflower oil*

Directions:

After preparing the ingredients, warm the oil in a large, non-stick pan for a moment or two on medium heat. When it is slick and thinning, add the diced beets.

After a few minutes, stir them with a wooden spoon and squeeze the entire lemon into the pan, being careful to remove seeds with spoon. If you wish, you can squeeze the lemon beforehand into a bowl and strain into pan. I like the pulp, so I try to get as much in there as possible!

When the lemon juice is begining to bubble and turn a pleasant magenta color, add the spinach.

Fold the spinach over a few times until it softens, then add the cilantro. Let all the ingredients hang out together in the pan for a minute or two longer, then remove from heat and serve! Cooking time should be less than ten minutes.

*feel free to use olive oil if you want but if you are going to get serious about shedding those lazy kapha pounds or blowing away the cloud-cover that's been lugubriating your brain... then use the oils mentioned.