The ancient Vedic texts of India state that our whole body is built around two things: the food that comes into the mouth and the words that come out of the mouth – both must be healthy and harmonious for the well-being of ourselves and others… Healthy food promotes healthy thoughts, conversations, and relationships that ripple into sustaining healthy families, communities, and societies.
Divya Alter, “What To Eat For How You Feel”
Introducing supportive Ayurvedic spring foods, recipes, spices, and insights with one of my favorite people, Chef Divya Alter of Divyas Kitchen NYC.
We had a lovely and insightful conversation on my IG Live recently on optimal seasonal eats to keep you feeling fresh in the transition from winter to spring.
You’ll find incredible recipes in her seasonal Ayurvedic cookbook – which I also love to use as an educational tool for my personal wellbeing – and you can peruse the plethora of top tips below for your personal exploration:
spring eats
- Check our chat for Divya’s insight on optimal veggies and spices to incorporate based on your body’s constitution (i.e. if you run hot/fiery, or cold/airy, or heavy/grounded).
- Eat all the greens: spinach, dandelion greens, kale, chard, broccoli rabe, and more.
- Consider Ayurvedic cleansing methods like I discussed in my IG Live with one of Divya’s mentors Dr. Teitelbaum, use Dr. John Douillard’s cleansing insight as a resource, and/or consider adding more bitter foods which will help us reduce sluggishness from winter.
- Favor “scraping foods” to get ride of the gunk – although not in excess – like millet (which dries excessive moisture) and buckwheat.
- Use raw local honey, which can help with allergies and even sometimes help us lose excess weight by reducing kapha from its scraping properties.
- Drink 1 cup of tea in the morning made with moringa leaf, cardamom, and coriander – which can be found on divyaskitchen.com or here on Chandika’s webstore – see “ingredients” below for a discount code.
- Incorporate turmeric in your meals to cleanse the blood and skin (again – not in excess to avoid overheating). Cook ground turmeric with a dash of black pepper, both of which will activate it.
- If you do decide to juice cleanse, Divya suggests watering it down a bit because liquids like juices can be heavy and sugary. If you have a balanced digestion, however, Divya says that juices can help to cleanse the first layer of the body. Listen to the IG Live to hear more about why we favor “soup smoothies” over juices.
- Add healthy fats like ghee and quality extra virgin olive oil to your meals help to cleanse the fat tissues.
press pause
- Watch the IG Live to hear more about Divya’s thoughts on what to limit in order to avoid increasing heaviness or excess heat from harmful toxins and additives – everything from processed foods to toxic skincare to eliminating leftovers as often as possible.
- Avoid foods that are heavy to digest like wheat, red meat, and lots of dairy (or at least enjoy in moderation).
- Avoid mucus-producing foods – or foods that are sweet in taste – like rice, wheat, and dairy (or at least enjoy in moderation).
top spring tips
- First thing’s first: make sure you’re not constipated. Add foods with soluble fiber into your diet like lentils/broccoli/carrots, drink quality spring water if you have access to it, and sip warm water throughout the day to help with this.
- Spring is a good time to enjoy lighter foods – and if you do end up consuming the “foods to avoid” above, just thoroughly enjoy them in moderation.
- Sweat is detoxifying! Yoga, running or walking, HIIT, weight training, dance – move around.
- Fasting can be OK for kapha constitutions who are in balanced states – reference Dr. T’s IG Llive for how fasting can heat the liver if it is unbalanced.
- If you are a vata constitution / are often cold, add more healthy oils, ginger, cinnamon, black cumin or kalonji, and ajwain seeds to your meals (see “ingredients” below).
- If you have seasonal allergies, choose mucus-burning foods like cooked garlic if you can tolerate it, ginger, ajwain seeds, cinnamon, cumin, and consider balancing them with more cooling spices like coriander or fennel.
year-round wellbeing
- Ask yourself what your attributes are (i.e. your Dosha) and balance them with the attributes of food.
- Eat as seasonally as possible, and adjust spices/seasonings to support digestion.
- When exhausted, favor simple foods.
- Go to bed by 10pm if you can to support the natural detoxification properties of the liver.
- It is very important to relax during/around eating, because being stressed can be just as unhealthy as eating processed foods.
- Be willing to explore, discover, and enjoy the journey – all of which will help you digest better, too. Give yourself “exceptions” to the seasonal “policies” of what to include/avoid.
- Remember that, ultimately, it can be cheaper to cook at home than to eat out – try buying dry staples in bulk if and when possible. Divya says that learning to cook for yourself may be less expensive in the long run by taking care of your health now versus paying for potential health care later.
- Divya’s lessons from 2020 include: being open and flexible to new opportunities; to learn how to adapt and shift with the changes around us.
- Concerning weight loss, Divya writes: A good doctor/practitioner will determine the underlying cause for the weight gain and recommend a treatment/cleanse protocol accordingly. Believe it or not, very often the cause is Vata imbalance, causing Kapha to become stagnant. It could be a Pitta imbalance causing low fat metabolism. You might want to get a copy of Vaidya Mishra’s book on weight loss… he explains the fat metabolism and gives a lot of cleansing recipes.
kiddos
- Kids don’t need super detoxing foods during spring/throughout the year until their late teens.
- Seasonal foods are great for any age – in spring try asparagus, daikon radish, and leafy greens.
- Mix bitter with sweet tastes that kids enjoy during their kapha phase, like kale with sweet potato.
juice
- Add ginger to juices to help digest the sugars, or ideally just cook and blend your fruits and vegetables into a kind of “soup smoothie” – more on this on Divya’s website.
- Blend or juice: 2 parts granny smith apple / 1 part red beet / small piece ginger / 1 stalk celery.
- Juicing can help heal a gut with sensitivities, but it can also be challenging for those with sensitive digestive systems. Consult an Ayurvedic practitioner to help you find the options that would best suit you, or experiment and pay attention to how you feel before/after your beverage of choice.
breakfast ideas
- Include your choice of protein so that breakfast will keep you satiated until lunch.
- Divya loves mung sprouts sautéed in ghee and water with turmeric, ginger, and asafoetida – full recipe coming soon in her new cookbook (get excited).
- If you are looking for something lighter than oats in and around the springtime, make a porridge out of barley or quinoa flakes with spices, cooked fresh or dried fruits, nuts and seeds.
ayurvedic sandwich ideas
- Use bread without yeast and additives (i.e. the delicious einkorn biscuit recipe in her cookbook) – sourdough is also a great option.
- Balance the dryness of bread with something moist like extra virgin olive oil, or a spread like additive-free hummus using lentils or small black chickpeas.
- Include lightly steamed veggies rather than going all raw, which can be challenging on the digestive system.
ingredients
- Divya’s book and other clean Ayurvedic-inspired ingredients can be found on my Amazon influencer storefront.
- Visit divyaskitchen.com to order Divya’s delicious kitchen goodies like khichari, mung soup, and quite literally the world’s best ghee.
- Expertly formulated Ayurvedic spices and skincare can be found on Chandika.com – use code SAVEME10 for 10% off your order.
- Pure Indian Foods is another one of Divya’s go-to brands for quality products.
As mentioned – more foods and recipes to help sleep, to cultivate energy, and to soothe digestive imbalances can all be found in Divya’s cookbook What To Eat For How You Feel, including a few great staples on her website divyaalter.com.
Contact me for support on Ayurvedic meal-prep kitchen hacks, how to stretch a dollar, or cultivating a kind relationship with food.
Go show @divyaalter and @divyaskitchennyc some love on Instagram and profit from their informative posts!
Read the full newsletter for a favorite Ayurvedic morning brew, free yoga classes with me on Jijo, online offerings, a new guided meditation, tools for mindful learning, and good vibes.
What foods and practices might you experiment with this spring?
Photo: Yasmina Schoueri / Kaysersberg, Alsace, France.
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