guided by nature's wisdom

​Sometimes, perhaps oftentimes, the gratification of the moment takes precedent over well-being in the long-term. We’ve all had moments when we have done something that we know won’t make us feel good later. Many people have this relationship with food. Ice cream is good now. Bad later. I know this, but I’m going to do it anyway. 

Consider the idea that this behavior is stealing from yourself. You’re stealing your future well-being. 

​Sometimes we do things that make us feel bad but we refuse to make the connection between cause and effect. This is commonly the case with onion and garlic. These foods are rajasic, meaning they create an overly active mind. They’re also irritants. Their potent pungency increases acidity and heat in the digestive tract, which has an inflammatory effect. Many people don’t realize this, and cook most meals with these foods because they believe they’re necessary for flavor or, in the case of garlic, that there are health benefits. Garlic has some antibacterial properties, but is best used occasionally if digestion is strong and pitta is in balance.

Garlic and onion are now commonly used in many types of cuisine, but this actually wasn’t the case 30 years ago. They are taken to be traditional ingredients, but what we are really looking at is more of a long-standing food trend.  Remember, things are always changing, and what is is not what must be. 

It’s not necessary to use garlic and onion to create a satisfying meal. There are a range of magnificent spices available to play with.  But if you’ve been eating garlic and onion over a long period of time, your taste buds are likely numb to more subtle flavors. It can take a little while for your taste buds to adjust, but stick with it because you’re opening yourself up to a greater range of tastes and experiences. 

​Cooking medicinally is about moderation, and this certainly applies to the use of spices, which will enhance the taste of food and support the digestive process when integrated in a modest manner. They’re especially useful when combined with legumes, which present more of a challenge to agni - our digestive fire. 

Here’s a delightful recipe for Ayurvedic hummus. This one uses adzuki beans which are small, red beans originally from China. Because of their astringent taste and pungent post-digestive effect, the beans are nice to consume during the spring - Kapha season.  However, they are also cooling and should be complemented by spices to support digestion. 

​1 cup dry adzuki beans (soaked in plenty of water overnight)
2 Tbsp. ghee or sesame oil
½ tsp. mineral salt
1 tsp. fresh ginger, chopped
½  tsp. Fenugreek seed
2 tsp. cumin powder
1 tsp. coriander powder
1 Tbsp. tahini
2 Tbsp. chopped mint
Squeeze of lime or lemon
Additional water as desired

​Start with dried beans. It’s better. It’s the way to maximize your intake of prana from the food, and prana is the essence of food as medicine. 

Leave the canned beans on the grocery store shelves and head to the bulk section. Scoop up some beans - this recipe calls for adzukis, but hummus can be made from most any legume. Another Hale Pule favorite is whole mung hummus. Play around with different legumes and see what you like best! 

Now you’ve got your beans, you’ll need to soak them overnight, or for 6-8 hours while you’re at work. 

Fast forward. Hummus time.

Now, drain the soak water from the adzuki beans. 

Warm the ghee in the pressure cooker, then add salt, ginger and fenugreek seed. Simmer until the aroma comes up to meet you. Next add the cumin and coriander and simmer for 1 to 2 more minutes. Add the adzuki beans and stir to coat. 

If you’re using a pressure cooker or an instapot (which we highly recommend), then you’ll add just enough water to cover the beans, and then cook at pressure for 24 minutes. Allow it to come off pressure naturally.

If you’re cooking the beans the old fashioned way, then you’ll need about 2-3 cups of water, and the cooking time will be 45 - 70 minutes.

Be sure to turn the lid away from you when you open it. 

​Allow the beans to cool, then add tahini, lemon and mint and blend to your desired consistency with any water that is left from the cooking process. For a thinner hummus, add a little more water. Enjoy with a chapati, rice, carrots and kale.

​This month at Hale Pule we have been looking at ways to integrate the Yogic practice of ahimsa into everyday life. Ahimsa translates into kindness, consideration and respect. Think of ahimsa as your North Star, your guiding light - with ahimsa as your reference point, your journey will be more clear and full of joy.

I hear this from clients pretty frequently – people tend to stick with what they know instead of trying new things, and then they get bored.  And boredom can often lead to seeking pleasure by consuming overly stimulating or processed food, with negative consequences for digestion and overall well-being.

You can find plenty of Ayurvedic recipes, Ayurvedic cookbooks and Ayurvedic chefs, but as much as you look, you’ll never find Ayurvedic cuisine. That’s because Ayurveda is more than just a way of cooking -- it is a way of looking at food and life as a whole through the lens of nature’s rhythms. 

Nature is always changing. If you study what is happening outside your home, you’ll notice that not a single day is the same as another. Your body and mind are a reflection of nature, so they are always changing too. In fact, the Sanskrit word for body is sharira, which translates to “that which is always changing.” 

Everyone loves hummus. So many people are enjoying this creamy Middle Eastern speciality that it is showing up in the prepared foods section at many supermarkets. Picking up one of these containers might seem convenient, but you’ll feel much more satiated with our Ayurvedic homemade version -- no cans needed. 

Making your own hummus is easy, and it’s a great way to become familiar with one of our favorite kitchen tools: a pressure cooker. But before we talk about how to use a pressure cooker, we want to share why homemade hummus made from dried chickpeas is so much better. There’s one big reason -- prana.

In Ayurveda, it is said that we only need five foods to stay alive: wheat, rice, ghee, milk and mung. It’s really that simple. 

Dhal, as split mung is often called, is a staple here at Hale Pule. It is easy to digest, nourishing and, since it doesn’t require soaking, it is a simple choice suited for any day. Since split mung calms all doshas, it is wise to have plenty on hand when you are feeding a crowd of people.

Green vegetables are showing up everywhere lately -- raw in salads, pureed in smoothies, even baked as chips. It’s good to see more people interested in eating healthfully, but just because a little bit is good for you doesn’t mean that more is better. In fact, too many green vegetables without enough grounding, nourishing foods can quickly send vata dosha soaring.

​Ayurveda teaches us to eat as a practice of vairagya, or non-attachment, an act that requires moderation and balance. The way we bring moderation (and joy) into our kitchen is by using the foundation of the Hale Pule bowl. By rotating through a broad list of sattvic foods, herbs and spices, we get a lot of variety, avoid aggravating the doshas and don’t get attached to eating the same thing every day.

Is it possible to live in the modern world while maintaining a spiritual focus? Of course. Cultivate consciousness through regular spiritual practice and bring that into everything, everyday. 

Cooking can be a spiritual act with that intention. That means turning off the cooking shows, putting away cookbooks with complicated recipes, and moving into your heart, where you have all the information you need to create simple, healing food. Allow your spirit to lead the process and you will be satisfied every time. 

​Making friends with kapha dosha is about embracing stability, compassion and even-mindedness. Cultivate balance in kapha and you  experience the sweeter side of life. 

Even if kapha is not a primary part of your constitution, the qualities that make up kapha (heavy, dense, cool, wet, soft) exist in you. Your body itself is made of kapha tissues such as bones, muscles and fat. Without the structure kapha provides, vata could not move and pitta could not transform. You need to maintain balance in all three doshas to enjoy true health in body, mind and spirit.