It’s so easy to tie yourself up in knots about what to eat, how to eat and in what combinations and proportions.
This kind of stress and confusion can be exhausting, frustrating and does not help to build a happy relationship with food. When you get so caught up in the details, it is easy to lose the way altogether.
There are so many schools of thought in nutrition, and even within the Ayurveda world I have never heard two practitioners, schools of Ayurveda or doctors agree on what they consider to be the Ayurveda Gold Standard. This is especially true for those of us who want to be vegan and practice Ayurveda.
The temptation can be to jump from one idea to the next and be perpetually influenced by the latest fads trends. There is a story of a man who digs a well almost until he reaches water and then gives up and moves 10 feet over and repeats the process. Eventually he has 20 holes, but none of them hit the water level. This is what happens when we keep trying new things instead of finding a way that is easy to follow and makes for excellent health and a happy life.
Here are 3 simple questions that you can ask yourself to simplify how you structure your Ayurvedic eating plan. Once you have mastered the main principles, you can look at the details of which particular food are best for you.
Keep it simple and stay mindful.
Is your food clean, pure and sattvic?
In other words, is it “fresh, juicy, light, nourishing, and tasty? Has it been grown organically, is it fair trade? Is it local? Has it been processed, does it contain addictive substances like sugar, salt, caffeine, white carbs or alcohol? Does it contain toxins? These are all questions that you can ask yourself to help you choose the cleanest food possible. And this may be subjective, it’s good to trust the feedback from your body.
2. Is your food full of prana?
Prana is the Sanskrit word for energy or life force and it is present in any whole plant food when it is growing. As soon as you pick it, it starts to lose the prana as it begins the natural process of decay. Things like beans, peas, legumes and seeds retain their prana until they are soaked. When we eat foods that have been recently harvested, we get to eat a high energy diet. In the west, a food high in energy is one that is high in calories. Sadly, this can be very misleading because the foods with the highest caloric values are often the ones that zap our energy because they are full of ‘empty’ calories, are addictive and contain toxic substances.
In Ayurveda, food that is organic, fresh, and not processed is seen as full of prana. Some schools of Ayurveda say that all food should be cooked to ‘wake up the prana’ and spiced to aid digestion. Others say that cooking destroys valuable enzymes that aid digestion and therefore raw food has the most prana. Test it out for yourself. Try eating raw food and try eating lightly cooked and spiced food. Which style of eating works best for you? Or perhaps a mixture of both depending on the season? If there are certain foods or cooking methods that are not good for your energy, don’t eat them!
In addition to the nutritional content, prana in food is determined by how and where food is prepared and stored. Has it been made with love by someone thinking positively and in a good mood? Is it being eaten in a lovely calm atmosphere? Does it look beautiful and does it nourish your senses and make you grateful? Has it been rushed, microwaved, frozen or leftover? All of these things influence the life force of the food that you eat. Although mainstream western science might not agree, you can still conduct your own experiments and keep testing out what makes you feel the best and takes you towards your health goals.
3. Is your food in balance for you?
You can check for balance in a number of ways. First ask yourself if the way that you are eating makes you feel balanced in your life in general. If not, check out the following ways that you could look at bringing the balance in to your life.
Are you balancing the 6 tastes of Ayurveda -sweet, sour, salty, pungent, astringent and bitter within your meals most of the time?
If you are aware of what your doshas are doing, it is a good idea to eat for your dosha. This can change from day to day depending on what’s going on in your life, so you can make little adjustments if you tune in. Otherwise, aim to prepare and eat tridoshic food. This is a lovely way of eating and easier if you are feeding more than just you, ensuring that everyone who eats gets a boost of energy and vitality.
Are you eating the right portion size for you? One way of determining this is to eat approximately the same amount of food as you can put in your two hands and then stop if you feel full or when you get the first burp.
Eat a good balance of foods, 60% augmenting foods and 40% extractive. Aim to eat beans, grains, roots and greens at every meal. This takes a little practice, don’t worry if you find it hard to start with. Try not to let it cause anxiety, just let it come together organically. Look for some nice recipes for Buddha bowls, that will help you build a balanced plate with gorgeous and nutritious food.
if you eat food that is grown locally, you will be choosing food that is in balance for the season. In addition, eat with the weather in mind, how you are feeling and your time of life. Eat juicy and hydrating food in the summer and warming root vegetables in the winter. Eat your heaviest meal at midday when the sun is firing up your system and lighter in the early evening when your digestion is less powerful
As ever, keep testing things out and find what is right for you and just keep making little changes each day!