Breakfast with Ayurveda
Namaste from HemaVeda,
Today I would like to focus on a very important topic of Ayurveda lifestyle and that is the- Breakfast. According to Ayurveda Breakfast also called as Nyahari (NYAA- HAREE) which means to eat something healthy once you start your day.
According to Ayurvedic Dinacharya (Din- Morning, Charya- Activity) waking up between 4 am to 7 am and after all the morning rituals the best time to complete our breakfast is sometime between 6:00 and 10:00 a.m.
In the morning the digestive fire or agni is quite low, and it’s not easy for our body to digest a big or heavy breakfast. According to Ayurveda a morning breakfast must be light and easy to digest, i.e., an easily digestible meal that nourishes the body by giving it the fuel it needs, without overwhelming it. It helps the person to be productive throughout the day and also have healthier relationships.
Think of it this way: Your metabolism is like a wood-burning furnace that needs careful tending so it can heat the house (your whole body) and support all of the activities going on inside. In the morning, there may be embers left over from the previous day, so we have to be gentle with our food choices in the morning. To have a healthy fire, you need to gently rekindle the flame.
We have to keep this in mind, Digestive fire is energy and energy is Digestive fire. Trying to focus on eating a warm and hearty breakfast should be our goal. However, although convenient and common practice, a bowl of cold cereal or a buttery toast and a sweet doughnut, gives the body a sugar rush and burn the agni furiously for a bit and then the flames die out.
In addition to self-care morning rituals that aim to ignite agni, we have to ensure that the first meal of the day gently stokes the fire. This means eating warm, suitably spiced, easy-to-digest foods, with an emphasis on hot cereals and cooked fruits, rather than cold cereals and raw fruits or cold juices and heavy fatty breakfast. The Ayurvedic approach both feeds the body and helps the mind achieve a sharp but calm sense of focus.
A balancing morning meal might consist of stewed apples, pears, and dates, stirred into hot cereal cooked with some warming spices. Spices which help in digestion, provide the warmth to the digestive fire are those that stoke agni and make it stronger. Examples of spices are allspice, basil, black pepper, cardamom, cayenne, cinnamon, cloves, fenugreek, fresh ginger, green chili, mustard, nutmeg, rock salt, rosemary, and turmeric. Just a pinch of these is all that is needed.
Breakfast recipes
Chai (Tea)
A healthy cup of Chai or tea not only provides the energy to start the morning but also helps to kindle the agni in a gentle way. Chai is a beverage that is a blend of black tea, honey or sweeteners, spices and milk. (ref- Merriam Webster dictionary)
Ingredients
1 teaspoon of black tea of your choice
1 teaspoon of sugar
½ inch piece of ginger root
1 cardamom pod
½ cup of milk
Recipe
- Boil a cup of water on a medium low flame
- To the boiling water add 1 teaspoon of black tea of your choice
- Add a teaspoon of sugar (optional)
- In a mortar take ½ inch piece of fresh and raw ginger root, one cardamom pod
- With the pestle grind the mixture
- Put in all the mixture with the juices if any in the boiling pot of tea
- In another pot warm ½ cup of milk (avoid nut milk)
- Pour the warm milk into the tea mixture and let the tea boil for 2-3 mins
- Strain the tea and enjoy it warm every morning.
Sweet potato pudding/Sweet potato kheer
A healthy cup of Chai or tea not only provides the energy to start the morning but also helps to kindle the agni in a gentle way. Chai is a beverage that is a blend of black tea, honey or sweeteners, spices and milk. (ref- Merriam Webster dictionary)
Ingredients
A medium sized sweet potato
1 tbsp of ghee
A pinch of cardamom powder
A pinch of Nutmeg powder
½ cup of Milk (your Choice)
4-5 crushed Almonds and cashews
4-5 black currants
Recipe
- Boil, peel and grate the sweet potatoes in a bowl
- Add the above ingredients and give it a stir
- Warm the milk and add in the pudding.
Enjoy each delicious bite, knowing there’s no better way to fire up your body’s furnace and start the day right.
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