There are quite a few myths surrounding Ayurvedic food culture. The aim of this article is to explain it in more detail and encourage people to try it.
We speak about Ayurvedic nutrition with practitioner Asta Gruodė from Ayurvedic Food Culture. ☀️
Ayurvedic nutrition considers the balance of a person’s body, mind, emotions, and soul. It is based on healthy lifestyle principles, balanced food, spices, seasonality, and doshas, which are the body’s energies. The main focus is maintaining balance between movement, sleep, rest, and suitable food choices.
Asta, could you first introduce yourself and tell us a little about yourself?
Who am I? This is probably one of the questions I’ve been asked most often lately. A few years ago, a friend asked me, “So, are you a cook now?!”
I spent around 15 years working in an office on various sales and communications projects. It wasn’t surprising that some people were amazed by my decision to cook at camps, which is how my independent work began.
Alongside my main job, I always had other activities that also brought in extra income. I organised freediving courses, led fitness training sessions and yoga classes, and gave lectures on healthy living.
My main work is now connected with Ayurveda. I’m happy about this because Ayurveda is a comprehensive science, a science of life that includes the body, mind, emotions, and soul.
Ayurveda entered my life 10 years ago, when I attended a lecture given by a teacher from India. Step by step, my knowledge grew, and I wanted to share it. That desire became strong, and I realised that cooking at camps alone wasn’t enough for my personal creativity, self-expression, and ideas.
That is how Ayurvedic Food Culture was born. Today, I cook at children’s camps and yoga retreats, and I also lead seminars and cooking courses based on the main principles of Ayurveda.
Many of us have probably heard that Ayurvedic nutrition exists, although it still isn’t very widespread. Could you briefly explain what Ayurvedic nutrition is?
Ayurvedic nutrition is inseparable from a person’s overall way of life. When we talk about food, we also need to understand the general lifestyle principles that can strengthen or weaken a person’s health.
The word Ayurveda means “knowledge of life.” A person may eat foods that are considered good for health, but food alone will provide very little benefit if they don’t sleep properly, move, or relax.
We often use the word balance in Ayurveda. When a person is in balance, they are healthy.
Proper sleep, suitable movement, enough relaxation, and appropriate food form the foundation of a healthy life.
There are several general dietary principles worth following. They can help people feel well and apply to everyone, regardless of body type or dosha:
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Eat and drink when you are hungry or thirsty.
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Eat in moderation and avoid overeating. Around 30% of the stomach should remain empty. According to Ayurveda, a burp can indicate when it is time to stop eating. Everyone has this reflex, but many people don’t notice it because they are distracted by their surroundings, such as a television or phone.
If you pay close attention while eating and the reflex doesn’t occur, the stomach may have become stretched. Reducing portion sizes may help the reflex return.
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Eat fresh food prepared with love. Foods should be light, fresh, and mainly plant-based.
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Choose foods according to the season and the place where you live.
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Include all 6 tastes in your food: sweet, sour, salty, pungent, bitter, and astringent.
According to Ayurveda, this helps the body receive the micronutrients it needs. These tastes should come from both food and spices. Spices are therefore an inseparable part of Ayurvedic nutrition.
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Eat breakfast between 8:00 and 9:00, lunch between 12:00 and 14:00, and dinner before 19:00.
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Choose suitable food combinations. Fresh fruit shouldn’t be eaten together with other food. It is best to eat fruit around 2.5 hours after a meal or at least 30 minutes before a meal. Fruit should also be eaten before sunset.
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Drink separately from meals. It is best to drink 30 minutes before eating and wait at least 1.5 to 2 hours after a meal. According to Ayurveda, this prevents the digestive fire from being weakened.
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Avoid eating while stressed or in a hurry. Eat with a positive state of mind.
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The amount of food the body absorbs matters more than the amount eaten. Our bodies may experience an excess of food while our cells remain “hungry.”
Proper absorption requires a strong digestive fire known as Agni. When the digestive fire is weak, toxins known as Ama accumulate in the body. In Ayurveda, Ama is described as the mother of all disease.
To keep Agni strong and prevent toxins from accumulating, we should follow a daily routine, eat regularly, exercise, sleep properly, practise self-massage with oil in the morning, and choose food suited to our body type.
The same food may act as medicine for one person and as poison for another.
How can we know what is suitable? The right way to eat also depends on our dosha.
A dosha is the dominant energy within the body, formed from the 5 elements: Ether, Air, Fire, Water, and Earth. Every person is different, so the proportions of these energies also vary.
There are 3 doshas:
- Vata: Air
- Pitta: Fire
- Kapha: Earth
Vata mainly contains Ether and Air. Pitta contains Fire and Water. Kapha contains Water and Earth.
The main qualities of Vata are dry, cold, and light. Pitta is moist, hot, and light. Kapha is wet, cold, and heavy.
To avoid burdening or unbalancing a dosha, foods and substances with opposite qualities should be chosen. An Ayurvedic doctor can determine your dosha most accurately, although online tests may also help you understand your type.
What makes Ayurvedic nutrition unique, and why would you recommend trying it?
I strongly recommend learning about Ayurveda because it covers our entire way of life and extends far beyond a short-term diet or a fixed list of dishes.
It helps us understand the rhythms of nature and live according to them so that we can remain healthy. We are part of nature, so we should live in harmony with it.
What does a daily Ayurvedic diet look like?
The diet is very varied. It usually consists of light, fresh, and plant-based foods. Dishes are only lightly cooked.
What should people avoid in Ayurvedic nutrition?
Avoid old or reheated food, overeating, constant snacking, eating at unsuitable times, poor food combinations, meals dominated by a single taste, eating while stressed or rushing, and eating whatever happens to be available wherever you happen to be.
Where should someone begin if they decide to try Ayurvedic nutrition?
Avoid overdoing it or changing everything at once. Try one new principle from the list above each day.
I would begin by arranging a suitable daily routine, leaving breaks between meals, watching portion sizes, and going to sleep on time, ideally before 22:00. 🙂
Could you share one of your favourite recipes for breakfast, lunch, and dinner?
In the morning, I often choose whole-grain porridge with nuts and dried fruit.
For lunch, I enjoy legume patties with different homemade sauces, salads, and grains.
In the evening, I choose a vegetable stew or soup with freshly baked bread.
Here are several recipes. The quantities are for 2 people.
Breakfast: Japanese millet porridge with raisins and nuts
Ingredients
- 140 g Japanese millet, also known as edible barnyard millet
- 20 g blue raisins, soaked overnight
- 10 g goji berries
- 14 to 16 hazelnuts
- 1 tbsp ghee
- ½ tsp cardamom
- ½ tsp cinnamon
- ⅓ tsp nutmeg
- A pinch of salt
Preparation
- Rinse the grains with boiling water, cook them for around 7 minutes, and leave them to rest while preparing the other ingredients. I usually steam them so they don’t burn or overcook.
- Toast the nuts and chop them.
- Toast the cardamom and nutmeg.
- Add all the ingredients to the pot of porridge and mix well.
Enjoy!
You can choose any dried fruit, nuts, or nut butter you prefer. The porridge is also delicious sprinkled with berry powder.
Lunch: Mung dal patties with avocado sauce and salad
Ingredients
Patties
- 200 g courgette
- 100 g carrots
- 160 g yellow mung dal
- 1 tsp salt
- ½ tsp asafoetida
- ½ tsp garam masala
- Fresh coriander or dill
- Ghee for frying
Avocado sauce
- 1 large, well-ripened avocado
- ½ cup coconut milk
- A 1 cm piece of chilli, chopped and lightly fried
- Black pepper
- A pinch of salt
- 2 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 bunch of fresh coriander
Preparation
- Cover the mung dal with cold water and leave it to soak overnight. Rinse and drain it before cooking.
- Finely grate the vegetables.
- Blend the mung dal. Add the vegetables, herbs, toasted spices, and mix everything thoroughly.
- Shape the mixture into patties and fry them in a pan with ghee.
- Use a blender or food processor to prepare the avocado sauce. Place all the ingredients in a container and blend until smooth.
Serve with a seasonal salad dressed with unrefined seed oil or olive oil and topped with toasted sunflower or pumpkin seeds. Cooked quinoa or basmati rice also works well as a side dish.
Dinner: Red lentil soup with vegetables
Ingredients
- 100 g red lentils
- 100 g sweet potato
- 60 g carrots
- 5 cm celery stalk
- 30 g bell pepper
- ½ tsp cumin
- ½ tsp coriander
- ½ tsp turmeric
- ⅓ tsp fenugreek
- ⅓ tsp asafoetida
- A pinch of black pepper
- A pinch of salt
- 1 bay leaf
- 2 tbsp lemon juice
- Ghee for frying
Preparation
- Steam the lentils and the vegetables cut into cubes, then place everything in a pot.
- Fry the bell pepper and spices in ghee. Add them to the pot and squeeze in the lemon juice.
The soup is delicious finished with coconut cream. Serve with bread.
What snacks would you recommend for someone who enjoys snacking?
Fruit, soaked dried fruit, toasted or soaked nuts, with no more than 7 or 8 nuts at a time, and healthier desserts made without white flour or sugar. Synthetic sweeteners are also unsuitable.
What should people pay attention to when shopping, and what should they avoid?
Avoid ready-made and semi-prepared foods. Choose fresh ingredients that you can use to prepare meals yourself.
Walk past the ready-meal section. Choose more seasonal vegetables and fruit.
Avoid products containing refined white sugar, white flour, and carbonated drinks. Choose products with as few ingredients as possible.
Which sources would you recommend to people who want to learn more?
- Ayurveda: The Science of Life and Health, Dr Partap Chauhan
- Ayurveda: The Wisdom of Healthy Living, Acharya Shunya
- Spices: Both Food and Medicine, compiled by Sigita Palionienė
- Ayurveda for Health: Wellness Recipes and Advice, Dr Partap Chauhan
- Ayurvedic Cooking for Self-Healing, Usha Lad and Dr Vasant Lad
