Do you eat the same way all year round or adapt what you eat seasonally? According to Ayurveda—traditional Hindu principles designed to help us maintain mind-body balance through diet, herbs, exercise, and other healthful practices—we should eat differently each season. For example, to maintain balance in the cold, damp winter, we should adjust our diet and eat warm, agni-stoking foods that balance winter’s kapha nature.
It’s a lot easier to conceptualize what kapha-balancing foods are when you have a few examples, so we’ve pulled together a list of our favorite new winter recipes. All five are vegan and will be perfect for stoking your agni and boosting immunity during this chilly time of year.
Vegan Pumpkin Crepes—These vegan crepes from Vegalicious are a creative breakfast option to switch things up from your usual oatmeal and tofu scrambles. They are filled with carrots, herbed non-dairy yogurt and chervil and will keep you sated for hours. Prefer a sweeter breakfast? Try filling these with fruit and vanilla yogurt instead!
Coconut Curry Rice Bowl—You really can’t go wrong with a rice bowl, and this one is no exception. Loaded with chickpeas, sweet potato, and spinach, this recipe will warm you right up and make excellent leftovers, too.
Chipotle Red Kuri Squash—This creative recipe combines smoky chipotle peppers with sweet roasted squash, chickpeas, and cilantro for a yummy and filling meal. The author recommends it over a grain like spelt (but rice or quinoa would work too) and also says it’s great cold and tossed with salad greens.
Kimchi Fried Rice with Smoky Tempeh—You’re going to want to make this fried rice recipe tonight. It’s packed with protein from tempeh (a nutty-tasting loaf made from fermented soybeans), has some sourness from gut-healthy kimchi, and gets its freshness from broccoli and green onion. This dish would be perfect for clearing out your fridge—almost any veggie would work here. There’s nothing left to say but yum.
Sweet Potato Tzimmes—Tzimmes is a baked root veggie dish traditionally made for Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year festival, but don’t let that stop you from eating it now! In this version, sweet potatoes, carrots, and fruit combine for a satisfying and vitamin-packed treat.
If you try any of these recipes we’d love to hear how you liked them! Keep an eye out for more vegetarian and vegan dosha-balancing recipes next month. In the meantime, if you’re curious about kapha and the other two doshas, read more here.
Originally Published: yogabasics.com
