Avoid those germs, the Ayurvedic way

They’re here again.  They’re back with a vengeance.  The school term begins and bang, everyone starts ailing with colds, flu’s and stomach bugs.   Is it the weather? Is it the gathering of vast hoards of small, inhibition-less children in small buildings?  What happens at this time of year to make Read more

Spelt Grain

What’s the story with wheat?

Why my obsession with spelt? What is wrong with wheat?  Nothing. The ancient texts of Ayurveda extol the virtues of wheat, as a nourishing, strengthening food.  Its properties are heavy, oily, sweet and cooling.  As it is fairly heavy to digest, it is best not to over consume.  Looking at wheat from a Read more

Sourdough – the bread that’s easy to digest

Fermentation has been used worldwide for thousands of years to produce foods and drinks of different flavours, textures and longevity.  An example of this is alcohol, and less obviously bread and soy sauce.  In Ayurveda, there are various slow-fermenting vinegars and medicinal ‘wines’ which have documented therapeutic uses.  This natural, Read more

Spelt Sourdough loaf in a bread-maker

Before you can make spelt sourdough bread, you need to first, make or obtain a sourdough starter.  If you are starting one yourself, you can use wholemeal spelt or rye from the beginning.  If you are getting some from a friend or another source and it is wheat, you can feed Read more

Wet spring grass

With spring, comes kapha

At the end of winter and beginning of spring, we often feel sluggish and heavy like we are coming out of hibernation.  Kapha in our bodies is at its peak.  It’s good to know this so you can ward against the problems that can come with it such as allergies Read more

Ghee

Ghee

I let you know how good ghee was to cook with, so rather than leaving you in suspense, it makes sense to let you know how to make it! Ghee is a form of clarified butter. It is the butter fat without the milk protein so can be used for Read more

Oil

The myths of oils and fats

Oils and fats are a much misunderstood area of our modern diet.  We moved away from cooking with saturated fats (e.g. meat fats, dairy fats) as we were told they were causing us too many problems.  We started processing seed oils to replace them and jumped from the frying pan Read more