Getting kids to eat healthy

Okay, so this post isn’t specifically about Ayurveda. But getting kids to eat their veggies can be tough whether you are living the Ayurvedic lifestyle or not. That said, I will take a moment to brag here. My son LOVES his veggies, and fruits, and whole grains. So what’s the trick?

Well, for those of you who are new parents, please see my post on “Making your own baby food“. Giving our kids REAL food, instead of the yucky manufactured stuff is the first step. We can’t expect our kids to enjoy good healthy food if we start them out with nothing but the processed stuff. Think of it as “culture shock”.

Just remember, the funny faces your baby makes don’t mean he/she doesn’t like what you are giving them. It’s just your child getting used to new textures and flavors. You’ll know if they truly don’t like something because they will either cry, or they won’t open their mouth. But if it’s just the funny faces, and they keep opening their mouths for more, keep going. You have to get them used to different foods.

That said, if your kids are older and you need to find creative ways to get them to eat their veggies and other healthy foods, here are a few ideas.

• When making rice, mix the rice with half white and half brown. The kids will never know the difference, and you’ll feel better knowing they are at least getting some whole grains.
• Make your saturday morning pancakes with whole wheat pastry flour. (See my post on pancakes for an easy, “from scratch” recipe. Your kids will love them!
• Serving a meal with sauce, such as spagetti? Steam a few pieces of veggies, put them through the blender, and add them to the sauce. Your kids won’t be able to tell the difference.
• Put some steamed veggies through the blender with a little butter and milk. I loved this growing up. My grandmother always did this for me. It worked every time. It was like a thick and tasty veggie soup.

All in all, you just have to NOT give your kids a choice. Because, given a choice, they will ALWAYS go for the junkfood. As a parent, it’s up to you to make sure they make healthy choices. Lessons that will last a lifetime.

Tiffany

Originally posted 2008-08-13 06:48:19. Republished by Old Post Promoter

Being Vegetarian

Ayurveda promotes vegetarianism. You don’t have to be vegetarian to utilize Ayurveda, but it is definitely highly valued within this system of healing.  

I haven’t been vegetarian for very long. One week, to be exact. I can honestly say, that it’s been fantastic. I lost 12 pounds of stubborn post-pregnancy poundage in just this one week. I love it, and I feel amazing!

So if you’re thinking of going veggie, here is a fantastic download my sister-in-law sent me. It’s really great information for beginners. I hope you’ll find it as inspiring as I did!

http://www.vegetariantimes.com/2007/pdf/vegetarian_starter_kit.pdf

If you have any issues/questions that come up for you about being vegetarian, please post them. If I can’t help, I’m sure somebody can!

Take care,
Tiffany
Personal Alchemy

Originally posted 2008-03-16 03:45:52. Republished by Old Post Promoter

Benefits of tea

There’s nothing like a good cup of joe…… unless you’re talking about a good cup of tea! I don’t know what it is about tea, but it can be so comforting. It always reminds me to slow down and take a moment to relfect. It makes me feel like I’m caring for myself  in a healthy and unique way.

Ayurvedic teas can be wonderfully healing. It’s something I’ve often thought of adding to my product line. But until that day comes, here is a great resource for Ayurvedic teas.

Originally posted 2008-04-14 14:49:50. Republished by Old Post Promoter

Pancakes for your dosha

I love pancakes. So when I thought I could no longer have pancakes following an ayurvedic diet, I was just a tad bit upset. But then I did a little research, and found that with just a few adjustments, I could still have my favorite breakfast food! Yippeee!!!

Here are pancake recipes for each of the doshas. I should warn you that if you are looking for a “bisquix” recipe, you will be a bit disappointed. But believe it or not, there was life (and pancakes) before bisquix. Frankly, I like these much better. While these recipes won’t produce the “fluffy” pancakes so many people are used to, the flavor of these delicious breakfast goodies far outweighs the fluffy factor in my book.

Vata: Rice or wheat flour, 2 eggs, milk, 2 tbsp. ground almonds or almond extract

Pitta: Oat or rice flour, milk or soy milk, sesame seeds

Kapha: Buckwheat or soy flour, coconut milk, ground coconut

For all doshas: place 2 cups flour in a bowl, and stir in remaining ingredients in order listed, until you have a nice medium thick batter. Fry in a non-stick pan using ghee in dosha appropriate amounts.

Let me know how these turn out for you!

Namaste
Tiffany

 

 

 
Find peace and balance. Unveil your bliss with Ayurvedic bath and body products.
Personal Alchemy offers botanical bath salts, ritual massage oils, healing balms and body creams.

 ____________________________________________________

____________________________________________________
Like this blog?
Personal Alchemy now offers our blog “feed-style”!
Never miss a post by subscribing today. Simply click below.
Subscribe to Personal Alchemy Feed
____________________________________________________
Want more information on the Ayurvedic lifestyle?
Click here to sign up for our free newsletter!
____________________________________________________

Originally posted 2008-06-23 07:47:08. Republished by Old Post Promoter

Ayurvedic view of vegetarianism

Although many associate the Indian culture with being vegetarian, Ayurveda itself is not vegetarian as a whole. It does promote being vegetarian, however.

Ayurveda is first and foremost a method of healing. If your health will benefit from eating meat, then meat is what Ayurveda will prescribe within your doshic diet. However, vegetarianism is promoted for ease of digestion. There are a few moral concerns, but again, Ayurveda is a science, and doesn’t typically deal with the morality of vegetarianism. Morals are recognised and taken into account, but are not the leading force behind the recommendation.

Ayurveda does, however, encourage the awareness of our effects on the environment. Vegetarianism is definitely the more sustainable route to take. It is said that, if everyone in this world was vegetarian, no one would go hungry. Most of all grain crops grown here in the USA, will go to being animal feed, instead of feeding our hungry people!

Did you know that vegetarianism increases your health by decreasing your risk of cancer, and heart disease?

I do miss eating meat. But with all the obvious health benefits, I’ll put in my vote for vegetarianism.

 I’d love to hear your reasons for being veggie!

 

Originally posted 2008-04-01 00:06:35. Republished by Old Post Promoter

Mangosteen

Lately, I’ve been noticing an “up and coming” fruit that seems to be gaining popularity, and thought I would look into it. It’s called Mangosteen.

The Latin name of the mangosteen is Garcinia mangostana L. The genus Garcinia is named in honor of Laurent Garcin, a French 18th century explorer and plant collector. Linnaeus, the “L” after the species name mangostana, honored his work by naming the genus Garcinia after him.

This amazing fruit comes in many different forms, and there are numerous claims to it’s nutritional value. Personally, I’ve tried the juice called “Xango“, and it did seem to give me a lot of energy for a week or so. Then the effects wore off. But the nutritional value seemed to be very good.

If you have a Trader Joe’s in your area, I highly recommend the Trader Joe’s brand “Freeze dried tropical Mangosteen”. They freeze dry the pit along with the fruit. Boy are they good! (And no added sugar, just the fruit!)

These little treats will fit in nicely with the Ayurvedic diet and lifestyle. They are easy on the digestion, and make a wonderfully natural, sweet snack. Give them a try and let me know how you like them!

Namaste
Tiffany

Find peace and balance. Unveil your bliss with Ayurvedic bath and body products. Personal Alchemy offers botanical bath salts, ritual massage oils, healing balms and body creams.
 ____________________________________________________

____________________________________________________
Like this blog?
Personal Alchemy now offers our blog “feed-style”!
Never miss a post by subscribing today. Simply click below.
Subscribe to Personal Alchemy Feed
____________________________________________________

Originally posted 2008-07-03 18:12:42. Republished by Old Post Promoter

Make your own baby food

It always amazes me how much money people will spend on all those jars of baby food every week. Not only is the food inside those jars barely passable as food, but it’s expensive! You spend all that money, and your baby just isn’t getting the natural nutrition that regular, healthy food can provide.

Not convinced? Consider this:

• The government allows a certain amount of rat feces to be present in baby food. (you can find the legal amounts in reports at your local library)
• They boil the food to death to sterilize it, cooking out all the natural vitamins and minerals, and then add them back in with the bottled version.
• While organic baby food is better, it still goes through the same processes of manufacturing, and still as an allotment for rat feces.
• Babies tend to eat much more of the jar food simply because their little bodies are trying to get the nutrients they need. So they get more empty calories, contributing to the raise in childhood obesity.

So if that has you convinced at last, here is the solution. Make your own baby food! It’s cheap, easy, quick and healthy. Here’s what you do.

1. Steam a bag of veggies like you would for your own dinner.
2. Put them in a bowl (for hand blender) or blender.
3. Blend with enough distilled water to achieve the consistency of baby food.
4. That’s it!

If you want fruit, simply peel, and run through the blender with distilled water.

If you have a hand blender, the cleanup is even easier. If you really want to go the healthier route, try buying organic fruits veggies. And if your Ayurvedic practitioner has prescribed dosha specific food for your baby, use those fruits and veggies.

It’s so easy! My son has never had the stuff out of jar. He has only had organic fruits and veggies prepared in this way.

Note:  Babies need a chance to get used to this food if they are just starting to eat, or have been eating the jarred stuff. If they make funny faces, it does NOT mean they don’t like it. It’s just their natural reaction to new flavors and textures. You know your baby doesn’t like something when he won’t open his mouth, or cries when you give him a certain food. But if he/she is only making funny faces, and continues to open their mouth for more food, then continue to give it to them. After a while, the funny faces will disappear.

Originally posted 2008-07-17 20:43:43. Republished by Old Post Promoter

Eating times for the different Doshas

 Want to know what time you should eat your largest meal?

First, find out what your dosha is. Once you know that, follow this simple guide.

Vata – Between 2am and 6am, or between 2pm and 6pm 

Pitta – Between 10am and 2pm, or between 10pm and 2pm (although, late meals are not encouraged. This should only be your largest meal if your schedule is flipped, such as if you work the grave yard shift at work.)

Kapha - Between 6am and 10am. Large meals between 6pm and 10pm are not recommended for Kaphas

_______________________________________________________________________________________

Amendment to the above post:

Hello readers. If you’ve been reading the comments about this post, you know that there is some error in what I’ve posted here. I would like to amend the above post, and give you corrected information.

The best time for ALL doshas to eat their largest meal of the day is between 12 and 1, when pitta and good digestion are at their best.

I apologize for the error, and thank my readers for the corrections.

Namaste,

Tiffany

Originally posted 2008-03-29 18:11:40. Republished by Old Post Promoter