Stay Healthy in the Transition to Fall

Vata season is upon us.  The characteristics of Vata - cold, light, dry, mobile, irregular and rough - can be felt in the recent drop in temperature, in the wind and swirling leaves.  This is the time to bring in more warmth, moisture, grounding and stillness to pacify or balance those qualities and keep our immunity strong.  Here are a few dietary suggestions to stay healthy in the fall season.

Let go of the raw food you might have been enjoying with  the summer's bounty, and eat more heavy, warm, cooked, and moist food.  Take our your soup and stew recipes.  Bring in more root vegetables.  I especially like all the winter squashes.  Use more oil and fat like ghee (clarified butter) in your cooking.  Eating good fat keeps you from drying out and is also good for your skin.

If you are still hooked on cold drinks, try to give them up, at least for the Fall and Winter.  Drink room temperature water and herbal teas.

Add more warming spices to your cooking like ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves.

To get you started I am recommending 2 recipes.  One is a simple butternut squash dish called "Butternut Bhaji" that we will be making in this afternoon's cooking workshop.  It is in the recipe section of this blog.

The other is a festive bread, and the recipe is below:

Debbie's Apple-Pumpkin Spice Bread

This is a good bread for the fall and holiday season, using many warming spices. This recipe makes 2 loaves.

2 c unbleached flour

1 c whole wheat pastry flour

¾ t salt

2 t baking soda

2 t cinnamon

½ to ¾ t nutmeg

¼ t allspice

¼ t ginger

1/8 t cloves

1 15 oz can organic pumpkin

¾ c vegetable oil (sunflower or coconut)

1 ¾ to 2 c raw sugar

4 large eggs, beaten lightly

2 to 3 apples, unpeeled and grated (about 2 c)

Topping (optional)

2 T unbleached flour

6 or 7 T raw sugar

2 t cinnamon

2 T unsalted butter, softened or 2 T ghee

Topping: In a small bowl, blend flour, sugar, cinnamon and butter until the mixture resembles coarse meal.

Bread: Preheat the oven to 350. Butter 2 9x5 loaf pans and lightly flour. In a large bowl sift together the flours, salt, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, allspice, and ginger. In another large bowl whisk together the pumpkin, oil, sugar, and eggs. Mix well. Then add flour mixture to the pumpkin mixture, stirring until it is well combined. Fold in the apples and divide the batter between the 2 pans.

Sprinkle the topping evenly on each loaf, and bake in the middle of the over for about 50 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Let the loaves cool in the pans on a wire rack for 30 to 45 minutes, remove them and cool completely before wrapping it.