Lunch with Prem

Lunch with Love! We are what we eat; as human beings we need food for fuel to give us energy and to repair body tissues, and as yogi’s living a mindful life we should be very aware of what we are putting inside this body vehicle. Toxin build up in the body can accumulate in the joints and thus cause pain, much of these toxins are ingested through what we eat, preservatives, colourings, excess uric acid etc, being vegetarian and sticking to a natural pure diet will prolong life and give more disease resistance.
There are three types of food; sattvic – pure food, rajasic – stimulating food and tamasic – impure of rotten food.
Fruit, vegetables, grains, cows milk and butter come under sattvic food. Spices, hot substances such as chilli, fish, meat and eggs are rajasic. Rotting or overripe foods are tamasic this would also include frozen, pre-packed, processed and refined food (most food you find in the supermarket shelves!)
People’s preference to the different food types is in accordance to the level of their mind or evolution of their mind. As yogis we try to make our diet as sattvic as possible bringing calmness and purity to the mind. Sattvic foods are nourishing and soothing to the body. Rajasic foods bring restlessness to both body and mind and can cause nervous and circulatory disorders such as high blood pressure and hardening of the arteries. Tamasic food makes a person dull, lazy and diminishes his or her thinking capacity, as well as bringing a host of ailments to the body.
Recently I was trekking high up in the Himalaya, staying in teahouses where food was quite limited. I ate several things that I wouldn’t normally eat such as biscuits and packaged noodles. I felt pain in my body even only after a couple of days, my practice became clumsy and my flexibility was less, but when I returned back to my normal diet of pure natural foods the pain went and practice resumed as normal. This isn’t the first time this has been proven to myself after a little indulgence. So when preparing your food and doing your shopping, be mindful and cook with prem (love) for yourself.

Achintya Sakti Dahl

Yellow lentils rich in phosphorus
Mixed bean Dahl rich in iron
Pumpkin rich in potassium and magnesium
Cauliflower
Carrot rich in vitamin A, B1, C, calcium and iron
Grated coconut rich in Vitamin B1, B2 and phosphorus
Ground black pepper
White pepper
Turmeric

Wash the yellow lentils and mixed bean Dahl completely until the water is running clear and soak for an hour or two. Then place onto boil for about half an hour reducing the heat to simmer. Add the vegetables, ground pepper and white pepper and half a teaspoon of turmeric, leave to simmer for about another 15-20 minutes, then add a heaped tablespoon of grated coconut and simmer for another few minutes. Serve with fresh lettuce leaves sprinkled with watermelon seeds, a few sprigs of steamed asparagus, and boiled new potatoes. YUM!
"The Yogic student needs a pure, nontoxic and balanced diet for the development of the body and mind in order to reach the highest spiritual perfection." Swami VishnuDevananda
Smiling from the heart
Om Shanit :-)