One of the most important ways to incorporate Ayurveda in day-to-day life is through the food we cook and eat.
In this fast-paced world, people across the globe are rediscovering the ageless wisdom of Ayurveda for holistic well-being. By following the principles of Ayurveda, you can alone create a kitchen to nourish the body as well as soothe the mind. An Ayurvedic kitchen is not just a space for cooking; it’s basically sanctuary for balancing the nature and wellness. By creating an ayurvedic kitchen and cooking fresh food in your house, the path for wellness becomes smooth because you are taking ownership of what and how to consume foods. In this article, we will help you create your own Ayurvedic kitchen, from selecting the ingredients to mindful cooking practices.
It matters the most how you cook and where you store. So let's begin with essential utensils for your Ayurvedic kitchen. Opt for glass, copper, stainless steel or cast iron for cooking materials to reduce the toxicity from non-stick or aluminum materials. To keep the food safe, buy more pots with lids or steel lids. Depending on the number of family members, buy one pressure cooker, one or two sauté or frying pan with a lid. For easy and healthy preparation of grains, keep one rice cooker too. You can also have modern day electric pressure cooker to saute, warm and pressure cook rice and veggies. Talking about other utensils, prefer wooden or stainless steel spatula, vegetable peeler, steel spoons and a big wooden or stainless spoon for stirring the vegetables. You may also need wooden cutting board.
It's important to keep a variety of grains and legumes for simple yet healthy and inexpensive meals everyday.
Essential Spices: To get the maximum benefits of Ayurvedic cooking, here are some essential spices for your kitchen: Asafoetida (Hing), Bay leaves, Black pepper (whole & ground), Cardamom (pods, seeds & ground), Cayenne (ground), Cinnamon (sticks & ground), Cloves (whole), Coriander (seeds & ground), Cumin (seeds & ground), Fennel (seeds), Fenugreek or Methi (seeds), Ginger (ground), brown mustard seeds (whole), Nutmeg or Jayfal (ground), Saffron (threads), salt (Pink Himalayan), Turmeric (ground), and yellow mustard seeds (whole).
Essential Grains, Beans & Flours: Basmati rice (white), millet, Amaranth, Quinoa, Couscous, Glysophate-free oats (rolled), Canned beans (kidney, chickpeas, black beans), whole Mung beans, split yellow Mung Dal, Urad Dal, Lentils (green, red, black), Flour (whole wheat, chickpea, coconut, almond meal).
Powerful Nuts & Seeds: For optimal health benefits, always keep almonds, cashews, coconut (unsweetened), flax (ground), pumpkin, sunflower, sesame (black & white).
Ayurvedic Oils: Prepare your food in ayurvedic style with cold-pressed extra virgin olive, sunflower or coconut oil. You can also use ghee and avocado.
Sweeteners: Stay away from white sugar, instead use raw honey, maple syrup, coconut sugar, jaggery, and dried dates.
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You will achieve optimal wellness by consuming organically grown products free from pesticides and genetically modified ingredients. So, prefer buying locally grown fruits and vegetables. You should stay away from table salt as it is highly processed with lot of added chemicals.
At the end, we can only suggest to treat your ayurvedic kitchen as a pharmacy. So, you must include as many items as possible with diverse health benefits. It's not tough to prepare own ayurvedic kitchen. You just need to leave your old habits and slowly embrace and adapt to the Ayurvedic way.
