The Yoga Diet: Foods That Burn Fat: 3 Perfect Meals

By Thérèse Baran

Each of these meals will aid in healthy digestion and keep your body energized. They all include the 6 tastes (called rasas) in Ayurveda—pungent, bitter, astringent, sweet, salty, and sour—which should be present in every meal so that your body can respond to food properly, without feeling deprived of any taste.



Breakfast:
Chai-Spiced Breakfast Bread
Applesauce helps keep all doshas in balance and is a cooling food--ideal for the summertime. The bitter and astringent spices and chai tea in this recipe keep sweet-sensitive Kapha from over-stimulation. Cardamom and cinnamon pacify all doshas.

1 ¼    cups whole wheat pastry flour
¾    cup turbinado sugar (natural cane sugar) (Kapha: Substitute date sugar)
1    tsp baking powder   
½    tsp baking soda
½    tsp salt
½    tsp nutmeg (Pitta: Omit nutmeg and use 1 ½ tsp cinnamon.)     
1    tsp cinnamon
½    tsp cardamom   
1    egg (Pitta: Use two egg whites)
½    cup applesauce
¼    cup brewed chai tea (at room temperature, made with 2 tea bags)
¼    cup olive or sunflower oil (Kapha: Use canola or sunflower oil.)_
1    tsp vanilla (Kapha: Reduce vanilla to ¾  tsp.) (Pitta: Reduce vanilla to ¾ tsp.)
¾     cup raisins (Pitta: Soak raisins in chai tea before adding to batter.) (Vata: Swap raisins for ½ cup walnuts.)

Makes 1 loaf

1. Preheat oven to 350ºF. Lightly oil 8"x4" or 9"x5" loaf pan.

2. Mix flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, nutmeg, cinnamon, and cardamom in large bowl.

3. Whisk egg, applesauce, chai tea, oil, and vanilla in small bowl. Add mixture to bowl with dry ingredients and mix until just combined. Fold in raisins.

4. Pour batter into prepared loaf pan. Bake at 350ºF for 45-55 minutes, or until a wooden pick inserted into center comes out clean.

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