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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Lunch:
Lentil Salad With Fennel

Blanching the fennel in this recipe ensures that cooked lentils won’t be combined with a raw food (the fennel), which is harder to digest. If you have trouble with digestion, cook the fennel until tender. Because it’s cooling, fennel helps balance out the astringent lentils which could aggravate Vata if eaten regularly. In small amounts, sour ingredients like citrus can help stimulate digestion.

1     cup dried lentils (Vata: Use red lentils, if possible.)
3     large garlic cloves, chopped (Pitta: Omit garlic.)
1     bulb fennel, halved and quartered
¼     cup chopped cilantro
3    Tbsp olive oil (Kapha: Use sunflower oil.)
2-3    Tbsp fresh lemon juice (Pitta: Substitute fresh lime juice. Add ¼ tsp freshly grated ginger to dressing.)
½     tsp freshly ground black pepper (Pitta: Omit pepper.)
½    tsp honey


Makes 4 servings

1. Bring 4 cups water to a boil in saucepan. Add lentils and garlic and cook 15-20 minutes, or until lentils are just tender.
2. Bring small pot of water to a boil. Blanch fennel about 2 minutes. Remove to bowl of ice water to cool, then chop fennel.
3. Drain lentil-garlic mixture and rinse with cold water. Transfer to mixing bowl and add 1 cup chopped fennel and cilantro. Stir to combine.
4. Prepare dressing: Whisk oil, lemon juice, pepper, and honey in small bowl.
5. Toss lentil mixture with dressing in bowl. Season to taste with black pepper and serve immediately.

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Dinner:
Quick Kitchari

Combining light foods like mung beans and basmati rice turn a hearty stew into a saatvic supper, meaning you’ll benefit from increased calmness and clarity of the mind, in addition to fewer digestive troubles at night. Coriander cools and pacifies all doshas and helps counteract the heating effects of pungent onion, while turmeric (bitter) and rice (sweet) are considered the best balancing tastes for cooling you off in hot weather. Pitta and Vata types can add vegetable bouillon to the water for more flavor.


3    Tbsp olive or sunflower oil (Kapha: Use sunflower oil.) (Vata: Can substitute sesame oil.)
2    cups sliced yellow onion
2    cups carrots, sliced
1    cup mung beans (soaked at least 1 hour, in 3 cups of water), available in health food stores (Pitta: Can add vegetable bouillon to the water for more flavor.) (Vata: Can add vegetable bouillon to the water for more flavor.)
1    cup basmati rice (Pitta: Use white basmati rice.)
3/4     tsp turmeric (Vata: Reduce turmeric to ½ tsp.)
1    tsp cumin
¾    tsp coriander
1    tsp salt
1    tsp freshly ground black pepper (Pitta: Reduce black pepper to ¾ tsp.)
2    cups asparagus, cut into 1" pieces
1    can (15.5 oz) chickpeas, rinsed and drained (Vata: Omit chickpeas.)

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Makes 4 servings

1. Heat oil over medium high heat in large stockpot. Add onions and sauté about 10 minutes, or until golden. Add carrots and sauté 10 minutes to soften. Add 4 cups water, cover, and bring to a boil.

2. Add beans and rice and reduce heat to medium-low. Stir in turmeric, cumin, coriander, salt, and pepper. Simmer 30-40 minutes, stirring often. Add chopped asparagus and chickpeas 10 minutes before finished cooking. Add more water, if necessary, to prevent rice from sticking.