Ayurvedic Kitchen: Ancient Wisdom To Balance Body Mind And Soul

Increasingly sedentary lifestyles, and the dominance of processed foods in our diets, has led to a spike in a range of diseases in recent times. Our ancestors, however, had a firm understanding of the connection between eating right and staying well. They saw Ayurveda as all that is conducive to long-term health and well-being?a balance between food, body, mind and soul.

To help make Ayurveda an integral part of your life, Sonal Chowdhary and Dr Asghar have put together a host of nutritious and wholesome recipes that take into account Ayurvedic principles even as they incorporate modern influences, international cuisines and global ingredients. Also included are the fundamentals and norms regarding doshas, cooking and seasonal routines as distilled from various classical Ayurvedic texts.

An accessible and essential cookbook for harmony and holistic health, The Ayurvedic Kitchen aims to empower you with the information you need to create energy and mindbody balance.

Sonal Chowdhary is a holistic nutrition consultant with specialisation in weight management, sports and clinical nutrition. She is a certified Ayurvedic nutrition consultant and a medical yoga therapist. She is also a certified holistic cancer coach from the Centre for Advancement in Cancer Education, Richboro, PA, US. She is an exercise prescriptionist from the American College of Sports Medicine-approved Exercise Science Academy.

She has also authored a book-Traditional Recipes for Pregnancy and Motherhood. She takes an integrative approach to wellness, and consults her clients through the online digital medium (www.sonalchowdhary. com). She has also featured as a guest speaker in various corporates and colleges as a health educator.

Dr Asghar is the founder-director of Greens Ayurveda in Azhiyur, Kerala. Greens Ayurveda is a renowned centre for Ayurveda treatment and study programmes

Dr Asghar is a graduate in Ayurvedic medicine and postgraduate in yoga therapy and considers his mission to be a spiritual one, a mere instrument of the Almighty and his blessings. The locals believe that his touch holds sacred healing qualities and his reputation has spread internationally. Patients/students from all continents flock to the centre for treatment and education in Ayurveda.

As an international consultant, he provides Ayurvedic services worldwide and travels across the globe for Ayurveda workshops and consultations.

He is also the author of two books on Ayurveda.

I first became interested in Ayurveda after the publication of my first book, Traditional Recipes for Pregnancy and Motherhood. It had various recipes based on Ayurvedic principles, something that was largely unintentional and which I realised much later when it was pointed out to me by various readers. It gave a fresh perspective to my work as a nutrition consultant. It made me more interested in traditional foods, their combinations and methods of preparation, and presented the medicinal properties of traditional foods in a clearer light. I realised that by applying the ancient Ayurvedic wisdom to my existing body of work, I could be of greater service to my clients and family.

It is truly believed that 'food is the ultimate drug', and that is why many ancient medical systems like Ayurveda incorporate as much information and guidelines on food as there are on medicine.

The traditional cuisines and food habits of a region are products of keen observation and improvisation over a long time, maybe centuries. In the Indian context, there is a lot of influence of Ayurvedic dietetics in traditional foods across regions. So much so that many of the traditional and regional dishes in India can be called Ayurvedic foods.

Book's Contents and Sample Pages