Stabilizing Your Energy with Food

I have always known how much food helps or hinders your body. I mean we hear about it all the time about the nutrients, the vitamins, the chemicals, etc. and what is good and what is not good for your body. But, for the most part, it has always gone out one ear or the other because I have never subscribed to any diets and frankly eating always seemed like something I HAD TO DO.

For most of my life, I’ve had an issue with putting on weight versus keeping off weight. If your experience has been opposite, rest assured, the scrawny have also been the target of ridicule. “Why don’t you go and eat a sandwich. Don’t turn sideways or you may disappear.” I could fill up an entire post with the comments I’ve heard for the majority of my life. As I have gotten older, it does strike me how socially it’s been OK to make fun of skinny people. Regardless, we all know how powerful words can be and our interpretation of the meaning behind them. Things like I’m not OK. I need to fix myself, etc.

I’ve always had a rather self-abusive approach towards food, and for some reason when people have talked about nutrition or health this is what I always heard – this!

I grew up in a home where my mom cooked every meal, and we sat at the table together as a family. But, food has always been an issue for me. In college, I found out about the joys of junk food and soda. I discovered all I needed was a coke, a smoke, and a smile and I was good to go. In fact, that became my college mantra although I interchanged coke with mountain dew.

Recently, I became re-engaged with the practice of Ayurveda. I had dabbled in the underlying foundation quite some time ago. But 10 years later I decided to employ the practice of Ayurveda at home. Thank goodness I have a wonderful husband who humors all of my personal experiments.

Let me tell you, it has made a noticeable difference in the way I interact with myself. My energy level stabilized which has affected my underlying emotions and the way I interact with things that come up during the day. One of the most immediate differences I experienced was when I began drinking a morning breakfast drink called Takra. My past morning routine/breakfast was coffee. I would have 4-5 cups of coffee and a glass of water. That’s it.

When we went on an ayurvedic cleanse the first thing I introduced was this drink, Takra. As soon as I drank my first glass, I immediately felt a neutralization of my morning energy. All of the frenetic morning thoughts of every little thing I had to do became transmuted as a sense of energetic stability was introduced to my body.

The recipe is super simple to make, and as the weeks have gone on, I have the timing down to taking about 15 minutes.

This recipe was taken from a great book, The Ayurveda Way: 108 Practices from the World’s Oldest Healing System for Better Sleep, Less Stress, Optimal Digestion, and More.

Takra

Serves 2

Ingredients

2 cups water
1⁄2 cup organic whole cow’s milk plain yogurt, room temperature
1⁄2 teaspoon cumin seeds, roasted and ground into powder
2 1⁄4-inch pieces fresh ginger, peeled and grated
1 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
Himalayan pink rock salt

Instructions

Boil water, then cool to room temperature. (Boiling the water makes it easier to digest.)
Place the room-temperature yogurt in a small bowl and whisk for 2 minutes.
Slowly add the water, cumin, ginger, cilantro, and rock salt to the yogurt. Continue whisking until takra is smooth and frothy, 1 to 2 minutes.

I use whole cumin seeds, roast them in a pan and then smash them with a spoon. I enjoy preparing what I need and taking it from its original form.

My morning breakfast cutting board with ingredients