TURMERIC TUBERS

“Do you sell turmeric pieces (like shown in your YouTube video “How to use turmeric?” In the video it was explained that turmeric “powder” oxidation occurred very rapidly, and for that reason it was better to buy the pieces of turmeric that are peeled and cooled dried in your plant. Thank you, Monica R”

ANSWER: yes, that is the case, that is why we grind the turmeric roots in our facility with a hammer grinder, and only on demand, and then we vacuum pack them and recommend that people consume and not store them for long periods of time. We also recommend that you keep the ground powder in your kitchen in an air- tight container. It is not necessary to refrigerate it though. However, the turmeric tubers are also available for sale if you so desire. You will need a highly efficient grinder though, as they are tough to pulverize, and that is why we make the powder available as well.

For more information for our clients, you can watch the Turmeric Youtube video on this link: http://youtu.be/cafoiHQiwPw

 

GREEN PROTEIN RECIPE

“Hello,
Would you kindly send me the Green protein recipe as presented in this Youtube
video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fw99ChA_uXI
My wife and I would also be very grateful if you would kindly let us know the ‘brand/model’ of the blender you have used in preparing this recipe.
Thank you so much for posting this information online.
Thank you,
Sincerely,
Gaurav N.”

Dear Gaurav: the recipe is below. And the brand of the blender is Cuisinart. But nowadays, we have discovered a small very handy blender/chopped that goes by the name of Ninja and is sold for only $20 at the Target stores. It is very powerful, can blend quit a bit of quantity (enough for 6-8 people) and is quite powerful as it has 4 blades instead of 1 or 2 plus it is small and easy to clean… Hope this helps.

Green-Protein

It’s delicious, it’s quick, it’s nourishing, and kids will love it – young and old! It’s Vaidya’s magical SVA recipe, a powerhouse of protein and iron. You can use any leafy greens: baby spinach leaves, collard greens, Swiss chard, dinosaur or purple kale. Steer away from mustard greens as they tend to be a little heating and pitta aggravating. Recipe:
80% weight by weight leafy greens
20% weight by weight fresh cheese (paneer) 1/4 cup spring water
1/2 tsp Mum’s Masala
1/2 tsp Mum’s Ghee
1/4 tsp Soma Salt
Fresh Thai Chilli (optional)
Fresh ginger 2 slices (optional)
1/4 tsp Olive oil Add the ghee to your pan, along with the Mum’s Masala (and chili and ginger if you are using these). Add the paneer chunks and sauté for a couple of minutes. Remove stems (may keep some) from your greens. You can mix Swiss chard, collard greens, purple or dinosaur kale. Add also a few sprigs of flat Italian parsley (curly will also do if you can’t find the flat). Chop everything roughly. Add to your paneer pan and add some water. Cover the top and cook for only as long as it takes (depending on how much greens you put) to allow the greens to turn bright green in color). Remove from the stove and put everything into your blender. Add a little water and blend to a perfect smooth texture (you may add more water as needed). Hot water is recommended, but room temperature will also do. When you are ready to serve, squirt some fresh lime on top and mix it in. Enjoy your protein!

DEVI INCENSE

“[Do] I get the same benefits from putting the Devi Incense in one of those [electrical] aroma pots? I did htat last night and it did put a wonderful aroma in the air. I put in a little of the incense with a little water. Carol Brown”

Yes, this is a great idea. This is a good way of still getting the benefits of the Boswellia and the incense ingredients without the smoke. The heat will activate and release the properties into the air.

WHOLE WHEAT OR WHITE FLOUR?

“I’ve been hearing for many years that white wheat flour is not good for health. It’s claimed that white flour is quickly transformed into fat and increases the sugar level in the blood, while whole flour takes longer to digest and for this reason won’t create much fat and it’s better for the digestive system. I tried hard to convince my wife and kids to move to whole wheat flour. Now, [I also just heard] that whole wheat flour is not used in India and it is considered as food for animals. You know, people have the tendency of assuming that if it comes from India it’s based on Vedic knowledge. But I would like to hear from a reliable Ayurveda expert.
Do you know what is true, regarding this subject? Do you know what Vaidya Mishra thinks about it?
I’ll really appreciate if you can get the answer for this issue.
Cheers,
Marcelo”

Dear Marcello: In Vedic India or traditional not contemporary India, we always favored and used whole wheat flour. Stone-ground whole wheat flour. Whole wheat flour not only physically contains all the nutrients and micro-molecules of the bran, but it is also pranically very rich. That’s why, the complexity of the carbohydrate makes it slow on metabolism and digestion, but at the same time making it more nourishing and sustaining as well. Energetically speaking, it won’t spike your blood- sugar and then give it a dive. This is because of the slow sustaining release of the carbs. During the refining process or when it is bleached and the bran is totally removed, wheat loses its total nutritional value, the one it was endowed with by Mother Nature. In this sense, it also loses Prana. Often, bleached refined flour is favored for its cosmetic appeal, etc. but whole wheat is always preferable to use. The only time someone should avoid whole wheat flour is if the individual is gluten intolerant. In that case, I recommend incorporating quinoa into the diet.

One last but important point to remember in this context is that according to Ayurveda, refined wheat flour also tends to create constipation because it does not contain enough fibre.

CASEIN IN MILK?

“Can you please answer a question for me. I been told by some authorities that casein in milk does not get absorbed at all, and that in fact consumption of milk is one of the biggest causes of osteoporosis. I agree that regular milk from stores, homogenized and pasteurized, full of hormones, shouldn’t be consumed, but organic milk isn’t that different then? Thank you.
Alexa”

Casein (pron.: /ˈkeɪs.ɪn/ or /ˈkeɪˌsiːn/, from Latin caseus, “cheese”) is the name for a family of related phospho-proteins. These proteins are commonly found in mammalian milk, making up 80% of the proteins in cow milk and between 20% and 45% of the proteins in human milk. Casein has a wide variety of uses, from being a major component of cheese, to use as a food additive, to a binder for safety matches! As a food source, casein supplies amino acids; carbohydrates; and two inorganic elements, calcium, and phosphorus.

It is true that casein in found in milk, but if milk is organic, and consumed according to the vedic tradition, that is when it is boiled with some spices, such as clove, green cardamom, turmeric, cinnamon, and only then used or consumed, then all the casein- related heaviness goes away. The only time casein becomes problematic for digestion and absorption is if someone is really born with milk intolerance or allergies. But when the consumed milk is good, organic as you mention, not carrying additives, and preferably neither homogenized nor pasteurize, or raw as it is called, then there should be no problems. And there should be no problems at all according to the Vedic tradition, if milk is not not consumed cold, or it is not highly processed. The vedic tradition gives specific samyog (combination) and sanskar (preparation) methods to help avoid any side-effects from consuming even good milk, and in particular cow’s milk. This is because cow’s milk, rich and nourishing, is considered the most auspicious milk after mother’s milk.

Here is an SVA recipe to help you with processing all the molecules from milk.

50% organic milk
50% water
or 4oz milk to 4 oz water
add ¼ tsp Vaidya SVA Madhur Masala (a specific blend of spices to be consumed with milk and sweet available from www.chandika.com)
Boil. Bring down the room temperature and enjoy!

OR make your own blend with:
cinnamon 1 stick
cardamom 1 part
fennel 10 parts
nutmeg 1 part

Mix all of the above in a spice grinder and pulversize to a fine powder

Then add ½ tsp of this mixture to your milk and water mixture
Boil and cool down a little and sip slowly before bedtime.

Contra­indications: if you are lactose or casein intolerant, or have any disease and your medical doctor has recommended that you do not use milk, do not use this recipe. Or if you are a high kapha type individual, it is best to avoid milk altogether.

SVA ROSE PRESERVE: WHY IS IT SOUR AND THICK?

“I love the rose petal jam!! Wow, it is so intense!! Celestial ambrosia! Were I asked to tweak the recipe at all, I would decrease the as corbic acid as it gives it a little more lemony flavor than I prefer. Perhaps you need it in there for the canning process? The texture is quite thick for jam, but I like the stiffness of it since I don’t use it as jam, I eat it out of the jar for a candy treat. Mine had almost a nougat texture. It was interesting comparing it to [a competitor’s] jam, […] which I ordered last month before knowing you were making it.In case you haven’t had theirs, [it] is a darker, sweeter jam, more jam like in texture, and less pronounced in rose flavor. Theirs is also considerably less expensive than yours, I guess because you are using the rose absolute and you use more roses. FYI I mentioned your rose jam to a friend, who said she saw yours on the Chandika website but bought [the competitors’ instead] because it was so much less expensive. So you might need to do a little more of a sales job to point out the uniqueness of yours, if you are going to keep it at a price point that is more than twice that of [the competitors’]. It’s hard to know the difference online if you haven’t tried both. Thanks. Gail H.”

Dear Gail, thank you for your feedback. Ayurveda says it is always best to try to incorporate all six tastes. The common rose petal jam available on the market is not sour, rather totally sweet taste predominant. Because of its high sweet content, it can aggravate the kapha dosha. The shastra-s say: “ati yoga” or too much of any taste in long term or even short term usage is not good for health. In this case, too much sweet can result in weight gain, uneven sugar metabolism, stiffness, fatigue, etc. that’s why our rose petal Preserve has been formulated to first taste sweet, then sour, then also you will notice the astringent taste coming from the petals, and finally a little bit of the bitter after taste, and last you may also notice the very subtle salty taste… I tried to keep it balanced and delicious by incorporating all the tastes (minus the pungent).

Our preserve is thick because we have added more organic rose buds. Usually, manufacturers tend to use more sugar syrup, some rose powder, or some synthetic rose fragrance. Their preserve may smell rosy soft, look good, but you the total therapeutic value of rose will not be present. I have seen many formulators using only sugar syrup, synthetic rose color, and synthetic rose fragrance while we use organic rose buds and Rose Absolute essence – so you can understand why the SVA Rose Petal Preserve costs twice as much! We will be offering free samples to people know what we mean before having to buy it to experience it. Thank you for your feedback, we hold your words to heart.

OIL PULLING AND HIGH PITTA TYPE

“I am a hight pitta person, I learnt about sesame oil gargle from the Vaidyas in India 15 years ago. I started to gargle with sesame oil but it gave me blisters in the mouth. In your last newsletter I saw that Carak recommends the same thing, so how come it did not work for me? I have very sensitive gums and the only toothpaste that works for me, after so many trials, is your SVA HighCalcium toothpaste. I would love to resume doing Oil pulling, so which oil should I use? Amanda L.”

Yes, you are right. For high pitta people or those with high-pitta aggravation, sesame oil is not good nor recommended to use. Coconut oil is your best option. Melted coconut oil. And the SVA HighCalcium toothpaste is good for high pitta body type people or pitta aggravated people because it is rich in coral calcium and fennel. And it also takes care of common de-mineralization problems occurring in pitta predominant individuals. To find out more about high pitta type, you can watch: http://youtu.be/e8YIt0_TEH4