Sarah Jay Healing

Bieler's Broth: Liver Cleansing green soup in a glass jar

Bieler’s Broth: Liver Cleansing & Kidney Calming Soup

The soup is vegan and all vegetable-based. It is not a culinary soup, so it can be a little bland for people who are used to flavourful spicing of their soups. However, it’s tasty enough that you can eat it a few days in a row and thus super suitable for cleanses and detox diets.

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 35

Course Soup

Cuisine Cleansing

Servings 4 person

Ingredients

4 medium zuchinis
450 g string beans
2 stalks cellery chopped
1 bunch parsley chopped
4 cups water

Instructions

Place all ingredients in a large pot and bring to the boil. Skim any foam off the surface.
Lower the heat and simmer, covered.
Cook the vegetables until the are tender, about 15 minutes.
Take off the heat and then puree the soup in the pot with a hand-held blender.
Serve warm, sprinkled with a little bit of fresh parsley on top if you like.
Enjoy!

Notes

You can experiment by adding fresh kale(or other fresh, leafy greens of your choice) to your soup. For this, chop some kale and add it into the soup towards the end of your cooking time.

Keyword adrenal healing, adrenals, ayurveda, bielers, broth, detox, dosha, Liver healing, Liver-Cleansing, simple, Soup, Vegan

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fresh vegetable lentil soup with plenty of lentils and greens in a white ceramic bowl

Granny’s Hearty Lentil Soup (Vegan Style)

1 Comment December 23, 2021 jayjagger

Why Lentil Soup?

This very hearty lentil soup is straight out of my granny’s recipe book. It’s vegan, it’s tasty, it’s healthy!

From an ayurvedic perspective, legumes are essential for a healthy lifestyle and diet. Rich in protein, complex carbs and nutrients, they are a staple in any ayurvedic diet. Lentils can be included in many different recipes such as soups, salads, and even home-made veggie burgers. They also provide you with healthy energy, fiber and can reduce cholesterol. This very hearty and warming lentil soup is straight out of my grandma’s recipe book. Yes, back in the day my granny would be adding meat and butter to this recipe. So I’ve amended it to give you the updated, modern day vegan version. There’s dosha tipps & amendments suitable for your body type as always included in the sections below. Amend this dish suiting your type and I am certain it’ll soon become one of your favourite kitchen staples! Enjoy!

What about digestion ?

You have probably experienced that lentils & beans can cause the odd bout of gas (or bloating). This is why lentils (or beans) are also called the ‘musical fruit’. This is due to the naturally occuring saponins which lentils have to protect themselves against insects. Saponins form the sudsy foam on the surface of a cooking pot of beans. They prevent protein digestion resulting in stagnation and gas of the bowels. Brown lentils are slightly more difficult to digest for some (rather than red lentils or yellow lentils which are slightly easier to digest). Brown lentils are best for Pitta and Kapha. However, due to their drying quality, they may aggravate an already dry Vata dosha.

Cooking Tips to Improve Digestion

Cooking lentils with oil and digestive herbs will help improve their digestibility. Soak the lentils at least for 6 hours or overnight (as a rule of thumb you should do this with all types of lentils). Yellow mung dal and red lentils require the least amount of soaking (with only a minimum of 1 hour before cooking). Don’t add salt until after lentils are completely cooked. By adding salt at the beginning of the cooking process it will make the outside hard, increasing the cooking time. Also ensure that the lentils are completely cooked. If they are not cooked fully they may stress the digestive system. Always eat pulses with plenty of culinary herbs and spices to help digest them, for example asafoetida, ajwain and fennel. Others such as cumin, coriander and fresh ginger can also also help.

Feeling Vata: Brown lentils can be a little tricky for you to digest, cause bloating and gas and canmake a very dry Vata even drier. If you know that this is you, then you can replace the brown lentils in this recipe with red lentils. I, for example, am a Vata/Pitta type and and can tolerate brown lentils in moderation. Always ensure you soak your lentils at least for 6 hours.

Feeling Pitta: This soup works really well for you, go for it!

Feeling Kapha: This is a good meail for you. You can try adding more black pepper, some caynenne, or other warming spice such cumin, ginger, and turmeric. Adding these spices to your cooking can invigorate a sluggish kapha digestion.

Healing Recipe

Granny’s Hearty Lentil Soup

Granny’s Hearty Lentil Soup (Vegan Style)

This very hearty lentil soup is straight out of my granny's recipe book. It's vegan, it's tasty, it's healthy! Yes, back in the day my granny would be adding meat and butter to this recipe. So I've amended it to give you the updated, modern day vegan version. There's dosha tipps & amendments suitable for your body type as always included in the sections below. Amend this dish suiting your type and I am certain it'll soon become one of your favourite kitchen staples! Enjoy!

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 35

Course Main Course, Soup

Servings 4

Ingredients

8 medium potatoes diced
1.5 Litres stock ensure you use stock or stock cubes that are pure and with good quality organic herbs only. Avoid stock that has maltodextrin, sugars or extra fats added (no fats needed in a good stock powder). Also avoid all types of flavourings (natural and un-natural) as these are usually just cover-ups for different types of MSG.
250 gramm brown lentils
1 leek chopped
1 bunch parsley chopped
8 medium carrots chopped

Instructions

Add the potatoes and the chopped carrots to large cooking pot and cover in the stock and start cooking on medium heat.
Put the lentils in a seperate pot, cover with water (rule: 3 cups of water to 1 cup of lentils), and bring to the boil.
Once the lentils have boiled, reduce to medium heat and simmer for around 30 minutes until the lentils are cooked.
Once the carrots and potatoes are cooked, add the leeks and keep simmering on low to medium heat.
Once lentils are cooked, drain them off the cooking water and add them to the potato, leek and carrots mix.
Add the chopped parsley to the pot and simmer everything for another 5 minutes.
Season with salt & pepper and serve in warm bowls.
Enjoy!

Keyword ayurveda, dosha, grannys, healthy, hearty, lentils, Soup, stew, winterwarmer

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ginger and apple puree in glass jars displayed with apples

Apple & Ginger Puree – Adrenal Healing Snack

Leave a comment December 10, 2021 jayjagger

Lovely Apple Puree with a Sweet Kick

Do you like apple puree but thought it could do with a bit of a re-vamp? Then here it is! This apple puree comes with a special warming ginger kick plus deliciously added sweetness from some succulent dried medjool dates. A super healthy go-to-snack when you need that little pick me up but don’t want to grab that naughty chocolate bar. Apple puree is also a great winter-warming snack for your kids or delicious as an after dinner or lunch dessert that won’t leave you feeling guilty.

Adrenal Healing ?

This Apple Puree is not only delicious it’s also good for your Adrenals & Your happy Hormones

The combination of ingredients in this puree delivers the right balance of glucose (apple), sodium (celery) and potassium (date) that your body needs in order to prevent blood sugar dips that force your adrenals to fill in and release adrenaline. Eating the right kind of snacks every few hours helps to restore your adrenals and brings your stress hormones back into balance. Click here for more info on adrenal snacks and adrenal health.

Dates are not only packed with potassium. Dates also contain phyto-hormones that resemble oxytocin, the ‘tend and befriend hormone’. Chewing dates slowly can thus calm you down and cheer you up in stressful situations. Date sugars also contain more complex carbohydrates than other fruits. These complex carbohydrates take longer to digest. Because of this they release their energy more slowly into your body and curb your appetite longer than simple sugars.

Feeling Vata: This is a very good snack for you, feel free to eat it a few times during the day. Especially if you are very Vata or if you’re adrenals are exhausted (adrenal fatigue, etc.). If you feel very Vata you can omit the celery and replace with half a sweet potatoe (cooked). Soak your dates before cooking.

Feeling Pitta: This snack works well for you. Leave it as it is, but ensure the apple is sweet and not sour and the dates have been soaked prior to using

Feeling Kapha: Dates can aggravate an already heavy Kapha. Simply make this recipe without the dates.

Healing Recipe

Apple & Ginger Puree – Adrenal Healing Snack

Apple & Ginger Puree – Adrenal Healing Snack

Do you like apple puree but thought it could do with a bit of a re-vamp? Then here it is! This apple puree comes with a warming ginger kick and a very delicious sweetness from the added dates. A super healthy go-to-snack when you need that little pick me up but don’t want to grab that naughty chocolate bar. Apple puree is also a great winter-warming snack for your kids or delicious as an after dinner or lunch dessert that won’t leave you feeling guilty.

Prep Time 3

Cook Time 15

Course Dessert, Snack

Servings 1

Ingredients

1 medium apple chopped
1 thumb size knob of fresh ginger chopped
2 medium dates chopped
half a teapsoon of cinnamon optional
half a stalk of celery chopped
1 tsbp of maple syrup optional
2 tbsp lemon juice

Instructions

Add the chopped apple to a heavy bottom sauce-pan and turn to medium to high heat. Add one or two tablespoons of water and start cooking.
Add the chopped dates.
Add the chopped celery stalk.
Cook on medium to high heat with a lid on between 10 – 15 minutes until the apples are well cooked and a bit mushy.
Once cooked turn off the heat and let cool down for a few minutes.
Add the apples, dates & celery mix to a high-speed blender. Add the chopped ginger.
Add the lemon juice.
Blend on high-speed until you have a creamy mix.
Optional: add a spoonful of maple syrup for some added sweetness.
Optional: add half a teaspoon of cinammon.

Notes

Store in an air-tight glass jar. Keeps in the fridge for a few days.

Keyword apple, celery, dates, dessert, ginger, puree, snack, sweets

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Simple Apple & Banana Turmeric Porridge

Leave a comment December 8, 2021 jayjagger

Anti-Inflammatory Breakfast

This simple apple and banana porridge infused with turmeric provides a super healthy and anti-inflammatory breakfast to kick-start your day.

Why Turmeric?

TURMERIC is a POWERHOUSE, a plant with amazing healing and anti-inflammatory properties, and is one of the most powerful herbs on the planet today to help us humans shield from inflammation, prevent disease, and to keep our bodies strong and healthy. For a full article on what turmeric is and what it does, read on here. Turmeric is also well digested and tolerated by all three doshas. It can sometimes aggravate a very high Pitta, but you would have to take very high dosages for this to happen and a teaspoon like suggested in this recipe should be more than fine.

Why Porridge ?

Porridge is a very nourishing staple breakfast for people with sensitive bellies

A warm porridge in the morning can be a very healing and warming food, especially for people with food sensitivities. Porridge has become a staple in my breakfast repertoire and since consuming it regularly in the mornings, with a teaspoon of added linseeds, it has really improved my digestive issues. It sets me up nicely for the day, especially in autumn and winter times: it gives you this super-nice; cosy and warm feeling in your belly. Especially for Vata types what’s not to like! This porridge is also flavoured with yummy cinnamon. Cinnamon is well torleated by all three doashas, stabilizes blood sugar, reduces blood pressure and its prebiotic properties may improve gut health. For more info on Cinnamon’s benefits click here.

Always opt for Gluten-Free Porridge

I recommend always opting for gluten-free porridge oats. Oats can be cross-contaminated with gluten from the sites that they’re being processed at and only oats that especially state that they are gluten-free can claim to be free of this cross-contamination. I myself do not consume any gluten at all, as I believe gluten is a very triggering substance for most human beings today. I also have very sensitive digestion and food allergies and after swapping my standard porridge oats for gluten-free porridge oats, I realised that I could suddenly handle oats well, whereas this wasn’t the case before.

However in the rare case that you do not tolerate oats well, even when they’re gluten-free, try and opt for millet instead. You can simply cook the recipe below and use millet instead of oats. Or if you don’t tolerate millet either, chose a breakfast grain that you know you do tolerate well, as long as you make sure that it’s gluten free. For more info on gluten and other triggering foods read on here.

Feeling Vata: You can play around with other fruits for this porridge if you like, Vata does well on most sweet fruits. If you want to add dried fruits ensure you soak these overnight. For very ‘dry’ Vatas it can be a good idea to add a little linseed oil on top of your porridge when serving (not during cooking).

Feeling Pitta: Ensure the bananas are very ripe and sweet, if not you can replace the banana with sweet pears instead. Generally avoid any sour fruits. If worried about your Pitta being too high opt for half a teaspoon of turmeric or leave out completly.

Feeling Kapha: Oats are usually too heavy and can make a Kapha feel sluggish and tired. Replace the oats in this recipe with millet, buckwheat flakes or quinoa (amaranth can also be ok in moderation). You can replace the banana with pears.

Healing Recipe

Simple Apple & Banana Turmeric Porridge

Simple Apple & Banana Turmeric Porridge

A warm porridge in the morning can be a very healing and warming food, especially for people with food sensitivities. Porridge has become a staple in my breakfast repertoire and since consuming it regularly in the mornings, with a teaspoon of added linseeds, it has really improved my digestive issues. It sets me up nicely for the day, especially in autumn and winter times: it gives you this super-nice; cosy and warm feeling in your belly. Especially for Vata types what's not to like! This porridge is also flavoured with yummy cinnamon. Cinnamon is well torleated by all three doashas, stabilizes blood sugar, reduces blood pressure and its prebiotic properties may improve gut health

Prep Time 5

Cook Time 15

Course Breakfast

Servings 1

Ingredients

1 medium banana chopped
1 medium apple diced
5 tbsp porridge oats gluten-free and soaked overnight
1 tsp brown or golden linseeds (skip if doing a cleanse) soaked overnight
1 tsp turmeric powder, ground
1/2 tsp cinnamom optional

Instructions

Add the porridge oats and the linseeds (if using) to a heavy bottom sauce-pan and cover in water (just enough water to have everything just about covered)
Start cooking on medium heat, stirring frequently.
Add the chopped apple and banana.
Add the turmeric and the cinnamon (if using).
Add a pinch of salt and keep cooking for 10 – 15 minutes, stirring frequently, and until the apples are well cooked through.
Cook until you have reached a nice, creamy consistency. Add a bit more water at the time if the mix starts getting to dry and sticks to the bottom.
Take off the heat and serve.

Notes

You can sprinkle with some cinnamon and add maple or date syrup when serving to sweeten it up a bit. If not on a cleanse you can also sprinkle with nuts or seeds or try roasted coconut chips.

Keyword apple, banana, porridge, turmeric

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Vegan Borscht: Anti-Inflammatory & Liver Protecting

Leave a comment December 6, 2021 jayjagger

Vegan Borscht

This modern, vegan version of a traditional classic borscht is super flavourful, warming and brimming with anti-inflammatory properties.

What is Borscht?

Borscht! Borscht! Borscht! What’s not to like about this so very flavourful, earthy and deeply fullfilling spectactle of a soup? Traditionally made with beetroot, potatoes and some form of beef stock, borscht is a classic kitchen recipe associated with the cuisine of eastern and central Europe (especially Russia, Poland, and the Ukraine). Here we will cook a delicious vegan version of this all-time hearty favourite.

What is beetroot food for?

Beetroot is good for the liver:

They contain antioxidants, vitamin A, vitamin B-6, and iron. These compounds help protect the liver from inflammation and oxidative stress while enhancing its ability to remove toxins from the body. Beets’ juice has traditionally been used as a remedy to activate liver enzymes and to increase bile, which helps the liver’s detox function. They are also high in compounds that have been shown to reduce inflammation, protect against oxidative stress and reduce the risk of liver damage.

Beets can reduce inflammation:

Their juice contains anti-inflammatory compounds called betalains. Many studies have shown that betalains help modulate inflammatory reactions, especially in inflammatory diseases. Beetroots therefor make a great choice for people with inflammatory conditions like rheumatoid arthritis or fibromyalgia.

Beetroots can help reduce blood pressure:

Beets naturally contain large quantities of nitrates, which the body converts into nitric oxide. This compound dilates the blood vessels, which improves blood flow and lowers overall blood pressure.

Beets can help prevent anemia:

Beetroots are also rich in iron, an essential component of red blood cells. Without iron, red blood cells cannot transport oxygen around the body. People who have low iron levels can sometimes develop a condition called iron deficiency anemia. Adding sources of iron to the diet can reduce the risk of this condition.

Feeling Vata: This soup is great for you. Packed full of root vegetables to ground lofty Vata especially during winter times or whenever you feel a little out of sorts. Cabbage can be ok for Vata if cooked and not eaten too often, however if you know that cabbage gets you really gassy, then you can leave out the cabbage and cook the soup without it.

Feeling Pitta: Beetroots pacify pitta so this is a very good soup for you. If you’re feeling very Pitta leave out the garlic. Ensure you use the white and not the red onion as red onions can aggravate pitta.

Feeling Kapha: As this soup is full of root vegetables which can aggravate an already heavy Kapha, this is not the best soup for you to enjoy when your Kapha is high. A healing mung bean soup is much more pacifying for your dosha and easier for you to digest, leaving you feeling less heavy. However if you do want to enjoy a bit of beetroot goodness, than use much less of the beetroots and carrots and use more of the cabbage (can also be substituted with white cabbage). Use very little or no salt but you can add more black pepper and more of the lemon juice.

Healing Recipe

Liver Protecting & Anti-Inflammatory Beetroot Borscht