An Awaking Into Higher Consciousness

feel inspired, energetic & light - improve health & lose weight - create inner peace & well-being

Satvic Vegetarian Recipes, Articles, and Bliss Stories ideal for Health Conscious Individuals, Spiritual Seekers, Yoga Practitioners, and Meditators

Almond Banana Spread

almond banana spread makes a great snack by itself, great for breakfast, or as a spread on any kind of bread or bagel. or rolled up in a chapatti or tortilla.

1/2 cup almonds, soaked overnight and peeled
1 Tbsp water or rice milk/soy milk
1 banana, peeled
1 Tbsp honey
1/4 tsp cinnamon

grind almonds in blender with a little water or rice milk/soy milk. add banana, honey and cinnamon, and blend until smooth.
best to eat when freshly made.

Satvic and Indian Food – A Comparison

newcomers to the satvic food community often ask me "what is satvic food"? and wonder is it the same as Indian food. my clear answer to that is no. satvic food is close to traditional Indian cooking but also close to lacto-vegetarianism, vegan food, and ayurvedic cooking. yet there are differences. read here about different types of vegetarian diets.

the satvic quality is that of calmness, clarity of mind, and blissful state of being. satvic food raises our energy level and awakens us into a higher state of consciousness. therefore it is primarily consumed by meditators and spiritual seekers. health conscious individuals and yoga practicioners are also among those who increasingly enjoy a satvic diet.

following are details of satvic food in comparison to traditional Indian food.

Rice
white rice is a staple food in mostly the southern part of India. as it is hulled and the outer nutrients are removed during this process, it becomes pure starch. starch combined with water becomes sticky. i remember that as kids we used a combination of white flour/starch and water to make glue out of it to hold our art projects together - and it works. white rice does not easily move out of the body. brown rice is a healthy satvic alternative which takes a little longer to cook but has minerals available.
whole grains like wheat, barley, quinoa, etc. can be used instead of white rice as well.

Indian cooking is changing. increasingly more Indian cooks use brown rice.

Spices
are used in traditional Indian cooking and even more so in ayurvedic cooking for health purposes and to balance the dosas. traditional Indian cooking uses especially in certain regions a high amount of spicy spices. this creates restlessness in body and mind being rajasic. satvic food advocates calmness and therefore uses smaller amounts of spicy spices or only mild spices being closer to ayurvedic cooking.

Salt
is used to bring out the flavor of food and is used in copious amounts in Indian cooking. the health effect of too much salt is well-known. satvic food uses minimal amounts of salt. this may sacrifice the flavor to some extent but good health makes easily up for it.

Dairy
is commonly used in Indian cooking especially in the form of yoghurt like in lassi, yoghurt rice and paneer (Indian cheese), in sweets like rasagulla and payasam/kheer, and many more dishes. this is where the Indian diet becomes lacto-vegetarian. satvic food includes dairy but also uses rice milk and soy milk as alternatives for people who are lactose intolerant or for other personal reasons.

Pickles
are preservatives and mostly very spicy. therefore they do not qualify as satvic but tamasic (preservative) and rajasic (spicy).

Cooking Oil and Ghee
are both used in traditional Indian cooking and satvic food. i personally prefer cooking oil to ghee because i think it is healthier yet still have to do some in depth research on it. the amount of cooking oil used in satvic food is comparatively lesser.

Right Combo
an absolutely delicious traditional Indian dessert called halwa uses about equal parts of fat, sugar and flour. this combination of ingredients makes the food heavy and puts a strain on the digestive system. (it's kind of what my mother used to cook for a sunday lunch: a combination of fat and starch (flour) to make a vegetable sauce out of it. we used to call it 'mehlschwitze'. heavy to digest.) a good satvic food alternative is fresh fruit for dessert.

Cooking Methods
vada and dahi vada are both among my most favorite traditional Indian foods that i occasionally eat. they are deep fried and naturally soaked with access fat. honestly i have never deep fried anything in my life simply because i don't know what to do with the used cooking oil afterwards. one can only reuse it once if at all. then it is discarded. think about it from an environmental point of view. not a pretty picture.

other cooking methods include simmering, sauteing, and the use of a pressure cooker for both cuisines. chapattis are fried but without any fat in a non-stick pan.

Freshly Cooked
both cuisines cook everything fresh daily (satvic). though there are ready made products available at Indian and other grocery stores and some Indian cooks use leftovers and items from the freezer which are tamasic, most Indian cooks still prepare freshly cooked food every day.

Raw Food
both traditional Indian and satvic cooking have some amount of raw food as part of their menu. this can be simply a raita or a few slices of fresh cucumber and tomatoes.

Onion, Garlic, and Jalapeno Peppers
these are used in many Indian dishes but are abhorred in satvic food. they contain steroids. steroids are ok as medicine and once in a while had in small quantities but should not be eaten on a daily basis as they interfere with the energy flow. additionally satvic food also excludes mushrooms because they are fungus.

Eating with Awareness
when we are unaware we tend to overeat and eat the wrong kind of food. bringing in the light of awareness helps us to chose the right kind of food and eating slowly, chewing thoroughly with our focus on the meal devoid of any distrations like TV, computer, newspaper, or unpleasant or too much talk.

satvic food digests easily, leaves you energetic and light. it helps with the gentle flow of energy connecting all our energy centers in our body aiding in the promotion of good health and mental calmness.

satvic food can be based on any cuisine on planet earth (see misc countries under Topics in the left sidebar) applying just a few principles. it is more often cooked in India than the West simply because of its spiritual connection. yet the West is becoming increasingly more interested in this kind of cooking among health and energy conscious beings.

How to Grow Cilantro at Home

This wonderful article about Cilantro and how it is home grown is posted with written permission from Mona of Zaiqa - Modern Hyderabadi Cuisine. Thank you, Mona! I am sure lots of cilantro lovers are going to start cultivating this herb in their very own backyard.


"Cilantro, also called as Kothmir or Hara Dhaniya in Urdu language, sometimes referred as Coriander leaves, is my favorite, most quintessential culinary herb, which I love to add in most of my vegetable and meat preparations while I cook.

Growing this fragrant herb is easy. Every Indian kitchen is stocked up with coriander seeds. Just sow a few of them into soil, water a little daily to keep the soil moist. They sprout in about 10 days time. I sowed a handful seeds in railing planters, as well as in a few used yogurt boxes (which I washed throughly, and made two holes in the bottom, before adding soil and sowing) and they grew beautifully.

Cilantro blooms are the most fragrant. If you pluck a few, the strong fragrance lasts in your fingers for a long time for everybody to notice.

I sow a few coriander seeds, once every two months and fertilize them with manure, so that I have cilantro at hand whenever I need it. Place the pots outdoors in summers, and sow them indoors in pots in front of bright windows in winters.

To store cilantro, discard the tough stem ends and store the tender stems with leaves in a plastic box. Place two raw eggs in the box and cover with a tight fitting lid. The egg absorbs the excess moisture and keeps the cilantro fresh for almost 2 or 3 weeks. Discard the egg after 3 weeks of use.

Before using cilantro, wash them thoroughly in water, pat dry and use as required."

One more Satvic Curry!

Red Kidney Beans - 1cup (Soaked in water overnight)
Garbanzo Beans - 1/2 cup (Soaked in water overnight)
Tomato's - 3
Mint Leaves - 10
Dried basil leaves - 1 tsp
Cinnamon- 1/2 stick
Cardamom - 1
Cloves - 2
Ginger - 1tbsp
Bay Leaf - 1
Cumin - 1tsp
Garam masala - 2 tbsp
Chilly powder - 1tbsp
Salt
Cilantro
Oil

Cook the beans in a open pot with enough water.
Grind Tomatoes, Ginger, Fennel seeds, Cloves, Cinnamon and Mint to fine paste. Keep aside.
Heat oil in a pan, add the mustard seeds, cardamom, bay leaf. Mix the fine paste and fry till the raw smell subsides.
Add the cooked beans in to this boiling gravy and add water if it is too thick. Let it cook in slow heat for 10 mins. Add salt.
Garnish with basil and cilantro.

GUEST CONTRIBUTOR: Ann - Detroit, MI
Happy and Healthy Cooking
another yummy recipe from Ann! thank you for that lovely surprise :)

Blissful Living - Be Happy

i just want to be happy! what about you?
we all want to be happy in one way or another. we want to spend more time with friends and family or go on a long-dreamed of vacation. how about that new car or house? and it certainly would make us happy to have a better job... and, and, and, endless is the list of what makes us happy - or so we think. we go after all kinds of outer world things and imagine acquiring more, better, bigger things will finally give us this feeling of unending happiness, of blissful living.

media even tells us that the fulfillment of these desires will make us happy. have you ever thought about it? desires are literally unending! how is it possible to fulfill them all?

then how to come to a state of unending happiness or bliss?
is it even possible? great rishis/seers and sages of India tell us, yes, it is possible! then how to get there, what is the path? meditation is the path, meditation is for you. there is actually a science and art behind meditation. let's say in normal state of consciousness you experience 100 thoughts per second (TPS). when you are in meditation your TPS can drop to a much lower number like 80 or 60, or even all the way down to zero. when the TPS goes down in meditation bliss happens. at first it is only for short periods of time once in a while but then it happens more often. many times a day and then eventually... well, you may want to find out for yourself.

unending happiness, blissful living happens
sounds too simple you may think. well, there is only one way to find out: try meditation for yourself. there are umpteen numbers of meditation techniques available. the best ones are the ones you directly receive from an enlightened master/guru himself. an enlightened being, once you connect with him or her, will help your inner being in so many ways to reach the state of zero TPS, the state of pure consciousness, enlightenment because that is his only aim. and he assures us through his own body language that the bliss is there forever...

so you want to be happy, blissful? then, when are you going to start meditation?

Dried Peas Curry

Dried peas - (soak overnight in water)
Tomatoes- 1
Ginger - 1 tsp
Mustard seeds - 1tsp
Cumin- 1tsp
Channa dal - 1tbsp
Urad dal - 1tsp
Cinnamon - 1/2 stick
Red chillies -2
Basil - 1tsp
Mint - 1tsp
Shredded Coconut - 1/2 cup
Garam masala - 1tbsp
Sambar Powder- 1tbsp
Salt
Oil

Cook the peas in enough water in a pan.
Meanwhile, add oil in a pan and fry channa dal, cumin, cinnamon, urad dal, coconut, red chillies. Let it cool. Grind it to fine paste using little water.
In the same pan, add 1 tsp oil, add mustard seeds, tomatoes, masala powders, mint, basil and salt. Let it cook for 3 mins.
Mix the fine paste and tomato masala in to the cooking peas and let it cook till the peas are soft. Adjust the gravy consistency by adding water.

Goes well with roti or rice.

Enjoy sativ food and feel the energy :)

GUEST CONTRIBUTOR: Ann - Detroit, MI
Happy and Healthy Cooking
thank you, Ann, for this yummy and energy providing recipe :)