Summer Balancing Diet – Coconut Chutney
Amrita Ma Devi
The summer solstice is coming now and finally summer is in full flow! If like me you like to break up the year into quarters and assess what is important (My best Pitta quality is organisation skills) and where you have needs at present? The junctions can be a great time of the year to ask these questions for your health. The summer seasonal diet is worth adjusting if you suffer from overheating, irritability, inflammation, bleeding 🩸 gums, sores, haemorrhoids and loose stools often associated with high pitta individuals
Ayurveda gives us the tools to plan a head and for better care to manage the changes in the environment. If you have been told you need to follow a Pitta pacifying diet because that is your nature we need to keep pitta pacified during summer particularly through our diet, lifestyle, breathwork and mindful practises. Ayurveda teaches us how to navigate our environment and how to anchor ourself in greater harmony. As we move into summer time the sun gives us more fuel for fire which can set off a fiery pitta dosha. The best way for Pitta prakruti (nature) to find balance is to make a cleanse in Spring. For now the best you can do is include more pitta pacifying foods in your diet. To avoid overheating mind and body. And include more astringent, sweet and bitter tastes into your diet.
Here are some of my most cherished quick tips from Ayurveda to keep you from overheating this summer:
If you are a Pitta dosha or Vikruiti you need to make adjustments in your lifestyle to bring you back into balance. A Pitta balancing diet and lifestyle introduces more qualities of heavy, moist and cooling foods. That have an astringent, bitter and sweet taste. By nature, pitta is oily, sharp, hot, light, spreading, and liquid, so eating foods that neutralize these qualities are foods that are dry, mild, cooling, grounding, stabilizing, and dense—will help balance excess pitta.
Eat ripe juicy fruits like fresh berries, apples, dates, mango, papaya, melons, stone fruit, figs, cherries, avocado, coconut, dark grapes, sweet oranges, pears, sweet plums, pomegranates and pineapples. Eating freshly picked local food also means you’ll be getting fruits and vegetables when they are in season and at their highest nutritional value (pranic) and they will taste their best!
Favor sweet and bitter veggies like fennel, kale, leeks, salad lettuces, artichoke, asparagus, black olives, carrots, celery, cauliflower, cucumbers, potatoes, sprouts, squash, zucchini, and corn on the cob.
Cow, sheep and goat dairy can be used by pitta dosha, but make sure to favour fresh over-aged or soured cheeses.
Grains that are sweet and cooling for pitta are rice, oats, couscous, barley, spelt.
Herbs and spices to eat are cilantro, cardamom, cumin, dill, fennel powder, fresh ginger, mint, parsley, peppermint, saffron, vanilla, tarragon & a little turmeric goes a long way.
Oils to drizzle over salads are avocado & olive. Favor ghee, and coconut oil for cooking, baking, and sautes.
Seeds to use are sunflower and pumpkin in favor of nuts. Except for coconut which is wonderful in summer, so use it up!
Supplements to take are spirulina, aloe vera juice, amalaki, Brahmi, gotu kola, ginko and shatavari.
Here is a quick delightful summer chutney to try this summer!
Coconut Yoghurt Chutney
Ingredients
- 1/4 c blanched almonds
- 1/4 c fresh coconut
- 1/2 c coconut yogurt
- 1 handful fresh coriander leaf
- 1/4 tsp fennel seed
- 1/2 tsp fennel powder
- 1/2 tsp cumin powder
- 1/2 tsp coriander powder
- 1/2 tsp Himalayan salt
Method
1. Roast the seeds in a dry skillet for 1 minute.
2. Place all ingredients into the mini processor and blend together until well combined.
Lifestyle
In addition to dietary changes, some daily self-care routines for this season include early morning meditation, hammock napping in the afternoons, misting with sandalwood, vetiver and rose water hydrosols whilst at your desk. I favor getting that workout or walk for your exercise in early in the morning or as the sunsets in the evening. This will help you avoid overheating in the main part of the sunny daytime heat. Still enjoying quality time outdoors in the pool, river or by the sea will certainly help cool pitta.
Include mindfulness practises and pranayama to cool the heat in the body and mind. By following the breath in the left nostril – the cooling channel (Ida Nadi is the lunar nadi, and corresponds to the left-hand side of the body) For 8 breaths, and feel the shift in awareness.
In Summary
Here is my Summer routine for Pitta success:
- Set the tone of the day with early daily meditation and cooling pranayama.
- Do your cooking and meal planning in the morning when the kitchen is cool.
- Eat meals that are more liquid to avoid dehydration.
- Enjoy food with cooling properties.
- Add rose petals, cilantro, cucumber skins, mint, and lime to water for a refreshing beverage that cools you down. Cooling teas like rose, fennel, Gotu kola and hibiscus are also recommended to keep you hydrated and calm.
- Minimize inflammatory foods such as fried food, aged foods, and soured foods.
- If possible, eat all your meals outside under the stars, but avoid eating in the direct sun.
- Get outdoors, splash about, breathe, listen, smell, and let the senses unite with the vibrant nature.
- Keep tensions at a low as this causes pitta dosha to go out of balance. Cooling breathwork can be done to cool emotions.
I suggest tweaking your daily rhythm to add in all of these practices to your daily routine to see how they help you stay cool in the summer. And I really hope you enjoy the tasty benefits of my Coconut Chutney recipe, Blueberry Cheesecake (our header picture) or my Skillet Zucchini Salad recipe video.
**Fun fact drinking water in a blue vessel helps to cool Pitta dosha! Make sure you have a beautiful summer (pitta loves the beauty of nature). If you would like to find out more ways to find peace and ease this summer join us over at our Instagram or Facebook for more tips. You can also have one-to-one coaching calls to go deeper into ways which bring you back to your true health.
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