Each season brings with it a different energy and a different style of interacting with our bodies. Respect it and help your body adapt to nature’s change, and you’ll celebrate the monsoons! Ignore it, and you’ll make your body vulnerable to a bunch of irritants and diseases — from common colds and skin diseases, to digestive trouble and urinary infection.
A single point of reference during monsoon is that your body’s digestion is very weak during the monsoon. Let that guide all your actions, including food decisions. When it comes to food, pick those that are easily digested. Avoid those that can carry water-borne bacteria.
Try to always eat fresh; avoid food cooked the previous day. Here are the foods to choose while planning your meal during the monsoon:
Dos
Embrace bitter! Think karela, methi, amla, arhar dal .
Go for steamed and lightly-boiled foods.
Use extra virgin olive oil, cold-pressed sunflower or sesame oils, and pure ghee.
Include light (but not raw) chutneys.
Wash your veggies extremely well.
Drink water boiled with one or more of these spices: cumin, cardamom, coriander, fennel.
Stick to whole grains, red or brown rice, millets, whole wheat.
Don’ts
Do not eat street food, stuff that’s been kept uncovered; fried/oily stuff and raw food.
Avoid sour, spicy or highly salty stuff like chips, pickles, meats, fried food.
Avoid refined oils, hydrogenated fats, sesame, mustard, almond and corn oils
Avoid potatoes, tomatoes, brinjals, capsicums, mushrooms.
Limit stuff that increases body heat. Keep your workouts light.
Stay from the spices that increase body heat and cause indigestion like red chilli, dry ginger, clove.
Stop getting angry. Stay calm, or your body will dial up the heat!
The writer is Executive Chef, tattva Gourmet Organic Kitchen.
