The spring has turned into summer. We know this because the leaves in the trees have grown into full size.  Who would have thought we experience three seasons during the lockdown? The start of the lockdown coincided with the start of the annual growth season. Plenty of time in our hands me and my family decided to dedicate our lockdown time for full observation of how nature opens up to life and what it provides for nourishment in our confined world. Without sharing the whole story of our lockdown, I am going to choose one of the most impressive findings by our experience and that is how much we have benefitted from eating nettles.

Nettles come out in full force in spring and provide the most important organic substance on earth, the green coloured chlorophyll. Known for its health benefits, especially for its detoxifying properties, chlorophyll is everywhere in nature in spring, not only in nettles.  But before anything its first task is converting sunlight into a form of energy that can be consumed and benefitted by animals. So far it has been known that animals cannot capture sunlight for energy directly by being exposed to it, like plants do. However, new research shows how this is actually not true. We can capture sun’s energy directly from its rays, by eating chlorophyll.  Mind-blowing to me! Not only it is now shown to be possible for us to get energy by just being outdoors, but chlorophyll also provides a sunscreen, making the skin more adaptable to the sun’s radiation.

Why am I so blown out of my mind for this? It is because this is yet another beautiful testimony of Mother Nature’s wisely planned seasonal pattern, which not only provides us what we need at any specific time but it also prepares us to the following season. In spring the body has an urge to detoxify out of winter’s stagnation, clear the blood and especially the liver and for this we need plenty of energy! The spring clean is not simply anecdotal but an actual physiological need in order to stay healthy in spring. It prepares us for the summer when liver has to be strong to cope with the heat and the increased amount of sugar coming from the summer harvest. Most interestingly, the skin will need to be able to cope with higher amounts of sunlight. As if by magic, eating enough chlorophyll can prepare the skin for better protection.

Leafy greens from gardens and forests all do the same job, not just nettles. We just have nettles in abundance around us. I collected the new fresh tender leaves and added them to anywhere I could. My daughter has eaten plentiful of nettle pancakes for breakfast and not only do they taste amazing, but also helped her to clear her skin blood and liver and give relief from eczema that tends to get worse every spring. Not this time! The recipe is from my dear grandmother who’s name Ilmi Rauha can be directly translated as “Total Peace”, often in direct contradiction with her endearingly exuberant nature. To me she was peaceful most of the times and my first inspiration in herbalism. I am grateful to her for many things especially for the chlorophyll filled nettle pancakes that have provided us so much joy and amazement. Having had only two half days of rain this spring, we are more tanned than ever, have not used any sunscreens and have had no sunburns at all. We also made a commitment to have only one proper meal a day during the lockdown and we’ve managed amazingly. I can humbly honour the power of the green magic in the nettles and other green spring foods, such as the most tasty local asparagus, that have given us the extra energy to carry on working and maintaining health during this period of global pandemic.

There is robust research showing that we should expose our skin to the sun rather than protect us from it. Seasonal living helps us to cope with the different doses by adaptation. Of course, we should be cautious if we haven’t gone through normal adaptation process in spring by for example having to be indoors most of the time, an unfortunate affair for most people having to work indoors, or stay home because of the lockdown. What we can and should do is to stay out of the hottest hours during the first part of the afternoon, protect the skin with organic cold pressed coconut oil before and after and, of course, keep eating plenty of leafy greens. Nettles (spinach and any other greens) are always around, just pick up the most tender top leaves and leave the hardy ones alone.

Savoury nettle pancakes

I rarely use measures so I am guesstimating here how much I use flour. Also, the amount of nettles can vary to your preference.

Midsized bowl of fresh tender nettle leaves (you can also use spinach)

Organic cold pressed coconut oil / organic ghee

¾ -1 cup Khorasan or spelt flour (but feel free to use any flour of your choice)

2 organic eggs

400ml organic milk (I prefer either almond or goat’s milk)

½ tsp natural salt

1 tsp raw sugar

(Choice of black or green pepper, chilli, garlic, cumin etc. Your choice!)

Wash the nettle leaves and wilt them quickly in ghee or coconut oil. Grind to smooth in mixer, add together with all the other ingredients (I use a Nutribullet) and leave for ½ h or more for the flour to thicken (I often make this in the evening and leave overnight so I can use less flour). Melt coconut oil or ghee for frying in a pan to make 3mm thick pancakes baked on both sides. Sugar in the batter should create beautiful crispy edges.

Enjoy the pancakes on their own or garnish with anything you like. My daughter likes them with butter or ghee and without any spices. I sometimes make these as our main meal, spice them more interesting and fill them in with e.g. mushrooms, cheese or other cooked and spiced veggies. The world is your versatile nettle pancake!

(Note for vegans, try chickpea water if you know the technique. I haven’t tried but am tempted. If you manage, do share your experience with me!)

The post Green Magic – The Power of Chlorophyll appeared first on Jivita Ayurveda.

The recommendations of daily routines reflect our need to maintain synchronicity between the cosmic clocks and our biological body clocks. The rotational movements of the Earth around itself and around the Sun create the cosmic clocks. Our body clocks and related gene activity have developed over our time of our existence on Earth to make sure we feel comfortable in the changing environment.

Ayurveda has recommendation on times and rhythms of little rituals during our time of wake so that we can heal, grow and maintain our bodies at night. Timing of our activities like eating is sometimes more important that what we are eating. For example, night-time eating increases weight more than daytime eating, even if we ate the same food each time.

Correct daily routines maximise our energy efficiency and increase our metabolic flexibility. We are able to switch between fat and carb burning at opportunistic times and be slow or fast burners when needed. Efficiency and flexibility manifest their benefits especially when performance is at stake and they are equally valuable for the body and mind.

I want to share with you the two ayurvedic recommendations of daily rituals that have dramatically changed the quality of my life:

• Small intermittent fasting
• Rest after lunch / siesta

I cannot praise fasting enough. It is the fastest, easiest and cheapest way to manage nearly any health issue (there’s robust research on this). I have spent time and effort taking herbs and choosing food items for healing. I have taken yoga classes and other exercise regimes to increase energy, but nothing rivals small intermittent fasting.

My main health issues revolve around overwork on both physical and mental planes. Increased levels of inflammation are something I need to manage on a daily basis. Fortunately, it is very easy. Just skipping dinner guarantees that swelling and pain are gone by the morning. Most mornings I have breakfast. Then lunch around midday and something light at around five. This way I feed myself for eight hours and fast for sixteen. If I want to step up in intensity, I only have breakfast and lunch and nothing after. I have a window of only four hours of eating and 20 fasting. The results next morning are impressive. No hunger, high energy, no pain, no puffiness or swelling and a bright mind.

Apart from lowering inflammation fasting gives me loads of energy as it increases my ability to absorb nutrients. Energy increases even more when exercising on fasted body. Morning yoga after 16 or more hours of fasting is the best way for me to burn fat and increase growth hormone levels. They guarantee a solid reserve of energy without cravings and I control my blood sugar better.

The second most powerful way to maintain energy levels and mental focus is having a nap after lunch. I know this is not an option to many and I am privileged to be able to do it. There is nothing like a little siesta after food to perk up the mind for the afternoon and avoid the 4pm slump. The fact that we feel tired after eating is a physiological message, a craving, to go and lie down. This allows the blood to come to the stomach and deliver the enzymes for digestion. 10-15 minutes is already enough, and it is best done lying on the left side. Closing the eyes and allowing the food coma to take place is second to nothing in injecting energy into our system for the afternoon. You’ll avoid unhealthy cravings and create well broken-down material for better absorption, elimination and deep level nourishment.

The most important recommendation for routines in ayurveda is to be timely. Our bodies work in relation with the surrounding environment in all its dimensions, especially with the light and dark cycle. We are energetic beings and have a potential for storing and consuming high amounts of energy. Timing our activities correctly is what guarantees maximum performance.

If you fancy being on top of your game energetically and express creativity, even after lunch, start working out on your small intermittent fasting muscle and have a small post prandial snooze. If you feel some ayurvedic daily rituals are a bit bonkers these two routines certainly aren’t. Take these on and I tell you the gained benefits outweigh the lost ones from other rituals.

The post The Two Best Ayurvedic Energy Hacks appeared first on Jivita Ayurveda.

Is there anything that takes my fancy more than sprouts in spring? No, there isn’t, or maybe, but I cannot figure it out now. I am so excited about the first sprouting year after year. It brings such joy and delight to see life expressing itself so vitally. The transformation that goes on in these tiny pulses is extraordinary. Firstly, from hard to chew they suddenly turn nice and soft. They also become very easy to digest, even if eaten uncooked. And the last thing, which is just amazing, is that they turn from acidic to alkaline. Pulses, in their dry form are an excellent item for winter season. We need more sustenance when it is cold, but when the spring comes, we need to detox. Nature provides us exactly what we need in many forms of spring food items and the one that stands out is sprouts.

Alkaline food scrapes mucous from the gut and enhances digestive activity. The taste of sprouts is astringent, which is exactly what you need to balance the sweet, sour and salty tastes you’ve had plenty in winter. Also pungent and bitter are in vogue now and these tastes you can easily find in your kitchen spice cupboard. All sorts of leafy greens also provide these flavours and enhance the digestibility of the bulk of your food.

I am very inspired to share with you a recipe that is by all ayurvedic parameters a proper plate of seasonal food. The sprouts I’ve used can be changed, any pulses that take your fancy really. I love mung beans because they are fleshy and succulent but also chick pea sprouts are great.

1 cup Mung bean sprouts

1 cup Green lentil sprouts

1 cup of boiled beans (chick peas, black, borlotti, kidney, giant or mixed)

1 ripe avocado (healthy fats)

1 clove garlic (helps with digestion)

(1/2 small onion/leek)

1 tsp Ghee (butyric acid, the best food for gut flora)

Olive oil (good fat if raw, organic and from a dark bottle)

1 pinch Asafoetida (takes away the gassy element of beans)

Cracked black pepper (helps with digestion)

Start by heating ghee in a pan with garlic, a pinch of asafetida and some cracked black pepper. Add the beans and toss around for a few seconds only. In a separate bowl mix the sprouts and avocado cut in pieces. If you like raw onion or leek you can add a small amount to give a bit of tanginess. Mix spiced beans in, add olive oil to taste and season.

P.s. If you are worried about the amount of fats in this dish, no reason to. These are all healthy forms of fat and will be used for metabolic functions.

The post Sprouts : Spring food “par excellence” appeared first on Jivita Ayurveda.