Food and Cooking

Ayurveda places great importance on promoting healthy digestion and elimination. This is partially because, when our digestion runs smoothly, our body can put more energy towards other areas that need its attention.

In Ayurveda, digestion is about much more than what we eat—we also digest thoughts, emotions, and experiences through an important part of the body called agni, or digestive fire.

To keep our agni functioning at its best, Ayurveda recommends eating seasonally fresh fruits and vegetables, and encourages us to take the doshas (vata, pitta, and kapha) into consideration when planning meals.

• A vata-balancing diet often focuses on warm, nourishing, and grounding foods.
• By contrast, a pitta-balancing diet usually includes foods that are more energetically cooling and soothing.
• A kapha-balancing diet might incorporate more foods that are hot, invigorating, and light in nature.

For more detailed dosha-specific tips and recommendations, visit our Ayurvedic Diet guide, which details the ins and outs of Ayurveda's approach to discovering the best and most supportive foods according to one's constitution, state of balance, time of year, and more.

From savory dishes to healthful desserts, Ayurveda has meal options for just about anyone. For more inspiration, be sure to check out our master list of Ayurvedic recipes, as well as the latest recipes on the blog.

How These Blogs Can Support Your Cooking Goals

This collection of blog posts is dedicated to teaching you about Ayurvedic cooking through easy-to-follow articles and videos. Written by Ayurvedic chefs, experts from the Ayurvedic community, and passionate and experienced members of our own staff who love creating and sharing tips for easy cooking the Ayurvedic way, these blogs will help you gain a better understanding of what goes into prepping and planning meals that will best support your overall health.

These blogs will cover a wide variety of topics that are key to understanding Ayurveda's philosophy on cooking the most balancing meals for you, including:

• How to stay in balance during certain times of year with the right food choices.
• Why some food combinations are more compatible than others.
• The importance of including all six tastes (bitter, sweet, astringent, pungent, salty, and sour) in each meal when possible.
• How to prepare food ahead of time to make cooking easier and support your overall health.
• Why Ayurveda recommends against ingesting certain things that are popular in our modern culture (like ice water or leftovers!).
• How what you eat affects your immune system and other areas of the body.
• Ayurvedic perspectives on various foods and drinks (from fermented foods to honey, milk, apple cider vinegar, and coffee.)
• How your mood and attentiveness can impact the way you prepare and digest food.

We know that in today's modern world, the hustle and bustle of daily live can make cooking every day seem challenging—let alone cooking with fresh, seasonal veggies. However, by visiting this page, you're taking a huge step in learning how to plan, prep, and cook delicious Ayurvedic meals with grace and ease from your very own kitchen.