Vata Diet/Hypoglycemia

[shelley]

Here's a Vata-pacifying diet that supports the immune system and gives steady energy for people who tend to crash.

Getting tired and irritable due to not eating regularly means you need more complex carbohydrates, and meals that combine good proteins with oils. So...

Assuming an 8 to 5 day:

Breakfast 7:00 am:
Hot cereal. Bob's Red Mill, the one without wheat preferably, or Lundburgh's Almond Brown Rice Cereal, or a mixture of Amaranth and Quinoa.
Cook in water with a dash of seasalt. Post-cooking, use Rice Milk, butter or oil, and cinnamon or nutmeg or cardamom or ginger - or a combo - for flavoring, brown rice syrup for sweetening, or maple syrup, or crystallized fructose or stevia.

Make up a protein shake and bring it to work wtih you, along with digestive enzymes. Drink around 10:00 am.

Lunch at 12:30ish:
Morroccon Chicken soup - omit chicken, could be allergan, add extra veggies instead.
or Kichadi with plenty of veggies (can be eaten cold like a salad if it's a thick stew)
or lentil soup and/or sweet potato (they're good cold too actually).
Any Salad.

3:30 snack: banana or avocado or nuts, raisins

Dinner by 6:30, preferably earlier.
stir-fried or steamed or par-boiled veggies with a basmati/wild rice pilaf or brown rice pasta.

Can have freshly squeezed veggie juice any time, with or between meals. Should include ginger or other heat.

Can have breakfast for dinner, dinner for lunch, sweet potato for dinner, soup/salad for dinner, or dinner of all fruit if it gets late at night.

Be sure to have beets 2x week minimum.

To change to Pitta or Kapha: change grains and fruit to Kapha-Pacifying (quinoa, green apples, pears) or Pitta-Pacifying (oatmeal, apples, pears).
Pitta should add more bitter greens.

[hippiegirl]

Hi Shelley,
I am a Vata and have started an exercise program about 6 weeks ago. My goals were to tone up, lose weight and improve my overall health. Would this diet support exercise. I do three days of cardio for 35 minutes and 3 days of weights for 45 minutes. What do you think?
Thanks

[shelley]

Absolutely. A diet of complex carbs is an excellent diet for active people who work out.

[hippiegirl]

Hi,
Is white basmati rice OK? Do you have a good recipe for basmati pilaf? What could I substitute for garbanzo beans, if I have none? I want to give this eating plan a 4 week try, so any suggestions for substitutions would be helpful, so I can enjoy some variety. Thanks for all your time Shelley. Do you know of any videos that teach Bikram Yoga?
Thanks,
Hippiegirl

[shelley]

white basmati is fine! Pilaf can be made any number of ways. I thought I had a recipe in the FAQ but oops, there isn't one! I'll have to remedy that. Basically you cook it in chicken broth. Sautee a teaspoon of whole cumin seed and any other spices you wish to add in olive or coconut oil so that the spices become very aromatic and slightly brown, and add the oil/spices to the rice. Quite yummy!

Any legume will suffice - peas, aduki beans, black beans, etc.

I have yet to find a good Yoga video, and none of them do any kind of Bikram beyone maybe Salute to the Sun. Sigh. If ever I do I'll be sure to let everyone know.