If you find you are feeling scattered or more anxious during this vata season, it’s time to use food as medicine to calm and ground. What’s a better way to nourish your body and mind than a batch of freshly baked cookies?
The sweet taste is calming to vata dosha, and these “everyday cookies” can be enjoyed as the augmenting part of a meal (they’re also great to include in a child’s lunchbox).
Cookies can calm vata?
Ayurveda doesn’t mean you have to give up baking. And baking doesn’t mean you have to deal with the stimulating effects of refined sugar. Natural sweeteners in their whole form, like adding honey after baking or using maple syrup, are annupana, or a substance that takes the nutrients from what you’re eating deeper into your tissues. Moderate use of these types of sweeteners (served in meals with all six rasa, or tastes, present) also build ojas to support immunity and vitality – which is exactly what vata needs.
We’ve used nourishing and grounding whole wheat flour as the basis for this recipe. You can even grind your own flour for the most prana. The best part about these cookies is that we’ve added a special vata-calming ingredient: gotu kola.
Gotu kola, also known as brahmi, is a medicinal plant commonly used in Ayurvedic herbal formulations to calm the nervous system and support an even flow of energy in the body and brain. With each bite, you’ll see how delicious it is to use food as medicine.
Managing your energy in the kitchen
The state your mind is in before you start to prepare food will be present in the final product. This is a key concept we teach in our Ayurvedic chef training and it is the reason the food we cook at Hale Pule tastes so good. Be present as you prepare this recipe. Take a few slow, deep breaths or say a short prayer before you begin. Pull out all the ingredients and equipment you need and review your recipe one more time before you begin. Go inside and turn away from distractions and let this time in the kitchen be a meditation and notice as you eat the cookies.
Calming cookies
Augmenting
Makes 12 cookies
Preparation time: 25 minutes
You’ll need:
3 cups freshly ground whole wheat flour (substitute up to 1 cup with rice flour for a lighter feel)
½ tsp mineral salt
2 tbsp. maple syrup or jaggery
1 tbsp. gotu kola powder (if available)
1 tsp. cassia cinnamon
½ tsp. cardamom powder
½ tsp. nutmeg
2 tbsp. chia seeds soaked in 1 cup warm water
¾ cup chopped pecans
3 tbsp. ghee
Here’s how:
Preheat your oven to 350 F.
Add all dry ingredients to a bowl and mix well. Add the ghee and fold in the chia seeds with the soaking water. If you are using maple syrup instead of jaggery, mix it in at this time as well.
Add enough additional water to form a slightly sticky, but pliable dough. Form each cookie into a small ball and press flat onto a stainless steel or stoneware cookie sheet or glass baking dish. Bake 12 to 15 minutes or until slightly golden.
Visit our Ayurveda Lifestyle page for kitchen essentials