Ayurvedic Recipe: Vata Grounding Carrot Ginger Soup
Updated: 5 days ago
Food as medicine at its best. This sweet recipe has the qualities that balance Vata dosha—warm, moist, grounding and soothing.
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Ayurvedic Recipe: Vata Grounding Carrot Ginger Soup
What is Vata dosha?
Ayurveda, the science of health, describes the world as being made up of five elements, Aakash (space), Jala (water), Prithvi (earth), Teja (fire), and Vayu (air). These five elements come together to form 3 distinct humors referred to as the Doshas: Vata, Pitta, and Kapha. The Doshas, in turn, determine people’s personalities and body types. Dosha is a Sanskrit term that literally means “that which darkens,” "that which accelerates aging," because when the doshas are out of balance, it can lead to health issues and disease.
Why is Vata dosha so important and why does it need grounding?
Vata is so important because it governs movement, so Vata is behind everything. When Vata is out of balance, it becomes ungrounded. Let's look at the broad brushstrokes of how Vata may manifest.
Vata Dosha – Air + Space
Vata types tend to be thin and lanky. They are mentally and physically active and have active imaginations. Vata people are creative and often think outside the box. They tend to be easily distracted and may have weaker digestion and be prone to anxiety and constipation. In a word, it is more easily for Vata types to become ungrounded.
Vata people do best when they follow a consistent daily routine that allows them to manage their stress through mediation, pranayama breathing, or calm activities. Vata types or those with Vata conditions frequently get cold hands and feet and can benefit from maintaining a warm body temperature through eating correctly and during cold and windy times of year, keeping the head, neck, feet and hands covered and warm.
Soothing and grounding for Vata dosha. Nourishing and pleasing to the palate. Click here for more tips on balancing Vata.
This delicious recipe is perfect for fall. Here’s what you’ll need to get started:
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil or your best oil from your food program
1 cup chopped onions
3 garlic cloves, smashed
2 heaping cups chopped carrots
1½ teaspoons grated fresh ginger
3 to 4 cups vegetable broth
Sea salt and fresh black pepper
1 teaspoon maple syrup, or to taste (optional
I like to blend up sunflower seeds and add them to the soup to thicken the base
Instructions:
1. Heat the olive oil or your best oil, in a large pot over medium heat. Add the onions and a generous pinch of salt and pepper and cook until softened, stirring occasionally for about 8 minutes. Add the smashed garlic cloves (they’ll get blended later) and carrots to the pot and cook about 8 minutes more, stirring occasionally.
2. Stir in the ginger then add 3 to 4 cups of broth, depending on your desired consistency. Reduce to a simmer and cook until the carrots are soft, about 30 minutes.
3. Let cool slightly and transfer to a blender. Blend until smooth. Taste and adjust seasonings.
4. Enjoy!
Make sure your spices are fresh. For dried herbs and spices, the shelf life is about a year, although the exact length depends on the quality of the spice (how fresh was it at the time of purchase) and how the spice has been stored.
Rancid, depleted spices should be replaced. Spices are digestive herbs that helps us digest, assimilate and eliminate foods properly which, according to Ayurveda, is fundamental to good health.
Ayurvedic Recipe: Vata Grounding Carrot Ginger Soup is food as medicine.
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Veena is a Certified Ayurvedic Practitioner and meditation teacher, and monk.
She is President Emeritus and teaching faculty of the Meditation Center.
Veena fell in love with the traditional medicine used in her family’s home, learning herbal remedies at her grandmother's knee.
These childhood experiences were the seeds of a lifelong passion. For over 30 years, Veena has dedicated her life to the world’s oldest healing system: Ayurveda.
She draws on this ancient wisdom to help others find their compass to a healthy life – and support those left wanting by Western medicine.
An experienced Certified Ayurvedic Practitioner, Veena’s deep, intuitive knowledge of Ayurveda empowers her clients to reclaim their fullest, most vibrant lives –mentally, physically, and spiritually. Veena individualizes treatment plans to each person, rather than offering a one-size-fits-all approach, so it fits your life and becomes woven in your lifestyle, naturally.
Vata joined the Saumya Ayurveda pack about a year ago. At first, his Vata was quite imbalanced. He was fearful, underweight, skittish, hand shy and anxious.
I worked with him slowly to gain his trust. Letting him come to me. Once vata dosha was grounded with the help of warm, moist food with ghee on it, Vata experienced trust and fear reduced, the door was wide open.
Now Vata is thriving. He has gained weight, he is trusting of (some) people and I am honored to be one of them. He loves to be pet--and he especially loves to have his big ears massaged. Vata is an absolute joy to have on the team.