I believe that our bodies contain an innate wisdom, knowing exactly what is best for us at any time, and personally I have been working to reconnect with that in myself. Busy modern lives and the stresses of working and raising a family can create a situation where we are too busy, always ‘doing’, never ‘being’ and we can become distant from our inner selves and our vast knowledge, turning to quick fixes for our solutions rather than intuition. Food is a massive part of this – the convenience meals and takeaway industries are doing more business than ever and the amount of food we throw away in our collective households runs into billions each year.
This is why I was interested in Keith Squires’ cook book: Cooking With Love. This cookbook with a difference not only provides more than 100 easy to follow recipes, it also goes into the ‘yoga’ of food. Ancient Ayurvedic principles to help us restore and maintain our body harmony, a quiz to discover your own dosha balance, and once you know this – you can eat for your own constitution. When your dosha is unbalanced, it can cause a disposition to particular physical and mental disorders. There are three doshas: Vata, Pitta and Kapha and these biological energies must be balanced for Ayurvedic health to exist.
It is a lot to take in but this is an area that interests me, so I have been studying Cooking With Love to deepen my knowledge of Ayurvedic principles. The ethos behind this book is that the way you cook the food as well as the ingredients and the method makes a massive difference in how the food turns out. Author Keith cooks at and oversees the kitchens of the Dru Yoga and Wellbeing Centres in the UK and abroad, and through the centres’ retreats, he noticed that food plays such a vital part in the experience people have whilst on retreat. For some people, it is even the main thing! So he created this book to share the recipes that his chefs use, so we can create the same dishes that the centre serves, at home for ourselves.
The holistic philosophy of the book attracted me at first, then the recipes. Here are a few of the recipes that you can find within the book:
Fresh soups such as:
Vegetable Minestrone
Butternut Squash Soup
Clean eating favourites:
Ayurvedic Carrot Salad
Quinoa Tabbouleh
Exotic dishes:
Black Urid and Sweet Potato
Spicy Potato Dish
Mojo Rojo
Twists on healthy everyday foods:
Mix Bean Chilli
Baked Sweet Potato,
Spinach Paneer
Sesame Broccoli
‘Cooking with Love‘ means just that—turning an everyday activity into something magical. It’s a really super book and the recipes are easy, delicious and healthy. The author, Keith Squires was asked what the secret is to cooking with love?
Keith says:
“Simply that the way you cook and eat is just as important as the food itself.”
“How do you make sense of all the dietary advice we receive, that is often contradictory? Ayurveda offers a logical way forward. This traditional natural healing system from India focuses on diet, lifestyle, yoga, and natural therapies, and like a compass it can give you the direction you need to take.”
In Ayurveda, there are three constitution types or ‘doshas’. Finding your unique constitution gives you a way of developing an effective food plan to bring you an abundance of health and vitality.
Ayurveda also recognises that our needs vary with our age, changing seasons and time of day. It is the original personalised medicine using everyday foods, herbs and spices in a therapeutic way which suits us.
“Health starts in your kitchen and Ayurveda helps you understand which foods and combinations will work best.”
‘Cooking with Love’ takes you on a journey through the history of food—the origins of ingredients, their fascinating stories and legends.
You will learn about nutrition and the ‘yoga’ of food.
Ancient Ayurvedic principles are explained in a refreshing and entertaining way. You can enjoy over 100 easy-to-follow recipes, as well as tips, techniques and knowledge that will change the way you think about food forever.
“Whether you love cooking already or find it a chore, I hope this book will help you rediscover the magic of food.”
You can buy Cooking With Love at Amazon. I was sent a copy of Cooking With Love to review. All opinions are my own.
Have you ever tried eating according to your own body type? I’d love to hear your experiences. Let me know in the comments!