An Ayurvedic Brunch for Dad

Father’s Day is just around the corner and if you are anything like us, it can be hard to know what to do for your Dad on his special day. This year, instead of scouring the internet for the top gifts to buy or taking Dad out to eat, how about preparing an Ayurvedic Father’s Day brunch at home? This is a fun and delicious way to introduce your father to Ayurveda and who knows, your Dad might become inspired to start incorporating this ancient healing science into his daily routine! 

There are a few things we would like to mention before you get started in the kitchen. First and foremost, please take a look at our blog post, 15 Ayurvedic Guidelines for Healthy Eating. This blog could be a good topic of discussion at brunch and these guidelines help us all to experience optimal digestion. Second, Ayurveda believes that we should eat sweet-tasting foods first because the sweet taste will digest more readily at the beginning of a meal; thus, you can begin brunch with the Spiced & Baked Apples recipe. Lastly, we would like to emphasize that the way you spice a meal is just as important as the foods that you eat. This is why we have on the menu the same three dishes for each dosha but the dishes are spiced or tweaked slightly in accordance to each dosha. We hope you enjoy preparing this meal for your dad and that this becomes a nourishing Father’s Day tradition. 

MENU:

Herbal Digestive Tea 

Spiced & Baked Apples 

Baked Avocado with Egg  

Sauteed Spring Greens

Herbal Digestive Tea

*Enjoy 30 minutes prior to serving the Baked Apples to help stimulate digestion

• Vata Recipe
• Pitta Recipe
• Kapha Recipe

Or try one of our pre-blended digestive churnas (spice blends) below:

Spiced & Baked Apples

Serves 2

*enjoy 15-30 minutes prior to serving the rest of the meal

Ingredients:

• 2 organic apples
• 1 cup apple juice
• ¼ cup raisins
• 1 tablespoon PAAVANI Golden Milk powder (this is a tridoshic spice mixture!)
• ½ lemon 
• ghee or coconut oil 
• Vata Balancing Nuts: ¼ cup chopped almonds 
• Pitta Balancing Seeds: ¼ cup sunflower seeds
• Kapha Balancing Seeds: ¼ cup pumpkin seeds

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350° F. To prepare the apples, wash and core them and place them in a 8x8 inch baking dish. Combine the raisins, golden milk powder and nuts or seeds together in a bowl. Once mixed, spoon into the center of the cored apples. Put a small spoonful of ghee or coconut oil onto the top of each apple. Pour the apple juice in the pan and squeeze the lemon juice on top of the apples. Cover and bake for 35-45 minutes. The apples should be soft when they are ready. 

*This recipe was inspired by Amadea Morningstar

Baked Avocado with Egg

Serves 2 

Ingredients:

• 2 avocados
• 4 eggs 
• Vata Balancing Spices: 3 teaspoons of our Vata Spice Blend or 1 teaspoon turmeric powder,1 teaspoon cumin powder, ½ teaspoon dry basil & ½ teaspoon Himalayan salt 
• Pitta Balancing Spices: 3 teaspoons of our Pitta Spice Blend or 1 teaspoon fennel powder, 1 teaspoon coriander powder, ½ teaspoon cumin powder & ½ teaspoon of saffron
• Kapha Balancing Spices: 3 teaspoons of our Kapha Spice Blend or 1 teaspoon black pepper powder, 1 teaspoon cumin powder, ½ teaspoon asafoetida powder & ¼ teaspoon red chili powder

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350° F. Cut avocados into halves and pit. Arrange avocados on a baking dish. Crack one egg at a time and place one egg in the center of where each avocado pit was*. Sprinkle the appropriate spice mixture on the avocados and eggs. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until the eggs are cooked to your liking. 

*Egg yolks are considered heating and pitta increasing while egg whites are considered cooling and pitta reducing. Thus, if anyone eating this dish is experiencing an imbalance in pitta dosha, you can omit the egg yolks for them and place only the egg whites from one egg in the center of where each avocado pit was. 

Sauteed Spring Greens 

Ingredients:

• 1/2 lb mixed spring greens like spinach, collard, mustard, chard & kale
• 2 heaping tablespoons of ghee or coconut oil
• Vata Balancing Spices: 1.5 teaspoon cumin seeds, 1 teaspoon asafoetida powder & ½ teaspoon Himalayan salt + 0.5 tablespoons grated, fresh ginger or try our Vata Spice Blend.
• Pitta Balancing Spices:  1.5 teaspoon fennel seeds & 1.5 teaspoon cumin seeds + a handful of fresh, chopped cilantro or try our Pitta Spice Blend.
• Kapha Balancing Spices: 1.5 teaspoon black pepper powder, 1.5 teaspoon cumin seeds, ½ teaspoon asafoetida powder & ½ teaspoon dry ginger powder or try our Kapha Spice Blend.

Directions:

Remove the stems and inner ribs of the spring greens then coarsely chop. In a skillet heat the ghee or coconut oil over moderate heat and then add the seeds (i.e. cumin seeds for vata, fennel & cumin seeds for pitta and cumin seeds for kapha). Allow the seeds to cook until they begin to make a popping sound then add the remaining powdered spices and stir. Once mixed, add the spring greens and cook until the greens begin to wilt then take off of the heat. Add the fresh grated ginger for vata balance & the handful of fresh cilantro for pitta balance. Serve alongside the baked avocados with eggs. 

Images courtesy of Carly Beaudin, RYT & Clinical Ayurvedic Specialist.