Kapha is made up of earth and water and is heavy, solid and slow.
The qualities of kapha are sweet, sour and salty. If you have an excess of kapha in your system, it is important to use the opposite qualities; pungent, bitter and astringent to bring the body and mind back into balance.
Avoid sweet and heavy foods. Spices are good for reducing an excess of kapha.
Recipes to Balance Kapha
Super Greens Juice
Handful of Kale
Handful of Swiss Chard
2 stalks of celery
1 apple
Pinch of cayenne pepper
½” piece of ginger
(1 Serving)
The bitter tastes of this juice helps to reduce sugar cravings and lowers blood sugar helping with weight loss. Kapha has slow metabolism so ginger and cayenne is added to help regulate metabolism.
Put ingredients through the juicer except cayenne. Add the cayenne then dilute the juice with one third room temperature water.
Stewed Apple & Pear
2 large cooking apples
2 pears
Handful of mixed berries
1 cup of water
1 tsp cinnamon
Peel and chop fruit into small pieces, place in a small saucepan and add a cup of water. Bring to the boil and then reduce to a low heat. Add the cinnamon and simmer for 20 minutes or until the fruit is tender. Eat this delicious dish warm.
You may also like to try this recipe using just apples or pears.
Stewed apple makes a lovely sweet sauce that you can add to other dishes or include with your salads.
Spicy Kitcheri
100 basmati rice
100g split yellow mung dahl
1 pint water
1 tbsp ghee
2 tsp mustard seeds
2 tsp cumin seeds
1 green pepper (chopped finely)
1 tsp coriander
1 tsp fennel
¼ tsp chilli powder
½” piece of fresh ginger (grated)
Pinch of asafoetida
Pinch of salt
(2 Servings)
Individually wash the rice and dahl. Heat the ghee in a pan and sauté the seeds until they pop. Add the pepper and other spices. Mix well. Then add the dahl and salt and sauté for 2 minutes. Add boiling water, bring to the boil and simmer for 30 minutes or until the dahl is 2/3 cooked. Add rice and simmer for 20 minutes or until rice is cooked. Add extra water if needed.
Kale & Apple Salad
1 bunch kale, chopped
2 medium carrots, shredded
1 large, raddish, shredded
1 sweet juicy apple
Juice of 1 lemon
Small drizzle of olive oil
Sunflower seeds (2 Servings)
Mix the ingredients in a large serving bowl and serve drizzled in olive oil and sunflower seeds.