Wednesday, March 13, 2019

The Kitchari Cleanse

When Winter surrenders and the first whiffs of Spring on the breeze coax out the new shoots, and when Summer starts to fade into the icy bite of fall, I do an ayurvedic cleanse with kitchari.

This is not a cleanse of ambiguous pills, juice, maple syrup or any other severely restrictive eating plan that robs you of your executive functioning, or is really little more than eating disorder support loosely packaged as "wellness".

That sounds harsh but I am deliberately being judgemental. I have done the pills twice a day, the juice cleanse, the lemon/maple syrup/cayenne one (which was especially "cleansing" on the third day). I have starved and tortured my body in order to make it "healthier". The misguided philosophy that starving and punishing your body is going to somehow lead to wellness is crazy and dangerous. We all know it is if we are honest with ourselves.

This bi-yearly ritual is of a different philosophy. I found this a few years ago and have faithfully come back to it each change of season because it makes my body feel so good. It feels like I clean out all the summer energy and prepare for the cool weather, similarly at this time of year I sweep out all the winter energy and get ready for the new growth of Spring.

This is not a system with guaranteed results that demands obedience, or strict adherence to an impossible regimen. My boyfriend and I do this together but while I eat almost exclusively kitchari, he maintains some other snacking habits. The great thing about this is we both get the benefits, and we can do what works for us individually.

Kitchari means mixture. This one is made of mung dahl, basmati rice, and a specific blend of spices and ghee. The rice and the dahl form a complete protein so you're not starving yourself nutritionally. Because it's really easy to digest, it gives your system a break and allows your organs to do what they're designed to do, which is filter and remove toxins from your body. I eat kitchari for all meals for a few days. I add vegetables like yams and onions and brocolli, whatever my body wants. I really like to refry the leftovers with some scrambled egg for breakfast. With some plain greek yogurt and a piece of naan bread it is ultimate comfort food.

I honestly feel really calm on the inside during these days. I find my cravings for other foods subside after the first day or two, and it seems to reset my body to crave nourishment instead of sensation. I get into this head space late at night where I wander into the kitchen over and over because I want something. I never know what, but something. I can snack on every carb in the house and still not satisfy the unnamed want. Committing to kitchari for a week or so (3 to 5 days to start) seems to interrupt the pattern of want creating more want.

I'm selling this pretty hard because I do it myself and I love it, and I think you might love it too.

Here's the recipe I stole from the ayurvedic institute website if your into it:

1/2 cup basmati rice 
1 cup mung dal (split yellow) 
6 cups (approx.) water 
1/2 to 1 inch ginger root, chopped or grated 
A bit of mineral salt (1/4 tsp. or so) 
2 tsp. ghee 
1/2 tsp. coriander powder 
1/2 tsp. cumin powder 
1/2 tsp. whole cumin seeds 
1/2 tsp. mustard seeds 
1/2 tsp. turmeric powder  
Handful of fresh cilantro leaves 
1 and 1/2 cups assorted vegetables (optional)



I buy the green mung beans from Bulk Barn and soak them overnight. Then use one cup soaked beans, one cup rice and six cups of water. I also boil without the lid on, it tends to make a mess of the stovetop with the lid on.

I use a frying pan to cook the spices in the ghee. There's some great tutorials on youtube that will walk you through refining butter to make your own ghee, (it's a bit expensive to buy and a little scarce in the Comox Valley right now). When you cook the spices have a lid handy as the mustard seeds will pop when the oil is hot enough. (That part is pretty fun). I also use way more ghee than 2 tsp. Ghee is great, no need to hold back.


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