Every year in the Vedic calendar there are two, 9 day periods of time called Navratri (one falls in the spring and one happens in the fall); both are considered to be high spiritual energy days. During these periods, yogis recommend doing extra japa practices, meditation and really just spending as much of the nine days going inward.
In addition to doing practices those nine days, I usually try to stick to a yogic fasting diet. Yogic fasting is interesting because there is a lot of eating involved. For the fast, you primarily stick to foods that are completely sattvic (pure) so that they are light for the body to digest and have little impact on the mind, but are still nourishing and satisfying to the body so that one can then focus on their practices.
The following is a list of yogic fasting foods:
VEGETABLES & FRUITS: root vegetables, carrots, spinach, opo (a specific type of Indian squash), cucumbers, lemons, limes and all fruits
DAIRY: All dairy is acceptable; milk, butter, ghee, cottage cheese, cheese, yogurt, etc, etc (just make sure it’s all rennet-free)
SEEDS/ NUTS/ FLOURS: Quinoa, buckwheat, tapioca, sesame, sunflower and all nuts
HERBS & SPICES: salt, pepper, cumin, ginger, jalepeno, cilantro, basil, oregano, thyme, cardamon, cinnamon, nutmeg
MISC: Coffee, tea, sugar, honey
So every year during this period, I like to experiment and try out new recipes. This year I created a new Quinoa Spring Salad recipe. I will definitely be making this on days even when I’m not fasting…because it’s so light, tasty and refreshing.
We will be serving this new dish tomorrow at Dhyanyoga Center’s Hanuman Jayanti Celebration. If you’re watching from a far…you can make this yourself and join in the fun via the awesome live web-streaming that they will be doing :)!
- 4 cups cooked quinoa (should be light and fluffy)
- ¾ cup carrots, diced into ¼ in. cubes
- ¾ cup cucumber, peeled and diced into ¼ in. cubes
- 3 cups spinach, washed, dried and finely chopped
- ¾ cup mint, washed, dried and finely chopped
- ¾ cup basil, washed, dried and finely chopped
- ¾ cup feta cheese, crumbled
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 – 1½ teaspoon salt or to taste
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice or to taste
- Fluff quinoa and place in a large bowl. Then add all of the above ingredients and toss lightly. ENJOY!
Vegan: omit the feta cheese and then enjoy!
Gluten-free: Totally gluten free :)!
Yogic Cooking: this is completely a sattvic meal; good for all body types. Vata body types might want to add some nuts to make it a little heavier and kapha people might want to add a little heat to help digest the feta.
This sounds great like couscous but better because it’s quinoa! I like your web site it looks good. I like how the different pages are rolling at the top but I didn’t realize I could click on them to see those pages, so I was looking around for the links. He He I may be a bit computer challenged. I like the quote at the bottom of the web page.
It’s a really great dish! I made it at a recent Yoga Retreat for about 120 ppl…and everyone LOVED it! It just tastes so refreshing because of the fresh herbs!
I am going to make this today. I remember having it at the retreat and i was skepitical but it was sooo delic. I was completely surprised. I will let all know how it turns out.
Just made the Quinoa salad using Organic Tri-color Quinoa, and it was fabulously deliciously! Radhika & I loved it!
You are so inspiring Kajal – I strongly urge you to consider having a TV show; maybe go on cable TV – an Indian cable channel or New Age channel and reach out to Yogis everywhere. You can be very charismatic once you got confident about it. Call it Kajal’s Kitchen; or maybe KISS: Kajal’s Intelligent Satvic Sensations!
Looking forward to trying more of your recipes – Sita Ram – Larry
THANK YOU, Larry!!! So glad you and Radhika made this…I’ll have to try it with the Tri-Color Quinoa :). I don’t know about a TV Show, but definitely looking forward to putting my first cookbook together :)! Keep dropping me these messages when you make something…I LOVE them!
Sita Ram!
I have always wondered about quinoa.. Thanks for letting me know this is a pseudo grain… So I can eat this in Navratri
You’re welcome Shalini! I hope you enjoy…I also have a recipe for a quinoa spinach bake that is good for navratri, too :)! Looking forward to visiting your blog!