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TheOne
13 March 2011, 08:29 PM
Hello, I was wondering if I could have any help building a Sattvic diet? I looked at Wikipedia but some of the things on there I do not have and cannot make economically(such as Ghee). I would really enjoy this learning experience from other members of the forum.

I think I will use this as a motivational tool for myself as well. If I get a good Sattvic diet I will "come out" to my parents as a vegan leaning vegetarian.



Note: The Sattvic diet doesn't have to be Vegan. But vegetarian staples should be there.

Note2: Please no copy pastes, I would prefer if someone who is experienced give me a good recommendation.

Adhvagat
13 March 2011, 10:38 PM
Sattvic Pizzas? :laugh:

Please forgive me. :)

Eastern Mind
14 March 2011, 07:10 AM
Vannakkam TheOne: Without knowing what your diet is now, its difficult to say much. One fairly simple switch is to increase fruit intake. One thing I did when I was working was take 3 pieces of fruit in my lunch ... every day. Sometimes I got odd stares, but I just said, "I'm a fruit." Another thing I would recommend is recording your diet for a month or so, and then purchasing a book that details ingredients. Becoming vegetarian or sattvic means more than giving up on meat. Best wishes in a transition.

Aum Namasivaya

Believer
14 March 2011, 01:05 PM
1. Use of a variety of legumes for meals, easily available from ethnic Indian grocery stores or from the 'Health Food' stores.
2. Use of a variety of vegetables for meals - available from Oriental/Asian grocers - most can be sauteed in a pan with a dash of olive oil. Occasional use of taro roots requires cooking of each slice in a pan with a bit more oil OR cutting them into french fries style pieces and deep frying them; and cooking of lotus roots requires steaming/boiling with a small amount of water, with the pan lid covered to minimize the water used, so an not to lose the nutrients.
3. Use raw veggies for snacks - red/yellow/orange bell peppers, celery etc., or a small mixed green salad, based on availability.
4. Eating more fruits, or having home made smoothies - strawberries, blueberries, summer fruits etc. along with some non-fat plain yogurt/mango pulp, in a Magic Bullet (small blender).
5. I even go for a quick cup of hot soup by thinning out V8 juice with water and microwaving it for 1.5 minutes.

Once you start looking at the possibilities, you start improvising. The best recipes are the ones you come up with yourself, not what is 'traditional' to do. Hope this can get you started in the right direction.
-
No, I don't work for the V8 or the Magic Bullet companies. :)

Adhvagat
14 March 2011, 01:07 PM
1. Use of a variety of legumes for meals, easily available from ethnic Indian grocery stores or from the 'Health Food' stores.
2. Use of a variety of vegetables for meals - available from Oriental/Asian grocers - most can be sauteed in a pan with a dash of olive oil. Occasional use of taro roots requires cooking of each slice in a pan with a bit more oil, and cooking of lotus roots requires steaming/boiling with a small amount of water, with the pan lid covered to minimize the water used, so an not to lose the nutrients.
3. Use raw veggies for snacks - red/yellow/orange bell peppers, celery etc., or a small mixed green salad, based on availability.
4. Home made smoothies - strawberries, blueberries, summer fruits etc. along with some non-fat plain yogurt/mango pulp, in a Magic Bullet (small blender).
5. I even go for a quick cup of hot soup by thinning out V8 juice with water and microwaving it for 1.5 minutes.

Once you start looking at the possibilities, you start improvising. The best recipes are the ones you come up with yourself, not what is 'traditional' to do. Hope this can get you started in the right direction.
-

Do you eat like this everyday?

You just made me realize how tamasic/rajasic my diet really is.

:(

Eastern Mind
14 March 2011, 01:18 PM
Vannakkam: Rice and Thang is fun. Use some kind of brown rice ... California short grain, Basmati, etc. Thang (a Jamaican mispronunciation of 'thing') refers to any mixture, but in this case just any vegetable. You just take what you have and saute it in not too much oil or steam from the veggies. It can be any mixture of any amount. (Use mostly those grown above ground) Then you can experiment worth a variety of spices, both eastern and western. Indian import stores are the greatest places. One thing though is sometimes you luck onto something delicious and then you can't remember what you did. :)

Aum Namasivaya

smaranam
14 March 2011, 02:18 PM
Namaste TheOne

I am not sure what exactly you are looking for, but here is a one-pot meal recipe:

http://www.hindudharmaforums.com/showpost.php?p=41983&postcount=19
Whole food sources can be found on this thread.

Eliminating all rajasic tamasic elements from the food as much as possible: onions, garlic, mushrooms, (all non-vegetarian food of course) , if possible yeast, tea, coffee, chocolate, sodas, vinegar (and anything too sour), tree sap (dinka), chillies (anything too hot), too bitter or pungent - see BG verses chap 17.

Watch for gelatin in processed foods and skip the cheeses, they have rennet. Paneer is OK, and Indian stores at least, have sliced cheese with plant rennet.

Home made chapatis, tortilla, dosas (pancakes), rotis made of wheat, millet, corn, quinoa are good choices. Numerous eggless cake and bread recipes are available. Another quick energy food is cooked wheat bulgar for sweet breakfast (like oatmeal) or savory for lunch.

I suppose you have looked thru' the vegetarianism folder here. If you need ideas for cooking veggies, there is the Sattvic AhAr thread. It is not yet complete - the lentil and sprouted legume recipes are pending. There is a thread on sweets too - laddoos cakes and halvas.

Spiritual aspirants go even further to eliminate things like specific kinds of carrots, eggplant, radish etc. I can relate to this somewhat. There are days when i do not feel like eating anything with even a bit of spice, oil etc.

After a while you will be reluctant to eat the rajasic kind of foods. Very heavy protein beans can also be rajasic.

BG 17.8: Foods dear to those in the mode of goodness increase the duration of life, purify one's existence and give strength, health, happiness and satisfaction. Such foods are juicy, fatty, wholesome, and pleasing to the heart.

BG 17.9: Foods that are too bitter, too sour, salty, hot, pungent, dry and burning are dear to those in the mode of passion. Such foods cause distress, misery and disease.

BG 17.10: Food prepared more than three hours before being eaten, food that is tasteless, decomposed and putrid, and food consisting of remnants and untouchable things is dear to those in the mode of darkness. - the exception to the three hours rule is Bhagvad-prasAd and refrigeration.

praNAm

c.smith
14 March 2011, 02:30 PM
Hari Om!

IMHO and from my own experience, the simpler and more natural the food, the more energy it has, thus more satvik. This of course as others has mentioned includes a vegetarian diet.

One of my favorites and quite easy to make is kichari. A variety of recipes for it can be found on the net, but for me the simpler the better. Natural just tastes better to me - something I've acquired over time.

Always offering my food to Lord Shiva and accepting it as prasadam makes it taste so much better too!

All the best to you in your quest!

Om Namah Sivaya!

TheOne
14 March 2011, 04:22 PM
Any suggestions how to incorporate Flax seed/ Flax oil into a sattvic diet? What about Ghee? I know Ghee should be used in moderation but with what? What would you use ghee with(besides cooking)?

This is my *rough list* you may ;) notice I enjoy food.


Four or Five Fruits(Apple, Citrus Fruits, Banana)
Whole Wheat Bread(toasted, with ghee/butter)
Whole Grain Cereal / Oatmeal / Farina
Stir Fry Sattvic Vegetables in Flax Oil
Flax Seeds
Water
Yogurt
Milk
Tea?
Peanut Butter?
Cheese
Grape JamI was wondering if any of these are not sattvic, and if so, to what degree? Are there any other products recommended to add?

Adhvagat
14 March 2011, 04:43 PM
I guess frying some samossas (or whatever preparation you prefer) in it it's enough. They taste great fried in ghee. :)

TheOne
15 March 2011, 05:56 PM
But are the food items I listed Sattvic according to Ayurvedic principles and popular interpretation?

Adhvagat
15 March 2011, 06:05 PM
It depends, peanut is a little oily and rajasic (I say this by observation).

I've heard that milk derivates are not really nice to ingest during the night time.

I think herbal tea is sattvic, agaist leaf tea that contains caffeine.

Yajvan could chime in better regarding ayurvedic principles here.

smaranam
15 March 2011, 06:23 PM
Namaste TheOne


Any suggestions how to incorporate Flax seed/ Flax oil into a sattvic diet? [QUOTE]

Certainly they can - flax seeds in cereals, while cooking rice, khichadis, wheat bulgar, barley, buckwheat... why not ?

[QUOTE]What about Ghee? I know Ghee should be used in moderation but with what? What would you use ghee with(besides cooking)?

Ghee is used as a garnish with daal and rice typically, applied to chapatis/rotis (sparingly), you can use it as garnish over all savory warm cooked food - like khichadis, plain boiled daals and steamed legumes.
Bhakti shastra says one should never offer grains without ghee (or some shortening) as naivedya to Bhagvan.

** Why did our ancients squeeze lemon over tuvar daal and rice ? Lemon (citrus) reduces the glycemic index of rice (refined carb).



This is my *rough list*
...
I was wondering if any of these are not sattvic, and if so, to what degree? Are there any other products recommended to add?

Out of this very good and healthful list,

Cheese is fermented, plus could have animal rennet. Fermented and aged cheeses are tamasic. I have already mentioned soft cheeses with plant rennet or paneer.

Grape Jam - i would not call it technically sAttvic as it would have lots of sugar (overdose) and preservatives - but a little is fine and upto you. I would not offer it to KRushNa, however.

Tea - has caffeine so if you must drink tea, i would suggest decaf herbal teas (i suppose those are the ones you meant).

I would not offer store-bought whole wheat toast to KRushNa becs of the yeast and preservatives. Other than that it is OK, but not technically sAttvic. A tortilla maker sounds like a good idea, and see the quick cooking energy grains in my last post.

Otherwise your list looks very good. Sattvic.

praNAm
Jai Shri KRushNa