分类: Side Dishes

Coconut Mashed Carrots

5/28/2018

Mashed potatoes. Comfort food. Seriously one of my favorite foods. There is nothing better than a side of creamy and garlic-y mashed potatoes. And as much as I love potato as a vegetable. Although potatoes have a bad rep, one of the more unfortunate parts of the potato is that it is a nightshade. Nightshades inherently are inflammatory to the body, so the more we limit the consumption of potatoes, the better overall for our bodies.

The search was on to make a side of something creamy and delicious that elicits the same comfort food aspect of it all.

In Ayurveda, when I think of comfort, the first thing that comes to mind is something that is nourishing and grounding. All of this leads to minimizing vata. So, naturally I reached for root vegetables like carrots and sweet potatoes.

AND GUYS. This was the most delicious thing I have had in a long time. I want you guys to make this almost immediately. I kid you not it was so good. And the best part was that it took zero to no time to make this! Recipe below. Promise you're going to love this.

Ingredients:

3 tbsp avocado oil
4 carrots, peeled and cut in big chunks
2 sweet potatoes (same prep as the carrots)
2 cans coconut milk (see note in the recipe for exactly how to prep this guy)
2 tsp minced garlic
5 tsp black pepper
Handful of chopped Italian parsley
Salt to taste
Water

Directions:

In a large pot, place the oil to warm. Put in the garlic, and saute the garlic until a nice aroma comes out.
Pop in the carrots and sweet potato and cover it in the oil, and cook just a little bit.
Next, you're going to cover the veggies with just enough water so that it leaves about 2 inches of water above the vegetables. Close the pot. Turn the stove onto medium heat. Let the water come to a boil so that the vegetables can cook.
Here is my note on the coconut milk. One can you will use fully. The second can you want to use just the cream part. The easiest way to do this is to stick the can into the fridge the night before or for a few hours so that the cream and water naturally separate.
You want to make sure that you can stick a knife completely through both the carrots and sweet potatoes. Once all cooked, mash everything together. Depending on how you like it, you can leave it as chunky or creamy as you like.
After all is well and mashed, add in 1 full can of coconut milk and a 2nd can of just cream. Mix well together again. I mashed it a little bit more at this point as well.
Finally, I added in the parsley, black pepper, and salt for taste. One final mix, and voila! You have the most amazing mashed carrots and sweet potatoes you can imagine.

I hope you enjoy this as much as I did! Bon apetit!

I topped it with some rice and lentils for some heartiness.

Paired with some walnuts and arugula--you can't go wrong!

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Sesame Cilantro Chutney

1/14/2018

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Over the holidays, my husband and I took a trip to India. While I love being there, it's always so incredibly great to get back home, be able to sleep on your own bed, and shower in your own shower.

One of my favorite things about India (which you can probably guess), is the FOOD! The flavors and freshness of everything is second to none. To call it indulging when I'm over there is a serious understatement. So, as delicious as everything is while there, it's always nice to reset when I get back home and get my eating habits back in order.

To me, a proper diet is vital for a holistic and healthy life. What better way to start off the new year, then with a good healthy diet cleanse to reset your metabolic fire and get everything back right!

My go-to diet cleanse is based in Ayurveda. The real version is actually much more stringent then what I did. But, the idea behind everything is that if we focus on eating foods that are really easy to digest and those that don't take a lot of energy to digest, our body can use those resources to cleanse and pull toxins out from other parts of our body. I'll explain the real cleanse process in a later blog post.

The main foods for consumption during the cleanse are these: mung beans and rice. That's it. Because I didn't do a full on cleanse, I incorporated root vegetables and greens to keep fiber in my diet and to have some grounding factors after the whirlwind of a trip that naturally increases vata.

I made this chutney to have add a little bit of fresh flavor to my otherwise simple meals. But, I ended up liking it to much, I wanted to share it with all of you.

This chutney is super easy to make, and would pair well as a really nice dip, a spread on some bread, or any other way your imagination can think of!

Enjoy!

Ingredients:

1/2 cup white sesame seeds
1 cup shredded coconut (unsweetened)
3/4 bunch of cilantro
1/4 cup shredded beet greens
2 heaping teaspoons fresh grated ginger
1 tsp flax seeds
1 lime squeezed
1 tsp salt
2 tsp black pepper
water as needed

Directions:

In a cast iron pan, roast the sesame seeds and coconut until a aroma is released, and both are slightly browned.
Put all of the ingredients (including the sesame and coconut) into a blender.
Begin to blend by adding 1/4 cup water at a time.
The consistency is all dependent on how thick or thin you would enjoy it. Keep adding water until you've reached a place that you're happy with.
Taste the chutney and add any extra quantity of the items listed to fit your taste buds!

This chutney doesn't have to be used only during a cleanse. Enjoy it all-year-round!

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Coconut Mashed Carrots

Sesame Cilantro Chutney

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