Butternut Tikka Masala

Sharing an oldie but goodie on request from my lovers of the butternut! SO GOOD.

Butternut Tikka Masala!

Ingredients

For the Squash...

• 4 cups Butternut Squash, peeled and cut into 1“ cubes (about one small/medium squash)

• 2 tbsp Farmtrue Traditional Ghee, melted

• 1 1/2 tsp Garam Masala Spice

• 1/2 tsp Himalayan Pink Salt

For the Tikka Masala...

• 1/4" Ginger Root, peeled and chopped

• 1 Serrano Chili, halved and seeded

• 2 tbsp Tomato Paste

• 2 tbsp Golden Milk Superfuel Latte Mix

• 2 tbsp Traditional Ghee

• 1 medium Onion, chopped

• 8 Roma Tomatoes, coarsely chopped

• 1 1/2 tsp Himalayan Pink Salt

• 3/4 cup canned Coconut Milk

• 1 can Chickpeas, drained and rinsed well

• 3 large handfuls of Baby Spinach

Directions

To roast the Squash:

1. Preheat the oven to 400° F.

2. Toss the squash with melted ghee, spices, and salt.

3. Transfer onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and roast for 25 minutes, until tender.

4. Broil for 2-3 minutes to brown the squash cubes.

To prepare the Tikka Masala:

1. Use a small food processor to combine the ginger, chili, Golden Milk Latte Mix, and tomato paste to make the masala; process to a paste. If your processor is too big for the job, dice everything up small and stir to combine. The sauce will be blended later.

2. In a heavy-bottomed soup pot or Dutch oven, warm the ghee over medium-high heat. Saute the onion for 2-3 minutes until it begins to brown.

3. Turn heat down to medium, add the Tikka Masala, and saute, mixing well, until the spice mixture begins to brown, about 2 minutes.

4. Add the tomatoes and salt. Bring to a simmer for 20 minutes on medium-low heat.

5. Using an immersion blender, puree the sauce until smooth.

6. Stir in chickpeas, spinach, and coconut milk.

7. Gently stir in the squash cubes.

8. Return to a simmer for 5 minutes.

9. Serve over basmati rice or with Stove-Top Naan Bread.

Use code FARMTRUEKATE15 for a discount on ghee and more from my friends at @farmtrue

Sattvic Mind

This doesn’t mean agenda and craving won’t be there! Just less compelling. 
In Ayurveda, mental wellness is patience and alertness, one is able to both accept things as they are and take necessary actions for preservation and prosperity. 
Our thoughts and desires move through the mental field, but balanced consciousness sees them for what they are, and discerns when to act and when to remain still — without angst, anxiety, or regret. 
Our Sattvic mind is an unbiased observer, not muddled by agenda or craving. 

NOW- from this place, WE ACT. Imagine how this ability to separate one’s individual will from the act- and how the likelihood of the action benefiting all beings is greater this way.  

Does this make sense? 

Letting Go

“The wise one lets go of all results whether good or bad and is focused on the action alone. Yoga is a skill in actions.” B Gita 2.47 🏋🏼‍♀️❤️ 

Reposting this ancient reminder as a follow-up to my IG live last Friday where I discussed the importance of slowing down between reaction and action during these times when everything seems to be escalating so fast. 

I'm going to keep this thread on mental wellness going this week. Please drop any Qs for another live in the comments or DM. 

Stronger In Winter

Like the trees when their leaves fall, our juices will be receding into the core now. 

This time of year the digestive fire gets stronger, as it is localized in the central furnace of the digestive core. Which means we can digest more heavy foods and burn more calories. 

Along with this localizing in the core, however, it can also be necessary to move the body a bit more than in hot weather. Got to circulate it out from the core. In Ayurveda, cold weather is the time the body is strongest and can withstand hard work and exercise. After a bit of rest and rejuvenation with the fall transition, it’ll be time to get out there and enjoy.

WINTER OUTDOOR TIME

Last paddle pic as the green dies away. It's not my fave time of year friends! I feel the cold deeply and it causes all sorts of problems that get me into vata-management mode.  

I do not let the skin or respiratory passages get dry! I use licorice, and nasya oil, and do oil massage before shower every other day.   

One of the things I'm finding is that movement is key. After a vigorous and deeply rewarding teaching yoga vocation for 20 years, I really needed to rest...for 4 years. Seriously!

In 2023 I find myself stepping out into a lot more physical activity and finding the more I move the better I feel! This is a new and wonderful thing! When the activity is outside I get mental health bonus points, for sure. 

In the cold, its trickier- even taking a walk can kind of...hurt...until I warm up. If I'm moving more to stay warm, its better. Help me brainstorm some activities (that don’t involve driving in a car to get there??) I am thinking about winter hikes with micro-spikes, cross-country skiing on the golf courses, biking in a snowsuit...what do you do in the cold? Share your winter hacks below! 

Alarm Clocks Save Your Life

My most important personal rule about sleep and screen hygiene is here! 
Don’t bring it into the bedroom! It sounds obvious to me but as a practitioner, I kept hearing people saying they needed their phone to be an Alarm clock. Then...a little scrolling, a wee bit of email...and blah. There goes the sattvic morning vibes. 
Here is a photo of my bedside table. You will see a clear space+ Nasya oil+ that strange grey box there. That’s called an “alarm clock” which is a vintage contraption historically used for waking up. 
If you don’t have one, I highly recommend getting one. It can change your life. Please leave me a note in the comments below if you get one and find it improves your dinacharya. 

Did you know I have an on-demand workshop on improving sleep?? Find it under live events. 

Bedtime

A lot of folks are talking about/ asking about sleep lately. It's that time of year as it gets darker!  

It can take some time to figure out bedtime but in a very general sense, Vata types and Vata imbalances need ~9 hours. Pitta= 7/8. Kapha ~6 

Think how much sleep you need and count back from there to set your sights on BEDTIME. 

A disciplined bedtime, when one is able, makes such a difference in manifesting the day you want to have tomorrow. Sleep is way better than anything the TV can reveal. 😌 

Did you know I have an on-demand workshop on improving sleep?? Find it under live events. 

Cultural Changes

Ayurveda texts describe the importance of shifting our diet and routines with the seasons. Still, something I keep meeting in my Ayurveda practice is the pervasive effects of changes that AREN'T due to nature. 
Culture can also be a factor in lifestyle rhythms and greatly impacts health. In some places, fall is a time of massive change in daily schedules as children and university students go “back to school” and they as well as their families are swept into a sudden shift in the demands and timetable of daily life. It is wise to take into account the effects such changes have on the system! 
If you think about it, it makes sense the digestion, sleep, or nerves might go through the ringer a bit as things are suddenly quite busy, and quite different, from how they were a week or two ago. Simplifying the diet can make things a lot smoother, as well as implementing a few touchstone routines, such as a consistent lunchtime or bedtime, to ground down the days while change is afoot. 
Consider a Fall Community Cleanse as an opportunity to establish these rhythms, with a little help from your friends. Oct 14-23. The program is open for pre-order now- commit!

How Much Exercise?

That’s interesting, isn’t it? Don’t we usually believe that we should exercise UNTIL fatigue, or we are being lazy??? 

I think the question may be whether is it the mind or the body that we are trying to “tire out” 

In Ayurveda, a state of exhaustion is not desirable at all. A busy mind can create a lot of nervous fluctuation in the body. This is best smoothed by gentle and rhythmic movement and breathing. Maybe meditation/ visualization. I made a “seasonal movement bundle” with three practices that include all of the above.

That being said, in a world where many sit at a desk most of the day, vigorous exercise may be in order- taking care to save some juice for later.  

What I'm wondering is, how many of us base our exercise choices each day on how the body feels?? Versus what we are “supposed” to do given some external idea or program. 

The middle path, and perhaps the most healing, is a combination of discipline, hard work, self-nurture, and deep rest. This takes time to develop, in my experience. And is always shifting. 

How Might Ayurveda Use Mushrooms?

More mushroom talk.

There is an ayurveda formulation for increasing sperm count that calls on a mushroom. The slimy, dense, heavy nature of the shroom can be a strong nourisher, grounder, and instigator of shukra- the vital and reproductive energy.

Serving mushrooms in damp weather however, or along with foods that promote dampness, such as cheese, is not something Ayurveda would recommend doing on the regular. Maybe sometimes, sure, especially if one is looking for an aphrodesiac.

Think of the shroom as a food to ground you, to support a vegetarian or vegan diet, and to increase sexy juices. For those seeking to elevate the consciousness in a yogic fashion, not so much.

Make sure its cooked, and with a bit of something sharp like ginger, to balance that slimyness.