Ayurvedic 101 and a Kitchiri cleanse???

I went and saw an Ayurvedic Health Consultant (Chopra trained) on Friday.  We discussed my dosha being Pitta-Kapha and my Vata and Kapha imbalance...

So what does that mean???

http://www.ayurveda.ie/html/ayurveda_vatapittakapha.htm has a great summary below and also a great short quiz to find out what your primary dosha(s) is/are.  I am Pitta-Kapha by nature but my Vata and Kapha are out of wack right now.

Vata	Pitta	Kapha
When in balance Vibrant, lively, enthusiastic, clear and alert mind, flexible,exhilarated, imaginative, sensitive, talkative, quick to respond	When in balance Warm, loving, contented, enjoys challenges, strong digestion, lustrous complexion, good concentration, articulate and precise speech, courageous, bold, sharp wit, intellectual	When in balance Affectionate, compassionate, forgiving emotionally steady, relaxed, slow, methodical, good memory, good stamina, stability, natural resistance to sickness
When out of balance Restless, unsettled, light interrupted sleep tendency to over- exert, fatigued, constipated, anxious, worried, underweight	When out of balance Demanding, perfectionist, tendency towards frustration, anger, tendency towards skin rashes, irritable and impatient, prematurely grey hair or early hair loss	When out of balance Complacent, dull, oily skin, allergies slow digestion, lethargic, possessive, over attached, tendency to oversleep, overweight
What aggravates Vata  irregular routine, staying up late, irregular meals, cold, dry weather, excessive mental work, too much bitter, astringent or pungent food, traveling, injury	What aggravates Pitta excessive heat or exposure to the sun, alcohol, smoking, time pressure, deadlines, excessive activity, too much spicy, sour or salty food, skipping meals	What aggravates Kapha excessive rest and oversleeping, overeating, insufficient exercise, too little variety in life, heavy, unctuous foods, too much sweet, sour or salty food, cold, wet weather

So what to do about it? 
I have committed to doing several things...
1) Adding green drops, in my case chlorophyll, because it is gluten free to a glass of water that I will drink first thing in the morning - I have been doing this for 2 days so far - it doesn't have any taste so this is easy to do.
2) Move to a simplified diet with lightly cooked/steamed fruit and veggies to ease digestion - not sure about how to cook my fruit but willing to consider.  I do have several Ayurvedic cookbooks that talk about lightly cooking spinach and such so that will be easier - I think
3) Completing a 5-7 day Mono diet aka Kitchiri cleanse which I will start Friday (March 29) - more to come on that in a bit
4) Return back to simplified diet with 1 day a week doing the Kitchiri cleanse - I think it will be Saturdays just because that seems to be easier - but maybe Sunday's not sure yet...
5) No ice cold drinks - doable until it is like +30C then maybe not - but who knows if we'll even see that this summer so for now no concerns with this one - LOL
6)Journal in regards to all the supplements I take and think about stopping some of them one at a time noting any differences as there is a lot of duplication in the antioxidants and the immune support categories.

So what is KITCHIRI ??? I had to ask that question too...and this is what I learned reading multiple posts, blogs, websites...

Kitchiri is a traditional Indian food, a detox food, that from an Ayurvedic perspective nourished the 6 tastes (bitter, pungent, sweet, sour, salty and astringent) and the 5 senses (touch, taste, sound, sight and smell).

It is considered a complete food that will meet all nutritional needs during a cleanse, unlike some other cleanses such as the traditional Master Cleanse which is water, lemon juice and maple syrup.  Kichiri is said to be a great transitional food, simple to cook and easy to digest and a great food to turn to when stuck in a rut where you just don't feel like eating or when overindulgence has become the norm.

Seems simple enough - below is the recipe I will try first it is from the Chopra website...

MUNG BEAN KITCHARI

Eating legumes and rice together gives you a complete protein and a satisfying meal.

Serves 4–6

1 tablespoon ghee or olive oil (sweet)
½ teaspoon cumin seeds (pungent)
2 bay leaves (pungent)
1 teaspoon coriander (pungent, bitter)
1 teaspoon dried oregano (pungent)
½ teaspoon sea salt (salty)
1 teaspoon grated ginger (pungent, sweet)
½ teaspoon turmeric (bitter, pungent astringent)
½ cup basmati rice (sweet)
½ cup mung beans (sweet, astringent)
½ cup diced carrots (sweet, pungent)
½ cup diced celery (bitter, astringent)

1. Melt the ghee or oil in a soup pot. Add the cumin, bay leaves, coriander, oregano, salt, and ginger and stir until slightly browned.
2. Add the turmeric, rice, mung beans, and 3 cups of water. Cook for about 30 minutes.
3. Add the diced carrots and celery and cook for an additional 15 minutes.

Enjoy!

I won't be using ghee as it is dairy based, but I have oil.  I have basmati rice but had to pick up mung beans.  I honestly did not even know what they looked like so I had to ask for them at the health food store...weird little beans - I hope they taste okay???  So tomorrow night I will make up the first batch and I will post a pic and let you all know what I think of it.  I know many are thinking but isn't it Easter weekend, well yes it is, but we (the family) decided that we are going to each do our own thing this weekend which is fine by me as that means no cooking a huge dinner - which is awesome!  With this weekend being extended with Friday and Monday being STAT holidays that makes for a 4 day weekend which I think is perfect for starting a cleanse this way I don't have to worry about what may or may not occur in the first few days (digestive wise) and still go to work...see method to my madness!!! :)

Anyway stay tuned...

Namaste

Amber