Image by Benjamin Davies from Pixabay

"May I nourish myself with juices of fruits obtained from this earth. May I nourish myself with medicinal plants." ~ Yajur-Veda (c.700-300 B.C.)

"If money is lost, little is lost. If time is lost, a lot is lost, but if health is lost, everything is lost."

India is acknowledged world wide as the treasury of Ayurvedic wisdom, in which natural herbs, seed, fruits, flowers, barks and leaves are used to heal and fortify the body. For thousands of years, the use of certain sacred plants and their applications evolved into the medical science known as Ayurveda (ayur meaning "life" and veda meaning "knowlegde"). It's main objective is to prolong life without disease.

Color healing has long been a part of ancient Indian medical practices. We all know that the appreciation of food largely depends upon its appearance ... natural colors appeal to us and synthetic colors repel us. The Indian dietary color palette is not only appealing visually but also helps to stimulate health and energy. It is believed that foods contain the energy of cosmic rays that correspond to their natural color (s).

Here is a simple chart demonstrating this concept.

Foods have dominant energy colors. There is a little trick you can use to see what you need. Fashion yourself a color chart using as art medium. It doesn't have to be fancy  colored pencils and paper will do. Color section s in red, orange, yellow, green, blue and purple. If you have a pendulum and know it's positive and negative swings. then hold it over the chart for postive swings to see which food group you need for the day. Consult the chart above for suggestions.

Try this Indian recipe served with nans (unleavened bread) and  a nice fresh green salad! Happy color eating!

SESAME SEED CHUTNEY

(serves 4)

Ingredients

2 tablespoons (30ml) sunflower oil

4 tablespoons (60ml) black sesame seeds

4 tablespoons (60ml) white sesame seeds

1/2 cup (100g) unsalted peanuts

2 garlic cloves, finely chopped

1/2 cup (40g) shredded coconut

salt to taste

1 tablespoon (15ml) tamarind paste

1. Heat oil in a pan and gently fry all ingredients until brown except the salt and tamarind.

2. Mix in the salt and tamarind and grind all to  course powder in a blender.

3. Store in an airtight jar and use within 3 weeks.