By: Amadea Morningstar RPP, RPE
Dr. Randolph Stone was a strong advocate of raw fresh greens, both in drinks and salads. He stated, “Any good fresh fruit or uncooked greens constitute nature’s eliminative diet.” (Health Building, p. 37). Yet he also explained, “. . .all foods should be thoroughly masticated and insalivated before swallowing to enhance digestion; and the insalivation also applies to the liquids. Liquids are taken between meals by themselves, not with meals.” (Health Building, p. 89) He suggested taking a drink like this two hours after breakfast, as a stand-alone snack. Or you could enjoy it if your blood sugar dips and appetite rises in the late afternoon.
I offer this one for readers who find they are moving too fast to eat, or are impatient with cooking. If you’ve got a blender, this is a great easy way to ingest spring greens.
COOLING COCONUT GREEN DRINK
Time: 10 minutes Makes: 1 cup
1/3 cup well-packed cilantro, finely chopped
½ – 1 teaspoon or more finely chopped fresh ginger, peeled
1 Tablespoon fresh lime juice
1 cup organic coconut water
1 teaspoon coconut sugar (optional, see Variation below)
½ cup or more dark leafy greens of your choice
Pre-pulse the cilantro, ginger and lime juice until they are as smooth as possible. Add the coconut water and coconut sugar; blend until smooth. Now it’s time to play: blend in as much of your favorite greens as you like. (With a $20 blender, there are some chunks in this one, which if you like, you can strain out.) Enjoy!
Effects: very calming to Pitta, calms Kapha. Raw greens increase Vata, although the ginger, lime and fluid all make it less aggravating. Yogurt or coconut milk (see variation below) are other ways to calm Vata.
This drink supports: plasma, blood cells, muscles, immunity.
Note: This magnesium-rich Pitta and Kapha subduing drink is an improvisation on Mataji Desai’s Gujarati Fresh Coriander Chutney in our Ayurvedic Cookbook.
VARIATION: Iza Bruen-Morningstar, one of our recipe testers, shares, “I find that to cut the bitterness of the greens it’s helpful to add coconut milk or yogurt, (then the recipe) may not need the lime or added coconut sugar. I got half a bunch of dino kale and an entire bunch of cilantro into mine today, and it was just half a can of coconut water and a quarter cup of plain yogurt plus the greens. Slightly bitter but definitely sweet enough. So glad you brought this drink into my life! I love it!”
All best wishes to you,
Amadea
https://polaritytherapy.com/electives – Ayurvedic Assessment Series in May with Amadea
https://amadeamorningstar.net/product/polarity-therapy-energetic-nutrition/
Photo thanks to Renee Lynn
Reprinted with permission from Easy Healing Drinks from the Wisdom of Ayurveda, Morningstar & Lynn, 2018. https://EasyHealingDrinks.com