Kitchen Sādhanā

Kitchen =  where you prepare your food body
Sadhana = Sanskrit साधना, literally “a means of accomplishing something”)

I first learned about kitchen sadhana from Maya Tiwari’s, Ayurveda: A Life of Balance. I checked this book out of the Jackson Hole library in during the winter of 1997. It deepened my calling. What I’ve found over the years is that kitchen sadhana is highly personal. And, it just needs to get done. Essentially, kitchen sadhana is practice (kriya) in your kitchen that needs to get done regularly (abhyasa) for your body to be properly nourished.

Sādhana is a discipline undertaken in the pursuit of a goal. Abhyāsa is repeated practice performed with observation and reflection.Kriyā, or action, also implies perfect execution with study and investigation. Therefore, sādhana, abhyāsa, and kriyā all mean one and the same thing .^{[4] Iyengar (1993: p. 22) in his English translation of and commentary to Patañjali‘s Yoga Sutras} 

My Kitchen Sadhana

What I learned out of Mother Maya’s book and what I do in my own kitchen are quite different. She cooks… I dehydrate. She loves grains… I love greens. Essentially, though, we’re doing the same thing. We’re consciously putting a concentrated chunk of time in the kitchen on a regular (7-10 day) basis. We create our food body for the coming week. We turn the plants we harvested into tasty morsels with cosmic soul.

When we don’t do kitchen sadhana, the fabric of our tissue (anna maya kosha) loses consciousness potential. When we do kitchen sadhana, the fabric of our tissue gains consciousness. Simple abhyasa. “Spiritual” one might say. But, for me, it’s an easeful joy. Earth to table food prep has the same alkalizing, computer-detoxifying effect as gardening.

Here are the recipes from the week’s kitchen sadhana:

Cate’s Buckwheat Breakfast Toast

*You need a dehydrator and a blender or food processor. read through the recipe the night before you want to make it. Soaking required.

2 c. buckwheat groats, soaked or sprouted
1/4 c. raw honey
2 apples, cored
2 tsp. cinnamon
1 c. dates, soaked
1/2 c. raisins, soaked
pinch of salt

Soak 2 c. buckwheat overnight. Soak raisins and dates overnight, almost covered in water. Drain the buckwheat. Drain and save liquid from the dried fruit. Pit the dates. Get out your food processor. Add 1/2 the groats and everything else.  Mix the heck out of it. Then stir in my hand:

1/2 c. freshly ground flax
1 chopped apple
1/2 c. chopped soaked almonds

You can add the soak water and more flax to stretch the recipe. Shape into pieces of toast. Dehydrate overnight 12-15 hours.
Enjoy lightly warmed in toaster with melted coconut butter. Yum!

Simple Chocolate Truffle

Soak dried fruit overnight:

1 c. raisins
1 c. dates

Drain. Add to food processor with:

1/2 c. raw cacao
1/2 c. raw cacao powder
3 tbsp. coconut butter

Blend it up. (I use my Blendtec for creating silky textures.)Place balls on dehydrator. Dehydrate for 12-20 hours. Roll in cacao or dried coconut. Share !

For those interested a discovering or upgrading YOUR kitchen sadhana, join the yogidetox. You’ll have a support course in connecting your bodies rhythms, your kitchen, and your “spiritual” practices simultaneously.