Join Basmati.com every week for a Q&A session with one of Basmati’s practitioners, Melissa Hill (FDN-P)! We know that there is a lot of confusing information out there, which can make applying health advice overwhelming. Sometimes, it’s best to ask a practitioner directly, so each week we’ll cover a common health question!
Millet is a prehistoric grain native to western Asia. By approximately 3000 B.C.E. the grain had found its way to China where it became one of the five sacred grains. Of the many varieties of the genus the common millet arrived in Europe about 200 B.C.E. where it got its name, which meant “cereal” in Old English.
Sorghum is native to Sub-Saharan Africa and was first harvested in the Nile River basin approximately 7000 years ago. It became a crop in India around 3000 B.C.E. and found its way east by way of the Silk Road. It was brought to Rome from India in approximately 60 C.E., then to Spain and finally Europe in the 12th Century. Benjamin Franklin introduced the plant to North America and it eventually became a major crop.
Join Basmati.com every week for a Q&A session with one of Basmati’s practitioners, Melissa Hill (FDN-P)! We know that there is a lot of confusing information out there, which can make applying health advice overwhelming. Sometimes, it’s best to ask a practitioner directly, so each week we’ll cover a common health question!
Join Basmati.com every week for a Q&A session with one of Basmati’s practitioners, Melissa Hill (FDN-P)! We know that there is a lot of confusing information out there, which can make applying health advice overwhelming. Sometimes, it’s best to ask a practitioner directly, so each week we’ll cover a common health question!
Bulgur is processed wheat that is native to the Mediterranean basin region and is one of the earliest processed foods that began being used approximately 4000 years ago. It is made by steaming wheat then drying it and cracking the dried kernels. Bulgur was initially processed by boiling wheat in a huge pot for many days to be sure it was thoroughly cooked; then the contents of the pot were spread out on roofs to dry in the sun.
Archeologists have found that wild barley is native to what is termed the Fertile Crescent, the region that covers modern southern Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Israel, and northern Egypt. It was first gathered in 9000 B.C.E. for a food grain and was reportedly first used by the Egyptians as cereal. For millennia, people depended on barley for food for themselves and for their horses.
I first came across turmeric in our family kitchen as a child. My mother had printed out a recipe for curry cauliflower, and while the curry powder gave the roasted cauliflower its delicious taste, turmeric was responsible for the subtler taste and stronger hue. Since then, I’ve seen turmeric in everything from egg and tofu scrambles to salad dressings to cookies–I kid you not. Most recently, I stumbled upon a recipe in Meghan Telpner’s The UnDiet CookBook for Jamu Juice.
Prana is everywhere, in everything. The “life force” exists even in those things we deem “un-living” or “without life.” Yogic thought—Hatha yoga, to be specific—is grounded in nature. Without nature, we cannot exist here in this life, and we cannot exist here in this life without prana. Prana exists in all of nature.
What spices do you use in your cooking?
Whether you're showcasing a single spice or embracing many flavors in a harmonious blend, spices do wonders for our tastebuds and our dosha. Each spice has different effects, but all are full of health benefits. In the case of turmeric, its pungent nature can balance out the doshas, but careful, too much can aggravate pitta and vata.