tahini

With the start of the new year, many of us shift our diets in favor of a clean lifestyle. But before you rearrange your plate, consider this: the season hasn’t changed. In Ayurveda, this means you need the same level of deep nourishment in January that you did before all those festive holiday parties. So, if you’re trying to give your body a break while still providing it with nourishing food, what are you supposed to eat?

I’ve been craving falafels lately and have no idea why. Maybe it’s because I was recently looking through my Birthright trip photos and remembered having the best falafel of my life in Tel Aviv. My friend and I went out one night in search of the best falafel and boy, did we ever find it. It was being served out of a little shack on the side of the street. People were lining up around the block for this stuff, so we figured it had to be good.

Tahini is ground sesame seeds – it’s a product which is rich in nutrients and has been used in recipes and as a healing agent for centuries. The sesame plant is native to India and was found growing naturally from northeastern Africa to the far east. The seeds were primarily used for their oil, as a base for perfumes and as a seasoning. The name sesame is derived from the ancient Egyptian word sesemt and later from the Greek word sesamon.

If you haven't yet gotten your pumpkin on this season, this may be the recipe you've been waiting for! Who doesn't like mac and cheese on a chilly fall day – heck, who doesn't like mac and cheese any day of the week?!

Japanese Yams are worlds above plain old potatoes in both taste and nutrition. Pop one in the oven and you’ve got an instant fall lunch that will warm you up in seconds flat.

Hummus is a great, healthy alternative to many dips high in fat and low in nutritional value. Expensive in the store, it is far easier to make than most realize, and the beautiful aspect to making it from home is that you can create and combine as many flavors as you’d like and cater to your favorite variations! Generally what I like to do is make one large basic batch with simple spices and then separate this into several smaller batches with different variations. Spices and small flavorful additions go a long way and you create endless assortments branching from this basic recipe.

A native of India, organic sesame seed is rich in vitamins and minerals and has been used as a healing herb for millennia. The plant is a tall annual of the Pedaliaceae family growing up to five feet and bearing pink-white foxglove-like flowers. The pods contain white, brown or black seeds arranged in vertical rows. The plant flourishes in well-drained sandy soil in a tropical climate and can be found throughout Asia and Africa. Though not used as extensively in Europe, the plant found its way to America with the slave traders and has been cultivated in the Carolinas.