Today was not so much of a hard start. Since I had to wake up at 7:30am, I had coffee. I had to. I ate a banana for breakfast.

The reason I was up so early was that I had an all-day Reiki training. Lunch ended up being easy because the entire class went to a vegan restaurant, where I ate a kale salad, a beet salad, and curried sweet potato and lentils.

Dinner was not as I hoped. I made a big batch of the Ayurvedic meal Kitchari for the week. I actually thought it was going to turn out great until I realized I added the vegetables too soon. WAY too soon. Fun fact, did you know vegetables can just, dissolve? By the end of it, I was left with this congealed, mushy porridge. Pete said it wasn't bad. Pete's a nice boyfriend.

Below is the recipe for the Kitchari, which is delicious when cooked right!

Winter Kitchari

1 cup basmati rice

1/2 cup mung beans

1 Tbsp kitchari spice mix (Banyan Botanicals)

2 Tbsp ghee or coconut oil

6 cups water

2 cups seasonal veggies, chopped

bunch Parsley + Cilantro, chopped

In medium saucepan, warm the coconut oil or ghee. Add kitchari spice mix and saute for one to two minutes. Add rice and mung beans and saute for another couple of minutes. Then add 6 cups of water, and bring to a boil. Once it's boiling, reduce heat to medium-low and cover. Cook for 30-45 mins. I will suggest adding vegetables in the last 10 minutes so they don't turn out like mine and cook until veggies are tender (I used sweet potato, green beans, broccoli, cauliflower, and onion.) Remove from heat and finish with chopped herbs.

Makes 2 servings

Day 1: vegan + gluten-free

Winter Kitchari