Food for the soul

One can guess that one activates the other, so much so that when the soul leaves the body physical activity ceases. I think it is extraordinarily impotent that both can coexist in harmony, honoring each other so that the quality of life, rising, can allow elevated experiences. The Latins also said "mens sana in corpore sano". Today we could say that a healthy mind and a healthy body reflect a whole soul. The spiritual life is a continuous awareness of these phenomena and the search for their cause. It is awareness and consciousness of the various planes of the human and universal constitution, from the material to the spiritual. Bringing peace to the various planes of being, that is, purifying the entire psychosomatic complex, makes it possible to create more good conditions for carrying out spiritual practices such as Eastern meditation, Western prayer or reflection and contemplation in general.

From this assumption it follows that, in the spiritual life, nutrition must be taken into due consideration so that it too can facilitate and increase the necessary predisposition, to lead the subject to states of concentration that can lead to high experiences. I affirm, however, that the only power, even if perfectly regulated and finalized, has never led anyone to enlightenment, let's say that it can help. It can facilitate the calm above all physical and mental necessary to face first of all the daily life and then the long inner practices. Ultimately it is still knowledge, obtained through the awareness of the reactions that certain foods induce in the human body and in other planes of being. In general, for example the ascetics, especially some oriental "masters" make rare use of too exciting foods such as spicy ones. They avoid red meat that stimulates aggression or alcohol that excites the nervous system. They like simple food like rice, milk, honey, etc. On the other hand, the masters of Tantra have a different opinion: they tend to use exciting foods to unleash energy and after they have gained control of it, they direct it towards spiritual realization.

In Western religions and spiritual disciplines one encounters masters who use meat. Jesus, as many know, ate fish and drank wine. As you can guess, the food of the soul follows from a varied interpretive vision permeated by the wisdom of various experiences. I suggest below the nutrition of a typical day, recipes aimed at achieving inner peace and psychophysical well-being. My proposal could also be useful to you in practical life, if you wish for greater reflective calm and more concentration.

The recipes of the soul Recipe

N ° 1 Breakfast: in the evening, before going to sleep, prepare two glasses of typical water and in the first soak fifteen dried almonds in their peel while in the second a handful of sultanas. Let it sit overnight. When you get up, after the spiritual practices of dawn, proceed as follows: remove the almonds from the glass and throw away the water, peel them and chop them with a knife. Take some natural yogurt, dilute it with the raisin water, add the chopped almonds, the raisins found and also chopped and if you like sweeten with a little honey.

Lunch: start with assorted raw vegetables in olive or sunflower oil, then a generous portion of "Chikadi" prepared as follows: take an equal quantity of rice and lentils and boil them in salted water to which add a little red chilli and cardamom. When the water has been absorbed, add a little saffron and season with Ghee. Ghee is the unsalted and clarified butter used throughout India which is prepared in the following way: 500 grams of butter are melted over a low heat and brought to a boil, skimming until it becomes completely clear and limpid. It takes off the heat before its color tends to darken. It is left to cool, filtered and what remains is kept in a glass bottle: it is also excellent for dressing salads as an alternative to oil.

Dinner: as an appetizer a nice salad of boiled cooked vegetables. Before going to bed: you can take a ginger tea sweetened with honey.

Recipe N ° 2

Breakfast: take some saffron and crush it in a mortar. Simmer the milk, saffron and ground pistachios. Mix everything and bring to a boil. Then dissolve the sugar or honey. Serve sprinkled with ground pistachios.

Lunch: the combination of yogurt, lemon juice and brown sugar gives the vegetables a delicious sweet and sour taste. These vegetables can be accompanied by a plate of tender rice, crusty bread or vegetable soup. Heat the oil in a saucepan and sauté the cumin and anise seeds until golden. Add the cabbage and fry for about two minutes. Cover the pot and cook until done. Then add the turmeric, paprika, and potato cubes. Stir well until the potatoes are tender and, if necessary, add a little water. Remove the pan from the heat and season with the yogurt, lemon juice, salt and brown sugar Mix and serve hot.

Dinner : This delicious and light soup is made with fresh ripe tomatoes. Melt a spoonful of butter in a saucepan over low heat. Add the fresh tomatoes, a little sugar, salt, pepper and basil. Fry the ingredients for two or three minutes. Pour in the vegetable broth and bring everything to a boil. Then lower the heat and cook for fifteen minutes. Take another saucepan and melt some butter over low heat. With a wooden spoon, stir in the white flour until creamy. Add the tomato soup bringing everything to a boil. Add the parsley and serve hot.

Recipe N ° 3

Breakfast : using a suitable container, whip two egg yolks with 2 tablespoons of sugar. Add a teaspoon of potato starch and mix well. Heat 2 cups of milk with a little grated orange peel and strain it. Pour the juice of a mandarin and the filtered milk into the eggs and mix everything together. Pour into a baking dish, cover it with aluminum foil and place in the oven for a few minutes. Let it cool and in the meantime beat the egg whites until stiff. Add them to the cream, mixing them with skillful movement so as not to take them apart. Place everything in the refrigerator until ready to serve. Before presenting it garnish with slices of Kiwi. The cream can be accompanied by a hot drink obtained from carcadh sachets.

Lunch: cook the potatoes in salted water, peel them, let them cool and cut them into slices. Pour a little milk into the bottom of a baking dish, form a layer with the potato slices that you will cover with thin slices of various types of cheese and flakes of butter. Pepper and repeat the operation until three or four layers are formed. On the last layer pour a little milk sprinkling with parmesan cheese to taste. Put everything in the oven for about twenty minutes.

Dinner: prepare a good vegetable broth. Wash some spinach and boil it. Fry a clove of garlic with the butter and the olive oil and once golden brown remove the garlic and add the vegetable broth and spinach, boiling over low heat. Combine white flour and yellow flour in a proportion of one to two, mixing them with a ladle of broth and pour into the pot, stirring very carefully to avoid lumps. Always stirring, boil over low heat for at least twenty minutes. Add salt and pepper.

Before going to bed: It is recommended to drink an infusion with ginger root. Leave it to rest for ten minutes. Drink it hot.

Recipe N ° 4

Breakfast: get some soft cheese, mix it with sugar, add half a teaspoon of cinnamon and mix everything carefully. Heat some butter in a frying pan and sauté some bananas cut in half until golden on both sides. In a buttered baking dish, place half of the bananas covering them with a part of the cream cheese, spread over the other bananas and cover again with about what is left of the cream. Pour the cream in as much as you like. Bake in the oven for about 15 minutes, until the cream covering the bananas has taken on a nice golden color. Remove from the oven sprinkle with more cinnamon and serve hot.

Lunch: In India, raw vegetable salad is commonly called Raita. This appetizer is very simple to prepare. Work the yogurt until it becomes a cream. Add diced tomatoes, raw peas, red pepper always cut into cubes, cucumber, celery, fennel seeds, a little salt, crushed black pepper and finally some fresh chopped parsley. Mix everything very well, put it to rest in the refrigerator and take it out a few minutes before sitting at the table.

Dinner: Take a ripe avocado, peel it and cut it into cubes. Add the cooked green beans, white beans, chickpeas and diced "cheddar" cheese. Add the green pepper and red chillies. Mix the oil, lemon juice, honey, chop the parsley and add black pepper and salt. Carefully pour the sauce into the bean and avocado mixture. Arrange everything on lettuce leaves and garnish with the remaining parsley.

Before going to bed: it is a digestive and refreshing drink. Leave two bags of chamomile and cloves to infuse in boiling water for ten minutes. Remove the bags, add lemon and orange juice and boil. Remove from heat, add some honey and then remove the cloves. Garnish with orange slices and drink hot.

Recipe N ° 5

Breakfast: add the water and sugar in a saucepan and stir until the sugar is dissolved. Remove the syrup from the heat, add the rose water and set aside. Pour the "ghi" into a deep pan and place it on the heat over very low heat. Then prepare the dough: mix the flour and powdered milk in a bowl. Mix with hot fresh milk. Work quickly until you get a homogeneous mixture. Shape into balls and arrange them on a tray. When the "ghee" has reached the high temperature, slide the balls by moving them continuously. After a few moments they will begin to swell and take on a golden color, then place them to macerate in the sugar syrup flavored with rose water. Eat them at room temperature.

Lunch: wash and dry the rice. Bring the water to a boil with the salt. Heat the "ghee" or the oil in a saucepan over low heat. Take the cashews, chop them and brown them in "ghee" or oil. When they have a golden color, set them aside. Then fry the mustard seeds and the "urad dal" in the "ghee" or the remaining oil until they burst. Add the rice and fry it for two minutes. Then pour the rice into the boiling water and cook it for 15/20 minutes until it has absorbed all the water. Remove everything from the heat and let it rest for at least 5 minutes. Finally add the cashews, lemon juice, finely chopped parsley and freshly grated coconut. Mix everything well and enjoy your meal

Dinner: recipe from the Malabar coast of Kerala Heat the oil or "ghee" in a large pan. Fry a few curry leaves until they become a little dark. Add some sweet potatoes, green beans, some diced pumpkin, carrots, courgettes and peas. Fry everything for about three minutes, then add water and bring to a boil. Let it simmer for fifteen minutes until the vegetables become tender. Finally, add some well-chopped spicy green chilli, yogurt and salt. Eat it hot. Before sleeping: prepare yourself a ginger tea, sweeten it to taste with honey and drink it hot.

Recipe N ° 6

Breakfast: in a special container beat two eggs with the sugar, treating them for a long time until they are well blended and whipped. Add a tablespoon of corn starch and proceed to dilute with hot milk, stirring well. Add the chopped raisins, which you have revived by leaving them in the water the night before, plus a spoonful of mint syrup and cook in the oven. Let it cool and if you like it serve with hot chocolate. You can use orange juice as a drink.

Lunch: for an appetizer, raw Roman salad leaves, then vegetarian aubergine cannoli prepared as follows: wash the aubergines and cut them into slices that are not excessively large. Prick them with a fork. Place the aubergine slices in a special container and cook them in the oven for a few minutes at a high temperature. Meanwhile, prepare diced fontina cheese, wash and chop the basil. Remove the aubergines from the oven and on each slice arrange a few cubes of cheese, basil, salt and a little black pepper. Roll up the slices on themselves and arrange them in a special container that you have greased with a little olive oil. Cook for a few minutes to allow the cheese to melt and serve with a drizzle of raw olive oil. Accompany the food with wholemeal bread by drinking water and lemon.

Dinner: prepare an abundant quantity of broth obtained with fresh vegetables and salt. Wash and cut the carrots into not too large slices. Fry the chopped onion in hot olive oil and when it browns add the carrot slices; let them simmer until half cooked. Add the rice and let it shine for a few minutes, continuing to keep it moving. Add the broth in small quantities as the rice absorbs it. Complete cooking and before serving add a knob of butter, a sprinkling of nutmeg and parmesan.

Before going to bed: it is recommended to drink a hot herbal tea to taste.

Recipe N ° 7

Breakfast: to prepare this drink, use fresh and blended apples. Boil the apple juice with a cinnamon stick and cloves. Cover the saucepan and cook for about 20 minutes. Strain the juice and serve it hot with lemon slices and honey.

Lunch: bring the water to a boil with salt and turmeric over medium heat. Fry a cinnamon stick, cloves and almonds in boiling ghee until they take on a nice golden color. Add the rice and brown it for two minutes then pour it into the salted water and turmeric. Add the peas and cook for about twenty minutes, that is, until the water is completely absorbed. Serve hot.

Dinner: melt the butter in a saucepan, add nutmeg, black pepper, pumpkin cubes, and fry for about 10 minutes. Add water and cook until the pumpkin is tender. Blend everything adding milk, to obtain a cream. Take a saucepan, melt some butter, add a spoonful of flour and mix. Pour the pumpkin cream into the saucepan and if necessary add more milk to keep the cream homogeneous. Cook for a few minutes, add salt and serve hot. If you like you can sprinkle with chopped parsley.

Recipe N ° 8

Breakfast: simmer the milk, add saffron and a spoonful of finely ground pistachios. Stirring constantly, bring the milk to a boil then remove it from the heat. Dissolve some sugar and honey. Serve immediately, sprinkling with the remaining pistachios.

Lunch: Heat some olive oil in a saucepan over low heat. Fry the asafoetida powder and 1/4 cup diced red pepper. Add some tomato purée, a cup of broccoli florets, some cauliflower and some peas. Season with salt, pepper, basil and nutmeg. Cook slowly until the vegetables are tender. Add sour cream, parmesan, ricotta and breadcrumbs, then remove from heat and cover. Cook the rigatoni in salted water and drain. Season the pasta with the vegetable sauce and pour it into a large baking dish distributing it well. Sprinkle the surface with mozzarella and cook in the pre-heated oven at 200 ° for 10 minutes. Serve piping hot, garnished with chopped parsley. Cook the peeled potatoes in half water and half milk. Marinate the potatoes, still warm, in dry white grape juice. Prepare the mustard sauce with four tablespoons of lemon juice and two teaspoons of mustard soaked for 10 minutes in a tablespoon of hot water, adding a pinch of salt, extra virgin olive oil, a little black pepper and finely chopped parsley. Then prepare a special mayonnaise sauce with the following ingredients: a cup of condensed milk, a little salt, a teaspoon of yellow asafoetida powder, safflower oil, two tablespoons of lemon juice and two tablespoons of sour cream. Add the sauces and beat them together. Pour everything over the marinated potatoes and mix, mixing well. Sprinkle with paprika and serve.

Dinner: take the sifted chickpea flour, 1/4 cup of water and put them in a small bowl. Mix using a whisk to obtain a homogeneous batter. While continuing to beat, add more water, yogurt, turmeric, sugar and salt. Pour the mixture into a saucepan and cook for about 10 minutes. Heat some ghee or oil over medium heat and fry the mustard seeds until they start to crackle. Add chilli, ginger and curry leaves. When the leaves have browned, add the fenugreek seeds and, lastly, the asafoetida. Mix everything, then pour into the boiling chickpea flour mixture. Stir well and remove from heat. Serve hot garnished with fresh coriander leaves.

Recipe N ° 9

Breakfast: Banana smoothie can be a great breakfast. It gives energy and supplies the body with natural sugars. Blend the bananas with milk and honey for at least a couple of minutes. Pour into a glass and garnish with nutmeg.

Lunch: Veggie burgers are made from a combination of rice, lentils, vegetables, spices and herbs. Put the following ingredients in a bowl: chopped carrots, breadcrumbs, two tablespoons of soy sauce, a teaspoon of sesame oil and more, oregano, basil, salt, chopped parsley and finally a teaspoon of sweet paprika. Work well until everything is combined and add cooked rice. Shape into smooth balls then, wetting your hands, turn them into discs. Place them in a special container and place in the oven previously heated to 200 ° degrees. Cook until you see them darken. Remove them from the oven and fry them in butter, or in oil if you prefer. Serve them with your favorite salads and sauces.

Dinner : This is one of India's most popular vegetarian dishes and should be served with yellow rice. Blend ginger and chilli, as desired, with a few tablespoons of water. Add coriander, paprika, cumin, turmeric and continue to blend until you get a smooth batter that you will put in a bowl. In a large saucepan, on the other hand, heat the ghee over moderate heat. Add the spice paste you have prepared and the spinach. Cook, stirring carefully, until the spinach is tender. Add some cream, salt and garam. Cook for a while longer, then serve hot.