The Best Winter Recipes: Spa Food to Nourish your Body & Spirit

January 20, 2017

Food is magic. It is healing, nourishing, and transformative, and many of our greatest memories and relationships have been forged over shared meals. While hair and beauty are the means through which we are most often able to fulfill our mission—to create dynamic and significant daymaking experiences that positively impact people, society and the world at large—we are constantly in search of more ways to live up to that ideal. What better way to do so than food?

The following wellness recipes are delicious and warming, which is exactly what we tend to crave this time of year. We also love that’s they’re vegetarian but remain abundantly hearty and comforting. Kind to the earth and to your soul? Yes, please!

Read on for inspiration from some of our favorite people—and to answer the eternal question of what to make for dinner tonight.

LIZA’S VEGAN COUSCOUS

Liza is a Master Esthetician and Daymaker at our St. Paul location.

Image provided by Liza
Image provided by Liza

I am notorious for making easy, healthy recipes that take less than 30 minutes. I work full time, have kids and am halfway done with a Master’s in Nutrition and Functional Medicine—meaning I have to walk the walk! 😉

Growing up on the French Riviera with a mother of African descent, I was exposed to many different and colorful foods. However, we stuck mainly to a Mediterranean diet (fish, veggies, legumes, nuts, olive oil etc.). My mom didn’t make traditional North African meals often, but the aroma of the delicious (albeit rare) couscous is still etched in my memory.
 
I became a vegetarian about 15 years ago, and I am always looking for healthy options that are rich in taste (and memories). This version of a couscous is full of nutrients, including proteins, healthy carbohydrates, B vitamins and iron.

INGREDIENTS
1 box whole wheat couscous
2 cans of garbanzo beans (no sodium added)
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves of garlic
olive oil (to coat the pot)
2 tomatoes, chopped
2 bell peppers, chopped
fresh or frozen kale (as much or as little as you want)
A handful of golden raisins
pinch of cinnamon
salt/ pepper to taste

Add olive oil to a pot and cook onion and garlic until translucent. Add tomatoes, bell peppers, chickpeas, kale, raisins and salt, pepper and cinnamon to taste. Let all of that goodness cook for about 20 minutes. But don’t quote me on times—you’ll know when it’s done when the veggies are soft and your kitchen smells marvelous. Voila—easy, nutritious, delicious and comforting in winter months!

KENDRA KLIMEK’S THAI BUTTERNUT SQUASH SOUP

Kendra is a Master Colorist at our Palo Alto location.

My go-to winter recipe is Thai butternut squash soup. It’s a hit every time! It’s full of healthy ingredients that warm you up and fill you up.

INGREDIENTS
1 large organic butternut squash, peeled, seeded and cut into cubes
2-5 cloves organic garlic (or an entire bulb if you’re in my house )
1 large organic yellow onion, diced
4 cups organic broth (chicken or veggie)
1 can organic coconut milk
3 tablespoons Thai curry paste
2 tbs coconut oil
1 tbs fresh lime juice
Salt, to taste

Bake squash in oven on 375 for 25-30 minutes or until soft and golden brown.

In a skillet or dutch oven, heat coconut oil and sauté the onion. Cook until translucent and add garlic for the last few minutes. Continue to stir so garlic does not burn. Add broth and bring to a simmer.

Remove squash from oven and add to the broth mixture. Stir together while adding Thai curry paste and coconut milk. Transfer in batches to a high-power blender, or mix with an immersion blender. Transfer back to pot and add salt to taste. Finish with a squeeze of fresh lime juice.

Serve with toasted pumpkin seeds or toasted coconut flakes on top, and garnish with fresh cilantro and a drizzle of coconut milk if desired.

CHARLIE WAGNER’S MOON JUICE

Charlie is an alchemist who brings magic, wellness and beauty to the whole JUUT family.

Learning healthy self-care means taking care of myself emotionally, physically and spiritually. Doing so every day is vital to my happiness and peace within. Every morning, I start my day with a cup of warm lemon water to boost metabolism and eliminate toxins. This is a ritual that I have done for years and a great way to start my day on the right foot. Lately I have been making moon juice, which keeps me stable and fills me with restorative energy.

INGREDIENTS
5 raw almonds
1 tbs raw pumpkin seeds
2 pitted dates
1 fig
5 raisins
1 cardamom pod
5 peppercorns

Image provided by Charlie
Image provided by Charlie

Before bed, put all of the ingredients in a jar and cover with water.  Cover the jar, and leave on the counter or put in window to collect more moon energy.  In the morning (or right before drinking), drain out the water and put in your Vitamix (or other blender).  Add hot water, boiled milk or a milk alternative (almond, coconut, etc).  Add as much as you want—less makes it thicker, more makes it thinner.  I use about a cup and a half.  You can even make this thick and bake with it!  Could be really good in a muffin recipe. You can also add other Ayurvedic spices if you want at this time (ginger, cinnamon, turmeric, etc).  Blend until fully smooth.  And drink.

I received this recipe from Nicole West at Gaviidae, and I love it! I have had so much fun making it before bedtime and getting up in the morning and blending it together. I have added to espresso to make my own Bulletproof coffee with a teaspoon of coconut oil and a teaspoon of ghee (butter with milk solids cooked out). I have also been adding to a chocolate smoothie recipe, which includes one of two products: Immortal Machine (available from Longevity Warehouse) or Anandamide, a blend of raw cacao and tonic herbs, and rejuvenating He Shou Wu (available from Sun Potion).

Image provided by Charlie
Image provided by Charlie

CHARLIE WAGNER’S KITCHADI

This recipe is my staple for feeling grounded and balanced. I reach for it when I am not fully feeling myself, am on the edge of getting sick, feel like my digestion is off, or have been traveling. In all of these scenarios, this recipe restores harmony and balance to my life immediately. There are many variations to this recipe, so I never get bored with it. I was taught how to make kitchadi by my Ayurvedic teacher from Hawaii.

Kitchadi Tips:

  • The vegetables can vary according to what is available locally and cleanly grown, of course.
  • No nightshades, onions, or garlic, and no hot veggies such as daikon, radishes, and arugula
  • Include some kale, collards, beet greens, or chard each day.
  • Ground flax seeds (meal) is suggested as a topping on the kitchadi. Add chopped cilantro or parsley on top also, as you like.
  • The finished product should be soupy but hearty.
  • Spices are critical. A bit more spices than the recipes call for would be okay in most instances.
  • Be absolutely sure to stop eating at your first burp/belch.
  • If you want to cook only once a day, make extra for the following two meals.
  • Do not reheat as it destroys the prana (life force) in the food; eat at room temperature instead.
  • All recipes serve 2-4 people with moderate appetites.

    Image provided by Charlie
    Image provided by Charlie

    SIMPLE KITCHADI

    1 tsp cumin seeds
    1 tsp coriander seeds
    1 tsp brown mustard seeds
    3 tbs ghee
    ½ cup basmati rice
    ¼ cup split mung beans (this is critical: they should be split and not whole)
    1 strip kombu cut into small pieces
    1/8 tsp asafoetida
    6 cups water, more as needed
    ½ tsp rock salt
    1 tbs fresh grated ginger root
    1 tsp turmeric, fresh or powder
    ½ tsp cardamom
    3 – 4 cups freshly chopped veggies such as carrots, squash, pumpkin, kale

    Simmer the seeds in one half of the ghee until the aroma comes up. Add the rice, split mung, kombu, and asafoetida and stir together for a couple of minutes. Add 4 cups water and simmer for 35 minutes. After 20 minutes of simmer, add the veggies.

    Use the remaining ghee heated in a small pan, add salt, ginger root, turmeric, and cardamom. Simmer together a couple of minutes then add to main mixture. Cook about 20 more minutes or until veggies are slightly soft. Serve warm or at room temperature.

    Image provided by Charlie
    Image provided by Charlie

    Digestive kitchadi

    Use simple recipe, but add 3 bay leaves and 1 tsp of dry oregano.

    Enjoy bringing more balance and stability to your lives.
    Much love,
    Charlie

    Image provided by Charlie
    Image provided by Charlie