Sweet potato porridge for Vata dosha
About Vata dosha
Vata is one of the three doshas according to Ayurvedic thought. Vata dosha is made of the elements ether (or space) and air. Therefore it’s super spacious and airy. It’s light and moves around quickly. People who have a lot of vata in them, tend to have dry skin, dry hair, their joints pop every now and then, they talk fast and often, they love to travel, forget to eat, have difficulties falling asleep, are very creative, enthusiastic, but also sometimes fearful, insecure and restless.
Yoga for Vata dosha
The main focus should be to ground. To relax and restore. Restorative yoga practices are awesome for vata dosha! Also, it’s best to eat a diet that helps to lower vata.
Recommended diet for Vata dosha
Vatas benefit from heavy, rich, oily foods in order to harmonize their natural sense of lightness, movement, and instability. The best tastes to pacify Vata are sweet, salty, and sour
Cooked vegetables are best. Raw vegetables should be minimized. Asparagus, beets, squash, and carrots are highly recommended. Other vegetables may be taken in moderation if cooked in extra virgin olive oil, including peas, broccoli, cauliflower, zucchini, and sweet potatoes.
Sweet, heavy fruits such as bananas, avocados, mangoes, apricots, plums, berries, coconut, figs, grapefruit, orange, lemon, melons, papaya, peaches, pineapples, rhubarb, kiwi, dates, nectarines and dried fruits are acceptable.
Rice is an excellent cereal for Vatas. Nuts are always welcome, as well as warming spices such as cardamom, cumin, ginger, cinnamon, salt, cloves, mustard seed, basil, cilantro, fennel, oregano, sage, thyme, and black pepper.
Sweet potato porridge
This recipe is especially recommended for Vata types. It sounds like an usual combination but I promise it's delicious!
Ingredients
- 1 pureed cooked sweet potato
- ½ cup oatmeal
- 1 cup almond milk (unsweetened)
- cinnamon
- ginger
- turmeric
- hazelnuts
- gomasio (or you can use sesame seeds and some sea salt)
- 1 peach
Method
Cook the sweet potatoes until soft and then puree or mash them.
Cook the oats in the almond milk.
Serve the oats in a bowl and then add the puree, chopped peach and remaining ingredients according to your taste.
You can watch Irina make this in her video - Sweet potato porridge - part of the series: Ayurveda: Yoga and food for your dosha
Seasonal Cleanse with Ayurveda and Yoga program
In this programme of talks and yoga classes you'll learn all about the three Ayurvedic doshas and how eating in harmony with them can support your body and mind. Seasonal Cleanse with Ayurveda and Yoga program- available to all YogaEasy members.
Irina Verwer is a yoga teacher, Somatic therapist, intimacy coach, and Ayurvedic practitioner. Her focus is on understanding how past abuse and trauma affect our present, addressing medical challenges, exercising boundaries in life and work, and supporting people as they build stronger, more intimate connections.