Ayurvedic Breakfast: Oatmeal Recipes for Each Dosha

I’ve always been a healthy foodie. Now during this time of a global pandemic, I find it more important than ever to nourish my body with healthy, high quality foods. Because of my interest and belief in the power of Ayurveda, my diet mostly consists of foods that are particularly balancing for my doshas (your unique physical and mental constitution according to Ayurveda). There are a few go-to meals that I have come to LOVE and make almost every day now for different parts of the day. One of these is Ayurvedic oatmeal.

Breakfast of Champions

For me there’s no better breakfast to kickstart the day with than a bowl of steaming hot, softly cooked, mildly sweet porridge – it’s nourishing to both my heart and my soul. You might wonder why I’m such a fangirl of something so simple (and to some even plain boring) like oatmeal. Mind you, I haven’t always loved oatmeal this much. But when I discovered the Ayurvedic way of making it and how good my body feels after having it, I was hooked.

So I’ve decided to share three healthy, tasty and simple Ayurvedic recipes with you. One for each dosha (vata, pitta and kapha), so that you can try out the recipe that is particularly good for your body type (if you don’t know what your doshas are, you can take a Dosha test here).

VATA BALANCING OATMEAL

Oatmeal is great for vata body types. People that have more vata in their physical constitution benefit from warm, cooked, soupy, mildly sweet and grounding foods and should generally stay away from cold, raw and dry foods. The best oats to use for a Vata balancing oatmeal are organic rolled oats.

Ingredients to add:

• Small piece of fresh ginger chopped into small pieces
• 1 banana (ripe, not green) chopped into pieces
• 2-3 dates (fresh or dried) chopped into pieces
• 1 teaspoon of ground turmeric
• 1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon
• A pinch of ground cumin
• A pinch of nutmeg
• A pinch of mineral salt (pink Himalayan or sea salt)
• 1/2 teaspoon of ground cardamom
• 1 teaspoon of coconut oil

While heating water or nut milk in a pan, put the ginger, banana and dates in first. Then add the spices, coconut oil and oats. Slowly cook until it has reached a soft and soupy consistency. Don’t like banana? You can use apple instead of banana, as long as it’s cooked through.

Sweeteners:
The oatmeal should be sweetened by the slow-cooked banana and dates, but if you like it more sweet you can add maple syrup or raw honey to sweeten it. It’s important to know that honey should be added after the porridge is cooked and never be heated or cooked according to Ayurveda, as it becomes difficult to digest and creates ama (toxins) in the system.

Toppings:
Add a small amount of pumpkin seeds and/or cashew nuts to add a bit of crunch to your vata brekkie bowl. You can also add a spoon of all natural peanut butter (or any other nut butter). Nuts and seeds can be very beneficial for vata when taken in moderation, because of their oily, heavy and protein-packed qualities.

PITTA BALANCING OATMEAL

People that are pitta dominant in their physical constitution have the fastest metabolism of all three dosha types. They are the ones that get hAngry when they go too long without food (I for one should know). Pitta people therefore need more substance to their breakfast to last them until lunch time and a substantial nourishing bowl of oatmeal goes a long way. The best oats to use for a pitta balancing oatmeal are organic rolled oats or steel-cut oats.

Ingredients to add:

• Small piece of fresh ginger chopped into small pieces
• 1 apple (sweet, not sour) chopped into pieces
• 1 tablespoon of raisins
• 1 teaspoon of ground turmeric
• 1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon
• A pinch of mineral salt (pink Himalayan or sea salt)
• 1/2 teaspoon of ground cardamom
• 1 teaspoon of coconut oil
• Optional: a hint of vanilla

While heating water or nut milk in a pan put the ginger, apple and raisins in first. Then add the spices, coconut oil and oats. Slowly cook until it has reached a soft consistency.

Sweeteners:
The oatmeal should be slightly sweetened by the slow-cooked apple and raisins, but if you like it more sweet you can add maple or date syrup to sweeten it.

Toppings:
Add a small amount of pumpkin, sunflower and/or flax seeds to add a bit of crunch to your pitta brekkie bowl. Nuts should best be avoided when you have a pitta imbalance, because they are quite difficult to digest. People with pitta body types tend to be more sensitive to digestion problems (like bloating and gut inflammation). But if you’d like to top it up with nuts, go for soaked and peeled almonds, these are the easiest to digest.

KAPHA BALANCING OATMEAL

The qualities of oats (dense, heavy, oily, soft, sticky, sweet) are very similar to those of kapha dosha and can therefore actually aggravate kapha, creating a kapha imbalance. People with kapha in their physical constitution benefit most from light, small portions and even occasionally skipping breakfast (overnight fast) when there is a kapha imbalance. However, when prepared correctly and taken in moderation and small quantities, this oatmeal recipe will be very kapha balancing. Most importantly, you should use steel-cut oats, as the gritty textured quality will benefit kapha. You can also leave out the oats and just have apple or pear together with the ingredients listed below cooked slowly in a little bit of water.

Ingredients to add:

• Small piece of fresh ginger chopped into small pieces
• 1 tablespoon of chia seeds
• 1 tablespoon of raisins OR 1/2 an apple or pear
• 1 teaspoon of ground turmeric
• 1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon of ground cardamom
• A pinch of nutmeg
• A pinch of ground cloves

While heating water in a pan put the ginger, raisins/apple/pear in first. Then add the spices and oats. Slowly cook until it has reached a soft consistency.

Sweeteners:
The oatmeal should be slightly sweetened by the slow-cooked fruits you use, but if you like it more sweet you can add (raw) honey minimally to sweeten it. It’s important to know that honey should never be heated or cooked according to Ayurveda, as it becomes difficult to digest and creates ama (toxins) in the system.

Toppings:
Nuts and seeds aren’t particularly balancing for kapha, but if you prefer a bit of crunch to your kapha brekkie bowl you can top it up with a few pumpkin or sunflower seeds. But overall it’s best to keep your oatmeal as light as possible.

Treat Yourself and Try It

And if you would like to switch the recipe up a bit, make sure to check which other ingredients are balancing for your doshas and therefore good to add (Google is your best friend). It’s also good to know that the balance of your doshas can change depending on the seasons. For example: a pitta person might build up too much heat when having spicy food in the summer time (which is the pitta season), but could be handling it perfectly fine in winter.