Cream of Buckwheat - Ayurveda Style!

Okay, so this week was probably not the best week to start a blog, with Christmas coming and all.  But I have had a lot of extra kapha lately (which translates to inertia for me), and I got really excited about this project.  So, I decided to jump on it while I was excited rather than risk the possibility of it not coming to fruition due to inertia.

For those of you that are following my blog (thanks again to the three of you!) that may not be aware of what Ayurveda is, this is my favorite dosha quiz and a good site for general information on the basics of Ayurveda.  It's my favorite because the quiz gives your dosha results in terms of mind and body.  Instead of just giving you one dominant dosha for your body and mind, it breaks the results down into 2 columns and then lists the doshas in order of dominance.  Last time I took it, I was shocked to realize that I had a Vata body (not the shocking part) and a Pitta mind.  That's the first time I've ever had a Pitta anything, but that explains why I've been angry a lot lately.

Anyway, I decided to start small since Christmas is coming up and also that's what the Ayurveda Cooking for Self Healing Book suggests anyway.  I decided to start our Monday morning off with a little Cream of Buckwheat - Ayurveda style.  I decided to do a slight variation on the "Creamed Wheat Porridge."  The recipe calls for Cream of Wheat, but I decided to try Cream of Buckwheat instead.  As Greg said, "Otay!"

Buckwheat is a bit of a misnomer, as it's not actually wheat.  It is actually a fruit seed that is related to rhubarb and sorrel, and not a grain.  So, people that are sensitive to gluten or need a gluten free diet can tolerate this well.  While A.J.'s eczema is pretty much cleared up, I always keep in the back of my mind that gluten is one of the possible agents that exacerbate eczema.  So, I try to vary our diet a lot so that there isn't a lot of gluten.  Moderation is the key in many things in life. 

Creamed Buckwheat Porridge:
1/4 c. ghee
1/2 c. cream of buckwheat
2 cups water
1/4 tsp. ground cardamom


Heat a pot on a medium heat and add the ghee.  Next add the creamed buckwheat, stirring it constantly until lightly brown and fragrant.  Pour in the water and stir vigorously until lumps are dissolved and the porridge is soft.  Add the cardamom.  Turn the heat to simmer and cover until ready to serve.  Serve with milk and sweetener, if desired.

I also made the breakfast tea that is good for all dosha types.  I have had this before though, since it was in Yoga Journal a few months ago.  I love it!  The fresh ginger is a bit of a pain to grate every morning though.  I'm going to experiment with some ground ginger to see what that affect is.  It didn't come out that great this morning, because as I was waiting for the water to boil, A.J. came over and said, "Up! I see.  I see."  So, I picked him up, so he could watch me cook, and realized very quickly he had a poopie diaper.  I decided that I had better rush the tea making and turned the burner up to the highest possible setting.  It quickly came to a boil, and I added the spices, and then it quickly boiled over!  That's how cooking usually goes in this house! 

Breakfast tea:


1/2 tsp fresh ginger, grated (I use my zester)
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1 generous pinch of cardamom
1 cup water


Boil the water and add the spices.  Cover, turn off the heat and allow to sit for a few minutes before serving.

The Bottom Line: The tea was fine, although not quite like I remembered and A.J. didn't get any diaper rash.
The Cream of buckwheat had a bit too much ghee in it for my taste.  My mouth felt oily afterward.  Aidan ate it okay.  I didn't add the milk that the recipe suggested, and added agave nectar as a sweetener.  

I'm not sure this followed the ayurvedic principles, since buckwheat is actually a fruit.  One of the main principles is that you should always eat fruit alone, since "many fruits create a sour and indigestible 'wine' in the stomach when mixed with other foods."  I don't think that was the case with the buckwheat, but I am definitely no expert.