Summer Foods

SUMMER FOODS

 

Summer means pool parties and beach vacays! It also means hot temps and even hotter tempers. As I write this, we’ve crossed the thresholds of the Summer Equinox and Independence Day, now we’re about to settle into those oppressively hot, triple-digit-heat days of July and August. Aaaaah, those Oklahoma summers…

 

It’s official y’all: in the northern hemisphere we are straight up inside pitta time of year. 

 

Ayurveda introduces the concept that specific tastes correspond with each of the five elements (earth, water, fire, air, space).  And each dosha – vata, pitta, kapha – responds to the six tastes in particular ways. So let’s put on our polarized Ayurvedic shades and take a closer look at the elements that dominate the summer season and the foods, more specifically the tastes, that will serve to keep us cool and hydrated versus those that exacerbate our hotness.

 

Seasonal Eating for Summer

In this season, nature is providing an abundance of light, cool, and juicy fare like crisp, homegrown salads and sweet, drippy mangoes. There’s nothing more inviting on a summer day at the beach than giant chunks of sweet, sticky watermelon, 

Pitta dosha corresponds with the fire and water elements and when pitta is aggravated, the qualities of fire increase in the body and mind. This can present as too much heat in the GI tract – hyperacidity, reflux, heartburn – as well as hot flashes and night sweats. There is also a tendency towards irritability, frustration, and anger when the heat amps up in the mind. Studies indicate that crime rates increase with the rise in temperature, particularly between June and September. My babesofacertainage are already sweaty, salty, and pissed (even when it’s not 108 degrees outside) so we have our work to do!

From the Ayurvedic perspective, this is the time of year where hot, salty, sour qualities prevail, and right there we have three of the six tastes! By following the Ayurvedic principle of opposites which states “Like increases like, opposites balance,” we understand that the spicy, salty, and sour tastes will only amp up our heat. In other words, keep the spicy pulled pork tacos and salty margaritas to a minimum. What should you eat instead? 

Favor the opposite qualities!

To beat back the heat, let’s contribute more sweet, slightly bitter, and astringent foods to the patio pool party. If that sounds confusing, keep reading.

 

Did You Say Sweet?

When I’m talking about the sweet taste, don’t rip open the box of Little Debbie Oatmeal Cream Pies just yet. Instead, fill your plate with the true, natural sweetness that’s found in juicy fruits like peaches and plums, avocados and root vegetables, and most grains. The sweet taste is grounding and nourishing, cool and heavy. These qualities counter the light, hot, and mobile characteristics of fire. Try my Avocado Fennel Rice. You’re welcome. 

 

Bitter is Better

The bitter taste is beneficial for the blood and relieves burning and itching. Neem oil is a great example of an herb that is insanely bitter and used in Ayurvedic medicine to treat heat-related skin conditions. Some examples of where you can add the bitter taste to your plate is in artichokes, olives, and lettuces like kale, endive, and chard. Even cocoa is bitter, so permission granted to keep nibbling (in moderation please!) on squares of the darkest chocolate. 

 

Astringent – WTH Does That Even Mean?

This one used to elude me. Astringency is the taste that dries your mouth up when you consume it. It’s the taste that makes your cheeks draw in. This isn’t the pucker you get when you’ve popped a lemon drop in your mouth. When you do that, your taste buds and salivary glands explode, right? Suddenly your mouth is watering. That’s definitely not an astringent pucker, that’s sour.

The astringent quality is found in the skin of grapes, the tannins in your red wine. You’ll experience the astringent taste when you eat a handful of walnuts or take the first sip of green tea. It’s that borderline tartness in your chilled glass of hibiscus tea. Astringency equates with dryness, it compresses and absorbs. And since pitta has the water element – and the water element is prominent in summertime (hello sweat and humidity) – eating/drinking astringent foods helps to absorb excess moisture. 

So load up on legumes, beans, broccoli, pomegranates, and most raw veggies. This is the time of year to get creative and indulge in those colorful, prana-rich mason jar salads.  

 

Putting it All Together, aka Foods for Summer

So now you’ve got a good idea of what to favor for the next few months. If this concept of eating for taste rather than eating for calories or macronutrients is new to you, I invite you to start shifting your thinking. The world of culinary opportunities explodes when we allow the Six Tastes to be our guide. For the next two weeks, simply notice what is on your plate and identify where you have the sweet, the bitter, and the astringent. If it’s there, great! Well done. If it’s not there, great! Now you know where you can add more vibrance, abundance, and flavor to your meals. Let my Summer Foods for Pitta be your guide (and you’re ticket to all the pot luck pool parties!). 

 

Parting (Flavor) Shot

The pomegranate, with its many seeds, is a symbol of fertility and abundance. Pomegranates are also sweet and cooling, bitter and astringent, making them a true superpower for any Pitta Princesses/Prince. Including a shot of aloe vera juice provides an added boost of coolant that can curb hot flashes, calm inflammation, and soothe an irritated GI tract.
Here it is, the Pom Sparkler!