Are you enjoying a festive season full of peace, happiness & golden health?

...or maybe you are endulging in too much food and too much chocolate. I certainly did last night in the company of my dear family. Remember it's all about balance. If you are starting to feel that you have been indulging too much, the best thing is to call on your friends..... 

sometimes it might be hard to decide who is your friend. 
I always trust the advice from people who have helped me in the past. 

My dear Ayurvedic practitioner Dipika Delmenico have helped me when I was feeling down and out. She has recommended me to eat mung beans for creating balance in festive times. The company she is connected to is Amrita Spice Co. The following advice is from a Newsletter dated 2002 where it says that mungbeans are light and easy to digest and the best thing is that they eliminate toxins from your body. It is quite clear that the human body accumulates all kinds of toxins from the rich foods and the lifestyle we live. Cook a mungbean soup and have some before or after heavy meals to help your body recover. Here is a recipe on a Mungbean soup from their website:

Mungbean soup
Serves: 4

Ingredients:

1 Cup green mung beans - soaked overnight
2 Cup water + 1 tsk salt- to cook beans in pressure cooker
2 Cup water - to achieve the soup
1 msk sunflower oil
½ tskmustard seeds
¼ tsk hing - Asefoetida
1 bay leaf
½ tsk tumeric
1 tsk mixed Cumin and Coriander Powder
1½ tsk ginger - chopped
½ tsk garlic - chopped
2 tsk salt
1½ tsk lemon juice
1 tsk raw sugar cane
1 pinch garam masala powder

Preparation Time: 45 minutes

METHOD OF PREPARATION:

1) Soak the mung beans overnight in water.
2) Clean and finely grind ginger and garlic
3) Drain the mung beans, wash them two times and cook in a pressure cooker with the indicated amount of water until tender. It takes around 25 minutes, according to your pressure cooker. The beans have to be broken.
4) Heat the oil in large deep saucepan and add mustard seeds. When mustard seeds pop, add hing and bay leaf. Mix well.
5) Place the cooked beans - including the cooked water plus fresh water - into the saucepan.
6) Bring to a boil and add all remaining spices. Simmer the mung beans for a few minutes more.

Here are some other general tips for keeping well during festive times:

• Fill your wine glass with an organic purple grape juice instead of an alcoholic beverage
• Sip on hot water after meals to aid digestion
• Chew on 1/2 tsp roasted fennel seeds if you have overeaten

Enjoy your Easter holidays!