Meals That Heal – Ayurveda Recipes: Summer Fresh Fruit Crepes
Fresh fruit crepes are easy to prepare and all that color is a delight too. Sometimes breakfast is just better with fruit! Pitta types will benefit from avoiding any sour fruits in their crepes.
Eastern View: Fresh fruit is considered very light and easy to digest – comparatively lighter than other foods. When fruits are ripe and eaten in the proper season and climate, they are pure nectar and have a lot of health benefits. They immediately turn into rasa (nutritional fluid) — the first of the seven body tissues. Fresh ripe fruit requires practically no digestion and helps to increase ojas, the finest by-product of digestion that enhances immunity, and vitality.
Sweet, ripe fruits provide valuable nutrients to the body. You will notice more energy and happiness from eating fresh organic fruits on a daily basis. In ayurveda, fruits are also valued for their ability to cleanse the body of toxins.
Fruit is best eaten in the morning or for a snack separate from other foods. As far as possible, shop for fruit at farmers’ markets or local orchards — supermarket fruit may have been artificially ripened, and therefore have lost some of its nutritive value.
Some ayurvedic fruits you can try out in your crepes:
- Mango: Considered the “king” of ayurvedic fruits. Ripe mango is considered a tonic — it builds your tissues.
- Pomegranate: Though sour to the taste, it is also astringent and helps to balance Pitta in particular. It is good for the digestion.
- Apple: Apples are good for balancing Kapha. Raw, sour apples increase Vata and Pitta. Cooked apples help to create ojas and help to ease constipation.
- Pear: It is good for energy and balancing the hormones. Sweet juicy pears have an antidepressant effect so can uplift your emotions. Pears are light, sweet, and balancing for all three doshas.
- Grapes: Sweet grapes and raisins are regarded highly in ayurveda. Some ayurvedic texts praise them as the best among fruits. Sweet raisins or grapes sautéed and added to your crepe are highly nutritious and full of iron.
Western View: Eating fruit provides a myriad of health benefits — people who eat more fruits and vegetables as part of an overall healthy diet are likely to have a reduced risk of some chronic diseases. Fruits provide nutrients vital for health and maintenance of your body.
Nutrients
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Most fruits are naturally low in fat, sodium, and calories. None have cholesterol.
- Fruits are sources of many essential nutrients that are under consumed, including potassium, dietary fiber, vitamin C, and folate (folic acid).
- Diets rich in potassium may help to maintain healthy blood pressure. Fruit sources of potassium include bananas, prunes and prune juice, dried peaches and apricots, cantaloupe, honeydew melon, and orange juice.
- Dietary fiber from fruits, as part of an overall healthy diet, helps reduce blood cholesterol levels and may lower risk of heart disease. Fiber is important for proper bowel function. It helps reduce constipation and diverticulosis. Fiber-containing foods such as fruits help provide a feeling of fullness with fewer calories. Whole or cut-up fruits are sources of dietary fiber; fruit juices contain little or no fiber.
- Vitamin C is important for growth and repair of all body tissues, helps heal cuts and wounds, and keeps teeth and gums healthy.
- Folate (folic acid) helps the body form red blood cells. Women of childbearing age who may become pregnant should consume adequate folate from foods, and in addition 400 mcg of synthetic folic acid from fortified foods or supplements. This reduces the risk of neural tube defects, spina bifida, and anencephaly during fetal development.
Health benefits
- Eating a diet rich in vegetables and fruits as part of an overall healthy diet may reduce risk for heart disease, including heart attack and stroke.
- Eating a diet rich in some vegetables and fruits as part of an overall healthy diet may protect against certain types of cancers.
- Diets rich in foods containing fiber, such as some vegetables and fruits, may reduce the risk of heart disease, obesity, and type 2 diabetes.
- Eating vegetables and fruits rich in potassium as part of an overall healthy diet may lower blood pressure, and may also reduce the risk of developing kidney stones and help to decrease bone loss.
- Eating foods such as fruits that are lower in calories per cup instead of some other higher-calorie food may be useful in helping to lower calorie intake.
Summer Fresh Fruit Crepes
Ingredients
For the crepes:
1 cup quinoa flour
2/3 cup amaranth flour
3 tablespoons rice flour
1 1/2 cups water
1 cup coconut milk
Sunflower oil or ghee for cooking
For the filling:
Juice of 2 ripe oranges
1 ripe mango, peeled, pitted, and cut into bite-size pieces
1 pint strawberries, sliced
6 dates, pitted and chopped
1 ripe pear, peeled, cored and cut into bite sized pieces
3/4 cup red, seedless grapes, halved
12 mint leaves, chopped
Pinch cardamom
3 tablespoons raw organic cane sugar
For the topping:
1 cup organic whipped cream (optional). Try a dairy free variety if you are a vegan or a Kapha.
Directions
Preheat oven to a low setting (to keep the crepes warm)
To make the crepe batter, put the quinoa, amaranth, and rice flours into a blender with the water and coconut milk. Blend until smooth. The batter needs to be thin but creamy. Transfer the batter to a bowl and leave to rest at room temperature for 10 minutes.
Heat a little ghee or sunflower oil into a small nonstick pan over medium heat. Stir the batter and ladle it into the pan just enough to cover the bottom thinly. Spread the batter evenly. Cook till the crepe is golden-brown (about 1-2 minutes).
Flip the crepe over and cook the other side till golden-brown.
Remove the crepe from the pan, transfer to a covered baking dish and place in the oven to keep warm.
When you have almost completed the crepes, start the fruit filling. Put all the filling ingredients with the sugar and water in a pan. Cook over medium heat, stirring until the fruit forms a syrupy sauce, about 10 minutes.
To serve, divide the fruit filling amongst the crepes, rolling each one up around the filling. Carefully transfer onto a serving plate and top with whipped cream if you like.
Yum! Great weekend breakfast.
Want more breakfasts that are not only good but good for you?! Download my top 10 Ayurvedic breakfasts below!
In health,
