The Kripalu Kitchen: Nourishing Food for Body and Soul

The Kripalu Center for Yoga and Health, located in the Berkshires of Massachusetts, is where chef Smith serves the 50,000 people who visit each year, and in this solid cookbook he shares the recipes for 125 of the center’s popular dishes. Smith first lays out the Ayurvedic eating philosophy (a whole-food, vegetable- and legume-heavy diet) and follows by listing the three body types, or dosha: vata (thin frame, easy to lose weight hard to gain), pitta (medium frame, easy to gain weight, easy to lose), and kapha (heavy frame, easy to gain weight, hard to lose). Each recipe is labeled as to which works best for each body type. Some of the solid signature dishes include coconut French toast with Thai ginger maple syrup (increases vata, decreases kapha, neutral for pitta); a chickpea-based riff on classic tuna salad (same as previous); chilled mango soup (decreases vata, decreases pitta, neutral for kapha); and roasted chicken with sesame cider glaze (decreases vata, increases pitta, increases kapha). Ingredients for most dishes are easily sourced, and Smith’s clear instructions, along with suggestions for make-ahead components, make this an eminently useful resource for those looking to expand their repertoire of healthy dishes. [em](Apr.) [/em]