Authors: Theresa Rodgers

Dharma Feast Cookbook (8 page)

BOOK: Dharma Feast Cookbook

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M
ENUS

A fork is a fork, of course, it is a simple implement of eating. But at the same time, the extension of your sanity and your dignity may depend upon how you use your fork.

–C
HÓGYAM
T
RüNGPA
R
INPOCHE

It can be challenging to train ourselves to think differently about food and change our diet. A good way to begin is by choosing which dishes you will serve for a meal. For instance, for dinner the first step is choosing the main dish. Then group a vegetable, a salad, and if needed, a protein to match. It can be that easy.

Remember to keep in mind who will be eating—if your family has just spent the day hiking through snow, you’ll want to provide a warm, filling meal. A hot summer day calls for lighter food.

We designed the following menus to give you an idea of how to transition into the Dharma Feast diet and what this could look like in daily life. Much time and attention have gone into these meal plans, in part because we understand that many of us don’t usually have time to make elaborate meals.

The Benefits of Planning

It can be very helpful to plan menus for a week in advance. This may stretch us a bit at first, but doing so takes a lot of unnecessary stress out of our lives. If you create four weeks’ worth of menus, then over time you can draw on these every weekend to plan your meals for the following week, which shortens the amount of time needed for planning.

We also recommend sometimes making a larger quantity than your family or guests can eat at one meal so that what is left over can be used for meals later in the week. We use this “strategy” in the following Two-Week Menu Plan to give you a sense of what is possible. For example, next to “MONDAY” under “Dinner” you will see: “Millet (Cook enough to use in Parsley Garlic Millet for Wednesday lunch and Veggie Burgers for Thursday dinner).” This means that the millet you prepare Monday should be enough for Monday’S dinner, the Parsley Garlic Millet for Wednesday’S lunch, and the Veggie Burgers for Thursday’S dinner.

Shopping is time consuming. Plan to buy most of your food for the week in one trip, although it may be necessary to shop for fresh produce more than once. When you get home from the store, plan to devote thirty minutes or so to washing and soaking and drying salad ingredients, vegetables, and fruits so it’S done for the next few days. (Don’t soak or wash vegetables and fruits that absorb water, like mushrooms or berries, until right before use or they will get soggy. Also, dry lettuce in a salad spinner before storing or it will turn to mush.)

Planning ahead also allows us to properly prepare foods. Grains and beans can soak on a counter overnight (see
Grains
in
Recipes,
Chapter 5
). Beans can cook all day in a Crock Pot. (See
Cooking Beans
in
Recipes,
Chapter 5
.)

Nuts can also be soaked overnight, then drained and put right onto a pan to be roasted, if you wish, and sprinkled on salads throughout the week or added to lunches. (See
Soak and Toast Nuts and Seeds
in
How To,
Chapter 6
.)

Don’t overlook simple meals. Cooking smart doesn’t mean cooking more. Salad and reheated rice is an easy lunch or dinner. Add avocadoes, celery, and nuts for a more filling and interesting meal.

Other Ways To Cook “Smart”

•	Cook a pot of don’t need for that meal into different-sized containers to freeze—small amounts to add to a soup or larger amounts to be served as a main dish with rice and salad.
•	Make two salad dressings on Sunday and use them throughout the week.
•	Soups and stews can be made in larger quantities and can also be frozen in individual or family-sized portions. Or they can be heated in the morning and carried in a thermos for lunch.
•	Adapt recipes—double them or be creative with ingredients. For instance, use the leftover baked potatoes from one dinner in a soup that calls for boiled potatoes two days later.
•	Meal sharing is another way to eat well in a busy life. Get together with friends or one or two families in your neighborhood and plan a few dishes to make in larger quantity. If each family triples a soup recipe, everyone will have three different soups to choose from throughout the week.

We encourage you to use these ideas to help catalyze your own!

Special Occasion Meals

“Special Occasion Foods” are those that are generally not included in our simple everyday fare. These foods may contain sugar, white flour,

or even meat. One of the reasons we refrain from eating these foods casually is because they alter our body chemistry and mental and emotional well-being. If we are eating them more than a couple of times a month, we need to understand that this is having an impact.

Special occasion meals are meant to mark occasions that are a part of our family tradition and our religious or personal life. For example, it’S probably not a good idea to plan salad and rice for the meal that celebrates our child’S graduation from high school. Then there are less obvious times where hospitality and elegance dictate being a bit looser with our diet. Like when you go out with your children and they want to eat pizza, they might not say that they want you to eat pizza, but they probably would appreciate it if you joined in the fun of the occasion. Enjoy a slice! Or eat a bowl of simple pasta.

The special occasion menus listed below include meals that we love. They can be used as alternatives to more common and richer foods. The recipes are all in this book and contain few ingredients that cause our body chemistry to change. They are considered “special” because of the use of dairy and/or dessert and also because they are more complex.

Menu Examples for Special Occasion Dinners at Home:

Indian

Daal
with
Tarka,
Brown Basmati Rice, Indian Zucchini, Raita, Chai, and Cardamon Shortbread Cookies

European Gourmet

Warm Green French Lentil Salad with Shaved Raw Goat Cheese, Oven Roasted Rosemary Potatoes, Asparagus with Pine Nuts, Sparkling Water, and Tart Shell with Chocolate Filling topped with Toasted Sliced Almonds

Japanese Sushi Buffet

Miso Soup, Japanese Sushi Buffet (fish is included but optional), Seaweed Salad (Sunomono), Hot Green Tea, and Mango Sorbet