I love ice cream! I hope you do too because I’m sharing how to make any ice cream better, healthier, and easier to digest, along with many healthy plant-based, dairy-free ice cream recipes and flavor combinations. I would like to share how I enjoy my ice cream and how I minimize undesirable effects on my digestive system.
all about it in this video 🥰
So what are you trying to minimize here, you might wonder?
There is common knowledge that when you get wounded, one of the first things to do is to put ice on the wound. And what we are doing is minimizing the blood flow to the area by constricting the blood vessels with an ice pack. You know, heat – expands, and cold contracts, right?
Similarly, eating cold food, having iced drinks or ice cream of any sort affects blood flow in our digestive tract. And blood is like the fuel for your system; it keeps the engine running and everything moving, maintaining the proper function of all bodily tissues and organs. So when we reduce blood circulation in our digestive tract by cooling it down, we are slowing down and potentially weakening our digestive abilities.
Ayurveda refers to our digestive system as Agni (which means fire). So you can see that when we’re eating ice cream, we’re literally putting ice on the fire, impairing our digestion.
On the other hand, our body constantly regulates its temperature. So when we’re bringing the internal temperature down while enjoying the ice cream, our body has to rev up its engine and allocate a certain amount of additional energy to regulate the temperature. So if you have ever experienced an overall energy drop after having ice cream, that can be one reason.
What can we do to balance our digestion and enjoy some cooling deliciousness?
Here are some simple tips to improve digestion.
1️⃣ It is best to enjoy your ice cream during the day when your digestive fire is the strongest.
2️⃣ Stretch the joy. Keep it in your mouth for a little while before you swallow it.
There are three essential factors in play here:
- Agni (your digestive fire) is expressed in joy, so take your time and swim in it, enjoy every little bit of it. Do not rush, experience the taste;
- The second factor is temperature. The longer you keep it in your mouth, the warmer it becomes, the easier it is to digest.
- The third thing to keep in mind is that digestion starts in your mouth. Your salivary glands make saliva, a digestive juice, which has an enzyme that begins to break down starches in your food and makes it more digestible.
3️⃣ Spice it up.
Spices like cinnamon, cardamom, cloves, and ginger will definitely help to keep your digestive fire going.
You can use them separately or make a quick spice mix as I do, and then add it during the ice cream making process or sprinkle on the top right before eating to neutralize the chilling effects.
These spice mixes strengthen the digestive fire, and promote a comfortable post-meal experience.
👩🏼🍳 THINGS I USED TO MAKE IT HAPPEN
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Digest Assist Finishing Spice Mix
- 1 tbsp cardamom seeds
- 1 tbsp cinnamon
- 1 tsp ginger powder
- 3 cloves
- Dry roast cardamom and cloves until fragrant. Turn off the heat and add cinnamon and ginger powders. Cool down the spice mix.
- Grind using a coffee grinder. Transfer into an air-tight spice jar.
- Store at room temperature in a dark place. Use as needed.
Ayurvedic digestive support spice mix – CCF
Dry roast coriander, cumin, and fennel seeds until fragrant. Cool down. Grind using a coffee grinder. Transfer into an air-tight spice jar. Store at room temperature in a dark place. Use as needed.
You can spice your ice cream with this spice mix, use it for soups, stews, and other hot dishes, sprinkle on the salads, add to teas.
Ice cream is mucus-forming; these spices will help to break down mucus formation, assist with detoxification.
- 1 tbsp cumin seeds
- 1 tbsp coriander seeds
- 1 tbsp fennel seeds
DRY ROAST METHOD*
- Dry roast fennel and cumin seeds together, and coriander seeds in a separate small skillet until fragrant and a few shades darker.
- Cool down. Grind using a coffee grinder**
- Store at room temperature in a dark place. Use as needed.
RAW METHOD****
- Mix all ingredients in the bowl, transfer the mixture into the electric grinder or spice mill and grind to a fine powder.
- Store in an airtight jar in a dark place***.
If you don’t want to alter your favorite ice cream taste, you might want to look at these options:
1️⃣Right after enjoying ice cream, chew on the several cardamom seeds;
2️⃣ In half an hour after you had ice cream, treat yourself to a cup of Ginger tea or CCF (coriander-cumin-fennel) tea.
Ginger and CCF teas are readily available on the market, but because I love to make mine myself, I decided to share the way I make them with you. The recipes are below. 👇🏻👇🏻👇🏻
- 1-inch fresh ginger (sliced into thin pieces)
- 1 cup water (filtered)
- 1 cinnamon stick
optional ingredients
- 1 tsp jaggery (or maple syrup)
- 1 lemon slice
- Add ginger slices, cinnamon stick into the water in a saucepan; bring it to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer for 5-15 minutes (the longer you simmer, the stronger it gets).
- Remove the pot from the heat. Carefully pour the mixture through a mesh sieve into a heat-safe cup
- Serve hot with a slice of lemon, you can sweeten it with jaggery.
CCF (coriander-cumin-fennel) Tea
CCF Tea can be easily made at home by mixing an equal amount of coriander-cumin-fennel in a bowl and transfer the mixture into a jar.
Combine two teaspoons of CCF Tea with 2 cups of water.
Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and let the tea simmer for 5-15 minutes. Remove from heat, strain, serve.
CCF TEA MIX
- 2 tbsp coriander seeds
- 2 tbsp cumin seeds
- 2 tbsp fennel seeds
CCF tea beverage
- 2 cups water
- 2 tsp CCF tea mix
CCF tea mix
- Mix all ingredients in a bowl and transfer the mixture into an air-tight jar. Store in a dark, dry place.
CCF tea beverage
- Combine two teaspoons of CCF Tea with 2 cups of water in a saucepan; bring it to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer for 5-15 minutes (the longer you simmer, the stronger it gets).
- Remove the pot from the heat. Carefully pour the mixture through a mesh sieve into a heat-safe cup.
- Serve warm or at room temperature.
What about you?
Did you ever try any of these natural digestive aids?
I love hearing from you. Let me know how it went in the comments below and share a picture of your better healthier ice cream on Instagram with the hashtag #positivepranic @positivepranic so I can see your beautiful creation 🙂 🙏
Be Alive 🌱,
❤ Love, Julia
