What Food should you feed us?

Keeping your Sangha Healthy

I am often asked “what should we cook for you?”  The Buddha says that the purpose of alms food is “for keeping us healthy” so we can “live the holy life”.

I have noticed that often Dana can be high in fats, sugars and carbohydrates [white rice] and low in fresh greens.  I would like to encourage you to prepare healthy food for us with lots of fresh vegetables and whole grains.  Please give us more salads or lightly cooked vegetables.

Certainly the traditional Sri Lankan salads of Gotu Kola and Kale are really good!  I always appreciate the excellent nutrition these dishes provide.

I have difficulty digesting oils and fats so please 

    • do not  put oil or salad dressing on the salads
    • reduce the amount of oil that you cook with
    • do not give me fried foods
    • do not give me chemical sweeteners (aspartane etc)

“Spices”and chili is just fine for me. I have no problem eating spices.

To get started I will provide you with a couple of good salad recipes:

Mixed greens salad

is very simple and very good:

baby spinach, cos lettuce, iceberg lettuce, watercress, coriander leaves, basil leaves, pea and bean sprouts.
Shred the big leaves, pick through the baby spinach, watercress and herbs and discard any that are crushed or slimy,
Gently toss them to mix.
A gentle drizzle of lemon juice or vinegar will keep them fresh and prevent browning. {NO OIL please!}

Raw Carrot Salad with Sesame, Soy and Lime Dressing

is from Michelle’s excellent Health Helpings website http://www.healthyhelpings.com.au/raw-asian-carrot-salad/

The menu on the left lists some more suggestions and recipes of healthy food that you can feed us that will be good for us and taste good too.