But first, some housekeeping details.

Shubha Swaminathan is the winner of the Weeknight Simple cookbook giveaway for Grace Elkus’s Protein-Packed Vegetarian! Congratulations! You’ll be hearing from me shortly.

I also officially graduated from my Ayurvedic nutrition studies after almost a full year of training, and I’m so grateful for this incredible body of knowledge that has enriched the way I think about food from the inside out. I don’t think I can look at carbs, protein, and fiber quite the same way again.

Because it’s so much more than the grams. It’s how a food is prepared, what it’s combined with, the season you’re eating it in, and, perhaps most importantly, the person eating it. You’ll be hearing lots more from me on the topic, including some special workshops and 1:1 work over the next few months, so stay tuned. And if you’ve been following along closely, you may have already noticed some of these changes and nuances creeping into my recipes, particularly around digestion, preparation, and seasonality.

Which brings me to this month’s recipes.

September is that shoulder season between summer and fall, and in New York City, it’s fast becoming one of my favorite months of the year. Spring is too cold, summer is too humid, and winter is too unpredictable. September? It’s finally cool enough to turn the oven on, but the markets are still gloriously overflowing with zucchini, corn, eggplant, and tomatoes. So, no surprises, that’s exactly what we’re working with in this edition of Weeknight Simple.

Now, Ayurveda and nightshades don’t always get along, but the foodie in me simply cannot let this bounty pass by. So rather than thinking in absolutes, we pay attention to how we prepare and combine them. We cook them until soft and caramelized, use plenty of olive oil, layer in whole grains and lentils, and finish with mounds of fresh herbs.

In fact, when I created the shopping list this month, I was genuinely surprised by how few spices I’d used. Completely out of character for me! But perhaps that’s the point. These glorious late-summer vegetables don’t need much. A little heat, some time, good olive oil, and fistfuls of fresh herbs.

And that’s September on a plate.

P.S. I also realized as I sat down to send this that today marks the anniversary of 9/11 (link to the beautiful drone tribute). Twenty-five years have passed, and I’m not sure time always heals so much as we learn how to carry what happened. So today, I dedicate these recipes to the resilience of New Yorkers, this city I love, and the way food has always had a remarkable ability to bring people together.

For those who are new around here, Weeknight Simple is my monthly recipe club where you get:

• 3 protein-rich dinner recipes, like the ones in this newsletter

• A bonus recipe every month, could be breakfast, dessert, an exclusive from a new cookbook, etc. or occasional free workshops/giveaways

• A comprehensive shopping list, organized by supermarket aisle

• Access to the full recipe index, with dozens of recipes and counting

• See past editions here and here.

  Subscribe To Weeknight Simple

If you wish to stay a free subscriber, you get to vote on which recipe will be featured in next week’s free newsletter—so don’t miss the poll at the bottom.

And now, here’s what’s on the menu this month.

Moong Bean & Red Rice Burrito Bowl

White rice and black beans are perfectly wonderful, but what happens when we give the classic burrito bowl a little Ayurvedic spin?

Both moong beans and red rice are renowned in Ayurveda as pathya, foods considered wholesome and suitable for regular consumption. Moong in particular is prized for being relatively easy to digest for most people. If you’ve ever struggled with beans, this is a good one to experiment with. Here, we soak both the moong and red rice before cooking, one of those simple preparation techniques I’ve become increasingly a fan of through my Ayurvedic studies.

Then we bring the bowl firmly into late summer: stovetop-roasted zucchini and sweet corn, a juicy pico de gallo made with cherry tomatoes, avocado, and a lip-smacking cilantro cottage cheese crema that sneaks in another layer of protein.

Finish with a squeeze of lime and you’ve got my burrito-bowl take on shad rasa, the six tastes of Ayurveda, all layered into one very satisfying lunch.

Farro & Lentil Ratatouille Salad

This warm salad was inspired by the lentil ratatouille I enjoyed at the restaurant Sant Ambreaus this summer in Southampton, over a delightful and leisurely lunch with my sister. My version pairs chewy farro with black Beluga lentils, a powerhouse of protein and fiber that also holds its shape beautifully.

Then comes a speedy ratatouille of eggplant, zucchini, bell pepper, tomatoes, and onions, cooked together until soft, concentrated, and lightly caramelized. From an Ayurvedic perspective, cooking transforms all those raw vegetables, making the meal warmer, softer, and more grounding, particularly as we begin inching toward fall.

Finish it with crumbled feta, crunchy pumpkin seeds, and a generous mound of fresh basil and parsley. It’s hearty without feeling heavy, packed with texture, and perhaps even better the next day once all those flavors have had a chance to mingle.

Einkorn Zucchini Bread w/Ricotta & Tomato Beans

I don’t know why it took me this long, but I finally tried the Zucchini Bread from my cookbook with Einkorn flour and the results are chef’s kiss. It’s fluffier and more neutral tasting than the original gluten-free version, though I still love that one too.

Then there’s my September non-negotiable: tomato confit. This time, I added cannellini beans and made a faster version that still gets sweet, melty, and caramelized, and somehow works spectacularly over everything from bread to eggs to pasta.

Here, I pile the tomato beans over a thick swipe of ricotta on the zucchini bread, with fresh basil and toasted pine nuts on top. Serve it as a crowd-pleasing appetizer, or pair it with one of the soups from my index for a full meal because, guess what, soup season is here to stay!

If you prefer to stay a free subscriber, please take the poll below to choose which recipe you want the most. The winning recipe will be sent out in my free newsletter next week.

Free Recipe Poll

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I have a little something extra for you this week.

Earlier this month, I introduced you to our August guest chef, Grace Elkus, whose brand-new cookbook, Protein-Packed Vegetarian, officially arrived in the world this week.

I had such a hard time choosing just three recipes from this book. Grace has a real knack for making high-protein vegetarian food feel comforting, colorful, vegetable-forward, and, most importantly, like food you actually want to eat. If you made her Edamame Salad with Sesame Tofu from last week’s newsletter, you already know what I mean.

And now, one of you gets the whole book!

I’m giving away one copy of Protein-Packed Vegetarian to a Weeknight Simple subscriber.

To enter: Leave a comment on this post by clicking the button at the bottom (or top) of this email (or just respond to this email) and tell me your go-to vegetarian protein dish for busy weeknights. I’m always curious to hear what you’re actually cooking when time is tight, so I ca…

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I had nursed a secret ambition of making this my summer of slowness. I’m pretty sure I did not succeed. There is always another checklist, another meal to make, another email to answer, another thing that somehow feels urgent. Maybe slowness isn’t something you achieve for an entire season. Maybe it’s just finding a few pockets of it where you can. A long breakfast. Sitting outside after dinner. Putting the phone away. Letting a seven-year-old take forever to do something without rushing her along.

I’m working on it.

And now, onto the menu...

Thank you for filling out my Weeknight Simple poll for the recipe you wanted from the August edition, straight from guest chef Grace Elkus ‘s brand new cookbook, Protein Packed Vegetarian, out next week. I know this audience loves a good salad, and unsurprisingly, the Edamame Salad with Sesame Tofu won by a confident margin! So here it is.

PS: For my Weeknight Simple subscribers, there’s more Grace coming your way. I’m giving away a copy of this gorgeous new cookbook next week, so stay tuned!

Edamame Salad with Sesame Tofu

If you’ve never gone to bed dreaming about lunch the next day, this vibrant, crunchy salad might change that. In addition to carrots, you can add any veggies that hold up well in the fridge, like snap peas or shredded red cabbage. If it’s bright and colorful, you’re doing it right.

Serves: 4 Prep: 20 minutes Cook: 25 minutes Total: 45 minutes

Print Recipe

for the tofu

• 1 (14-ounce) block extra-firm tofu

• 3 tablespoons reduced sodium soy sauce or tamari

• 3 tablespoons sesame oil

• 1 tablespoon pure maple syrup

• 2 garlic cloves, grated or minced

• 1 teaspoon kosher salt

• Pinch of red pepper flakes

• 2 tablespoons cornstarch

• 1 tablespoon sesame seeds

for the salad

• ½ cup quinoa, rinsed

• 1 ¼ teaspoons kosher salt, divided

• Juice of 1 lime

• 1 tablespoon unseasoned rice vinegar

• 1 tablespoon creamy natural peanut butter or nut or seed butter of choice

• 3 cups shredded carrots

• 1 ½ cups frozen shelled edamame, thawed

• 8 mini sweet peppers, thinly sliced

• 1 bunch scallions (about 6), thinly sliced (white and green parts)

• ½ cup loosely packed finely chopped fresh cilantro leaves

• ¼ cup salted roasted cashews or peanuts, chopped

Make the tofu: Preheat the oven to 425°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. (For air fryer instructions, see opposite.) Drain the tofu and wrap in a few layers of paper towels. Place on a cutting board and weight it down with a heavy object, such as a skillet or large can. (Alternatively, use a tofu press.) Set aside to drain for at least 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, combine the soy sauce, oil, maple syrup, garlic, salt, and red pepper flakes. Pour half into a large bowl for the salad.

Whisk the cornstarch and sesame seeds into the medium bowl. Once drained, unwrap the tofu and slice into ¾-inch cubes. Add to the bowl and toss to coat. Transfer to the prepared baking sheet and arrange in a single layer.

Bake the tofu until crispy, 20 to 25 minutes (no need to flip).

Make the salad: In a medium pot, toast the quinoa over high heat, stirring constantly, until the water has evaporated and the quinoa smells toasty, about 3 minutes. Add 1 cup water and ¼ teaspoon of the salt and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low, cover, and simmer until the water is absorbed and the quinoa is just tender (it should still have a slight bite), 12 to 15 minutes. Set aside to cool.

To the large bowl with the reserved soy-maple mixture, add the lime juice, vinegar, and peanut butter and whisk to combine. Add the carrots, edamame, peppers, scallions, cilantro, cashews, cooled quinoa, and remaining 1 teaspoon salt. Toss to coat.

If serving right away, top with the tofu. If meal prepping, add to individual portions day-of. Store in the fridge for up to 4 days.

to air-fry the tofu

Heat the air fryer to 400°F. Coat with cooking spray. Add the sesame-coated tofu and cook, flipping halfway through, until crispy, about 15 minutes.

PER SERVING:

Calories: 520 Protein: 26g Carbs: 52g Fat: 26g Fiber: 12g

Reprinted with permission from Protein-Packed Vegetarian: Easy, Nourishing Recipes to Fuel Your Day: A High-Protein Cookbook. Copyright © 2026 by Grace Elkus. Photographs copyright © 2026 by Linda Pugliese. Published by Clarkson Potter, an imprint of the Crown Publishing Group, a division of Penguin Random House LLC, New York.

If you’ve spent any time in the high-protein corner of Instagram, chances are you’ve come across Grace’s work. A recipe developer, food writer, and creator with an impressive culinary résumé, she has built a devoted following by making high-protein cooking feel fresh, comforting, and genuinely achievable. And yes, she’s probably done more than just about anyone to convince the internet that cottage cheese deserves a permanent spot in the refrigerator.

Choosing just three recipes from her new cookbook, Protein-Packed Vegetarian (out on August 26th) was no easy task. Every page is packed with clever ideas that prioritize protein without sacrificing vegetables, flavor, or the simple pleasure of cooking. It’s exactly the kind of book I love recommending because it proves that nourishing food

can also be inviting, comforting, and endlessly craveable.

This month’s menu includes one breakfast and two lunch-or-dinner recipes. You’ll start with Raspberry Chia Pudding Parfaits, where a vibrant raspberry smoothie becomes the base for creamy chia pudding layered with Greek yogurt, granola, and hemp seeds. Then there’s the Edamame Salad with Sesame Tofu, a colorful meal-prep salad loaded with crunchy vegetables, crispy tofu, quinoa, and a sesame-peanut dressing you’ll want to drizzle on everything. Finally, Sheet Pan Summer Veggie Parmesan turns peak-season vegetables into a bubbling tray of marinara, cottage cheese, mozzarella, and crispy panko, delivering all the comfort of classic eggplant Parmesan with a generous protein boost.

These are the kinds of recipes that carry you effortlessly through hot August days, the first hints of fall, and honestly, any time of year when you want meals that are satisfying without feeling heavy.

One more thing. At the end of the month, I’ll be giving away a copy of Protein-Packed Vegetarian to one lucky Weeknight Simple subscriber, so stay tuned for details!

For those who are new around here, Weeknight Simple is my monthly recipe club where you get:

• 3 protein-rich dinner recipes, like the ones in this newsletter

• A bonus recipe every month, could be breakfast, dessert, an exclusive from a new cookbook, etc. or occasional free workshops/giveaways

• A comprehensive shopping list, organized by supermarket aisle

• Access to the full recipe index, with dozens of recipes and counting

• See past editions here and here.

  Subscribe To Weeknight Simple

If you wish to stay a free subscriber, you get to vote on which recipe will be featured in next week’s free newsletter—so don’t miss the poll at the bottom.

And now, here’s what’s on the menu this month (descriptions from Protein-Packed Vegetarian)

Raspberry Chia Pudding Parfaits

I always thought chia pudding was just okay—until I layered it into parfaits. Fresh fruit adds juiciness, granola and hemp seeds add crunch, and plumping the chia seeds in what’s essentially a raspberry smoothie adds more flavor (and color!) than simply soaking them in milk. To make one big batch instead of individual jars, transfer the raspberry mixture to a large airtight container and stir in ½ cup chia seeds.

Edamame Salad with Sesame Tofu

If you’ve never gone to bed dreaming about lunch the next day, this vibrant, crunchy salad might change that. In addition to carrots, you can add any veggies that hold up well in the fridge, like snap peas or shredded red cabbage. If it’s bright and colorful, you’re doing it right.

Sheet Pan Summer Veggie Parmesan

If you follow me on social media, you know I have a thing for blanketing vegetables with sauce, cheese, and bread crumbs. It started with zucchini, evolved into eggplant, and blossomed into this multi-veggie masterpiece (CSA members will thank me). I like to give the edges an extra sprinkle of bread crumbs so they get super crispy. Serve big slices with bread, pasta, or salad.

Reprinted with permission from Protein-Packed Vegetarian: Easy, Nourishing Recipes to Fuel Your Day: A High-Protein Cookbook. Copyright © 2026 by Grace Elkus. Photographs copyright © 2026 by Linda Pugliese. Published by Clarkson Potter, an imprint of the Crown Publishing Group, a division of Penguin Random House LLC, New York.

If you prefer to stay a free subscriber, please take the poll below to choose which recipe you want the most. The winning recipe will be sent out in my free newsletter next week.

Free Recipe Poll

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I’m coming to you from Italy, where I’m currently having my fill of the views, pasta, olive oil, tomatoes, and wine. We’re spending a few days in Lake Como before heading down to Puglia. If you have any favorite restaurants, hidden gems, or shopping recommendations, I’d love to hear them!

One quick thing before we get to this month’s free recipe.

Many of you have asked me how to build vegetarian salads that actually keep you full, so I wanted to remind you about my High Protein Summer Salads Workshop. It’s one of my most-loved classes because it focuses less on individual recipes and more on the simple formulas that help you build satisfying, protein-packed salads all summer long.

If you’re a Weeknight Simple subscriber, the workshop is now included as a perk of your membership - just another small thank you for supporting my work. If you’re reading on the free plan, you can still purchase it separately, and it’s 30% off through the end of this week, so there are just a few more days to grab it before the summer sale ends.

And now, onto the menu...

Thank you for filling out my Weeknight Simple poll for the recipe you wanted from my July batch. The Herby Moong & Barley Soup won, proving that I’m not the only one that craves soup all year round!

Barley is one of Ayurveda’s most celebrated cooling grains, and when paired with yellow moong dal, the result is a soup that’s surprisingly light yet deeply satisfying. Together they provide plenty of fiber, a pleasantly chewy texture, and excellent staying power. Ayurveda also describes barley as having a lekhana, or “scraping,” quality, making it a traditional choice for supporting healthy cholesterol levels and weight management.

Finished with handfuls of fresh herbs and a squeeze of lemon, this one-pot soup feels like a nourishing summer khichdi.

Herby Moong & Barley Soup

Serves: 2-3 (as a main)

Print Recipe Card

Ingredients

• 2 Tbsp. olive oil, plus more for drizzling

• 1 bay leaf[ves]

• ½ medium onion(s)[100] , diced

• 1 Tbsp. grated or finely chopped ginger

• 1 Tbsp. grated or finely chopped garlic

• 2 large carrot(s), peeled and diced

• 1 medium zucchini (courgette), diced

• ¼ cup pearl barley or farro or white quinoa

• ¾ cup yellow moong dal or split red lentils

• 2 Tbsp. tomato paste

• 1 tsp ground cumin

• 1 tsp ground coriander

• 6 cups low sodium vegetable broth or Better than Bouillon concentrate

• 1 tsp fine sea salt, to taste

• freshly ground black pepper, to taste

• 1 cup finely chopped herbs (parsley, cilantro, dill)

• 2 Tbsp. lime or lemon juice

Directions

Step 1. Heat a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the olive oil and bay leaf and cook for about 30 seconds. Add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, for 4–5 minutes until softened. Stir in the ginger and garlic and cook for 1 minute, until fragrant.

Step 2. Add the tomato paste, cumin, and coriander and cook, stirring, for 1 minute to toast the spices. Add the carrots and zucchini and stir to coat in the spices.

Step 3. Add the barley (or farro or quinoa), moong dal, vegetable broth, salt, and a few grinds of black pepper. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to low. Cover and simmer for 50-60 minutes, or until the barley and moong are tender. (quinoa has a shorter cooking time).

Step 4. Stir in the chopped herbs and lemon or lime juice. Taste and adjust the seasoning with additional salt, pepper, or lemon juice as needed. Ladle into bowls and drizzle with more olive oil.

Cooking note

This soup will continue to thicken as it sits because both barley and moong absorb liquid. When reheating, simply stir in a splash of water or broth.

Soak the barley for 30 minutes to reduce cooking time.

Nutrition per serving(see disclaimer) assuming 2 servings

I’ll be back in August with a protein-packed edition of Weeknight Simple from a superstar guest chef! xoxo

The same is true for salads.

Once you know how to layer protein, texture, acidity, and crunch, you can build endless combinations from whatever you have on hand. That’s a skill I come back to every summer. So I thought my High Protein Summer Salads Workshop would be a fun summer bonus to share here!

In this one-hour workshop, I'll show you the simple formulas I use to build satisfying vegetarian salads with 20–30g of protein by layering ingredients for flavor, texture, and staying power. You'll learn 3 versatile salad templates, 3 protein-packed dressings you'll want to put on everything, and the small techniques that transform salads from a side dish into something you'll genuinely crave.

As a Weeknight Simple subscriber, this workshop is now included as a perk of your membership - consider it a small thank you for supporting my work.

Unlock Your Perk Here!

Whether…

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In this 1-hour workshop, I’ll show you the simple formulas I use to create vegetarian salads with 20–30g of protein by layering ingredients for flavor, texture, and staying power. You’ll learn three versatile salad templates, three protein-packed dressings you’ll want to put on everything, and the small techniques that turn salads from a side dish into something you’ll genuinely crave.

Here, you’ll find the full workshop video, along with the recipe guide and shopping list. You can watch it instantly, cook along in real time, or save it for the next time you’re looking for fresh inspiration in the kitchen.

I hope these recipes become staples in your summer rotation—and long after summer is over.

Read more

The answer isn’t necessarily eating more raw salads, which can be taxing on the body when overdone. This month’s menu is a meal plan of sorts, built around ingredients that are naturally cooling and laghu (light), making them easier to digest while still feeling satisfying.

Breakfast is an ancient amaranth porridge topped with a decadent berry-chia jam. Lunch is a vibrant green pulao with basil seeds and a cooling sumac raita. Dinner is a nourishing moong and barley soup that may surprise you with just how refreshing a bowl of soup can feel in the middle of summer.

As always, protein and fiber are both here in abundance, but packaged in ways that are gentle on digestion and aligned with the season. I’m especially proud of this month’s menu because it weaves together so many of the Ayurvedic principles I’ve been studying over the past year, while still delivering the practical, high-protein and flavor-forward recipes you expect from Weeknight Simple.

I hope you enjoy cooking from it as much as I enjoyed creating it.

For those who are new around here, Weeknight Simple is my monthly recipe club where you get:

• 3 protein-rich dinner recipes, like the ones in this newsletter

• A bonus recipe every month, could be breakfast, dessert, an exclusive from a new cookbook, etc. or occasional free workshops/giveaways

• A comprehensive shopping list, organized by supermarket aisle

• Access to the full recipe index, with dozens of recipes and counting

• See past editions here and here.

  Subscribe To Weeknight Simple

If you wish to stay a free subscriber, you get to vote on which recipe will be featured in next week’s free newsletter—so don’t miss the poll at the bottom.

And now, here’s what’s on the menu this month.

Amaranth Porridge w/Berry Chia Jam

Amaranth is one of those ancient ingredients that deserves a lot more attention. Revered in both the Americas and India (where it’s known as rajgira), this tiny seed is naturally gluten-free, a complete protein, and considered laghu (light) in Ayurveda. It’s even traditionally eaten during fasting periods because it’s nourishing without feeling heavy.

Here, it becomes a comforting porridge gently spiced with cinnamon, cardamom, and ginger, simmered in your milk of choice (I love A2 whole milk here). Stir in hemp seeds or an egg (yes!) for an extra protein boost, then finish with a quick berry-chia jam - which is the easiest way I know to preserve a little bit of summer in a jar.

Summer Greens Pulao w/ Sumac Raita

I don’t reach for rice often while developing recipes, although that’s changing as I’ve learned more about its properties and when it truly shines. Rice is naturally cooling and moistening, making it exactly what the body craves during the hottest months of the year.

This pulao is packed with everything green I associate with summer: spinach, cilantro, mint, scallions. But my favorite ingredient is one you might not expect: soaked basil (sabja) seeds. Traditionally used in cooling drinks and Indian desserts like falooda, they practically disappear into the rice while contributing a remarkable amount of soluble fiber. If, like me, you’re always thinking about blood sugar balance, this is an incredible hack to soften the glucose response of rice-heavy meals without changing the eating experience.

Served with a bright, cooling sumac raita, it’s the kind of meal I crave when I’m completely over salads but still want something fresh and light.

Herby Moong & Barley Soup

Soup in the summer? Stay with me.

Barley is one of Ayurveda’s most celebrated cooling grains, and when paired with yellow moong dal, the result is a soup that’s surprisingly light yet deeply satisfying. Together they provide plenty of fiber, a pleasantly chewy texture, and excellent staying power. Ayurveda also describes barley as having a lekhana, or “scraping,” quality, making it a traditional choice for supporting healthy cholesterol levels and weight management.

Finished with handfuls of fresh herbs and a squeeze of lemon, this one-pot soup feels like a nourishing summer khichdi.

If you prefer to stay a free subscriber, please take the poll below to choose which recipe you want the most. The winning recipe will be sent out in my free newsletter next week.

Free Recipe Poll

Read more

A good grain bowl is all about contrast. Creamy and crunchy. Rich and bright. Familiar and surprising.

But more than that, it’s about structure. The best grain bowls aren’t really recipes at all - they’re frameworks. Start with a grain, add a protein anchor, layer in vegetables, something crunchy, something tangy, and finish with a sauce that ties everything together.

Here, a protein-rich dressing made from hemp seeds and tahini forms the backbone of the dish. Fresh herbs, lemon, and vinegar keep it light and vibrant, while roasted cauliflower, chewy farro, pistachios, pickled onions, and sweet Medjool dates create layers of texture and flavor that make every bite a little different.

Don’t have farro? Use quinoa, barley, or brown rice. Swap the cauliflower for roasted broccoli or sweet potato. The hemp-tahini dressing is equally at home drizzled over a salad, spooned onto roasted vegetables, or used as a dip for crudités. Once you understand the structure, the possibilities multiply.

It’s the sort of meal that works equally well for dinner or packed into containers for lunch the next day. If you’re meal prepping, place the dressing at the bottom of your container and layer everything else on top. When you’re ready to eat, shake and toss. For an extra protein boost, add a generous scoop of Greek yogurt to the base of the bowl.

A Little Summer Surprise

This grain bowl is a good reminder that satisfying meals aren’t about following recipes perfectly. They’re about understanding a few simple principles.

For me, one of those principles is protein layering: combining multiple protein sources so a meal feels nourishing, balanced, and satisfying.

It’s the same approach I use in my favorite summer salads.

That’s why I created my High Protein Summer Salads Workshop, where I teach the exact formulas, protein-packed dressings, and layering strategies I use to build vegetarian salads with 20-30g of protein that don’t feel remotely like diet food.

The best part? You can start watching immediately and be building better salads by dinner tonight.

It’s currently 30% off for summer if you’d like to join me in the kitchen.

Herby Hemp Tahini Bowl w/Cauliflower, Farro & Pistachios

Serves: 4

Print Recipe Card

Ingredients

• 4 servings Herby Hemp Tahini (recipe below)

• 2 servings Quick Pickled Onions (recipe below)

• ½ cup (90g) farro, cooked according to package directions, or quinoa

• 1 medium head cauliflower (600g), chopped into medium florets

• ⅔ cup pistachios, roughly chopped

• 1½ cups canned or cooked chickpeas (420g), or ½ heaping cup (100g) dry chickpeas, cooked

• 1 pitted Medjool date, finely chopped

• 3 cups (100g) arugula, finely chopped, or other seasonal leafy greens

• 1–2 serrano peppers, thinly sliced and seeded to taste, or jalapeño

Directions

1. Preheat the air fryer to 375°F or oven to 425°F. In a large salad bowl, toss the cauliflower florets with salt and pepper. Spray liberally with olive oil or avocado oil spray and toss again. Air-fry for 5–8 minutes or bake for 10–15 minutes, checking and tossing a few times in between. The florets are done when they turn dark golden brown at the edges.

2. Combine all ingredients (except the Herby Hemp Tahini and Quick Pickled Onions) in a bowl to make the filling. Toss to mix.

3. In a shallow bowl or plate, spread ¼ of the Herby Hemp Tahini. Add ¼ of the filling, garnish with Quick Pickled Onions, and serve.

   ---

Herby Hemp Tahini (Makes 4 servings)

Ingredients

• 4 Tbsp. tahini

• 4 Tbsp. red wine vinegar

• 2 Tbsp. lemon juice

• 30–40g chopped herbs — cilantro (coriander) or parsley, and a little mint

• 1 small clove garlic

• ⅓ tsp. fine sea salt

• ¼ tsp. red chile flakes

• 6 Tbsp. hemp seeds

• 6–8 Tbsp. warm water

Directions

1. Add all ingredients to a small food processor or blender and blend until smooth.

Quick Pickled Onions (Makes 10 servings)

Ingredients

• 1 large onion (200g), thinly sliced

• ½ cup white or red wine vinegar

• ½ cup water (120ml)

• 1 tsp. fine sea salt

• 1 tsp. granulated monk fruit sweetener or maple syrup

Directions

1. In a microwaveable cup, add the vinegar, water, salt, and sweetener. Microwave for about a minute, stirring in between until the salt and sweetener have dissolved.

2. Add the onions into a glass container with a lid. Pour the vinegar-water mixture over the onions. Press the onions down with a spoon until they are fully covered by the liquid.

3. Allow to cool to room temperature and then transfer to the fridge. Refrigerate 2–4 hours before using.

Nutrition per serving(see disclaimer)

What has struck me most is how much wisdom is embedded in these food traditions. We spend so much time talking about how much protein we’re eating, but far less time talking about how well we’re digesting, absorbing, and assimilating it. Again and again, I found cultures developing ingenious preparation methods to make foods more nourishing, digestible, and satisfying. Soaking, fermenting, sprouting, cooking with spices, pairing grains and legumes. These practices emerged independently across continents, yet often arrived at remarkably similar conclusions.

I’ve learned so much through this process and can’t wait to share more of it with you in the months ahead.

And now, on to this month’s recipes - as always, you’ll find protein woven naturally into the structure of the meal, alongside vibrant herbs, vegetables, and satisfying textures. A pizza-inspired toast topped with pesto-braised broccoli and cottage “cheez,” a hearty grain bowl with a protein-rich hemp tahini dressing, and a zesty bowl l that draws inspiration from flavors I grew up with in South India. Perfect for the long days of June, when we still want meals that feel substantial but a little lighter on their feet, without spending hours in the kitchen.

For those who are new around here, Weeknight Simple is my monthly recipe club where you get:

• 3 protein-rich dinner recipes, like the ones in this newsletter

• A bonus recipe every month, could be breakfast, dessert, an exclusive from a new cookbook, etc.

• A comprehensive shopping list, organized by supermarket aisle

• Access to the full recipe index, with dozens of recipes and counting

• See past editions here and here.

  Subscribe To Weeknight Simple

If you wish to stay a free subscriber, you get to vote on which recipe will be featured in next week’s free newsletter—so don’t miss the poll at the bottom.

And now, here’s what’s on the menu this month.

Herby Hemp Tahini Bowl w/ Cauliflower, Farro & Pistachios

A good grain bowl is all about contrast. Creamy and crunchy. Rich and bright. Familiar and surprising.

Here, a protein-rich dressing made from hemp seeds and tahini forms the backbone of the dish. Fresh cilantro and vinegar keep it light and vibrant, while roasted cauliflower, chewy farro, pistachios, pickled onions, and sweet Medjool dates create layers of texture and flavor that make every bite a little different.

It’s the sort of meal that works equally well for dinner or packed into containers for lunch the next day. If you’re meal prepping, place the dressing at the bottom of your container and layer everything else on top. When you’re ready to eat, shake and toss. For an extra protein boost, add a generous scoop of Greek yogurt to the base of the bowl.

Pizza on Toast w/Pesto Braised Broccoli

There are nights when making pizza feels like too much effort, but the craving remains. This recipe is my answer to those evenings.

The star is not actually the toast, but the broccoli. Braised with pesto until tender, it becomes surprisingly sweet and deeply savory, the kind of vegetable preparation that has people reaching back into the pan for “just one more bite.” Paired with tangy sundried tomatoes, crunchy walnuts, and a layer of creamy high-protein cottage “cheez,” it transforms a humble slice of toast into something that feels far more substantial.

I like using Ezekiel bread or a dark rye sourdough here, both for their flavor and because they hold up beautifully under the toppings. The result sits somewhere between a pizza, an open-faced sandwich, and a complete meal. Fast enough for a weeknight, satisfying enough that you won’t miss the delivery order.

Green Peas Masala Bowl

This recipe began with a craving.

Growing up in Bangalore, I loved Masala Puri, a beloved street food built around white peas and a fragrant herb-filled gravy. Years later, I found myself equally enamored with the Green Peas Masala served at Saravana Bhavan. This bowl borrows inspiration from both, without being a faithful recreation of either.

Green peas are simmered in a sauce fragrant with mint, cilantro, and warming spices, then layered over a creamy base of Greek yogurt. A crunchy topping provides contrast and turns the whole thing into a meal that feels both comforting and refreshing at the same time.

As summer arrives, I find myself drawn to dishes like this. Cooling, yet still cooked. Light, but substantial enough to satisfy. Enjoy it on its own, add quinoa or a soft boiled egg, or tuck the leftovers into a pita for a delicious next day lunch.

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You may already know Gus from his wildly popular “Greek Mom” videos on TikTok and Instagram, where his loving impersonations of his mother have reached millions.

But beneath the humor is a meditation on grief, family, and the way food keeps people alive in our memories long after they are gone. The book itself has been described as “My Big Fat Greek Funeral meets Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat but with punchlines,” which honestly feels exactly right. You laugh, you get hungry, and somewhere in the middle, you unexpectedly get emotional too.

For this bonus post, I’m sharing two recipes that immediately called to me: Tirokafteri, a spicy feta dip that I could happily eat with absolutely everything. The dip takes just minutes to make, but delivers huge flavor from feta, roasted red peppers, garlic, and chili. It’s the kind of thing you set out for guests and suddenly everyone is hovering around the bowl.

And Horiatiki Salad - a classic Greek Village Salad that instantly transports me to the brightest of blues and whites that is Greece in June. Together, these recipes feel exactly right for this time of year. Bright tomatoes, cucumbers, herbs, briny olives, creamy feta, warm pita. Casual, abundant food meant for gathering around a table outdoors.

Tirokafteri: Spicy Feta Dip

Prep time: 10 minutes

Yield: 8 to 10 servings

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A good chimichurri dressing can make almost anything taste exciting. Put it on a shoe and I’d probably still take a bite. Here, though, it gets paired with a lineup of real heavy hitters: quinoa, paneer, and butter beans, all coming together in a salad that eats more like a grain bowl.

Fresh May produce keeps things lively. Peppery arugula and tender asparagus bring brightness and crunch, while the chimichurri cuts through everything with sharp herbs and acidity. The result is hearty, protein-packed, and incredibly satisfying without feeling heavy.

Pack it up for a sunny picnic, bring it to a Memorial Day gathering, or make a batch for weekday lunches. And accept the rave reviews graciously.

Chimichurri Paneer, Butter Bean & Quinoa Salad

Serves: 4

Print Recipe Card

Ingredients:

• ¼ cup finely diced onion(s)[40g]

• avocado oil spray

• 6 oz paneer[168g] , cubed (or feta)

• 1 lb asparagus[425g] , trimmed & cut into 1/2 inch pieces

• 1 ½ cups cooked butter beans or 1 [14.5oz/425g can]

• 1 cup cooked and cooled white quinoa, [90g dry]

• 5 oz arugula[140g] , finely chopped

• 1 medium red bell pepper(s)[150g] , diced

• Chimichurri Dressing

  • 1 cup fresh herbs - combination of cilantro, parsley and mint [45g]

  • 3 Tbsp. olive oil

  • 3 Tbsp. red wine vinegar

  • 1 Tbsp. lemon juice

  • ¾ tsp. fine sea salt

  • ¾ tsp. garlic powder or 1 small garlic clove

  • ¾ tsp. red chile flakes

  • ¾ tsp. dried oregano

  • 2 Tbsp. water

Directions:

Step 1. Combine the diced onions with 2 Tbsp warm water and let sit for a few minutes to soften.

Step 2. Prepare the chimichurri dressing by blending all ingredients until smooth, adding a little more olive oil or water as needed to reach your desired consistency.

Step 3. Heat a skillet over medium heat and lightly spray with avocado oil. Add the paneer and cook until lightly browned on one side. (Skip if using feta)

Step 4. Blanch the asparagus in salted boiling water for 1–2 minutes, or microwave for 3–4 minutes, until bright green and fork-tender. Rinse under cold water.

Step 5. In a large salad bowl, combine the quinoa, arugula, paneer, asparagus, bell pepper, and softened onions (discarding any remaining water). Drizzle with the chimichurri dressing (start with 3/4th of the dressing and add more as needed), toss well, and serve.

Nutrition per serving(see disclaimer)

In parallel, I am happy to report that I have also finally entered my sourdough era.

As I write this, I’m on attempt number three. I took a shortcut and started with the Jovial starter, which has at least spared me from staring anxiously at a jar of flour and water for weeks. The first loaf was aggressively sour, which I suspect was too long a levain fermentation. The second was a little gummy, likely because the starter needed refreshing. And now we wait to see whether the third time is the charm.

This month’s recipes feel very aligned with where my head is right now. They are plentiful, satisfying, bright with spring flavor, and threaded with ideas I keep returning to in my Ayurvedic nutrition studies. In particular, I’ve been fascinated by how nearly every traditional food culture arrived at some version of the grain-and-legume combination as a foundation for nourishment.

So this month, you’ll see that exploration show up in different ways: chickpeas paired with pasta, lentils tucked into tacos, quinoa, beans and paneer layered into a zesty salad.

For those who are new around here, Weeknight Simple is my monthly recipe club where you get:

• 3 protein-rich dinner recipes, like the ones in this newsletter

• A bonus recipe every month, could be breakfast, dessert, an exclusive from a new cookbook, etc.

• A comprehensive shopping list, organized by supermarket aisle

• Access to the full recipe index, with dozens of recipes and counting

• See past editions here and here.

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If you wish to stay a free subscriber, you get to vote on which recipe will be featured in next week’s free newsletter—so don’t miss the poll at the bottom.

And now, here’s what’s on the menu this month.

Harissa Pasta w/ Chickpeas & Broccolini

I used to default to lentil pasta for a higher-protein option, but from an Ayurvedic perspective, concentrated legume products can sometimes feel harder to digest. So here, I take a different approach by pairing regular pasta (Einkorn, of course :)) with chickpeas, replacing about half the pasta in the dish. The result is more fiber, more protein, and, honestly, a texture that feels much closer to the real pasta experience many of us miss.

Flavor-wise, think of this as a harissa-spiked aglio e olio. Sharp garlic, chili heat, olive oil, and a little brightness coat every strand, while broccolini winds its way through the dish. Kale or any sturdy greens work beautifully too. It’s simple, punchy, and ready in a flash on a weeknight.

Zucchini-Lentil Tacos w/Jalapeno Sauce

Cinco de Mayo may have come and gone, but here’s my fashionably late taco recipe anyway.

Over the holidays, I ordered the Masienda tortilla press and flour, so yes, those are homemade tortillas in the photo. Fresh tortillas are one of those things that quietly spoil you forever after. That said, use whatever works for you here. Corn tortillas keep things traditional, while wheat tortillas can give you an extra protein boost. You can also use a lower carb option like the Siete brand.

And honestly, it’s never too early to start cooking with zucchini. Roasted until golden and slightly caramelized, it becomes the perfect partner for black beluga lentils, which bring a hearty texture and earthy flavor in place of the more usual black beans.

What brings everything together, though, is the jalapeño sauce. Bright, creamy, and Tex-Mex inspired, it brings everything together with just the right amount of heat. Cottage cheese blended into the sauce adds extra protein without feeling heavy.

Chimichurri Paneer, Butter Bean & Quinoa Salad

A good chimichurri dressing can make almost anything taste exciting. Put it on a shoe and I’d probably still take a bite. Here, though, it gets paired with a lineup of real heavy hitters: quinoa, paneer, and butter beans, all coming together in a salad that eats more like a grain bowl.

Fresh May produce keeps things lively. Peppery arugula and tender asparagus bring brightness and crunch, while the chimichurri cuts through everything with sharp herbs and acidity. The result is hearty, protein-packed, and incredibly satisfying without feeling heavy.

Pack it up for a sunny picnic, bring it to a Memorial Day gathering, or make a batch for weekday lunches. And accept the rave reviews graciously.

If you prefer to stay a free subscriber, please take the poll below to choose which recipe you want the most. The winning recipe will be sent out in my free newsletter next week.

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Like many of you, I’m navigating the edges of hormonal change while also holding a full life - work, family, responsibilities, the invisible mental load that seems to hum in the background. And a growing curiosity: what does it actually look like to support the body through this season, rather than override it?

That’s what drew me to this conversation with Dr. Sonya Jensen, whose new book Heal Your Hormones, Reclaim Yourself reframes hormonal health as something far deeper than labs and symptoms..

Dr. Jensen’s work sits at a powerful intersection - cell biology, naturopathic medicine, yoga, Ayurveda, and deeper emotional and spiritual inquiry. But what makes her perspective so resonant is the way she brings it all together into something that feels both intuitive and precise. Her framework, the HER Method: Hormonal, Emotional, Relational, reminds us that our symptoms are never isolated. They are part of a larger story, one that lives in the body, the mind, and the patterns we carry, often across generations.

In this conversation, we talk about the physiology of stress and how it reshapes our hormones, why healing isn’t just about balancing estrogen or progesterone, and how the roles we’ve learned to play - overachiever, caretaker, perfectionist - can drive the very imbalances we’re trying to fix. But more than anything, we talk about what it means to feel safe in your body again. To feel worthy of support. To begin listening, instead of pushing through.

If you’re in a season where your body feels unfamiliar, or if you’ve been trying to “do all the right things” but still feel off - this conversation will meet you there.

Let’s get into it.

What is the most surprising thing you’ve learned about women’s health?

The most surprising thing that I have learned about women’s health is how unworthy women feel to receive the help they both need and deserve and how this belief is amplified when her hormones are changing and chaotic. I once had a patient say to me after being diagnosed with an autoimmune condition and I had just laid out all the options we had to support her, “I don’t deserve your help. You can try as hard as you want to support me, but I don’t believe I’m worthy of healing, so nothing is going to change.” This floored me. This woman had the courage to say out loud what her mind had on repeat while so many keep suffering in silence while their minds force them to stay stuck in self-sabotage. This belief of hers was showing up in every relationship and habit, especially in perimenopause. What I have learned over time is that this belief is not one that shows up overnight, but over years and decades of not being seen, or heard, and not feeling safe. Most women are carrying not only their own stressors but also the unhealed burdens of the women before them- changing the choices they make every day that force them into depletion, burnout, and a state of dis-ease and until we can help her feel safe, heard, and seen for who she is and where she is in her present season of life, we cannot fully heal.

Your background spans cell biology, naturopathic medicine, Ayurveda, and shamanic study. How did all of those pieces come together into your journey & the work you do today?

Every piece of education, training, and life experience has shaped the lens through which I see my patients and the woman sitting across from me. This background gave me the foundation to look at science while not losing sight of the soul. It gave me the ability to see her in all her angles, layers, and phases of life. Learning these modalities were initially meant for me to heal my own story and it was in that work that I started to connect the dots between our physical body with our mental, emotional, and spiritual. Although they are different modalities, they all carried a common thread between them, to consider the whole person in relation to their environment, especially the earth and her rhythms.

The book centers on your HER Method: Hormonal, Emotional, Relational. Can you walk us through what that means and why all three have to be addressed together?

The hormones represent the symphony that plays when the cellular orchestra is finely tuned and connected. They are the messengers that carry a message from cell to the next providing the song that creates the story in the body. When that process is disrupted the song will sound out of tune which is often expressed through our emotions. When the hormones are out of tune emotions are heightened.

Anxiety, depression, rage, grief- all carry with them a hormonal story that shaped how we express ourselves to others. When progesterone is low due to high levels of chronic stress we no longer can activate GABA, a neurochemical that helps the mind feel calm, increasing anxiety. When estrogen and testosterone are low we have less access to dopamine, a neurochemical that helps us access joy, leaving women feeling depressed and unmotivated.

This change in state then expresses itself in our relationships through less patience for ourselves and others, through high levels of irritability, and through uncontrolled anger and rage- leaving women feeling out of control and helpless. How we feel will determine how we show up in our relationships. Divorce rates go up drastically from ages 45-55, the very years women’s hormones are dropping in perimenopause. I don’t think it’s just a coincidence- the change in hormones challenges everything she felt to be true and challenges the roles and identities she has been carrying, and challenges her physically and emotionally. Although this time may feel difficult, it is also a time of reflection and opportunity to unlearn the patterns that have been disrupting your hormones and controlling your emotions. It can be a time to heal relationships, especially the one with yourself.

How does chronic stress physically alter our hormones? And what does that do to the way we eat, feel, and show up in our relationships?

Chronic stress doesn’t just impact hormones—it reshapes your physiology to match your environment to essentially help you survive it. When a woman lives in a constant state of pressure, her nervous system stays in survival mode, driving cortisol up and gradually disrupting progesterone, estrogen, insulin, and thyroid function. Progesterone, your calming hormone gets converted into your stress hormone cortisol in times of stress. This creates a ripple effect where your feel more anxious, wired, depleted, and disconnected from yourself changing the choices you makes and the foods you chooses for fuel. The body begins to crave quick energy through sugar or caffeine, eating becomes either a source of control or comfort, and emotions feel harder to regulate. When your brain isn’t receiving the right form of energy to feel clear, focused and steady it changes how you show up, in your day. In relationships, this may look like reactivity, withdrawal, over-giving to avoid conflict, or feeling easily overwhelmed because your body doesn’t feel safe and steady. In this work, hormones are not the problem—they are the messengers of deeper patterns, often rooted in unprocessed emotions, chronic over-responsibility, and inherited beliefs about worth. Healing, then, is not just about reducing stress, but about understanding the story the body is holding and creating the safety needed for those hormonal rhythms to restore.

You connect hormonal imbalance to generational trauma and the stories we carry in our cells. Can you help us understand that connection?

Hormonal imbalance is an expression of a lived story- yours and the women that came before you. These hormones are regulated by systems like the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis and this system is highly responsive to perceived safety, stress and emotional experiences. Through fields like epigenetics and various studies show us how a pregnant woman’s stress levels impact the baby as the baby navigates their childhood and beyond. The experiences of those before us like stress, suppression and survival patterns can influence our genes and how they are expressed. Some have shown high stress in mom means hypervigilance and low stress resilience in the child even in their teens. This is due to adrenal insufficiency and low levels of hormones that support adaptation to stress. Not only are there changes to the physical body but also one’s outlook and relationship to life. When the women around you had beliefs that created identities of over-functioning, people pleasing or self sacrifice, there is a silent subconscious pattern of how to show up in the world getting imprinted into your own identity- it is how you start to believe you have to behave to be loved, to belong, or to be safe. This pattern itself starts to increase your stress hormones impacting your physical and emotional health.

You talk about a hierarchy of hormonal healing, which you use in your practice. Can you walk us through these layers and what they address?

The hierarchy of hormonal healing is the framework I use when helping women in their healing journey. Although I believe that the emotional story is the most important to heal for the deepest parts of us to feel seen and heard. Women first come to see for physical discomforts and may not be aware of the emotional connection. So I first start with understanding her physical story. The symptoms she is currently dealing with and how they are impacting the quality of her life. We start with testing, tracking, and spend time putting the puzzle of her story together so she can begin to understand the why behind her discomfort. Once she starts to see the patterns and we have implemented the right supports for her body we move to the emotional. Here she begins to understand her beliefs about herself, her patterns, her roles and identities that have been dictating her habits and actions. From here we can uncover the mental blocks and challenges that keep her stuck. Once she has an awareness of herself and begins to really know herself she then naturally begins to heal her relationships- with herself and others, allowing her the space to fully express herself and uncover her life’s desires, purpose and joys.

You draw from both ancient herbs and modern medicine. How do you decide when food is enough, when herbs are needed, and when to consider something like HRT?

This is a really important question. Each woman has a unique story and needs her own individual plan and my job is to have discernment and understanding of all the modalities available to give her the best outcome. For me teaching the foundation of health through food, movement, daily rituals and mindset shifts is the key to long term success. If she isn’t digesting food well, she isn’t digesting life well and how you digest determines how your hormones communicate. I teach consistency to create safety. Herbs or medicine from the earth is powerful and potent. It can support her systems to support her hormones through detoxifying the liver, to supporting her adrenals to gently nudging the thyroid. And sometimes the body needs more. With modern stresses from life, our environments, our traumas, and the hormonal depletion women face, I have seen bio identical hormone therapy do wonders for them. They feel more energetic, sleep better, have regular cycles and it can give them just enough support and energy to change the foundational habits. So for me all of these modalities play a role in supporting her healing.

You identify three hormonal identities in the book: the anxious overachiever, the silent struggler, and the perfectionist. How does the path to healing look different for each one?

We may find they we presently may connect with one identity more than another, or we may have experienced parts of all 3 in various seasons of our lives.

The Anxious Overachiever is often stuck in overdrive. Her system is wired for urgency, productivity, and doing it all. So her healing isn’t about doing more—it’s about doing less, differently. We focus on regulating the nervous system, stabilizing blood sugar, and helping her feel safe to slow down. The deeper work is around redefining worth beyond achievement.

The Silent Struggler tends to hold everything in. She’s the one who says “I’m fine” while her body tells a different story. Her healing path is about expression. Supporting detox pathways physically, but also giving her tools to process and voice what she’s been carrying. Safety in feeling and being seen becomes key.

The Perfectionist with a Price is driven by control and high standards—but at a cost to her body. Her system is often rigid, depleted, and exhausted from trying to get everything “right.” Healing here is about softening. Letting go of all-or-nothing thinking, supporting nutrient depletion, and creating flexibility in both body and mind.

Each path is different—but the common thread is that we’re not just treating symptoms, we’re interrupting the pattern that created them.

How can women work with you?

The HER Community is an extension of the work in Heal Your Hormones, Reclaim Yourself—a space where women don’t have to navigate their healing alone. It’s where education meets embodiment, and where we move beyond information into real transformation. Inside, women are supported through the layers of healing—physical, emotional, mental, relational, and soul—while being held in the power of sisterhood. Because when women come together to share, be seen, and do this work collectively, healing deepens—and what once felt isolating becomes something profoundly connecting. We meet monthly and you can find more information on www.drsonyajensen.com.

Thank you, Dr. Sonya, for helping us see our bodies with more clarity and compassion. Until next week, xoxo.

This month, I’m so excited to welcome .

Annie approaches food through the informed lens of rigorous research, but what draws you in is her warmth, generosity and ready smile. Through her work at , she translates cutting-edge science on longevity and cognitive health into recipes that are practical as well as delicious. She has built a vibrant community around this work - curious, supportive, and deeply invested in aging well. She also curates incredible immersive trips and retreats around the world, where that research comes to life through shared experience. Truly, do yourself a favor and explore what she’s created. I am so honored to call her a friend.

For this month’s recipes, Annie brings us a menu inspired by the Blue Zones - places around the world where people live longer, healthier lives, supported by simple, seasonal, nourishing food and a pace of life that prioritizes connection and community.

I already know I’ll be making the Centenarian Soup this weekend (to go with chilly April showers in NYC!). And because I know many of you in this community are pescatarian, I asked Annie to also include the beautiful Salmon with Avocado, Grapefruit, and Kumquats - the very dish that graces the cover of her bestselling cookbook.

These are recipes that feel thoughtful, welcoming and are meant to be shared. I can’t wait for you to cook from them. Thank you, Annie for sharing this spread!

A Taste of Longevity—all the things I cooked for a farm-to-table dinner at Rancho La Puerta

Hello, We Ate Well people! It’s an honor to be guest cheffing Vasudha’s newsletter this week. I just got back from being a guest chef in real life —during Brain Health Week at Rancho La Puerta earlier this month. Guests joined us to learn about cutting-edge longevity topics while enjoying delicious, brain-healthy meals at this classic wellness destination and spa located in the mountains of Northern Baja California, Mexico. For the Retreat, I brought in a team of amazing brain health experts, and taught classes at the Ranch’s cooking school.

One of the highlights was collaborating with Chef Vivian to make dinner for 30 guests at the Ranch’s 6-acre organic garden and kitchen. Our theme: A Taste of Longevity—A Farm To Table Journey Through the Blue Zones. I drew inspiration from my travels to the places around the world with exceptional longevity. One of my passions at Brain Health Kitchen is to provide people with immersive experiences in healthy aging while having a fun, delicious, and active vacation. That’s why I created Longevity Travel and my brain Brain health Health Retreats, so we can learn from the places and cultures where people embrace aging with intention and joy.

There are five official Blue Zones: Sardinia, Italy; Okinawa, Japan; Ikaria, Greece; Nicoya Peninsula, Costa Rica; and Loma Linda, California. Plus, Singapore was added as a sixth one a few years ago. For the dinner, I focused on the places where I have spent the most time, and where I have hosted brain health retreats: Sardinia, Costa Rica, and (coming soon) Greece.

While all these places are diverse in geography, there are common elements to how they eat. Food is enjoyed at a leisurely pace with family and friends. Vegetables, fruit, beans and legumes, whole grains, and fish are often on the menu. Eating in a Blue Zone means eating with the seasons, and enjoying food at its peak nutrient density.

I’ve been traveling to Rancho La Puerta for 28 years, first as a guest and now as a visiting chef and presenter. Over time, I have come to think of the Ranch as its own Blue Zone. Its founder, Deborah Szelekey, is turning 104 this month! She has created a very special place where all the pillars of a brain-healthy life are practiced daily. It was the perfect place to cook some of my favorite Blue Zone-inspired recipes, which also happen to be good for your brain, as well as your heart and metabolism.

I hope you enjoy the recipes! I’d love to hear how these go in your kitchen. The next Brain Health Week at Rancho La Puerta will be in the spring of 2027. Stay tuned for exact dates, which will be coming soon to my Substack. If you’re interested in finding out more about longevity and brain health, and get updates on my trips, join the community at Brain Health Kitchen. I would love to see you there!

Take the best care of your brains, friends. Vasudha—thanks again for having me over to We Ate Well.

Annie

My Blue Zone-Inspired Menu

• Centenarian Soup

• Crispy Tofu Over Greens with Chili Sauce

• Salmon with Avocado, Grapefruit, Kumquats over Longevity Rice

• La Cocina Que Canta Bars with Vanilla Bean Cashew Cream

Centenarian Soup

Each region of Sardinia has a version of this hearty minestrone, with ingredients that change with the seasons. They actually call it “centenarian soup” in honor of their spry elders, but the old school name is s’erbuzu which means “lots of herbs”. It has an intensely herbal aroma and the broth is studded with chewy bits of pasta and creamy beans.

This soup combines classic brain-healthy ingredients: leafy greens (herbs!), whole grains (pasta), vegetables (fennel, celery, alliums), and legumes (lentils). Omit the cheese to make it entirely plant-based; swap out the pasta for rice to make it gluten-free. For an alcohol-free version, replace the white wine with additional water or broth.

Tip: When shopping for celery, look for a bunch that has lots of tender leaves. They really add flavor and aroma to this soup.

Makes 8 cups

Ingredients:

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

5 celery stalks, finely chopped (about 2 cups), leaves reserved

1 large fennel bulb, cored and finely diced (about 1½ cups), fronds finely chopped and reserved

1 medium yellow onion, finely diced (about 1 cup)

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1 teaspoon kosher salt

½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

½ teaspoon red pepper flakes, plus more for serving

2 large garlic cloves, thinly sliced

½ cup dry white wine

8 cups vegetable or chicken stock

Goat cheese rinds (if available)

¾ cup green lentils

¾ cup fregola sarda, whole wheat orzo, or other small whole grain pasta

1 large bunch Italian parsley, stems finely chopped and leaves coarsely chopped (each should yield about 1 cup)

⅓ cup fresh tarragon, finely chopped

2 tablespoons chives, finely chopped

Pecorino cheese (optional)

Lemon wedges

Instructions:

Warm the oil in a medium pot over medium-low heat. Add the celery, fennel, onion, oregano, salt, black pepper, and red pepper flakes. Cook, stirring often, until the vegetables are soft, 8 to 12 minutes. Stir in the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the wine and cook until the liquid is almost completely reduced, 2 to 4 minutes.

Add the broth and goat cheese rinds and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to a gentle simmer and stir in the lentils, fregola sarda, and parsley stems. Cook uncovered, stirring often to make sure nothing sticks to the bottom of the pot, at a low simmer until the lentils are tender and the pasta is al dente (soft but with a chewy bite), 20 to 30 minutes.

Just before serving, stir in the parsley and any celery leaves, fennel fronds, tarragon, and chives. Grate Pecorino atop (if using), and serve hot with lemon wedges on the side.

Store in a tightly covered container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days or the freezer for up to 3 months. The soup will thicken as it sits; add water or broth when reheating and an additional handful of fresh herbs before serving.

Crispy Tofu Over Greens with Chili Sauce

This recipe is inspired by all the varieties of Asian greens that are exploding in the garden at Rancho La Puerta each spring. The dish can be many things. I like it as a quick light supper that’s akin to a warm salad boosted with protein. It’s good to eat at room temperature, too, so it makes a nice packed lunch. If you don’t want it to be spicy, omit the sambal oelek and you’ll have a mild gingery sauce instead.

Whole food forms of soy are a total win for brain health. The tofu here provides more than a good dose of lean protein. It’s teeming with brain-healthy isoflavones, a brain health nutrient known to slow brain aging.

Serves 4

Ingredients:

One 12- to 14-ounce block extra-firm tofu, drained and pressed (see note)

2 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce

2 tablespoons unseasoned rice or apple cider vinegar

2 tablespoons chili garlic sauce (such as sambal oelek)

1 tablespoon avocado or pecan oil, divided

8 cups mixed greens (such as mustard greens and tatsoi), torn into bite-sized pieces

1 large bunch scallions, white and tender green parts finely chopped

2 cups mushrooms, trimmed and sliced ¼-inch thick (such as button, cremini, or a mix)

2 teaspoons grated fresh ginger

½ cup toasted cashews, coarsely chopped

Instructions:

Slice a block of tofu through the center horizontally to make two wide slabs. Press out the water by wrapping in a towel and putting a heavy pot on top. Let sit for about 2 hours or overnight in the fridge. Pat dry.

Combine the soy sauce, vinegar, and chili garlic sauce in a small bowl. Set aside.

Warm 1 teaspoon of the oil in a large nonstick pan over medium heat. Carefully add the greens and cook, stirring often, until barely wilted, about 1 minute. Transfer to a serving platter.

Warm 2 teaspoons of the oil in the same pan. Carefully place the tofu slabs in the pan and sear until crispy and brown on the edges, 3 to 5 minutes. Flip and cook on the other side. Place atop the greens.

Using the same pan over medium heat, sauté the scallions, mushrooms, and ginger until the vegetables are soft and starting to brown, about 5 minutes. Divide evenly atop the tofu, drizzle with the chili sauce, and top with cashews.

Tips:

• The recipe calls for a blend of greens (often called Asian braising greens) that usually includes spicy mustard greens, but any sturdy green (kale, spinach, collard, chard) works well, too.

• If you don’t want it to be spicy, omit the sambal oelek and you’ll have a mild gingery sauce instead.

• Use super-firm instead of extra-firm tofu and skip the pressing step.

Salmon with Avocado, Grapefruit, and Kumquats over Longevity Rice

The kumquat trees at Rancho La Puerta were exploding with fruit while I was there. In this dish—a riff on the cover recipe of my book—the kumquats paired well with the avocado slices. The Longevity Rice is a lemony grain salad flavored with cardamom and studded with dates. Use this recipe as a template for any grain that you like—farro, brown rice, quinoa, or freekeh.

This dish features black rice (sometimes called forbidden rice), an especially brain-healthy variety. It gets its purplish hue from the same brain health nutrient found in blueberries: anthocyanins. These bioactive substances cross the blood brain barrier and help reduce oxidative stress and chronic inflammation at the cellular level.

Serves 4

Ingredients:

Four 3 to 4 ounce salmon filets, about ¾ -inch thick

¼ cup plus 2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil

¾ teaspoon kosher salt

1 grapefruit, preferably Ruby Red

2 tablespoons lime juice

¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil

1½ teaspoons raw honey

¼ teaspoon kosher salt

1 large ripe firm avocado, sliced

Microgreens or mixed greens

½ cup fresh basil leaves, large ones torn into pieces

Freshly ground pink or black peppercorns, for serving

Flaky salt, for serving

Kumquat slices

Longevity Rice (recipe follows)

Instructions:

Preheat your oven to 350ºF. Rub a ceramic dish or rimmed baking sheet with 1 teaspoon of the oil and place the salmon (skin side down if skin-on) on it. Drizzle the salmon with another teaspoon of the oil and sprinkle with ½ teaspoon salt. Bake until the flesh easily flakes with a fork, about 10 minutes for medium-rare or 12 minutes for well-done.

Meanwhile, prepare the dressing. Zest the grapefruit to yield 1 tablespoon, then cut off the stem ends and use your knife to cut away the peel. Slice between the white pith and the flesh to remove the sections. Squeeze any juice left from the peels into a small measuring cup. Add any juice collected on your cutting board. Discard the peels.

In a small bowl, whisk the remaining ¼ cup oil, 1 ½ tablespoons of the grapefruit juice, lime juice, grapefruit zest, honey, and salt.

To plate, toss the greens with dressing and place on one side of each plate. Add longevity rice on the other. Top with a serving of salmon, slices of kumquat, and drizzle with more dressing. Add the avocado and grapefruit segments, dividing evenly. Garnish each plate with basil leaves, a few pinches of flaky salt, and freshly ground pink peppercorns.

Longevity Rice

Serves 6

Ingredients:

4 cups water

2 cups forbidden rice (also called black rice), rinsed

1 teaspoon kosher salt

½ cup extra-virgin olive oil

3 tablespoons lemon juice plus 1 tablespoon lemon zest

⅔ cup chopped pitted Medjool dates (about 6 total)

½ cup pistachios (salted or unsalted) toasted, plus more to garnish

½ cup finely chopped fresh cilantro, plus leaves to garnish

¼ cup finely chopped scallions (white parts only)

1½ teaspoons ground cardamom

½ teaspoon freshly ground pepper

Flaky salt (optional)

Instructions:

Bring the water to a boil in a medium saucepan that has a tight fitting lid. Add the rice and salt and reduce the heat to a low simmer. Cover and cook for 20 minutes. Turn off the heat and leave uncovered to steam for another 20 minutes.

Fluff the warm rice with a fork and transfer to a serving bowl. Pour the olive oil and lemon juice

overtop, then stir to combine. Fold in the dates, pistachios, cilantro, scallions, cardamom, and black pepper.

Garden Pasta with Mushroom Bolognese

Salvador, the Master Gardener at Rancho La Puerta, tends to his plants like a large brood of children. When I asked him what the most underrated vegetables were, he pointed to the kohlrabi—gnarly knobs the size of my fist. These cruciferous vegetables have a mild flavor, somewhat like a cross between celery and apple. We picked a basketful and spiralized them into noodles, along with zucchini and sweet potatoes, for this pretty garden pasta.

The mushroom bolognese is one of the most popular recipes from my book. It gets a triple boost of umami flavor from the miso paste, dried porcini mushrooms, and tomato paste. Mushrooms are a brain-healthy food that provide nutrients we don’t get from many foods—glutathione and ergothioneine. Based on studies from Singapore and Japan, adults who eat mushrooms (½ cup cooked) at least twice a week have been shown to have 40% to 65% fewer cases of dementia. Another study of adults over age 60 in the U.S. showed that eating mushrooms on a regular basis was associated with better performance on cognitive tests. If you love mushrooms, make a double batch of this bolognese and freeze some for later; it’s delicious on regular pasta, too!

Serves 4 to 6

Ingredients:

1 cup boiling water

½ ounce dried porcini mushrooms

1 teaspoon kosher salt

¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

1 large shallot, finely chopped (about ⅔ cup)

6 medium cloves garlic, chopped (about 2 tablespoons)

12 ounces mixed mushrooms, such as cremini, button, and shiitake, roughly chopped (about 6 cups)

2 tablespoons tomato paste

1 cup dry white wine

2 cups vegetable or chicken broth

2 teaspoons finely chopped fresh thyme, plus more leaves for garnish

1 tablespoon white miso paste

Shaved Parmesan, for serving (optional)

Microgreens, for serving

A mix of spiralized vegetables: zucchini, kohlrabi, and others from the garden

Instructions:

In a small bowl, pour 1 cup boiling water over the dried mushrooms. Set aside to steep for 15 or more minutes. Drain the dried mushrooms, reserving the soaking liquid, and when cool, coarsely chop.

Heat the remaining tablespoon oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the shallots and ½ teaspoon salt and cook, stirring often, until the shallots are translucent, 4 to 6 minutes. Add the garlic, stirring until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the fresh mushrooms and cook, stirring often, until they are soft and starting to brown, 10 to 12 minutes.

Push the mushrooms off to one side of the pan and add the tomato paste to the other side. Pour in 2 tablespoons of the mushroom soaking water and whisk until smooth. Cook, stirring often, until the tomato mixture bubbles and thickens, about 2 minutes. Keeping the mushrooms to the side, stir in the rest of the mushroom broth and the soaked and chopped mushrooms, the vegetable broth, wine, thyme, and pepper. Pull in the mushrooms from the side to mix with the sauce and reduce the heat to a gentle simmer. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the sauce is reduced by half, about 20 to 25 minutes.

To finish the sauce, place the miso paste in a small bowl. Scoop out about ½ cup of the brothy part of the sauce and stir into the miso until no lumps remain. Pour the miso back into the sauce and stir to coat the vegetables. Cover the pot, turn off the heat, and set aside.

Preheat the oven to 350ºF and line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper; brush the paper with extra-virgin olive oil. Toss the noodles with more extra-virgin olive oil and pinches of salt. Gather the noodles into “nests” on the sheet and bake until wilted and starting to brown (very slightly) around the edges, about 10 minutes. To serve, use a spatula to transfer each nest to a plate, and top with bolognese sauce, shaved Parmesan, and microgreens.

La Cocina Que Canta Bars

These bars are named for the cooking school at Rancho La Puerta: La Cocina Que Canta (The Kitchen That Sings). The base is a mix of dried figs and almonds, but you can use most any nut you like. Nuts are an important brain-healthy food group; my BHK Food Guidelines recommend enjoying at least ¼ cup nuts most days. Dried figs are delicious, of course, but also provide a boost of polyphenols—bioactive substances that work hard to keep the gut and brain healthy.

For our farm to table dinner, I topped the bars with dried flowers from the garden. I’ve made these bars with dozens of variations—find my favorite toppings and the original recipe here. Tuck this one away for holiday giving!

Makes 36 2 x 1-inch bars (depending on your pan)

For the bars

2 cups (1 lb.) dried figs, stems snipped off

1½ cups raw, unsalted almonds or cashews, toasted

¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil

2 tablespoons honey or date syrup

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

½ teaspoon orange blossom water or orange extract

For the chocolate glaze

6 ounces dark chocolate (65% or more cacao), chopped into pieces, or 1 cup dark chocolate chips

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

To top the bars

2 tablespoons toasted chopped pistachios

2 tablespoons organic, food-grade dried rose petals

To serve

Vanilla Bean Cashew Cream (recipe follows)

Berries

Line a rimmed 8x8-inch baking pan with parchment paper with two sides overhanging; set aside.

To make the bars, pulse the figs and almonds in the bowl of a food processor and pulse until the nuts are coarsely chopped. Add the oil, honey, salt, and vanilla and orange extracts. Pulse until the mixture starts to clump and you can easily pinch it together with your fingers, about 15 times. (If your figs are very dry, this may take a little longer, or add additional olive oil by the teaspoon until it comes together.)

Scrape the fig and almond base into the pan and press into an even layer. Use the bottom of a measuring cup or sturdy spatula to press firmly until compact. Chill in the fridge while you prepare the glaze.

To make the glaze, place the chocolate in a heatproof bowl that fits over a small saucepan. Fill the saucepan with just enough water to create a steam bath, but not enough to touch the bottom of the bowl. Bring the water to a gentle boil and stir the chocolate as it melts. (You can also melt the chocolate in the microwave on medium power, stirring every 20 seconds.) Once smooth, turn off the heat and stir in the oil. Keep the glaze warm while you get your toppings ready.

Pour the glaze over the bars and spread with a spatula to coat evenly. Scatter the toppings evenly atop the bar. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes until glaze is set, then cut into 3-inch by 1-inch bars.

To plate, add a rectangle of the bars with a dollop of vanilla bean cashew cream and berries.

Vanilla Bean Cashew Cream

Makes 1¼ cups

1½ cups raw, unsalted cashews

1 cup fresh water, plus up to ¼ cup more, if needed

1 teaspoon pure maple syrup

½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract or paste

¼ teaspoon kosher salt

Place the cashews in a small saucepan, add enough water to cover the nuts, and bring to a boil. Turn off the heat, cover, and let sit for 15 minutes. Drain, discarding the boiling water.

Transfer the cashews to a blender with the 1 cup fresh water and salt. Blend on low speed to make a thick paste. With the blender on medium speed, add more water 1 tablespoon at a time until the cashew mixture is the consistency of heavy cream. Add the maple syrup and vanilla and increase the power to high and blend until very creamy, about 1 minute.

Transfer the cashew cream to a bowl and cover tightly. To store, refrigerate in an airtight container for up to 5 days or freeze for up to 1 month.

If you want to soak the cashews instead of boiling them, combine them in a bowl with enough water to cover for at least 2 hours and up to 12 hours. Discard the soaking water and proceed with the recipe using fresh, room-temperature water.

Here are the five ideas that have stayed with me the most.

1. One size does not fit all

Modern nutrition loves a universal prescription. 30 grams of protein per meal. 25–30g of fiber per day. An apple cider vinegar shot in the morning. These guidelines are well-intentioned — they’re designed to serve the largest number of people. But Ayurveda starts from a completely different premise: each person has a unique mind-body constitution, called a dosha, and what nourishes one person can genuinely harm another.

Take the famous ACV shot. For someone who is already runs hot and dry inside — stressed out, acidic, inflamed - that shot is like pouring fuel on a fire. Meanwhile, someone with sluggish digestion and a cold, heavy constitution might thrive on exactly that warming, stimulating start to the day.

Or consider the 30g protein recommendation. If someone is struggling with bloating, gas, and digestive difficulty - a classic sign of Vata imbalance; loading them up with dense protein they can’t break down isn’t helpful. It becomes burden, not nourishment.

The question Ayurveda asks isn’t “what is healthy?” It’s “what is healthy for this person, right now?”

2. The six tastes — and why a complete meal matters

Ayurveda identifies six tastes in food (Shad Rasa): sweet, sour, salty, pungent, bitter, and astringent. And here’s the beautiful part - a meal is considered complete only when all six are represented. Each taste plays a role in digestion, satisfaction, and balance. When we eat meals dominated by just one or two tastes, we leave the body searching for what it didn’t get. For example, you eat a starch-heavy meal, and you crash soon after because you didn’t get enough of the astringent (most plant-based proteins and cruciferous) taste. Conversely, you eat extremely low carb while also reducing fat, and your body starts to crave the sweet taste (starchy foods, oils, avocado).

There’s also a principle called Samanya Vishesha Siddhanta - like increases like. So when someone is already cold and dry inside, feeding them a raw salad doesn’t help. It amplifies the imbalance. Instead, you emphasize the opposite: warm, grounding, slightly oily foods that add moisture and heat.

3. Rethinking protein

Ayurveda doesn’t talk about protein as a macronutrient the way modern nutrition does — but it has a rich framework for strength-building foods. These tend to be astringent, dense, and heavy: lentils, beans, tofu, certain grains. Animal proteins like Greek yogurt are not astringent, but they’re still heavy. High protein foods are usually harder to digest, which is why how you eat them matters enormously.

The Ayurvedic guidance: eat these foods at lunch (when your digestion is strongest), warm them, spice them well, and pair them with good fat. Fermented versions — like tempeh or sourdough— are easier on the system because they’ve essentially been “pre-cooked” by the fermentation process.

4. Foods have properties — and those properties interact

This one has genuinely changed how I cook. In Ayurveda, every food has a quality (often more than one) and a post-digestive effect — meaning what it does to your system after it’s been processed.

Some examples:

• Rice — cooling, moisture-rich

• Lentils — cooling and drying

• Yogurt — surprisingly heating

• Spices — warming and digestive

• Bitter greens — cooling and lightening

• Chickpeas — dry, astringent, cooling

Now here’s where it gets fascinating. Take that humble chickpea. On its own, it’s hard to digest, which is why so many people have difficulty. But when you make hummus — puréeing it with olive oil (adding sweetness, bitterness, and pungency), tahini (sesame seeds are warming and oily), cumin and lemon (warming, digestive) — the properties shift. The chickpea becomes far more digestible. Someone figured this out thousands of years before we had nutritional science to explain why.

This is actually the focus of my thesis, and I can’t wait to share more about it: how so many ancient food traditions - combinations, preparations, fermentation, spicing, were quietly optimizing for digestibility all along.

5. Digestive strength is everything

If there’s one concept Ayurveda is built around, it’s agni - your metabolic fire, your digestive strength. Almost everything else flows from this.

The basic idea: your agni follows a natural rhythm throughout the day. It’s strongest at midday, which is why lunch should be your heaviest, most nourishing meal. It’s gentler in the morning and evening, so breakfast and dinner should be lighter and easier to digest.

When food goes in and agni isn’t strong enough to process it fully, the result is ama - undigested metabolic waste. Over time, ama accumulates, clogs the body’s channels, and creates the conditions for imbalance and, eventually, illness. Most modern chronic conditions, from an Ayurvedic perspective, have roots in long-term ama buildup.

The good news: agni can be rebuilt. Most Ayurvedic nutrition protocols are fundamentally about gently stoking that fire back to health — through meal timing, food combinations, warming spices, rest, and a rhythm that works with the body’s natural cycles rather than against them.

Six months in, I’m still learning. But these ideas have made me a more thoughtful, more curious, and honestly more intuitive eater. I hope they open something up for you too.

In other news, after obsessing about it for a full year, I finally bought a countertop oven, hoping it would remove some of the friction that keeps me from recipe testing. When you live in NYC, your main oven naturally becomes storage for pots and pans. So every time I want to bake, it turns into a whole process. Pull everything out, wait for it to heat up, and then the apartment gets uncomfortably warm. Then you have to wait for it to cool and put everything back in!

Long story short, I tend to avoid baking, even though I feel pulled toward it often.

This little oven has completely changed that. It heats up in about four minutes, and I’m in business. The real win here, of course, is that I get to share recipes like this with you more often.

So, lemon-ricotta muffins. A bright combination that always feels right this time of year. I use nutty einkorn flour and swap butter for olive oil, which adds a light, slightly savory finish and keeps everything balanced. Hemp seeds blend in seamlessly, little green flecks that bring a quiet protein boost. Add blueberries if you like, and check the cooking note so they don’t sink to the bottom.

I’ve been enjoying mine with a cup of dandelion tea mid-morning.

Lemon-Ricotta-Hemp Seed Muffins

Makes 12

Ingredients

Read more

I first discovered Pratima Skincare a couple of years ago, at a time when my skin felt completely out of sync. Hormonal acne, persistent irritation, the kind that no quick fix could touch. What drew me in immediately was the purity. Ingredients you could recognize, even eat. No long lists of synthetics. Just plants, oils, and time-tested wisdom, thoughtfully combined and tailored to your constitution through the Ayurvedic lens of doshas.

Dr. Pratima Raichur is the founder of Pratima Skincare and a true pioneer in bringing Ayurveda into modern beauty. Trained as an Ayurvedic physician, chemist, and botanist, she opened one of New York City’s first Ayurvedic skincare practices in the late 1970s, at a time when natural skincare was virtually unknown, and has spent over five decades building a body of work that feels both ancient and timely.

I was lucky enough to have the opportunity to consult with her in person. She observes with a sharp, unhurried clarity: skin, yes, but also posture, energy, the subtler cues of how you move through the world. In her philosophy, the skin is never just a surface to treat. It’s the body’s largest organ, absorbing what we place on it and reflecting everything happening beneath, physically, emotionally, energetically. What you feed your skin and what you feed your body are never separate questions.

And now, as we transition into spring, it feels like the perfect moment to revisit that relationship. To clear, to lighten, to reset. Not just in what we put on our skin, but in how we think about nourishment altogether.

Tell us about your journey into Ayurveda and skincare

My path in Ayurveda began when I was a young girl in India, apprenticing with a respected Ayurvedic physician who happened to be a neighbor of mine. I didn’t know then that I had just stumbled into a lifelong calling to understand the intimate connection between body, mind, and spirit. My studies in science, chemistry, and botany, combined with years of Ayurvedic study to become an Ayurvedic physician, gave me a foundation to bridge ancient wisdom with modern scientific understandings. When I moved to New York City in the late 1970s, I brought this knowledge to a new audience, creating one of the first Ayurvedic skincare practices in the United States, opening one of New York City’s first certified “Green” eco-friendly spas in Soho, NY, offering bespoke Ayurvedic Consultations, and developing my own line of Ayurvedic skincare formulations at a time when natural skincare was virtually unknown.

Now in my eighties, I continue to practice, teach, and formulate with the same dedication I have had for more than fifty years. I believe that beauty and well-being arise from the totality of balance and harmony rather than quick external fixes, and I see skincare as an intimate practice that nourishes both skin and spirit. My book, Absolute Beauty, and my decades of hands-on work reflect my enduring mission: to help people experience the intelligence of nature in their everyday lives and cultivate radiant health from the inside out.

What does Ayurvedic skincare offer that conventional routines miss?

It depends on what we mean by “modern.” Today there are many more natural and even Ayurvedic skincare lines available, which I’m very happy to see. When I began making Ayurvedic skincare products in New York City in the 1980s, I was truly a lone voice in a forest of chemical-laden options. My life’s purpose has been to spread awareness of Ayurveda through skincare, so it’s gratifying to see this shift toward more holistic approaches.

I can really only speak to my own work, but what gives my formulas their power is that each one is rooted in the intelligence of Ayurveda. Ayurveda understands that every person has a unique mind–body constitution, or dosha, and that balance is created by working with those natural tendencies. My formulations are designed with these principles in mind, incorporating ingredients and properties that help restore balance not only to the skin, but also to the mind and overall well-being. Some formulas support individual doshas, while others are tridoshic and bring balance more universally.

Another important aspect is that the ingredients are treated as nourishment for the skin. They are minimally processed so the intelligence of nature remains intact. When the skin receives ingredients it can recognize as “food,” it can actually digest and utilize that nutrition. The texture, touch, and absorption of the products matter, and the aromas offer aromatherapeutic benefits as well, so the experience becomes a sensory tuning of skin, mind, and spirit.

For many people, the journey goes even deeper through Ayurvedic consultations. In addition to external nourishment through skincare, we address internal nutrition, lifestyle, stress, and herbal supplements, which I often describe as concentrated nutrition that can be difficult to obtain through diet alone. Ayurveda recognizes that everything is interconnected, so skincare becomes part of a larger process of restoring balance and health.

Even though many wonderful brands are now building on the lineage of Ayurvedic skincare, I still feel my approach offers something unique. At 86, I continue to feel called to serve people in this way.

How do you actually structure a daily Ayurvedic skincare routine?

When I developed my approach to Ayurvedic skincare, I began by looking at what the body itself naturally does in order to survive, and, when things are working well, to truly thrive. I found that three fundamental processes support a thriving life: proper cleansing, optimal nourishment, and balanced hydration. In simple terms, we could think of it as Cleanse, Feed, and Hydrate.

The first step is cleansing, but Ayurvedic cleansing is quite different from the conventional idea of washing the skin. In nature, cleansing is part of a cycle. It removes what is no longer needed, but it also replenishes. Many mainstream cleansers focus primarily on stripping away dirt, oil, and congestion. Over time, that kind of cleansing can actually deplete the skin and weaken its natural resilience. My herbal cleansers were designed to mirror nature’s cycle by cleansing and replenishing at the same time.

They come in the form of dry herbal powders that are activated with water just before use, so each application is freshly prepared. The finely ground herbal grains gently polish away dull surface cells, while natural enzymatic activity supports exfoliation. At the same time, the herb-infused water becomes almost like a tea for the skin, allowing the skin to drink in replenishing plant nutrients.

The second step is nourishment. Just as the body needs good food, the skin needs nutrients it can truly recognize and absorb. I developed my Face Essential Oils with a density similar to that of the skin itself so that they can easily integrate with the skin’s own structure. In this way, the oils not only nourish the surface but can support the deeper levels of the skin where many imbalances begin.

The third step is hydration and protection. My moisturizers act as a breathable, hydrating barrier that seals in the nourishment of the Face Essential Oils while helping protect the skin from environmental depletion. I often describe it as helping to “keep the glass of water full,” maintaining the hydration that allows the skin to function at its best.

Of course, my line also offers many specialized treatments for specific skin imbalances. But at its heart, this simple three-step routine, cleanse, nourish, and hydrate, follows the wisdom of nature and supports the skin in maintaining its natural balance and vitality.

“Seasonal adaptation is a central principle of Ayurveda. By adjusting our routines to reflect both the rhythms of nature and the needs of our individual doshas, we allow the skin to stay in harmony with the environment rather than working against it.”

What shifts happen in the body as we transition from winter to spring, and how should we adapt our skincare?

As we move from winter into spring, we see a beautiful reflection of what is happening in nature. The snow and ice begin to melt, washing and cleansing the Earth, and as the planet tilts closer toward the sun, there is more available energy to support new growth. In Ayurveda we understand that seasonal transitions bring a shift in frequency, and spring carries the frequency of elevation and emergence, much like a seed that has been quietly gestating beneath the soil suddenly pushes upward and breaks through the surface.

Our bodies and our skin respond to these seasonal frequencies, and the change is experienced through the lens of our individual doshas.

For Vata, which naturally carries the qualities of coolness, lightness, dryness, and movement, the skin tends to be more delicate and porous. Spring’s incoming warmth and natural increase in moisture can actually help bring balance to Vata skin by adding a bit more grounding weight and hydration. Often the season itself provides some of this balancing effect. As winter ends, Vata types may begin transitioning away from their richest winter products toward slightly lighter formulations, lighter in texture, though still supportive and nourishing. Ingredients that remain gently warming and circulation-promoting, such as sesame, geranium, lavender, jasmine, vetiver, lemon, and sweet orange, continue to support balance.

Pitta skin types tend to have medium-density skin and a natural baseline of heat that can range from healthy warmth to visible inflammation. As spring progresses, warmth begins to build in the environment and eventually leads into the high heat of summer. For this reason, already inflamed Pitta skin benefits from getting a head start on increasing the use of extra cooling and anti-inflammatory ingredients during the spring months. Formulations that feature herbs and botanicals such as brahmi, neem, coconut, sandalwood, and rose can be especially helpful. Cooling and hydrating the skin becomes increasingly important, because as environmental heat rises throughout spring and summer, that accumulated warmth can gradually burn off the skin’s moisture levels.

Kapha skin is the most dense in structure and naturally carries the qualities of coolness, heaviness, and moisture. Kapha often experiences the most imbalance toward the later part of winter, when heaviness and congestion may accumulate. As spring arrives, nature’s rising energy begins to stimulate movement and can help relieve some of that stagnation. Kapha types benefit from skincare that gently warms and stimulates the skin while helping to digest excess oil or congestion. Ingredients such as lemon, eucalyptus, neem, and ginger can be particularly supportive during this seasonal transition.

Seasonal adaptation is a central principle of Ayurveda. By adjusting skincare routines to reflect both the rhythms of nature and the needs of our individual doshas, we allow the skin to stay in harmony with the environment rather than working against it.

What are the most common imbalances you see during the spring season?

During winter, many people experience a natural buildup of stagnation and congestion in the body. The late winter season tends to be heavier, colder, and more inward, and those qualities can allow certain accumulations to settle in the system, no matter what your primary dosha. As spring arrives and the environment becomes lighter, warmer, and more dynamic, those stored accumulations begin to move. For many people, that transition can show up as seasonal allergies or increased sensitivity.

If those accumulations are not gradually cleared, the rising heat of late spring and summer can intensify them further, sometimes leading to inflammation, not only on the skin but throughout the entire mind–body system.

Nature offers a wonderful reminder of what to do during this time of year. All around us we see melting snow, flowing water, and the cleansing rains of spring. The Earth itself is washing away what has built up over the winter in order to make space for new life.

I often suggest that people follow nature’s lead. Spring is a time for gentle cleansing and renewal, both externally and internally. It may mean adjusting skincare routines, having a seasonal detoxification, clearing out physical spaces like drawers and closets, or even journaling to release thoughts and patterns that are no longer serving us. When we create space in this way, we support the body’s natural rhythms and make room for the new growth that spring is inviting into our lives.

Thank you to Dr. Pratima for so generously sharing her wisdom here. Pratima Skincare has kindly offered a discount code for readers of this newsletter: use code RESET at pratimaskincare.com before April 31st, 2026.

In high school, I went out with a group of friends for Indo-Chinese food at a local restaurant. We ordered what was officially listed as Vegetable Balls in Hot Garlic Sauce, along with the usual accompaniments of fried rice and Schezwan noodles. Our gangly young waiter nervously repeated the order back to a table full of giggly teenage girls and, in his flustered state, announced: “Vegetable Galls in Hot Barlic Sauce.”

Of course, this kept us in peals of laughter through the meal and forever changed the way this dish would live in my memory.

This version stays true to the spirit of the dish: crisp vegetable balls (‘manchurian’) tossed in a glossy, punchy hot garlic sauce that’s equal parts spicy, tangy, and addictive. I add tempeh to the vegetable mixture here, confident that any bitterness melts away once it meets that bold sauce. Serve it the classic way with fried rice or noodles, or spoon it over plain white rice or quinoa for a satisfying weeknight meal.

Tempeh Manchurian

Serves: 4

Print Recipe Card

Ingredients:

• 8 oz tempeh[224g]

• 4 oz finely diced purple cabbage[112g]

• 3 oz finely diced green beans[84g]

• 4 oz finely diced carrot(s)[112g]

• 3 oz finely diced bell pepper(s)[84g]

• 2 oz finely diced onion(s)[56g]

• 1 oz finely chopped dry-roasted unsalted peanuts[28g]

• 1 small bunch finely chopped cilantro (coriander)

• 1 ½ Tbsp. tomato paste

• ¼ cup Einkorn all-purpose flour[30g]

• 1 ½ tsp fine sea salt, to taste

• 1 tsp ground coriander

• 1 tsp ground paprika

• 2 Tbsp. cornstarch

• 2 Tbsp. avocado oil

• Manchurian Sauce

  • 1 ½ Tbsp. avocado oil

  • 1 small bunch scallions (spring onions), divided into white and green parts

  • ½ cup finely chopped bell pepper(s)

  • ½ cup finely chopped cilantro stems , plus 2 Tbsp cilantro leaves for garnish

  • 1 Tbsp. grated ginger

  • 1 Tbsp. minced garlic

  • 1 ½ Tbsp. tamari or soy sauce

  • ½ Tbsp. white vinegar

  • 3 Tbsp. chile garlic paste, (storebought, such as Huy Fong)

  • 1 Tbsp. ketchup

  • 1 ½ cups low sodium vegetable broth

  • 1 Tbsp. cornstarch, dissolved in 1/4 cup water to make a slurry

Directions:

Step 1. Crumble the tempeh into a bowl, cover with water, and add a generous pinch of salt. Cover and microwave for 4–5 minutes. Drain and set aside.

Step 2. In a large mixing bowl, combine the finely diced vegetables, peanuts, cilantro, and crumbled tempeh. Add the avocado oil, tomato paste, einkorn flour, salt, ground coriander, paprika, and cornstarch. Mix well so the oil, flour, seasonings, and cornstarch are evenly distributed throughout the mixture. Chill for 15–20 minutes.

Meanwhile, preheat the air fryer to 375°F/190°C or the oven to 425°F/220°C.

Step 3. While the mixture chills, prepare the Manchurian sauce. Heat a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the oil, white parts of the scallions, bell pepper, and cilantro stems and cook, stirring, for about 2 minutes, until the vegetables are no longer raw. Reduce the heat to medium, add the ginger and garlic, and cook for 30 seconds. Stir in the tamari, white vinegar, chile garlic paste, and ketchup until well combined. Add the broth and bring to a simmer. Stir in the cornstarch slurry and cook for about 5 minutes, until the sauce thickens slightly. Set aside.

Step 4. Shape tablespoon-sized balls from the mixture and place them in the air-fryer basket or on a parchment-lined baking sheet. You should get about 24–30 balls. Air-fry at 375°F/190°C for 10–12 minutes, working in batches if needed, until deep golden brown and crisp. Alternatively, bake at 425°F/220°C for 15–20 minutes, turning gently halfway through.

Garnish with the remaining cilantro and the green parts of the scallions. Serve with rice, quinoa, or noodles.

Nutrition per serving(see disclaimer)

PS: Weeknight Simple subscribers, last week’s file for this recipe was missing one ingredient, and I’ve corrected it in this version as well as in the archive 💚

So this month’s recipes continue to lean comforting, while bringing a little lightness and brightness in flavor. There’s a playful Tempeh Manchurian, inspired by Indo-Chinese restaurant classics and tossed in an addictive chile-garlic sauce. A Steel-Cut Oats Risotto with Leeks, Peas and Kale, creamy but lifted with fresh herbs and lemon. And a Coconut Curry Noodles with Tofu, a one-pot dish that delivers everything you want on a cold weeknight or a cozy weekend.

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And now, here’s what’s on the menu this month.

Tempeh Manchurian

In high school, I went out with a group of friends for Indo-Chinese food at a local restaurant. We ordered what was officially listed as Vegetable Balls in Hot Garlic Sauce, along with the usual accompaniments of fried rice and Schezwan noodles. Our gangly young waiter nervously repeated the order back to a table full of giggly teenage girls and, in his flustered state, announced: “Vegetable Galls in Hot Barlic Sauce.”

Of course, this kept us in peals of laughter through the meal and forever changed the way this dish would live in my memory.

This version stays true to the spirit of the dish: crisp vegetable balls (‘manchurian’) tossed in a glossy, punchy hot garlic sauce that’s equal parts spicy, tangy, and addictive. I add tempeh to the vegetable mixture here, confident that any bitterness melts away once it meets that bold sauce. Serve it the classic way with fried rice or noodles, or spoon it over plain white rice or quinoa for a satisfying weeknight meal.

Steel-cut Oats Risotto w/ Leeks, Peas & Kale

Spring forward with this grounding yet lively risotto, flavored with leeks, fresh mint, and lemon. Sweet green peas add punctuation, making it perfect for that moment of the year when winter hasn’t quite left but you start to glimpse warmer days ahead.

This dish is inspired by the late Chef Floyd Cardoz, one of the most gifted Indian chefs of our time and a master at crossing culinary genres. Years ago, I watched him make a steel-cut oats risotto on Top Chef Masters, and the idea stayed with me. A simple but brilliant way to rethink a familiar grain.

Coconut Curry Noodles w/Tofu

I keep coming back to this one-pot dish, no matter the season. There’s something about the combination of coconut milk, warm curry spices, and noodles that feels instantly comforting, yet never heavy.

The broth tastes like something that’s been simmering all day, brightened with fresh cilantro and the heat of ginger, garlic and serrano pepper. As the cabbage braises, it softens and soaks up all that flavor, turning silky and sweet. Tofu adds substance and protein, while the noodles make the whole bowl deeply satisfying.

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