Renu Chaudhary
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New Way Of Cooking , Old Way but New discovery !!

6/24/2015

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Pictureceramic earthenware ok to cook with on gas range
I had bought an earthenware for my yogurt making few months ago. Not knowing its other benefits.  I had never thought of cooking in it, but what a friend of mine discovered and then later shared with me changed all that .

 One day a friend local native here was shopping in Chordeleg a little local town near Cuenca where we live.

Chordeleg is known for its hand made pottery and earthenware pots and pans and tortilla makers. In the marketplace I have often seen them use them for cooking but still it did not occur we can cook in it as well. Go figure that one..... dumb hey!

One of my local friends was shopping at one of these shops in Chordeleg and  a native woman and man walked in an bought some of these earthenware pots, so my friend who is also an Ecuadorian asked them what would you use them for ? lady answered looking really surprised " cooking of course"  came the answer.

Fascinated by the answer she also bought one pot and brought it home. First thing she tried was cooking rice .... I have had struggle with cooking rice here in Cuenca as it is at a 8000 feet elevation in the Andes. I must say my all issues in making rice that day dissolved and rice came out picture perfect.

I was so fascinated and encouraged with the results that I cooked our lunch in two of these and here are the pictures for your indulgence.

I found summer round squash first time since I have been in Cuenca so I was excited to try it and I must say it cuts like butter soft and  I made spiced rice all cooking was done in Extra virgin Cold pressed Coconut oil from Vilcabamba.

Here we go the pictures are worth thousand words !

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Huh ! yes I did it the whole meal in the earthen pottery local made and used by locals for road side restaurant and for all those special festival cookouts! I am seriously touched to rediscover the old ways and my faith is re-instated that Old is Gold, we should revisit and re-explore it ! I am going to have lots of fun with this discovery. I already plan to buy a flat hot plate to do my Indian breads ( roti , parathas etc and sky is the limit) .

Do give it a try you won't regret !

Your Partner in Total Health signing off until next time!

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New Way Of Cooking ! Old is Gold...

6/23/2015

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Vilcabamba's Juice Factory!!

1/6/2015

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PictureThe Juice Factory: Vilcabamba!














We recently in Christmas & New Year holidays took another trip to Vilcabamba in Loja Province in Ecuador. Vilcabamba as commonly addressed as "The Valley of Longivity" .

The silent mountains talk to us and nature at its best is what this town offers. It seems you can throw a seed and it will grow here. Blooming flowers and vegetation is like none other we have ever witnessed.

We loved the simplicity and beauty of town on our last trip and only regret was we did not stay there as trip was short but this time with one week in hand and heart ready to explore the beauty and what lies in its womb we headed back once again on Dec 26th to Vilcabamba. 

This time we planned ahead and stayed at the most beautiful nature hosteria called Hosteria Izhcayluma. Set on a mountain top it is nothing but inviting your heart to take a rest. We rested, explored and soaked in the beauty for 4 days. From log cabins to balconies with hamocks and little dip in their pool to Yoga class in open room overlooking the magistic mountains in fresh air. Place offers massages and treatments left for your exploration. Trails and hiking trips and horse back riding trips. You name it and they have it. If they had space we would not have to move to Hosteria La Randez Vous another Hosteria with cottages in midst of thickest flower garden you can imagine. And a roof top to soak morning Sun or evening Stars.

I do not remember when was the last time I saw deep blue sky and shining bright stars. On first day we hiked on a trail that led to Centro of Vilcabamba town. In Ecuador each town has a tall church in the Centre of Town and a little park where there is a middle fountain and places to sit around and just be. Shops and restaurants are around this Centre and hence called El Centro.

On our first day there after breakfast we headed off to take a short hike to reach El Centro by foot. We walked through the village homes, banana & coffee plantations and took in the scene and reached 6 kms latter to El Centro.

I had heard about The Juice factory:  a fresh organic juice and lunchoen place which had become a hub of meeting friends and people.

Last trip the shop was closed to our disappointment but this time I was excited to see the shop and meet with the owners. It is a quaint little juice shop which serves the best quality and variety of fresh juices and smoothies you can fancy.

I met with lovely owners Maria and Denis. Maria is native married to Denis an American. She lived many years in USA but now for last few years they have moved back to Vilcabamba and serving the community through this wonderful Organic paradise of nature juices. As you see pictures they will tell you the whole story of what is all used in making these nature concoctions to fill your heart and spirits as well as nurturing your body. If you ever are in Vilcabamba you cannot miss the " The Juice Factory" Proud owners work and mingle along with the guests making bonds for ever.

It opens everyday 8 am to 4 pm. The vegetarian soups and organic salad is the treat of the luncheon simple menu and I missed salad everytime as it got finished before we ever could get there. It is made fresh and served fresh with a smile and pride each day.  For your sweet indulgence they have the best Waffles with fresh local strawberries and local organic honey!!!! simply Yum!!

Their server is an American lady full of spunk and life and knows each customer by names especially regulars. Her name is Chritine she is always busy and serving with a smile.



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Maria & Denis proud owner of "The Juice Factory"
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Christine & Me!
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PictureAyurvedic Herbs believe it or not much to my delight!
It was great to see organic, simple, natural ingredients used to cater to general well being of the natives & local. Nature supports such efforts and this was example of the same.

Maria & Denis diligent efforts to run this little local operation is











pure delight to watch.

At the back of the shop there was room full of all sorts of Health products and even Ayurvedic herbs it was pure delight to witness it. Picture are thousand words worth so here is a assortment of the products " The Juice Factory" supports to bring to the locals.

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Collidal Silver ! ample health benefits in it!
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Found " GARAM MASALA" wow!
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Maria & Me!
PictureMohan Rao & His wife Nina with Me !
I suggest if you are ever in Vilcabamba during your visit to Ecuador do look this place up!!

We met with Mohan Rao & Nina his wife: who shared with us that their son Cort a 15 years old is venturing as an entrapuener making and supplying "Gluten Free" chocolet chip cookies which Cort has named " Cort's Craft Cookies" when you have a chance do try them out they were YUM!








Your Partner in Total Health!

Few Pictures of our adventure hike, discoveries, Nature, Izhkayluma Hosteria, La Randaz Vous Hosteria and simple Nature shots at its best. I fell in Love with This Magestic Nature Town!!


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Our story of discovery of Vilcabamba's own Cold Pressed Extra Virgin Coconut Oil: Oro Blanco as they call it here in Ecuador!

12/11/2014

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I have been exploring into health benefits & usages  of Extra Virgin Cold Pressed Coconut oil for years. Since its mega exposure in recent years have urged me more to look into it in a deeper way.

I hope after reading this you will be encouraged to explore for yourself into this Yet another Wonder Foods into your dialy diet to reap its ample health benefits;

My discovery led me to this venture since my move to South American Continent in September of 2014 to this locally produced product right here in the Town of Vilcabamba the city of longivity as they refer to it in Ecuador.

One of the Ayurvedic Practitioner here in Cuenca, Ecuador shared with me this wonder available right here under our noses --- The Oro Blanco as native calls it meaning White Gold.

When I had a chance to look, feel , touch , smell and apply this oil on my hand I just fell in love with its clean pure amazing fragrance that I have not witnessed thus far.

It made me dig deeper to learn who is it that is making it and where ? I found out it was a venture started originally by an American who relocated to the Town of Vilcabamba and his name is Carl Nordeng approximately 5 years ago. His commitment to bring this amazing product which has been  making headlines all over North America was brought now to a land where coconut grows in abundance. What better place to manafacture it !

He was the pioneer to bring this white gold to native of Ecuador.He hopes to bring this product as a better , healtier alternative to vegetable oils mostly used by natives in Ecuador. 
It was then I recently learned was bought out by an Spanish native  Ana Llopart who has a vision to bring this product soon to be available all over Ecuador maintaining its Natural pure integrity intact via www.naturespiritsecuador.com  at this production facility in Vilcabamba the 'city of longivity here in Ecuador.

Our journey to find this facility  began few weeks ago when I was trying to buy it for my personal use.

We decided to take a trip to Vilcabamba in early December 2014. I had corresponded with Ana Llopart few times and told her about our  plan of going to visit her. But by the time we decided to go there was no time to ask about her address or the phone contact.

We ventured into tracking her down just purely by her product and name. It was 4 hours bus ride to Loja where we switched to a local bus ride for another 1 hour to the city of Vilcabamba. As we boarded the second bus my heart started to pound " can we really find her?" I hoped we would. No turning back at this point nothing to loose as we did planned to visit Vilcabamba regardless as it is one of the most recommended cities to visit while in Ecuador.


It was 3 pm Saturday afternoon when we finally landed into the town.
Now at this point  what my husband asked me was : do you have her phone #  at least? I said no I mailed her late last nite but had not heard back as yet when we left early saturday morning.

He just looked at my face and shook his head. I said I have faith we will find her this is a small town and product is popular it should be no problem. Inwardly I started to wonder at this point as our spanish is far from good at this point and time.

we saw a Real Estate Office as soon as we got off the bus in Vilcabamba; and my husband said this guy will know her let us try this, I had nothing to loose, it seemed as good an idea as any so we went in and in broken spanish asked if he spoke English. He said , No. My heart sank now what ? But we further pursued asking in little spanish we knew and said  Aceite de Coco, por favor? meaning coconut oil please. He said yes, I know may be? then someone from next room a lady whom we never saw the face of loudly said Oh it is Ana !

I got encouraged and said yes, yes it is Ana we are looking for , do you know where is her factory. He uttered another name of a town we did not have any idea about ... She is in town of "Masanamaca " I said can you write it down for me please so we could show it to the taxi driver.

We took a taxi and the driver did not speak English at all but we managed to show him the slip of paper with name of the town.

No stopping now we have come so far let us explore it. Then taxi stopped as soon as it began moving. Now what?

There was another young man who was friend of the taxi driver who wanted to come along. As he sat in front next to the driver I asked him " por favor ,Tu habla Ingles ? Do you speak English? he to my surprise said yes!

we got pleasantly surprised and agreed he could ride with us. He further informed " oh I lived in UK for a while and I am a car painter. He informed he knows Ana as well as her factory.

I glanced and my husband with his eyes saying God is watching don't worry let this be.

We started our drive to the town of Masanamaca. It was a wonderful high-way into the valley and nothing in site as far as habitation is concerned.

Ten minutes, fiveteen minutes and then twenty minutes went by with no sign of the factory. Soon enough the driver stopped at this raw iron gate along the high-way entering a dirt road.

I again looked at my husband what you say? It is ok what came back in response. He kept going up the mountain on this unpaved road and stopped at the little building.
I wondered if it is  the place we were looking for ?  and if it is Is it open ...? No luck good new yes it is the right place but there was a lock at the door.

Now what do we do I silently wondered. Few minutes passed we walked around the building and I realized by peeking into the windows I saw the coconuts and the oil jars on shelf and felt relieved at least we found the place, But Locked??? I took some pictures and kept the hope still of finding and meeting with 'Ana'.

 Our driver saw this young man far up to next level up in the mountain from where we were he yelled to us who are we looking for? I asked the guy to ask the other guy on the mountain where does Ana lives and if he knows of her? He ansered back in Spanish that Ana lives above him further up in the in the mountain in a house but factory is closed today. I said is Ana there he answered we could go up and check.

We got back on the dirt road once again ascended to the higher level up on the unpaved road to mountain above which was driveway  to the log home the guy pointed to. We arrived at the beautiful log home in midst of mountains 360 degrees.

Very mystical the location was we saw a man standing inside the home. Seeing our taxi pull up he came out. I got off and asked him if he spoke English? to my relief he said yes. I asked him is this Ana's home ? he said YES! at last I had found her that is all that mattered at that point.

He said she is in and will see you in few minutes. We chatted for few minutes and a lovely young 3 year old girl walked to us It was Ana's daughter. In moments ahead Ana herself came out and I introduced myself. She was surprised how we found her .. I said I know factory is closed but can I bother you to come open it so I can see the oil I came to purchase all this way. She was very happy to drive up with her family to let us into the factory we chatted and learned how this dream came to be her's now and shared how they extract the oil and now they are dilligently working towards bringing it to bigger market all over Ecuador as Pure natural product that is a absolute health wonder.

Where there is a will there is a way!!

we connected and I did my purchase and Ana recomended for us to stop over at the restaurant in town of Vilcabamba for our supper. By this time it was getting dark but our drivers and his friend were kind enough so we could take some neat clicks along our ride back into town. Here are some more clicks for you all to enjoy and come visit this wonderful valley on your visit to Beautiful Ecuador!

I will keep you posted with the wonderful usage of this nature product into my  own daily diet.

Along with the coconut oil Ana shared with me the coconut flour and coconut dish soap that they are going to introduce soon along with the clay of Vilcabamba. I brought back wonderful products more than what I had anticipated and a promise to bring this wonder to my clients, friends and family not only in NorthAmerica but to our new land / home the beautiful Ecuador!

Stay tuned for more to follow !

" Follow your heart with your whole heart and the way will show itself".

Your Partner in Total Health!



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AYURVEDA REFLECTS ON DIABETES: 

11/14/2014

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In recent decade the number of diabetics has drastically escalated. Why is it so ? it makes me wonder and on deep reflection it is clear why is it so.

The major factors behind this escalation is the recent changes that has occured in our diets & life styles which has added lot more stress markers in our daily lives.

Many of my close people have been recently diagnosed with this deadly disease that shows me to reflect on it...

What did our ancestors do which we are not doing anymore? Why we choose to manage stress rather than manage life? these are the questions that surface to mind for me.

I invite you to explore this further with me today. I gather the lack of accesable knowledge  and easy resources are prime reasons. Once we are cornered with such diagnosis we are forced to face certain challenges to manage such disease.

Being a partner in your total health I propose some recommendations to successfully manage this disease.

According to Ayurveda diabetes is a primarily Kapha disorder ( Earth & Water elements predomination). However diabetes is not a simple single disease but a complex syndrome that affects multiple organs like pancreas, liver & kidneys.

Ayurveda wisdom suggests that diabetes is a metabolic disorder where body's own intelligence is clouded due to toxins in the body mind and spirit chemistry. Following ayurveda protocol this disease can be well managed as well as eradicated in some cases.

I must add here : that a diabetic diet is a Good diet for anyone seeking well balaced diet and life style to enhance a healthier choice to total well-being in these challenging times.

The secret lies in responsibly choosing conducive dietary protocols, changing sedentary life-styles alongside adding herbal formulations, cleansing simple therapy, regular yoga & excercise rotine in daily regime.

FOREMOST Caution : A diabetic must have small portions in meals on regular intervals and fasting or skipping meals is not an option for them. Body and mind needs complex sugars and protein on regular basis to keep the mind body functional optimally without putting extra burden on the system.

A low glycemic Index (GI) food choices ,  alkaline foods, and daily excercise can reduce and manage this disorder to improve and even erradicate this deadly disease. Here are some food options to expound and explore for you:

--Gluten Free Diet: avoid gluten foods like wheat, rye & barley. Instead add gluten free grains likes of quinoa, steel cut gluten free oats, millet, long grain rice , pumpernickel, muesli, flaxseeds, oat bran, basmati brown rice , wild rice are med GI, horse gram ( black chana) , pinto beans etc
--Low GI Fruits: apples, semi-ripe banana, grapefruit, grapes ( little quantity only), kiwi, oranges, peach, pear, strawberries, blueberriew, blackberries, prunes. Avoid juices intead choose from fresh fruits.
--Medium GI Fruits: apricot, dates ( can be low to medium GI), papaya, pineapple
-- High GI Fruits: Cantaloupe melons & watermelons best to avoid them
--Vegetables: add more pungent, bitter and astringent vegetables with low GI into your diet  eg: bitter gourd ( karela), tindora, asparagus, artichokes, fenugreek greens & seeds sprouts ( check recipe for sprouts on www.ayurvedasoham.com ) , mustard greens ( rapini), kale, collard, spinach, dandelion greens, arugula greens, okra, drumsticks ( moringa sticks), avacado, radish, sweet potatoes, celery, peas, fresh boiled beets are ok, cooked carrots are low to medium GI, amla , turnip, lotus root, ginger, less tomatoes, less cucumber, Lime is ok instead of lemon
--High GI Vegetables: potatoes, fava beans, parsnip, canned beets
-- Nuts & Seeds: only soaked almonds in small quantities, instead add seed butters like pumpkin & sunflower seed butter saltless and sugarless variety only, hemp hearts ( omega 3 & 6 excellent protein source for vegetarians, Chia seeds 2 teaspoon / day
-- Herbal protocol: before meals mix 1/2 teaspoon of bay leaf powder + 1/4 tsp of organic turmeric powder in 2 Tablespoon of organic Aloe vera gel. Take this mix 20 minutes before meals , # 2 option to be given only by a Ayurvedic Practitioner: blend of following herbs: Guduchi, gurmar, katuki & punarnava taken twice before lunch and dinner 1/2 tsp mixed in warm water.
--Herbal Cleansing for Colon: 1/2 tsp to 1 tsp depending on your constitutional requirement of Ayurvedic Bowel toner mix called Triphala ( from a Ayurvedic Practitioner only) following twice a month protocol of Herbal Enema therapy. ( check your local listing of Practitioner who offer this therapy).
-- Yoga, Pranayama & Meditation: Sun-salutations, Vajra asana after meals 3-5 minutes , alternate nostril breathing 3-5 minutes twice a day, Kapalabati 5 minutes twice a day, Pawanmukta asana in the morning and evenings. Daily walks 20 minutes after meals for 20 minutes at least. Sitting quiet times with self before bedtime for introspection daily.

Hope this helps. 

Your Partner in Total Health!














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    Renu teaches and practices Ayurveda with a specialty in Ayurvedic nutrition via SohamWellnessPlace in Toronto & Ecuador!

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