"Mama you are eating elaichi" aka cardamom

A comment my kids would make when they smelled cardamom, I recall their comment mostly in the car...which could mean that we spent time in close proximity mostly in the car, or most probably the enclosed environment made the smell prominent.

I like/love ilaichi, to my delight when I saw for the first time how it grows, i was thrilled.  This was not in my ancestral country but in Costa Rica.

For some reason today I looked up the nutritional value of this spice.  I browsed a few websites, and decided to share the following:

(On a side note, the Balzac Cafe in Metro Toronto Library (where I am often found these days) serves a coffee called "Cafe Nordique", it is supposed to have cardamom and vanilla, I ordered one today and tasted none of the above.  When I shared this with the girl behind the counter she said: "yes many people have made the same comment, maybe the taste of coffee is too strong".  I kind of disagree, if  you use the real cardamom, I add one pod to my tea, it is strong enough.  So go figure!)

15 Health Benefits of Cardamom

Monday, May 20, 2013 @ 08:05 AM Charlie Pulsipher

4.89/5 (97.76%) 268votes

Cardamom is native to the evergreen forests of India. This spice is commonly used in Indian cuisine, but it has also made its way into Ayurvedic medicine as a treatment for mouth ulcers, digestive problems, and even depression. Some of the health benefits of this peppery, citrusy spice are now making their way into modern studies. It’s well worth adding cardamom to your food for the flavor alone, but these health benefits are also something to consider whenever you break out the spices.

1. Digestion – Cardamom is related to ginger and can be used in much the same way to counteract digestive problems. Use it to combat nausea, acidity, bloating, gas, heartburn, loss of appetite, constipation, and much more.
2. Detoxify – This spice helps the body eliminate waste through the kidneys.
3. Halitosis – In India they chew cardamom after meals or whenever they need to freshen their breath.
4. Diuretic – Part of the reason cardamom is such a good detoxifier is thanks to the diuretic properties. It helps clean out the urinary tract, bladder, and kidneys, removing waste, salt, excess water, toxins, and combating infections too.
5. Depression – The science behind the antidepressant qualities of cardamom hasn’t been studied yet, but Ayurvedic medicine swears by the tea as a means to fight depression.
6. Oral Health – Apart from helping with bad breath, cardamom is used for mouth ulcers and infections of the mouth and throat.
7. Cold and Flu – This pungent spice may help prevent and relieve cold and flu symptoms. It’s also used for bronchitis and coughs.
8. Cancer – Animal studies are showing promise that cardamom protects against, inhibits growth, and even kills some cancers.
9. Blood Pressure – As a diuretic and fiber rich spice, cardamom significantly lowers blood pressure.
10. Blood Clots – Cardamom prevents dangerous blood clots by preventing platelet aggregation and the sticking to the artery walls.
11. Antioxidant – Many of the vitamins, phytonutrients, and essential oils in cardamom act as antioxidants, cleaning up free radicals and resisting cellular aging.
12. Pathogens – The volatile essential oils in cardamom inhibit the growth of viruses, bacteria, fungus, and mold.
13. Anti-inflammatory – Like ginger and turmeric, its relatives, cardamom has some anti-inflammatory properties that limit pain and swelling, especially in mucus membranes, the mouth, and throat.
14. Hiccups – Cardamom is an anti-spasmodic that can help get rid of hiccups. This also applies to other involuntary muscle spasms, like stomach and intestinal cramps.
15. Aphrodisiac – Traditional medicine lists cardamom as a powerful aphrodisiac that can help with erectile dysfunction and impotence.

- See more at: http://www.sunwarrior.com/news/15-health-benefits-of-cardamom/#sthash.mIYe8hf1.dpuf

Meetings and partings

A sojourn, this life

I am not for any anyone,

I seek none for myself.  

A home I find, 

In the place called heart.

All come there;

a brief visit,

a smile, a word.

When all are gone,

I rest my self

In this home, the heart.  

Costa Rica, November Full Moon

The above words came soon after I finished meditating on the beach in Cahuita.  

The last five weeks have been busy, spent with six students, guiding, coaching and assessing them in their yoga teacher training.  

Each person who immerses themself in this journey of yoga comes out on the other side - changed in more then one way.  The long hours of the training are challenging and demanding.  Sometimes a person is faced with their fears and at times the strong filters of conditioning are brought to the forefront.  

Through all this, I am happy that Malorie, Lyndi, Chelsea, Joice, Rhéline and Miranda, came out smiling, confident and ready to share their practice.  

And now it's time to relax in Cahuita. A full moon dance, a day spent in the sunshine of the beach, sand and ocean and this evening teaching and sharing a yoga practice by the evening light, besides the poolside.  

The clouds parted and the full moon was a sight to behold, brilliant and shining, reassuring as the next breath.  

Meditation

The birds have flown into the sky,

The last cloud drifts away;

We sit together, the mountain and me,

Until only the mountain remains.  

Lao Tsu

Giving thanks - and "autumn leaves drift by my window"

I am thinking gratitude is a state of being, and giving thanks as an act.  We keep practicing, and we become the action.

Then there is the day celebrated as "thanksgiving"; in Canada its celebrated on the second Monday in October, associated with the harvest time,  and in the U.S its the fourth Thursday of November.

Great family holiday, one of the few where gifts, and shopping and traffic ordeals are not needed.  Well maybe the traffic one is a stretch.  As people do like to travel to be with their families and loved ones on this holiday.

Its always been a favorite holiday, with family and friends a reunion time.   In our family we gather on the Sunday, the day before the holiday.  It was logistics, kids returning to college on the Monday, and then also for selfish reasons of having a lazy morning after, before heading out to work.

So Lasagna with garlic bread, caesar salad and apple crumble, a long standing menu and everyones favorite.  Always request to make extra Lasagna as "it tastes better the next day"....

So today the meat sauce (has to be meat, for those of us who are vegetarians, a separate casserole is made), is ready.  Fresh meat, cooked for at least three hours, as the tastes all assimilate with the slow and extended cooking time.  With preparations done, Sunday morning will be assembling and cooking, conversations wrapped with love and laughter.

Fall weather has been beautiful, the colors vibrant, the sunshine clear and the air crisp.  Last night even the half moon seemed closer.

I give thanks, love abounds...

Rumi's words come as the autumn leaves fall: "inside of us, there's a continual autumn.  Our leaves fall and are blown out over the water".