The health benefits of yoga for kids are endless (see previous blog post). To complement your little ones yoga practice, it is essential to nourish them with wholesome, unprocessed foods.

A staple dish for every yogi is dahl (dal, daal, dhal). Simple, nutritious and super tasty, it is guaranteed to satisfy fussy little tummies and taste buds.

Dahl’s healing properties are used in India to treat tummy aches, colds and flus – move over chicken soup.

Make a double batch and freeze the left overs for lunch boxes.

 

RECIPE

6-8 servings

Ingredients:

• 500g Pumpkin
• 3 tablespoons of coconut oil or Ghee
• 1 Onion
• 2 crushed garlic cloves
• 4cm grated ginger
• 3 teaspoons cumin seeds
• 2 teaspoons of coriander seeds
• 2 teaspoons of turmeric
• 1 teaspoon of fennel seeds
• 1 cup of red or yellow lentils
• 4 cups of broth or water
• 1 can of tinned tomatoes
• 1 can of coconut cream

To serve

• A handful of baby spinach
• Fresh coriander to garnish
• Lemon wedge to garnish
• Basmati rice or quinoa

Directions

1. Pre-heat oven to 200°C
2. Roughly chop pumpkin into 3cm cubes (I like to keep the skin on)
3. Place pumpkin on a baking tray, cover with melted coconut oil or ghee, season with salt and pepper. Bake until soft (approx. 30min)
4. Dice onion and fry on medium heat pan along with ginger and garlic for 5min
5. Add spices to fry pan, and stir
6. Once pumpkin is cooled, puree in the blender until smooth
7. Add lentils, onion mixture and pumpkin into a large pot and cook for 2 hours or until lentils are a porridge like consistency
8. Stir through coconut cream and fresh baby spinach
9. Serve with fresh coriander, lemon and basmati rice or quinoa.

Note

• You can also cook in the slow cooker on a low-medium heat for 4 hours
• You can sneak in any vegetables you like. Peas, sweet potato and carrots work well