What I like most about this salad is that I can source the ingredients from my herb garden and local farmers. These foods are abundant during summertime and are easy to digest.

Ayurveda has a self-care regimen for each season. Summer is considered Pitta season when the qualities of Fire and Water dominate the season. These qualities build as we move through summer. July through September is when we can begin to see and feel the effects of these qualities.

Ether, Air, Fire, Water, and Earth make up the five great elements, and when these elements combine they form the Ayurvedic archetypes known as the Doshas. The doshas are biological energies found throughout the human body and mind, and in nature.

Vata is made up of the elements Ether and Air and translate as “that which moves” it is also consider the “King of the Doshas” as it moves both Pitta and Kapha.

Pitta is made up of the elements Fire and Water and translate as “that which cooks” it is the energy of digestion and metabolism in the body.

Kapha is made up of the elements Earth and Water and translates as “that which holds things together” it is the energy of building and lubrication and provides the body with its physical form and structure.