I’ve always wanted this blog to be a safe refuge happy place, full of topics that come up in our workspace at Quinn, but it's certainly a crazy time to be alive isn't it?
I have always enjoyed CAH (Cooking at Home- yeah, it's a new acronym), and I’ve seen “Buddha bowls” all over menus lately, so I set out to make one at home. What are they, though? How did ambiguous-whole-grain-and-veggie-bowls-with-tasty-sauce become abbreviated as “Buddha bowls”?
What Is the Buddha Diet?
“Buddha’s Diet is a new-old way of eating, incorporating Buddha’s ancient teachings along with the latest science and data around the benefits of intermittent fasting. In a nutshell, Buddha’s Diet focuses on narrowing your eating window and creating a new pattern of eating. Unlike a typical diet, you don’t go on it or off it. Because you are allowed to eat the food you love (instead of restricting the time frame in which you can eat it), it’s an easier diet to follow and brings with it a complete food relationship reset.
“Intermittent fasting has been around for thousands of years and in various forms. When Buddha first set out his rules for his followers, he advised them to avoid untimely eating. For Buddha this meant not eating in the evening, specifically not eating after noon. These days that’s too restrictive. But Buddha was onto something when he made this rule. He knew that eating late at night or at all hours was a bad idea. Back then, he didn’t have the scientific studies or data to prove his theory. But it was a hunch that has now been proven by modern science.”
The Rules
“Follow an eating clock of around nine hours. A good example would be 9:00 AM-6:00 PM. Everyone is a little different, and you may need a slightly longer window or slightly shorter window. With the steps of Buddha’s Diet, you’ll gradually move from today’s round-the-clock eating to 12 hours, to 11, to 10, and to nine. You can adjust as you see how your new eating clock affects your [overall] well-being and sleep. Right now you are probably eating at all hours, meaning you may gulp down a latte early in the morning and then have a glass of wine or a snack while watching TV late at night. Just because you finish dinner at 7:00 PM doesn’t always mean you are done eating. Many of us keep eating well after dinner, a cookie here, a handful of something there. This type of eating wreaks havoc on our bodies and circadian rhythms. Buddha’s Diet focuses on closing that window a little, giving the body a true break each day.”