Dr. Ali'S Breakfast Mewa - Super Food Of Ancient India

a blend of nuts and dried fruits.

MEWA is a blend of nuts and died fruits. In ancient India, people used this to boost energy, improve the immune system, increase vitality and maintain good health. The affluent people of India gave Mewa as gift to each other on festive occasions. This was a healthy and thoughtful gift compared to rich Indian sweetmeats which contained a lot of sugar and butter (ghee) .

Mewa was eaten by those who were sick as well as those who did not want to get sick. The nuts contain minerals, useful oils, protein etc. They are after all, seeds that have the hidden life force which after germination facilitates growth of the shoots and are therefore, the eggs of plants. Dried fruits are rich in vitamin C , essential trace elements and fructose, nature's pure energy-giving carbohydrate. What is most fascinating is the blend of these ingredients in a certain proportion. If chewed well it can release energy quite quickly. It is a common snack for many as it quickly produces the feeling of satiety.

I mixed the Mewa with organic oats and created a Breakfast Mewa which has become one of the best selling products in clinic 's shop and at The Castle Monastero Spa in Tuscany, Italy. What the Breakfast Mewa does is that it wakes up the taste buds and produces an array of flavours. The fruity-nutty taste of pistachios, almonds and sweet-and-sour kishmish raisins is enriched with sharp flavour of saffron, bitter-sour dried neroli orange peels etc. it's a magical selection of flavours which uplifts the mind. At breakfast, it simply awakens your senses and prepares you for the day. You feel that you have eaten something healthy and beneficial to your body. One wants to eat this everyday for breakfast and often as a snack during the day. I have had such wonderful feedback from those who eat this every morning.

The Mewa in its breakfast muesli form, is soaked to let the nuts and dried fruits become " alive". The enzymes which are dormant in the dry endosperm of the seed, suddenly becomes active with moisture and transforms the matrix into protein. This is the building block of growth and life itself. The oats too are seeds and therefore they too go through this amazing transformation. They texture becomes smooth when you add some milk or yoghurt and stir the mass. This further enhances the taste and chewing becomes a lot easier. For those who rush through breakfast, this is an added quality as the Mewa gets digested very well.

I am a self-taught cook and it is one of my passions. When blending this Breakfast Mewa, I thought of the the taste, nutritional benefits, satiety factor and it's gentle effect on the digestive system. Generally, people eat the same type of breakfast every day and almost all of the breakfast cereals available in the market have sugar and other additives. Taking these facts into consideration, I created my ideal breakfast solution. I eat this every morning when I am home in London and I love it.

Amongst my " weight loss secrets" is this special Breakfast Mewa. As its very nutritious and filling, people are advised to eat this for breakfast, lunch and dinner, with non-citric fruits, milk or yoghurt or apple juice for 3-5 days. It's a boring thought but there are many benefits. The stomach begins to retract in volume and your appetite drops, so when normal food is eaten, you realise that you need small amounts to satisfy your hunger. The process of shrinking of the stomach is also facilitated by specific abdominal exercises which are described in my book.

In my opinion, yeast or candida overgrowth and other fungal colonies in our body are affecting our immune system in a big way. They are parasites and therefore sap into our vital energy too. It suits them to keep our immune system neutralised and out of their harms way. The indiscriminate use of antibiotics and antibacterial domestic or clinical products, did help in controlling deadly bacteria but it did come with a price. Antibiotics are derivatives of penicillin, a fungal toxin that kills bacteria and so in effect, we made fungus our ally against bacteria, creating imbalance in the harmony that existed in nature. Our bodies are hosts to many forms of fungi now.

One common source of fungal food is yeast bread and so the Breakfast Mewa became my alternative to that in the morning.

The book has the general recipe for the Breakfast Mewa so if you can't procure the original blend, you can make a similar one at home. Our brand uses premium quality ingredients sourced from different countries of the world and so there is a price for that. We want to support the people of the Himalayas, who grow or collect such incredible gifts of nature like almonds, pistachios, kishmish raisins, saffron etc.