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If Ayurveda sounds a bit complicated, here are some practical rules you can follow:

 Choose a combination of heavy and light foods. Processed and fried foods are examples of heavy foods. Vegetables and fruit are light. Ayurveda says that if you choose all heavy ingredients in a single meal, you may feel bloated and the food may take longer to digest.FINDING MORE INFORMATION ON YOGA AND MEDITATIONIf you’d like to incorporate more of Ayurveda into your lifestyle, beyond just diet, you’ll enjoy trying yoga and meditation. Never tried either before and not sure where to start? Here are some tips:Yoga: Yoga For Dummies, 3rd Edition, by Larry Payne and Georg Feuerstein (Wiley), is a great place to start. You can find yoga studios in big cities and small towns and everywhere in between, but if you’d like to try yoga from the comfort of your own home, one popular place to turn is Yoga with Adrienne on YouTube: www.youtube.com/user/yogawithadriene. Adriene Mishler has yoga routines for all levels of yoga practitioners, and she has a gentle and encouraging tone.Meditation: Meditation For Dummies, 4th Edition, by Stephan Bodian (Wiley), explains how you can put meditation to practice in your life. If you’re looking for someone to guide you through meditation practices, a popular choice is Headspace (www.headspace.com), which you can use from the web or as an app on your smartphone.These are just a few resources — many more are out there. Find what works for you, and set aside what doesn’t.

 Choose more cooked foods than raw. Raw foods are harder for the body to digest. In Indian cooking, raw salads are never the main meal; instead, they’re included in a meal to add a bit of flavor, texture, and color. Also, stir-frying foods keeps them lighter than deep-frying.

 Pay attention to effect that various foods have on your body. Certain foods or food combinations can give you gas or constipation or cause improper digestion. Ayurveda suggests antidotes such as adding herbs and spices or limiting your portions.

 Control the quantity of food you eat. Ayurveda says that eating large meals could put pressure on the digestive system. Eat smaller meals more frequently.

 Eat seasonal and local. Foods are their best when they’re in season and fresh. They also taste better.

 Eat when you’re hungry. Let a meal be properly digested before you eat again. This practice helps your body do its job properly. Boredom snacking, eating just because it’s lunchtime, or nibbling on something because everyone else is eating may cause you to overeat.

 Don’t be distracted while eating. No eating in front of the TV or reading while you’re eating! According to Ayurveda, being distracted from eating means that we chew less and gulp our food more.

 Go with your instinct. Don’t force yourself to eat what you don’t feel like eating. Your body and its needs are unique, so there’s no rule that you have to love a certain food just because everyone else around you does. As a chef, I’m surrounded by other chefs who love garlic is all its forms, but I don’t really love whole garlic. Indian cooking uses garlic in almost all savory dishes, but I prefer it pureed so that I don’t have to bite into it — that’s why all my recipes call for garlic paste rather than chunks of garlic!