Nourish & Defend: Addressing Inflammation & Immunity Using Ayurvedic Practices with a Full Meal Plan

A Cooking Workshop

Stephanie Wright, Ayurvedic Chef

LISTEN: Radio Interview — Check out a recent radio inteview with Stephanie Wright on Holistic Edge Radio.

This workshop introduces the Ayurvedic framework for supporting the body through many conditions which often started due to inflammation. Inflammation is the body’s way to protect itself from injury, infection, or harmful substances, and help to heal tissues and fight other threats, but when it lasts too long, it can damage healthy tissues and encourage diseases like arthritis, heart disease, and diabetes.

Participants will learn the foundational concepts of Ayurveda, the ancient science of health from India, including agni (digestive fire), ama (toxic residue), and ojas (vital essence), and the lens through which Ayurveda understands chronic inflammation and immune imbalance. We’ll explore how the Vata, Pitta, and Kapha doshas or constitutional types map to different autoimmune presentations, and walk through the four-pillar strategy Ayurveda uses to restore balance: removing triggers, rebuilding digestive fire, clearing toxins, and nourishing long-term resilience.

This session includes recipes that can be beneficial to the conditions noted below, but are also known to support anyone with symptoms of inflammation or autoimmune problems. The recipes prepared in this workshop can be of great benefit to health issues such as rheumatoid arthritis, Hashimoto’s thyroiditis, psoriasis, lupus, and inflammatory bowel disease, including the dietary adjustments and traditional herbs associated with each. We will also discuss an important safety note on ashwagandha, one of Ayurveda’s most popular adaptogens, and why it calls for caution in autoimmune conditions. Autoimmune conditions are often related to inflammation, as they come to the surface when the immune system sees the body as the enemy and attacks the body’s own tissues, leading to chronic inflammation.

What You’ll Learn

• How to integrate Ayurvedic practices alongside conventional medical care.  
• The Ayurvedic concepts of agni, ama, and ojas, and how they relate to autoimmune inflammation
• How Vata, Pitta, and Kapha patterns show up across different autoimmune conditions
• The four-pillar approach: removing triggers, restoring digestion, clearing toxins, building resilience
• Diet and lifestyle foundations that apply across nearly every condition
• Condition-specific guidance for rheumatoid arthritis, Hashimoto’s thyroiditis, psoriasis, lupus, and IBD
• Key herbs to know and one important safety caution around ashwagandha

A Delicious Menu & Meal Plan

The workshop includes a hands-on cooking portion built around the same principles: warm, well-spiced, easily digestible foods that support agni, clear ama, and build ojas.

SOUP: Golden Turmeric-Ginger Squash Soup
Roasted kabocha for butternut squash, simmered with turmeric, fresh ginger, cumin, and coconut milk, and finished with a drizzle of ghee and cracked black pepper.

MAIN: Coconut-Cumin Kitchari with Root Vegetables
Split mung dal and basmati rice slow-cooked into a soft, mono-diet-style stew with sweet potato and carrot, seasoned with cumin, coriander, fennel, turmeric, ginger, and a pinch of asafoetida (hing).

VEGETABLE SIDES: Roasted Cumin-Fennel Root Vegetables & Ginger-Sauteed Greens with Hing
Beets, carrots, and parsnips roasted with warming spices. Seasonal greens quickly sauteed with ghee, fresh ginger, and a pinch of asafoetida to ease digestibility.

DRINK: CCF Digestive Tea (Cumin-Coriander-Fennel) & Ginger Tulsi Tea
Two tridoshic teas will be available to be sipped throughout the class. CCF tea is a classic Ayurvedic blend used for centuries to gently stimulate the digestive tract and ginger-tulsi tea pairs holy basil, an adaptogen for stress-relief, with ginger to further support immunity, digestion, and detoxification.

Students will walk away with a PDF handout emailed to them of the recipes given so they can reproduce the same meal plan.

Who Should Attend

Anyone managing an autoimmune condition (or supporting someone who is), and anyone curious about Ayurveda’s approach to chronic inflammation and immune health from a food or cooking perspective. No prior knowledge of Ayurveda is required.

LOCATION: Kollectiv NYC, 21 East 1st St, New York, NY 10003. (Click for Google maps.)

NOTE: This workshop is educational and complementary in nature. It is not a substitute for medical diagnosis, treatment, or advice. Please continue working with your physician, and consult a qualified Ayurvedic practitioner before starting new herbs or therapies.

Stephanie Wright is founder of the Wright Methods, a culinary educator and recipe developer, specializing in nutrient-dense, locally-sourced, seasonal menus. She has been an avid yogi since 2008, and a lifelong passion for food drew her towards Ayurveda, the sister science of yoga. After earning the Ayurvedic Nutrition and Culinary Certification at Bhagavat Life, an Ayurvedic cooking school in New York City under the guidance of Ayurvedic chef and entrepreneur Divya Alter, she became the Chef de Cuisine at the Assemblage, a conscious co-living space, where she developed seasonal Ayurvedic menus using natural organic ingredients and educated the staff coworking members on the intricacies of Ayurveda. thewrightmethods.com