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Come get comfortable, grab a tea or refreshing drink or sake' and be at ease while diving into better health and overcoming naturally or as naturally as possible.
So, lets dive in and Feed our heads.
Bon Appétit
The four pillars” of TCM ( Traditional Chinese Medicine) are: acupuncture; Chinese herbal medicine and dietary therapy; Tuina, which incorporates medical massage and manipulation; and exercise and movement therapy.
Note: If you missed the previous Recipe editions please do explore the many pages of the blog. We are exploring the many benefits of Traditional Chinese medicine Food therapy and Ayurvedic food therapy. Just look for the recipe editions and enjoy.
As we explored in previous posts Chinese food therapy 食疗 (shí liáo), is the idea of using food as a way to regulate and heal the body. Examples are heaty food include alcohol or spicy food which nourishes the 阳 (Yáng). You should get a balance of Heaty and Cooling food to nourish both sides equally.
In traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), meridians are channels that form a network throughout the body, through which vital energy, or qi, flows. The meridian system is made up of 12 primary meridians, each of which connects to an organ system and extends to an extremity, as well as eight collaterals. Each side of the body is crossed by six meridians, three yin and three yang.
For example
The Yin meridians of the arm are the Lung, Heart, and Pericardium. The Yang meridians of the arm are the Large Intestine, Small Intestine, and Triple Burner. The Yin Meridians of the leg are the Spleen, Kidney, and Liver. The Yang meridians of the leg are Stomach, Bladder, and Gall Bladder.
The San Jiao, for example~ refers to a meridian in traditional Chinese medicine that is associated with three regions of the body: the chest, upper abdomen, and lower abdomen, which regulate circulatory, respiratory, digestive, sexual, and excretory functions.
Now in Chinese food therapy, foods are classed as either heating, cooling, drying or damp. Balancing these energetic properties is key for health, helping to prevent illness and disease. Today we’ll be exploring the energy of foods in Chinese Medicine. Discover which foods heat and cool the body and foods that create dryness and dampness. Learn why it’s important to balance the energetic qualities of food and which foods you should and shouldn’t eat.
In previous posts we dove into some information and recipes, in this one we'll do the same, and simplify it a little more.
Some foods and drinks create heat in the body, whereas others have a cooling effect.
Warming foods and drinks include:
• Onion, garlic, ginger and pepper
• Pungent spices like chilli, cayenne, coriander, cumin and turmeric
• Tomatoes
• Mangoes and oranges
• Coffee and energy drinks
• Oily foods
• Red meat
Cooling foods and drinks include:
• Sweet fruits like banana, watermelon and strawberries
• Raw foods (including uncooked vegetables)
• Leafy vegetables such as lettuce and kale
• Cold drinks, iced water and peppermint tea
• Bitter herbs like mustard greens, chicory and dandelion leaves
Some foods cause the body to become damp (phlegmy, sluggish, swollen) or dry (where it’s lacking moisture).
Drying foods and drinks include:
• Crunchy foods like biscuits, crisps, crackers, carrots and celery
• Nuts and seeds
• Starchy grains including bread, pasta, rice, potatoes and couscous
• Beans, lentils and legumes
• Roasted vegetables
• Raw food
• Green tea and cinnamon
Damp foods and drinks include:
• Dairy
• Gluten and wheat-containing foods (bread, pasta, pastries)
• Sweet or high-water content fruits and vegetables like watermelon, pineapple and cucumber
• Sugar and sweeteners
• Eggs and meat
• Soy products
• Slimy foods such as okra and linseeds
• Too many mushrooms
• Cold drinks
Signs of too much heat
When there is too much heat in the body, it displays as redness, burning sensations, inflammation, acidity, loose stools and ‘fiery’ emotions like irritability and anger.
Conditions associated with excess heat:
• Cystitis
• Sinusitis
• Autoimmune conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis and coeliac disease
• High blood pressure
• Migraines
• Acid reflux, gastritis, ulcers and inflammatory bowel disease
• Acne, inflammatory skin diseases and infected wounds
• Stress and anger management problems
How to balance excess heat:
• Reduce hot foods and drinks, pungent spices such as chilli and dry ginger, red meat and oily foods.
• Eliminate chemical food additives, coffee and alcohol.
• Eat more salads, raw food, green smoothies, bitter vegetables and herbs.
• Do regular fasting and detoxfication to reduce excess heat.
Signs of too much cold
Excess coldmanifests as a pale complexion, feeling cold and weak, muscle spasms, feeling unmotivated and emotionally withdrawn.
Conditions connected to excess cold are:
• Poor circulation (cold hands and feet, Raynaud’s disease)
• Weak digestion (low appetite, IBS, period cramps)
• Low thyroid function (feeling sluggish, weight gain, tiredness)
• Poor memory and concentration
• Exhaustion and depression
How to balance excess cold:
• Reduce refrigerated and frozen foods including ice cream and ice lollies,iced drinks, raw and leafy foods such as chicory and kale.
• Avoid fasting and detoxification.
• Eat more warming foods like soups, curries and cooked vegetables. Add spicy herbs to food including ginger, garlic, black pepper and cinnamon to increase circulation and digestion.
• Only drink warm drinks like herbal teas and water at room-temperature.
• Vigorous exercise, saunas and oil massages can also balance excess cold.
Signs of too much dryness
When the body is too dry, weight loss can occur, skin and mucous membranes become dry, gas, bloating and feelings of fear and anxiety are normal.
Conditions linked to excess dryness include:
• Osteoarthritis (stiff, rubbing and clicking joints)
• Dry, flaking, itchy skin conditions
• Wrinkled skin
• Dry mouth, sinuses and throat and a dry cough
• Gas, bloating, IBS with constipation
• Gall stones and kidney stones
• Tremors and anxiety disorders
• Insomnia (waking in the early hours)
How to balance excess dryness:
• Reduce dry and crunchy foods such as biscuits, starchy grains and legumes.
• Avoid green tea and cinnamon.
• Drink more fluids, especially filtered water.
• Eat foods that are lightly cooked or steamed, sweet fruits, root vegetables, nut milks and slimy foods like okra, chia and linseeds.
Signs of too much damp
When the body is too damp, it’s expressed as weight gain, fluid accumulation, watery discharges and mucous, lethargy, lumps and cysts, nausea and feelings of over-sentimentality.
Conditions related to excess damp are:
• Obesity
• Fluid retention and swelling
• Benign tumours and cysts
• Candida
• PCOS
• Hay fever, allergies and wet coughs
• Excess sweating
• Fungal diseases such as ringworm and athlete’s foot
How to balance excess damp:
• Reduce dairy, sweet or high-water content fruits and vegetables such as cucumber and melon.
• Avoid sugar, gluten and refined carbohydrates (pizza, pasta, bread, pastries).
• Eat drier and crunchier food including celery, asparagus and pumpkin, whole grains, onion, ginger, garlic and aromatic spices. Avoid greasy foods.
• Limit alcohol and drink green tea.
• Add warming and drying spices to food such as cinnamon.
Things to have in your pantry
1. Millet
“Whole grains are a huge part of TCM food therapy,” Gong says. “Millet is particularly good since it’s easy to cook, strengthens the spleen, and helps the body digest food and transform it into usable qi.” She uses a specific type of millet called foxtail millet; it’s the base for her morning congee.
2. Goji Berries
These barely sweet berries are packed with vitamin A and in TCM are said to restore the liver and relieve fatigue. Gong enjoys adding them to dairy-free yogurt or sautéed greens: “They add a beautiful color.”
3. Angelica Root
Earthy and herbal, this root is known for boosting women’s health. “It helps with a range of issues, from cramps to hormones,” Gong says. She slips it in bone broth or turns it into tea.
4. Black Sesame Seeds
“This seed replenishes the kidney and contains lots of healthy fats and minerals that are good for our hair and skin,” Gong says. She grew up eating two tablespoons of black sesame powder every day; these days, she uses the powder for baking bread and sprinkles the seeds on anything, savory or sweet.
5. Jujube Dates
For Gong, this dried date is a pantry workhorse. “You can add it to bone broth or steam it with mochi,” she says. “It’s a great sweetener.” In TCM, jujube dates are believed to strengthen the spleen and replenish blood.
6. 13-Spice Powder
This spice mix, fragrant with star anise, fennel, Szechuan peppercorn, and more, pairs well with savory foods, from crawfish boils to barbecue skewers, and helps regulate qi. “These dried spices are warming for the body and the meridians [channels through which qi flows],” Gong says.
You can find these ingredients online at yamibuy.com and starwest-botanicals.com. (no affiliate perks just a good spot)
And remember you can find many things in your local cities and towns, though you may have to be a tourist in your own town. Which is good sometimes.
Recipes
Buddhist Tofu Soup
✨️Spleen deficiency, middle jiao disharmony, excess dampness/ Hypertension, high blood sugar, high cholesterol, weight control, cancer prevention etc.
(I make this without the Tofu and feel free to just throw in extra bok choy or some more cabbage if you don’t do Tofu either)
Ingredients:
8 to 10 - Dried shiitake or other mushrooms
1 to 2 cups - Water
1 (12-14 oz) package - Firm tofu, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
1 cup - Fresh bamboo shoots, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
4 cloves - Garlic, peeled and minced
1 (1 inch) piece - Ginger, peeled and minced
6 cups - Vegetable broth
1 cup - Chinese cabbage or bok choy, chopped into 1/2 inch slices
1 Tbsp - Dark sesame oil
1 Tbsp - Soy sauce, or to taste
2 Tbsp - Oyster sauce (vegetarian is available)
Directions:
1. Soak the shiitakes in warm water for about 20 minutes. Reserve the water for later use.
Remove and discard the stems if desired. Chop the mushrooms into 1 inch pieces.
2. Combine the mushrooms, reserved mushroom water, tofu, bamboo shoots, garlic, ginger and
broth in a saucepan, bring to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer for about 10 minutes.
3. Add the Chinese cabbage to the soup, cook for another 5 mintues.
4. Add the sesame oil, soy sauce, and the oyster sauce (if using), then serve.
Actions/Indications/Functions
• Tonify the spleen
• Harmonize the middle jiao
Burdock Salad
Burdock Salad
✨️General/Diabetes, stomach cancer, arteriosclerosis
Ingredients:
1 burdock root
1 pear
2 Tbsp lightly toasted sesame seed
2 Tbsp rice vinegar
2 Tbsp sesame oil
2 Tbsp Soya Sauce
Directions:
1. Peel Burdock and cut into thin slices.
2. Boil in salt water for 10 minutes, drain.
3. Cut pear into small cubes.
4. Mix all ingredients together.
Actions/Indications/Functions
o Clear heat, relieve toxin, reduce swelling, treat carbuncles.
o Clear pathogenic heat, promote production of body fluid, moisten dryness
o Relieve heat type cough, Toothache, sore throat, constipation
A Little yummy for my Carnivores 🍴
Chestnut Chicken
Ingredients:
2 lb Chicken Leg
20 Chestnut
12 pc dried mushroom
3 Tbsp Soya Sauce
½ tsp salt
1Tbsp Cooking rice wine
Dash white pepper
2 sl fresh ginger root
Oil
Directions:
1. Soak dried mushroom
2. Sheel chestnut.
3. Chopped chicken legs into 2 inch sections, add in marinate and marinate for ½ hour
4. Heat oil in a heavy pan, add in ginger, quickly brown chicken, stir fry about 1 minute
5. Add mushroom, chestnut and water just enough to cover the checken.
6. Cover a dn simmer for 35-45 minutes
7. Serve hot with rice.
Actions/Indications/Functions
• Tonify qi, strengthen immune system, anti-cancer, anti-infective.
• Nourish blood
• Tonify stomach spleen and kidney
• Promote blood circulation, arrest bleeding
Fennel & Tangerine Salad
✨️Dysmenorrhea due to Blood Stasis & Pathogenic Cold
Ingredients:
1 Fennel Bulb
5 Tangerines
1 Pomegranate
¼ Red Onion
½ Bunch Parsley
¼ Cup Olive Oil
1 Lemon
Salt & Pepper (optional)
Directions:
1. Slice fennel & onion thinly
2. Peel tangerines
3. Seed Pomegranate
4. Chop Parsley
5. Juice Lemon
6. Place all ingredients into a bowel with the olive oil and lemon juice.
7. Add salt and pepper to taste
Actions/Indications/Functions
o Expel Cold
o Invigorate Blood & Qi
o Relieve abdominal pain
Chrysanthemum Broccoli
✨️Excess heat, toxic heat, dryness / Cancer prevention, recovery of chemotherapy or radiation, red eyes, dry skin, acne, headache, high blood pressure etc.
Ingredients:
20g - Dried white wood ear fungus
10g (3-4 tbsp) - Dried chrysanthemum flowers
1 bunch - Broccoli, cut into bite size pieces, discarding the stem (or saving for a soup)
2 tbsp - Soy sauce
2 tbsp - Lemon juice
2 tbsp - Sesame oil
1/2 tsp - Honey, maple syrup or other natural sweetener
Directions:
1. Soak the white wood ear and chrysanthemum flowers in warm water for 15 to 20 minutes,
then drain. Wash the wood ear, cut off its tough fibrous base and cut into 1/4 inch wide
strips.
2. In a large pot, bring to a boil enough water to cover the ingredients. Add the white wood ear,
chrysanthemum flowers and broccoli, and cook, covered for 4 to 6 minutes, until the
broccoli is tender but not mushy. Drain the water and let the vegetables cool. Remove the
chrysanthemum flowers.
3. In a small bowl, mix together soy sauce, lemon juice, sesame oil, and honey (if using) to
make a dressing.
4. In a serving bowl, toss the vegetables with the dressing. Serve at room temperature.
Actions/Indications/Functions
• Clears heat
• Clears heat toxin
• Moistens body fluids
• Nourishes yin
Healthy Refreshing Options for these three digit days of Summer🏖
This is one that is great for my eyes and a great recharge!
Chrysanthemum & Goji berries herbal tea
Chrysanthemum 菊花
This flower resembles chamomile in look and in properties:
Goji berries 枸杞子
Packing up a punch of Vitamin C, they are also considered a treasured tonic for women.
These are 2 of the main herbs in a famous formula used to treat eye disorders such as dry eyes or red and itchy eyes. It is a year round herbal tea for computer eye strain!
Watermelon & Ginger juice
Watermelon is a very cold natured fruit, mostly made of water.
Ginger is a balancing warming spice. Using it will prevent digestive damage from the cold watermelon.
Together they are the perfect balance of yin and yang for a hot summer.
Simply blend or juice watermelon with a tiny head of ginger (a little goes a long way) and enjoy!
We've almost come to the end of our Feed Your Head Recipe edition, and since I was asked about healthy elixirs, here is something with a bit of a kick🥂
In an article interviewing Danielle Chang, she shares some great information for those open to healthier spirit libations. She goes onto describe the Royal Concoction
"Chang says she likes to sip on this warming cocktail as a digestif, as hawthorn berries are great for digestion and promote blood circulation. “Red dates and goji berries add sweetness as well as a powerful dose of antioxidants,” she adds. “And alcohol, in general, promotes blood circulation and is fiery on its own. So, if you've had a big meal, I think that this [Royal] concoction is really good at just clearing the blood vessels so that the medicine can carry throughout the body and really warm the digestive system, fighting cold or fatigue. It's a great kind of tonic.”
The Royal Concoction
Ingredients:
Goji berries
Red dates
Hawthorn berries
Vodka
Directions:
Rehydrate about a cup of a mixture of the berries and dates. Then, add to your infusion container (64 oz. mason jar was used here). Pour vodka of choice to the top of the container, seal tight, and allow to rest for two to three days minimum (or longer to intensify the plummy flavor). Drain liquid into a separate glass container to store and enjoy as needed!
Find more of her recipes here:
Cheers to your health! As I enjoy some cinnamon tea and my dragon fruit later. Overcoming all natural is not easy. Especially with Lupus or any other condition, we must remember that its not so easy because we are all different. Modern medicine many times forgets about previous things that can happen in someone's life, be they physical, emotional or mental trauma, so as healers it is important to not just say take this or that to someone because they may be taking a medication that they can not stop taking that does not flow with that herb or supplement. Always be mindful, taking into account your conditions and medications.
If you have any questions on
Intentional cooking and eating, please do reach out, however ~I will ask you questions and will recommend you check with your doctor and/or pharmacist or therapist, care giver etc. as well, because our health is important.
Much gratitude for being with me here today, in a way.
Thank you to those that have been sharing, liking and showing that yummy support. Those social medias are important whether we like them or not. Helps spread some good instead of gloom and doom.
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“Journaling gives you such an appreciation for the good things in your life while also helping you improve on the not-so-good things in your life.”
— Steve Cicco
Beautiful Artistic creations on journals in two sizes. Dive into the magic.
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Contributions
I leave you with some Great articles till we meet again.
Drink to your health
By Yin Lu Source:Global Times
Ten of the healthiest Chinese drinks
Deciphering the Formulation Secret Underlying Chinese Huo-Clearing Herbal Drink
Why you shouldn't drink cold water
“BOWLS OF FOOD
Moon and evening star do their
slow tambourine dance to praise
this universe. The purpose of
every gathering is discovered:
to recognize beauty and love
what’s beautiful. “Once it was
like that, now it’s like this,”
the saying goes around town, and
serious consequences too. Men
and women turn their faces to the
wall in grief. They lose appetite.
Then they start eating the fire of
pleasure, as camels chew pungent
grass for the sake of their souls.
Winter blocks the road. Flowers
are taken prisoner underground.
Then green justice tenders a spear.
Go outside to the orchard. These
visitors came a long way, past all
the houses of the zodiac, learning
Something new at each stop. And
they’re here for such a short time,
sitting at these tables set on the
prow of the wind. Bowls of food
are brought out as answers, but
still no one knows the answer.
Food for the soul stays secret.
Body food gets put out in the open
like us. Those who work at a bakery
don’t know the taste of bread like
the hungry beggars do. Because the
beloved wants to know, unseen things
become manifest. Hiding is the
hidden purpose of creation: bury
your seed and wait. After you die,
All the thoughts you had will throng
around like children. The heart
is the secret inside the secret.
Call the secret language, and never
be sure what you conceal. It’s
unsure people who get the blessing.
Climbing cypress, opening rose,
Nightingale song, fruit, these are
inside the chill November wind.
They are its secret. We climb and
fall so often. Plants have an inner
Being, and separate ways of talking
and feeling. An ear of corn bends
in thought. Tulip, so embarrassed.
Pink rose deciding to open a
competing store. A bunch of grapes
sits with its feet stuck out.
Narcissus gossiping about iris.
Willow, what do you learn from running
water? Humility. Red apple, what has
the Friend taught you? To be sour.
Peach tree, why so low? To let you
reach. Look at the poplar, tall but
without fruit or flower. Yes, if
I had those, I’d be self-absorbed
like you. I gave up self to watch
the enlightened ones. Pomegranate
questions quince, Why so pale? For
the pearl you hid inside me. How did
you discover my secret? Your laugh.
The core of the seen and unseen
universes smiles, but remember,
smiles come best from those who weep.
Lightning, then the rain-laughter.
Dark earth receives that clear and
grows a trunk. Melon and cucumber
come dragging along on pilgrimage.
You have to be to be blessed!
Pumpkin begins climbing a rope!
Where did he learn that? Grass,
thorns, a hundred thousand ants and
snakes, everything is looking for
food. Don’t you hear the noise?
Every herb cures some illness.
Camels delight to eat thorns. We
prefer the inside of a walnut, not
the shell. The inside of an egg,
the outside of a date. What about
your inside and outside? The same
way a branch draws water up many
feet, God is pulling your soul
along. Wind carries pollen from
blossom to ground. Wings and
Arabian stallions gallop toward
the warmth of spring. They visit;
they sing and tell what they think
they know: so-and-so will travel
to such-and-such. The hoopoe
carries a letter to Solomon. The
wise stork says lek-lek. Please
translate. It’s time to go to
the high plain, to leave the winter
house. Be your own watchman as
birds are. Let the remembering
beads encircle you. I make promises
to myself and break them. Words are
coins: the vein of ore and the
mine shaft, what they speak of. Now
consider the sun. It’s neither
oriental nor occidental. Only the
soul knows what love is. This
moment in time and space is an
eggshell with an embryo crumpled
inside, soaked in belief-yolk,
under the wing of grace, until it
breaks free of mind to become the
song of an actual bird, and God.”
― Rumi, The Soul of Rumi: A New Collection of Ecstatic Poems
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