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Chinese Kale

Winter and Your Health Foods To Eat and Things to Do: Seasonal Harmony December 2010

Seasonal Harmony

                        By Ellasara Kling

Winter and Your HealthFoods To Eat and Things to Do

For the past few years this article has talked about Five Element Theory as it relates to each season; supportive foods for the season we were in, how to choose them, how to prepare dishes that are seasonally healthful, visually appealing and tasty; various interrelationships as represented in the above chart, some ideas about emotional and mental attitudes that manifest seasonally, and so on.  In this last article for the year, I would like to highlight the Winter season we are in, but also discuss the circle of seasons as an interconnected whole.

 In viewing the above chart, it is clear that everything is interconnected with everything else at all times. For example, a healthy summer/heart season is dependent upon not only its child the late summer/spleen and its mother the spring/liver, but also upon its relationship with the winter/Kidney (whose energy balances Summer/heart) and Fall/Lung (whose energy Summer/heart balances). At all times all the parts are in communication with each other doing their best to create harmony within us and, by extension, to create harmony within the Universe. This is accurate regardless of the point of view one takes -- be it physical, mental, emotional, spiritual; all the parts are always doing their best to create harmony.

 Taking this point of view and applying it to our health, we have a picture of ongoing wholeness that is only thwarted by lack of communication and undue stress on any or all of the parts.  And here we are entering the social season of stress/fun and for many of us entering into situations that also have "interesting" communication scenarios. While, according to Five Element Theory and the common sense of Nature, we should be resting more, going inward, eating very sensibly, not overindulging, dressing warmly, being ever more gentle with ourselves, this is the season during which most of us are constantly on the go, often eating haphazardly, overindulging in food and drink, and essentially cramming lots of living into a small space of time that only spans a few weeks.  And with this, we kick off the Winter Season and thereby prevent it from fully expressing its purpose of deep restoration, weaken its ability to support Liver/Gall Bladder, cause it to draw more energy from the Lung/Large Intestine, and so on. (An unsurprising example of a common effect of weakening this ability is that people in our society are prone to respiratory illnesses in late winter.)  Flowing with Winter, whose element is water, requires trust and relinquishing the existential fear that is the keynote for the season. 

 Almost everyone has had the experience of having cared for at least one plant and, therefore, you know that either too much water or too little water is detrimental to its life and that the amount of water required is individual to each plant and its environment. So it is with us as well. The Winter/Water season flows to the Spring/Wood season and without the proper balance the Liver/Gall Bladder has to fight to survive and becomes damaged so that its ability to nurture the Heart/Fire and to balance the Spleen/Stomach/Earth is hampered. What this balance looks like and how it is achieved is individual to each of us taking into account our life factors. 

The integrity of the system depends on each part and its relationship with all of the other elements within the system. The many correlations (only 13 of which are depicted in the above chart) for each season affects those of the other seasons as they continue to also flow into and out of each other in cycles of nurturance, restraint, balance.  Some other correlations for Winter are:  the movement of energy this season is downward, energy wants to "store" at this time, its bodily expression is head hair, beans are the "grains" of the season, grapes are its fruit.

 Seasonal Self-Massage

 Teeth tapping  tap your teeth together lightly 50 or more times every day.

 

Head/neck/ear massage:  Starting at the center front of your head, place your "pinky fingers" next to each other along the hairline and let your other fingers fall naturally along the hairline and the thumb slightly behind the temples. With a firm but still gentle pressure, "rake" your fingers over your head and ending at the occipital ridge. Do this 9 times. Then with your open palms, and alternating hands, lay your hand across the back of your neck and so that the heel of your palm is on the large neck muscle and your fingers are resting lightly on the other side of your neck.  Again, with a firm but gentle stroke, drag you hand across your neck.  Keep your head held up as you do this 8 times with each hand. Finally, with your thumbs and forefingers on either side of your ears, rub the ear starting in the front and continuing down to the lobe -- 3 times. Ending by giving the lobe a little light tug.

 Support the Bladder Meridian by keeping your neck, back of legs covered and warm.  Notice a chill in the back of the legs?  Rub in some warming massage oil/muscle liniment so that the heat can enter deeply into the channel.

 Health Topic:  Peri/Menopause

 Kidney Qi is very important during the menopausal life opportunity.  Since the Kidney/Urinary Bladder are the organs for Winter, take this time to enhance your Kidney Qi through your energy practice, meditation and by eating foods that strengthen Kidney Qi such as shellfish, soy (organic non GMO only), beans, black sesame seeds, walnuts, etc. and eating salty, bitter and very spicy foods in moderation.

Seasonal Foods:

Black Beans, Black Mushrooms, Blackberry, Black sesame seeds and oil,  Black soybeans, Blueberry, Bone marrow, Cabbages, Cardamon, Celery, Chard, Cinnamon, Cranberry, Ginger, Job's tears, Kale, Kidney beans, Kohlrabi, Longan, Lotus seed, Miso, Mulberry, Mutton, Ocean Perch, Parsley, Pine nuts, Raspberry, Rutabaga, Seaweed, Shrimp/Prawns, Soy Sauce, String beans, Turnips, Walnuts, Wood ear mushrooms.

 This is a time of year for hearty, warm soups, root vegetables, avoid raw foods and cold drinks, also avoid very spicy foods that create sweating (which leads to open pores and cooling).

  Recipes:

 

Warm Miso Soup

 This is not a recipe as much as a recommendation.  Buy the miso (organic, non GMO) that you prefer, mix in hot water as directed; add scallion whites, mushrooms, seaweed, etc. for your own taste.  An easy, fast, "instant" warming soup.

 Winter Energy Cereal

 Ingredients

1/2 cup of rice

6 cups of water

½ cup toasted black sesame seeds

½ cup TB toasted crushed walnuts

3 TB honey

½ tsp salt

 Directions

Cover the rice in 2 cups of water and soak for 2 hours.

Toast the walnuts and crush.  A simple crushing method is to place the walnuts in a plastic bag and roll with a rolling pin.

Toast the black sesame seeds.

Drain the excess water off the rice.

Place all the ingredients in a saucepan and mix.

Add 4 cups of water and bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer until the rice is thoroughly cooked and all the water has been absorbed.  Stir the cereal frequently as it is cooking.  The texture of the cereal at this stage is like a thick porridge or cornmeal mush.  The rice is creamy and the sesame seeds are still slightly crunchy.

 To make into a breakfast cereal:  add ½ cup boiling water to ½ cup of cereal – optional: a touch of cinnamon  Yield: 4 cups

Serving size ½ cup

 

 Kale & white beans

Ingredients:

 1 large bunch of kale

3 TB of olive oil

3 large cloves of garlic

Salt & pepper

1 cup white wine

1lb of cooked white beans. . your choice: cannelini, navy, chickpeas.

 Directions:

Cut the bottom stem off the kale and cut the leaves horizontally into 3" pieces - -wash in cold water to remove any "sand" that may be stuck to the leaves.  Drain, but let water adhere to leaves.

In a wok or heavy skillet heat 3 TB of oil and add minced garlic and salt and pepper. . . heat for about 1 minute and add the kale. . .

Toss the kale in the oil so that it coats lightly and the garlic/salt & pepper mix into it.

Tossing every so often sauté the kale till it get a nice dark color and begins to wilt just slightly. . . .add the wine and cover for about 1 minute.

Remove the cover and toss, add the beans and heat through.

Serve.

 Mrs. Wang's Yunan Style Pumpkin.

2 large carrots cut in half lengthwise

2 large white Russet potatoes cut in half lengthwise

1 small pumpkin, kobachu, hubbard, acorn, or other gourd-like squash cut lengthwise in 3" wide pieces.

½  red bell pepper, ½ tsp. garlic, 2 TB ginger, whites of 6 green onions – all minced

dried small, red, hot peppers, 5-6 not too many, only to warm the food not to make it hot (use less if you are sensitive)

1 TB salt or to taste

½ cup Walnut oil

½ -1  cup water

 Cut the vegetables into chunky, triangular wedge shapes leaving the skin on the potatoes and the squash. Heat a large, heavy skillet or wok, add some oil and the carrots, potatoes and squash and cook until the vegetables sweat. At this point, add the other ingredients and stir-fry for a few minutes. Add some water and cover. When the water is absorbed the vegetables should be cooked, but not mushy.  If the vegetables are not yet cooked, add a v. little more water and cover again.  When they are fully cooked, remove the lid and stir fry for a couple more minutes.

Teas:

 Drinking roasted teas (usually called red or black teas) are more warming than green teas which have a cooling aspect.  Interesting teas to try might include a good Pu ehr tea as it has many excellent health benefits especially when the leaves are from older trees. Most people are familiar with roasted Oolong tea.

Ginger Tea is an excellent way to dispel cold and it is easy to make from fresh roots.  Peel about 1-2 inches of the root and chop it into about 3-4 cups of cold water in a pan.  Bring to a boil and let it simmer for about 10 minutes.  You also can add red dates and honey while the ginger is cooking.   Wolfberries (Goji berries) and red dates with ginger is an excellent healthful tea. 

If I have been in an overheated, dry room, which can be quite common in Winter, I will add longan to my tea to lightly moisturize the lungs.

Remember to always keep a smile in your heart!

 

About the Author

Following the threads of her personal tapestry, Ellasara, a long-time student of Master Nan Lu, weaves her life around the exploration and sharing of self-healing through a variety of modalities, .primarily focusing on food, common herbal plants, Qigong Meridian Therapy and Qigong for Women's Health. For more information about self-healing thorugh Chinese medicine:  www.taoofhealing.com

Lately my appetite has decreased and I'm craving green, leafy veggies and fruit. Do I have a deficiency?*?

I'm overweight, so I know that me craving fruits and cooked greens (particularly Kale) isn't a bad thing, but I'm worried that it might be masking some other health problem. I also notice that I don't feel as hungry and my food seems to "stay with me" longer. Or when I do feel the need to eat again, it's normally not much,

Today for instance, I had Chinese food around noon. Then at 4, I ate a snack. Just now, I got a really strong craving for some Kale and watermelon.

What's up with me? Am I anemic? The only thing I've changed recently is I stopped taking birth control like 3 weeks ago

Birht control can always effect your behavior in some ways but I doubt thats what it is. Usually cravings are what you get when your body is lacking a certain mineral or nutrient in a food. Like protien or something. Its not something you should worry about just try to fill up on what you crave and give your body what it needs.