Cleansing Vs. Building Foods

In 5-element nutrition consulting we see a lot of people who want to change their health, know that eating better is a way to do that, but find it really difficult to "give up" the food they love.

I know how attached we are to the food we eat, and most people, including me, won't change their habits unless there is a huge motivating factor - like a severe medical diagnosis (diabetes, heart attack) or an emotionally passionate reason (new romantic love, high school reunion).

Pasta is a Building food. Balance it out
by adding a mixed green salad
and cutting the portion size of the pasta.

Here's an easy 5-element nutrition tip to consider:  Foods are either building (Yin) or cleansing (Yang).

Building foods add to your body, make it larger.  These are most foods that are NOT fruits and vegetables. If you exercise a lot that might translate into muscle.  If you don't exercise a lot, we all know that it turns into the "other muscle", fat.  Building foods in moderation are great for someone who needs to put on weight.  BTW, regardless of what congress mandates, pizza is not a vegetable.

Cleansing foods clean your internal organs and make your body lighter. These are mainly fruits and vegetables. Which is better - cooked or raw? From a 5-element nutrition point of view, it depends on what you need, and we suggest both are important.

• Cooked is going to be on the milder side of cleansing, better for someone who tends towards being weak, deficient, feels cold, or has frequent colds/flu.
  
• Raw is going to be on the harsher side of cleansing, better for someone who tends towards being robust, loud, feels warm or hot, has high blood pressure from stress, and may tend to get gall or kidney stones.

The ultimate goal is to find an appropriate BALANCE between cleansing and building foods. An appropriate balance is different for each person, so it depends on what you need in order to reach your ultimate weight goals.

If you want to lose weight, or you love pasta and don't want to "give it up", start by realizing that pasta is a building food. Balance it with a cleansing food of equal or greater proportion and decrease the serving size of pasta you would normally have eaten. Cleansing foods are the only realistic way to lose weight, and you can use them in a way to still enjoy the food you love.

This is going to be the same for all other building foods. If you have pizza, maybe have just 1 or 2 slices and eat a raw carrot with each slice. Yes, that is a whole beautiful raw carrot with each slice.

Steak? Have a nice juicy piece no bigger than the size of your palm, cover it with a medicinal mushroom saute and fill the rest of the plate with lettuce and chopped raw veggies like radishes, broccoli, green peppers, topped with hemp oil and balsamic vinegar & fresh ground black pepper.

This is a good place to start, by adding some balance. Once you get used to doing this and enjoy it - which you will because your body and blood will love more balance - then take the next step and refine what you're eating a little more.  We like lasting changes that are enjoyable, not quick or extreme diets that you can't wait to end.

"Everything in Moderation, Everything in Balance"
~Taoist principle

Blood Building Syrup - Herbal Recipe

If you like this recipe, also try our Blood Building "wine" for Spring and Eyes - it's a lighter version that is not so warming and invigorating.  The syrup below is better suited to Winter and colder months.

Back in March one of my Twitter friends posted this recipe, and finally today I spent a glorious morning making it!  I think it's worth sharing with you - enjoy!

Who needs this?
The original author, Todd Caldecott, lists from an Ayurvedic perspective that this is "an excellent preparation to help build up the blood in anemia, infertility, exhaustion, and immunodeficiency, or when recovering from chronic disease, medical treatments (e.g. chemotherapy) or surgery."

Additionally, from a Chinese medicine point of view I would add someone feeling weak and tired, loud creaky joints, after child birth, pale complexion and feels cold, very dry skin, poor vision, and chronic muscle pains that don't respond to massage.

To explain this very basically, blood is a major resource of our body.  It's one of the main substances that helps to re-build or re-generate our physical being.  We make blood from the food and drink we ingest, however if our diet isn't sufficient or we're so stressed and exhausted that our system is too tired to build blood we can get too low on our resources.  


It's a good idea to also drink lots of water - because our blood is made up of about 83% water. Herbs that build blood will require extra water, and they may even make you more thirsty to ensure you drink some. Please note I did not say drink more liquids, such as tea, soda pop, etc., I said water - pure and simple.


It's also a good idea to add some blood building foods into your diet, such as leafy greens, beets, cherries, blueberries, and strawberries.


Last of all, because this will help you to have more resources, you'll start to feel more energized, get more accomplished, have amazing motivation, and you might want to spontaneously dance or even just walk more outside in nature. Do it!


Disclaimer: It is not recommended to take herbs if you are also taking other herbs or medications, or if you question whether any of the symptoms above apply to you. Please consult a qualified health care provider before consuming this product.

After feedback from people who have tried this recipe, I wanted to make a video demonstration to show some of the nuances that make this really good.  I recommend watching the video first, then following the written directions below.  Enjoy!





Blood Building Syrup - click on title for the original site this is posted on, Food As Medicine


Step 1:  Gather the ingredients.  You will probably need to visit a Chinese herbalist (such as The Oriental Healing Arts Center, or your local acupuncturist), and maybe a specialty spice shop (such as Summit Spice & Tea) for a few items, so take some time to get it all together.

Ingredients:
1/2 cup chopped dried figs
1/2 cup dried goji berries (Chinese herb: Gou Qi Zi)
1/2 cup dried prunes, also called dried plums
1/2 cup Chinese red dates (Chinese herb: Hong Zao)
1 oz. asparagus root (Chinese herb: Tien Men Dong, Ayurvedic herb: shatavari root)
1 oz. prepared rehmannia (Chinese herb: Shu Di Huang)
1 oz. astragulus root (Chinese herb: Huang Qi)
1 oz. American ginseng (Chinese herb: Xi Yang Shen)
2 quarts water
2-3 tbs ghee (Indian clarified butter)
2 tbsp Long Pepper, ground (Ayurvedic herb: pippali powder)
1 tsp cardamom powder
1 tsp cinnamon powder
1/2 tsp clove powder
1/4 tsp pink salt (Himalayan)
1 cup organic molasses (approximately)

This is the Long Pepper (Pippali Powder) I was
lucky enough to find at our local Summit
Spice & Tea. I just ground it to a powder in
a little electric spice grinder.  Taste is peppery,
but much milder and a little earthier than
black pepper.

Directions and my notes:

Dry fruit-herbs

Add the dried fruit and herbs (first 8 ingredients) to a pot along with 2 quarts of water, bring to a boil and simmer until it is reduced to a syrup-like consistency and the fruit and herbs are squishy. (NOTE: the original recipe says this takes about 1 hour, however it took me 2.5 hours - maybe because it's cold in Alaska?)

After reducing to a syrup

Allow the fruit-herb decoction to cool, then mix in a blender until smooth.  Strain the liquid through a mesh strainer into a measuring cup, taking note of exactly how much liquid you are left with.  (NOTE: Per original recipe I was expecting to have 1 cup liquid, however I ended up with about 2 cups still left after straining.  It was quite thick.)

Blended & Strained

In a separate pan, melt the ghee on medium heat and add the pippali, cardamom, cinnamon, clove and pink salt.  (NOTE: The ghee heated up so fast that I ended up turning the heat down to very low because it kept bubbling and popping up.)

MMM....spices - the large pile on bottom
left is the ground Long Pepper.

Spices cooking in ghee

Cook for a minute and then add the fruit herb decoction to this, along with an equal part molasses.  (NOTE: because the recipe called for approximately 1 cup molasses but I had ended up with 2 cups fruit herb decoction, I only added 1 full cup of molasses. When pouring, remember the saying "slow as molasses".... this is where it comes from.)

Cook on low heat for about 10-15 minutes, stirring frequently.  Pour into a clean, dry glass bottle, seal and store in a cool location.  Dose is 1-2 Tbsp twice daily, with warm water.

NOTE: Cooking this smelled herby and delicious! I took a dose when it was finished, and the taste is very spicy but pleasant - not really sweet at all the first day, but developed a really nice sweetness overnight.  The energy was warming, went to the center and spread out. Felt very nurturing. I'm really happy with this recipe!


Cynthia McMullen is certified in Taoist Herbology and teaches the 5-Element Nutrition Workshops at Alaska Institute of Oriental Medicine, Acupuncture and Massage Therapy.  Follow her on Facebook TouchOfTao

5-Element Nutrition: Balance Your Wood Element - Recipes

As requested, from my recent workshop, these are the 4 recipes we ate to balance our Wood Element (Liver/GallBladder).  Unless noted, recipes are my own.

1) Kindness Water

In a 1 gallon water pitcher, combine the following:

Organic lemon slices

Organic lime slices

Organic grapefruit slices

 - remove any seeds, but leave the peel on all of the citrus fruit to intensify the sour flavor that benefits the Liver.

 - use 2-3 thin slices of each.

1 sprig fresh mint leaves

Fill with purified water, let sit for at least 15 minutes, serve.

From a Chinese medicine point of view, water is best served room temperature.  Ok to refrigerate this up to 3 days.

2) Green Apple Salad

Tart green apples are excellent for the Liver.  In addition, this salad is light and refreshing, making a great Spring side dish.

Combine in a bowl:

3 organic Green Apples, peeled, sliced into small pieces

4 stalks organic Celery, rinsed, chopped into small pieces

¼ cup toasted Walnuts, bake at 250 degrees for 20 minutes then chop

½ cup Raisins, I used organic Sunview brand green seedless, which are really plump and sweet.

Drizzle 1 large spoonful honey over the top.  I used Wee Bee Honey, naturally raw with pollen, propolis, and honeycomb bits in it.

Add 1 cup plain yogurt.

Stir everything together and serve.

3) Potato Cauliflower Curry (Aloo Gobi)

This is a recipe I tried from a great book, The Healing Spices by Bharat Aggarwal, PhD, 2011.  I included it because it highlights Turmeric which is a spice that is incredible for the Liver. It's also very important to find delicious ways to get anti-cancer vegetables into our food as often as possible (cauliflower, broccoli, cabbage, kale, brussel sprouts).

Ingredients:

2 Tbs vegetable or olive oil

2 tsp turmeric

1 tsp cumin seed

1 shallot, finely chopped

3 cloves garlic, chopped

1 28-oz can diced tomatoes

1 medium head cauliflower, cut into florets

1 ½ lbs. russet potatoes, peeled and cut into large chunks

½ tsp diced fresh ginger

½ tsp chili power

¼ tsp freshly ground black pepper

1 Tbs garam masala (Indian spice mixture)

Salt, to taste

¼ cup chopped cilantro (optional)

1.  Heat the oil in a large pot over medium heat.  Add the turmeric and cumin seeds until the spices render their aroma, about 30 seconds. Add the chopped shallot and garlic and sauté, stirring frequently, until the shallots are soft, about 8 minutes.

2.  Stir in the diced tomatoes, cauliflower, potatoes, ginger, chili powder, and ground pepper.  Reduce the heat, cover partially, and cook for 40 minutes, stirring frequently.  If the curry appears too dry and the vegetables start to stick to the pan, add some water.

3.  Add the garam masala, simmer 5 minutes. Turn off the heat and keep covered until ready to serve.  Sprinkle with cilantro, if using, and serve.

4) Millet & Maitake Mushroom Curry

I thought the above recipe for Potato Cauliflower Curry needed something to go with other than plain rice, so I made this dish as a similar complement.  Millet is a delicious yellow earthy grain that benefits the Liver, and Maitake is a medicinal mushroom which strongly supports the Liver.  This recipe also highlights turmeric, “guardian of the liver”.

1.  Put the millet on to cook.  Use 1 cup millet to 3 cups water, bring to a boil, turn down heat and simmer until done – about 20-30 minutes.  Remove from heat and let sit covered when done.

2.  Make the Maitake Mushroom Curry.

Ingredients:

1 Tbsp olive oil

1 fresh Maitake mushroom, rinsed and chopped.  Ok to substitute a re-constituted dried Maitake if fresh is not available.  8 Shiitake mushrooms (fresh or dried) would also be a viable substitute.

1 28-oz can peeled, ground tomatoes

2 cloves garlic, chopped

1 inch fresh ginger root, peeled and chopped

1 tsp ajwain seeds

1 tsp turmeric

1 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp garam masala

2 tsp curry powder (I used a Madras Curry variety from Summit Spice & Teas)

Salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste

1.  In a cast iron or other skillet, heat the olive oil.  When hot, add the ajwain seeds and turmeric.  Wait about 15 seconds then add the chopped garlic and ginger.  Stir.

2.  Add the chopped Maitake mushroom and stir until the mushroom is starting to brown, about 5-8 minutes.

3.  Add the can of tomatoes, turmeric, ground cumin, garam masala, and curry powder.  Stir.  Add salt and pepper to taste, stir again.

4.  Add the millet 1 large spoonful at a time, stirring in, until desired consistency is formed.  Ok to add a little more water if needed.  I like this to be slightly on the wet side, rather than thick and dry.  Serve.

Keep any unused millet refrigerated for 4-5 days.  Add to a soup like rice, or even mix with oatmeal in the morning.

Cynthia McMullen, Program Director at Alaska Institute of Oriental Medicine, Acupuncture & Massage Therapy, teaches a very popular 12-chapter series in 5-Element Nutrition.  Workshops are held once each month, open to the general public.  For more information: www.touchoftao.com

Cooking With Chinese Herbs

As promised, here is the recipe for the soup I made at tonight's 5-Element Nutrition workshop on Chinese Herbal Healing Broths.

THAI CABBAGE SOUP with QI BUILDING HERBS

This soup is delicious and gives a good idea of how you can play around with edible Chinese herbs.  The purpose was to give workshop participants a sample of how easy yet deeply satisfying herbal broths can be, and also how strongly you can "feel the Qi" from them!

Step 1:  either make your own broth (vegetable or meat), or use an organic pre-made broth of your choice.  I usually use 4 cups of broth and add additional water as needed.

Step 2:  Get the herbs ready to add to the broth. For this recipe I used Huang Jing, Kombu, 1 dried Maitake mushroom, Hong Zao, Ren Shen, Gou Qi Zi, & Huang Qi.  In this group, only the Huang Qi (stick-like root at the bottom) is not edible and will be removed after cooking.

HINT:  I have found it much easier to add most herbs as they are, and chop them into small pieces after they have softened from being cooked in the broth.  The Hong Zao (red dates) however are extremely soft after cooking, so I usually cut them while still dry, as below:

Step 3: Begin warming the broth in a stainless steel pot on the stove. Add the herbs, cover, bring to a gentle simmer for 30-minutes.

Step 4: Remove from heat and strain the herbs out.  You'll have a nice container of herb broth that you can now use as is - keeps for up to 7 days in the refrigerator & you can freeze it.

 

Step 5: If desired, chop the edible herbs into small pieces and add back into the broth.  They are very tasty and add a somewhat exotic quality to whatever you cook them into.

HINT:  If using both edible & non-edible herbs, be sure to place non-edible herbs in a muslin bag or cheesecloth so you can easily separate & remove them.

Here you can see how the same herbs from the 1st picture have plumped up and softened.  They will now be very easy to cut into little pieces.

Step 6:  In a food processor, shred 1 large potato, a bunch of carrots, and 1 small green cabbage.  

Step 7:  In a large soup pot, heat a spoonful of coconut oil and a dash of olive oil.  Once hot, add a healthy shake of "Panch Phora" Indian seeds.  This is a great combination of fenugreek, brown mustard seed, nigella, cumin, and fennel. If you're in Anchorage, I get mine at Summit Spice & Tea.  I also added about 1 Tbsp fresh chopped ginger root.

Step 8: Once the seeds release their scent and begin to lightly pop, add all of the shredded veggies.  Then add the herbal broth.  Add additional water if needed to make a nice soup consistency.

Step 9: Cover and simmer for about 30-minutes, until veggies are cooked well.  If desired, add a small amount of curry and salt to taste.

HINT: When cooking with Chinese herbs, it's best to keep additional spices to a minimum.  In this soup, I added about 1/4 the amount of Panch Phora and Curry that I would normally use.

Step 10: Remove from heat and allow to cool for 10-15 minutes.  Then add 1 can Coconut Milk, stir well, and it's ready to serve.  Enjoy!!  (Makes about 8-10 servings)

Natural Help for Bladder Infection

Making a Semi-Homeopathic Dose of Essential Oils
can be a safe way to ingest them in many cases.

This is an extremely quick & effective way to treat Damp Heat in the Lower Burner, or mild symptoms such as:  

• frequent and urgent need to urinate with little to no urine coming out (frequent usually means multiple times per hour)
• mild burning sensation when urinating
• mild pain in the lower abdominal / bladder area

If symptoms are severe or a high fever is present please consult your doctor.

I only recommend using organic quality essential oils internally.  If you do not have organic quality or are not sure about what you have, best to err on the side of caution and do something else.

For adults:

1 drop of organic quality Tea Tree essential oil in an 8 oz glass of water.  Ok to add 1-2 drops Stevia herbal sweetener to the water if you don't like the taste.

Drink this once per hour until symptoms are gone.  Many times just one dose will alleviate all symptoms, and usually about 4 doses at 1 per hour is the most someone would need.  This works very fast.

For children 4-12 years old:

Make an adult size dose as above.  

Then add 1 tsp of that water to another glass of water to dilute it down further, and have the child drink this milder dosage.  Ok to add a drop of Stevia herbal sweetener to the water if the child doesn't like the taste.

Again, drink once per hour until symptoms are gone, up to 6 times/day.

Semi-Homeopathic Variation:

For elderly, children, someone taking multiple medications, or someone who is weak from being ill

Need:

• Two 1-oz dropper top glass bottles (available at many health food stores)
• brandy, vodka, or vegetable glycerin (about 1 Tbsp)
• Stevia herbal sweetener (optional)

Fill the 1st bottle with filtered water.

Add 6 drops of organic quality Tea Tree essential oil.

Shake well.

Label the bottle "Mother Bladder Infections" with today's date

This bottle will need to be stored in the refrigerator.  It will keep for up to 1 year so you can make re-fills as needed.

Fill the 2nd bottle with 10% brandy, vodka, or vegetable glycerin (about 1 Tbsp).  This acts as a preservative and also helps the essential oil to mix better.

Fill the remaining 90% with filtered water.

Add 10 drops of the "Mother" blend to this, and 2 drops Stevia herbal sweetener if using.  Shake well.

Label the 2nd bottle "Dose Bladder Infections" with today's date.  This is the one you will actually use to take.

This bottle does not need to be refrigerated, but can be if you want.  Using the Dose Bladder Infections bottle, shake, and add 3 drops to a glass of water.  Drink this dosage every hour until symptoms are gone, up to 6 times/day.

If you make the semi-homeopathic dosage you may be very surprised to see how amazingly effective this natural remedy is - even at the extremely diluted dose!

If symptoms of bladder infections are a chronic issue, there may be other health issues that need to be addressed to get to the underlying nature of why this happening so often. Please consult a qualified health care practitioner.

Learn tons of great information from my On-Line Essential Oils Course series. You can study here at our school in Alaska from anywhere in the world!

Cooking With Essential Oils

Today was the 5th of 12 workshops in our Essential Oil Certification Course.  The topic was "Ingesting Essential Oils Safely".  Since cooking with essential oils is a fun way to use them, we tried some delicious food!

IMPORTANT: If you do this, make sure your essential oils are organic ingestable quality.  Look for "pure & genuine" or "100% pure".  If you're not sure, better to play it safe and not ingest them.

Pictured below is a fresh veggie platter with a choice of:

• Fresh salsa with Lemon & Lime essential oils
• Creamy dipping sauce made from sour cream, plain yogurt, and poblano peppers, with essential oils of Dill, Black Pepper and Lemon.

One woman said she adds a drop of Ginger essential oil to coconut cooking oil and bastes fresh salmon in this to cook - sounds scrumptious!

Here's one of my favorite easy recipes:

Amazing Edible Oil
In a 4 oz glass bottle or a small 4 oz glass jar, combine the following:

• 2-3 heart healthy oils, such as hemp, olive, and avacado (www.mountainroseherbs.com has a really nice variety)

Essential oils of:

• Dill - 6 drops
• Lemon - 4 drops
• Black Pepper - 3 drops
• Oregano - 1 drop

Shake well and store in a cool, dark area.  Use like flax seed oil - pour about 1 spoonful over veggies or stir into a bowl of soup or stew.  Don't cook with it, just use it on your food.

Variations:  I play around and use a variety of base oils - sometimes flax or pumpkin, and I also change the essential oils.  Just use 10-14 drops total of essential oils in a 4oz size of base oil.  Some other essential oils I like are cumin, marjoram, coriander, lemon & lime combo .

Other ideas:

Add 1 drop each Nutmeg and Clove Bud to fresh whipped cream.

Add 1 drop of Black Pepper to stir fried veggies over rice. (add at the end after it's off the heat, and toss to stir it in)

Add 1 drop each lemon, dill and tarragon to an oil & vinegar salad dressing

For some really delicious ideas I love the book "Weigh Less Eat Like Royalty" by Menkit Prince (formerly titled The Essential Oil Cookbook).

Do you cook with essential  oils?
 Please comment and post your favorite ideas to share with others - thanks!!

Learn tons of great information in my On-Line Essential Oils Course series. You can study here at our school in Alaska from anywhere in the world!

Massage for Lupus!

Lupus

What is Lupus?

Lupus is a chronic autoimmune disease, which means the immune system mistakenly attacks healthy body cells and tissues without the presence of antigens.

Symptoms:• Chest pain when taking a deep breath
• Fatigue
• Fever
• General discomfort, uneasiness, or ill feeling
• Hair loss
• Mouth sores
• Sensitivity to sunlight
• Skin rash "butterfly rash"
• Swollen lymph nodes

Types of Lupus:

• Systemic Lupus Erythematosus
• Discoid Lupus Erythematosus
• Drug-induced Lupus Erythematosus
• Neonatal Lupus

Tests:

• Complete blood count
• Erythrocyte sedimentation rate
• Kidney and liver assessment
• Urinalysis
• Antinuclear antibody (ANA) test
• Chest X-ray
• Electrocardiogram (ECG)
• Syphilis test

Lifestyle:

• Rest

• Smart Sun Sense
• Get Your Workout On
• No Smoking
• Eat Healthy

Benefits of Massage Therapy for Lupus:

• Reduces Inflammation and Soreness

• Increases Energy and Alertness

• Releases Endorphins