Health In The Spring - TCM

Local Seasonal and Yummy

Studying, reading, and trying to familiarize myself with Traditional Chinese Medicine has been a hobby of mine for quite some time.  I have been known to pick up and relish an exhaustive tome on the subject as if it were recreational reading.  I particularly value the poetic elements of TCM and how the descriptions of human health and its myriad conditions are often taken, as they should be, from the natural world around us.  The naturalistic terminology of TCM evokes images that carry value and meaning and help me see myself as an inseparable part of nature.

TCM - especially considering that it could easily become a lifelong subject of study and observation (and did I mention obsession?) - is a daunting and broad subject to take on in one blog post.  So perhaps as the saying goes - I might consider eating the elephant one bite at a time - and plan to re-visit the subject in the coming months. 

Today's bite will be about harmonizing with spring.  TCM is all about harmony - or what we might call dynamic harmony - or the ability to maintain health while attuning to climatic and seasonal change.  In other words we must not always do the same things, eat the same things, or think the same things all year long and expect to maintain health.  We must adapt and change.  The human species has demonstrated what I consider a remarkable and almost opportunistic adaptive capacity in its ability to survive very challenging environmental stresses over the millennia.  However, as we know surviving is quite different from thriving.  Today I would like to take a look at some of the simple things we can do to help ourselves - not just survive - - but thrive in the coming months.

Seasonal Attunement and the Ability to Adapt

In TCM there are 5 seasons of the year which coincide with the 5 elements - earth, metal, water, wood and fire.  The ancient Chinese believed that the seasons have a profound cyclical effect on human health and well-being.  They believed that we are influenced by climatic change and that an important expression of human health is the ability to harmonize with the season.

Winter - Water
Spring - Wood
Summer - Fire
Late Summer - Earth
Autumn - Metal

This makes logical sense if we think of the season of spring (March 21 - May 31), for example, and how as we leave the long dark months of winter behind and the warm spring days approach our body and our mind must make day to day adjustments to the change of season.  In winter our blood becomes thicker in order to keep us warm.  In the spring we must begin to lighten up our mind, our bodies and our diet.  Seasonal change can become a stressful experience, fraught with illness and imbalance, or it can be an invigorating challenge.  It is helpful to know that the process of adjustment and the human adaptive capacity is enhanced when we know how to choose and prepare foods that harmonize with the season that we are in.  Eating local and seasonal foods is one of the most powerful ways to stave off illness and imbalance at all times of the year - but especially in the spring.  For, in my mind at least, spring is an especially dangerous and treacherous season - often fraught with health challenges and illness.

For me spring has always been an uncomfortable time of year.   It is a challenge for me.  I often feel over-stimulated or stirred up to the point of discomfort.  I want to do everything at once.   I want to take on too many new projects, clean the house and every cupboard in it etc. etc.

 I like the opening of T. S. Elliott's "The Waste Land"

APRIL is the cruellest month, breeding   
Lilacs out of the dead land, mixing   
Memory and desire, stirring   
Dull roots with spring rain.   
Winter kept us warm, covering            
Earth in forgetful snow, feeding   
A little life with dried tubers.

So here we are in the midst of spring when everything around us is stirring and awakening.  How do we stay well?  How do we stay in balance?  We may begin by observing the plant life around us as it pushes upward from the dormancy and restfulness of winter.  We can begin by noticing the color green which is both cleansing and renewing - not to mention pleasing to the eye.  Spring foods are foods that bring balance and health to the liver and the gallbladder.  The diet during the spring should be the lightest of the entire year because the body must cleanse itself from the heaviness of winter in order to prepare for the coming summer.  The emphasis in spring should be on young plants, fresh greens, mildly pungent vegetables, herbs and seasonings, and salty or sodium rich foods.

It is nice to give the liver an occasional seasonal rest from all the work that it does.  Gradual dietary modifications are usually sufficient to keep things running smoothly through the spring.  Gradual changes are infinitely more gentle and restorative than the more extreme liver/gallbladder cleanses we have all read about.  We are often tempted to think that if a regime is sufficiently uncomfortable then it must be good for us.  I tend to favor a moderate middle path and have noticed that those who do extreme cleansing diets quickly rebound right back to their former dietary excesses.  In my mind it is far more comfortable and convenient to make gentle cyclical lifestyle modifications that naturally accommodate our condition and the season we are currently in.

Though I am certainly not an advocate of low-fat diets (adequate fat is essential for proper gallbladder function) during the cleansing months of spring it is often wise to gradually reduce fatty foods which can, in some cases, contribute to liver stagnation.  The foods that are high in saturated fats are lard, mammal meats, cream, cheese, and eggs.  Even excessive amounts of nuts and seeds can throw the liver out of balance in sensitive individuals.  Intoxicants, chemicals, highly processed and refined foods are stressful to the liver.  Emotional stress or unexpressed emotions are also stressful to the liver.

Foods that help harmonize the liver and that should be emphasized are sparing portions and leaner cuts of meat, fish, and poultry, with plenty of organic vegetables, legumes, and moderate amounts of grains (my preference being non-glutenous grains such as rice, quinoa, millet, or buckwheat) that have been properly prepared.  A little bit of the bitter flavor and the sour flavor will also help to reduce the excesses of winter.  Lemon, lime, and grapefruit have both the bitter and sour flavor and can be used to enhance vegetable preparations and light salad dressings.  Other bitter foods are romaine lettuce, asparagus, and dandelion.  Foods that help build the blood and nourish the liver are organic chicken liver, organic beef liver, and green chlorophyll-rich foods such as dark green leafy vegetables, parsley, and kale, sea vegetables, watercress, dark grapes, blackberries, huckleberries and raspberries.  Mildly pungent foods are a real treat for the liver.  In the spring we can eat mildly pungent foods such as baby beets and their greens, baby carrots, cabbage, turnip root and greens, kohlrabi, cauliflower, broccoli, brussels sprouts, strawberries, peaches, and cherries.  We can season our meals with mildly pungent herbs such as basil, sage, fennel, fresh ginger, and anise.  However, fiery hot pungent foods such as hot peppers and garlic are strong and will often over stimulate the liver.

Cooking in the spring can be done at a higher temperature and for shorter periods of time - so that the vegetables are somewhat crispy - as opposed to the longer slower cooking methods that we favor in the winter months.

Taking a brisk walk in a green park or woods, while breathing deeply, is a great way to love your liver.  Let the color green nourish and soothe your eyes.  Cleaning out a closet is a good and therapeutic spring activity as long as you are not tempted to become impatient (spring fever?) and take on too much at once.

Below is a check list of some emotional and physical signs of liver imbalance.  I find the list of emotional symptoms interesting.  (To keep things simple you might think anger and all her step sisters?)

Anger
Emotional repression
Frustration
Resentment
Impatience
Moodiness
Impulsiveness
Poor judgment
Difficulty making decisions
Mental rigidity
Shouting
Explosive personality
Aggression
Depression
Nervousness
Agitation
Manic-depression

Physical Signs of liver imbalance:

Chronic indigestion
Menstrual problems
Fatigue
Rigid inflexible body
Stiff neck and back tension
Eye problems
Muscular pain
Tendon problems
Dry eyes and weak vision
Ringing in the ears
Insomnia
Pain the comes and goes
Dizziness
Pulsating headaches

 

The Story Of A Fruitcake

The Tale Of A Well Traveled Cake And The Hand That Keeps On Giving

Fruitcake has its origins in ancient Rome where it became popular to mix pomegranate, pine nuts, raisins and barley mash into cakes that could  travel.  By the Middle Ages fruitcake became popular in England as a wonderful way to preserve native plums and cherries as well as heretofore unavailable fruits, such as exotic citrus peel, pineapple, and dates, which began to appear from the Mediterranean and other regions of the world as candied fruit or fruit glace.

The ability to preserve fruit by boiling it in sugar and then drying it created a new product that was not only prized but portable.  Inventive cooks quickly began finding uses for this new product and some form of fruitcake soon proliferated all over Europe.  The traditional English Christmas fruitcake has a wonderfully compelling complex flavor.  Traditional Christmas Cakes are often fed healthy doses of brandy and spirits which during the Middle Ages was an important preservative in the dark winter months.  During the Victorian Era (think Dickensian Christmas traditions) Christmas Cakes began to be embellished with beautifully rolled marzipan icing and other decorations.  The Scots version of fruitcake is simpler.  I might delve into the storied aspects of fruitcake and the fascinating conjectures about why the Scots version of fruitcake does not include dried cherries, for instance, in a future blog post - suffice it to say the Scots version of fruitcake is the more delicately flavored Dundee cake with its compliment of dried currants, orange peel and blanched almond.  In Germany fruitcake is a yeasted bread called Stollen which is eaten during the Christmas season and sold at local Christmas markets.  In Italy Panforte is the dense, chewy Tuscan fruitcake which dates back to 13th-century Sienna.  In Romania Cozonac is a fruitcake that is featured at every holiday including Christmas and Easter.  The Swiss make a dense sweet fruitcake from candied fruits and nuts called Birnenbrot.

Carrisa and I together in my kitchen created a collaborative and perhaps commemorative fruitcake for the year 2010 (yes we did check our calendars - keep in mind we have been perfecting fruitcake since December - and it is only spring break folks)  Carrisa and I consider this cake to be our crowning achievement.  The exquisite regionally inspired cake is loaded up with all of the traditional California dried fruits such as currants, raisins, dried apricots, and prunes - all organic.  Did I mention California walnuts?  What gives this gluten-free cake it's particularly pleasing and distinctive character is the local farmer's market honey which I infused with aromatic Buddha's Hand Citron for well over two weeks.  I also threw in a healthy handful of Buddha's Hand Candied Citron which I prepared last month from the same Buddha's Hand that infused the honey.  I was careful to preserve enough of the fruit glace for Christmas Cakes I intend to bake this coming October or November (Is there a 2012 commemorative cake in the works?) when I will, no doubt, be moved to declare that it is again "fruitcake season."

The Buddha's Hand Citron which I bought at the local Ojai Farmer's Market in February truly has been the hand that keeps on giving.

I baked the fruitcake pictured above - which is about the size of two hands held palms up - as well as myriad smaller cakes baked into individual rounds no larger than a muffin.  This particular pictured cake - appropriately wrapped up in parchment paper like a little present - traveled back to Utah with Carrisa in her suitcase.  Carrisa split the cake in Utah and the remainder traveled on to Maryland in the suitcase of Brett and Charlotte.  The little cake, indeed, lived up to its historical expectations and became a well traveled cake - a veritable moveable feast.

 

Label GMO's - NOW IS THE TIME TO ACT!

I have been working as a volunteer to help gather signatures to put a GMO Labeling Initiative on the November 2012 California ballot and to share important information about GMO foods.

WHAT IS A GENETICALLY ENGINEERED FOOD?

A genetically engineered food is a plant or meat product that has had its DNA artificially altered by genes from other plants, animal, viruses, or bacteria, in order to produce foreign compounds in that food.  This type of genetic alteration is not found in nature.  Today, as much as 85% of corn, and a majority of soy in the U.S. is genetically engineered to either withstand increased amounts of pesticides or to produce its own pesticide.  Some of our most important staple food crops are being fundamentally altered, but without proper labeling.  We have no way of knowing which ones are being altered.

LEARN MORE

Watch a movie:

The Future of Food

The World According to Monsanto

Read a book:

Jeffrey Smith, Genetic Roulette and Seeds of Deception

Dr. Kenneth Bock, Healing the New Childhood Epidemics: Autism, ADHD, Asthma and Allergies

Websites:

www.responsibletechnology.org

www.centerforfoodsafety.org

www.nongmoproject.org

www.allergykids.com

Today in the United States, by the simple act of feeding ourselves, we unwittingly participate in the largest experiment ever conducted on human beings.

Before being added to our food supply in the 1990's genetically engineered food (GE or GMO) had NO INDEPENDENT RESEARCH done on the long-term multi-generational effects on HUMAN BEINGS!

If we are going to be treated like guinea pigs, then at least give us labeling so that accurate health data can be collected and analyzed.  We want to exercise our right to choose whether or not to participate in this experiment, and invite the consequences.

NOW IS THE TIME TO TAKE A STAND

Look for and sign petitions to put the labeling initiative on the November 2012 California ballot.

Vote YES to label Genetically ENgineered Food (GE or GMO's)

WANT TO DO MORE?

Spread the word in your company, school, and church

Email/Facebook your friends

WORLD VIEW:

All 27 countries in the European Union, Japan, Australia, New Zealand and other countries (50 in all) require mandatory labeling of biotech's proteins since no long-term human studies were conducted to prove that they were safe.

I cannot stress enough how important it is that we as citizens get involved and act now.

 

Carrisa's Simply Delicious Breakfast Mochi

Raisin Cinnamon Mochi

Mochi makes a wonderful quick breakfast food. Traditionally mochi was made from glutinous rice that was steamed and then pounded with wooden mallets.  It was often prepared and eaten in Japan as part of the Japanese New Year Festival.  Today the glutinous rice is ground by machine and then extruded and the art of making mochi by hand has been all but lost.

Both Carrisa and I are fans of mochi.  Our favorite raisin cinnamon mochi is made by a company called Grainaissance.

The ingredients are organic sweet brown rice, filtered water, raisins, cinnamon, and sea salt.

Grainaissance also makes many other flavors such as sesame-garlic mochi, original plain mochi, cashew-date mochi, super seed mochi, chocolate brownie mochi, wheatgrass/mugwort mochi and pizza mochi.

Mochi is easy to make.  Cut the mochi into little squares.  We like our mochi about 3 inches square. Bake the mochi in a pre-heated toaster oven at 450 degrees for about 8 - 10 minutes.  The mochi is ready when it puffs up.  It will be crispy and brown on the outside and soft and chewy on the inside.

This morning Carrisa split her mochi open and stuffed it with walnuts and local farmer's market blueberries.

 

Fresh Local Eggs - Taste The Difference

Fresh Local Eggs

I buy my eggs from a little girl named Jade who raises chickens in her backyard and is beginning to turn her love of chickens into a thriving cottage business.

I have seen the chickens and how they are raised. They are a lively brood who live and flourish in what I consider an ideal backyard environment.  It is a backyard that I enjoy being in and the chickens seem to be happy there too.  It is fun to watch them scratch around in the dirt.

I believe it pays to make an effort to get the highest quality eggs that you can find.

Eggs from the store just don't compare to home grown eggs.  Notice the lovely variety of shades and colors of the eggs from Jade?  Eggs that range in color from blue to sage-green come from hens that are called Araucanas or Americanas.  I am told that the Americanas have a warm personality.

I have eaten many varieties of store bought eggs as well as home grown eggs from a variety of sources. I have found that home grown eggs taste better. Home grown eggs are fresher too.  To tell if an egg is fresh - break it onto a plate.  If the round yolk really pops up from the viscous egg white - you know the egg is fresh.  While you are at it - examine the color of the yolk.  The yolk of eggs produced by hens who have had a nutrient-dense and varied diet will be deep orange-yellow color.

Studies have shown that the eggs from backyard hens, that have access to sunshine, bugs, and worms, are more nutritious than eggs from commercially farmed hens.  Chickens that are fed a varied diet and who are pasture fed - which means that they can scratch for bugs and worms - produce eggs that have a better fatty acid and nutrient profile.  Backyard and pastured eggs have less cholesterol and saturated fat and more vitamin A, vitamin E, beta carotene, and omega-3 fats.

Chicken's are omnivores.  That means that they eat plant and animal foods.  Jade's chickens are fed a lot of root vegetable tops and salad type greens as well as meat scraps from the table.  I am told that this type of food variety is one reason that backyard eggs are so superior. 

Though eggs have been much maligned the past several decades - eggs are one of natures most perfect foods.  Eggs are one of the important traditional foods our ancestors ate.  They are a rich source of important sulphur containing protein, vitamin A, vitamin D, EPA, DHA, choline, and lecithin.  In China eggs are considered such a premier brain food that pregnant women are encouraged to eat as many eggs as they can.

Without going into too many gruesome details - store bought eggs come from places where hens are not able to live the life that nature intended for them to live.  I am happy that I eat eggs that are produced by healthy hens that live a good life.  I am happy that I can help support my local economy and Jade's new business venture.  I know that the eggs I get from Jade will be nutritious, tasty, fresh, and colorful.  What more could I ask for?

 

While Mums Away, Carrisa Comes Out To Play!

Carrisa

Mum is away at her calligraphy class and I thought I'd steal away on her computer for a bit.  If anyone saw me right now I'm sure they'd laugh!  I've got a heating pad on one side of my neck because I woke up with a kink in it, and I have an ice cold towel (fresh from the freezer) wrapped around my face like a bandit would tie a bandana in an old western.  The ice cold towel/bandana is an attempt to calm and pacify the unsightly rash-like inflammation that suddenly appeared on my face/neck after using sunscreen that had PABA in it.  So here I am, hoping no one will peek through the window and see me in my high-fashion, straight-from-the-runway style.

Excuse me, as I elegantly sip my fresh strawberry banana milkshake and enjoy the tunes of Loreena McKennitt, while imagining I am one of those stylish hip bloggers that people secretly envy.

But, why am I here on Mum's computer writing about how ridiculous I look?

Don't worry, I'll get down to business.

I flew in on Saturday to visit Mums for Spring Break.  I am free from the university for one whole week! Huzzah!*enter applause and throw confetti*  Food in our family is serious business, even more so, since we began to incorporate the dietary teachings of Weston A. Price into our lives. But, while most families make memories by going to museums, the beach, camping, or traveling to exotic locales, my family makes most of their memories in the kitchen.  Most often we start a conversation with "Remember when we cooked...", "Remember that time we made....", or "Oh yes! I remember now, that was the summer we baked..."  Our memories aren't marked by the vacations we took or the places we visited, but by what we cooked, baked, and most important, what we ate.

So it is only natural that the first place we stopped on the way home from the airport was...*enter drum roll*... you guessed it... a local health food store!  As we shopped Mum asked me what I usually eat so she would know what food to buy.  When she asked I would shrug my shoulders and say "whatever." My blasé attitude lasted only long enough to get me to the dairy section of the store where I saw white beams of glowing light.  My heart raced and fluttered, and I believe I may have even heard faint tones of angelic trumpets, as I walked hypnotically toward the sacred light.  Blinded to all else that lay upon the shelf I was overcome with joy when right before me was a beautiful jug of Organic Pastures Fresh Raw Whole Milk!

*Glowing not Shown

Oh! what joyous raptures and praises were uttered -  comparable only to Shakespeare or the 100 Love Sonnets of Pablo Neruda.

We bought the milk.

As soon as we arrived home I immediately ripped off the lid and poured myself a glass.   

I delicately put the glass to my lips and daintily tasted the milk, savoring the full flavor of it.  This delicacy did not last long.  Soon I was guzzling it. 

As a side note, I purchase raw milk from a local source in the state that I am from, but nothing, and I mean nothing! Compares to milk from Organic Pastures!  I think it is the best raw milk I have EVER tasted!  Mark McAfee, if you're reading this, I am a big fan!

Seriously, if you haven't given Organic Pastures milk a try, WOW, you are missing out!  Best milk ever!  It can turn frowny faces upside down, and create sunshine on a cloudy day.  Run to the store, fellow Californians and drink up!

Cooking Class - Celebrate Spring

Don't Miss This Cooking Class With Lisa Valantine

Poached Salmon

Celebrate Spring

 Saturday April 21st from 9 - noon

In this class we will focus on the flavor of spring - creating a menu from the finest and freshest organic produce from local farmer's market.  If you have ever wondered what to do with vegetables once you get them home - this class is for you.  We will discuss what to do with farmer's market produce and how to enhance the subtle delicate flavor of each vegetable using simple preparations of fresh herbs, olive oil and cultured butter and cream.    We will discuss how easy it is to prepare homemade mayonnaise in the traditional French method as well as how to make creme fraiche.  Vegetables will never taste quite the same once you have learned these wonderful techniques.  We will also learn how to eliminate the fishy flavor from salmon using fresh herbs and lemon.  Finally we will finish a memorable meal with the most velvety luscious chocolate mousse imaginable.

French Herbed Cheese Spread with Crudites and Fresh Local Fruits

Creamy Asparagus Bisque

Poached Salmon with Fresh Herb Sauce
(There will be deviled egg option for vegetarians)

Dilled Potato and Green Bean Salad 
with Dijon Dressing

Chocolate Mousse with Candied Violet Garnish

The class will be held in Lisa's Kitchen.  Cost $50.00.

Reserve your spot today by contacting Lisa Valantine at lisavalantine@gmail.com