June 1st, 2011

more on food……. these tips were written by my client Rod Williams of Bodyworx. In Chinese Medicine the spleen is responsible for just about everything…. I love this cos it is so easy to incorporate this into your life! So if you are experiencing fatigue, low appetite and immunity, weakness in your limbs or even loose stools your spleen might need a bit of a boost. And, if you like this article and ideas email him on rod.bodyworx@gmail.com for the full article or friend him on his soon to be published Facebook like page.

The Spleen likes:

– Warm, nutritious, nourishing foods / drinks (ginger tea, rice porridge, soups and broths, dahl, etc)
– Regular meal times  (eating every couple of hours)

The Spleen dislikes:

– Cold raw foods / drinks (salads, cold fruit out of the fridge, cold water, etc)
– Irregular eating (having long breaks between meals)

The most important meal of the day is breakfast, so if you only make 1 change, then this is it. According to Chinese Medicine, between 7-9am is the time when the chi is strongest in the Stomach meridian, and 9-11am it is strongest in the Spleen Meridian.  Therefore, we should aim to eat our breakfast between 7-9am so  that we can best digest and converted it to energy.  Below are some meal examples in line with nourishing the Spleen:

The Ultimate Breakfast!

3/4 cup Organic Rolled Oats
1/2 cup Blueberries
1 tbsp LSA mix (linseed, sunflower, almond) / Chia seeds
1 scoop WPC (whey protein concentrate powder – this is a great tonic, high in immunoglobulins also!)
1 tsp Cinnamon (great for the Spleen)
Rice Milk
Grated ginger (optional)
Honey to taste

Soak the oats over night in water or rice milk.  In the morning add warm water or rice milk and mix all the ingredients together.

Quick, tasty, nutritious, cheap, prepared in 5 mins…

Eggs and Mushroom on Toast

Self explanatory, but use a good quality heavy bread like rye or sour dough.  Add spinach, tomato or anything else that you like.

Lunch and Dinner Examples:

Rice Chicken and Veges

Steam some organic, australian grown basmati rice in chicken stock in a rice steamer (Foreign grown rice is fumigated when imported and is therefore a dead food, unlike Aust grown rice which will actually seed!)

BBQ some organic free-range chicken breasts and shred up,

Stirfry your favourite many coloured veges,

Add all cooked ingredients together and eat with a smile!

Congee (rice porridge)

Add rice, veges, chicken / meat / fish to a deep saucepan, along with onion, ginger, garlic, etc and simmer for a couple of hours.  Consistency should be thick, liquidy like porridge.

Savoury Mince Wraps

Use lean organic mince, add some beans / lentils and vegetables, and spices to flavour.  Wrap with lettuce in a quality bread wrap such as mountain bread.

Dahl – popular Indian lentil dish

Add some ghee and black mustard seeds in a frypan and heat until the black mustard seeds pop.  Add some Garam Masala, chopped ginger, onion, asafatida. Stir until aromas released.  Add washed red lentils, water to cover over the lentils, 2 barks of cinnamon, 2 bay leaves.  Simmer for 30-60 mins, topping up with water as needed so that lentils remain covered.  Add Turmeric and Himalayan Rock Salt before serving. Serve with Basmati Rice and a side of steamed veges.

enjoy!!!

Gay