|
By Dr. Robert Heffron
Spring Time:
Below is a long list of foods especially good for the Spring time.
Perhaps we can make a menu that fits with a good balance of foods for
the Liver and this time of year. It should be mostly vegetables, with
some meat. Perhaps a little chicken and pork is best.
Spring time is the time of the Liver and Gall Bladder. Time to move stagnation. Rebirth.
Liver is associated with the sour flavor.
It's the time for fruit and vegetables.
Specific important foods for Spring and Liver/Gall Bladder include:
-wheat, barley, oats and rye
-lentils, kidney beans, peas
-sprouts, carrots, celery, salad greens, broccoli, green pepper, sweet potatoes and green beans
-citrus fruit and apricots
-chicken, pork, duck and beef
To relieve stagnation:
-all onion related foods
mustard greens
turmeric, basil, cumin, fennel, ginger,
beets, chestnut, cabbage, cauliflower
Harmonize the Liver:
rice vinegar
lemon, lime
Reduce excess in Liver:
asparagus, citrus peel
Cool and detoxify the Liver:
watercress, tofu, radish
celery, cucumber
Build Liver blood and yin:
mung beans and sprouts
cucumber, tofu, millet
Reduce Liver Wind:
celery, basil, fennel, fresh ginger, black soybean, black sesame seed
pine nut, coconut
Rejuvenate the Liver:
parsley, dale, watercress, collard greens
|
|
|
On Yin Yang & Balance
http://www.globalgourmet.com/food/egg/egg0296/yinyang.html#axzz0yw8UefTv
Martin Yan Interview by Kate Heyhoe
Kate: So much of Chinese cooking is based on a yin yang balance of flavors—how can you really teach that? In that it's not just a recipe.
Martin: Actually, yin and yang philosophy is one the Chinese follow not just in the preparation and cooking of food, but everyday life. For instance, if you love certain things, you learn always to watch out that you do not have too much of one thing—even exercise, even making money, even success. If somebody is too successful, making too much money, then they have lost sight of who they are, of the family values. They don't have time to spend with the parent or with the children. So the idea of yin and yang is a practiced philosophy where people learn to have a more well-balanced life. And food is the same. When you go to a Chinese restaurant, when you order and prepare Chinese food, you got to watch out. You don't want to have too many deep fried dishes. You don't want too many dishes all with meat. You want to balance the meat with the vegetable dish, and you want to balance the sweet and sour with some lighter fare. You want to balance deep fried dishes with steamed dishes. It's all about balance.
Kate: You teach so many students, but do you ever find that some students just don't get the concept?
Martin: Well for me, I do it in a layman's terms. For instance, forget about the words yin and yang. We're talking about balance. Balance is very simple. It's something that everybody understands, and also when you have a good balance and well being, it's just like health. You are what you eat. When you eat the right thing, you observe that basic principle. It's a principle, the Chinese just happen to call it yin and yang, but it's like when we say "Eat a balanced diet." Everybody in North America can understand when we say if you eat a balanced diet, and exercise, you'll be healthy. Balanced diet is the same thing as yin and yang, it's just the Chinese way of saying A Balanced Diet.
Kate: Well, Martin, you're a perfect example. You're running around all the time, you look the same as you did twenty years ago. You haven't changed. You're like Dick Clark.
Martin: I haven't changed? In fact I actually look better everyday [laughter]. No, I don't smoke, my life style is very simple and when I have a situation that is very tensed and stressed, I go out to the garden and look at the fish. I have a little koi pond, just like many Asians, I have a little bonsai, and in the summer I have my vegetable garden. So to me, everything that I do is to keep in touch, to be in contact with nature. That's the same reason why I cook. When you cook, it's like gardening, you are so in touch with what you do, you touch it, you feel it. And cooking is the same, you have to use your hands, you have to touch it, you have to look at it, you have to smell it. So everything I do is very simple, down to earth, I live a very simple life.
Another interesting discussion
Yin and Yang in Chinese Cooking
"Real knowledge is to know the extent of one's ignorance."
(Confucius)
Written by Rhonda Parkinson
Yin and yang. Hot and cold. Male and female. The philosophy of yin and yang lies at the heart of Chinese culture. The first references to yin and yang come from the I Ching, the five classic works compiled and edited by Confucius. Taken literally, yin and yang mean the dark side and sunny side of a hill. People commonly think of yin and yang as opposing forces. However, it is really more appropriate to view them as complementary pairs. The Chinese believe problems arise not when the two forces are battling, but when there is an imbalance between them in the environment. Floods, divorce, or even a fire in the kitchen - all can be attributed to disharmony in the forces of yin and yang.
This is the traditional symbol for the forces of yin and yang, sometimes described as two fish swimming head to tail.
How does the concept of yin and yang relate to food? A basic adherence to this philosophy can be found in any Chinese dish, from stir-fried beef with broccoli to sweet and sour pork. There is always a balance in color, flavors, and textures. However, belief in the importance of following the principles of yin and yang in the diet extends further. Certain foods are thought to have yin or cooling properties, while others have warm, yang properties. The challenge is to consume a diet that contains a healthy balance between the two. When treating illnesses, an Oriental physician will frequently advise dietary changes in order to restore a healthy balance between the yin and yang in the body. For example, let's say you're suffering from heartburn, caused by consuming too many spicy (yang) foods. Instead of antacids, you're likely to take home a prescription for herbal teas to restore the yin forces. Similarly, coughs or flu are more likely to be treated with dietary changes than antibiotics or cough medicines.
Almost no foodstuff is purely yin or yang - it's more that one characteristic tends to dominate. This is why there is not complete agreement amoung experts as to which foods exhibit yin or yang forces. It also reinforces that it is not so much the individual ingredients, as the the balance and contrast between ingredients in each dish, that is important. Interestingly, cooking methods also have more of a yin or yang property, as the list below demonstrates.
Cooking Methods:
Yin Qualities:
• Boiling
• Poaching
• Steaming
Yang Qualities:
• Deep-frying
• Roasting
• Stir-frying
Types of Foods:
|
Yin Foods |
Yang Foods |
|
Bean Sprouts |
Beef |
|
Cabbage |
Bamboo |
|
Duck |
Ginger |
|
Crab |
Egg |
|
Cucomber |
Glutinous Rice |
|
Tofu |
Mushrooms |
|
Watercress |
Chicken |
|
Carrots |
Sesame Oil |
|
Water |
Wine |
| | |
