Spring Tree Energy - Nurture Your Liver, Gallbladder and Nervous System
Rolled Oats, Lemons and Wakame Sea Vegetable
The Five Transformations of Energy (the ancient study of the energy of food, how it relates to the seasons, and how it feeds and nurtures the body) is the wheel of life with the energy flowing in a circle of change. We are in the Spring or Tree Energy phase which is an upward moving energy. It is a transitional time when we go from cold winter to hot summer. It is the time of year that is very colorful with all the plants coming back to life and blooming. Everything in nature looks and feels more vibrant and energized. It is the same with your body, your energy and also with your food choices.
Spring energy phase feeds and nurtures the liver, gallbladder and nervous system. The liver and gallbladder are primarily responsible for purifying the blood. A large supple of blood is held in the liver and it primarily a detox organ. Your liver can help with environmental and dietary toxins and helps neutralize poisons and remove them from the body.
Signature Flavor: Sour
The signature flavor of Springtime is sour. Think of the flavor of lemons. This sour flavor animates, helps maintain proper function, of the liver, gallbladder and nervous system. Sour foods make your mouth pucker such as, lemons, limes, sauerkraut, naturally fermented vinegars, naturally fermented pickles, pomegranates and plums.
This soul flavor reawakens your taste buds. During the proceeding season, winter, we tend to eat more seasoned food, we salt our foods more, more high fat foods to help keep us warm and foods that have a heavier energy. Sour, uplifting foods have a lighter energy, and they wake up those taste buds that have been eating heavier food for the winter months.
Lemons:
Lemons have a natural cooling effect on the body helping us prepare for the hot summer season that is just around the corner.
Help benefit the bile formation
Support the liver function
Support the digestive tract
Can help improve the absorption of minerals
Help cleanse the blood
Have anti-septic and anti-microbial properties
High in vitamin C
Help alkalize the body
Whole Grains:
According to the Five Transformations of Energy (the ancient study of the energy of food, how it relates to the seasons, and how it feeds and nurtures the body) the signature whole grains associated with this time of year are; barley, rye, wheat, spelt, kamut, and oats. The only whole grain in this category that is not gluten free is oats. With gluten free being all the hype right now, I think it is time to look at the tremendous healing properties of these grains and why it may not be the gluten that is causing any problem in people's health
Barley: One of the world's oldest whole grains, it strengthens the intestines, strengthens blood and benefits the gallbladder and nervous system. Also strengthening to the spleen, pancreas and helps regulate the stomach. Barley is used to treat hepatitis and painful urination and helps reduce tumors. Known as the strengthening whole grain because the Roman Gladiator main source of food was a roasted barley gruel.
Rye: Helps build muscles and promote energy and endurance. A broth or congee made with rye often relieves a migraine headache. Contains eleven B vitamins, vitamin E, iron mineral and trace minerals and a high percentage of the amino acid lysine.
Oats: Adaptogen grain which means they improve resistance to stress and thus support the system being in a healthy state of balance. Helps stabilize the blood sugar, lower cholesterol, regulate the thyroid, soothe nervous and digestive systems, and help reduce risk of heart disease. Helps cleanse the body of toxins in particular helps cleanse the liver. Contain beta-glucan which is a soluble fiber that can help reduce blood glucose and insulin response and increases growth of good bacteria in the digestive tract.
The Story of Wheat:
A few thousands of years ago the wheat plant was very different. The ancient wheat is called einkorn. It was a wild field grass. The protein cell structure (the gluten) was fragile making it very easy to digest. This ancient einkorn wheat was around for thousands of years, and then our ancestors started to grow their own, it was the starting of agriculture. By them growing their own crops they changed the plant to produce a slightly different version known as emmer wheat. The cell structure of emmer is not as fragile as the eikorn but still fragile enough that it is easy to digest.
In the 1950's scientists got involved to produce a higher yield version of wheat to help feed the ever increasing population explosion happening on our planet. They high breed the wheat plant to produce a completely different version of wheat. (This is not genetically modifying the plant, that did not happen until the 1980's.) This high breed process that took place starting in the 1950's made the protein cell structure (the gluten) of the wheat very complex. It is the complete opposite of the fragile cell structure of the einkorn or emmer wheat. This new complex cell structure is very hard to digest. This is where most of the gluten sensitivity originates from. In the 1970's this new wheat went world wide. By the 1990's all the pasta, flour in any wheat flour products or groceries were made from this incredibly hard to digest wheat. Now add on top of that all the genetic modification and chemical spraying that takes place with our wheat and you can see the tremendous problem.
The solution is to use the whole grains spelt or kamut. They are a type of wheat that was never tampered with and remains in the emmer wheat form. It is easy to digest with a fragile protein cell (the gluten) structure. And even better, if you can find einkorn organic wheat made by the company, Jovial, you can enjoy wheat in its original form.
Health benefits of wheat, spelt and kamut: Nurtures the heart, calms and focuses the mind, and treats a wide variety of stress and mental health systems. Contains B vitamins, vitamin E, essential fatty acids, zinc, iron, copper, manganese, magnesium and phosphorus.
Wakame:
Wakame is a sea vegetable. Sea vegetables grow in the ocean. They are considered plants that grow in the ocean. Our blood contains the minerals and trace minerals that are in the ocean. These minerals are integrated into the living plant tissue making them the most assimilable form of food for our consumption. As a group, sea vegetables contain the greatest amount and broadest range of minerals of any organism making them superb mineral rich foods. Because of this mineral rich content, they are effective even eaten in small quantities.
Sea plants contain 10 to 20 times the minerals of land plants.
They have an abundance of vitamins and other elements necessary for man's metabolism.
Plus certain ones actually remove radioactive and toxic metals wastes from the body.
Wakame is very cooling in nature, has diuretic properties, helps get rid of phlegm, and used to help treat coughs with yellow or green mucus. Also known for softening hardened tissue and masses in the body. Has ten times more calcium than milk. Fucoxanthin, an allenic carotenoid, can be isolated from edible brown seaweeds. Recent studies have reported that fucoxanthin has many physiological functions and biological properties, such as antiobesity, antitumor, antidiabetes, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and hepatoprotective activities, as well as cardiovascular and cerebrovascular protective effects.
Although Sea Vegetables, such as Wakame, are classified in the Winter Season, I include them in this article because they cleanse toxins out of the body and purify the blood. Both actions that the liver and gallbladder also perform and they are the organs associated with Springtime.
You can get my new e cookbook, Sensations Sublime Sea Vegetables for more information about Sea Vegetables and delicious recipes.
Mom’s Across America
I will be the special presentation on the Mom’s Across America Zoom Connect Call this evening, Monday, May 19th at 7 PM (ET). (If you miss the call, you can watch the recording later.)
Sign up for the Mom’s Across America email to receive an invite to the Zoom.
https://www.momsacrossamerica.com/moms_connect
LIVE on YouTube and Facebook:
Chef Val LIVE! Cucumber Wakame Salad
Wed. May 21 - 6:30 PM (ET)
Join me as I teach how to make my Cucumber Wakame Salad. This recipe features the sea vegetable Wakame and I will be sharing all about the nutritional value of Wakame also. Ask questions, chat in real time, learn about healthy foods and hear the latest update. I will be sharing about Save our Ostriches and Protect the Porkies during the live also.
Upcoming Cooking Classes:
https://macroval.com/cookingclasses.htm
Whole Grain Salads as a Meal Cooking Class
Thursday, May 1 - 6:00 to 7:30 PM (ET) - $36.00
Virtual through zoom. You get the recipes ahead of class to cook along in your own kitchen.
Salads can be a complete meal when you start with whole grains. Each recipe is a complete meal containing the three essential nutrients, complex carbs, protein and fat. These recipes are perfect for a summer meal.
Menu: Quinoa Tofu Asparagus Salad with Dijon Dressing and Asparagus Sweet Potato Brown Rice Garlic Salad
June Outdoor Grilling - Mexican Cooking Class
Wed. June 25 - 6 to 9 PM (ET)
In person $65.00 - Virtual $55.00
Step by step instruction and hands on experience.
Join me outside for Mexican inspired recipes cooked on the grill. We will be making a Roll Ups filled with all the grilled items and condiments to create one amazing Mexican Grilled Fest! Plus I will be sharing all my grilling tips.
Menu: Mexican Grilled Asparagus, Debra's Grilled Sweet Potatoes, Grilled Purple Onions all served on a Roll Up with Tofu Sour Cream and Cucumber Basil Arugula Salsa, plus Grilled Zucchini Apple Dessert Bunuelos (Fritters) with Raspberry Sauce.
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