Module Four
rECIPES TO SUPPORT THE STOMACH AND SPLEEN
BOOSTED BANANA BREAD
Congee
Sri Lankan Dhal
TURMERIC LATTE WITH ASHWAGANDA AND HONEY (NERVOUS SYSTEM)*
This keeps well in the fridge for a good few weeks so its mentally lovely to know its there to support you if ever needed short notice! Its comforting to have on a wet and windy afternoon or when you are feeling a bit run down and in need of a little TLC.
5 tablespoons coconut oil
2 heaped tablespoons of ground turmeric
1 teaspoon cracked black pepper
2 tablespoons water
A grating of fresh ginger
Cardamon, cinnamon
Add in ½ teaspoon of Ashwaganda powder and a touch of honey to sweeten
Method
Place all of the above ingredients into a small pan, mix and then heat gently and simmer for 5 to 10 minutes. Then pour into a sterilized jam jar and allow to cool. Once cool you can store this in your fridge and whenever you need it, you can simply go to the fridge and scoop out a new teaspoon, pop that into a mug and cover with warm milk (alternative milks, dairy milk – your choice)
APPLE PUREE
The simplest of recipes but the best one to have in your freezer as you can create instant gut loving breakfasts stirring some through hot porridge in the morning, adding into pancake batters or topping on yoghurt. As well as making quick puddings by simply sprinkling crumble over the top and baking. Keeping the skins on is even better as the pectin levels are highest in the skins and these can help towards boosting your vitamins, especially B’s (check this)
Chop up your cooking apples (skins on) into 1 inch chunks. Place into a saucepan and add a splash of water. Cover with a lid and add to a low to medium heat. Leave for 5 minutes and come back and check and stir – just to make sure it’s not sticking to the bottom of the pan and possibly burning. Cover again and leave for another 10-15 minutes until it turns to a soft mush. When it’s ready cool and spoon into large silicone ice trays or muffin tins and freeze until needed.
BUTTERNUT SQUASH SOUP WITH COCONUT & CHILLI
Do you know about Ghee?
Ghee is clarified butter. This simply means butter that has had the milk solids removed. To make it, we boil up the butter until the milk solids and impurities separate and solidify. They are strained off and we are left with golden ghee (it tastes similar to toffee usually, tolerated by those that have lactose intolerance). Its wonderful to cook with as it can handle very high cooking temperatures.
In TCM ghee is wonderful for the Stomach and Spleen and has a wonderful sweet thermal temperature to it.
In Ayurveda, Ghee really is considered liquid gold.
-Food for our brain. It soothes our mental and emotional state (our brain & nervous system are made up of 60% fat; this pure fat feeds these vital organs)
-Cleansing - helps remove toxins (Ama) from the body
-Reduces inflammation - it contains Butyrate, a short chain fatty acid that helps with inflammation and wonderful for the gut.
-Strengthens immunity
-Balances hormones - women need fat for healthy hormone production
GHEE
CHICKEN STOCK OR BONE BROTH
CHICKEN STOCK
Place the cooked chicken carcass into a medium sized saucepan. Add in the onion, carrots, celery, bay leaf, parsley stalks, black pepper corns and cover in cold or hot water - so that everything is submerged.
Bring the pan up to a boil then down to a simmer and allow to boil. If you have the lid off you may need to top up with water. If you have the lid off you wont. I personally prefer to cook a chicken stock with the lid off and to keep an eye on it. I find their is more of a depth of flavour to it.
Simmer for 2-3 hours until the bones have broken down.
Leave to cook and store in the fridge or freeze
NB you can “reduce” which means to boil the broth all the way down to a concentrate and pour into ice cube trays for future use - great if tight on space in the freezer
In TCM Bone broth is considered wonderful for digestion, nourishing our bones, joints, Blood building marrow, Kidneys, reproductive system and brain.
In Western cultures it is considered abundant in amino acids and wonderful for the gut lining
I am going to be teaching you how to make a quick brown chicken stock. This has a stronger flavour to it, more depth and is generally quicker (as you use the crass from a roasted chicken). Traditional methods for cooking chicken stocks would encourage you to use cold water to help skim off the fat and only a light simmer - however I am going against traditional and encouraging time efficient methods and suggest adding as much fat as possible as the fat in chicken skin holds so much goodness.
Generally chicken stock from browned bones takes anywhere between 2-4 hours. Again like this most of my cooking style I am encouraging you to use intuitive cooking amounts and quantities.
Chicken broth is the back bone ( no pun intended) to add good soups, casserole and stews. Its the corner stone for the gut and if illness is in the house it’s my instant go to. I usually make weekly or bi weekly batches and store in the fridge or freezer for rissotos, stews and soups.
Storing Stock - once made, cool, cover and fridge. Will keep for 2-3 days or freeze for up to 6 months. The most effective way of storing stock is to reduce it by boiling it down and storing in ice cube trays.
Salt - not needed to be added as the bones and ingredients contain salts and minerals which blend into the water when cooking.
Herbs and spices - you can add a range of different spices or herbs but think re their pungency and if they might overhwelm the broth and impact the dish you are cooking. I find making a plain stock the most effective way and they jazzing up the stock later when creating a specific dish
gut health
gut health
PRACTICE
There are plenty of probiotic products on the market but I have found that Optibac have some wonderful science backed behind them
Many of you may well have heard of Kefir… which is a probiotic rich fermented milk drink. This brand called Chuckling Goat are who I have been using for years (you subscribe and they send it to you). I think they are excellent and really know their stuff with wonderful weekly newsletters to back all that they say
RITUALS
CRYSTALS agate, sodulite, quartz
ESSENTIAL OILS Cyprus, fennel, Mandarin, Melissa
SELF CARE good nourishment through warming foods and being present and connected with food. Reading a good book - I found “the 40 rules of love” by Elif Shafak to be gorgeous.
Walking barefoot on the ground to feel the earth beneath your feet.
Movement of the forelimbs to strengthen digestion of food and thought. Rest the mind to the rest of the digestion through meditation and yoga
Candle Practise - this ancient practise is simply the act of gently turning your gaze to a naked flame and watching it, ideally trying to resist the urge to blink and to fall into a trance watching the candle. Bringing about a feeling of calm and rest to the body
