According to traditional Chinese medicine, in energetic Winter, the season of the Water element, our energy moves inward. Quieter more passive yin chi is highlighted and active yang chi is subdued. Even in today’s world, we should find ways to hibernate and withdraw during Winter. One way to practice this inward movement is through food. Traditional Chinese medicine is very good at prescribing the particular foods to eat that will warm, sustain and nurture us all season long. And just as important is the manner in which we prepare these Winter foods.
Winter is the perfect time to allow our blood sugar to regain homeostasis by reducing our simple carbohydrate intake (carbohydrate calories made of starchy and sugary foods). We don’t require these like we did in the Summer. Moreover, we simply don’t need sugar-rich foods.
Partake of the mystique of quantum energetic formulated plant-based skincare for your exalted natural bxeauty and well-being. Subscribe for a discount promo code, plus get truly unique holistic beauty tips and offers.
Winter is the season of storage. We want to look at buying more foods that store well in our homes for Winter like root vegetables, nuts and seeds. We have refrigerators and other methods for helping us to store and keep food from spoiling but this isn’t the whole reason for gathering foods that keep for longer periods of time. The reason is more so that these simply tend to be the foods we should be consuming more of during energetic Winter.
These storage type foods don’t just keep well, they create energy that our bodies can also store well.
In Winter, it’s beneficial to have a richer diet since cold temperatures and winds are very drying. The cold air and wind directly attack the skin and nose causing the lungs and your wei chi (immunity) to have to work harder.
If we allow ourselves to become run down during the Winter and Water element season, our lungs can become inflamed and we can catch a cold. In traditional Chinese medicine, kidneys, the organ of the Water element, are the ‘children’ of the lungs. When the lungs become weak, so do the kidneys, and this makes us more susceptible to colds.
When coldness seeps into our bodies in Winter it causes contraction and limits our movement, and as a result, we become even colder than we were before. Internal cold manifests as poor circulation, aches and pains, asthma, colitis or asthma.
During the energetic Winter season, focus on fat, protein and complex carbohydrates which tend to be very stabilizing and nourishing. The body will draw energy from such foods for a long period of time.
Black turtle beans are the most warming legume and they are very yin-building. You can further increase black turtle beans’ warming energy by adding fresh rosemary when cooking them slowly.
Other foods that will help warm you up are pine nuts, walnuts, chestnuts, anchovies, mussels, and trout. Encourage circulation and thus, warming, with ginger, cloves, fennel, cinnamon and anise.
The following are food prep principles to observe during energetic Winter according to traditional Chinese medicine:
Make all your food nutritious and warming. Cook everything.
Cook slowly over long periods of time but on lower heat. Leave the food unmoved during the cooking process. This will bring a calming effect to your food when you eat it. It will also help properly combine food essences which takes a long time. Although living uncooked food can be extremely healthy to eat, sometimes the body needs the certain kind of assistance that combining food essences through slow cooking can provide.
If you need to concentrate for study or another task, eat warm simple two-ingredient meals.
To enhance your sociable nature during the holidays, eat light meals made of several ingredients.
Incorporate salty foods into your diet.
Ingest nothing cold. Everything you consume during this season should be warm.
Avoid dairy foods.
Make nutrient-dense broths and consume them daily. Tie some star anise, licorice root, cloves, fennel seeds and a mandarin peel in a muslin cloth and let it simmer in your next broth. This can pack a punch.
Go no longer than four hours without eating. (Your sleep hours don’t count, of course.)
Eat lots of kidney-shaped foods like beans and seeds.
Enjoy lots of nuts at this time.
Just like the season, Winter foods like grains, dehydrated foods and seeds and nuts have inward-moving energy.
Consume black and blue-black foods rich in anthocyanins like blueberries and black beans. For more info., read our comprehensive blogs on the topic, Black or Blue-Black Foods: Excellent Sources of Ultimate Black Food Nutrition During Winter Plus Bonus Cocktail Recipe and More Than A Dozen Oh So Nutritious Black Foods for Winter.
Make the winter squash family a nurturing hearty addition to almost any meal: acorn, butternut, delicate, hubbard, kabocha and spaghetti squash.
Bring lots of root vegetables into your Winter diet. They do well in slow cooked stews and soups. Root vegetables include beets, carrots, celery root, jicama, onions (yellow onions, green onions, leeks, shallots), parsnips, rutabagas, turnips, and sweet potatoes.
Season food with warm pungent herbs and spices which remove inner cold in the Winter: basil, black pepper, garlic, horseradish, turmeric, cinnamon and cloves.
Though alcohol is not generally recommended, it’s appropriate during energetic Winter to enjoy a small amount of spirits to warm your system up since they are ‘hot-warm’ in nature. They do promote circulation, stimulate the appetite and keep out the cold.
Winter is the season that plays host to holidays and celebrations for a number of cultures and traditions. Even celebrations can be more yin-like and subdued when they’re made cozy and intimate with low lights, soft music and plenty of warming, comforting foods served to the people you love.
#####
Endnotes:
Counts, Mindi K. Everyday Chinese Medicine: Healing Remedies for Immunity, Vitality, and Optimal Health. United States, Shambhala, 2020.
Wong, Lun, and Knapsey, Kath. Food for the Seasons: Eat Well and Stay Healthy the Traditional Chinese Way. Australia. Red Dog Books. 2012.
Photo by Karolina Grabowska at Pexels