It’s Energetic Spring and Time for Cleansing Green

During this season of energetic Spring, if we choose to live in harmony with the season and nature, we will want to begin moving from the hibernating days of Winter and the indulgence of holiday celebrations into a period of internal cleansing.  Green is the color of Spring, cleansing, vitality and new life. Chlorophyll is the green pigment of plants. It’s responsible for the absorption of light from the sun.

“The latest research from Prof. F.A. Popp and Dr. H. Niggli shows that, in addition to the chemical composition of our food, light energy (biophotons) is also an important factor in food quality. The more light a food is able to store, the more nutritious it is. Naturally grown fresh vegetables, for example, and sun-ripened fruits are rich in light energy.” —Christine Morehart in Living Perfect Health: The Art of Healthy Eating and Cleansing

Partake of the mystique of quantum energetic formulated plant-based skincare for your exalted natural beauty and well-being. Subscribe for a discount promo code, plus get truly unique beauty tips and offers.

Stored sun energy in the fresh fruits and vegetables we consume finds its way into our cells in the form of minute particles of light – biophotons – the smallest physical units of light. These particles contain important bio-information, regulating and directing complex vital processes in our bodies. They elevate the organism (the body) to a higher frequency or order ultimately manifested as a feeling of vitality and well-being.

Many scientific studies show that there is hardly any illness that cannot be helped by chlorophyll. It’s a miraculous healer. It cleans cholesterol, fat and toxins from the body and destroys pathogenic bacteria, fungi, and cancer cells.

Because most of us do not chew our food thoroughly enough, the best way to derive the most benefit from green produce is to drink green smoothies where the blender action doesn’t just masticate, it predigests the greens for us. But even if drinking green smoothies is not appealing to us, simply adding more green foods to whatever diet we follow can make a profound improvement on our health.

Spinach, watercress, arugula, kale, broccoli, brussels sprouts, collard greens and parsley, wheatgrass and alfalfa and barley grasses are examples of super nutritious and light energy rich green foods. 

Chlorella, a chlorophyll-rich algae and complete protein with a 62% amino acid content, is one of the most well rounded foods on the planet. It’s rich in minerals like phosphorus, potassium, magnesium, germanium, sulfur, iron, calcium, manganese, copper, zinc, iodine, cobalt, and trace elements. Other nutrients include vitamins A, C, E, K, B complex, B1, B2, B6, B12, niacin, pantothenic acid, RNA, DNA, folic acid, biotin, choline, and inositol.

Chlorella grows so quickly it quadruples every twenty-four hours. It also quadruples the friendly flora in our intestinal tract and boosts the immune system. It facilitates digestion, alkalizes the body, heals the intestinal lining, and works remove chemicals, toxins and heavy metals from the body.

Sea vegetables at approximately 50% protein can directly compete with animal protein and are much more easily assimilated by the body. Sea greens contain more minerals than any other food and are the best source of iodine required for healthy thyroid function. Kelp, kombu, arame, wakame, nori, dulse, blue green algae, spirulina are examples of super nutritious sea greens. (Wakame is one of the unique ingredients in Ageless La Cure Perfection Cream by PHYTO5, formulated to lighten dark spots on the skin.)

The chlorophyll in plants protects the leaves of the plant from frying and withering in the sun. In the same way, when we consume lots of chlorophyll we are also ingesting protection for our skin from the sun. Indigenous peoples and animals who do not suffer from sunburn prove they receive sunscreen from the leafy greens they eat.

More benefits of chlorophyll:

• builds a high red blood cell count

• helps prevent cancer

• provides iron to organs

• alkalizes the body

• counteracts the effects of toxins consumed

• Improves anemia

• cleans and deodorizes bowel tissues

• works to purify the liver

• assists in the improvement of hepatitis

• regulates menstruation

• improves milk production in lactating women

• assists to heal sores more quickly

• eliminates body odors

• resists wound bacteria

• cleans tooth and gum structure 

• eliminates bad breath

• relieves sore throat

• reduces inflammation and the pain caused by it

• soothes ulcer tissue

• improves varicose veins

• improves vision

####

Endnotes:

Photo by Sara Cervera at Unsplash

Boutenko, Victoria. Green for Life: the Updated Classic on Green Smoothie Nutrition. North Atlantic, 2010.

Morehart, Christine. Living Perfect Health: The Art of Healthy Eating and Cleansing. Xlibris, 2014.

It's Energetic Spring! Here Are 33 Delicious Ways to Creatively Get More Healing, Cleansing Green Into Your Diet

Not only is green the color for the Spring energetic season and Wood element and the color of so many plants that sprout in Spring, it’s also the color of the foods that best align with the season and our vitality of self. Mind, body and even spirit are uplifted and nurtured whenever we take green foods filled with the rays of the sun into our beings.

Spring is a time associated with the bursting forth of life. The season is synonymous with the giving of life and also cleansing. We'll be super wise if we support ourselves with as many green foods during this season as we can.

During Spring, we focus on bringing the energies of the liver and gall bladder and corresponding meridians into balance and certain green foods are optimum for bringing liver energy into balance.

These liver supporting foods are:

• leafy green juices; add some cucumber and a bit of green apple for a delightful fresh taste;

• wheatgrass juice; try to drink an ounce or so of fresh-pressed when you can;

• chlorophyll-rich foods like barley grass, chlorella, spirulina, blue green algae, ceremonial grade matcha green tea, parsley, kale and spinach; add them to your smoothies for an easy way to get your cleansing green;

• hot mint tea for soothing the liver's chi energy;

• sprouts, especially alfalfa and sunflower both of which are very easy to grow yourself;

• green "bitters" like rye, romaine, asparagus, endive and dandelion greens; a bonus benefit is they help to alleviate springtime allergies.

Not everyone enjoys green leaves and vegetables so we’re offering you quite a number of novel and exciting ways below to make sure you amp up your diet with green and enjoy the deliciousness of it too!

While most of these ideas provide ways to creatively add greens and green foods to your entrées and side dishes, don’t ever be afraid to make green the main event. Green vegetables will provide protein contrary to popular belief. Per calorie, broccoli contains more protein than beef with about 4.5 grams per 30 calories. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture's National Nutrient Database, one cup of raw broccoli  yields nearly three grams of protein while a cup of green peas will give you nearly eight grams of protein.

All plants contain protein and at least 14% of the total calories of every plant are protein. Broccoli contains more protein per calorie than steak and, per calorie, spinach is about equal to chicken and fish. Of course, you’ll need to eat a lot more broccoli and spinach to get the same amount of calories that you do from the meat. Multiple studies have shown that if you are meeting your caloric needs through plant-based nutrition, you will satisfy your body’s protein requirements. – Scott Stoll, MD, Yes, Plants Have Protein

1. Scramble your eggs with cooking greens or add them to your frittata. 

2. Add fresh fruit like strawberries to make your highly nutritious spinach salad more interesting.

3. Make a batch of green pesto to have on hand for adding to dishes like pasta or for garnishing dishes like scrambled eggs, soup or roasted veggies.

4. Learn to sprout! It’s so easy to do right in your kitchen with some mason jars, cheesecloth and sprouting seeds. In just a couple days you’ve got green sprouts absolutely brimming with nutrition that you can add to salads, add as soup garnishes or throw in your smoothies.

5. Learn to identify wild edible greens and pick them. Some might be in your backyard or favorite local forest preserve.

6. Everybody loves nuts and seeds so improve your salads’ texture and nutrition by adding them to your salads. 

7. Add a handful of spinach or other green to your favorite smoothie to make it green. Spinach is quite benign flavor-wise. It won’t alter the flavor intent of your smoothie.

8. Don’t miss a chance to garnish your soups with parsley or cilantro.

9. Never miss adding a beautiful green leaf to your sandwiches. Have fun and experiment. Go beyond iceberg or romaine lettuce.

10. Garnish your sandwich plate or even top your salad with dehydrated kale chips. Depending on the sauce massaged into the kale before dehydrating, kids will love eating them instead of potato chips.

11. Add a handful of fresh basil, leaves and stems, to your blenderized soups for a subtle flavor enhancement and nutrition boost.

12. Add green legumes like peas, pea pods and green beans to your side dishes for color, texture, protein and vitality.

13. Learn to make a serious tabbouli. With the main ingredient being parsley, this minted salad is incredibly fresh tasting and you’ll feel so much better about yourself after eating it! You can substitute quinoa for the bulgur wheat, if you prefer, and it will taste just as great.

14. Fold finely chopped parsley or spinach into your mashed potatoes or alfredo sauce.

15. Mush some not overcooked broccoli into side dishes for texture, flavor and nutrition.

16. Make some avocado topped toast or spread your toast with a mélange of peas tossed with a small amount of olive oil, quartered grape tomatoes, and edamame. Avocado toast happens to be on-trend right now too!

17. Add shaved or grated courgette (zucchini) into your salad.

18. Have a nice spinach salad or other green leaf salad for breakfast. It’s a fantastic way to start the day.

19. Explore fresh green herbs (oregano, rosemary, basil, dill, cilantro, chervil, chives, tarragon) and learn how to add them to your dishes for an added dimension of healing and flavor.

20. Make fresh, raw green bean “fries” for an awesome snack. Toss washed whole green beans with a bit of olive oil, and then garlic granules, salt and pepper to taste, and munch!

21. Make your wrap sandwiches raw wraps using collard greens, bibb lettuce or swiss chard leaves; you can do the same when making tacos, too.

22. When puréeing your homemade hummus, throw in a half cup of spinach; it will lend a green hue to the hummus and give you added nutrition, but it won’t alter the flavor of the hummus.

23. Top your burger with lightly sautéed greens infused with your favorite herb for a more gourmet experience.

24. Make green dips; spinach-artichoke is always nice.

25. Make simple homemade green salad dressings in your blender; throw six to eight dandelion greens in the blender along with a cup of soaked raw cashews, a half cup of soaked raw sunflower seeds, a cup of water, a squirt of lemon juice, a half teaspoon of turmeric and Himalayan salt to taste and blend until smooth.

26. Double the amount of green vegetables and half the amount of animal protein in your dishes. You’ll enjoy the dish just as much and may well lose some weight.

27. Be a sneaky chef; purée some greens and add them to marinara sauce or grate or finely mince the greens and add them to your burger and meatloaf mix.

28. Join the Meatless Monday movement and make green foods the centerpiece of the day.

29. Wilt your greens like spinach, arugula, mustard and dandelion greens; you can add them to your favorite dish or eat them straight with a little salt and pepper and a dash of olive oil.

30. Gently sautée kale leaves stripped from their stalks along with garlic and bit of olive oil until they become just soft enough to eat. So delicious and hearty!

31. Save your kale stems after stripping the leaves for sautées or massaged kale salads and blend them (chopped) with some water, garlic, salt and soaked raw cashews for a wonderfully delicious, light and super healthy kale soup. Remember, the core of any plant packs the most power! Get your Easy Blender Kale Soup Recipe download here.

32. Slightly blacken bundles of bok choy, broccoli or asparagus spears for a unique taste and nutrition treat.

33. Get to know how to use ceremonial grade matcha green tea in your cooking and baking or simply drink it as tea. The Healthy Matcha Cookbook is an excellent source. You’ll get the incredible benefit of the most powerful catechin (a type of antioxidant) found in green tea–EGCG (epigallocatechin gallate)–which is believed to be a powerful anti-carcinogen. If you want to eat just one superfood a day and must choose among all of them, matcha green tea is the one you want because of its EGCG content. We’ll be devoting an entire blog entry to matcha green tea in an upcoming post.

Editor's Note: This post was originally published as two separate posts on March 27, 2016 and March 29, 2016 and has been combined and updated for freshness, accuracy, and comprehensiveness.

#####

Stoll, Scott. “Yes, Plants Have Protein.” https: wholefoodsmarket.com, Whole Foods Market, 15 Jan. 2013, www.wholefoodsmarket.com/blog/whole-story/yes-plants-have-protein.

30 Fun Ways to Get More Green Into Your Diet

Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) tells us the Spring energetic season (February 5 to April 17) is all about the sprouting of new life. TCM assigns two shades of green to Spring’s element of Wood: warm green (yang) and bluish green (yin). And during energetic Spring it’s important to nourish our bodies with life-giving, detoxifying green.

Not everyone enjoys green leaves and vegetables but what follows are a number of novel and fun ways to make sure you amp up your diet with green and enjoy the deliciousness of it too!

While most of these ideas provide ways to creatively add greens and green foods to your entrees and side dishes, don’t be afraid to make green the main event!

Partake of the mystique of quantum energetic formulated plant-based skincare for your exalted natural beauty and well-being. Subscribe for a discount promo code, plus get truly unique beauty tips and offers.

1. Scramble your eggs with cooking greens or add them to your frittata.

2. Add fresh fruit like strawberries to make your highly nutritious spinach salad more interesting.

3. Make a batch of green pesto to have on hand for adding to dishes like pasta or for garnishing dishes like scrambled eggs, soup or roasted veggies.

4. Learn to sprout! It’s so easy to do right in your kitchen with some mason jars, cheesecloth and sprouting seeds. In just a couple days you’ve got green sprouts absolutely brimming with nutrition that you can add to salads, add as soup garnishes or throw in your smoothies.

5. Learn to identify wild edible greens and pick them. Some might be in your backyard or favorite local forest preserve.

6. Everybody loves nuts and seeds so add them to your salads. Not only will they provide texture but lots of nutrition too.

7. Add a handful of spinach or other green to your favorite smoothie to make it green. We suggest spinach ‘cause it won’t alter the flavor intent of your smoothie.

8. Garnish your soups with parsley or cilantro.

9. Never miss adding a beautiful green leaf to your sandwiches. Experiment. Go beyond iceberg or romaine lettuce.

10. Garnish your sandwich plate or even top your salad with dehydrated kale chips. Depending on the sauce massaged into the kale before dehydrating, kids will love eating them instead of potato chips.

11. Add a handful of fresh basil, leaves and stems, to your blenderized soups for a subtle flavor enhancement and nutrition boost.

12. Add green legumes like pea pods and green beans to your side dishes for color, texture and vitality.

13. Learn to make a mean tabbouli. With the main ingredient being parsley, this minted salad is incredibly fresh tasting and you’ll feel so much better about yourself after eating it! You can sub quinoa for the bulgur wheat, if you prefer, and it will taste just as great.

14. Fold finely chopped parsley or spinach into your mashed potatoes or alfredo sauce.

15. Mush some not overcooked broccoli into side dishes for texture, flavor and nutrition.

16. Make some avocado topped toast or spread your toast with a mélange of peas tossed with a small amount of olive oil, quartered grape tomatoes, and edamame. Avocado toast is a current wellness trend!

17. Add shaved or grated courgette (zucchini) into your salad.

18. Have a nice spinach salad or other green leaf salad for breakfast. It’s a fantastic way to start the day.

19. Explore fresh green herbs (oregano, rosemary, basil, dill, cilantro, chervil, chives, tarragon) and learn how to add them to your dishes for an added dimension of healing and flavor.

20. Make green bean “fries” for an awesome snack. Toss washed whole green beans with a bit of olive oil, and then garlic granules, salt and pepper to taste, and munch!

21. Make your wrap sandwiches raw wraps using collard greens, bibb lettuce or swiss chard leaves; you can do the same when making tacos, too.

22. When puréeing your homemade hummus, throw in a half cup of spinach; it will lend a green hue to the hummus and give you added nutrition, but it won’t alter the flavor of the hummus.

23. Top your burger with lightly sautéed greens.

24. Make green dips; spinach-artichoke is always nice.

25. Make simple homemade green salad dressings in your blender; throw six to eight dandelion greens in the blender along with a cup of soaked raw cashews, a half cup of soaked raw sunflower seeds, a cup of water, a squirt of lemon juice, a half teaspoon of turmeric and Himalayan salt to taste and blend until smooth. Delish.

26. Double the amount of green vegetables and half the amount of animal protein in your dishes.

27. Be a sneaky chef; purée some greens and add them to marinara sauce or grate or finely mince the greens and add them to your burger and meatloaf mix.

28. Wilt your greens like spinach, arugula, mustard and dandelion greens; you can add them to your favorite dish or eat them straight with a little salt and pepper and a dash of olive oil.

29. Slightly blacken bundles of bok choy, broccoli or asparagus spears for a unique taste and nutrition treat.

30. Consume blue-green algae like spirulina or aphanizomenon flos aquae before or after meals or even before bed.

Best Foods to Eat During Energetic Spring

Even after energetic Spring begins February 5 (according to traditional Chinese medicine [TCM]), we still experience the remnants of the Water energy of Winter. Though TCM says Spring has arrived which is the new energy of the Wood element, it's challenging to think Spring.

TCM tells us we can enjoy our best health and vitality when we live in balance with the change of the five energetic seasons and their corresponding elements (Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, Water).

As humans, we exist an inherent part of nature. It makes sense to live in balance with nature to enjoy our best life.

Embrace the following attributes, characteristics and specific organ activity for the Wood element and Spring season.

If you’re affected by liver problems (the organs associated with Spring are liver and gall bladder), it’s a sign your body may be suffering from insufficient or lack of Wood chi.

You can strengthen your Wood chi by consuming more Wood element foods which tend to be sour in taste (sour is the taste for the Wood element). Sour foods facilitate clearing an overburdened liver.

Wood element foods act as astringents and help the blood to circulate, your energy to flow, and emotions to move more elegantly through you.

Eating fresh greens during this season naturally cleanses the body of physical and emotional impediments. 

Partake of the mystique of quantum energetic formulated plant-based skincare for your exalted natural beauty and well-being. Subscribe for a discount promo code, plus get truly unique beauty tips and offers.

Wood element foods are cooling and contracting and prevent leakage of body fluids. If you’ve been indulging in a rich, greasy diet, you’ll want to switch to the Wood element foods at this time. 

Refer to the exhaustive list of Wood foods below.

Additionally, there are some herbs and spices we can use in springtime food prep that have a sour taste: dill, sour jujube fruit, and hawthorn berry.

Certain pungent and sweet foods such as scallion, garlic, cinnamon, fennel and ginger tend to have an expansive, rising quality. They are very nice to add to springtime meals and will help you resist colds and allergies.

As always, avoid or reduce consumption of foods and drinks that have little redeeming value for the body such as deep fried foods, oil, fat (aside from the more beneficial oils and fat content derived from olive, avocado and coconut), salty foods, spicy foods, alcohol, and sweets.

While we slow cooked our food in Winter by preparing stews and hearty soups, best cooking methods for the Spring energetic season are sauté, stir fry, light simmer, blanch, quick boil, pickle, and marinate.

At this time of year, our diet should be the lightest to enable our systems to cleanse and strengthen the body, mind and spirit.

Check out PHYTO5's Wood element skincare line to address imbalance in the skin such as oiliness, blackheads, hyperpigmentation, and issues of vital energy circulation.

Best Foods for Wood Element (in alphabetical order)

• adzuki beans

• almonds

• baby spinach

• barley

• black cherry

• black currant

• blackberry

• celery

• cheese

• chicken

• chives

• cod

• collard greens

• grapefruit

• green beans

• green cabbage

• green tea

• halibut

• hazelnuts

• herring

• leafy greens

• lemon

• lettuce

• lime

• liver

• long string beans

• napa cabbage

• nuts

• oats

• olives

• peas

• pickles

• pineapple

• plums

• raspberry

• rose hips

• rye

• sauerkraut

• scallions

• sour grapes

• sour green apples

• sour green star fruit

• sourdough

• spinach

• sprouts

• tomatoes

• vinegar

• walnuts

• wheat

• yogurt

“Adapting itself to obstacles and bending around them, Wood in the earth grows upward without haste and without rest. Thus too the superior man is devoted in the character and never pauses in his progress.”  – Nei Jing (475-221 B.C.)

 …

Sources:

Nguyen, Phil N. Feng Shui for the Curious and Serious. New Jersey: Xlibris Corporation, 2008. Print.

Thunderhawk, Denise, L. Ac. The 5-Element Guide to Healing with Whole Foods. N.p.: Lulu, 2016. Print.

A List of Foods to Eat for Glowing Skin (+Bonus Recipe!)

Make your skin glow with light enriched foods.

Sunlight puts light into food. That light, when consumed, radiates through the skin. If you want to be sure if the produce you’re eating is filled with light, there’s one rule of thumb: If it's green, you'll glow.

Partake of the mystique of quantum energetic formulated plant-based skincare for your exalted natural beauty and well-being. Subscribe for a discount promo code, plus get truly unique beauty tips and offers.

Eating these is the same as ingesting life-promoting light:

• Sprouts (nice and green ones) including wheatgrass

• Dark, leafy greens

• Green algae: chlorella

• Blue green algae: spirulina and aphanizomenon flos aqua (AFA)

• Seaweeds

• Ceremonial grade match green tea

• Other green teas

Chlorophyll is a green pigment found in all plants, algae and cyanobacteria (blue-green algae). Vital for photosynthesis, chlorophyll allows plants to obtain energy from light by converting the sun’s rays into chemical energy. Since all life on earth—with the exception of some bacteria—is supported by the sun, photosynthesis is a fundamental and essential process.

A More Complete List of Chorophyll-Rich Foods:

• Green and Blue-Green Algae

• Cereal Grasses (wheat, oats, barley, etc.)

• Buckwheat

• Sea Vegetables

• Green Leafy Sprouts

• Spinach

• Asparagus

• Green Bell Peppers

• Broccoli

• Brussels Sprouts

• Green Cabbage

• Celery

• Collard Greens

• Green Beans

• Green Peas

• Kale

• Leeks

• Green Olives

• Parsley

• Romaine Lettuce

• Sea Vegetables

• Swiss Chard

• Turnip Greens

How to Make Matcha Green Tea Latte

First, make your own almond milk from raw imported (not U.S.) almonds by blending one cup of drained and rinsed almonds that have previously been soaked in pure water at least four hours along with two cups of chilled pure water. Run in a high speed blender about 45 seconds. Next, pour through a nut bag to filter out the almond pulp.

Place 3/4 cup of your fresh-made almond milk (or store bought) into a heatproof mug. Add one teaspoon of ceremonial grade matcha green tea. Next pour just-to-boiling water, about 1/4 cup and WHISK briskly together. Add some raw blue agave to sweeten and to taste.

Note: Ceremonial grade matcha green tea is worth what you pay for it. (The lesser grades are used for cooking.)

"Many studies have determined that matcha has 60 percent Epigallocatechin gallate [EGCG]. EGCG is tea's most abundant antioxidant catechin; it is one hundred times more potent than vitamin C, twenty-five times more potent than vitamin E, and may have therapeutic applications in the treatment of many disorders since it aids in the destruction of free radicals." –The Healthy Matcha Cookbook

Matcha is just about the most potent agent against cancer, viruses (studies are now showing even HIV), hepatitis B and C, and bacteria.