Where Nourishment Meets Pleasure
In Chinese medicine winter is governed by the water element and nourishes the kidney and urinary bladder organ systems.
We know the Kidneys govern our bones, marrow, brain, and open into our ears, which is why the lower back, knees, hearing, memory and perception are all read as windows into kidney health.
In five element theory, we also consider colour.
Winter relates to dark blue and black.
So in winter, it's recommended we consume black foods: beetroot, purple carrots, cabbage, black potatoes, black barley, black sesame seeds, seaweed, black salt, mushrooms, and bones, simmered slowly into broth.
The colour of deep soil, of what's held beneath the surface.
Bone broth in particular is one of the most direct ways to replenish the Kidney and adrenal reserves. Slow simmered soups and long, warming cooking are made for this season.
A time for the slow cooker, not the salad.
A bit of my history with food
In my twenties, I had a partnership in Wild Rice café, Melbourne's first vegan macrobiotic cafe (before the Veggie Bar in Fitzroy), in St Kilda. People still ask me for the rice balls recipe!
I thought I knew a thing or two about food, until I moved to Turkey. What an education in food culture that was. With my own complex history and eating disorders, it was especially healing to be encouraged to simply experience pleasure in eating. It's cultural.
Studying nutrition and coaching in New York in 2009 took me even deeper into my relationship with nourishment and my attitude to food, which is fundamental in my work with clients.
With so much information around nutrition and specific regimes, I'm far more interested in how we navigate our relationship with the way we nourish ourselves, than in telling people what to do or how to eat.
Still, there are some genuinely fun perspectives I love sharing.
Eating for the seasons is one of them.
Food has been one of my most intimate teachers.
I wonder, what has food taught you about how you nourish yourself?
If something here speaks to you, you can work with me in person at my clinic in Preston and at The Yin Palace gatherings in Melbourne, or online through my qigong community and Rage Rising. The Three Treasures Pathway is offered both in person and online.
With Love,
Anny 🌹
