@eco-alex's community project this month is cooking for one of the 5 elements in Chinese medicine.

He writes:

This week we are cooking with the Wood Element, which is good for the liver and the gallbladder. The colour associated with the liver and gallbladder is Green and the taste associated with it is Sour. It is also associated with the emotion of Rage. The dishes we make will be good for the liver and gallbladder and will reflect the attributes of the Wood Element.

Last week I enjoyed a TCM yin yoga class focussed on the liver, and laughed that this was always the class people walked out of. It's hard to sit with your emotions when rage or anger or frustration simmers up in the body!

I love syncronicity. I was thinking of this challenge just when I needed it the most - on the weekend not only was I faced with the upcoming work week after a holiday and all the decisions I had to make and the organising I had to do, but was debilitated with a migraine - right behind both eyes and into my temples. I've also had a UTI this week, contracted in Bali, and I've been rather sensitive in that area, as if it's going to come back with a vengeance if I'm not careful. And because of it, I find myself simmering with annoyance - why me, after such a fabulous holiday? Why is my body letting me down? And why the fuck do I have to work for a living!

Hm. Time to calm down and nurture myself I think. Paying attention to my liver meridian can only do me some good. Get that liver chi flowing and me feeling better. Moong soup is perfect for this, both in Chinese and Ayurvedic medicine. It's a great de-tox soup I use when I'm feeling particularly sluggish and emotionally unstable!

The foods that I'll be using for my moong soup are perfect for the liver:

Turmeric

Turmeric is the liver’s favorite spice. Try adding some of this detoxifying goodness into your next lentil stew or veggie dish for an instant liver pick-me-up. Turmeric helps boost liver detoxification by assisting enzymes that actively flush out dietary toxins.[1]

Leafy Greens

Leafy greens are one of our most loved allies, and we've got an abundance of them in the garden, particularly dandelion leaves, silver beet, spinach and coriander. They're great to help detox the liver because they're high in chloroyphyll and soak up enviro toxins from our blood stream. They help increase the flow of bile which takes waste away from the blood. They've got the ability to neutralise heavy metals, chemicals and pesticides, so they're wonderful liver de-tox foods. In Bali I had my fill of green drinks, knowing they'd support me through the stress of travelling, and I'm a little fed up with cold drinks in this cold weather, so my greens will be in a soup.

Lemons

Mum's got lemons dripping off her tree, so I'll be adding lemon to the soup. It's high in Vitamin C of course, and thus anti-oxidants, so it's going to help out with my liver's cleansing ability. I've been drinking litres of water with lemon in it, but the sour element of lemon will also be good for my liver cleansing soup. I'm also a big fan of lemons for making flavour pop out in any dish. Thankfully, my lemon tree has survived the frost thus far this year, so hopefully next year it'll produce more. Lemon trees are all over the place in Australia, so its always easy to find someone with a tree that can spare me some. Most people don't use lemons as much as I do, but I totally love them and use them abundantly.

Coriander

Coriander grows in my garden really well at this time of the year - I shake seeds all over the garden and it springs up wild. It's traditionally used for all sorts of things from indigestion to - guess what!! UTI! It will also make my soup extra green, so yay for coriander. It's another liver supportive herb and great as an antioxidant.

Garlic

I realise the irony of this as I just wrote two posts about how garlic is no longer our ally in this house, but that's more Jamie's issue than mine, and he can't eat moong beans anyway unless sprouted, and besides, this is MY soup. Just a little bit of garlic can activate liver enzymes that help my body flush out toxins, and has allicin and selenium to help cleanse this vital organ.

Ghee and/or Coconut Oil

Ghee might be a bit controversial for vegans, but you can substitute coconut oil if you like. Ghee contains medium-chain fatty acids - the liver absorbs these well and burns straight away, making it a good source of energy. Plus, it gives the soup an extra creaminess.

2 cups of moong beans, soaked overnight in water and drained
2 tsps of turmeric
1 bunch of coriander
Stock to taste
Cummin seeds or cummin powder (about 1 tablespoon)
Honey to taste
Two tablespoons or more of ghee
2 cloves of garlic and 1 onion (optional - can substitue spring onions)
1 cinnamon stick
Green vegetables - 2 - 3 cups
Lemon

Saute the garlic, onions, turmeric, cummin seeds until fragrant. Add green vegetables, moong beans, cinnamon stick, stock and enough water to cover and cook until the moong beans are soft. Transfer to a blender (if you want a less creamy soup, transfer only half) and blend with the bunch of coriander. Return to the pot and heat gently with the remaining ghee. Sometimes I find this soup can taste a little bitter, so I add some honey to it to counter that which works a treat.

Serve with a liberal squeeze of lemon, cracked black pepper (which helps absorb the turmeric) and a lot of love.

Green enough for you?

In Ayurvedic medicine, moong soup is perfect for cleansing or de-toxing, and you can safely eat it for a good few days without any harm to the system. Since I've made such a big pot, I think I'll be eating it all week.

I'll end this post with a quick little yoga note on poses that strengthen and nurture the yin meridians, too. Yin yoga is so perfect for accessing this part of our bodies and I always feel good after it. I'd pose myself, but I'm too full of soup. For each pose, hold for about five minutes, trying to surrender into the pose rather than fight it. We can then work with what's there and observe the flow of energy or prana or chi in our bodies - a 'wit(h)nessing' of body processes. I love how yoga and food work together to support our bodies systems. We have everything we need, right here!

Source

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