Foods to Nourish Earth Element
In Ayurvedic Medicine the Earth Element belongs to the Winter season. In Chinese Classical (Daoist) Medicine, Earth is the Element that marks the transition of Each season. The organ belonging to the Earth Element is the Spleen, and in Chinese Medicine it helps us to digest our food, governs digestive functions, makes blood, creates the Qi from our food that supports our mind and bodies. When the Spleen is sluggish we have more digestive issues, weight gain, feel bloated, weighed down, depressed and fatigued. We may also find it hard to focus and concentrate.
The good news is that through our food we can nurture our Spleen.
In Classical Chinese (Daoist) Nutrition Foods some foods for nurturing the Spleen include:
Jujube fruit (Chinese Red Dates)
Papaya - excellent for the Spleen
Melon - very good to nourishing for Spleen and cooling for summer heat.
Bean curd - harmonizes the Spleen and Stomach
Fermented Soy
All vegetables have a strong ability to nourish the Spleen - so think Sweet Potato, Squash, Pumpkin, Swiss Kale, Bok Choy, and all the many others. Yum.
Something important to remember about the Spleen - the Spleen loves warm foods and hates cold foods. So think, Salads, ice-cream, juicing (too much of it)
Recipe for Jamaican Pumpkin Soup
I grew up with Jamaican Pumpkin soup. It is so yum. There are so many variations of how to make the soup. Many recipes include chicken or beef etc. But, if you are a vegetarian, like me, you can leave the meat out.