Chicken soup is known in many cultures to help prevent and fight-off common colds and flu’s. The broth is deeply nourishing, while the pieces of chicken and vegetables are satisfying and filling. In Chinese medicine, chicken bone broth is said to deeply nourish the kidneys, and are often used in situations where the kidney energy can get tapped – such as: after childbirth, after IVF cycles, a chronic or long-term illness, or as a general health supplement in the winter (which is the season for kidney energy). The “kidney energy” in Chinese Medicine can be likened to adrenal, endocrine and immune function in Western Medicine. After the jump, check out my own recipe for nourishing Chicken Soup.

This soup is a variation on my mother’s recipe and my fiance’s mother’s recipe for home-made chicken soup (learned by observation, trial and error – perfected!). Best part is that once the stock is made, this soup takes less than 45 minutes to prepare – start to finish.

• 2 Split Chicken Breasts, bone-in and skin-on*
• 3 Medium Parsnips, peeled and sliced into circles or half-circles**
• 2 Medium Carrots, washed and sliced into circles or half-circles
• 4 Cloves Minced Garlic
• 1 Medium Yellow Onion, sliced
• 2 Tbsp Olive Oil
• 6-8 Shitake Mushrooms, sliced thin
• 1-inch Slice Fresh Ginger Root
• 2 Bay Leaves
• Salt and Pepper to Taste
• 6 Cups Broth (preferably home-made, vegetable or chicken)
• 1 Cup Pasta or Rice of your choice, cooked and drained (optional)

Prepare broth for soup. In a separate soup-pot, saute onions and garlic in olive oil until tender. Add the carrots and parsnips, cooking together for about a minute. Pour the broth over the vegetables and bring to a simmer, adding the ginger slice, salt, pepper and bay leaves. Once bubbling, place the chicken breasts in, skin-side down. Cover and reduce heat to simmer for 10 min. Turn the breasts around so the bone-side is now down for another 10 minutes.

Remove chicken breasts from the soup and place on a cutting board. Once slightly cooled, remove and discard the skin and bones. Loosely shred the chicken and return to the soup (chicken should be fully cooked). Remove the sliced ginger and bay leaf, and add the shitake mushrooms. Simmer together for 2 minutes and then serve over cooked pasta or on its own.

* I use two chicken breasts because I prefer the white meat in my chicken soup, and I am usually only cooking for 2 so a whole chicken is a little much for us. But a whole chicken can be used. I prefer to keep the skin and bones on so that the essential minerals, nutrients and fats of the chicken absorb into the broth – making it the immune booster it claims to be.

**The parsnips give a nice texture and sweetness to the soup that I think complements the shitake mushroom flavor incredibly well, plus it is a nice way to use a vegetable not commonly called for in other dishes. Celery can also be added or substituted for the parsnips, if preferred.

A wise foodie, Michael Pollan, once said: “You can eat as much junk food as you like, as long as you make it yourself.” From potato chips to french fries  to ketchup, pizza and hamburgers – these foods get decidedly healthier when using organic, local ingredients, whole foods and wholesome fats. Kale chips are an even healthier way to consume essential fiber and vitamins, and they taste amazing. Seriously, they do. I’ll honestly admit that I am not particularly a fan of Kale – sauteed or steamed – it always comes out chewy and woody when I make it. I know how nutritious it is so I make a point of gulping it down. But to have finally found a way to thoroughly enjoy this healthy veggie, what a treat. You can buy these tasty snacks for a whopping $8 per small bag, or you can buy a bunch of Kale for $2.99 and prepare your own stockpile. See my easy recipe after the jump.

Easy Healthy Kale Chips

• 1 Bunch Kale (any variety will do)
• 1 Tbsp Olive Oil
• Sea Salt (to taste)
• Nutritional Yeast (to taste and if desired)

Preheat the oven to 300F. Wash and thoroughly dry the kale. Break, cut or trim the leaves into large pieces, discarding the tough stems and center ribs. Toss the kale in olive oil and lay onto a baking sheet (be sure the kale pieces are NOT overlapping). Bake for 20 minutes, or until crisp. Keep an eye on these guys after about 15min to make sure they don’t over-bake. Depending on the size of the pieces, you may want to flip the chips half way through, but this is not necessarily imperative.

Cool the kale on a baking rack and sprinkle with salt and/or nutritional yeast. The nutritional yeast, often known as Brewer’s Yeast, is high in B vitamins, and gives these kale chips a kind of cheesy-texture. Enjoy!

For a Do-It-Yourself video on how to make kale chips with a recipe similar to the one I’ve adapted above, check out this video by Ask Umbra on Grist.org

During my undergraduate degree I was fortunate enough to write my dissertation while living with a lovely family in Heredia, Costa Rica. I remember Maria, the host mother, making fresh black frijoles (beans) almost daily. The process appeared exhausting: Hours of rinsing, soaking, rinsing again and boiling – careful not to over or under cook them. I was truly thankful to incorporate this lovely food into my diet at the time, but never learned the process for preparing them myself. Once I moved out of that lovely haven of home-cooked food, it was back to canned beans for ease and convenience (but certainly not taste). Until recently…

I’ve been reading about all the important nutrients lost in the canning process, and how cooking beans at home is actually not all that complicated or time consuming. And, probably the most encouraging news of all, in addition to being better for you and a more cost-effective option – they taste WAY better. So here is what I’ve learned over the past month about cooking beans from scratch, enjoy after the jump.

Incredible Powerful Food

Legumes, or beans, are an important part to any diet – wheather vegan to carnivore – as they supply an array of trace minerals, folate, vitamins, fiber, protein and carbohydrates. They are nearly a complete food in and of themselves, and can be prepared in a multitude of ways – such as boiling into soup, pureed into spreads, sauteed into stir-fry, chilled into salad or simply scooped onto the plate as a healthy side dish. In Chinese nutritional therapy, beans are deeply nourishing to the kidneys and a great way to supplement essential nutrition from a vegetable source.

However you choose to enjoy them, the preparation in the beginning is the same. Dried beans in their unaltered state are inedible – much like brown rice or other grains. Begin preparing your beans in the format below, and adjust the final cooking time as appropriate for your desired dish. You’ll notice that unlike the soggy counterpart often found in canned beans, home-cooked beans retain their texture and flavor better. They are also easier to digest as the soaking process reduces gas and increased nutritional availability.

Step One: Soaking The Beans

No matter what type of bean you choose, they will need to be soaked for 8-12 hours before cooking. On a very basic level, this will help to soften the hard bean and reduce cooking time and also deeply clean any debris or tannins from the food. More importantly, this step increases nutritional absorption by breaking down anti-nutrients such as phytic acid and indigestible complex sugars (oligosaccharides). Phytic Acid is found in the hulls of seeds, nuts and grains. It is not harmful in and of itself, but is binds with essential minerals in foods such as zinc and iron rendering those unavailable to the body that consumes them. Soaking, cooking and fermenting foods containing phytic acid neutralizes its binding effect so the minerals are left available to the body.

1)  Pour 2 Cups of Beans into a large mixing bowl

2)  Add enough filtered water to cover the beans by 3-4 inches

3)  Add 2 Tbsp of Cider (or other) Vinegar, Lemon Juice or fresh Whey to the liquid and briefly stir

4)  Let the beans soak on the counter overnight (8-12 hours) – add more water if needed (this will depend on the type of bean your using)

Cooking The Beans

Once the beans have soaked, you’ll notice that they have expanded in size and left a murky color to the water. At this time, it is important to drain the beans thoroughly and rinse them – clearing away all the junk. Once well rinsed, place the beans in a large pot and cover with clean filtered water by about an inch. Add salt, seaweed, or other spice as desired. Bring to a low boil and cook for an hour to an hour and a half. Cooking time will vary depending on the type of bean and quantity. Once your beans have reached your desired tenderness, store and prepare them as you choose. I like to strain them and fry in a little coconut oil, garlic and fresh vegetable. To save time and enjoy your beans later, store a portion of the cooked beans in the freezer for a later recipe.

Beans truly aren’t as putsy as I thought – they can soak while I sleep and cook while I answer emails. And there are leftovers for all week long. Enjoy!

Yams For Your Health

In Chinese medicine, sweet potatoes are known for their spleen tonifying ability. The spleen is responsible for the digestion of all the food we take in, and then transporting the nutritional content throughout the body for healthful use. The energy of a healthy spleen is strong – maintaining metabolic function for the whole body and able to stand up against suppressants like stress and poor diet. In order for the spleen to properly coordinate this important function, it requires tonification through various means – such as acupuncture treatments, herbal tonics and nutritional therapy. To nutritionally keep your spleen happy and functioning at its best, sweet potatoes are one of the best foods.

In addition to the systemic benefits of sweet potatoes from the Chinese Medicine perspective, they are packed with beta carotene – an antioxidant that reduces aging and inflammation (just like pumpkins and other orange veggies). So not only are you benefiting the harmonious state of your digestive system by including sweet potatoes in your diet, but you are also adding rich beautifying agents to your health care regimen. The best way your body can absorb these important nutrients, which are fat soluble, is to add butter to your sweet potatoes. Lucky for us, this recipe takes care of that pairing for us.

Delicious Sweet Potato Bake

• 5 sweet potatoes
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup real butter
• 2 whole eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 cup agave syrup
• 2 tablespoons organic half and half

• 1/4 cup real butter, softened
• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
• 1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
• 1/2 cup chopped pecans

1. Clean sweet potatoes, leaving most of the skin on and slice into large pieces.
2. Boil sweet potato chunks until soft and cooked through, drain from the pot and place potatoes into a large mixing bowl.
3. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease a 9×13 inch baking dish.
4. In the large bowl, mash the sweet potatoes and add salt, 1/4 cup butter, 2 eggs, vanilla extract, cinnamon, agave, and half/half. Transfer to the prepared baking dish.
5. In a medium bowl, combine 1/4 cup butter, flour, brown sugar, spices and chopped pecans. Mix with a pastry blender or your fingers to the consistency of course meal. Sprinkle over the sweet potato mixture.
6. Bake 30 minutes in the preheated oven, until topping is crisp and lightly browned.*

*May store completed dish in the refrigerator for one day before baking. Only bake when ready to serve.

Tumeric Rhizome; Curcumae; Yu Jin

The active ingredient in Tumeric is cucumin, long known for its anti-inflammatory effects – an important factor in many modern ailments. More recently, the herb has been discovered to be useful in the treatment and prevention of various types of cancer (melanoma, breast and prostate have the most statistical research), Alzheimer’s, psoriasis, fat metabolism, depression and pain management. In Chinese medicine, Tumeric (Yu Jin) is often used in gynecological formulas for the treatment of painful periods, fibroids or endometriosis. Thanks to the modern spice cabinet, you can incorporate this herb into your diet without a prescription.

Tumeric Chicken

2 Organic Chicken Breasts, Sliced into 1-inch strips, and placed in a ziplock bag

Add to the bag:

1 Tbsp Olive Oil

1 Tbsp Tamari Sauce

1 Tbsp Agave Syrup

1 tsp Ground Tumeric

1 tsp Freshly Cracked Pepper

1 Tbsp Sesame Seeds

Salt to Taste

Mix the contents of the ziplock bag thoroughly and place in the fridge for at least 1 hour. Pour entire contents of the bag onto a heated skillet/frying pan and saute until chicken is cooked through.

Veggie Option:

For those eating a vegetarian diet, try the above recipe with cauliflower florets instead of chicken. The flavor is amazing, and the cauliflower will boost anti-cancer effects.

In an effort to honor the transitional nature of fall (and provide a yummy breakfast in the process), I prepared home-made banana-fig muffins.  Melding the tropical bananas of summer with fresh fall figs to make a nourishing and hearty sweet-bread.  The coconut oil can be substituted with any vegetable oil, but then you’d be missing out on these important benefits.  Did you know that it helps to maintain healthy cholesterol levels, promote weight loss, stabilize metabolism levels and support immune function? It is truly an amazing (and under-utilized) oil.  These muffins are extra delicious served slightly toasted with goat-butter and a cup of earl gray tea.

BANANA-FIG MUFFINS

3-4 ripe bananas, peeled

1/2 Cup Virgin Coconut Oil

2 Eggs

1 Tsp Vanilla

1 Cup Brown Sugar (loosely measured, not firmly packed)

12 Fresh Figs

1 Tsp Baking Soda

1 Tsp Baking Powder

Dash of Salt

2 Cups Flour

Preheat oven to 350 Degrees F.  Using a hand mixer, blend together the bananas and oil, add the sugar and vanilla until smooth.  Incorporate the eggs one by one.  Slice 6 figs into halves and place in the batter, sprinkle the mixture with salt, baking powder and soda.  Blend until figs are fully incorporated into the mixture and powders are dissolved.  Using a large spoon, slowly incorporate the flour.  Lightly grease 12 muffin molds and fill 2/3 full with batter.  With remaining 6 figs, slice them into quarters, nestling 2 quarter-pieces on the top of each muffin for garnish.  Bake for about 35 minutes, or until a knife inserted into muffin comes out clean.  Enjoy!