The following recipes are nourishing to the wood element, or liver, in five element cooking. The liver is a remarkable organ with tremendous regenerative properties. It stores and nourishes our blood, assists digestion, and carries qi into our muscles and joints. The liver, along with our kidneys, is a major filtration system for toxins. Liver also impacts our hormones, vision, nails and skin. The Chinese consider the liver to be the “General” of the body, a leader from which much of our health or dis-ease can flow. Modern lifestyles place a tremendous load on the liver, as do fatty foods, drugs of all kinds, alcohol and a diet heavy in animal foods.
Liver is associated with the spring. Its peak season runs from March 21 to the summer solstice of June 21. Spring marks a miraculous bursting of energy. Sap, which is nature’s lifeblood, courses through the trees; new life pushes its way up from the depths of the earth, and we are surrounded by a bright sense of renewal and creativity. The color of the wood element is green, its flavor is sour, and the associated organs are gall bladder and liver. Wood dwells in the East. The hours for gall bladder are 11 p.m. to 1 a.m.; liver is 1 to 3 a.m.
Foods that enhance the wood element:
Grains and seeds: wheat, oats, rye, buckwheat, sourdough, flax
Vegetables: broccoli, parsley, lettuce, kale, collard greens, carrots, alfalfa, beets, leeks, zucchini, shiitake mushrooms, artichokes, all leafy greens, celery, beets, sauerkraut
Beans and Pulses: mung, Lima. green lentils, tofu
Fruits: limes, lemons, grapefruit, green apple, sour cherry, avocado, plums, quince, olives, kumquat, rosehips, pineapple, green apple, umeboshi plum
Animal foods: oysters, clams, mussels, trout, mackerel, whitefish, bee pollen, cod liver oil, crab, abalone, eel, cuttlefish
Herbs and spices: Jasmine, purslane, chrysanthemum, nettle, chamomile, cumin, fenugreek peppermint, rosemary, turmeric, dandelion, star anise
Liver is associated with the spring. Its peak season runs from March 21 to the summer solstice of June 21. Spring marks a miraculous bursting of energy. Sap, which is nature’s lifeblood, courses through the trees; new life pushes its way up from the depths of the earth, and we are surrounded by a bright sense of renewal and creativity. The color of the wood element is green, its flavor is sour, and the associated organs are gall bladder and liver. Wood dwells in the East. The hours for gall bladder are 11 p.m. to 1 a.m.; liver is 1 to 3 a.m.
Foods that enhance the wood element:
Grains and seeds: wheat, oats, rye, buckwheat, sourdough, flax
Vegetables: broccoli, parsley, lettuce, kale, collard greens, carrots, alfalfa, beets, leeks, zucchini, shiitake mushrooms, artichokes, all leafy greens, celery, beets, sauerkraut
Beans and Pulses: mung, Lima. green lentils, tofu
Fruits: limes, lemons, grapefruit, green apple, sour cherry, avocado, plums, quince, olives, kumquat, rosehips, pineapple, green apple, umeboshi plum
Animal foods: oysters, clams, mussels, trout, mackerel, whitefish, bee pollen, cod liver oil, crab, abalone, eel, cuttlefish
Herbs and spices: Jasmine, purslane, chrysanthemum, nettle, chamomile, cumin, fenugreek peppermint, rosemary, turmeric, dandelion, star anise
1. Steel Cut Oats with Flax and Fruit
This whole foods recipe for steel cut oats with flax and fruit is great for busy people, because you have the option of soaking them overnight and having breakfast ready for you in the morning. Steel cut oats are chopped whole oats, less processed than our more familiar oatmeal, and leagues ahead of the instant variety. Many people avoid steel cut oats because of the cooking time required, but with this painless recipe you can make a big pot and reheat them as needed.
2. Super Sunrise Citrus Smoothie
This recipe for my super sunrise citrus smoothie is perfect during the peak citrus months. It has a golden base of grapefruit, orange/tangerine and lemon, topped with apple, greens, ginger and a pinch of cayenne. This drink offers an ultra-energizing, liver-cleansing, refreshing sunburst to your day. I call this my peak performance wake-up drink during citrus season.
3. Mango Pineapple Green Smoothie
This Mango Pineapple Green Smoothie recipe is a luscious and buttery smooth green drink that should be made with ripe mangoes in season and golden pineapple for best effect. You can add some Meyer or regular lemon or a bit of fresh ginger root for extra zest. Please remember to use organic produce in any green drink!
4. Ultra Green Smoothie Recipe
This potent green drink smoothie recipe is full of liver cleansing greens, and is guaranteed to give you a pleasant rush of energy and to help move a sluggish digestive system. The banana is an optional addition for those who may not do well with a potent green flavor, as it “softens” the intensity of it. Make sure all of your ingredients are organic please!
5. Provencal Carrot Salad
This simple Provencal carrot salad is seen all over southern France. It is at its best when made with sweet, juicy, bunch carrots, but is good any time of year. It is often served alongside bowls of olives and other vegetable salads, and is a great palate cleanser when made without the garlic. Carrots are beneficial for the lungs, liver, indigestion, and acidic blood. They are one of the best sources of beta-carotene, as is parsley. In addition, parsley is rich in chlorophyll, vitamin C, magnesium and iron. It is excellent for kidney and adrenal function. Mint is excellent for digestion, and is an anti-bacterial herb.
6. Middle Eastern Carrot Salad
This exotic Middle Eastern carrot salad recipe is particularly good with tofu or white fish, and bitter greens. Carrots are beneficial for the lungs, liver, indigestion, and acidic blood. Raisins are rich in iron, and cinnamon and mint are excellent for digestion.
7. Moroccan Spiced Carrot Salad
This lively Moroccan carrot salad recipe can be made with cooked or raw carrots, depending on your mood. Either way, carrots are excellent for the liver, lungs, and digestion, and are enriched by parsley’s abundant chlorophyll.
8. Cleansing Salad of Spring Greens
This light, bright cleansing salad of spring greens is chock full of liver cleansing and boosting ingredients. Lemon juice is not strictly macrobiotic, but is good for the liver and is used for its alkaline properties. This salad helps alkalize our systems and is full of live enzymes. Make sure that all of your veggies are organic.
9. Salad of Bitter Greens with Roasted Squash
This recipe for bitter greens with roasted squash and nuts combines arugula,chicory and baby lettuce; herb roasted squash and toasted tree nuts for a well-rounded, nutritious entrée salad. The greens nourish and cleanse the liver; squash is strengthening for spleen and pancreas.
10. Golden Beets with Baby Mustard Greens
Sweet golden beets pair up with pungent baby mustard greens in this simple cleansing recipe. Baby greens are so tender they don’t need to be cooked, and mustard clears stagnant blood, lung and intestinal congestion. Beets cleanse the blood and nourish the liver, so this combination is perfect for spring.
