Winter Recipe for Kidneys - Fox Nut Rice Pudding
By NourishU
Kidney/Bladder Disease
Kidney deficiency is the cause of many illnesses and over 80% of people have a certain degree of kidney deficiency. Cold hands and feet, lack of energy, ringing in the ears, sexual dysfunction, joint pain, menstrual disorder, prostate problems, back pain, hearing impairment, premature aging, incontinent are some typical examples.
Winter time is the best season to preserve and promote kidney health. Eating black color food such as black beans is good for kidney. Salty taste can benefit kidney but too much can damage kidney too. Kidney stones are formed by the buildup of substances which crystallized into stone-like deposits. Diets high in protein and lack of exercise will result in severe overall net calcium loss and increase calcium presented to the kidneys. Western doctors’ advice in reducing the burden and workload of the kidney is by eating a diet low in meat, high in carbohydrate, restricted salt and drink plenty of water to dissolve smaller stones. And by avoiding peanut, chestnut, soy, asparagus, spinach, corn and egg and eating more celery, apple, pear, and beans.
The symptoms of a kidney infection are a sore throat, fever, lower back pain, tiredness, fatigue, thirst and loss of appetite. When there is edema, the volume of urine decreases and so is the blood pressure. Infections of the urinary tract are more common in females than males. It could be due to poor hygiene or food allergy. Bacteria grow more easily in alkaline than in acid urine and vitamin C can promote acid urine and also improve immunity.
The food treatment for kidney infection should include a low-sodium and high protein diets such as fish, meat, egg and soy products. Water intake should be increased. Diuretic foods such as watermelon, winter melon, black bean, broad bean, see qua, and small red bean are effective in expelling dampness. Corn silk and corn kernel cook with water to make tea can alleviate urinary tract or bladder infection. Grape juice can treat female urinary tract infection. Avoid spicy foods, garlic, and chive.
The other kidney dysfunctions include frequent urination, nephritis, leukorrhea in women, and nocturnal emission and spermatorrhea in men.
According to Chinese medicine, kidney problems are caused by yang deficiency, spleen, and heart deficiency. Emission is induced by excessive fire due to yin deficiency, weakness of kidney qi or the descent of heat-dampness. Treatments include nourishing kidney yin, removing fire, clearing heat and dissipating dampness.
Fox Nut Rice Pudding
Dried Fox Nut Seeds
Symptoms
- Frequent urination especially at night
- enuresis
- whitish and turbid urine
- nocturnal emission
- leukorrhea
Therapeutic Effects
Tonify kidney and spleen, preserve essence, strengthen the muscles that control urination, relieve diarrhea.
Ingredients (2 Servings)
- Fox nut (qian shi) 芡實 - 120gm
- Sticky rice powder - 6gm
1. Wash fox nut and soak with 2 cups of water for 4 hours.
2. Pour fox nut and water into a grinder and grind it into a fine paste. Add sticky rice powder and mix well.
3. Pour mixture into a small pan and cook over medium-low heat to become a thick soup (about 10 minutes). Stir frequently and add water if necessary.
4. Add a little salt to serve.
Usage
Eat half before dinner and the other half one hour before bedtime. Continue for 10 days as one course of treatment. If necessary, continue up to one month or two to see a complete recovery.
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If you would like a downloadable information sheet that will tell you all about how to live in harmony with the Winter Season in Chinese Medicine, you can find it here - The Winter Season in Chinese Medicine.
Beautiful featured image photo by Julien Pianetti on Unsplash
Winter Congee Recipe for Colds & Flu
Congee
Traditionally known as hsi-fan or rice water, congee is eaten throughout China as a breakfast food. It is a thin porridge or gruel consisting of a handful of rice simmered in five to six times the amount of water. Although rice is the most common grain for congees, millet, spelt or other grains are sometimes used. Cook the rice and water together in a covered pot for four to six hours on warm, or use the lowest flame possible; a crockpot works very well for congees. It is better to use too much water than too little, and the longer the congee cooks, the more powerful it becomes.
Healing Properties
This simple rice soup is easily digested and assimilated, tonifies the blood and qi, harmonizes the digestion and is demulcent, and nourishing. It is also useful for increasing a nursing mother’s supply of milk. The liquid can be strained from the porridge to drink as a supplement for infants and for serious conditions.
Other therapeutic properties may be added to the congee by cooking appropriate vegetables, grains, herbs or meats in with the rice water. Since rice itself strengthens the Spleen-Pancreas digestive centre, other foods added to a rice congee become more completely assimilated, and their properties are therefore enhanced. Listed below are some of the more common rice based congees and their specific effects.
- Aduki Bean - Diuretic, curative for edema and gout
- Carrot - Digestive aid, eliminates flatulence
- Celery - Cooling in summer, benefits the large intestine
- Water Chestnut - Cooling to viscera, benefits digestive organs
- Duck or Carp Broth - Reduces edema and swelling
- Fennel - harmonizes the stomach, expels gas, cures hernia
- Ginger - warming and antiseptic to viscera, used for deficient COLD digestive weakness: diarrhea, anorexia, vomiting and indigestion
- Leek - warming to viscera, good for chronic diarrhea
- Mustard - Expels phlegm, clears stomach congestion
- Black Pepper - expels gas, recommended for pain in bowels
- Poppy Seed - relieves vomiting and benefits the large intestine
- Purslane - detoxifies, recommended for rheumatism and swellings (phlegm)
- Radish - Digestant, benefits the diaphragm
- Pickled Radish - benefits digestion and blood
- Taro Root - nutritious, aids the stomach, builds blood
Congee Recipe
Use 1 1/2 cups of uncooked rice, unless you already have some cooked rice in your fridge. You’ll have to extend the cooking time to 1-1/2 to 2 hours with uncooked rice, but you will be rewarded with a bowl of yummy goodness that is soothing both spiritually and physically. There are so many things that you can add to congee that add both flavour and texture to the final dish. You can refer to the list above or see what you have in the fridge and be creative!
Time: About 1 hour
Makes: 4 servings
Ingredients
- 2 cups cooked white rice
- 5 cups water
- 1/2 pound chicken bones or 2 chicken thighs
- 3, 1/4-inch-thick slices fresh ginger
- 1 plump clove garlic, smashed
- 1 green onion, tied into a knot
- 1/4 of a whole yellow or red onion
- Soy sauce, salt, and white pepper to taste
- Sesame oil and/or kecap manis for drizzling (optional)
Garnishes:
- Shredded chicken (from the thighs above or leftovers)
- Green onions, chopped
- Fried garlic
- Fried shallots
Directions
- In a medium pot, combine the rice, water, chicken bones, ginger, garlic, green onion, onion and bring to a boil over high heat. Skim off any scum or foam that rises to the surface.
- Reduce heat to low and cover. Simmer for 1 hour, stirring occasionally so that the rice doesn’t stick to the bottom of pot and burn.
- If using chicken thighs, remove them after 20 minutes and scrape off the meat and shred or chop. Set the meat aside and return the bones to the pot. Continue cooking for another 40 minutes or so.
- When the rice grains are swollen and the mixture is as thick as oatmeal, the congee is ready. If it gets too thick, add more water. If it’s too thin, cook it until it reaches the desired smoothness and thickness.
- Remove the bones, ginger, garlic, green onion and onion. Add soy sauce, salt, and white pepper to taste.
- Ladle into individual bowls, drizzle with sesame oil, and garnish as desired.
Winter Congee Recipe for Colds & Flu : Chinese Medicine Living
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If you would like a downloadable information sheet that will tell you all about how to live in harmony with the Winter Season in Chinese Medicine, you can find it here - The Winter Season in Chinese Medicine.
The 5 Best Foods for Colds & Flu in Chinese Medicine
By Emma Suttie, D.Ac, AP
Eat. Your. Medicine.
The changing of the seasons, especially the transition from warm to cold weather makes everyone more susceptible to colds and flu. The good news is that nutritional therapy is one of the pillars of Chinese medicine and contains a huge arsenal of foods for combating colds and flu. There are also a great many foods and herbs that build the immune system which will help you get over your cold or flu, as well as make sure that you get through the rest of cold and flu season with the best health possible. Below are the most effective foods for dealing with colds and flu in Chinese medicine. Remember, Chinese medicine has been around for thousands of years, so these have been used for a long time and they really work. ;)
1. Congee
This image from seriouseats.com
Congee or "Jook" is a like the Chinese version of chicken soup. It is a traditional breakfast in China, as well as an all purpose remedy when we are sick. Congee is made with rice and water (about a 1:10 ratio of rice to water). Other ingredients are added depending on what type of cold or flu you have, whether it is a heat type with symptoms like severe fever, mild chills, sore throat, sweating, and thirst, or the cold type with symptoms of severe chills, profuse, clear discharge from the nose, mild fever, no sweat, headache and general aching. White rice is very easy to digest which makes the spleen happy and is less work for the body when should be directing all its energy to fighting the pathogen. Congee is also delicious, nutritious and you can eat it any time of the year, but it is generally eaten in the colder months for its warming and nourishing properties. Here are some delicious congee recipes you can try.
2. Ginger
Ginger is one of the most widely used herbs in Chinese medicine. It has so many medicinal uses, that you should always keep some in your kitchen! Ginger is a very warming herb and has a pungent flavour. It acts on the lungs, spleen and stomach. Ginger warms the middle burner which stops vomiting and warms the lungs to stop cough. Its actions are to direct heat from inside the body to the outside, helping to resolve fever by inducing sweating. Adding a couple of slices of raw ginger to some boiling water and drinking it as a tea is a good way resolve a fever by increasing sweating. Another excellent way to use ginger when you have a cold or flu is to grate some fresh ginger and put it in a old sock, tie a knot in the top and throw it into a warm bathtub. This is a very good way to stimulate sweating and break a fever. It will also leave you smelling delicious.
Here is a nice infographic that lists some of ginger's healing properties.
this lovely infographic from mindbodygreen.com
3. Bone Broth
this image from barebonesbroth.com
Many traditional cultures use bone broths because of their numerous healing properties, and in Chinese medicine they are powerful Qi and blood tonics. One of the reasons that bone broths are so good for our health is that they are cooked using the bone marrow of the animal, and the marrow in Chinese medicine is produced by the kidneys and contain kidney Jing. Jing is something that we get from our parents at birth, and it is very precious and vital to good health. Things like working too hard (or partying too hard), not sleeping enough, being under a lot of stress for extended periods of time and childbirth are things that we can deplete Jing. Women lose Jing having too many babies too close together without time to recover, and men lose Jing from ejaculation, but bone broth is a way we can rebuild our Jing essence. Depleted Jing causes premature and accelerated aging. This is why living a balanced lifestyle is so important! Preserving precious Jing is the goal when it comes to health and longevity. Consuming bone broth therefore is extremely tonifying to Jing as it is literally made of Jing. Bone broth is also excellent to stimulate the immune system, so its a good choice when you are suffering from any ailment, especially colds and flu.
4. Honey
this image from thespiritscience.net
Honey is sweet in flavour and its energy is neutral. Honey acts on the spleen, stomach, lung and large intestine. Honey tonifies the Qi of the middle burner as well as the lungs, relieves spasms and alleviates pain. It is very moistening to the inside of the body, so it is very good to use when you have extreme heat which is very drying. Honey lubricates the bowels to promote bowel movements, detoxifies, lowers blood pressure and slows down the acute symptoms from colds and flu. It is indicated particularly for chronic cough and constipation. Honey has the added benefits of:
- boosts the immune system
- relieves coughs & sore throat
- heals wounds & burns
- helps to heal ulcers
- relieves constipation
- improves sleep
- boosts athletic performance
5. Garlic
this image from livingtraditionally.com
Garlic is one of the most widely used herbs in the world for its numerous healing properties. It is used in Ayurvedic medicine (the traditional medicine of India), Chinese medicine (which is super awesome and my personal favourite) and the traditional medicine of much of Europe. In Chinese medicine it first appeared in Chinese texts more than 2000 years BCE as an effective treatment for poisoning. It is also known for its ability to treat infection and cleansing the body of pathogens. Garlic is considered a warming herb in Chinese medicine, and is used to aid the spleen and stomach in digestion and aids to expel harmful microorganisms. It is known to cleanse the blood of cholesterol and is a powerful immune booster. Here are some more of garlic's amazing healing properties:
- Anti-bacterial
- Anti-microbial
- Anti-fungal
- Anti-viral
- Anti-parasitic
- Commonly used to treat infections of the upper respiratory tract
- Taken preventatively for infectious conditions, both digestive and respiratory
- Reduces blood pressure
- Reduces blood cholesterol
- Used to treat worms (ringworm and threadworm)
- Promotes circulation
- Promotes sweating
- Eliminates yeasts, including Candida albicans
- Inhibits viruses and other micro-organisms associated with degenerative diseases like cancer
- Eliminates toxins from the body, including poisonous metals like cadmium and lead
- A drop of garlic oil in the ear canal once a day relieves ear infections
- A poultice made of garlic draws out swelling from boils
- Eliminates worms
- Used for dysentery, snake bites, warts, hepatitis, asthma, tuberculosis, hay fever, asthma and diarrhea
- When traveling eating a clove of raw garlic before suspected food or water will protect against dysentery
- Eating a clove of raw garlic a day will protect against colds and flu
- Garlic tea relieves poison ivy, poison oak and nettle stings
- Promotes the growth of healthy intestinal bacteria
One thing to note about garlic is that the medicinal parts exist in the oils which is where all the strong smells are, so using garlic pills with no smell doesn't really work. You are missing all the good healing parts. One of the best ways that I know to use garlic is to take a clove and crush it into a spoon and take it raw. It is intense, but it is the best way to make sure you are getting all the healing benefits. You can do this daily as a preventative, or at the first signs that you are coming down with something. You might want to make sure that you have some juice to chase it with, and even though it is intense, it works to ward off illness almost every time.
For some information on garlic and its incredible healing properties, you can read - Why Garlic is Your New BFF. :)
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The 5 Best Foods for Colds & Flu in Chinese Medicine : Chinese Medicine Living
Chicken and Corn Congee
Congee is known by a few names - hsi-fan (translated to rice water), or jook. It is traditionally eaten in China, and is especially nourishing to the spleen and stomach, so is often recommended in situations where there is spleen deficiency. Congee is especially good for us in fall and winter as it is warming and you may add many different ingredients to the congee depending on healing properties and your personal taste. Congees are also recommended for when there is cold or flu, as they are very nourishing to the body and easy to digest.
Congee consists of rice with between six to ten times the amount of water cooked very slowly until it becomes a sort of porridge. The cooking time should be between four and six hours. It is thought that the longer the congee cooks, the more powerful it is. Congee is used as the base and the other ingredients are added at the end. There are a multitude of choices when it comes to congee, so it is good to experiment and see what delicious flavours you can come up with.
Although rice is the most common grain used, other grains may also be used, such as millet or spelt.
Chicken and Corn Congee
Ingredients
2 Chicken Legs (or breasts if you like)
1 cup white rice
8 cups water
1 can corn (fresh corn is always better if you can manage it)
4 cloves garlic, smashed
3 small leeks, chopped (only the whites)
1/4 cup green onion, finely chopped
1/4 cup fresh coriander (cilantro) leaves, finely chopped
1 tsp rice wine vinegar
2 tbsp soy sauce
Directions
Put rice in a bowl, cover with water and let soak for 1 hour, then rinse until the water runs clear. Drain.
In a large soup pot combine chicken, green onions, leeks, garlic, cilantro and 7 cups of water. Bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to a simmer and cook until the chicken is fall-from-the-bone-tender, 1 to 1 1/2 hours. Remove the chicken and set aside to cool.
Add rice to pot along with 2 cups of water (you want approx. 8 cups total). Bring to a boil and simmer stirring often until a porridge consistency. Add soy sauce and rice wine vinegar during cooking to taste. Shred chicken into bite sized pieces and discard skin and bones. Add 1 can corn and chicken to pot after 1 hour and simmer on low heat for another 30 mins, stirring constantly so the rice doesn't burn. Serve and garnish with some chopped green onions & cilantro. Add a few drops of soy sauce to taste.
