The Summer Diet: Eat In Harmony With The Seasons To Stay Healthy Year Round, Part 1 - Chinese 5-Elements
The Summer Diet
The summer diet takes advantage of the bounty of fresh fruits and vegetables that ripen this time of year, just in time to help balance the humidity and heat of summer. Freshly ripened, locally grown peaches, plums and apricots ooze with a juicy, sweet, slightly sour nectar that may drip down our chin and hands as we bite into them. Berries fill our breakfast and dessert plates, making their way into pancakes, muffins and healthier homemade desserts, quick breads or even in salads.
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| If you love tomatoes, you may also love this simple Gazpacho Soup recipe! |
Speaking of salads, they become more enticing as a main entrée this time of year, don't they? Filled with crunchy cucumbers, juicy, watery tomatoes, and possibly some of those peaches or berries, they are ideal additions to the summer diet as they quench our thirst, and moisten dryness from the summer heat. Especially my super easy and refreshing Peach, Cucumber & Tomato Salad.
Add the best summer diet whole grains and legumes, raw, steamed or grilled vegetables, and some nuts or seeds to your salad bowl for a SASSY ~ Super Affordable, Simple, Satisfying & Yummy ~ summertime entrée. I have over 150 recipes, including several Big Bowl recipes in Make Every Bite Count ~ The SASSY ~ Produce-Rich, Plant-Based Path to Health (or simply, MEBC) 2nd edition now available on Kindle.
To learn which whole grains are the BEST choices for the summer diet, and WHY, along with the best vitamin C-rich, thirst quenching and heart healthy beverages, and more meal ideas to keep you cool and balanced throughout the summer, be sure to read The Summer Diet, Part 2.
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| Grilled Marinated Summer Squares, Eggplant, Portobello Mushrooms & Pineapple are delicious as part of a summer sandwich (shown below) or as part of a big salad bowl with whole grains or beans |
Sandwiches, Pasta Salads, Steamed or Air-Fried Potatoes and Potato Salads, Grain Salads, Red Cabbage Salad or Coleslaw, grilled burgers, Gazpacho Soup, veggies and hummus, and fresh fruit are also easy to prepare for al fresco dining.
Grab some great summer diet fare, and head to your local park, beach, or your patio or deck and enjoy the summer vibes during this most fiery hot and active time of year.
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| Free the Chicken Salad made with seasoned and air-fried tofu, diced veggies and all the condiments, herbs and spices you love in a (mock) Chicken Salad - so hearty, you won't miss the chicken! |
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| Gazpacho, super refreshing summer diet soup! |
Perhaps the quintessential fruits of the summer diet are the variety of big juicy melons, and the vegetable (or grain) that is practically synonymous with summer is sweet corn, which can be enjoyed raw, steamed, grilled, added to salsas, salads, or cooked into a light Corn Chowder Soup.
I love grilled or steamed corn-on-the-cob with a little smear of umeboshi paste. It's really awesome!
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| Nothing says 'summer diet' like fresh sweet corn - Delicious with Umeboshi Plum Paste! |
You all instinctively know what the summer diet is, and you don't need me to write an article about it, do you? We all live for these gifts from Mother Earth this time of year! That said, enjoying the juicy fruits of the summer diet this time of year does more than tantalize the taste buds, and keep you cool!
The Summer Diet - A Chinese Food Therapy & Macrobiotic Perspective
Let's explore why these foods are so beneficial to us this time of year, and why eating seasonally is an important component of maintaining a healthy immune system year round from a macrobiotic and Chinese food therapy perspective.
Overview of the Fire Element - The Heart, Small Intestine, Pericardium & Triple Burner
Summer is the season associated with the Fire element. The paired organs associated with the Fire element are the Heart and Small Intestines. Two other channels related to Fire include the Heart Protector (Pericardium) and the Triple Burner (San Jiao) channels, equally important, but without associated organs.
In traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), each organ, or paired organ system, plays a role in the physical as well as mental and emotional functioning of the entire human system, metaphorically described as a kingdom.
In this kingdom, the Heart is the king, or Supreme Controller, sometimes referred to as the Emperor. The sensory organ associated with the Heart in Chinese 5-Elements is the Tongue, and the emotions is Joy. An excess of joy ~ such as mania ~ and a total lack of it ~ as seen when we are depressed ~ are both indicative of an imbalance in the Fire element.
Symptoms of imbalance from a Chinese medicine perspective include palpitations, shortness of breath, insomnia, manic-depressive states, extreme fatigue ~ seen in other syndromes including Qi Deficiency, Spleen Qi Deficiency and Blood Deficiency patterns ~ and irritability.
In TCM, we say the function of the Small Intestine is to 'separate the pure from the impure' or 'the clear from the turbid.' Nutrients are extracted from the mostly digested food, and the wastes are passed on through to the large intestine.
The Pericardium and San Jiao channels run up the middle of the inside and outside of our arms, respectively, and are used in TCM to treat a variety of disorders, most notably nausea, or anxiety and insomnia on the Pericardium channel; and constipation, or wrist, arm or shoulder pain on the San Jiao channel, which also helps regulate the flow of Qi and heat throughout each of our upper, middle, and lower jiao channels of our entire torso. An inability to stay warm can indicate a deficiency in the San Jiao, or Triple Heater channel ~ and an overall deficiency in the Fire element.
The color associated with the Fire element is...you guessed it...red. The corresponding flavor is bitter.
These are just a few of the associations with the Fire element. (Click here for a chart of the seasons, colors, flavors, emotions, organs and physiological systems associated with each of the five elements.)
The Summer Diet and Living Our Dreams - Food For Thought!
A branch of the Small Intestine channel runs up to the eyes, reflecting one's Shen, or Spirit. According to traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), in addition to circulatory functions of the Heart, it is also said to house our 'shen' or spirit. I find it interesting that the early Taoists associated the small intestine with the heart, as one organ (the heart) helps us discern what is good and pure (spiritually speaking), and aligned with our soul's desires and core values, while its associated organ (the small intestine) aids with the function to physically discern, or separate the pure from the impure. Someone who has good energy and vitality ~ and sparkling eyes ~ is said to have 'good shen.'
When we consume too much 'toxic' food ~ whether physical or mental food such as fear-based news, negative thought patterns, self-doubts, etc. ~ we feel off-center, unsteady, confused, imbalanced, and insecure, or unsure of ourselves. In Chinese medicine, we refer to this as being shen disturbed.
Consider the common advice to 'follow your heart.' One of our lessons as embodied Spirits is to make that sometimes long journey from our head, to our heart, which is associated with the fourth chakra. It marks the center point, below which are three chakras, or energy centers dealing with our base physical needs, our sexuality, and our personal identity. The heart opens us up to a higher consciousness, and more universal truths. An open heart allows us to have both self-love, and compassion and love for all life.
We feel more integrated, whole, and joyful when we use our intellect combined with our intuition to systematically achieve our goals and true desires, and when we live in harmony with our core values.
In macrobiotics, we believe that what we eat helps us facilitate living our dreams. That's powerful stuff!
What Happens if We Don't Adopt a Summer Diet?
If we don't follow the principles of eating harmoniously with the seasons ~ if we consume too many warming foods, or foods prepared that promote excess heat and/or dampness, such as too much fried and heavy, rich foods, overly salty foods, and too much alcohol during the hot months ~ we overheat. When we overheat, we feel more irritable. When we are irritable, we become more restless, or, to use Hip Chick's Guide to Macrobiotics author Jessica Porter's word, 'twitchy.'
If there happens to be a power outage during a heat wave like we recently experienced, sleeping can be quite the challenge without air conditioning or a ceiling fan! Too little sleep, especially from being over heated, or being out all day during high winds can definitely cause shen disturbance! And the cycle continues! (You may also like my article about the practical application of Chinese 5-Elements Theory in your life.)
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| Fresh picked purple potatoes from the farmer's market ~ Steamed, and waiting to morph into a Potato Salad! |
Eating In Harmony with the Seasons and The Summer Diet
In Changing Seasons Macrobiotic Cookbook, Cooking in Harmony with Nature, Aveline Kushi states:
In addition to eating according to our physical structure and traditional dietary practices, it is important for us to eat in a way that brings our condition into harmony with the environment around us. This can be done by relying primarily on foods that are grown in a climate similar to the one in which we live and by adjusting our selection f foods and cooking methods to accommodate the changing of the seasons.
We harmonize with our environment ~ such as adopting a Summer Diet to accommodate for the increased humidity and higher temperatures, depending upon one's geographic location ~ by adjusting the types of food we select to eat, and how we prepare them.
While the Spring Diet is a mix of foods and cooking styles ~ adapted to the fluctuating temperatures and spring winds ~ the Summer Diet helps us stay cool to prevent summer stroke, and avoid a build up of internal dampness that can cause us to feel saturated like a sponge from the humidity. (Ladies, you know, it's that swollen feeling we get where even our rings are hard to remove!)
We start to incorporate more sprouts, spring peas, and soft leafy greens in the spring to help decongest the liver from any excess fat accumulated over the winter. The slightly bitter flavor of greens still hold prominence in the Summer Diet where the bitter flavor ~ in the right balance ~ benefits the heart.
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| Couscous topped with a Peach Aspic, a vegan gelatin-like texture made from agar seaweed |
Foods AND Cooking Styles for The Summer Diet
Who wants to spend much time in a hot kitchen during the summer time? The Summer Diet utilizes quicker cooking methods, and quicker cooking whole grains ~ such as quinoa, bulgur, and couscous ~ and noodles (like Soba noddles) to minimize the heat inside the kitchen, and transferred into our food. Potassium-rich potatoes, celery and barley also helps us drain excess dampness in the body.
Quick Blanching is one of my favorite ways to prepare greens and vegetables throughout the year, especially in the spring and summer.
For an even SIMPLER, or should I say, more SASSY ~ Super Affordable, Simple, Satisfying & Yummy ~ way to prep greens and veggies like broccoli and cauliflower is to place them rinsed and chopped into a heat proof bowl, and pour boiling water on top. Cover with a plate, and let sit a few minutes. This takes the raw edge off, and from here they can be enjoyed as is, or quickly sautéed or stir-fried with garlic, herbs and spices as desired. Taking this step requires minimal effort, but they cook faster and taste more tender when quickly quick boiled / blanched first.
Steaming, Quick Boiling (QB), sautéing, and stir-frying utilize high heat, which may seem counter intuitive, yet the shorter cooking time means the heat doesn't penetrate as much into the food, making it an ideal cooking method for the Summer Diet. Contrarily, slow roasting or baking are more ideal for the fall and winter diet.
Brown Rice & Corn - A Summer Diet Favorite Grain Combo
A great way to take advantage of the summer sweet corn is to cook it with brown rice. It's soooo sweet and delicious, you really must give it a try. For an especially sweet Brown Rice & Corn, you can remove the corn from 2 corn cobs, and set it aside. Place the cobs in 4 cups of water, or enough to cover, and let it simmer for 15-20 minutes. Use this water to cook the rice.
For the Brown Rice & Corn, rinse and soak 2 cups of brown rice. (We soak the rice overnight.) Place in a pressure cooker, or cook it in a pot during the peak summer months. Add the corn, and 1/2-3/4 teaspoon of sea salt. Bring to a boil, then turn low and let simmer, covered for about 40-45 minutes. It helps to place the rice on a flame deflector (or heat diffuser, like this one which we use) to prevent scorching the grain at the bottom of the pot.
Let the rice sit for 5+ minutes before removing the lid. Then stir the rice from the bottom of the pot up to the top with a wooden rice paddle to ventilate it.
Serve with a small bit of umeboshi plum paste, and a nori sheet, or top with sliced scallions, or chopped fresh herbs.
As an FYI, long-grain brown rice is considered the best choice for the summer diet. Try Lundberg regenerative farmed long-grain brown or brown or white basmati rice.
Even though long-grain is the best choice for the summer diet, we still consume and prefer the flavor of medium-grain this time of year, and short-grain and sweet brown rice much of the rest of the year.
In my next post, I look at the Chinese food therapy 'science' behind the foods ~ which grains are the best choices in the summer diet, and why ~ along with the perfect summer diet beverages that are high in vitamin C, quench the thirst and are good for cardiovascular health, along with several more summer meal suggestions.
Be sure to check out the recipes and resources, linked below.
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