Meal Prep & Allowed Items:

In autumn & winter, which are yin seasons, we want to focus on warming the interior, staying hydrated with soups, stews, teas and water and eating mineral rich foods.

Cooking times are longer and slower in autumn and winter in order to preserve high nutrient levels and allow ease of digestibility.

In Chinese dietary medicine cold and/or raw foods deplete the yang energy of the spleen and kidneys. In general, yang energy is responsible for warming, moving, transformation and transportation. When the yang energy of the spleen and/or kidneys is weakened, digestive fire is diminished and a host of symptoms related to digestion, appetite and lack of vitality arise. Raw is not better in Chinese dietary therapy especially if you are someone who tends to feel cold, prefer warm drinks and/or has slow digestion.

Meats: seared, poached, sautéed, grilled.

Soups: Are amazing year round! Make a simple veggie soup, add protein and finish it off with fresh herbs like dill, cilantro and/or parsley. Have it for breakfast, lunch and or dinner.

Be present while cooking and eating, end meals feeling sated not stuffed.

A few helpful links:

How food works by Andrew Sterman

On Hydration by Andrew Sterman

Wet Breakfasts for Health by Andrew Sterman

MEATS: 

  • Wild caught fish (as local as possible –look for rockfish, bluefish)
    Atlantic wild Salmon (not smoked, canned or preserved)

  • Wild game (duck, goose, venison)

  • Grass-fed beef

  • Pastured chicken (not grain fed)

  • Local pork

  • Don’t over-look sausages. Do read the ingredients list.

VEGGIES: Root veggies galore! (Shop local farmer’s markets.)

  • All leafy greens, ie: kale, all chards, spinach, collards, boc choy, etc…

  • Arugula, baby greens, micro greens

  • Artichokes 

  • Bitter greens: radicchio, endive, dandelion, chicory

  • Brussel Sprouts

  • Burdock Root make excellent ‘fries’ or add to a stir fry.

  • Cruciferous veg: cabbages, cauliflower, broccoli (broccolini, broccoli rabe) 

  • String beans

  • Mushrooms (nourish the yin of the lung)

  • Celery, Leek, Fennel, Onion, Garlic, Scallions, Shallots, Ginger, Turmeric (The pungent flavor supports the qi of the lungs and promotes circulation.)

  • Carrot (no baby carrots)

  • Olives in brine solution (not distilled in vinegar or preservatives)

  • Fresh herbs! Especially, flat leaf parsley, dill and cilantro raw added to stir-fries or as a garnish on soups. Other culinary herbs that bring depth to cooking as well as medicinal benefits are: sage, rosemary, tarragon, oregano & thyme, basil, marjoram. Thyme, sage and oregano are powerful anti-viral and anti fungal agents. Add a sprig of thyme to your lemon water in the morning if you feel like you may be coming down with a cold.

  • The best ways to eat seasonally is to shop at local Farmer’s Market. Get to know your growers and suppliers. Sign up a Winter CSA. You can find excellent locally sourced meats and bone broths. All manner of root vegetables are available in autumn which are exactly what your body needs this time of year. You are nature:)

Remember, cold and raw foods should be used like condiments especially if you are one who already tends to be cold, have slow digestion/elimination, tends to feel lethargic after eating, tend to feel depleted and/or those who have a diagnosis, past or current, of anemia.

FRUIT: (room temperature)

  • A small handful of berries but remember berries don’t grow in the northeast in autumn.

  • Apples, pears, figs, paw paws and persimmon.

No dried fruit, no powders, no bars, no smoothies.

NUTS: (small handful as a snack alone or paired with fruit, chopped and added to salads or veggies at a meal or as a snack)

  • Almonds

  • Black & Tan Sesame Seeds

  • Brasil Nuts (high in selenium)

  • Macadamia Nuts

  • Walnuts

  • Flax Seeds

  • Sunflower Seeds

  • Pumpkin Seeds

  • Pinenuts

  • Hemp Hearts

  • Coconut meat (coconut manna)

  • No nut butters (unless homemade from sprouted nuts)

CONDIMENTS:

  • Extra virgin olive oil

  • Unrefined organic coconut oil

  • Sea salt - try different kinds!

  • Apple cider vinegar with the mother

  • Avocado oil for salads or soups

  • Walnut oil for salads or soups

  • Coconut manna

Breakfast Ideas:

I like to remember that breakfast is about breaking one’s fast.

Begin the day with a tall glass of warm water with a squeeze of fresh lemon or apple cider vinegar. This will help cleanse the liver of any heaviness or stagnation and begin the process of peristalsis. The sour taste - think lemons & apple cider vinegar, and other fermented foods - harmonizes the liver according to Chinese dietary medicine. It begins peristalsis and clears stagnation from the liver.

As for breakfasts, be open to 'dinner for breakfast'.  Make enough dinner so that you have left overs for breakfast and/or lunch. This saves time.

A carrot, sweet potato and or butternut squash soup can be a lovely breakfast with half an avocado. Toasted pumpkin seeds. A handful of sprouted walnuts, almonds or macadamia nuts.

Miso is a great base for a breakfast soup. Add any veggies that speak to you. Something more on the sweet side add carrots, ginger and sweet potato. For a more savory, pungent soup you can add chives, scallions, leeks and some greens. For those including grains you can add millet, teff or quinoa to your miso broth.

For those not consuming animal products, make a nourishing millet congee. Millet is a wonder grain that has a high protein content and is excellent for providing deep hydration and nourishment to the stomach. Quinoa also makes a nice porridge. Add walnuts, seeds, toasted coconut. Ghee. Cinnamon. A little black strap molasses for mineral dense sweetness.

Email us if you would like more suggestions.