Spring foods
Spring is the time of the year when your body naturally wants to cleanse itself. So it is a good time to allow your body to let go of all the stuff that it doesn’t want including toxins, bad habits and old aches and pains. It is a good time to allow the body to cleanse by eliminating toxins including dairy, sugar, bread, fats and oils, alcohol, coffee, tea and other stimulants including spices. Ten days is enough time to allow the liver to cleanse and rejuvenate.

According to Traditional Chinese Medicine, the Liver and Gall Bladder meridians are most prominent at this time of the year. The best foods to support the Liver and Gall Bladder are leafy greens and lightly cooked foods (steaming, light frying and par-boiling).

 Have lots of:                                                                                                            

• Leafy greens and sprouts
• Asian greens – Bok Choy, Chinese Cabbage                                                     
• Spring veges – broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, parsley, daikon (white raddish)
• Barley, quinoa, wheat, rye
• Wakame (seaweed), umeboshi, lemon, sauerkraut (occasionally)

Try to avoid:

• Overeating – especially eggs, meat, cheese and icecream
• Alcohol and drugs
• Chemicalized foods (preservatives, additives)
• Coffee and chocolate
• Sugar and honey

I asked Zen Shiatsu practitioner and fabulous macrobiotic cook, Linden Brooks to offer some of is favourite Spring recipes. Here’s three yummy Spring side dishes to serve up with grains or vegetables. Enjoy!

Soybean sprouts – Boil sprouts in salted water for 2-3 minutes, then rinse & drain.
Slice a young leek thinly.
Heat a wok or pan and add a little vegetable oil.
Sauté sprouts and leek for 30 seconds.
Serve with a drizzle of dark sesame oil. 

Spinach (or greens) – destalk a bunch of spinach and blanch for 30 seconds in hot water, drain and rinse in cold water.
Mix some soy sauce and sesame oil with a dash of mirin (3:2:1/2) and coat the spinach leaves in the mixture.
Heat a wok or pan and add a little oil, sauté spinach for 20 – 30 seconds on high, then serve. Sprinkle with roasted sesame seeds.

Daikon / Radish – slice a small young daikon into matchsticks and blanch in hot water for 30 seconds.
Finely slice a young leek and mix with a little sesame oil and pinch of salt, just enough to lightly coat.
Heat a wok or pan and add a little oil, sauté radish 1 minute, add leek and sauté 2 more minutes. Serve with a drizzle of dark sesame oil.