Welcome to this fourth and penultimate week of the medicinal cooking collective challenge! We are cooking according to the Chinese 5 Elements, and this week we focus on the Metal element which is associated with the lungs & large intestine, the colour white, a spicy flavour, and the feeling of sorrow. When the lungs are out of balance they can be helped by eating foods that embody these traits, and help you to restore balance to the body. These days with pollution as it is, eating for the lungs is a great benefit to people in most parts of the world. If you eat white-coloured food, it is supposed to benefit your lungs, large intestine, nose and respiratory system, and skin. So I hope you join us this week and start your shopping for white foods! These foods have a dispersing effect and promote energy circulation. They most benefit sluggish, damp, lethargic and cold people.
Typical foods that are good for the lungs include the following:
Note that not all items need to be white, and usually foods that have the same shape as the organ are also very beneficial, e.g. Broccoli is also very good for the lungs and looks very much like them.
All savoury foods, pungent foods and white foods, many herbs and spices and prepared condiments. Mushrooms, white rice, rice noodles, vegan milks, bamboo shoots, raw onion, garlic, chives, radish , cauliflower, turnip, tofu, lotus root, pears, bananas, kohlrabi, cinnamon, mint, tarragon, marjoram, rosemary, thyme, scallions, cloves, fennel seed and bulb, cilantro and coriander seeds, parsley, anise, dill, mustard greens, wasabi, almonds, sesame, horseradish, mustard, basil, and nutmeg are all considered metal foods.
It is up to you if you focus on the colour white, a spicy taste, or the medicinal herbs and spices that you know of that can assist the lungs and large intestine. The ideal dish would incorporate all of these, for example a purée of cauliflower soup with rice noodles and steamed broccoli garnished with sesame seeds and chilli oil. It is also up to you if you make one dish or a two or even three course meal. I can't wait to see what you have in store for us! Please do comment to let know if you plan to take part this week!
Posting Guidelines
This meal should contain ingredients that are known to help the lungs or digestion. Your knowledge and imagination is the limit, there are no rules, only guidelines!
1. The predominant colour of the meal should be white and there should be a spicy element to it. You can also use any ingredients that support the healthy functioning of the lungs and large intestine.
2. Please post using the tag #medicinal-cooking so that it is easy to find your post.
3. Please try out the recipes yourself and include photos of your dish(es) and how you made it.
4. Please explain in your post how this meal is beneficial to the Lungs and Large Intestine.
5. Please post before or on Saturday 4th August. If you miss this you may not be added to my recipe post, although I often add posts that are a bit late.
Please do comment if you have any questions!
Check our previous week's here
The Medicinal Cooking Collective: The Heart / Fire Element - Recipe Collection #1
The Medicinal Cooking Collective Recipe Book #2: The Liver / Wood Element
The Medicinal Cooking Collective Recipe Book #3: The Stomach & Spleen / Earth Element
More About The Five Elements
We are cooking each week to support one of the five elements. According to the Ancient Chinese, all things in the world can be divided into five vibrational families and the elements of Water, Wood, Fire, Earth and Metal. In the body, these Five Elements represent the five major organs - The kidneys, the Liver, the Heart, the Spleen/Stomach/Pancreas and the Lungs - all of which are necessary for survival. Usually one of these organs is stronger than the others giving extra energy to that organ and helping people to behave in certain ways and clearly influences personality and lifestyle choices - things like food preferences, fun, fashion, decorating, sleeping, playing, etc.. And, one of the organs is usually slightly deficient and needs building up. When you are strong in one element, you usually need to build up the other elements to find balance.
The five elements are
fire (火)
metal (金)
wood (木)
water (水)
earth (土)
When our organs are in balance with each other we can experience good health. Our organs can be supported by eating foods that nourish and bring balance to the body. You can see in the chart below how the elements correspond to the organs of the body, what emotions they are related to, as well as the colour and tastes that can be eaten to bring them into balance.
In Chinese medicine and cooking, it’s believed that if you are weak or ill in certain parts of your body or organs, you should consume certain colours/elements of food to help you feel better and improve your health. For example, if you have health problems with your kidney, you should eat more food that’s black/water in colour, such as wood ear, seaweed, and black sesame.
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