Apples, pumpkins, corn, squash…what beautiful reminders of the bounty that fall brings us! In Chinese Medicine, food is medicine. As medicine, foods bring us nutrition, energy, temperature and even direction.
Think about what your body desires and needs at different times of year. How much do you love a cup of warm apple cider in the fall? How appealing is it to eat a rich, tasty soup when the weather turns cool? We have some built-in guidance…now all we have to do is follow it!
Fall is the season of the Lungs—the “tender organ.” Our Lungs are organs of immunity. They keep out pathogens by supporting our wei qi (“way-chew”): inhaling clean qi (“chee”) and exhaling used qi.
According to Chinese Medicine, the natural direction for our Lung energy to flow is downward. When Lung qi is strong, our breath is deep and smooth. Our energy is strong, and we feel grounded and peaceful. But, when our Lung qi is weak or disordered (not flowing downward), we develop a cough, get sick, and feel fatigued.
Our emotions influence our lungs as well. The lung is an organ of elimination and helps us to let go of what we need to release…including toxic emotions. In Chinese medicine, the Lung’s ’emotion’ is grief and when we are unable to grieve naturally and completely, our Lung qi becomes depleted. So…let go of all that you don’t need, breathe deeply, and cook up some special nutrition for your lungs!
The recipe below is wonderful to make on a relaxed weekend, when you have some time to nourish yourself on many levels. The ingredients are designed to nourish both the Lung and the Stomach/Spleen (digestive system in Chinese Medicine). We nourish the Lungs because fall is their season, and we nourish the digestive system because it is the root of all of our health, AND it is responsible for transitions from one season to another.
Pay close attention to the times of cooking—this changes the energy of the food and will make the ingredients more available to your system.
In general, Lungs benefit from the”pungent” flavor and our digestive system loves foods that are “sweet”—not the sweet that a donut provides but the sweetness of an easily digested food. Included below is a chart with the Chinese properties of all of the ingredients.
So put on your favorite music, make yourself a nice cup of tea, and do a little cooking…it’s good for your mind, body and soul!
Healthy Gluten-Free Chicken Soup
Ingredients: (as often as possible, choose organic!)
One small, whole organic free range chicken
Fresh ginger, shredded or finely sliced for 2 tablespoons
2 whole fresh garlic cloves
1 whole, “sweet variety” onion, coarsely chopped
2 whole carrots. Choose whole carrot with leafy top—most nutrient dense. Diced.
2 stalks of celery, coarsely chopped.
1 parsnip, coarsely chopped
Fresh parsley, 3-4 tablespoons, chopped
Fresh dill, 2-3 tablespoons, chopped
Shitake mushrooms
Salt & pepper to taste
Brown rice, 2 cups cooked
- Place the entire chicken in a large stainless steel pot with enough water to cover deeply. Add fresh ginger, garlic and onion. Bring to a boil, then lower to simmer and allow to simmer on low temperature for 1-2 hours.
- When the meat is falling off the bone, transfer the chicken to a separate container and carefully remove all of the meat, including the dark meat. Discard the carcass and return the meat to the broth.
- Add the carrots, celery and parsnip. Allow this to cook together on a low simmer until the carrots are tender, approximately ½ hour.
- Finally, add the parsley, dill, and shitake mushrooms. Bring the entire soup to boil one time, then return to simmer.
- Serve with cooked brown rice for a delicious, healing fall meal!
| Ingredient | Food “temperature” | Chinese Medicine Properties |
| Chicken | Warming | Qi & Blood tonic |
| Ginger | Warming | Lung tonic, strengthens digestion, pungent flavor |
| Garlic & Onion | Warming | Tonic for Kidneys, Lung, Liver, reduces phlegm, pungent flavor |
| Carrots | Neutral | Strengthens digestion, sweet flavor |
| Celery | Neutral | Tonic for Kidneys, Liver, Lung |
| Parsnip | Warming | Warming, dries dampness and clears phlegm, aromatic flavor |
| Parsley | Warming | Dries dampness, aromatic flavor |
| Dill | Warming | Nourishes Liver, aromatic flavor, natural antiseptic |
| Shitake Mushrooms | Neutral | Sweet flavor, aids digestion, strengthens immunity (wei qi) |
| Rice | Neutral | Sweet flavor strengthens digestion |
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