Inflammation Archives - Smiling Body

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Celery and Summer Squash Soup

Heart Healthy Soup. It’s nutritious, delicious and flavoursome as well as healthy, and it only takes 30 minutes start to finish. If your looking for Vegan, its fills that box too and its free of gluten. You’ll be happy in a good way after eating this tasty and wholesome soup.

Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 25 minutes
Total Time: 30 minutes
Yield: 6-8

Description

A quick and easy vegan celery and summer time soup recipe with celery, summer squash, carrots, and fresh herbs. Dairy and gluten free!

Ingredients

3 medium summer yellow squash, quartered and diced
2 celery ribs (heads), diced
2 medium carrots, peeled, quartered and diced
1/2 yellow onion, diced
4 garlic cloves, minced
2 teaspoons ground cumin
2 teaspoons ground coriander
1/4 cup vegan friendly dry white wine OR 2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
6 cups low sodium vegetable broth
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon fresh sage, roughly chopped
1 tablespoon fresh oregano, roughly chopped
1 tablespoon fresh rosemary, roughly chopped
1 tablespoon fresh lemon thyme, roughly chopped
Coarse salt, ground black pepper to taste
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

Instructions

In a large pot, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion, carrots, and celery, cooking until somewhat softened and onion is starting to become translucent, about 5 minutes.
Add garlic, stirring frequently, and cook for 1 more minute, until fragrant.
Add squash, cumin, and coriander. Cook until somewhat softened, about 5-10 minutes.
Add the white wine and scrape up any browned bits on the bottom of the pot.
Pour in broth. Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer, cover the pot, and cook 10-15 minutes, until vegetables are easily pierced with a fork.
Remove cover. Stir in fresh herbs and lemon juice. Cook for two minutes, stirring occasionally.
Remove from heat. Use an immersion blender or transfer to a stand blender and blend until completely smooth. Add salt and pepper to taste.
Garnish with a little cream swirl (non-vegan topping) if desired, a couple drops of olive oil, a little ground paprika, and fresh lemon thyme and parsley. Serve warm or chilled!

Traditional Chinese Nutritional Therapy

This nutritious hearty soup is filled with all the nutrients to strengthen the Heart and help prevent Heart disharmony.

Nature: Cooling

Organs: Heart, Spleen, Liver

Celery: Clears Heat, Tonifies the Spleen and Stomach, Tonifies the Kidney, Tonifies Qi, Cools the Liver, Resolves Damp, Purifies the Blood, Calms Shen, Stops Bleeding. Squash Summer: Nourish Yin, Cools the body and inflammation, Relieves pain, Cultivates Qi, Carrot: Clears heat, Detoxifies, Strengthens all internal organs, Benefits the eyes, Relieves measles, Lubricates the intestines, Promotes digestion. Onion: Promotes the smooth flow of Qi, Regulates Blood, Resolve Phlegm and Dampness, Expel cold, Relax the intestines, Harmonize the stomach, Strengthen the spleen, Promote digestion. Garlic: Warm Yang, Promotes the Smooth Flow of Qi, Resolves Damp, Eliminates toxins, Calm Wind, Moisten the Lungs, Strengthen the Stomach, Warm the Middle Jiao. Eliminate Wind-Cold. Coriander: Promotes sweating. Removes rashes. Allows the release of toxicity from the surface. Detoxifies and eases pain, Strengthens digestion, Regulates Qi flow

James O’Sullivan - that's me, a people friendly practitioner and lecturer of Integrated Medicine, serving my patients, my students and the public with the positive benefits of both Conventional Western Medicine and Traditional Chinese Medicine. It's a wonderful life

Disclaimer: This article is not intended to diagnose or assess. The information provided is not to be considered a substitute for consultation with a qualified health care practitioner.

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A Bowl of Superfoods

What superfoods we have in the little fruit we call ‘berries’. Our hunter gather ancestors would have had such pleasure from eating these mostly sweet little fruits and it would have alleviated their symptoms of ‘fight or flight’ syndrome or as we call it today Stress.

They may be little but the thrust of benefits derive mostly the high antioxidant levels. Antioxidants are powerful little substances that can prevent oxidative stress damage to cells in our bodies. Cell damage occurs in health conditions such as cancer and the aging process where free radical activity damages the body at a cellular level. I advise eating a nutritious diet rich in antioxidants, as a prevention against certain diseases, they also assist in improving overall health, protecting skin and hair. Nearly every fruits and vegetable in our grocery store contains antioxidants, but nutrient rich berries are some of the complete best sources.

We find several powerful antioxidants in berries, including vitamin C, anthocyanins, and quercetin. Vitamin C is a powerful antioxidant found in berries. It is mainly responsible for the health of collagen, which helps maintain cartilage stores and aids in joint flexibility. Eating vitamin C rich berries will result in radiant skin and healthy hair and may reduce the risk of arthritis, cataracts, and macular degeneration.

Anthocyanins bestow the vibrant color of berries. They also reduce inflammation, and may help prevent and manage arthritis. Anthocyanins work together with quercetin to help slow age related memory loss. Quercetin can also decrease the inflammatory effects of chemicals in the synovial fluid of the joints for people with inflammatory conditions like rheumatoid arthritis.

We know that berries are “juicy” meaning that they contain high levels of water. Juicy foods are especially beneficial for losing weight because you feel full quicker and since their high water content increases the volume they also decrease the calories. Berries also contain fibre and folate. A health weight benefits from fibre which also helps lower cholesterol and blood pressure. Folate has been shown to protect against cardiovascular disease and age related memory loss, and it also contributes to the production of serotonin, so it may help to prevent depression and improve your mood. IBS sufferers should note that some people with IBS experience discomfort after eating berries.

Berries should be a part of your diet because they’re loaded with vitamins, minerals, and fiber, plus they’re rich in antioxidants that can protect your cells from free-radical damage. And best of all, they’re low in calories, so they’re perfect for weight-watching diets.

Beautiful, delicious, and good for you. Read on to learn more about these perfect nutritional gems.

Sleeping Aid

When your sweet tooth needs satisfying, you can’t beat a bowl of berries. Besides being loaded with fiber, which helps fill you up, berries contain magnesium, a mineral that relaxes nerves and muscles to speed slumber.

Serve your berries plain, or add some chopped nuts or granola, or a splash of milk.

Disclaimer: This article is not intended to diagnose or assess. The information provided is not to be considered a substitute for consultation with a qualified health care practitioner.

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Garlic Dragons Breath

Here’s an incredibly tasty and nutritious herbal vinegar recipe, to add “FIRE” to your next cup of tea or glass of warm water or your next salad. You can use it one spoon at a time to stay healthy and cold or flu free. I place 1 to 2 Tablespoons of it in my morning cuppa but you may also use it as a dressing on fresh greens or roasted vegetables.

Ingredients:

1 medium onion, chopped
5 cloves garlic, smashed to break up the healthy properties.
1 lemon cut in half.
4 Tbsp fresh ginger – peeled and chopped in chunks.
4 Tbsp freshly grated horseradish root
Handful of parsley
Apple Cider Vinegar
Honey
Cayenne powder
Serrano Pepper (Optional) or substitute Jalapeno pepper.

Directions:

Combine the onion, garlic, lemon, ginger, parsley, and horseradish in a wide mouth mason jar.
Add warmed apple cider vinegar to cover them. (warming the vinegar allows it to more actively draw the properties out of the herbs. Just warm, if it becomes too hot the good enzymes will be no longer active.)
Place on counter for 3 weeks, shaking it at times.
Strain, then discard the root veggies, herbs and fruit. Compost please!
Add honey and cayenne to taste!

The final creation will be a lively, hot, pungent, and yet sweet mixture.
Shaken occasionally, kept in a shady spot.

To use it:

1 – 2 Tbsp at first sign of a cold, and repeat every 4 hours until feeling better
1 Tbsp in water once or twice a week
Mix with a bit of olive oil and use as a salad dressing or In you Caesar!!

In Smiling Body Nutritional Therapy, the benefits of Dragons Breath help to strengthen Yang while warming the Lungs and Releases the exterior by inducing sweating, meaning that strengthen our Immunity. It benefits our resistance to the Common cold, Vomiting, Dysentery and Dyspepsia.

Disclaimer: This article is not intended to diagnose or assess. The information provided is not to be considered a substitute for consultation with a qualified health care practitioner.

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Tofu and Mushroom Casserole

Preparation time: 15 minutes
Cooking time: 10 minutes
Serves 4.

Ingredients:
1 Kilo (2 lb.) plain tofu, *lightly steamed
12 large Chinese mushrooms*, soaked until soft, thinly sliced
300g (2cups) pea pods
1 bunch scallions
30g (2 Tbsp) tamari or *soy sauce
45g (3Tbsp) arrowroot or corn starch (Organic)

Instructions:
Slice tofu into 2cm cubes and put in bottom of rectangular baking dish.
Lightly simmer mushrooms then add pea pods and scallions for last 5 minutes.
Put these vegetables on top of the tofu.
Use the vegetable cooking water plus enough water to make 700ml liquid. Add tamari.
Dissolve starch in a small amount of liquid; add to the rest of the liquid, simmer, stirring often, until the liquid thickens. Pour this gravy on top of the tofu and vegetable mixture.
Garnish with crushed, toasted almonds and finely chopped cilantro.

Health Benefits according to Chinese Nutritional Therapy

This dish strengthens Qi and Yin. It will Clear Heat and Eliminates Toxins. The combination of ingredients means that this sweet dish nourishes deficiency and helps to avoid and resolve mucus.

*Steam the Tofu
Place the tofu in a large plate and then cut into several 2 cm thick cubes. Silken tofu can be broken very easily, cutting in serving plate can avoid transferring and keep the original shape. You can also choose to steam tofu as a whole box shape. But cutting makes the dish more delicious.
Let the tofu stay in the plate for coupe of minutes, then carefully discard the water released. Set up your steamer and steam the tofu for 6-8 minutes. Transfer out and discard only water in the plate.

*Tamari and Soy Sauce
Tamari is a wider class of soy sauces and is made with no (or very little) wheat, while traditional soy sauce does contain wheat.
• Tamari: Little to no wheat (always double-check if avoiding gluten)
• Soy Sauce: Includes wheat (not gluten-free)

*Mushrooms:
You can use either dried shiitake mushroom, wood ear, chestnut mushroom, oyster mushroom, king oyster mushroom.

Disclaimer: This article is not intended to diagnose or assess. The information provided is not to be considered a substitute for consultation with a qualified health care practitioner.

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Broccoli Detox Soup

A nutritious and cleansing green soup, loaded with essential nutrients, vitamins, fiber and minerals.

Especially for the master metaboliser, our liver. This exceptionally hard working organ filters our entire blood volume every three minutes. The liver is that special metabolic organs that processes and neutralizes all the chemicals in our body, especially the ones we are exposed to, from our food, environment, or personal care products. In healthy diets or detox diets, when we consume appreciable quantities of vegetables and fruits, our cells receive high concentrations of potassium which flushes out excess water and toxins, creating an alkaline environment.

Chinese Nutritional Therapy

Broccoli the main ingredient in this nourishing soup, cools and soothes the liver and helps to prevent food stagnation and internal stress.

Broccoli is known for its ability to clear heat and regulate water circulation. It also helps to regulate qi circulation.

The philosophy of Chinese Medicine informs us that it enters the Stomach, Spleen, Urine Bladder, and Liver.

Cook Time 15 mins Total Time 15 mins

Servings: 2

Calories: 182kcal

Ingredients

2 cups broccoli florets
2 celery stalks finely diced
1 onion finely diced
2 garlic cloves crushed
1 cup greens kale, spinach, beet greens or any other available
1 parsnip peeled and finely chopped
1 carrot peeled and finely chopped
2 cups filtered water or low sodium vegetable broth
½ tsp sea salt
½ lemon juice only
1 tsp coconut oil
1 tbsp chia seeds
Toasted mixed seeds and nuts 1 teaspoon coconut milk, to garnish

Instructions

In a soup pot, heat the coconut oil, add the onion, garlic, carrot, parsnip, celery sticks and broccoli, and cook over low heat for five minutes, stirring frequently.

Add the filtered water or vegetable broth, bring to a boil, then cover the pot with a lid and let simmer for 5-7 minutes, until the vegetables are tender but not mushy.

Stir in the greens, then transfer into the blender, add the chia seeds and lemon, and process to obtain a smooth cream.

Top with toasted seeds and serve warm.

Hoping that you enjoy this exceptionally healthy dish.

Disclaimer: This article is not intended to diagnose or assess. The information provided is not to be considered a substitute for consultation with a qualified health care practitioner.

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