Lentil Sweet Potato Chili To Warm These Cold Winter Days

It's snowing again! And soooo cold out. I want to share with you one of my favorite recipes ever, though in the winter it somehow soars even higher than usual. Lentil Sweet Potato Chili. I make this recipe at least once a week. 

The original recipe is from Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine's 21 Day Kickstart, which I can't recommend enough. Fantastic whole food plant based meal plans and recipes which come to you for 21 days, starting the first of the month.

Yum, look at that sweet potato! Full of beta carotene and vitamin C, plus lots of other minerals and vitamins. In Chinese medicine, its sweet taste and rich orange color let you know it's beneficial to the Spleen/Pancreas and Stomach - Earth element - and excellent for digestion and to boost energy (qi).

Here is how I make this delicious vegan chili:

Ingredients:

• 1 cup brown lentils, rinsed
• 1 cup red lentils, rinsed
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 stalks celery, chopped
• 3-5 cloves garlic, crushed
• 1 large or 2 small sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into cubes
• 2-3 handfuls of baby spinach (it shrinks!) or lots of chopped kale or other chopped greens to add at end
• 1/2 -1 Tbsp chili powder
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp paprika
• red pepper flakes, optional
• salt and pepper to taste
• 6-8 cups water (or you can use broth or veggie broth cubes or whatever, I just use water)
• 28 oz crushed tomatoes or 14 oz tomato sauce or small jar tomato paste, whatever you have around

Directions:

* Because I don't use oil in cooking and because I like to make things as easy as possible, I just put everything into a pot without sauteing things first, so...

1. Into 6 cups of water (or broth) as it comes to boiling, add:

• both kinds of rinsed lentils
• onion
• celery
• garlic
• sweet potatoes
• spices

2. Let that come to a boil, then cover and simmer until the lentils are cooked through, about 25 minutes, adding water and stirring as necessary so it doesn't burn.

3. Then add the tomato sauce or crushed tomatoes, let it come back up to boil again.

4. Finally add the greens at the very end, and cook until wilted. 

5. Taste to adjust seasonings and enjoy!

I love to eat this chili with hot sauce.

If you don't have (or don't like) sweet potatoes, it is delicious with regular potatoes as well. 

Enjoy!

~ Melissa

Cinnamon, Ginger, Onions, and Garlic Strongly Protect Us From Colds and Flu

Cinnamon sticks
maxpixel.freegreatpicture.com

As the winter progresses, the cold weather can affect our Lungs in the form of coughs, sinus issues, colds and flu. In Traditional Chinese Medicine, the metal element corresponds to the Lungs. The taste that strengthens the Lungs is pungent: the spicy flavor of foods and spices like cinnamon, ginger, garlic, and onions.

In traditional Chinese medical theory, when one gets sick with colds or flu it is thought that an external pathogen has invaded the system. Western medicine similarly holds that colds and flu are caused by bacteria or viruses. Each of the five tastes (sweet, salty, bitter, sour and pungent) has a specific action. The pungent taste has the action of pushing outward and dispersing unwanted "invaders" through the skin, as evidenced by sweating.

When coming down with a cold or flu the herb to take is actually a food: scallions. Known as the Chinese herb cong bai, scallions release the pathogen by inducing sweating. Simmer scallion or other onion along with garlic and ginger and drink the broth to keep a cold or flu from going deeper.

scallions

If a cold or flu has gone deeper and has affected the muscles, the herb of choice is cinnamon, known in Chinese as gui zhi. Cinnamon is warming and can help when the person is feeling weak especially if sweating does not help them feel better. In this case, cinnamon will warm, strengthen and increase immunity.

cinnamon

Fresh ginger (sheng jiang) is also warm and releases the pathogen. Ginger is especially good if the person feels cold and is coughing. Similar to cinnamon, ginger strengthens the immunity for weaker people who are sweating without relief of symptoms.

ginger

A nice tea when feeling chilled and recovering from a cold or flu, is made by simmering a couple of cinnamon sticks and sliced fresh ginger in water for at least 20 minutes, strain and drink as needed.

If there are heat symptoms such as a sore throat or fever, switching to a cooler herb which still releases the pathogen is appropriate. One such herb is mint, or bo he. Flowers such as chrysanthemum (ye ju hua), honeysuckle (jin yin hua), and dandelion (pu gong ying) mix well with mint to cool the body and release the pathogen.

One important note: herbs such as ginseng, astragalus and bee pollen also strengthen the immune system, but these herbs have a sweet taste and will actually strengthen pathogens. They are wonderful to take as prevention, but if you end up coming down with a cold or flu, stop taking them and switch to one of the above remedies. Once the illness has passed completely, it is safe to take the sweet strengthening herbs again.

And of course acupuncture is always helpful to boost your immune system to prevent and/or recover from cold or flu.

Food is the best medicine! Eat well, drink lots of water, and incorporate these wonderful spicy tasting foods, herbs, and spices into your life!

Be well!

Melissa and David Sokulski, licensed acupuncturists

a version of this article first appeared in Natural News.

Winter And Traditional Chinese Medicine

Winter has no doubt arrived in Pittsburgh! With the temperatures below freezing for a week and counting, I think it's time to discuss winter, traditional Chinese medicine, and ways to keep warm!

Winter is the time of year which corresponds the water element. In our bodies, that relates to our Kidneys and Bladder. In five element theory, the color correspondence is black or blue, and the emotion is fear.

Symptoms which may be associated with the Water element include

• bladder and/or kidney infections
• low back pain
• knee pain
• cavities in teeth
• weak or broken bones
• infertility
• premature gray hair or hair loss
• ringing in the ears
• increase of phobias or fears

To strengthen the Water energy and keep the body in balance, it's important to keep yourself warm. Wear scarves around your neck and extra layers or scarves around your mid-section (in Japan, this is called a haramaki, or belly warmer: a tube of material which can be fashionable, which goes around your midsection to keep your abdomen and kidneys warm.)

If you are on a high raw or 100% raw food diet, you can add spices such as ginger to your juices and cinnamon to your foods. You can gently warm soups, and make sure to eat plenty of well blended food, as these meals are easier to digest. Fresh cranberries also make a nice addition to juices or purees this time of year, and help protect the bladder and kidneys from infection as well (especially if you are prone to this type of infection.)

Here is one of my favorite winter juice recipes:

Juice the following:

• 5 carrots
• 3 apples
• 1 cup fresh cranberries
• 1 inch knob fresh ginger

I usually add water to the juice, especially because this one is so sweet.

Warm miso soup is also a wonderful meal: heat the water and let it cool back down to ninety or one hundred degrees (warm to the touch.) Add scallions, sliced mushrooms, wakame (a sea vegetable), grated ginger and carrots, and miso, which is best first made into a paste with warm water and then added to the soup. Enjoy this soup warm.

In macrobiotic cooking, aduki beans and black beans are beneficial for the kidneys. Millet and winter squash are also good choices for balancing energy this time of year.

Herbs which benefit the kidneys are nettles, he shou wu (also known as Foti root), and the formula Liu Wei Di Huang Wan, or Rehmannia Six.

Now is a wonderful time of year to get acupuncture, especially if you notice any of the above symptoms. Points such as K3 and K6 on the ankle are helpful to boost the Kidney energy, as well as bladder points along the spine on the back. Moxibustion is wonderful this time of year to help add heat to the body via the acu-points, abdomen and meridians.


Stay cozy and warm!

Birch Center 2017 Review

It was so nice seeing you at the Birch Center in 2017!

Birch Center acupuncturist David Sokulski continued seeing acupuncture clients both at our South Side office and in his new location in Gibsonia, at St. Barnabas Health Center (open to the public.)

It's fun to sit down together and review our year, highlighting some of the top moments. I hope you take the time to do it for your year as well! Here are some of this year's highlights we came up with:

1. At the beginning of 2017, Dave and I went to Pittsburgh's Fermentation Festival at Spirit in Lawrenceville, where we took a workshop on making no knead sourdough bread, and hung out with friend Jenneta from Prescription Foods. We were inspired to bake delicious sourdough bread, make our own sauerkraut and kimchi, and brew bubbly kombucha throughout the year. Yum...and so good for you!

2. Spring arrived and Frick Park's Earth Day Celebration moved back to Beechwood Blvd for the unveiling of the NEW Environmental Center! It was an exciting day, and we found lots and lots of wild edibles, including dandelion, clover, burdock, chickweed, cleavers, violet, and so many more!

3. Birch Center acupuncturist Melissa Sokulski spent a weekend in June at the Satchidananda Ashram - Yogaville - meditating, writing, doing yoga, and nourishing herself with healthy, delicious, vegetarian food.

4. Birch Center acupuncturist David Sokulski continued providing acupuncture at Three Rivers Free Clinic for the People, which was mostly held at the Union Project the first Wednesday of each month, though sometimes the location moved around a bit.

5. David also had lots of speaking appearances and offered acupuncture demonstrations this year to people as diverse as Fed Ex employees to Duquesne nursing students.

6. In September we traveled west, and we harvested and enjoyed fresh prickly pear fruit for the first time in Sedona, AZ! Yum!

7. We tried lots of vegan restaurants all around the country, from Maryland to Ohio to Nevada to Arizona! Some of the highlights were:

• Glory Doughnuts in Frederick, MD
• Loving Hut, Columbus, OH
• Loving Hut, Cincinnati, OH
• Banana Leaf in Columbus, OH
• Vegenation, Las Vegas, NV
• Panchos Vegan Tacos, Las Vegas, NV
• Whyld Ass in Flagstaff, AZ

And in Pittsburgh we tried some new vegan restaurants as well:

• Onion Maiden 
• B52
• Apteka

And our tried and true favorite brunch spot:

• Zenith Tea Room

8. We were written about in newsletters and websites around Pittsburgh including St. Barnabas's Health Network and South Side Slopes summer newsletter (scroll to page 5 to find us!)

That's about it! We have big plans for 2018, including a YouTube channel promoting health and wellness. We hope you'll stay tuned.

Stay healthy this winter! 

Happy Holidays!

~ David and Melissa Sokulski
acupuncturists


photo credits: 
kombucha - pexels.com (free stock photos)
LOTUS (Light Of The Universal Shrine) Temple in Yogaville - Sokulski, 2017
prickly pear - Sokulski, 2017
vegan breakfast at Glory Doughnuts - Sokulski, 2017

Read About The Birch Center in South Side Slopes Newsletter!

Not only is the Birch Center located in Pittsburgh's beautiful south side, acupuncturists and owners David and Melissa Sokulski also live in the south side, right up the hill!

This summer, the South Side Slopes Neighborhood Association's newsletter featured a story on the Sokulski family and the Birch Center, and you can read about it in the newsletter (scroll down to page five!)

And if clicking links is not your thing, I'll paste the article below:

Slopes residents, state-licensed acupuncturists, and husband and wife team David and Melissa Sokulski have been treating patients for conditions ranging from high blood pressure to depression in their East Carson Street health center, The Birch Center, since 2005. Time-tested for thousands of years, acupuncture is known around the world for its safety and effectiveness. Not only can treatment help balance the body's energy, allowing one to heal from pain and illness, but acupuncture can also be used to help prevent disease and optimize health and vitality.

David and Melissa treat people from all walks of life and all ages, including professional athletes, dancers, and musicians. They bring a wealth of knowledge to their clients and are also experts in wild edibles, leading walks throughout the city. Melissa recently won a grant from the Greater Pittsburgh Arts Council for writing, and she writes The Birch Center blog as well as monthly newsletters which help people lead healthy lives. David treats people at the office most weekdays from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. and can answer any questions or to schedule an appointment.