Eat Well to Stay Well

 I don't know about you but FOOD seems to be everywhere at the moment on blogs, emails, podcasts, on the TV, radio...e-ver-y-where.

 There are countless ways to prepare and cook food but have you heard of the Chi or Qi Diet? Chinese people are taught from when they are little how important it is to eat properly. The qi inherent in foods and retaining it is also considered when making meals.

 

Food Qi

 

Yes, food has qi. Any gardening expert or cook/chef will tell you that freshly picked fruit and vegies have the best flavour. If the food has good qi, it's healthy for you. Any fruit or vegetable that is dull or looking lifeless, is probably not going to deliver any nutritional benefits to you at all. So, next time you're in the supermarket or even at the farmer's market check for good colour and food with inherent good quality qi. Organically grown is also highly regarded as no chemicals have been used to grow the produce. But depending on budgets (which applies to most of us, including me), perhaps not always an option. So, qi quality is the simplest basic practice to follow.

 @firmnfresh bananas

For those with home kitchen gardens or access to community gardens, the pantry is already available for you. For the rest of us with some crops (I have herbs, boy choy and tomatoes growing bigger at the moment) but not enough to boast about, buying from local producers and farmers means the qi quality will be more in tune with the same seasonal conditions as our body qi.

Rhonda Hetzel's backyard organic garden

Seasonal Qi

Chinese eat according to the seasons. Basically the 4 Seasons determine which foods we eat to maintain good health during the year.

 

Winter: Hot foods are eaten to energise the body and internalise Yang properties. Drink warm water as well.

 

Spring: A time of birth and new life, perfect season for fresh foods.

 

Summer: Cool foods to balance hot weather. Think salads. Bitter foods for better blood flow like bitter melon.

 

Autumn: A period of harvesting and gathering. So, while squirrels are gathering nuts, eat nourishing foods to get ready for Winter and the onslaught of colds and flus.

 

My Dad always said, older people should drink soup at least 4 times a week. This applies in any season. In hindsight, I think it would be to keep fluids up and vitamin intake is more easily absorbed. Wise words for any age really.

 

Cooking with Qi

 

The nature of the qi in our food will be enhanced by how we cook it. Steaming, grilling, stir frying, smoking, drying, baking, braising or making soups are not only chosen for flavour but also to retain the nutritional qi in each food. Dad also told me Chinese eat all parts of any animal and preserve fruit and vegetables by drying or pickling them to avoid food wastage. And that was way before the concept of  "zero food waste" was even heard of.

Lee Kum Kee sauces are always in the cupboard

Our kitchen cupboard when I was growing up in the seventies was always stocked with dried shrimp, lup cheong (dried sausage), dried mushrooms, pickled vegetables (mustard greens, bamboo shoots in chili oil, countless others) or tinned vegetables (think chestnuts and bamboo shoots) and bottles of sauces (soy, oyster, hoi sin) including chilli and preserved beans. These were everyday necessities. Plus salty dried preserved fish (harm yue in Cantonese), my Dad’s favourite. A small spoonful warmed on a saucer placed on top of rice in the rice cooker was one of his comfort foods.

Everyone know THIS bottle of Oyster Sauce 

I can’t really comment on deep frying as I’m sure fried food is tasty but should only be eaten in moderation. It was pointed out to me when living in Japan that karaage (fried chicken) or tonkatsu (Japanese pork schnitzel) is usually served with finely sliced raw cabbage to balance out the oil content. Balance or yin/yang balance is fundamentally important. For those interested, there is heaps more information available on the 5 flavours and colours of a balanced diet (5 elements) and eating to treat specific organs in the body.

Adam Liaw's Best Japanese Fried Chicken - Kara-age

 So, everybody eat well to live well!

 

Here are some links and references to the Qi/ Chi Diet you may enjoy.

 

The Chinese Kitchen Garden by Wendy Kiang-Spray - A book on growing vegies the Chinese Way, their nutritional and health values and how to cook them! I just finished reading it. Excellent!!!

 

Living Chi by Grandmaster Gary Khor overviews the Chi Diet in daily life. Great summation and so helpful.

 

More recently, the Wudang Taoist Wellness Academy, founded by Master Gu from Wudang Mountain and George Thompson (of Youtube fame), have been running online courses focussing on Taoist and Wudang style taiji, qigong and way of living. "How to Eat Like a Daoist" is one of the modules that is very comprehensive and easy to understand. You need to be a student to access this info.

THANKS

I wrote this post in early September but had no photos to include. Many thanks to Eric and Natalie at Firm n Fresh, a lovely little fruit and vegetable store in my neighbourhood that sells beautiful farm fresh produce. Also, I'm a big fan of Australian Masterchef Winner Adam Liaw so have included his photo of my daughter's fave food kara-age and, had to pay homage to the iconic Lee Kum Kee Premium Oyster Sauce bottle. There is always a bottle of this in my fridge, with a standby in the cupboard.

The gorgeous organic kitchen garden belongs to Rhonda Hetzel. Rhonda writes the popular and much loved Down to Earth blog. Her book Down to Earth - a guide to simple living has just been published in paperback. I completed Rhonda's blogging course in 2018 and am still learning...