Category: Recipes

Now that we’re in the height of summer, many of us are looking for ways to stay cool and beat the heat. One classic summer food that can help us do just that is watermelon. Everyone knows how sweet and refreshing a juicy slice of watermelon on a hot day can be, it’s a summertime ritual for many of us.

In Chinese Medicine, watermelon is used medicinally to help cool and clear summer heat. It nourishes fluids and helps promote urination, making it an excellent medicine for clearing heat from the body. It also has a sweet calming nature for the spirit.

Here’s a cooling summer recipe for a Watermelon Salad:

1 small watermelon, sliced into cubes and seeds removed
½-1 cup jicama, sliced
1 tablespoon chopped cilantro

We all think hydration is simple, right? Just drink plenty of water. But staying well hydrated also means our bodies need to actually ABSORB all the water we’re drinking. Imagine a dry, cracked piece of earth in the desert. When it rains, that earth is so parched and hard that it cannot absorb any water. It all runs off the surface.

Our bodies are the same. If we don’t “prepare our soil” properly, all the water we drink just runs right through, and our tissues are still parched and dry. In TCM, we use yin tonics- herbs that are moistening and demulcent, in order to help moisten the body on a deep level and help it to “hold” the water. On a cellular level, yin tonics …

With Spring in full bloom, one of our most prized medicinal plants is now in the height of its season- Pu Gong Ying, or Dandelion. Cursed by North American lawn growers, but celebrated by herbalists all over the planet, Dandelion greens are a highly nutritious and tasty food.

They are rich in minerals and Vitamin A. Many of us in North America often shy away from bitter, nutritive foods such as Dandelion. Our palate is so out of balance with sweet and salty, we have lost our taste for other flavors such as sour and bitter. However, the bitter greens of Spring are an important way to attune ourselves to the season and get the Liver and Gall Bladder moving after the stillness of winter. Check …

With Summer, the season of Fire upon us, we only need to step out our doors to see the reminder everywhere: Summer is the season of Flowering. We see this in the beauty of our gardens and the bright wildflowers that are still so alive in our local hills. The Nei Jing tells us that the movement of Summer is growth and flowering. Of all the parts of a plant, flowers pertain most to the Fire element. They are light and yang in nature, they lift and brighten our spirits and bring us joy. Flowers in TCM are mostly used to affect the upper parts of the body, where the shen (spirit) resides. Their fragrance is opening and moving.

Many of our local flowers can …

As acupuncturists and herbalists in training, the students of AIMC can use our garden to learn hundreds of herbs, sometimes up to 20 new herbs per week.

This a recipe made by Sarah Donnelly for our AIMC Berkeley Intro to Herbs class, where students create and share a medicinal recipe. These delicious chocolates treat wind-cold disorders and are also act as a tonic and detox. Enjoy!

Ingredients:
Gelatin
Ginger
Chocolate
Lemon juice
Honey
Coconut oil
Agave nectar
Cayenne pepper

Medicinal Ingredients and function in the body:
Ginger – Warming to the Lungs, Spleen and Stomach; releases exterior; indicated for coughing, wheezing, nausea.
Chocolate – Bitter – Anti inflammatory; dries dampness and phlegm
Lemon & Honey – Muscle/pain reliever
Honey – Tonifies
Gelatin – Eases joint pain

Instructions:

Candied Ginger Topper:
Slice ginger thinly, cover with 2C of water. Boil 10 minutes or until ginger has softened. Drain, and return 1/4C water to the cooked ginger, stirring …