Hi, and welcome to our autumn newsletter,
It’s such a beautiful warm day outside it really doesn’t feel that winter is almost upon us. We have had a few cool days to make us aware that the seasons are changing. Scarves need to come out to protect the neck as the wind can whip up at any time and allow a wind invasion to enter. This means our immune system is under threat, leaving us vulnerable to colds and flu. As you may notice, when the sun goes down it drops a lot in temperature: be prepared!.
It’s time to celebrate our 2nd birthday Utopia Health Care has been open for 2 year and enjoying the sharing and support of old and new clients.
We have said goodbye to Di Challenor, who is creating and exploring other areas.
Welcome to Ilse Jamonts. Please read her profile for the service she is providing. I have spent many years studying with Ilse both in meditation and other esoteric studies. In this time I have gain much on a personal developmental level, and therefore also a deeper understanding of the healing that takes place in the body mind and spirit).
We also welcome in the year of the Rabbit, lovely cute animals that deliver joy to many, for some of the Chinese astrology signs the Rabbit can be a very lucky year.
Wishing you a happy Easter for those that celebrate this festival, if you are on holidays may they be safe and restful.
Metal Element
This corresponds to the emotion of grief; the lungs and the Large Intestine are where this emotion is expressed inside the body. A secondary aspect of grief is loneliness, which is often a deliberate act of isolation to process traumatic information. When the Metal Element is out of balance, a person will create a barrier of emotional protection, to discourage others from physical or emotional contact. They can cut themselves off from others and can often appear as being aloof. Lungs that are strong make a individual effective in how they go about their tasks and help maintain their purpose in life. The large intestine lets go of what is no long necessary. A metal element in balance is able to honor their commitments, this balance promotes the ability to experience sadness and let go.
Maybe add something extra about the natural process of letting go. Many people are naturally feeling the urge to declutter, letting go of old, unnecessary stuff, making way for space and simplicity.
The strength of the lungs will indicate the body own effective immune system, only as wei qi or protective qi. This protects the skin, nose and mouth from external attack by viruses, cold and germs, these external attacks can often be led by wind. So if the wei qi is not strong one can get every cold and virus going around, and the cold may last longer
Dryness is the most common in the autumn months due to the wind and the residue of summer heat, dry lips dry throat dry skin dry cough and constipation. To treat dryness in autumn add moistening foods to your diet, such as tofu, tempeh, soya milk, spinach, barley, millet, seaweed, mushrooms, almonds, sesame seeds, pears and apples.
Food and herbs that are pungent in flavour are beneficial to the lungs, the pungent flavor moves up into the lungs to clear them and encourages wind to move out of the body. Consider Chai tea with it’s spices of cardamom, cinnamon and cloves.
Other herbs such as bay leaves, caraway seeds, nutmeg, rosemary, thyme, dill, fennel onions and garlic all have an expanding nature and help strengthen the lung, although don’t over use them in autumn.
Good health in autumn sets one up for good health in the winter...
Try rye bread instead of the typical wheat, as rye helps remove damp.
Leek and potato soup builds energy, improves digestion strengthen the lung liver and kidney. The combination has a warming comforting and calming effect.
I found this recipe from a client’s blog, we were discussing the virtues of Millet and she said how much she also liked it and I asked if I could use it, so thanks to Anthea Amore.
Millet slice
2 Cups millet (cook in 4 cups filtered water)
2 medium onions, diced
1 tbs cumin seeds
2 tbs coriander powder
1 tsp smoked paprika
1 tsp dried thyme
2 tbs yeast flakes
1/3 bunch fresh coriander, stems and leaves chopped finely (you can use mint or parsley too)
1 dsp salt
¼ cup olive oil
½ cup tahini
½ cup filtered water
Cooking the pumpkin
Roast the pumpkin first. I like to cut it into one inch thick wedges but feel free to cut it how you would like to present it. Lay the pumpkin pieces flat on a baking try and douse with olive oil and generous sprinkle some salt & cracked pepper. Place in the oven at 190c and bake until golden and soft.
Cooking the millet
Don’t be scared of cooking millet. In this recipe it doesn’t matter if you over cook it or if it goes mushy! So give this super food a go. It’s delicious!
Put the millet into a saucepan of water and bring to the boil. Then turn down to simmer and allow it to cook and absorb the water for approximately 20 minutes. By now chances are the millet has soaked up all the water and should look mostly cooked (yellowish in colour, not much uncooked grain left). Keep the lid on! Now turn off the millet and let it steam in the pot for a further 10 minutes or until you are ready to use it.
While the millet is cooking, you can sauté your onions on a medium heat, along with all the spices, until the onion is soft.
Then place the millet in a large mixing bowl, add the onion/spice mix, yeast flakes, and the chopped fresh coriander. Mix the tahini, olive oil, salt & water together with a whisk, until all the lumps are smooth. Pour over the millet and mix by hand or with a wooden spoon if millet is too hot to handle! Press into a baking dish approximately 20cm x 30cm and approximately 1.5 – 2 inches high.
Drizzle olive oil over the top of the slice and scatter sesame seeds.
Bake for 30 minutes at 190C.
Top each piece with a roast pumpkin wedge and 3-4 table spoons of the Tomato, Artichoke and Coriander salad on top of that.
Serve warm or cold.
Great for a lunch box snack to take to work or for kids lunch boxes.