winter and the element of water.

It still feels like winter lately so, for me, it’s a good time to make a chicken, vegetable soup with some warming, tonic Chinese herbs. We are at the end of the season but it still feels like winter which means we need to support our kidneys and adrenals, the organs associated with the cold months. Winter is the most Yin time of the year according to Chinese medicine. Yin is dark, cold, slow and inward. It’s time to rest, reflect, do some meditation, yoga or tai chi. Our bones are connected to the water element so warming soups and bone broths are excellent choices. Winter foods are ones that are in season now such as root vegetables, squashes, cabbage, potatoes, mushrooms, winter greens like kale and hearty stocks made with these ingredients as well as animal bones, lamb, chicken, chestnuts, walnuts and some unrefined sea salt in moderation. Slow cooking is preferable at low temperatures adding heat to warm and nourish the body in the cold winter months.

Enjoy that winter soup, relax by the fire and read a good book. Spring is around the corner!