Our Yin and Yang

I had a great experience at a women's gathering yesterday.  We had simple food demonstrations and time saving tips on preparing cookie dough to freeze ahead of time, flower arrangements, eco-friendly ways to make use of what we have in our backyard for holidays decoration, relaxation techniques and wine pairings ideas.  They are all so inspiring to me, I felt like organizing my own parties already!

I met some wonderful women who are multi-taskers, professionals, and career minded.  We started talking about the hectic seasons, migraines on set, lack of time to finish everything, and I thought to myself, I need to write a blog about the Yin and Yang of our body type and how it relates to the food we eat, and our overall well-being.  I might have to write more than one blog about it, but to put everything in a nutshell, if we do not take care of ourselves first, which is the foundation, the rest will fall apart eventually.  Chinese medicine is based on the fundamentals of first knowing the body type, then applying the right kind of herbs, food, and remedies.  The theory of Yin and Yang relative to our universe can be referred to, man is yang, woman is yin; sun is yang, moon is yin; day is yang, night is yin; functions of the human body are yang, its shape is yin; heaven is yang, earth is yin; skin and muscles are yang, internal organs are yin; the back is yang, the abdomen is yin.  The energies and flavors of foods are also classified into yin and yang.

The East is rich with holistic knowledge of how to fully utilize what nature has installed for us.  Chinese believes in the balance of all things.  The four seasons embraces the various temperament of Spring - beginning of life and mild weather, Summer - full bloom and hot weather, Autumn - change of colors - dry and cool weather, Winter - hybernation and cold weather.  What our body needs is determined by what our body type is, the season we are in and what our daily habits are.

The concept is simply to know your yin and yang body type and adapt it to the kind of food to take that will enhance your health to its full potential.

Here is a simple preparation to enhancing hair health especially for those with dark hair turning grey, and also a great autumn drink to balance the dampness and cold of the winter season:-

Black Sesame Sweet Tea

Ingredients:  5 oz (150g) black sesame, 4 tablespoons rice, 8 oz (225g) slab sugar, 6 cups water

Method:  1. Rinse black sesame to clean, drain and air-dry overnight.  Brown in a dry clean wok over a medium heat.  2.  Soak rice in 1 cup water for 1 hour, blend and drain to form a fine rice solution.  3.  Blend black sesame in 1 and 1/2 cups water to form a fine solution, pass through a fine sieve.  4.  Dissolve slab sugar in remaining water, add sesame solution, stir and cook for a while.  5.  Serve hot.

Feel free to contact The Bling Girl at 312-215-4210 to learn more about our 2012 Cooking Club activities.

Enjoy!

Anne Haywood Smith

The Bling Girl - www.annehaywood.com