Inside HBC

Greek Salad for a summer day

Summer started here in Virginia a few weeks ago, with temperatures soaring into the 90s and plenty of humidity. If you are outside for part of your day, you know by now that staying hydrated is really important. Now that summer is officially here, try adding more foods that hydrate and keep you cool, vegetables like cucumbers, tomatoes, and green peppers in this simple Greek salad. It calls for dried oregano, but if you have fresh, so much the better. Your taste buds will be delighted with  the 5-Flavors, and your body will thank you.

• 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil (sweet)
• 1½ tablespoons lemon juice (sour)
• 1 clove garlic—minced (pungent)
• ½ teaspoon dried oregano (bitter, pungent)
• ¼ teaspoon sea salt (salty)
• ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, and extra for garnish (bitter, pungent)
• 3 tomatoes—cut into wedges (sweet, sour)
• ¼ red onion—sliced into rings (sweet, pungent)
• ½ cucumber—sliced into thick half-moons (sweet)
• ½ green pepper (capsicum)—julienned (sweet, pungent)
• 4 oz (120g) feta cheese—cut into small cubes (pungent, salty)
• 16 kalamata olives (salty, sweet)

Whisk together the olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, salt, pepper and oregano in a large salad bowl. Add the rest of the ingredients and toss gently to cover. Garnish with fresh ground pepper.

Flatbread with Leeks, Capers, and Asiago Cheese

In the springtime, add leafy greens, onions, leeks, and other early vegetables to your meals. Looking at Food as Medicine in Traditional Chinese Medicine (and maybe just by common sense?) eating seasonal foods is the way to go! The foods that arrive in the spring, tender green vegetables and herbs, provide energy as directly from the sun as possible and support us as we become more active and the days get longer.

Here’s an easy recipe for flatbread that can be adjusted to use your favorite seasonal toppings all year long.

• 2 cups GWF Baking Mix (sweet, salty)
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/4 cup olive oil (sweet)
• 1 medium leek, white and light green parts, cut into long thin strips (pungent)
• 3 oz cheese, shredded or cut into 1/4 cubes (sour, salty)
• 2 TBS capers (salty)
• Freshly ground pepper (bitter)
• Olive oil

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
2. Place 2 cups of GWF Baking Mix in a large bowl and add water and oil.  Mix well.
3. Press dough onto a lightly oiled baking sheet to about 1/4 in thick.  Drizzle about 1 tsp olive oil over top of dough and spread leeks evenly over the top. Generously spread cheese and capers over the leeks.  Sprinkle with freshly ground pepper, and drizzle again with olive oil.
4. Bake in oven for 25 minutes.  Remove, slice and enjoy!

Learning the 5 Flavors

Our weight loss club participants are learning how to use the 5 Flavors to satisfy their appetites.  Using the 5 Flavors in your meal planning will also help to keep your body healthy.  As you learn to identify these flavors, and identify your cravings, you may also learn to put attention on areas that are deficient.  Your attention cues your body to send healing energy to those areas.  (And needles sure do help, too.)  As always, work with the Doctor on diagnosis and a healing plan.

The 5 Flavors are Sweet, Salty, Sour, Pungent, and Bitter.

Here are some foods that will help you learn the 5 Flavors (pages refer to recipes in the HBC Recipe Book).

• candied ginger (pungent/sweet)
• dark chocolate–70% if you can find it (bitter/sweet)
• roasted almonds (salty/sweet)
• grape tomatoes (sour/sweet)
• kosher pickles (sour/sweet)
• Mediterranean olives (sour/sweet)
• slices of cucumber with curried yogurt dip [pg 5] (sour/sweet/pungent)
• celery with peanut butter or goat cheese/ground pepper (salty/sweet)
• pistachio nuts (ALL 5 FLAVORS!!)
• protein shake [pg 15, pg 16]  (sweet)
• green drink (sweet/sour/bitter)
• spoonful of peanut butter (the natural, no sugar kind) (sweet)
• guacamole [pg 8]  (sweet, sour, pungent, salty)

All of the recipes in the HBC Recipe Book list the flavors of each ingredient to make it easier for you to do your menu planning.

Gillian will be in the clinic select Saturday mornings (watch our Facebook page) with GWF Baking Mix goodies and to answer your questions about 5 Flavor Eating and the Weight Loss Club.

5-Flavor Eating

Did you know that balancing the flavors of the food you eat on a daily basis can actually prevent disease?  Food can and should be considered medicine.  You really can eat to lose weight, balance your emotions, and improve your overall health.  When your meals contain a variety of flavors and textures, you simply feel more satisfied sooner and don’t tend to overeat, burdening your body with too much.

The 5 Flavors:

• Sweet
• Salty
• Sour
• Pungent
• Bitter

When you include each of these flavors when you eat, you will find that you feel more satisfied, more energetic, and less inclined to snack.  Your concentration may improve, your moods may be more steady, and life just may seem brighter.  Come back to this category for scrumptious recipes and delicious meal ideas to help you on your journey to optimum health.