How did you come to know and love tea?

I grew up with a mom who always created an herb garden wherever she has lived and helped me develop a taste for herbal brews early on starting with spearmint sun tea and catnip.I learned so much about tea in the town I lived for medical school – Portland, Oregon. They actually have tea shops and tea shops within Chinese gardens. My Chinese Medicine teachers always packed their traveling suitcases with tea and spices. The ah too true joke with them is that packaged teas that we drink in this country are the sweepings off the factory floors from their country. I choose bulk tea from high quality vendors and use a tea pot with strainer or french press.  I add hot water until the liquid is near to colorless. Any extra tea can be stored in the fridge for 3-4 days.

What is your favorite tea or tea blend for Winter?
My go to winter tea is chai or a spiced bone broth

Click to learn how to free the medicine in leaves, roots, barks and berries in this week’s Cultivating Wellness blog http://drsaritaelizabeth.com/brewing-teas-free-their-medi…/

Below is an easy Bone Broth preparation for you to enjoy.

Simple Slow Cooker Bone Broth

Crockpot, Pruning shears, Ladle, Skimmer, Mesh strainer, Freezer containers

Instructions

Fill crockpot ¾ of the way full with bones. Add dried spices/herbs. Add salt/seaweed. Add vinegar/lemon juice. Add just enough filtered water to cover the bones. Cook on low 18-72 hours

Add vegetables, skins/ends/stems at any time during the cooking process. Skim fat/gelatin and retain for later use. Fill containers with broth. Freeze for later use.

Soup = cooking liquid for gains, vegetable simmers, tea, gravy

Five Element Analysis

Soups, especially broths are Water Element nourishment. Each type bone directs the energy to more specific Elements

Pork, Deer, Turkey or Duck to Water to nourish the Kidney, Bladder & Adrenals

Chicken to Wood to nourish Liver & Gallbladder

Beef to Earth (and Water) to nourish Stomach, Spleen & Pancreas as well as Kidney, Bladder & Adrenals

Spoiler alter:  this soup might just become your favorite welcome to spring winter soup favorite.  

The soups can be created and enjoyed in any order.  However, the order of the soups as presented journeys you through the 12 organ network in order of energetic flow.  One or two may even become your favorite go to soups throughout the year. The first and last vegetable combinations concentrate on the Metal element organs: large intestine and lung respectively.

All Nourishing Winter Soup Cleanse recipes can be found  a few posts back (click here).

Wanna dive deeper into the cleanse with spices, soup toppers and self-care actions?  Check back in for our upcoming posts or follow our blog to have the posts delivered to your email

Compliance Tip:  Soup Share

Want to do the soup cleanse with 1/2 the work?  Consider a soup share.  Divide the soups and double the ingredients, package and swap with a friend or family member.

Compliance Tip: Element Wisdom Cards

Reach your Zenith

Choose an Element Wisdom Card each day. These unique messages support your seasonal health & elemental constitution as determined by your 5 element practitioner.

Spices: 

Oregano: warm, pungent

qualities: releasing, detoxifying

actions: heart protective, antiviral, anti-parasitic

affinity: HT, SI

Thyme: warm, pungent

qualities: tonifies wei qi, spleen, lung; releases exterior

actions: restorative, antiviral, anti-inflammatory

affinity: LU, ST, SP, adrenals, nerves

Whole Foods Tips:

Snap the asparagus from the bottom of the stalk to divide the tender from the woody stalk.

Store the asparagus in water  in a cup or glass in the refrigerator until ready to cook.

Toppers:

Lemon zest, peel or juice: 

qualities: sour, sweet, neutral

action: calming, clears phlegm misting the heart

affinity: LV, GB, HT, LU, ST

Self Care:

To support the heart: practice metta – loving kindness toward yourself and others

I hope you enjoy this journey!  Be creative.  Love your body with healthy foods.

xoxoxoxo Sarita