Chiu-Nan Lai, Ph.D.
Seeds from plants and fruits are the best sources of oils. Plants that grow in hot climate produce oils which are of a ‘cool’ nature, those that grow in cold climate produce oils which are of a ‘hot’ nature, those that grow in warm climate produce oils which are of neutral nature. Coconuts that grow in hot climate are of a cooler nature. Olive which grow in the warm climate of the Mediterranean have a neutral nature, but sesame are of a hot nature. Nuts and grains are also sources of oils, for example soy bean oil, rice bran oil etc.
It is best to take oils directly from unprocessed seeds. If one needs extra oils, choose cold-pressed or expeller pressed oils and not oils extracted with chemicals; bottled oils after opening should be kept in the refrigerator. Also avoid buying huge bottles of oils and keeping them under room temperature because oils after oxidization will produce compounds which are harmful to the body.
Oils are especially important to women after middle age because the secretion of progesterone also occurs through fat cells in the body. After menopause, the secretion of progesterone is greatly reduced, thus obtaining reasonable amounts of oils is necessary.
The following are recipes of seeds and nuts provided for suggestions::
OATS PORRIAGE WITH NUTS.
Ingredients :
1 cup of oats.
3 cups of water
8 – 12 Almonds
1 tablespoon of sunflower seeds
1 tablespoon of Chinese wolfberry
4 Chinese honey dates
4 dates
4 red dates
Method :
Soak almond and sunflower seeds in water overnight, then pour away the water.
Cook all above ingredients. Cook over a small flame for 15 minutes, then leave it to brew for 1 hour.
Muesli with Nuts
Ingredients :
8 cups of oats
½ cup of buck wheats
2 cups of wheat germ
2 cups coconut bits
1 cup sunflower seeds
1 cup almond or walnut (soaked in water overnight), cashew nut
1 cup sunflower seed oil or sesame oil
Method :
Mix both together and pour into a baking pan. Bake at low oven temperature (150 degree F or 65 degree C) for one to two hours. Stir a few times. Store in a glass jar after cooling. Can be served with warm water, soy milk, almond milk, rice milk, sweet fruit juice, or sesame milk. Those who like to have it sweet can also add dates.
ALMOND MILK
Ingredients :
½ cup almonds
2 cups water (warm to hot)
4 dates
Method :
Place almonds which have been soak overnight (with skin removed) into the blender and blend with ½ cup of water. Add remaining ingredients and the balance water to blend.
May also use sunflower seeds, walnut, sesame or cashew nuts for substitute.
SESAME AND MILLET WAFFLE
Ingredients :
1 cup millet
½ cup sesame (ground)
2 tablespoon oil
Method :
Add millet which has been soaked in water overnight to 1 ½ cups of water to blend. Leave under room temperature for 8 hours to ferment. Add sesame powder and 2 tablespoon of oil. Pour into a waffle mould to cook.
May add moderate amounts of malt sugar or brown sugar syrup to taste.
COCONUT MILK, BLACK GLUTINOUS RICE, GREEN BEAN, BLACK BEAN PORRIDGE
Ingredients :
½ cup green beans
½ cup black beans
½ cup black glutinous rice
10 cups water
½ of a fresh coconut
Method :
Soak beans and rice in water overnight. Pour away the water. Add 7 cups of water to cook. Use another 3 cups of hot water to blend with coconut meat and strain out the pulp, then add coconut milk to the cooked porridge.
Those with a sweet tooth may add black sugar.
Note :
Before consumption, it is best to soak almond and walnuts in water for 8 hours or soak in hot water for 1 hour and pour away the water to remove tannin.
The above are mainly for breakfast. Food that contain fat are best consumed before lunch for easy digestion.
Extracted from Lapis Lazuli Light Magazine 2000 Nov Issue
Translated by Lapis Lazuli Light Singapore