A New Year!

Hello! I'm back to blogging now. I promise! Life and my humanity meant that blogging wasn't a priority for a while but I am back now with a smile and excitement for this new year ahead of me! Life has been very interesting indeed this past year. Taking a look back I dated, fell in love with, became engaged to and married the most wonderful man for time and all eternity in the house of the Lord. It was a beautiful day and these past 6 months (on Jan 4th) have been amazingly wonderful and amazingly challenging. Get married if you aren't, it's a great thing. Here are some pictures from the day:



It was magical and fairy-like, fun and wild! I loved it. I got to dance to live fiddle music, be with my family  and friends and be surrounded by beauty. It was great! My family was amazing and helped pull everything together beautifully. There was pretty lights, good food, good company, entertainment, music, dancing, bunting, creative bottle displays on the tables, flowers, garland and oh so much more. It was perfect. Tee hee. So! I am Mrs. Evans now.

We also moved into a new apartment in Halifax which is adorable. I love it. I've also managed to make it look smashing. Simply smashing! Pictures to come.

I'm inspired to be REALLY HEALTHY again. My New Years resolution this year is to focus on taking very good care of myself, spiritually, physically and emotionally. Not that I eat junk food all the time, am a couch potato, and need to lose weight. Haha I'm not too bad but I just want to be as healthy as I deserve to be and truly live up to the knowledge I have. Change is good! Go listen to the song Changes by David Bowie. It's great. The thing that really got me excited about this goal is this video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=XI4ZEs_WN9g

This women has an amazing blog called mynewroots.org that is my most favoritest food blog ever. It is chock full of amazing recipes. It is one of my inspirations and proof that healthy can be tastier, more beautiful and desirable than unhealthy. So there! Check out her recipe for hot chocolate here: http://mynewroots.blogspot.ca/2012/12/superfood-haute-chocolate.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+My-New-Roots+%28My+New+Roots%29

Here is to a new year! I wish you all the best with it!

Mrs. Evans

Two things: Breakfast and Dinner

Well, to say it's been a while would be a slight understatement. Much has happened in the three months since my last post. I'm engaged for one thing! Yep, I'm getting married. Pretty crazy hey? Bbbbuuuuutttt that is a story for another day. I've also had a few opportunities and ideas come my way for my career. Time will tell what happens with that. For now I am going to share some awesome ideas I have had lately. One for breakfast and one for dinner.

Breakfast:

I love pancakes. Seriously, they are one of my favorite things to cook. I could probably write a cook book just on pancakes. Hmmm that's not a bad idea. Maybe I will! Anyways, I pulled out some old ideas and put a new spin on them. One is banana pancakes and the other is orange pancakes. They are seriously good!

                       

Banana Pancakes

1 cup Buckwheat flour

1 tsp nutmeg

2 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp xantham gum

1/4 cup ground pumpkin, sunflower and flax seeds

1/2 - 1/2 cup honey

2 tbsp olive oil

1 banana

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 cup water (add as needed)

Combine and mix dry ingredients in large bowl. Combine and mix wet ingredients in smaller bowl. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and mix. Should get thick but pour-able batter. Add 1 tbsp of oil to a frying pan,  and turn to medium heat. Cook for 2-5 min on each side, or until golden brown.

Yay! So delish! Seriously. You will see.

Orange Pancakes

1 cup buckwheat flour

1 tsp nutmeg

2 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp xantham gum

1 tbsp olive oil

Grated orange zest (grate the outer orange part of an entire large orange)

Freshly squeezed orange juice (about 2 tbsp)

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 cup water (add as needed)

Combine and mix dry ingredients in large bowl. Combine and mix wet ingredients in smaller bowl. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and mix. Should get thick but pour-able batter. Add 1 tbsp of oil to a frying pan,  and turn to medium heat. Cook for 2-5 min on each side, or until golden brown.

It's hard to say but I think this one was my favorite for the day. :) Yay for pancakes!

Now onto #2:

Dinner:

                                            

See that? See how beautiful it is? See the color and vibrance? I do. It's as good as it looks. I promise. 

I dreamed this up in a flash last night, and it turned out great! I love it when that happens. I received many lovely compliments on it. I love those. I decided to call this Red and White Quinoa Delight. Mainly because it rhymes but also because it contains red and white quinoa and is utterly delightful. Just so you know quinoa is a complete protein. That means that it contains all of the essential amino acids. It's also highly nutritious, delicious, easy to cook and easy to digest. Just don't eat it every day. From what I have learned its best not to have it more than 4 times in a week and to rotate weeks. Quinoa is great if you are a vegetarian or vegan looking for good plant proteins. So without any further ado, I introduce to you my recipe using quinoa. Enjoy!

Red and White Quinoa Delight     

1 cup red quinoa

1 cup white quinoa

1 head of broccoli

2 heads of cauliflower

1 cup of sliced chinese cabbage

3 large carrots

Juice from 1 whole lemon

2 - 3 tbsp olive oil

1/4 cup organic wheat free tamari soy sauce

3 tsp chili powder

1 tbsp dill

3 tsp celery seed

3 tsp curry powder

Cook quinoa on stove-top with water about an inch above. Turn to medium-high heat. Once it boils let it do so for about a minute or two. Then turn the head down to medium-low. Turn to low after about 8 minutes. Let it soak up the water. Once the quinoa seeds are the same color all over and the middle of them looks cooked. Remove from the heat. At the same time lightly steam the vegetable in a little bit of water on medium - high heat. Add the carrots first, then the cauliflower, then broccoli and lastly the cabbage. Don't simmer for more than 8-10 minutes over all. The broccoli only needs about 2 minutes and the cabbage 1. Remember that you don't want to heat all those nutritious live enzymes, vitamins and minerals to death. Combine the veggies and quinoa in a bowl and add the rest of the ingredients. Stir well, leave for a few minutes to let the flavors mix and then serve! 

Hope these recipes made your life a little better. 

Bon appetit!

"Every day’s act of eating is an act of creating freedom” – Dr. Vandana Shiva

                 I just watched these three videos on you tube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vi1FTCzDSck, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TVlJqwft9I8&feature=relmfu, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PQDqEUd53YQ&feature=relmfu It's a three-part series of videos interviewing Dr. Vandana Shiva who is a physicist from India and the founder of Navdanya International which is "...an organization that focuses on saving and distributing native seeds to local farmers." (see http://www.vandanashiva.org/?p=700 for more information on Dr. Vandana Shiva and Navdanya International). I've watched these videos a couple times before and they always get me fired up. In these videos, Dr. Shiva summarizes and perfectly expresses everything I've learned, come to realize, think and feel regarding nutrition, organic farming, food industry, globalization, local and global economy, trade, politics etc... Her focus is on the issue of genetically modified seeds and the company Monsanto (they sell genetically modified seeds) wanting to put a patent on seeds; but through that, and with a background of actual experience and scientific know-how, she manages to cover how this, and what it represents, connects to all levels of human life. It's extremely interesting, illuminating and instructive! I believe that everyone needs to have an understanding and awareness of what she covers in this video and realize the importance of what she is saying and the role they have to play in it. "Be the the change you wish to see in the world" as Gandhi once said and Dr. Shiva makes it very clear what needs to change.

       I will let you watch the videos for yourself but let me quote something from it to summarize the point, or at least one if the main points I want you to get from watching these. In talking about what we can do about these issues she discusses the need to know how real food is grown and put the effort into supporting those who grow it (or grow it ourselves). She connects making this conscious decision and effort to "security overall". As she puts it: "Careless walking down a Wal-Mart aisle where you don't know where the food is coming from, what's in it, is going to condemn you to all kinds of health problems, disease problems; but most of all it's going to rob you of fundamental freedom. Before you know it you won't be able to make the choice."

      So, let me ask you a question. Are you willing to give your right to life itself up to companies and motives that do not have your best interests at heart? We are at a point where we need to take personal responsibility for what we put into our mouths; not just because of how it will effect our health and our children's health but because of it's effect on the economy, the community, the environment, the rest of the world and what kind of security and freedoms we (and those who come after us) will or will not have in the future. PLEASE watch the videos. It won't take long. It's a crash course in what I am going to spend my career trying to help people understand. At least on a nutritional level.

   
      I watched the movie WALL.E last night and it's so interesting how it connects so well to Dr. Shiva's point about the seed being the symbol of our very life and existence and ability to perpetuate it. On all levels. If you haven't watched this movie you should. It's made by Pixar and its for kids and adults. I love it because not only is it funny and cute but it makes a GREAT point.

Lastly, here is a recipe. Of course. This was ridiculously good. Just sayin'. Enjoy!




Squash and Sweet Potato Soup

1 Amber squash
1 Butternut squash
1 Large sweet potato
Goats milk
Fresh basil
Rosemary
Thyme
Cinnamon
Nutmeg
Salt and pepper
1-2 tbsp Flaxseed
1 tbsp butter or oil
*Onion
*Sunflower seeds

Slice, cube and peal the squash and sweet potatoes. Cook in a large pot on the stove-top until tender and a little squishy. Blend in a food processor with a little goats milk to help it mix better. Return the blended substance to the big pot and stove-top. Add as much goats milk (other types of milk such as nut, coconut, rice etc...would work too) as you need to get it to the desired consistency. Mine was thick but pour-able. Add fresh basil, thyme and rosemary. I used equal and generous amounts of each. It all depends on which flavor you like best as to your proportions. If you love the taste of basil, put more in. Then add a dash of cinnamon and nutmeg. You want this to be the underlying flavor so don't put too much in. You need more than a tsp of each as this is a large batch, but no more than 2-4 tbsp. Add the butter or oil (coconut oil would go great if you were using coconut milk instead of goats milk) and stir. Then add a little sea salt and pepper to taste. Make sure you have the soup on medium-low and are stirring whilst adding all of the seasonings.Simmer for 5-10 minutes (stir regularly though). Add the ground flaxseed and mix well. Check the flavor and add any of the seasonings as needed. You can add white onion and/or sunflower seeds if you like that idea. You should have a huge pot of soup that you can serve to a whole lunch/dinner party or separate and refrigerate/freeze for the rest of the week. Even two weeks! Serve with some sliced quinoa bread and butter on it and sprinkle a little goat cheese feta on the top of the soup for that extra dash of awesomeness.
Enjoy! I really liked it.

Here's Something Genius!

         I LOVE smoothies. Why do I love smoothies? Many reasons. First of all they are sooo easy and quick to make. Second, you can put anything you want in them and make them as healthy or unhealthy as you like. I don't know how many times I've added flaxseed, hempseed, greens powder, even powdered glucosamine sulfate! to some fruit, maybe even some leafy greens, and almond, hazelnut, coconut, rice or goats milk (sometimes just water!), and had the results be delicious, sustaining and satisfying. It's one of my favorite breakfast choices and while I could sing about my love and appreciation for smoothies from the rooftops; over the years I have discovered one major flaw with them. What is this flaw you may ask? Well, I'll tell ya. 

        Smoothies are a great option during the warmer months of the year but when it comes time to turn up the heat, warm up your car a few minutes before you leave and start bundling up and wearing more layers, they become less appealing. Not because they don't taste as good, but because they aren't conducive to keeping warm. They can make you stinking cold! and who wants to walk out their door in the morning cold? I know I don't. That's why I never eat them in the winter. I found it a shame though that a breakfast option that has served one so well the rest of the year, should have to be discontinued for that reason alone. So, I decided it was time to make a change. The result? A genius discovery which I would like to call a hot smoothie! My apologies if you are the official inventor or are a personal friend of theirs. The idea is to make a smoothie like normal - place ingredients in blender and press blend – then add a step by heating the blended substance in a small pot on the stove. Be sure to stir continuously and not heat too high or too long so you can keep as many of the enzymes alive as possible. Let me share photos and a couple variations of my version of the hot smoothie.

Hot smoothie #1 – Ugly Betty: (Doesn’t look pretty but tastes good.)

1 banana

¼ cup blueberries

½ pomegranate

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tbsp greens powder

1 tbsp ground flaxseed

½ cup Liberte coconut yogurt

¼ - ½ cup water

1 tsp vanilla extract

Place all ingredients in a blender or food processor and blend. Pour the result into a small pot and heat it over medium low heat on the stove-top to your desired temperature. Pour into a mug and enjoy!

Hot smoothie #2 – Apple Cinnamon Joy!

1 apples

4 dates

1 – 2 tbsp cinnamon

1 tbsp greens powder

1 tbsp grounds flaxseed

1 tbsp liquid honey

1 tsp ground cloves

½ cup goats milk

1 tsp vanilla extract

Topping:

1 tbsp unsweetened coconut flakes

Walnuts

Blend all ingredients (excluding the topping) in a blender or food processor. Heat on stove-top and sprinkle the topping on top! Serve in a Christmas-style mug (this step is essential) and enjoy! Merry Christmas! Unless you’re in the states, and you just had Thanksgiving.

* A note about greens powder. The first link will take you to the greens powder I use. The second is another brand and just further explains what it is good for.  I consider a greens powder to be like a whole-food multi-vitamin. It's good insurance to add to an already healthy diet and exercise regime. It is particularly high in B vitamins which is the main reason I use it. http://public.naturallynovascotia.com/products/viewproduct.asp?productid=182, http://www.greenspowder.net/ 

I remember!

               It's Remembrance Day so I am going to remember to write a blog post. I know it has been an infinity since last I wrote. My excuses include looking for a new place to live and moving. Soooo let me get you all caught up! First of all I am now, officially, an R.H.N. I received my certificate in the mail in October. When it came through the slot I suddenly became very nervous and couldn't open it alone. So I called my Dad and opened it with him over skype. It was a magical moment. Here is a snapshot of me with my official certificate.

        Yes, I am a nerd. For those of you who don't know, I got food poisoning the eve of my final exam and was quite ill. My roommate had to type for me for a while as I tried to finish the pile of 14 case studies I had to have finished for the next day. I was up until 4 in the morning and had to get up at 7. I have no idea how I made it through that day, but I did. Yes, I broke all of the laws of health to do so but unfortunately it had to be done. My brother commented on the irony of getting food poisoning before a final exam for natural nutrition. I felt the irony. Quite keenly. However, it feels very good to be done school and to have something to show for all the blood, sweat and tears. You know?

Anyways, on to food. I awoke to a very rainy, and very windy Hailfax this morning. So, I decided to make pancakes. Of course. The process went wonderfully until I went to cook them on the stove top. I wanted to make them totally vegan so I used coconut oil on the pan to go underneath the pancakes. However, what I didn't consider is that coconut oil has a low melting point and dissipates quickly. That, plus pans that are not non-stick ones, equals a very frustrating mess and me resorting to butter in the end. Lets just say that one of my pans is in the sink right now soaking with 3 half pancakes on it, and no pictures were taken. I promise they are delicious! You can ask my roommate. You'll just have to use your imagination as to how beautiful they can look. You should send me your pictures! Just don't use coconut oil in the pan. Here is the recipe:

Apple Cinnamon Pancakes

Wet ingredients:

4 small Dox-Orange apples peeled and sliced

4 tbsp raw almond butter

1 1/2 cups almond milk

1/4 cup olive oil

Dry Ingredients:

1 cup dark buckwheat flour

1tsp xantham gum

2-3 tbsp ground cinnamon

1 tsp baking soda

1tsp baking powder

Small handful of ground flaxseed

Mix wet ingredients together in a food processor. Mix dry ingredients in a separate bowl and add wet ingredients. You want a thick but pour-able batter. 

Top with honey, maple syrup, jam, nut butter or yogurt and enjoy! Seriously good. 

The last recipe I want to share is something I decided to call "Curried Kale Casserole." 

Ingredients:

Small bunch of curly kale, sliced.

2 or 3 small organic carrots, chopped.

1 small onion, chopped.

1 cup of green lentils, soaked.  

1 cup of long-grain brown rice

1 -2 tbsp of curry powder

1 tbsp red pepper flakes

1 large handful of fresh dill

1 tsp black pepper

Goat feta cheese

Soak lentils over night. Cook rice. Lightly steam carrots in a separate pot. 3 min. Drain rice and add lentils, herbs and spices with a little water. (You want to keep it moist). Add veggies to the combination and stir periodically to allow the kale to soften and the flavors to soak through. Add seasonings to taste. Serve and enjoy! Sprinkle some feta cheese on top for added flavor and texture. 

Cooking time is approximately a 1/2 hour. 

Some of the herbs and spices in this recipe not only have a strong flavor but are also beneficial to  circulation, which makes this recipe great for the colder months of the year. See the following links for more information about herbs and warming and cooling foods: 

http://www.herbs2000.com/h_menu/1_wisdom.htm

http://www.pingminghealth.com/article/581/warming-and-cooling-characteristics-of-common-foods/

Just a note about oil: http://www.marksdailyapple.com/healthy-oils/

I would suggest never heating any oils except olive oil, coconut oil and 'real' butter. Olive oil should never be heated past a medium-low temperature and coconut oil never past medium-high. The reason for this is because a higher temperature can hydrogenate the oil which then makes it detrimental to your health as opposed to beneficial. A good tip is to add a little water to your oil when cooking so that the heat will evaporate the water first, extending your cooking time. I would also suggest avoiding canola oil altogether. Here's why: 

http://www.electroherbalism.com/Naturopathy/Therapies/Diet/FatsandOils/ProblemswithCanolaOil.htm

That's all for now folks!

I'm back!

Hello! I'm back. It has been a crazy month and a bit let me tell you! I completed 14 case studies and studied for my final of all final exams, which I completed on August 19th. Hallelujah!! I am so glad to finally be done. Now, I just wait for the results and my certificate. After October I can go by the title "RHN" (Registered Holistic Nutritionist). Crazy? Yes. I'm very unused to not having an assignment, reading or studying I need to do. It feels strange to be free of that voice in the back of my mind that constantly reminded me I had school work to do. Don't worry, I'll get used to it.

I've been thinking about what I wanted to post about today and I decided on spelt flour. Spelt flour and I have enjoyed some good times together these last couple months and have therefore developed a good relationship. It all started when I decided to re-make my mothers classic biscuit recipe, and culminated with me creating these amazing home-made spelt tortillas! It's also great with pancakes. So let me share the specifics with you;

What is spelt flour? Spelt is a gluten containing grain and is closely related to wheat. However, it contains far less gluten than wheat and is therefore often tolerated by those who are wheat sensitive. Which just so happens to be a lot of people. Those with Celiac disease can't tolerate it. Spelt flour is great in healthy baking because not only does it have a nice homey-nutty flavor, but it also keeps things together well and offers some nutrition, where regular white, and often whole-wheat, flours do not.

Here are some of my recipes.

I went home for the weekend and my Mom made spaghetti. Just the way she used to always make it. My oldest brother was home visiting with his oldest son and he said that the only thing that would have made it better was Mom's biscuits, the ones we used to always eat with it. So, after dinner, I decided to create said biscuits. With my own touch of course. My kindred-spirit nephew Ben helped me. Here is the recipe;

4 cups spelt  flour   

2 tbsp baking powder 

1 cup of raisins

1/2 cup pecans (use whatever kind of nut you want)

1tsp salt  

1/4 - 1/2 cup maple syrup    

Goats milk to almost 2 cups, top up to 2 1/4c with olive oil.        

Bale at 450 for approx. 10mins. Or until you can stick a fork in without any dough sticking to it. 

Mmmm! I made them again when I got back to Halifax and used honey instead of maple syrup. I also left out the nuts. They were good too! Then I got really creative and used parsley and garlic instead of the sweetener, nuts and raisins. I used about 1/4 cup of dried parsley and 3-5 tbsp of grated garlic. Also, very good. You just can't go wrong! 

My last and most genius creation was home-made spelt tortillas. Now, I know that spelt tortillas have been made before, but it's the herbs and spices in these that make them special. So here is what you do;

Combine:

1 cup spelt flour

2-3 tbsp of chili powder

2-3 tbsp cumin

3 tbsp of rosemary

3 tbsp parsley

1/2 tbsp sea salt

1 tbsp powdered dulse

1/4 cup ground flax seed

Add:

2 tbsp of olive oil

1/2 cup - 1 cup water

Now, mix this into a dough. Add flour if it's too moist or water if it's too dry. Roll out into flat and thin rounds (whatever size you want). Next you add it to a frying pan greased with olive oil or butter and cook on each side for about 1- 2 minutes. You want them to be flexible and slightly moist, so don't cook too them too long. Serve with hummus, falafel or whatever else your heart desires! Enjoy!

Isn't spelt flour great? It's also really great with pancakes. Makes them nice and dense. I'm very impressed. Definitely my favorite flour thus far. I may take this relationship to the next level. Don't worry though, I'm not possessive. Go ahead and try it for yourself! Experimentation encouraged. Maybe you could even tell me about your experience. I'd love to hear from you. Happy cooking!

Tootles,

        Ambles.

Something Different

                    So, I have been having some pretty bad luck with cooking lately. I'll admit it. A lot of what I've made for the last 2 weeks has been either disgusting or very mediocre. Whenever I make things too complicated, even just slightly, it never works out. I get excited about trying new things and start adding a bunch of ingredients. I try this and try that and end up with a meal that tastes, well, boring or way too funky. The flavors aren't allowed to stand on their own or combine with just 1 or 2 other flavors harmoniously, because it's far too busy and crowded. This creates an imbalance = unsatisfying meal. So, I think I learned my lesson: keep it simple. That's my style, and that's what works for me, so I better roll with it.
          I've also been thinking about my health lately. I have been very stressed for a while now and I'm trying to slow things down. My health has suffered and I feel undernourished. I truly believe that our diet and lifestyle need to be adaptable, we are each different and we each go through different stages and phases at different times in our life. In other words, our needs are individual and will change. So, what nourished you when you were 12, may not nourish you when you are 28 and what made you feel great yesterday, may not make you feel good today. I'm trying to become skilled at listening to my body and interpret what it is telling me. I'm seeing this principle at work in my own life. For example, a couple months ago...ish I felt like I needed greens, dark bitter greens like kale and swiss chard. I ate those and felt satisfied. Come summer, I felt attracted to the color red and kept thinking of radishes. So, I bought radishes, ate them and loved it! (I want to point out that I couldn't even remember the last time I had eaten a radish, or even if I had. Not a familiar food!). I also felt a very strong pull towards honey, blueberries and cashews. Again, I followed these feelings and enjoyed eating those foods, they made me feel good!
          For a while there I felt a need to eat more cleansing and plant based foods; fruits, vegetables, whole grains, nuts, seeds, honey, water etc... I didn't buy meat for months. I started to feel a shift however and was a bit slow in responding to it, I kept eating according to how I was feeling before. I noticed the implications that had on my physical and emotional health, as well as on my success with cooking! I've been feeling undernourished and unsatisfied. I haven't really been enjoying my food, myself or my life much. I haven't been nourished on all levels by what I have been giving myself. Oh and I got a cold! My high stress has definitely contributed to all of this, in fact it could very well have caused it, or vice versa. At any rate, I came to the conclusion that, right now in my life, I need to eat joyfully and I need to eat building foods! I've been feeling attracted to things like dairy, pasta, red peppers, goat cheese, goat milk, eggs, carrots, chicken, fish, smoothies, berries, beans and vibrant more flavorful herbs and seasonings. So, today I went and bought these types of foods. I enjoyed it! I felt brighter, happier, stronger and more alive just from shopping for them. Tonight I made pasta with red in it, because that is one of the things I've felt drawn to. It was goood! I didn't take a picture because I was a little leary of it not working out, but it ended up tasting so good and satisfying to me. I will share the recipe with you and just let you use your imagination.
         I cooked up some durum wheat semolina linguine, and sauteed some sliced red pepper with sliced zucchini, and sliced green garlic in some water, olive oil, a few sprinkles of dried parsley and powdered dulse and sea salt at medium heat, at the same time. Olive oil can be heated at a low to moderate temperature without hydrogenating (as opposed to most other oils except coconut oil and butter) and adding some water gives you more cooking time because the heat will get the water first. I added chopped up swiss chard at the end, only sauteing until it was half wilted. I drained the pasta, poured the sauteed veggies on top with a little extra olive oil and then sprinkled some goat cheese feta on top! Deeeeeeeeeliscious! I ate a bit too much but I definitely felt builded! I felt an increase in energy and a sense of overall satisfaction and nourishment almost immediately. Yay for listening to your body! It knows what it needs! Of course, if it's telling you you need hordes of chocolate, ice cream, sugar and white bread you might want to re-think what it's really trying to tell you! I thought this was a valuable experience to share. Hopefully it gave you some insight.
       One of my textbooks for school: "Food and Healing", by Anne Marie Colbin, has a chart called "The Five Phases of Food", a theory in chinese medicine. It gives a breakdown of different seasons, elements, flavors, organs, food categories, moods etc... and their connection to each other. Here is an example, http://macrobiotics.co.uk/five.htm. It's part of the thinking behind the macrobiotic diet as well. When I saw this chart I was struck by how closely it matched up to my experience. I'm still going to listen to my body first, not a chart, but it was nice to be validated by one! Chinese medicine is some pretty amazing and intelligent stuff! Take a look at the chart, perhaps it could help you in making your food choices. Well, that's all for today folks. Cheers!