The seasons and the five elements

A quick guide to Zen Vegetarian Cooking, using natural and organic foods
by Palma Bellardoni

After Winter there will always be Spring

Is zucchini a winter or summer veggie? When do strawberries grow? And green peas?
These questions have no easy answers for most of us, because we are used to find all kinds of veggies at any time of the year.

Not too long ago, it was a different story. You could find at the market only the veggies that would grow during that season - what the farmers could harvest. Why is that so important? It’s very simple: because Nature has intended it like that!

Summer foods, when the weather is really hot, have a more cooling effect on our body; while winter foods are more warming. That will keep us in balance with our external environment, by creating an internal environment that can cope with the actual climatic conditions.

What about eating bananas in the middle of winter in Toronto? Would we be able to see them grow there naturally? This is actually an extreme example of imbalance, because bananas are also from a tropical area, and therefore not “local” for Canada. But extreme examples are great to get the idea.

Going back to the banana, because it grows in a very hot climate, it has a cooling effect, helping us to lower our body temperature. But if there is snow outside, we need to keep our body warm or else we’ll get sick! This happens because we are taking extra energy from our vital organs in order to stay warm, we are running out of fuel. But, hey, let’s crank up the heat!

The same happens when we eat foods that are too warming in the middle of summer, like big steaks or hearty stews. Instead of cooling down the system with refreshing foods, we are in overheat and the heart and lungs have to work harder in order to ventilate us. This drains out energy and weakens our vital organs. Thank God for those air conditioners!

And Two became Five

As energy constantly moves and alternates from yin to yang, it goes through phases in various degrees of intensity. We can easily see this with our planet. Earth spins on its axis, giving rise to night and day (yin/yang), and at the same time it rotates around the Sun’s orbit, creating the seasons (five elements).

Please note that here we consider five seasons, as the element Earth or Soil is the transitional time from each season to the other, much like the indian summer.

Spring has upward motion, everything sprouts, the energy is lighter. Gradually, we move into Summer, where the energy is at the peak of expansion. Then we proceed into the Indian Summer where things start to slow down a little. Gradually, it becomes Fall, when the energy is more condensed, in preparation for the Winter, the peak of contraction - all is dormient, getting ready for the next cycle of growth and expansion.

As we move along through the seasons, certain parts of the body are more active. This topic is beyond the scope of this lesson, but here below is a quick chart:

Applying the five elements to cooking is a wonderful art, which takes into consideration not only the actual season, but also how flavors and ingredients interplay in the meal. For example, a little sour taste (such as a pickle or lemon juice) can help the liver digest heavy or fried foods.

In short, a regular amount of a certain element will tonify and nourish the related organs. If we make sure to get all the variety of seasonal (and local) vegetables and minimize other foods, we can’t go wrong - as all the elements will most likely be present in the right proportion.

Next time you shop for food, check the weather report!

Five easy lessons will give you an understanding of what a Zen Chef is all about. If you want to know about vegetable growth patterns - and how these can be applied to the human body - read next!