Medicinal Cooking Collective Week 5: Being Kind to our Kidneys {Black Rice & Eggplant Stir Fry with Sunflower Miso Dressing}

Hello everyone!  I hope everyone is having a fantastic week so far!  Things are getting busy in my world, but that is a good thing because hopefully that means I am getting to interact with even more people than usual to become healthier versions of themselves.  Speaking of health, I have been watching the Medicinal Cooking Collective for the past month that @eco-alex has been so thoughtful to put together.  Though I love to cook whole foods that taste delicious and support the body in all of its daily needs and activities, I had never really though to cook based on a specific theme based on Chinese medicine with the intent to support a specific bodily system or organ.

Since I have really enjoyed seeing all of the entries (so much foodie and health-promoting inspiration), I figured I might as well join in for the final week!  Besides just taking a little extra time to prepare a meal to support my own body, I try to throw a little love out to all of the wonderful communities that really try to share great messages on here.  The @ecotrain community is always putting out really interesting and thought-provoking content, so I'm happy to put out whatever small amount of good energy in that direction I can. :)

I am no master in ancient Chinese medicine (though I am very much looking forward to learning much more!), so check out the original post by @eco-alex to learn a little bit more about some of the elements that support kidney and bladder health.  Some the big takeaways are blue and black foods, a salty element, and foods that actually look like kidneys are all supportive of the health of those cleansing organs.  I'll add a little on my end from the Western medicine perspective as I think there are really beneficial things to be taken from all different practices.

The kidneys and bladder are both part of the excretory system, thus they are both important in filtering out waste from our bodies.  If they are not functioning correctly there can be a backup of toxins that can cause a whole host of problems.  The kidneys are also very important in maintaining fluid balance and they help control a proper balance of certain minerals in the body, as well.  Needless to say, they are pretty important in keeping our bodies running clean.

One of the waste products that the kidneys excrete is nitrogenous waste.  Where does that come from?  Excess protein intake.  Though our bodies need a proper mix of amino acids from the protein we consume, taking in more than we need can actually cause our bodies harm.  Protein from animal products can be especially challenging for our bodies to break down, and excessive consumption is linked to kidney stone formation.  That is just one reason why a plant-based diet is much kinder on the body's organs as plant protein does not seem to have the same effect on the kidneys.  As @eco-alex pointed out "Note that not all items need to be blue or black, and usually foods that have the same shape as the organ are also very beneficial, e.g. Kidney Beans!"  I opted for some wonderful fresh lima beans that are in season for my plant-powered dish today.  They resemble kidneys a bit, as well. :)

In keeping with the theme, I also chose a number of the black/blue options which are beneficial for kidney health and provide a huge dose of super healthy anthocyanins.  I do love my black rice, so that provided a delicious base for my dish.  Aubergine (eggplant) is also in season in my part of the world right now, so that also went into my bowl.  I even had some black sesame seeds to add that extra texture and even more nutrients.

Celery is also an excellent food to consume weekly, if not daily.  It has a high water content and contain phytonutrients that assist the body in detoxification, making it excellent for kidney health.  I added that in with my aubergine.  For my salty element I opted for a bit of tamari and miso.  Miso is a fermented food which is also beneficial for gut health.  I prefer to use that over regular salt for most dishes to still get that bit of salty flavor with the added benefits.

I could probably continue to go on with the health benefits of this meal, but I'm getting hungry so let's eat!  This is actually a pretty similar dish to one I shared a while back, but obviously I liked it enough to do something similar. ;)

I'm not going to go full recipe style here since I just kind of added as I went along.  I love the idea of just building what you have at home, so think of it more as a guideline and use what you have fresh and local.

I started with cooked black rice and beans from the farmers market.  Since rice can hold onto arsenic depending upon where the rice is grown, I prefer to use the pasta method to cook it.  Rinse first, then place in a pot with enough water to cover it by a few inches, then cook as normal.  When it is done, drain and rinse again to help protect against excess arsenic consumption.  I actually find the texture comes out well with this method, too.

Next I cooked up a few chopped stalks of celery with chopped eggplant in a little bit of organic tamari until the vegetables were soft.  I sprinkled the sesame seeds in with the vegetables at the very end just to toast them up a bit and release the flavor.

To finish it off, I whisked together organic sunflower seed butter, a tablespoon of white miso, a few tablespoons of balsamic vinegar (to stick with the black theme), fresh grated ginger and a little bit of water to thin it out.  I adore this type of dressing because it is not only tastes delicious, but provides a bit of healthy fat to assist with the absorption of the fat-soluble vitamins.

Of course I had to add some leafy greens to serve my bowl, as greens are also really important to assist in detoxification of the body.  I try to consume a good mix of varieties from week to week.

My dish came out a bit more colorful than I originally expected, which of course I enjoy.  When you look up close I think it still satisfies the predominantly black requirement.  Not to mention the black rice is quite pretty when you look at it up close.  It takes on more of that blue/purple hue after cooking which is one of my favorite colors!

Thank you @eco-alex for encouraging all of us to join in and create meals to support the health of the entire body!