Does anyone remember Jack Kerouac? He is another blast from the past, similar to Adelle Davis from last week. He wrote some great classic books such as On The Road. And per his above quote, he was in tune with Oriental Medicine and the Five Element Theory. Knowingly or perhaps unknowingly? Not sure. Knowingly I suspect, "knowing" Jack Kerouac.

He mentions wood as real matter, and in the Chinese system of the five elements, which is knowingly what the food we prepare here at Wholly Macro is all about, (in fact, our food is based entirely on the five element theory), the spring season is correlated with the element wood, which governs the liver and gall bladder. Think trees and plants.

The color associated with the wood element is green, the green of vibrant young plants. For example, someone who is either very attracted to the green color, or really dislikes it, is showing that their wood element is possibly imbalanced.

The sensory organ associated with the liver / wood element is the eyes.Problems with the eyes, such as watery eyes, dry eyes, and vision problems, are associated with a weak or irritated liver. The Yellow Emperors Classic Of Internal Medicine says, "the eyes are connected with the liver, therefore they (and the vision) are strengthened when the liver receives (clean healthy) blood"

The wood element creates mental clarity, and our ability to focus, plan, and make decisions.

Some imbalances associated with the wood element / liver / gallbladder might manifest as anger, shouting, over or under-organization, over controlling, unable to make decisions, and impatience.

Impatience is a big one in relation to the liver. The less patient you are, the more imbalanced your liver is!

Interestingly enough, the word patience comes from the Greek, meaning taking a long time to boil.

Think about a pot of boiling water. (Like we do all the time here in the Wholly Macro kitchen!). What factors determine the speed at which it boils? The size of the stove? No. The pot? Not really. The utensils may have some influence, but the primary factor is the intensity of the flame. Water boils quickly when the flame is high. It boils slowly when the flame is low.

Patience "keeps the flame low."

We always have to tell eager beavers who want their food right away, last minute, or even early, that "We just can't rush the food". It takes its own sweet time to cook, and rushing it ruins it.

In the same way, a watched pot never boils. Impatiently watching a pot of water on the stove seemingly makes it take even longer to boil, if ever! But if you walk away from it, let it go, give up the control, it is boiling before you know it! We repeat this mantra to ourselves many times over when we are cooking: Have patience. A watched pot never boils.

Allowing something  (or someone) to take its time, and being understanding, even if it takes a long time, is patience.

"Patient people have great understanding" 

(Prov. 14:29).

Patience goes hand in hand with understanding.

"A man (woman) of understanding holds his tongue"  

(Prov. 11:12 NIV).

"A man (woman) of understanding is even-tempered" (Prov. 17:27 NIV).

Please be aware of the connection between patience, understanding, the temper, and the health of your liver! It is innate.

Yet patience need not be na�ve. It doesn't ignore misbehavior. It just keeps the flame low. It waits. It listens. It doesn't erupt into uncontrolled anger.

It is slow to boil.

Before you boil over, listen. Tune in before you strike out.

The wood element is said to give life its spiritual aspect. 

In Oriental Wisdom, the liver is the home of the soul.

So coming full circle, the closer we get to real matter, (and the healthier our livers are), the more spiritual our world is!

Food, people, and situations in our life that cause us to boil over and implode are not good for the health of our liver. Lying down after eating is bad for the liver. And yes, certain foods "irritate" the liver, such as hard, crunchy, over-salted foods, thick - heavy - creamy dairy based foods, overly spicy foods, over-cooked / burnt foods, overly oily foods, especially ones that are high in saturated fats, and alcoholic beverages, to name a few. Try to avoid these foods (and irritating situations), as much as possible for general good health.

It is great to include plenty of fresh, naturally liver cleansing green vegetables in your diet in the springtime. Certain greens such as chives and scallions push right up through the snow in the springtime they contain so much healthy, good for the liver energy, but all chlorophyll rich greens nurture the blood, and therefore the liver.

We have included plenty of spring green foods on our menu this week. So please browse through it patiently! You will find it below in the Weekly Menu section of this newsletter. We must say, it is one of our favorites!! Each dish freezes well. Stock up (for while we are closed) on some Black Bean Soup and Paella Rice, with lots of fresh from our garden chives and spring green peas, as well as the other items on the menu! We think that all of the dishes superbly compliment the next, in color, in flavor, in nutritional compatibility, and in spring seasonal - ness.  

So let's eat well collectively from this week's delicious Wholly Macro menu, and take advantage of the opportunity to allow springtime to give us renewed patience, tolerance, and enthusiasm for life!

And thank you in advance for your understanding, faithfulness, and patience, both with and for us, regarding our upcoming closure.  

In Health As Always.