Recipies for Mental Calm and Good Sleep

Here are the foods that help calm down you nervous system and, from the Eastern perspective - balance the Wind element. As I mentioned here, Wind needs warm, nutritious, oily foods, with sweet, sour and salty taste. These have a grounding effect and help relax. Aromatic spices such as nutmeg, clove, cinnamom are also helpful.

Below you will find also a choice of drinks for Wind constitution and dysbalance.

Enjoy!

Lung (Wind) broth 

straight from the Tibetan pharmacopeia:

Cook beef or sheep bones with meet, add garlic, onion, red wine, a bit of salt (and asafoetida) and brown sugar.

It is said to pacify all the Wind excess in your body. A cup of such a drink can be taken as medicine before sleep.

Tibetan garlic soup

 take peeled garlic cloves and cook in a broth (or milk if you tolerate it well) until it becomes smooth. Add salt, a pinch of pepper and nutmeg to taste. Mix to create a creamy soup and serve with sesame seeds. If you let it ferment for 3 weeks in barley grass, it becomes a rejuvenating tonic  (chudlen) for Lung constitutions.

Baked root vegetables

cut peeled sweet potatoes, carrots, beetroot and parsnip (you can use also other root vegetables, I chose these ones because of their sweet and aromatic taste). Spinkle with salt and olive oil, bake in the oven on about 200C. Can be served as a side dish, to roastbeef or other meats.

Tapioca pudding

 soak tapioca pearls in water (best overnight, or at least 30min), add milk/or coconut milk (about 5 times more, depends how thick you want it), a pinch of salt, vanilla, optionally more Lung spices to taste. Cook on low heat frequently stirring, until pearls become transparent. You can also beat separately 2 eggs and mix with tapioca (but don't boil!) for the custard like texture. Top with fruits of your choice.

Masala chai

 mix anis, nutmeg, clove, cardamom, cinnamon and pepper/long pepper (optional – for cold types). These ingredients are also common in Tibetan herbal formulae for Lung. Take half a teaspoon of spices for a glass of boiling water and a bit of black tea can also be added if desired. To make it like the original Indian style drink, add milk and brown sugar. Almond milk can also be substituted or even with butter (alike Bulletproof coffee). 

Teas for Wind typology

that can help with relaxation and deeper sleep are: 

• nettles
• chamomile
• tulsi (holy basil)
• lavender,
• Lemon balm
• hops.  

Other Lung pacifying recipes from the world quisine:

• French onion soup, 
• Russian fried kartoshka (potatoes with onions and lard)
• German schnitzel with potato purée
• Czech liver pâté
• Eggs Benedict or omelette
• Indian curry (but not too spicy)
• Nepali Palak Paneer (spinach with Paneer cheese)