The Superfood Alchemy Cookbook

INTRODUCTION

As a veteran health writer/self-help junkie, chef, and yoga teacher, I have seen it all when it comes to health programs: countless books, diets, and gurus promising everything from weight loss to earning more money and increasing self-esteem. Before I started working with alchemy, I was trying to juggle my mind/body/soul practices separately, following some of these programs, and driving myself a bit crazy in the process—not finding quite what I was looking for and feeling like a hamster in the wheel of life. Eventually I went through a health “plateau” where even my yoga and meditation practice became stagnant and worn out. To an outside observer, I was living a dream life: I had a loving marriage, a stable income, and a fulfilling career. Yet I still felt something was missing. I felt that I still “hadn’t made it” and was constantly feeling overwhelmed and frazzled, not a very healthy place to be mentally and emotionally. At the time, I chalked it up to being in my forties. Plus, I had to acknowledge that my career was exhaustingly action-packed—years of working long, intense hours in the New York City fine dining scene; leaving the restaurant business to become a writer and penning more than twenty books; and continuing my education from yoga teacher to certified holistic-health coach, Reiki healer, and more. No wonder I was tired, right?

I was very discouraged and beginning to feel stuck, but still maintained an intense love of food and cooking. I knew there must be something out there that could help me break through to the next level. Then one day, I saw an old alchemy drawing, an obscure engraving from the 1700s called the Tabula Smaragdina (which translates to “Emerald Tablet”). It’s a pictorial representation of the alchemy formula that teaches you the path to “deepest transformation,” how to become more evolved in mind, body, and soul—in other words, to achieve a more healthy, vibrant, enriching life. Alchemy teaches us that healthy living practices must be universally integrated to be truly transformational. When I saw the engraving of the path to deepest transformation, I realized that my love of cooking could lead me to the answer I had been looking for all along, to overcome that mental and emotional plateau.

Alchemy and the Path to “Deepest Transformation”

Alchemy is an ancient practice with a secretive, mysterious reputation. In part, alchemy was a forerunner of chemistry, and it’s commonly associated with ancient alchemists’ efforts to transform base metals into gold. But the goals of alchemy went much deeper than that. The processes of alchemical transformation—calcination, dissolution, separation, conjunction, fermentation, distillation, and coagulation—were symbols of steps on the path to personal and spiritual transformation, as well. Today, the potential power of alchemy is still expansive, and it is available for us to harness.

When most people think about health, they think about their body, their physiology, about seeing the doctor and about how well various organs are performing. Most people don’t see that emotional balance and intellectual stimulation are just as important as a clean bill of physical health. They also think that changing their diet is the key to changing their health, and can’t understand why they can’t stick to their new healthy eating plans after revamping what they eat. But the big picture of health is more like a puzzle, with many interlocking pieces, and changing your eating habits is just part of the healing equation.

Through my practice of alchemy, I discovered that optimal health is about seeing the connections among the puzzle pieces, and nourishing those pieces so they can fit together quickly, in turn strengthening the pieces of your life, in a natural way that flows. Optimal health is only achieved when these core components are properly balanced in relationship to one another, and food and cooking provide the perfect gateway into this practice.

As I started to practice what I learned from alchemy, some amazing things happened. I totally revamped the way I meditate based on alchemy theory, explored different styles of mediation, and even practiced meditation in nonconventional ways (for example, while standing in line at the grocery store). At the time, I had been feeling physically tired on a regular basis. I’d had a health checkup, but my blood work was normal. I was hoping that meditation would help me to accept that I was just getting older, and that the tiredness was part of it. But one day during a deep meditation, the idea that I should go gluten-free to feel better came to me very strongly—I practically heard it. I followed the urge without question, even though I had already tested negative for both celiac disease and gluten sensitivity. Three weeks later, after removing glutinous foods, I saw a huge improvement in my energy, my skin, and even my waistline.

Shortly afterward, I spoke with Dr. Tom O’Bryan, a well-known gastroenterologist who is also a functional medicinal guru and discovered that my “meditation message” may have been very much on track. As it turns out, standard gluten tests check for only one of the eight proteins people can be sensitive to—not to mention, he said, that anyone with any kind of digestive disorder like mine (IBS) should eliminate gluten permanently. But it was more than a simple question of diet: At the same time I removed gluten from my diet, I had also cultivated a sensual connection with food, using my meal preparation as a healing ritual, and started adding more healing herbs and spices to my meals (even my morning coffee!).

Continuing this integrated practice led me to the approach I now use in my own life and with my health coaching clients. It is impossible to address physical symptoms without also addressing the emotional and spiritual aspects of our health struggles. Physics tells us that all humans (and all things) are made up of energy, and we have to mold and shape this energy. The human “energy engine” is made of seven cylinders (sometimes called chakras), which are important energy centers starting at the top of the head and going down to the base of the spine. These cylinders house all our important glands and organs, from our brain and heart to our stomach and reproductive organs. These centers also correlate to emotions (soul) and our connection to the divine creator force (spirit). Throughout history, most spiritual traditions have talked about the human trinity of body, soul, and spirit and the seven cylinders (yes, even Christianity; Jesus calls them the “seven candles”), but they approach them in different ways. Some have seen certain parts of the trinity or seven cylinders as sinful, or things we should ignore. Alchemists take a totally different approach. For your body to function properly, physically and emotionally, to be “driving” at 100 percent capacity, you must have an even flow of energy to all cylinders, on all three levels. Superfood alchemy is your tool to support your health using this holistic, balanced approach.

Superfood Alchemy: The Transformational Power of Plant Foods

Foods, especially plant foods, are the ideal starting point to grasping the powerful alchemical concept of healing on three levels. Food can be a path to healing in every way: providing basic fuel for the body, supporting mental functioning, and sometimes even appealing to our emotional self with comfort, sensual delight, or a reconnection with nature. In terms of healing, plant foods can go even deeper. They are natural sources of vitamins, minerals, fiber, and fats, and certain plant ingredients contain compounds that work as potent medicine in our body and mind. There is an overwhelming amount of research that plant-based eating can prevent and even reverse disease, and that simply by following a plant-based diet we can address a variety of chronic conditions, such as cancer, heart disease, diabetes, and more. Hippocrates’s famous edict, “Let food be thy medicine,” is sage advice today! However, to optimize the healing process, certain foods are stronger medicine than others. My goal is to teach you to cook like an alchemist: the recipes in this book incorporate superfoods, medicinal plants, and adaptogens that are known to support healing. By combining and cooking them in specific ways, you can amp up the healing properties of the dish.

Before we get any further into the book, there’s a lot of misunderstanding about what constitutes a superfood, and you may have never heard of adaptogens, so here’s a brief explanation. Superfoods are natural foods, many of them plants, which are packed with nutrients. Compared to other natural foods, they deliver far more powerful doses of the vitamins and minerals you need to maintain energy, heal, and keep feeling good. (For example, 1 cup of kale can provide more than 70% of your RDA for vitamins A, C, and K, plus good levels of fifteen other nutrients, while 1 cup of celery only provides less than 2% to 0% of any one of these nutrients.) Superfoods also contain special plant fibers, pigments, and other protective antioxidants that detoxify various organ systems.

Plants that fall into the category of medicinal plants, such as chamomile, mugwort, and aloe vera, are often not used in a culinary fashion but have been traditionally administered through teas and tinctures by folk healers and alchemists alike. They have been prized for centuries for active chemical compounds that can bring about changes in the body or in certain organ systems, or just to improve immunity. These compounds are produced by plants as defense against natural enemies, including insects, fungi, and herbivorous animals, heat, wind, and other environmental factors. Adaptogens, meanwhile, are the rock stars of the medicinal plant world. They contain special compounds that are unique to each plant. Adaptogens encourage full-body homeostasis (balance) because they are immunity-modulating, meaning they can calm stress or provide more energy, whichever is needed at that time. Such adaptogens as turmeric, reishi mushroom, and rhodiola not only boost brain performance (that’s why these herbs are used prevalently by bio-hackers), but they are beneficial for the neuroendocrine system (how your nervous system communicates with your glands). In helping balance two very important stress hormones, adrenaline and cortisol, adaptogens provide a key to keeping calm, a healthy metabolism, a proper sleep cycle, and countless other functions.

If all of this sounds too medicinal, fear not: In addition to health coaching, I’m a chef and cookbook author, remember? Although these recipes incorporate superfoods and healing plants, they are also delicious, and intended to offer you a tasty, easy way to get these superstar ingredients into your daily routine.

ALCHEMICAL OPERATIONS

Each chapter focuses on one of the seven energy centers in the body and one of the seven operations that are part of the alchemical transformation process. What makes alchemy unique from other mind-body practices is the way in which alchemists approach working with the vital energy centers of the body. Alchemists called their mind-body practice the “Great Work” (which is working on yourself!) and the ways they work on these energy centers are called “operations” (which are also in the titles of the chapters of this book). This book progresses from the first energy center in Chapter 1, Calcination (here), where your colon is located, up to your head and brain where the pineal gland is located in Chapter 7, Solidification (here). Alchemists are the ultimate holistic healing multitaskers since they believe that nothing is separate and everything is part of a whole. Imbedded in the name of each operation are instructions on how to boost healing or strengthen each energy center-—not only on organ/gland level, but also on the soulful and spiritual level as well. If you ever seek out old alchemy texts, you may see laboratory and chemistry-like terminology, since ancient alchemists used coded language in their writing to protect themselves from persecution. Some of them were in fact early chemists or metallurgists, but when they used these laboratory terms, they had double meanings that described work on the self. To alchemists, you are your very own laboratory to experiment on to achieve vibrant health and greater purpose in your life. Even if you don’t consider yourself a full-blown alchemist, taking some practices from alchemy and incorporating them into your routine can offer a path to better health, clearer thinking, increased energy, and a deeper sense of well-being.

As you work with these recipes, you can as also think of your home, or a combo of your kitchen and living area, as your own “Superfood Alchemy laboratory,” where you can enjoy your work with soulful meals, essential oil preparations, and meditation practice. Worried that this will turn into a juggling act? Don’t! You have most of the tools for transformation already at your fingertips; it’s just about bringing a little more awareness into the equation and following the chapters as your guide to help you along the way.