Here is a easy, simple recipe that is good for your Spleen. This also affects your digestion, energy level, the clarity of your mind and even your sleep. By the way, there is another option to improve your digestion. Visit KratomCountry Webstore for more info.
Congee Recipe – Helps Digestion, Energy levels, Clarity of Mind and Sleep
Basic recipe (use with with a 5 quart crockpot)
- 1 1/2 cups dry grains, rice, or beans (see below) – put in crockpot
- Add several cups of vegetables cut into chunks (see below) – put in crock pot
- Add protein source (optional; see below) – put in crock pot
- 50-50 ratio of water and stock/broth of your choosing ( I like chicken or beef) – add liquid to above mixture in crock pot until it comes 1-2 fingers width below lip of pot.
Cook for 8 hours on LOW or on HIGH for 2-3 hours.
Dry Grains, Rice, Beans
Use any combination of these dry ones listed below, as long it equals 1 1/2 cups. Much more than that and it gets too clumpy in the fridge during the week.
Rice: brown, white, (short or long grain is fine)
Grains: quinoa (red or white), amaranth, millet, barley
Beans: mung beans, aduki beans, lentils
Note: soak dry beans in water for about 2+ hours to decrease the gas factor. Throw out the ‘dirty water’ and just add the beans to the crock pot.
My favorite combo so far: 1/4 cup red quinoa, 1/4 cup amaranth, 1 cup brown rice
I also love 1/4 red quinoa, 1 /4 white quinoa, 1/4 red lentils, 3/4 cup rice
Just pick your favorites and mix them up.
Veggies
Add a couple cups of my favorite raw washed cut-up veggies. I don’t measure. Just cut up an amount that looks good to me (roughly 4 cups). Cut into slightly bigger than bite size. You don’t want them so small they become mush. Choose any combination from:
Sweet potato
carrots
parsnips (one of my new favorites!)
celery
zucchini
yellow squash
broccoli
cabbage
Protein
Sometimes I add meat, sometimes I don’t. My experimenting suggests it’s better to have the protein ready to go on the side then add it to a warmed up bowl when I want it. That way I can change different types or forgo it altogether.
I usually add a poached egg, rotisserie chicken, 1/2 can tuna, 2 oz salmon, etc. I haven’t tried it with red meat.
Broth/Stock
If you want to be ultra domestic, make your own. Cook a whole chicken or use beef soup bones from the butcher.
If boiling a whole chicken:
Boil chicken, remove it when done. De-bone chicken, set meat aside to cool. When bones are cool enough to handle, break them in half to expose the marrow inside. Put bone back into water along with 1 tsp vinegar. Boil for another hour or so (may need to add more water) to extract as much marrow as possible. Strain out bones and fat when done. Add to crock pot as noted above. Put remaining liquid in fridge for next week’s congee. Liquid broth stays good in fridge for 1 week or last 3 months in freezer.
Beef Stock:
Get a couple soup bones from the butcher. Boil with a bunch of water and 1 tsp vinegar. Again the idea is to get as much marrow as possible infused in the liquid. Add to crock pot, Save remainder for next time.
Or just buy low-sodium broth at store.
Seasonings:
I generally don’t add any seasonings while it’s cooking. I’d rather add a different seasoning to each bowl I make during the day.
One exception: sometimes I’ll add 2 thumb sized chunks of fresh ginger (chopped up) to the crock pot mixture.
Seasonings that I like:
Breakfast: cinnamon & cardamon
Any other meal: ginger, turmeric, soy sauce, Braggs (liquid amino acids at Whole Foods) – (chose one of these, not all at same time)
Most often I eat a bowl with steamed veggies, piece of toast, or side of protein.
It’s filling but doesn’t stay with you for more than a couple hours. If this becomes a main stay of your daily diet (which it is nutritionally sound enough to do), you may find it necessary to have a bowl every 3 or so hours. I eat 4-5 1 cup serving size bowls a day.
Enjoy!
