By Sean Michael Hall, L.Ac.
Generally speaking, it is true that we don’t want to go to sleep with a full belly. However, for those that feel ungrounded in the evening, or have a propensity towards restless nights, the right food in moderation, a half-hour or hour before bed can really help. This recipe won’t be right for everyone, but for the yin-deficient, vata-disturbed types out there, it can really do the trick! And it only takes 5 minutes. Quick and easy.
Introducing, my favorite late-night recipe: Ashwagandha-Goji-Oats
Ingredients:
- Quick-cut baby oats
- Ashwagandha powder (found online, at my clinic, or other herb shops)
- Goji Berries (organic ones now in bulk at Whole Foods!)
- Spices (cardamom, cinnamon, ginger, fennel powder, others? – choose 1-3, be creative!)
- Celtic sea salt (to taste)
- Honey (find the raw, unfiltered, really dark kind!! yum)
- Whole milk (grass-fed, raw – Clarevale Farms or Organic Pastures), or Almond milk
- Optional: black sesame seeds or walnuts
Directions:
- Simmer 1 cup quick-cut baby oats, 1 tsp Ashwagandha, spices, goji berries, and salt in 3 cups water for a few minutes. The amount of water may need to be adjusted for the right consistency. Don’t get hung up on amounts… be creative!
- Add honey and milk to taste
- Eat and Enjoy…
- Sleep like a baby!
This food is medicine.
From a Chinese medicine perspective, it nourishes Kidney and Liver Yin, and from an Ayurvedic perspective it reduces Vata. From a biomedical perspective the oats have a mild sedative effect, and the goji berries and ashwagandha are potent adaptogens, meaning (in part) they support and regulate adrenal function.
East Bay Acupuncture & Natural Medicine
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