The Balanced Bowl: Planty Comfort Food By Flora Ex Machina

Comfort food should be comforting, and for us, that means knowing we're nourishing our bodies with each bite. This macrobiotic bowl by Alle Weil - holistic Nutritionist of Flora ex Machina and a TCM fave - was created with all that in mind for a new partnership with L.A.'s fave farm-to-doorstep delivery service, Out of the Box Collective. Get a taste of this deliciously cool collab with the recipe below, and for a bigger bite, be sure to order a produce box here or pantry box here before February 21st...

When it comes to clean, wholesome foods, the key is in the pure unadulterated ingredients. Inspired by Traditional Chinese Medicine, the Five Phases or elements, and the fundamentals of macrobiotics, this balanced bowl reinvents our obsession with comfort food. Filled with different textures, flavors, and various seasonal vegetables and a grain, it satisfies cravings while providing a nourishing and grounding meal.

Each of the five Earthly elements are represented, creating a balanced and nourishing plate that reduces craving, keeps you sated, and provides a wide spectrum of bio-available nutrients as well as probiotics. You’ll feel grounded, energized, and full longer. Because these recipes use only pure, unprocessed ingredients, prepared using the necessary steps in order for your body to absorb their nutrients (such as sprouting and fermentation), your body will digest them efficiently and with ease – meaning, no bloat, indigestion, or cravings.

Listed below are the five elements and their corresponding flavors, the organs and emotions they correspond with, and a few ingredients that are promote that particular element. It is said each meal should contain one component of each element to be balanced. More so, cravings may be linked with either an element lacking in the diet, or even an emotion or element that is too strong or deficient.

The Five Elements Explained

Wood
Flavor: sour, acidic
Organs: liver, gallbladder
Emotion: anger
Supporting Ingredients: lentils, mung beans, broccoli, carrots, sprouts, yogurt, vinegar, lemon, lime, sauerkraut, olives, chicken

Fire
Flavor: bitter
Organs: heart and small intestines
Emotion: joy
Supporting Ingredients: corn, amaranth, asparagus, Brussels sprouts, chives, dandelion greens, raspberries, coffee, wine, shrimp, cacao

Earth
Flavor: sweet
Organs:  stomach, spleen, pancreas
Emotion:  sympathy, worry
Supporting Ingredients: millet, sweet potato, winter squash, chard, collard greens, eggplant, apples, bananas, dates, honey, sweeteners

Water
Flavor: salty
Organs: kidney, bladder
Emotion: willpower, fear
Supporting Ingredients: buckwheat, aduki beans, beets, burdock, dulse and seaweeds, sesame seeds, grapes, miso, tamari

Metal
Flavor: pungent, hot
Organs: lungs, large intestine
Emotion: grief
Supporting Ingredients: rice, soy, cabbage, cucumber, daikon, garlic, ginger, mustard greens, onions, cinnamon, cheese, beef, spirulina, tofu

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