Similar to my How to Nourish your Qi &Blood for Vegans article, this one is focused on Vegetarians. This is an important strategy for women trying to conceive regardless of their eating preferences. Let's look at some exciting recipes that display the best of Qi and Blood nourishment for Vegetarians.
A Vegetarians Nourishment 101
TCM focuses a lot on Nourishment, building up reserves of energy and preparing for conception this way. You need your Qi & Blood to be strong to nourish the Uterus, prepare for good implantation before your body is actually Pregnant.
Also, those early weeks of Pregnancy tiredness and morning sickness is common, so build those reserves now!
Qi and blood often can be deficient in Vegetarians if they're not following some basic food combining guidelines like these.
Pulse + Grain = Complete Protein
I talk about it more here in this article.
The Heroes of Nourishment
According to TCM, nourishment comes from a strong Spleen.
When your Spleen Qi is happy, you have loads of energy, clarity of thought, a good memory and great digestion.
The main heroes are:
- Tofu
- Tempeh
- Pulses, Legumes + Grains = Complete Protein
- Eggs
Here are some enticing recipe ideas for Vegetarians:
- Vegan Split Pea Soup with Smoky Tempeh Croutons by The Full Helping Who says vegetarians can't eat vegan? I know this is another Vegan recipe but what I like about this recipe is (a) it uses a pulse (b) it uses tempeh and (c) adding a bread of your choice would make this jam packed full of Vegetarian (and Vegan) protein! Think sourdough or a home-made flat bread, chapati or paratha. Yum! Get the recipe here.
- Brown Rice and Vegetable Congee by Vegiehead - Congee is an Asian favourite and so Chinese Medicine thinks Congee is simply GREAT Spleen food! Easy to digest, warming, slow cooked grains, add in the root veg and this is a winner! Get the recipe here.
- Tempeh Tacos with Avocado-Kiwi Salsa by Live Eat Learn Mexican styled food does Vegetarian SO WELL! Grain (tick!), Tempeh as the Pulse (tick!) means a complete protein. Add in Cumin for some spice flavouring and this is great stuff for your The Spleen Qi and Blood. A bit heavy on the chilli for my liking, but chilli is always optional, right? Get the recipe here.
- Tofu Nuggets with Crispy Almond Crust by Live Eat Learn. Tofu is the star of the show here with a high protein, almond based batter. Seasoned with sesame oil and soy and then add a dipping sauce with every Vegetarian's favourite fruit - Avocado and you have a winning combination! Get the recipe here.
- Black Bean and Sweet Potato Empanadas by SBS Food Snacks don't have to be plain and these chilli and spice filled empanadas are a great Veggie idea. A small pocket of complete protein, these little beauties have a grain, a pulse and root veg. Mix and match your own combos of beans or lentils and different root veg. The possibilities are endless. Get the recipe here.
You can also check out my other Vegetarian related blog posts here:
