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Yetsom Beyaynetu: Harmonizing Meal

Updated: Feb 18




Cellularly, I love Ethiopian food. In addition to dancing in sync with the umami flavors bouncing through my palate with each cherished bite - I love eating with my hands! Eating a meal with your hands - washed, of course - is such a divinely primal, unpretentious, and centering experience. One meal that has grown to the status of my favorite Ethiopian dish is Yetsom Beyaynetu.


Yetsom Beyaynetu or የጾም በየዓይነቱ in Amharic, is translated to mean Fasting Combination Platter. Traditionally this meal is comprised of an assortment of vegetables and legumes, placed atop a spheric piece of injera. Injera is a fermented bread traditionally made from teff flour.


Teff grain has a rich, nutty flavor and very good nutrition profile (high in all essential amino acids, calcium and iron). In terms of Traditional Chinese Medicine, teff harmonizes the liver and spleen, a balance that is easily disrupted by poor diet or stress. [1]

 

What does it mean to harmonize the liver and spleen?


Essentially, this means that from the perspective of Traditional Chinese Medicine Teff harmonizes or balances the functioning of the liver (easeful metabolic processing) and of the spleen (normal functioning digestion, blood flow, and fluid metabolism) within the body. [2], [3] #EatWithIntention



Key Words: Teff Flour, Injera, Ethiopia, Yetsom Beyaynetu, Liver, Spleen, Traditional Chinese Medicine, Harmonizing, and Qi

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