Tastemaker: Amy Nystrom: Cooking With Chi

Get a recipe from Amy Nystrom, and besides listing ingredients such as olive oil and pepper, she might tell you to finish everything off with a big dash of good chi.

No, it's not a spice from the Szechwan region of China. It's Chinese for life, or spirit; without chi, there can be no life.

Nystrom, a native Minnesotan who lives in Golden Valley, is a licensed acupuncturist and a master of traditional Chinese medicine. She also holds a degree in nutrition from Bastyr University in Washington state, and a master's degree in traditional Chinese medicine from Pacific College in California. She has combined her knowledge of nutrition, Chinese medical theory and love of cooking into a way of life for herself and her family, as well as her clients, whom she sees at her Wayzata office.

She also teaches nutrition at Northwestern Health Sciences University in Bloomington, where she stresses the importance of fresh, organic food to her students.

"Ideally, the food we eat should be alive," she says. "By that, I mean it should be fresh, not processed or treated with chemicals. Fresh food and produce is full of chi, or life, and eating that kind of food makes all the difference in our lives and health."

Changing your diet doesn't require a lot, she says. "All it takes is a little effort and learning how to cook efficiently, because we all are in such a hurry." She says it helps to take a few courses from a local co-op to learn how to cook grains and vegetables properly and imaginatively."

One of the secrets in this cooking is good sauces, Nystrom says. She keeps on hand such staples as good olive oil, lemon juice, and Bragg's liquid amino acids (which tastes like soy sauce, she says).

"Then you can add anything you want, like ginger, garlic, peppers, mustards, balsamic vinegar, wasabi [Japanese horseradish]. If you have a food processor, you can easily make wonderful sauces using nut butters."

She also says that cooking grains in liquids other than water is a good idea. "Apple or pear juice will lend a nice, subtly sweet flavor. Add balsamic vinegar for grains with tomato-based dishes, or coconut milk for a Thai flavor."

Each Sunday, Nystrom gets together with her sister, and the two cook enough for the whole week.

"We cook up a big batch of grains and steam or roast vegetables, saute fish or meat, or cook tofu and mix everything with good sauces. It only takes three to four hours, from shopping to finish," she says.

Nystrom says her clients sometimes are overwhelmed by all the food she tells them to cook and eat. "I tell people that cooking the food is easy once you have learned a few things. And it takes just as long to cook good food as bad food. Steaming or baking fish and veggies takes just as long as heating that frozen chicken-fried steak."

Nystrom says that getting people to change their diet long-term is very difficult. "For most people it's easier to change their spouses than to change the way they eat. But if you want to lose weight and stay healthy, it is very important to eat balanced, nourishing meals three times a day. Eat at least two cups of vegetables, drink plenty of water, and you must have a good oil at every meal, preferably flax seed or olive oil," she said.

"I tell people that if they do this and exercise in moderation, they will lose weight, unless there is something wrong with their metabolism. And most of them do lose it."

There are no absolute rules regarding food in Nystrom's life. "I am a big believer in moderation. I'm not a vegetarian, and I have no special needs when it comes to eating at restaurants or friends' houses," she says.

Nystrom tells her patients to stop counting calories and instead change their attitudes about food. "Americans are obsessed with food. We need to rely less on food to provide us with our jollies in life. It's fine sometimes but it doesn't have to be every day."

Instead of telling people what foods they cannot have, Nystrom tries to focus on what they can eat. "You can eat lots of great food and stay healthy and lose weight without feeling deprived at all," she says. "In fact, you can feel wonderful."

-- Iris Erlingsdottir Lee is a freelance writer from Northfield, Minn.