Fall is in the air and it’s time to follow its rhythm and let go of what no longer serves us. Just as trees drop their leaves because they no longer help them to be strong, now is a good time to take stock of the areas of your life that no longer help you to stay strong.
This doesn’t need to be some big, deep, enlightened process. It can be as simple as putting away your summer clothes instead of being in denial about the colder days and keeping them cluttering up your closet. If it’s no longer serving a purpose, clean it out. The energetic goal of fall is to create space for rest when winter arrives.
Fall also marks the time for another shift in diet choices. The days are getting colder, and depending on where you live, damper. As my good friend said, it’s time to go from fruits to roots. The salads and raw fruits and veggies of summer were great for cooling down the body but now we need to shift to more warming food preparation styles. Transition into making more stir-fries and soups to help warm you up.
Ginger is a great addition to your cooking for the fall as it both warms up the body as well as helps the immune system fight bacterial and viral infections.
Fall is also the time to say goodbye to iced teas and coffee and start drinking more warming beverages. It’s not a coincidence that pumpkin spice lattes become a thing in the fall. The warming spices help the body to regulate temperature during the transition to colder days and provide a boost to the immune system. However, most pumpkin spice lattes are sugar bombs, so not the best way to achieve this goal.
Instead, try a nice warming cup of chai tea, preferably that you have made yourself (find the recipe here) to help control the sugar content. The Silk Road Tea Store makes both a caffeinated as well as decaf version of chai that is really tasty for your home brewing. You can even use it to jazz up your carrot cake recipe!
This time of year is also when pears become available. It always amazes me how nature provides the foods that help us flourish with every season. Pears are fantastic at moistening the lungs, which, after another hot dry summer plagued with forest fire smoke, is very helpful. If you lived in an area that has had its air quality affected by smoke then this is your go-to fruit for the fall. You can bake them in the oven with warming spices such as cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, and/or cardamon to make it warming for the body. It’s like a pear pie without the shell. Check out this link for an easy recipe for baking pears.
Let go of what no longer serves you and have a wonderful fall season.