Welcome Autumn!

A new season is upon us with new energy, new temperatures, and new practices that can help us stay aligned with the Earth. Earth-based & seasonal living are at the heart of what I teach at Ground & Root Cancer Nutrition. It is one of the pillars of optimal health that will help you stay healthy and free of disease.

When we follow the cues from nature and the changing seasons and adapt our practices accordingly, we promote better balance (physically, mentally, & spiritually) and ultimately better health. It’s these practices which are at the heart of some of the longest lived cultures in the world.

Let’s dive a bit deeper into what I mean…

You know it’s Autumn when you walk outside and there’s a crispness in the air and the light has turned a bit more golden. Autumn invites us to harvest the “fruits” we planted during the summer and “compost” what’s no longer in alignment just like the trees shed their leaves and the earth prepares to go inward during the winter.

Autumn is a season of transition and the winds of change call for grounded, rooted energy. It’s the end of the Yang season & the start of the Yin season, meaning it’s a time when we need more nourishment & flow to honor the feminine energy.

Autumn is dominated by the element of Air. This can cause us to feel dry & cold if it’s not balanced with warmth & moisture. The Air element is known as Vata in Ayurveda and in excess it can result in us feeling irritated, overwhelmed, anxious, tired, & distracted. It can also cause dehydration, constipation, and dry skin & hair. Whereas Vata in balance will be more grounded, embodied, calm & trusting, while more easily creating nourishing routines, being well hydrated, with optimal digestion and vibrant, glowing skin.

When you know how to adjust your diet, lifestyle, & self-care routines to adapt to these changing elements you can remain in balance and thrive from season to season.

Top 4 Wellness Tips for Autumn

Here are my top 4 tips to help you stay nourished and in flow during the Autumn months.

Tip #1: Transition Your Diet to Autumn Foods

When pretty much any food we desire is at our fingertips all year long it’s easy to forget which foods are actually in season and at their peak ripeness and highest nutrient content. Depending on where you live this will vary a bit but for many of us the autumn months bring foods like apples, pears, persimmons, cranberries, pomegranates, beets, broccoli, butternut squash, pumpkin, carrots, corn, & sweet potatoes. Shopping at your local Farmers’ Market will help you stay in tune with what’s growing where you live. You can read more about what foods are coming into season in the Autumn HERE: https://groundandroot.com/blog/eating-in-season-autumn/ 

We can take this concept even deeper though by being mindful of how to balance the cold & dry (Vata) elements of Autumn with our food choices. Foods that are naturally warming, grounding, and hydrating will be more appropriate during the Autumn months. More Kapha dominant foods. This includes soups, stews, & broth with healthy fats & oils plus naturally grounding starchy & root vegetables. It can also be a good time to bring in more cooked grains & warming spices, like ginger, cinnamon, garlic, & cayenne.

To dive much deeper into the best foods (& lifestyle practices) for Autumn, I invite you to join us inside our Autumn Wellness Workshop.

Tip #2: Create a Nourishing Routine

One of the best things we can do to balance Vata and ground our energy is to have a consistent daily routine & to not overschedule ourselves. It’s time to slow down, be intentional, and not overcommit. This also helps to calm the nervous system which tends to get frazzled during Vata season. Try to do the same activities at roughly the same times each day.

This includes what time you wake up and what your morning routine looks like, when you eat, when you work, when you go to bed, etcetera. In the Autumn, exercise is best done in the early morning or evening hours (between 6-10 am or 6-10 pm). Walking, hiking, swimming, biking, yoga, and tai chi are all great choices in the Autumn.

Creating space for downtime and to go inward is also incredibly nourishing this time of year. Set time aside in your routine for meditation, prayer, or journaling. Time to listen to your soul and connect with your intuition.

Tip #3: Add Warmth

It’s also important to be mindful of balancing the cooler temperatures with more warmth and warming practices. This includes everything from dressing in layers to adding more cooked foods, warm beverages, and warming spices to your diet.

Another fabulous activity you can bring in to warm your body, calm your nervous system, awaken your tissues, and ground your energy is to massage your skin each day with warm, organic sesame oil or an herbal oil. Follow the massage with a relaxing shower or bath, leaving a coat of oil on the skin to absorb throughout the day or night.

Tip #4: Build Your Immunity for Winter

The fourth way we can support balanced & optimal health this season is by giving our immune system a little more TLC. These transitional seasons are always a more vulnerable time when it comes to getting sick. By taking steps now to build your immunity you’ll be less likely to catch the colds and flus making their way through our communities as winter approaches. 

Now’s the time to add more  immune boosting foods to your diet, like mushrooms, garlic, vitamin-C rich foods, protein-rich foods, fermented foods, & more. You can read more about how to nourish your immune system here. 

One of my favorite remedies to enhance the immune system and nourish the gut is with mineral-rich bone broth. You can find my favorite recipe HERE or in The Cancer Diet Cookbook. You can boost the immune enhancing activity of this broth even more by adding mushrooms, astragalus root, rosemary, & thyme.

Inside the Autumn Wellness Workshop you’ll learn a lot more tips for enhancing your health this Autumn…including how to work through a Seasonal Detox and best prepare your body for the cold, dark days of Winter.

Fall Fermenting

At the heart of an anticancer, nutrient-dense diet is a plate full of whole seasonal foods, balanced between protein, healthy fat, & fiber plus bursting with color. There are also a plethora of “anticancer power foods” we can bring in to help our bodies prevent cancer and nourish each cell with vibrant energy.

Every season we can elevate our “Healing Kitchen” even more by bringing in a seasonally inspired superfood. In the Spring we add fresh sprouts to our plate. In the Summer we add fresh juice. And in the Autumn we add more fermented foods.

One of the reasons fermented foods are so great this time of year is that they nourish a healthy gut and microbiome. This is essential for an optimal immune system and to help balance Vata, which in excess can weaken our digestive fire.

You can stoke healthy digestion in the Autumn with more warm & cooked foods, chewing really well, taking your time when you eat & not multitasking, cooking with more spices (like ginger, cumin, & cinnamon), limiting fluids with your meals, and adding in more probiotic-rich foods. 

One of my favorite fermented foods that you can easily make at home is sauerkraut. Here’s a simple recipe to help you get started plus an option to elevate it with more color and digestive supporting spices!

Easy Homemade Sauerkraut

• 1 medium head green cabbage
• 1 ½ Tbsp sea salt
• 1 Tbsp caraway seeds
• Optional: trade out the green for purple cabbage & trade out the caraway seeds for 1 Tbsp ground cinnamon + 1 Tbsp freshly minced turmeric

Directions

1. Start with a really clean prep space to help give the beneficial bacteria the best possible chance of succeeding.
2. Remove the outer leaves (keep to the side) & the inner core of the cabbage. Then slice into very thin wedges.
3. Place the cabbage into a big bowl and sprinkle the salt on top. Massage and squeeze the cabbage with your hands until it becomes watery & limp. This can take about 5-10 minutes. Add caraway seeds or other spices at this step.
4. Pack the cabbage into 2 quart or liter sized glass mason jars; packing it down with your fist. Add any liquid leftover in the bowl and then place one of the large outer cabbage leaves over the surface of the packed cabbage.
5. Weigh the cabbage down with a smaller jam jar filled with weights (marbles, stones, etc). Make sure the size of the jam jar will fit inside the large jar.
6. Cover the mouth of the jar with a clean cloth or cheesecloth and secure it with a rubber band.
7. Over the next 24 hours, press down on the cabbage every so often with the jam jar. The goal is to press it down enough for the liquid to rise up and cover it. If after 24 hours the liquid has not covered it, then add enough salted water to cover the leaves (dissolve 1 tsp of salt in 1 cup of water).
8. Let it ferment for about 1 week. Check it daily and press down any leaves that aren’t submerged. Keep it covered with the cloth and away from direct sunlight or heat.
9. You can start tasting it after 3 or 4 days and once you’re happy with the taste you can remove the weighted jar, screw on the lid, and place the sauerkraut in the refrigerator.
10. It will keep in the refrigerator for at least 2 months. Feel free to store in smaller containers for longer storage.

NOTE: While it’s fermenting, you may see bubbles coming through the cabbage, foam on the top, or white scum. These are all signs of a healthy, happy fermentation process. The scum can be skimmed off the top either during fermentation or before refrigerating. If you see any mold, skim it off immediately and make sure your cabbage is fully submerged; don’t eat moldy parts close to the surface, but the rest of the sauerkraut is fine.

Besides being excellent for the gut, sauerkraut is also a great way to get more cruciferous veggies in your diet…and this is one of our absolute favorite anticancer & detox-supporting categories of food!

In your attempt to add more fermented foods during the Autumn months, here’s a list of some other ways you can include this category in your diet…in addition to raw sauerkraut.

• Raw pickles or other pickled fruits or veggies (if you don’t make it at home then make sure they’re in the refrigerator section of your grocery store so you know they still have active cultures)
• Kimchi
• Plain organic yogurt or kefir
• Raw milk, cheese, or buttermilk (if you tolerate dairy)
• Miso, tempeh, natto, or tamari
• Raw apple cider vinegar
• Kombucha or Kvass

For more ideas of fermented foods you can make at home, check out this article from The Kitchn: https://www.thekitchn.com/best-fermented-food-recipes-229599

Autumn Rituals

Another practice I love to do to help me really root myself into this new season is to create a “Welcome Autumn Ritual”. Something you do, ideally with your family & friends, to welcome in and celebrate the new season. It would be perfect to do right around the Autumn Equinox, which is typically between September 21st thru 23rd.

It can be a whole day (or half-day) filled with warming & nourishing Autumn-inspired activities. Here are some ideas:

• • Start your day outside with a walk in nature. Notice how the trees, leaves, and Earth are changing.
  • Dress warmly if the air is crisp but consider stopping during your walk or once you get home to sit on the Earth or on the grass where you can connect to the Earth’s energy and go inward. Spend at least 10 minutes sitting on the earth with bare skin touching the ground…if it’s too cold to take your shoes off, then maybe just place your hands on the Earth. Focus on your breath and release any tension or stress you may be holding in your body.
  • After your meditation, pull out your journal and ask your soul…
    • Much like the trees shed their leaves in the Autumn, what do I need to release & compost into the Earth? What old patterns or behaviors are no longer serving me?
    • What activities can I bring in that would nourish & fuel my soul this Autumn?
  • Then later you can gather with family or friends to enjoy an Autumn-inspired meal. A few of my favorites that are fun to share with guests are the Moroccan Chicken with Golden Cauliflower, or the Roasted Butternut Squash & Apple Soup with homemade seedy bread, or the Haira-Inspired Stew. You can grab more Autumn meal ideas HERE or in our Cookbook.

Optimize Your Health This Autumn

If you’re ready to elevate your Autumn health & wellness routine then I invite you to join us inside the Autumn Wellness Workshop! In this in-depth 2 hour workshop you’ll learn so many different strategies to align your diet, lifestyle, & self-care routine to promote balance and optimal health this Autumn. 

We dive much deeper into the Ayurvedic principles of balancing Vata plus you’ll receive a 1-hour cooking demo with Natural Foods Chef, Jennifer Caroff, showing you how to make 6 Autumn-friendly recipes including some healthy seasonal desserts! 

When you purchase this workshop you will also receive a beautiful downloadable resource & recipe guide with tools to help you take action on what you learned. Learn more and purchase the Autumn Wellness Workshop here: https://groundandroot.com/product/autumn-wellness-workshop/ 

When we approach health & healing from a holistic lens we realize that there is actually A LOT we can do to support our wellness. Between the foods we choose, the lifestyle we lead, the self-care strategies we implement, & of course diving deeper into any root imbalances, we not only thrive and prevent diseases like cancer, we can also help our bodies heal.

If you’d like to learn more about how to do this, then let’s chat. Both our private & group coaching programs are structured to help you implement all of these foundational tools regardless of whether you’re working on cancer recovery or prevention. We can hop on a call to learn more about your health concerns and goals, what your current diet & lifestyle look like, and how integrative & functional nutrition can support you towards your goals. Book a free strategy session HERE.