Welcome Winter

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 we 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…

All around us the Earth is preparing for slumber (the trees, the animals, the plants). There’s a certain stillness that comes with winter. Do you feel that? It’s a time of mystery, magic, & inward reflection. A time to slow down, to get more sleep, to make time for rest & dreaming…essentially it’s a time to reset. 

The start of Winter also corresponds with the end of one year and the beginning of the next. The energy is perfectly aligned for you to reflect on the prior year, notice how you’ve changed & grown, and feel gratitude for all you’ve accomplished & received. Then you’re better equipped to set intentions for a new year with goals that are more evolved to where you are now in your life.

Winter is dominated by the elements of Water and Earth…although there can still be a strong influence from Air as well. This can cause us to feel wet, cold, & sluggish if it’s not balanced with warmth & stimulation. The Water + Earth element is known as Kapha in Ayurveda and in excess it can result in us feeling depleted, tired, and overwhelmed. It can also cause sluggish digestion, mucous in the respiratory tract, and more colds and flus. Whereas Kapha in balance will provide more steady energy, a healthy & strong immune system, and will be better able to balance resting with doing.

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 Winter

Tip #1: Transition Your Diet to Winter 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 winter months bring fruits like cranberries, pomegranates, persimmons, & citrus plus veggies like broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, pumpkin, sweet potato, & butternut squash. Shopping at your local Farmers’ Market will help you stay in touch with what’s growing where you live. You can read more about what foods coming into season in the Winter HERE: https://groundandroot.com/blog/eating-in-season-winter/ 

Then we can take this concept even deeper by being mindful of how to balance the cold & wet (Kapha) elements of Winter with our food & cooking techniques. During the winter months we turn even more exclusively to warm and cooked foods and beverages with lots of stimulating spices. Think soups, stews, and other slow cooked meals, plus roasted root veggies, fermented foods, and warm pungent herbs & spices to help stimulate digestion, circulation, & to clear mucous- like ginger, thyme, cayenne, garlic, sage, & rosemary.

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

Tip #2: Take Time to Rest & Restore

Our bodies thrive (especially our mental health) with rest, relaxation, & alone time during the winter months. It’s crucial that we intentionally schedule in time for rest as well as time to be social and to gather with others. We need the balance of both during the dark days of winter. Ideally take your cues from the sun to come home and wrap up your day earlier. After dinner, dim the lights, light some candles, take a hot bath, intentionally wind down and go to bed early…ideally being asleep by 10pm. A slower, more relaxed pace with plenty of opportunities for fun & laughter will help keep you balanced and grounded during the winter months.

Tip #3: Keep Moving

In order to keep Kapha in balance and to prevent the build-up of sluggish energy in our system it’s important that we keep moving. Ideally you’re up early, around 7am, and outside exercising as soon as the sun is up. Moving your body outside helps build resilience in your system and the more sluggish you’re feeling, the more vigorous the exercise should be. We can also keep our energy (& lymph) moving with breathwork, dry brushing, and daily oiling.

Tip #4: Optimize Your Immune System

If the Autumn was about “building” immunity then the Winter is for “optimizing” our immunity. Keeping Kapha in balance & implementing the previous 3 tips will directly benefit the immune system. But we can also help to optimize the immune system by meeting our hydration goals each day, ramping up our intake of immune boosting foods (like garlic, green tea, citrus, mushrooms, & mineral-rich bone broth), while also bringing in more winter remedies & adaptogens.

In our house we always add in supplemental Vitamin D3 during the winter months and I keep a jar of “Medicinal Honey” at the ready. You can find all of my favorite winter remedies here: https://groundandroot.com/blog/winter-remedies/.

Inside the Winter Wellness Workshop you’ll learn a lot more tips for enhancing your health this Winter…including how to work through a Seasonal Detox and strategies for a healthier holiday season.

Winter Adaptogens

At the heart of an anticancer, nutrient-dense diet is a plate full of whole seasonal foods, balanced between protein, healthy fat, & fiber and 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. In the Autumn we add more fermented foods. And in the Winter we bring in adaptogens.

Adaptogens are natural substances (typically plants & mushrooms) that help your body respond to stress, anxiety, & fatigue while enhancing overall well-being. They are also great at supporting the immune system. Adaptogens bring your body back to a steady balance by managing both physical and mental stressors and are a perfect superfood to add during the winter months.

Some of my favorite adaptogens include ashwagandha, reishi, rhodiola, holy basil, ginseng, cordyceps, and eleuthero. You can take adaptogens in a variety of ways, from capsules, to teas, or as a powder added to soups, smoothies, and other foods. Here are two delicious & sweet ways you can add more adaptogens into your routine this winter from one of my favorite seasonal cookbooks, The Kosmic Kitchen.

Spicy Mushroom Hot Cocoa

Ingredients

• 1 cup water
• 3 Tbsp cacao powder
• 2 tsp reishi powder (or any other mushroom powder blend)
• 1 cup milk or plant-based milk
• 3 Tbsp maple syrup
• 3 ounces dark chocolate, roughly chopped
• ¼ tsp ground cinnamon
• Pinch of sea salt
• Pinch of ground cayenne (optional)

Directions

1. In a saucepan bring the water to a simmer and whisk in the cacao & reishi powders
2. Add in the milk, maple syrup, dark chocolate, cinnamon, cayenne, & sea salt, whisking until the chocolate is melted and creamy (~5 mins).
3. Divide between 2 mugs

Reishi Rose Chocolate Bark

Ingredients

• ¼ cup coconut oil
• ¼ cup ghee
• 1 cup cacao powder
• 1 Tbsp reishi powder
• 2 tsp ashwagandha powder
• 1 tsp ground cardamom
• 2 Tbsp maple syrup
• Sea salt
• 1 Tbsp cacao nibs
• 1 Tbsp dried rose petals

Directions

1. In a double boiler, or in a glass heatproof bowl over a simmering pot of water, add the coconut oil & ghee and stir until the fats have melted. Take the bowl off the water.
2. Whisk in the cacao, reishi, ashwagandha, cardamom, maple syrup, & pinch of sea salt.
3. Pour into a 9×6 (or similar) glass or ceramic baking dish in an even layer, then sprinkle the cacao bins and rose petals on top.
4. Let sit at room temperature, or pop in the freezer, until set. Use a metal spatula or butter knife to break it up.

Other Ideas

You can add any powdered adaptogens you want to a hot beverage of your choice or a smoothie. Long simmering broths are also a good way to add them in. Or even as an herbal tea. There are many delicious blends with holy basil (aka Tulsi) or even ginseng. You can also find many different products out there that already blend adaptogens for you, like Mudwtr for example, which is a coffee alternative that combines mushrooms with various herbs & spices in a cacao, matcha, turmeric, or rooibos blend.

Winter Rituals

Another practice I love to do to help me really root into this new season is to create a “Welcome Winter 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 Winter Solstice, which is typically on December 21st and can be a lovely addition to your holiday rituals. It can be a whole day (or half-day) filled with warming & nourishing winter-inspired activities. 

Here are some ideas:

• Start your day outside with a walk in nature ideally to watch the sunrise & to take in the signs that the Earth is ready for slumber.
• Sit quietly, notice what’s around you, drop into your own breath and body and reflect on this past year…how have you grown, what’s different now than a year ago, how do you feel, what patterns, beliefs, or habits are no longer serving you, what aspirations do you have for this next year. Take notes in a journal.
• If you feel inspired you may even want to ceremoniously burn the list of things you’re releasing and NOT taking into the new year with you. This is a ritual I personally love to do each year with my family in our fireplace.
• Gather with friends & family for a special Winter meal. One of my favorites is the Roast Chicken and Herbed Potatoes with my Winter Holiday Salad. Depending on how many people are gathering you may need to roast 2 chickens. Bonus → after the meal you can make a Mineral-Rich Bone Broth with the chicken carcass to stock your freezer with this essential winter remedy. You can grab more Winter meal ideas HERE or in our Cookbook.
• Light a candle in honor of the sun’s return or even consider spending the evening by candle light.

Whatever you choose to do, I invite you to take a moment to mark the first day of winter. Embrace it as a rite of passage to dive into the longest night of the year so we can welcome the light and the return of the sun! When we honor both the dark and the light we allow our physical and mental health to be more balanced and grounded in the natural rhythms of life.

Optimize Your Health This Winter

If you’re ready to elevate your health & wellness routine this Winter then I invite you to join us inside the Winter Wellness Workshop! In this in-depth 2 ½ hour workshop you’ll learn so many different strategies to align your diet, lifestyle, & self-care routine to promote balance and optimal health this Winter. It even includes some specific strategies to make your holidays healthier and less stressful. 

We dive much deeper into the Ayurvedic principles of balancing Kapha plus you’ll receive a 1 ½-hour cooking demo with Natural Foods Chef, Jennifer Caroff, showing you how to make 7 Winter-friendly recipes including 2 spiced-cider recipes & a healthy holiday cookie recipe! 

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 Winter Wellness Workshop here: https://groundandroot.com/product/winter-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, I would love to welcome you to the Healing Collective. Inside, we offer our members free access to our Winter Wellness Workshop (along with Spring, Summer and Autumn too!)- This in-depth video workshop and PDF guide will teach you how to use your diet and lifestyle to support wellness and healing in the Winter. To learn more and join, click HERE.