Autumn Nourishment

Eat for the season.
I so appreciate how Ayurveda, the healing tradition from India that I am so found of, offers guidance for living in sync with the seasons of the year and suggests adjustments for  diet and daily activities to stay healthy and balanced.

If we don’t live in alignment with the seasons, we can easily fall into imbalance and dis-ease. When we understand the nature of the season and how to adapt, we can weather the changes and thrive.

Ayurveda calls autumn a “vata” season. Vata is characterized by the elements of air and either. Autumn weather is changeable, varied, cool, windy at times, and rainy at times. Just like this week. Some of the qualities of this season are: light, dry, cold, rough, mobile, subtle and clear.

In the summer, when it was hot, you probably enjoyed your food and drinks on the cooler side and favored lighter foods like salads, cucumbers, and melons to stay cool and light. But, now that the weather is cool, dry and light, it’s time to enjoy the opposite.

In the fall season, favor warmer, slightly heavier, mushier, and even oilier foods and warm drinks that will nourish you and keep you feeling grounded in this season of change.

On Sundays, I do a kitchen practice I call Kitchen Sadhana, the practice of nourishment. For my Kitchen Sadhana Sunday, I organize my kitchen, shop for the week ahead, make a weekly meal plan and do food prep.

What’s in season is what you should be eating.
Think apples, pears, cranberries, fresh brussel sprouts, cauliflower, delicata squash, romanesco broccoli, rutabaga, rainbow carrots, leeks and beets. Look to your farmer's market and local grocer to see what's in season. 

Here are some recipes to try this fall:

• Cinnamon Quinoa Breakfast Bowl
  
• Warming Grain Free Cereal with Pears
  
• Curry chicken bake 
• Winter salad bowl with whole grains and kale
  
• Red lentil dal 
• Lemony carrot cauliflower soup 
• Moosewood White Bean Black Olive Soup
  
• Vegetarian Bibimbap Bap, Korean Rice Bowl with Veggies and Egg
  
• Wilted Spinach and Chickpeas Warm Salad
  
• Delicata Squash Bake with Tahini Sauce
  
• Golden almond milk with turmeric and ginger

Need some seasonal recipe ideas? Check out the recipes page on my website, a collection of curated recipes for healthy eating.

Need reminders for what to do to stay healthy in Autumn? Check out How to Live Vibrantly in Autumn Tip Sheet.

Happy Autumn Eating!