Instructional &
Informational Posts
There’s something about fall that just screams, “EAT PUMPKIN-SPICED EVERYTHING, NOW!” in your ear, with every amber-colored leaf you crunch under your boots.
What’s up with that?
Enter Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), an art and practice cultivated over thousands of years that may just have the answers to your autumn cinnamon craving.
In Canada, autumn is a time of abundance, the season of turkeys, mashed potatoes and apple crisp. In TCM, autumn is represented by the element metal which ‘contracts’ and is cold, much like the air outside. The body requires warmth and greater energy to maintain balance in the changing seasons and so our cravings shift from ‘cooling’ foods to those that are more ‘warming’ in nature.
‘Warming’ foods are exactly what you’ve been craving. Spices like cinnamon, ginger, pepper, nutmeg and cloves are the aromatics that keep your blood flowing. Enjoy these spices in a cup of traditional chai tea or in a nourishing bowl of Roasted Pear and Butternut Squash Porridge.
Add warming spices to your raw foods by sprinkling cinnamon on your apple slices and adding ginger to your smoothies to improve the energetic impact these foods have on your body.
While you’re sprinkling these spices on everything, you’re probably also noticing that your raw green juice is slightly less appealing than it was two weeks ago. Your organs are shifting into a more ‘yin’ time of the year meaning your meals require more substance in the “It’ll put hair on your chest and meat on your bones” kind-of way. (Thanks, Dad).
You may also consider some more hearty suppers, like our 4-Spice Curry or Acorn Squash with Chicken and Cranberry Stew.
Now grab your circle scarf, a cup of chai and some slippers to curl up with a meditation for fall and truly find your vibe in this bountiful colourful season.
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Bri Botsford is an Ironman Triathlete and Registered Yoga Teacher turned Naturopathic Medical Student living in downtown Toronto. As a T-dot newcomer, she finds the city to be one big yoga mat – you’ll find her popping up into handstand, backbend or warrior from the Danforth to Etobicoke, and bending or running along the Lakeshore. She’s known to make killer raw chocolate, groovy green juices and has an intense fear of escalators.
