Credit: Google Images/Ben Aaronovitch

Time to Slow Down

As we head into the coldest time of year, the desire for quiescence and going within begins to grow within each of us. Reduced activity or, at least, more indoor activities, like reading, yoga, and contemplation by the crackling fire will help preserve our energies through to spring. Reading, baking, cooking from scratch all come to mind in this the slowest (and most flavorful, in my opinion) of seasons. I can’t help but share a bit of sage advice (from my own nutrition book, of course) about the best foods for the coming season, as well as some personal reading favorites that perhaps you, too, will explore by a crackling fire or scenic picture window.

The following is excerpted from “The 5-Element Guide to Healing with Whole Foods” (Lulu Press, Inc., 2016):

“Water is the element of Winter, the most Yin of seasons. It represents the completion of a cycle and the cleansing of previous cycles. Energies are stored deep within, as in the roots of plants and trunks of trees, as well as within ourselves. It is the time of year to be more introspective and less physically active. At this time of the year, it is essential to keep one’s internal core warm for good health.” 

Winter Foods

Functions: cooling, moisten dryness, soften and dissipate hard lumps/masses, improve digestion, purge bowels; detoxification.

Foods: celery, barley, millet, soy products (especially miso and soy sauce), seaweed (kombu, kelp, etc.), sea vegetables, sesame seeds (black & white), walnuts, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds; mushrooms.

Herbs/Spices: mineral salts (in their natural, unprocessed form), celery seed, nettles.

Good Seasonal Food Choices

“Winter is the season of the Kidney/ Urinary Bladder organ system, where our root energies lie. Bitter and salty foods are contracting and inward/downward moving, which help us store our energies and keep us centered. Salty foods strengthen Kidney but too much actual salt can weaken it.

Include miso, soy products, seaweed, seafood, millet, walnuts, pumpkin seeds, sesame seeds, celery seeds, and barley in your diet. Bitter foods include parsnips, cauliflower, cabbage, turnips/rutabagas, celery, alfalfa, rye, quinoa, chicory root, and burdock root. Roasted chicory root blended with other roasted herbs makes a nice substitute for coffee, which depletes Kidney energies, especially Essence, with its caffeine content.

It is appropriate to add some Yang foods (warming, acrid/pungent) if you tend toward feeling cold during winter months. One-pot meals like slow-cooked soups and stews are your best choices, and you can add in both salty and bitter foods to create a healthy, nutrient-dense meal.”

Good Winter Reads

Reading tastes vary but I know I’ll be digging into some of my favorite authors once the cold weather settles in for its seasonal visit. During the winter months, I have a habit of going back and re-reading some of my personal favorites. This is just a short list of mystery/suspense favorites: Walt Longmire series by Craig Johnson, anything by Michael Connelly and Daniel Silva or David Baldacci.

In historical fiction/WWII stories of resistance and spies (in France, UK, Italy), I’m loving Cara Black and her new Kate Rees novels: Three Hours in Paris (fictionalized account of a true situation dealing with Hitler) and her newest, Night Flight to Paris. She also has the delicious Aimee Leduc detective series in Paris that I’m slowly working my way through.

There’s also Kate Quinn (The Rose Code, The Alice Network), Madelaine Martin (The Librarian Spy, The Last Bookshop in London, The Keeper of Hidden Books) and a newly discovered (and absolutely addicting) series by Mark Pryor, whose protagonist, Hugo Marsten, is a Texan and former FBI agent, now head of security for the U.S. Embassy in Paris. He helps Paris police (Gendarme) solve homicides, occasionally with his on-and-off French girlfriend/journalist. Between Mark and Cara Black, I’ll never need a map to find my way around Paris!

Have a Wonderful Holiday Season – whatever you celebrate.

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