I’m so happy to celebrate the arrival of autumn, my favourite season! I love its colours and its delicate light.
According to Chinese medicine, autumn is the season in which the energy of nature, which had reached its peak during the summer, slowly begins to decrease, until it reaches its lowest intensity in winter. Autumn is a very contemplative season, we feel less extrovert and the desire to go out and meet friends, typical of summer, begins to decrease and we tend to focus more on ourselves. I’m sure you’ve noticed how from spring until summer you feel your energy becoming more intense, at times, you even feel unstoppable: you go out, meet friends, stay outdoor, while when autumn and winter come, you prefer to stay home, keep warm, you go to bed earlier, you spend Sundays on the sofa reading or watching a film. There’s nothing strange in this change, your body is just following the cycle of nature, try to respect it.
This energetic change, causes a series of “collateral effects” which I prefer to call “signals of adjustment” to a new natural cycle. Here are some of them:
1. You feel tired: waking up in the morning seems to be impossible. There are moments in which you would just spend the day doing nothing.
2. Abrupt mood change: you feel sad for no reason, sometimes the sadness can last for a few days.
3. Strong desire to drink coffee and other energy drinks: this is a consequence of feeling tired.
4. Growing craving for sweet foods and in particular chocolate (which is an energy food as well).
5. The first cold/s of the new season (and this is the worst signal, at least for me).
How can we overcome this phase? First of all, don’t see it as a problem, it’s part of the cycle of nature: trees begin to lose their leaves to prepare for the winter rest, animals get ready for hibernation, therefore, it’s common to feel “different” in this phase. Try to sleep more if you perceive the need to, slow down, do less things but be more present in what you do, learn to identify your priorities.
To avoid or reduce the intensity of an eventual cold, consume seasonal food and forget about summer food (salads, raw foods, watermelons, peppers, tomatoes, ice creams, cold drinks etc.), consume seasonal vegetables and fruit (pumpkin, mushrooms, beetroots, cabbage, pomegranate, chestnuts etc.). Always remember to let the cold run its course, don’t try to stop it with medicines: it’s a process through which the body eliminates the cold accumulated during the summer when you ate raw and cooling foods. It’s a way, for the body, to prepare itself for the cold season. If you try to stop it, you’ll probably get a cold again and again until your body feels it has eliminated enough, moreover, by stopping it, you may weaken your body that won’t be ready to tackle winter. What would the consequence be? You’ll go down with a flue as soon as the temperature decreases!
Speaking about cravings for sweet food (desserts, sugar, chocolate etc.) which are also responsible for abrupt mood change, the problem is rather complex because they are also caused by your pancreas when it is tense. However, we can face this problem by eating naturally sweet foods such as chestnuts, stewed apples, pumpkin cream, millet etc. (but no sugar!). Speaking about naturally sweet foods, I’d like to share with you the recipe of a sweet vegetables preserve, a very nutritious dish which reduces cravings and helps pancreas relax.
I have prepared another gift for you: the autumn cookbook that you’ll receive when subscribing to my newsletter.
SWEET VEGETABLES PRESERVE
ingredients:
1 cup of pumpkin, cut into quarters
1 cup of carrots, cut into quarters
1 cup of onions, cut into quarters
1 cup of cabbage, cut into quarters
1-2 cups of water
2 pinches of salt
Place a large saucepan on the stove with water and vegetables. When the water begins to boil, simmer the vegetables over low heat for 4-5 hours. If the vegetables haven’t melt completely, use an immersion blender to make a cream. The preserve can be poured into sterilised jars and boiled in water for 45 minutes to be sterilised.
This marmalade can be used as a sauce for cereals, can be spread on bread or eaten as a side dish.
Tips:
- when the water begins to boil, move the saucepan to the smallest burner, you won’t have to worry if the heath is too high;
- never stir the ingredients, never remove the saucepan lid: when you open the lid and stir the vegetables, steam evaporates increasing the risk of burning the food. When it’s almost ready, you may check if there’s enough water and add some (hot) water, if necessary.
- you can prepare this preserve with two or even one sweet vegetable, just check what’s in your fridge 😊;
- keeping some jars in your cupboard can be very useful when your fridge is empty or you don’t have time to cook.
Enjoy this beautiful season!
