By Richmond Natural Medicine

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March 23, 2018

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Moving into the spring season can sometimes be one of the most challenging seasonal shifts, both energetically and physically.  As the weather is changing, I often encourage my patients to gradually begin adding spring staples into their batch cooking to ease the transition.

Sometimes it feels like it takes several weeks for the weather to shift, the air to change, the upward energy to take effect and for spring produce to finally become available. Other times, there are abrupt weather changes, from warm days to snow fall and back again.  These abrupt weather shifts are extremely challenging for the body to handle as we are designed to better tolerate gradual and gentle environmental shifts. You may notice around this time that colds, flus and bugs are more prominent as our immune system is struggling with the environmental shift. Digestive imbalance is also common to show up at this time as we move from heavier foods (root vegetables, starchy foods) to lighter produce.

Seasonal Shifts in Ayurveda

In Ayurveda, the transition from winter to spring is perhaps the most difficult.  But this is also where balancing your diet can be so helpful to support the entire body – especially our digestive tract – through these unpredictable seasonal changes. As the weather is changing, I often encourage my patients to gradually begin adding in early spring foods into their batch cooking staples and consuming these throughout the week. As a general rule, I like to choose at least 2 new spring veggies, one whole grain, and fresh herbs and spices as they become available. Adding these into your meals each day helps your digestion to gently transition energetically and maintain a gradual balance of seasonal attunement. You can try all three, or one at a time as these ingredients become available in your area. Each will store in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.

Winter to Spring Recipes

Early Spring Barley

Ingredients:

• 4 1/2 cup vegetable broth or chicken broth
• 2 cups pearled barley, rinsed and soaked overnight
• 1 tsp celtic sea salt
• 1/2 tsp turmeric powder
• 1 tsp coriander powder
• 1/2 cup spring onions, chopped
• 1 tsp ghee or coconut oil
• 1/4 cup hemp seeds or  roasted sunflower seeds

Directions:
Bring broth  to a boil in a medium sized saucepan. Wash barley and add to boiling water. Add salt, turmeric, coriander, spring onions  and ghee. Stir, covered, and simmer on medium-low heat for 45 minutes until barley is very soft. Garnish with hemp seeds or roasted sunflower seeds and serve warm in addition to your meals.

Asparagus & Avocado Chilled Soup

Ingredients:

• 3 medium ripe avocados, pitted
• 1.5 pound asparagus,washed, roasted or lightly steamed
• 2.5 cups plain coconut milk
• 3 cloves garlic (less if you have a sensitive stomach)
• ¼ cup chopped spring onion
• ¼ cup fresh parsley
• Juice of 1 lemon
• Juice of 1 lime
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• ½ teaspoon cardamom
• ¼ tsp fennel seed powder
• 1 teaspoon sea salt

Directions:
Add all ingredients (except the asparagus) into a high speed blender , and blend until smooth. Coarsely shop the roasted asparagus and add to the blender and pulse to desired thickness. You can blend until very smooth or leave a little chunky. Serve warm or slightly chilled

Easy Spring Herbed Peas

Ingredients:

• 2 pounds of fresh spring peas
• ½ cup ghee
• 3 scallions, minced
• 3 tbsp fresh chives, chopped
• 2 tbsp coarsely chopped cilantro or parsley
• 3 tsp grated lemon zest
• ½ tsp sea salt

Directions:
Boil fresh peas in a saucepan of slightly salted water for about 3 minutes. Strain and set aside. the ghee on low heat and directly add the scallions and chives. Let simmer for 2-3 minutes. Remove from heat and add the peas, cilantro/parsley and lemon zest and mix well. Add salt if desired.

About the Author:

Lindsay Kluge is a Clinical Herbalist & Licensed Dietitian Nutritionist and received her Masters of Science degree in Herbal Medicine from the Maryland University of Integrative Health in 2012. She has been with Richmond Natural Medicine since 2013, and specializes in therapeutic holistic nutrition, circadian rhythm balance and sleep physiology, digestion, and Ayurvedic nutrition. She offers individualized nutrition and herbal medicine consultations that include meal planning support, custom compounded herbal formulas, nutrition guidance and general wellness support.  Learn more about services that Lindsay offers at Richmond Natural Medicine by clicking HERE.