Changing with the Seasons

These last few days have been a stunning example of pleasant, late summer weather in the Seattle area. But there is has no doubt been a shift into the season of fall. There is crispness in the air most days now, and on my walk yesterday I smiled at the sight of the first fall leaves on the ground.

I have noticed the shift in what my body needs: less raw foods and a little more quality, humanely raised meat. I have only been back from Italy for 1 month. While I was in Italy and for a couple of warm weeks here, I was eating lots of raw or fermented veggies, some sprouts (try sprouting mung beans), whole grains and a little fish... oh and "Coconut Bliss Frozen Dessert" :). But these last few days I can feel my body's digestive system slowing down with all of the cool and raw food. Its time to warm things up! I had several cups of hot tea today and it felt so soothing and nice going down. I made a batch of bison meatballs for the week. The bison is humanely raised and carried by PCC Natural Markets. They turned out wonderful. All I added was chopped onion, Annie's Naturals Maple BBQ Sauce, an egg and some seasoning. I baked them in a 375 degree oven for 35 minutes.
It is such a beautiful thing to see the changes in nature outside of us, and know that there are also changes going on in nature inside of us. I love that I can support this process by beginning to add in more warming foods, and using more aromatic and pungent foods and herbs like pepper, garlic, ginger, cardamon, and onion. These foods and spices direct qi flow towards the lungs helping to keep them moist, open, and disinfected (onion and especially garlic have powerful anti-microbial effects) during a season that is typified by dryness and increasing frequency of colds and flu. Just last night I felt under the weather a bit and so I ate a few cloves of raw garlic blended into a hummus dip (and took one oil of oregano capsule), I drank plenty of water and went to bed early. Today I felt great!
It just continues to blow my mind how truly healing the right foods and the right times can be!