Feeling warm and in a cocoon of comfort is sought after by many during the long cold months of winter. Staying home and enjoying peaceful nights and cozy afternoons sitting fireside is a vision that brings solace and a reprieve from the intensity of bone chilling cold weather, and the effort of layering leggings, sweaters, puffy coats, hats, gloves and boots.
Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) deems the winter season as a time for people to rest, rejuvenate and reflect on their life. Making an effort to be peaceful by quieting the mind and slowing down the pursuit of activity is very healing for the body, mind and spirit. TCM associates winter with the kidneys and states that the kidneys are the most important organs, because they sustain the body’s most vital energy regulating growth, reproduction and regeneration.
If you need a reason to allow yourself to rest or are looking for a way to sidestep overcommitting winter is an excellent cue to do so. Taking time to relax, reflect and restore your body, mind and spirit can help you to let go of energy and thoughts that aren’t serving you and can help encourage renewed energy to come forth.
I hope you can make several dates for rejuvenating R&R during the last few weeks of winter. Springtime will be here soon beaconing us to play harder and longer as the temperature warms up and daylight grows longer.
I made a spicy version of Winter’s Elixir—Squash and Vegetable Soup, to share with the Winter* Cleansing-Diet-Direction class last week. Winter squash is deeply nutritious providing vital minerals, vitamins, fiber and phyto-nutrients that have antioxidant protection and immune boosting capabilities. The texture is rich, nutty, creamy and sweet nurturing a feeling of wholeness, comfort and peace.
For this recipe I roasted butternut squash, delicata squash, sweet potato, yams and carrots. After about 20 minutes at 350 degrees Fahrenheit I took it all out of the oven, pricked with a fork and melted ½ Tablespoon of organic butter over the top and heavily sprinkled with turmeric, curry powder and cayenne pepper then let it roast until soft.
While the roasting time was finishing I sautéed 2 small onions in coconut oil, garlic, curry, turmeric, cayenne and drizzle of pure maple syrup until soft. I added diced cauliflower and mushrooms and continued to sauté until soft adding ¼ – ½ cup of bone broth (a.k.a homemade chicken stock).
After the squash cooled, I removed the skins and then diced them along with the sweet potato. In a Vita-Mix I combined 2 cups of the roasted vegetables, with a scoop of the sautéed vegetables and 1 cup of bone broth and pureed; add bone broth to make the puree smooth, rich and creamy. I repeated this until all the vegetables were combined and pureed. This recipe is great and looks beautiful with toasted pumpkin seeds floating on top and fresh cilantro (both of which I didn’t have, but recommend for presentation, texture and flavor!)
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