hey hey, babes!
it's fall, y'all, and a lovely one. while i'm not a pumpkin spice person, personally (it's basically code for "a bunch of allspice-y sugar") i am a proponent of seasonal eating and shifting habits with the shifts in weather. to wit, it's sweet potato time! and butternut squash time. and apple time. warm foods time, even warm water with honey, lemon and cinnamon in the morning time. lately i've been super into japanese sweet potatoes with red skins and white flesh, especially for breakfast, and sweet potato salad, which is great for this slightly cool/slightly warm time of year.
Ayurveda wannabe tips
the truth is, for all i write about balance in food and movement for overall health and good abs, i'm kind of a fuck-up when it comes to actually living in accordance with ayurvedic principles. i love frozen margaritas and hot spicy food, i drink coffee, i have virtually zero in the way of daily routine (except for the coffee) and i regularly eat bananas, or at least something made out of them, all of which are big no-nos in this discipline. plus, as genius as ayurveda's creators were, they didn't live in 21st century new york city with all its hustle. but i do try to take my cues from this ancient wisdom, and humbly offer these ayurveda-inspired notions with a modern-life edit:
adjust to the changing seasons by eating seasonal foods at seasonally appropriate temperatures. here in nyc, autumn is windy and cool, which are vata qualities (vata being all things dry, light and moving). vata is also respiratory infections, dry skin, anxiety and gassy digestion. luckily apples and winter squashes are in season as they are moistening, have lots of immune boosting vitamins, and are easy to digest. drink warm chai instead of cold brew. try some light reds instead of frozé. you get the picture.
health food takes different forms in different seasons. instead of the crispy salads of romaine, cucumber, corn and tomatoes we cool off with in summer, fall is time for cooked things that ground us. i try to act when the urge strikes to make an apple crisp or roast up up a bunch of butternut squash for sides, salads, or eventually soup. current favorites include a few greens with leftover roast butternut squash chunks and shaved parmesan, or mushroom risotto with homemade stock. greasy food is basically never helpful, but don't skimp on good fats at this time, as they help keep the gears running smoothly.
how you get the food can be as important as the food itself, meaning that cooking and baking at home are grounding, nourishing practices in and of themselves. even if it's rich or sweet or indulgent in some way, making it yourself or with friends has benefits that exceed the caloric or nutritional content and make the food far more beneficial than takeout (not saying i don't eat takeout, i totally do, but i try to limit it to once-ish a week). eating at home has some more meta benefits too, reducing the amount of waste and resources that surround food production, which feels at least slightly righteous in these crazy times.
finally, fall is a time of settling into routines at work or school (or the weird hybrid wfh lives we're leading right now) and meeting the airy qualities of fall with a little routine or homebody-ness can really help stave off common sicknesses or stress. i find myself eating breakfast (sitting down, no less) which is typically rare for me, and drinking warm-not-hot tea (yes, instead of wine most evenings) and baking muffins (they're all i can bake, let's be honest), all very autumn-y things to do that "pacify" vata, as they say in ayurveda, with warmth, sweetness, moistness, and grounding routine.
forgive my narcissism
at the risk of being a bit vain & self-indulgent, i'm kinda proud of these "before & after" pics taken at the beginning and then end of september.
i'm particularly pleased about them because they were achieved by a pretty simple approach consisting of barre class, lots of baby walks, and a bit of mindfulness about food aka the september reset. i'm clearly a work in progress at 4ish months postpartum, but i'm encouraged. sharing with you because it goes against the all-or-nothing, no pain no gain, focus on the most intense intensity of the american diet, fitness & wellness industry. score one for balance!
music for mellowing
now here's a little something to warm and soothe your mood via an entirely different sense, your ears! enjoy a little playlist, meant to be heard on shuffle.
as always babes, take care, do good and righteous things, and come pulse with me soon,
with love & (modified) planks,
Annie
