It’s happening people, there’s no denying it – even if you are as stubborn as I am and feeling like Winter pulled a very poor effort together this year. The fruit tree blossoms are opening, the bulbs have been blooming for the past month and the first lambs were spotted frolicking in the paddocks long, long ago. We definitely didn’t have anything close to what I would regard as a decent Winter this year, but Lady Spring – she’s dancing a-right-on-into town. While our wood fire still ticks over and there’ll no doubt be many more days that’ll bring a chill to our fingers and toes, I can see all around us – even within us – that the Spring cleanse is starting to unfold. So here’s a quick, raw, bullet pointed post to share with you all the notes I’ve taken as we prepare to embark on our annual Cleanse and Detox. It’s absolutely not a thorough cleanse and detox program, it’s just a few key notes that I’ve pulled out from our health files to clip on the fridge as we journey through this refreshing time of the year. For some other wonderful inspiration – check out Jodi’s seasonal notes on Spring. (Please note; As we consult with the same wise Naturopath, many of my Spring notes I’ll have pasted to the fridge, have come from Jodi’s articles over the years, therefore here in this post – I have deleted those and just referred you to that link.)
General Health;
- Spring ‘colds’ are often a cleanse.
- This time of year is all about the liver. Sour foods will support our liver and help the body’s natural detoxification process. A great time to increase all fermented foods.
The Earth;
- As the Earth cleanses, so does our body. This is what the Spring ‘wild winds’ are all about.
- The animals of the Earth are also cleansing, so this is a time when we avoid animal products for 6 weeks.
Food;
- Our food should be fresh and light – a ‘refresh’ from the heaviness of Winter stews and bakes.
- Food should (as always) be local, organic and seasonal.
- Bitter greens such as dandelion, thistle and sorrel will support the liver.
- Increase vegan and RAW foods – using chia, sesame and hemp seeds (when we’re in hemp food friendly Countries!) to support our Spring nutrients.
- See the additional food suggestions regarding kale, fennel, celery and root vegetables on Jodi’s site.
- Some great meal and information inspiration from Catherine.
- We normally follow the ‘Turn Over a New Leaf’ 6 week detox program which is fantastic – however after 7 years of this program we’re really a little over the same menu year-in-year-out. This season we’re going to mix up recipes from Michael Reese’s 6 week plan for evening meals, breakfast and lunch recipes from some great free online resources, as well as on-the-spot inspirations from the above guidelines. A favourite breakfast is homemade nut butter on essene bread, topped with sprouts – but 6 weeks of this gets a little too much to take as well, so I’ll be using quinoa for simple, easy, nutritious porridges, beans in all different ways and facon for a continental vegan breakfast. Numerous recipes from Kristen Suzanne always end up gracing our meal table, especially her TLT. For an occasional decadent treat – the infamous Choc Cherry Bomb Shake is heavenly. I’m not big at all on copious amounts of powdered food supplements, I believe you should be able to get everything you need from your nutrient dense meals, however every so often I don’t mind a bit of chocolate Garden of Life Raw Protein in our smoothies for some added oomph.
- My one personal allowance during this program is that I include bone broths in our diet. The bones are from animals slaughtered before the Spring period and as Hunter Gatherer type people, our family has found we really do thrive on an animal based diet. Therefore the inclusion of the animal minerals during this period, I feel – supports our systems as they detox and heal.
Teas;
- Chrysanthemum for immune.
- As well as the tea’s Jodi notes for support through this season.
- Immune tea blend to support our system – add dandelion.
- Thistles, burdock and yellow dock will support the sinus’.
- Rosehip, parsley and lemon slices to increase the uptake of flavanoids.
Juices;
- Green juice/smoothie each day (we’ll alternate juice/smoothie days) for the cleansing properties of chlorophyll. Use sour citrus’ but avoid orange juice as it is counterproductive to the liver as it cleanses.
Remedies;
- A great recipe for cleansing support is toward the end of the post in italicised text, as well as an additional blood cleansing recipe from Catherine can be found in this FIG post, about half way down, under the heading ‘A Spring Cleanse’.
Aromatherapy;
- Spring ‘cleanse’ sinus symptom; burn – lavender, lemon, eucalyptus.
- Oil burner/spritz for the home; these oils along with cypress and rosemary are also beneficial.
- Oils into hankie or on chest in carrier oil – respiratory blend onto chest all through season.
Edited August 2018 to add :: Do also check out this fantastic post on Jodi’s blog about Clearing Mucous as well as her Spring tab in general (LOTS of fantastic reading here!)
::Pregnant with Marlin in Spring 2012 – obviously my program had to be modified during that Spring, but I still benefited from mindfully supporting my system through the natural cleanse that happens with each Spring season::
Here are a few links if you’d like to read some various Spring recipes and articles I wrote for our local food co-op a few years back; Raw for Spring, Eat your Weeds!, Bring on the Brussels, Seedy Summer Lentil Dip, Beetroot Dip, Cumin Wedges, Amaranth Tabouli Mushroom Cups, Kohlrabi – the Under-appreciated Vegetable, Culturing Vegetables, Cooking with Grains, Amaranth, Berry-de-licious, Springtime Garden Tea, Spring Smoothies, Green Juices, Alkalising. You’ll have to excuse the lack of visuals – I didn’t realise that when I deleted a stack of Picasa albums, that I deleted the folder containing imagery pertaining to these posts. You’ll have to let your imagination take the lead and the words guide you through the appearance of each dish!
Tell me, what are your favourite Spring Detox traditions…
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