Seasonal Strategy for Fall Superfoods.
The influence of the seasons on the delicate balance of your body is one of the most vital but overlooked aspects of total health.
There is an amazing organic synchronicity between the foods that grow naturally in your locale in each season and the physiological challenges presented by the changes in weather, daylight hours, and plummeting temperatures.
Besides, buying foods that are in season (www.FruitandVeggiesMoreMatters.org tells which these are), can save you as much as 75% on your produce bill.
As the autumn leaves change, your body is starting to ready itself for the cold and dark winter months ahead.
This is the time to wean off of summer’s raw, cooling foods and savor more warming, cooked foods in the forms of soups, stews and casseroles.
It’s time to break out the slow cookers and roasting pans and fill them with Nature’s bounty.
The harvest season is upon us!!
Seasonal Savvy
Autumn is the perfect time to consume more folate-rich dark leafy greens like collards and kale which thrive in the crisp autumn cold snap of the season and help to build immunity.
Warm bean and non-gluten grain dishes from amaranth, quinoa, and wild rice are wonderful transitional and sustaining foods to help your body adjust to the crispness of fall following the soaring temperatures of summer.
Nourishing autumn meals should feature at least ½ cup of sustaining root veggies like fiber-rich parsnips, rutabagas, and turnips or colorful beta-carotene-laden squashes like butternut and acorn as well as my personal fave—pumpkin. (Raw grated turnips, parsnips, and rutabagas help with fat digestion—similar to daikon radish.)
Bring on the Pumpkins
But pumpkin—a Superfood Fall veggie if ever there was one—contains one of the highest levels of potassium of any root veggie I know of.
With about 33% more potassium than a banana, it contains nearly 300 mg of potassium in ½ cup. Potassium has an interesting association with bone mineral density helping to neutralize excess acidity to help maintain calcium in the bones. It’s also a natural muscle cramp stopper!
Pumpkins contain a treasure trove of carotenoids that support lung and colon health—which happen to be the focal points of the season according to traditional Chinese Medicine.
A ½ cup of pumpkin contains about 2,500 mcg of beta-carotene, 400 mcg of alpha-carotene and more than 2,400 mcg of the superstar eye-health nutrients lutein and zeathanthin—which can help forestall macular degeneration.
Since oil helps the carotenoid family to be absorbed more efficiently, a drizzle of coconut oil or butter will do the trick. I love my signature flaxseed oil drizzled on the pumpkin after it is cooked!
Here’s a Pumpkin Latte Smoothie you can enjoy first thing in the morning:
1/2 cup unsweetened canned pumpkin
1 cup water (hot)
1 TBS flax seed oil
1-2 TBS ground flax seeds
Dash of cinnamon, nutmeg, and ground cloves
1 scoop Fat Flush Vanilla Whey or Body Protein
1 scoop Flora-Key probiotic (for immunity against those nasty viruses going around!)
Transitional Autumn Foods
- Two servings of fruit (low sugar, like peaches, berries, and cherries) for phytonutrients and enzymes. Avoid summer fruits like melons and bananas at this time of year that are too cooling and congesting.
- Five servings of leafy greens and low carb, high fiber and fermented veggies for folate and magnesium to build up blood and help detoxification plus fortify probiotics.
- One to two servings of non-gluten grains (quinoa, amaranth, brown rice, wild rice, buckwheat) or seasonal veggies like squash, sweet potatoes, yams, rutabagas, turnips, parsnips, and pumpkin for fiber, beta-carotene, and potassium.
- At least two to three servings of protein including organic red meat and Omega 3 “pastured” eggs to build up iron in the blood and to activate a sluggish metabolism and increase metabolism by 25%. The Fat Flush Body Protein for vegans and vegetarians helps to fix a broken metabolism and provides 3 to 4 hours of satiety. With its heavy-metal free and non-GMO guarantee, it serves as the basis for morning smoothies and snacks.
- Two 1-tablespoon servings of plant-based oils (flax and olive in months 1-3; Macadamia, coconut, sesame in month 3) to feed the nervous system and provide energy. As weight permits, add more raw butter, ghee, yogurt, kefir, and cheese from hormone-free cows.
- 1-2 cups Fenugreek tea daily to dissolve mucus in lungs and GI tract. This tea softens and helps to eliminate mucus in the lungs and lubricates the GI tract to prevent constipation.
- 2-3 tablespoons chia seeds—sprinkled on eggs or veggies or added to soups, stews and dressing and smoothies for high fiber and calcium to improve regularity, blood pressure and maintain fullness.
- 64 ounces of cranberry water between meals and snacks to open up liver detox-pathways and provide anthocyanadins for blood vessel integrity, blood sugar control and lymph cleansing.
- Hot lemon and water upon arising to tone liver and kidneys and trigger peristalsis.
- Green Life Cocktail: cranberry water + green powder (I like Liver-Lovin Formula because it is a copper-free green formula unlike the sea veggie or chlorophyllin-based formulas on the market that contribute to copper overload and its resulting low thyroid, hyperactivity, anxiety, and insomnia) plus a probiotic (like Flora-Key which is a powdered five-strain probiotic that doubles as a sweetener)—to purify all organs, tissues, and cells.
As the weather becomes cooler and that old familiar nip in the air returns, become revitalized and ready for the wondrous winter just ahead! 
Following Mother Nature’s lead, you can tap into the power of eating by the seasons and reap help benefits throughout the year.
Discover the seasonal weight loss connection with Fat Flush for Life – The Year-Round Super Detox Plan to Boost Your Metabolism and Keep the Weight Off Permanently.
