Spring brings a different type of rain, one that nourishes the plants. In the Chinese agricultural calendar, we are in the seasonal node of Grain Rain, which starts on approximately April 19th.

This is a time to nourish ourselves to bring us into balance with the changing season and promote the movement of qi and blood with easy digestion.

There are so many delicious bright and fresh new foods in early spring – chives, all types of rabe, baby carrots, turnips, beets, spicy greens to name several. Keep eating foods which are slightly warming in this changeable season. Nettles are one of our favorite spring herbs and foods to eat. See the recipe below.

Even though the Lunar New Year in the Chinese calendar harbors the emerging spring and new beginnings, the Northeast of the United States was recently blanketed with many inches of snow making folks wonder if winter would ever end. (Notice the Buddha’s head popping up from the snow in my friend’s yard!). So, how do we prepare for spring?

This lamb stew is a family favorite.

I do not often eat lamb, but I know when I need it; in the cold, dark, damp days of winter in the Pacific Northwest. This is a star recipe in the Winter section of recipes in my book Nutritional Healing with Chinese Medicine: +175 Recipes for Optimal Health.

This nourishing and comforting lamb stew is perfect if you often tend to feel cold. The addition of warming and aromatic spices further enhances its healing qualities. The recipe was inspired by and adapted from a recipe by Nina Simonds in her book A Spoonful of Ginger. I’ve added herbs that are typical in Chinese medicinal soups; they are especially beneficial for women and people with circulation issues. Serve as-is or over steamed brown rice.

Thriving during the holidays is different for each person. The winter season when yin is at its apex is a season of regeneration. If we listen to the cycle of the days, we will naturally seek warmth and more rest, warmer and slower cooked foods. This is a time of nourishing our yin and protecting our yang, to restore our innermost treasures. Soon we will be at the darkest and most yin time of the year, the Winter Solstice.

Read more of this thoughtful post, which includes a nourishing Winter Squash Soup recipe.

Autumn’s sky, cloudy or not, is punctuated with the fire of leaves just before they dry up and fall to the ground. Our vital qi, brightened by summer skies, now begins its movement inward as we ready ourselves for winter. Autumn is a time for gathering ourselves for the year ahead. We move indoors. It is a great time restructure what we do and want to do, creating time and space for reflection and planning. Our intentions turn inward to protect the yang qi we built up over the summer season and nourish our interior and our yin.

As we enter the Autumn season, our bodies ask for foods that are more warming and nourishing. These two recipes, bring the delights of the autumn season to you in the sweet form, warming your body while aiding digestion.

This delicious poached quince and ginger cookie recipe is found in my book Nutritional Healing with Chinese Medicine: +175 recipes for Optimal Health in the Winter Recipe section.

As a nutritionist, I am often asked about mindfulness and intuitive eating. There are varying degrees of what these terms mean and how they can look in action. I interpret intuitive eating as listening deeply to what the body is asking for, and then acting with intention and responsibility to nourish those needs. Some use this principle to defend eating foods that are harmful–like processed or sugar-laden foods–but this is not what true intuitive eating is or should be. I will reserve my thoughts on this for another time, and merely state again that listening to the needs of your body should be followed by choosing the foods that will nourish cravings and thirst rather than contribute to internal stress and dis-ease.

Right now in my garden, I can hear the wind chimes dance with the varied breezes between sweet sun spells and sour stretches of rain.

I am often asked what I am up to in the garden this time of year, and the answer usually involves my favorite pastime - weeding! Fortunately one type of plant that grows like a weed this time of year is parsley, a superfood for the springtime diet. Nutrient-dense and bursting through the early spring chill, parsley concentrates an array of vitamins, antioxidants and minerals to stave off the seasonʼs harsh weather conditions.

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