Transitioning Your Body to Fall with Warming Foods, Spices, Herbs, and Energetics
Nourish believes that when we work with nature, we have greater access to the healing potential that’s available, so when the seasons change, it’s important to consider what the season may be presenting to our body and consider that in our approach to health.
Because as much as many of us resist it, as summer’s vibrant energy gives way to the crisp and reflective season of fall, our bodies naturally crave warmth and grounding. In both traditional and holistic health practices, autumn is seen as a time to turn inward, nourish deeply, and prepare the body for the colder months ahead. By incorporating warming foods, spices, herbs, and embracing the energetics of fall, you can support your body’s natural rhythms during this seasonal transition.
While we’ve touched on this previously when introducing our Fall Menu, sharing a few of the angles that we see fall transitions impacting health, there is so much more to discuss on this theme.
1. Understanding the Energetics of Fall
In many cultural and traditional practices, including Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) and Ayurveda, fall is a season of letting go and preparing for introspection. Fall represents a shift from the outward energy of summer into a slower, more reflective state. The energetics of fall encourage us to:
Ground and Center Ourselves: Just as trees shed their leaves, fall invites us to release what no longer serves us—whether it’s emotions, habits, or physical clutter.
Build Inner Warmth: As the external world cools, we can balance this shift by cultivating warmth within. This is where warming foods and spices play a critical role.
Strengthen the Lungs & Immune System: In TCM, the lungs are associated with the fall season. Supporting lung health with specific foods and herbs helps protect against seasonal illnesses and encourages emotional balance, allowing us to “breathe” more easily through life’s transitions.
Because the winter can be more challenging with less sunlight, intensely cold temps, and less vibrant foods, now is the time for really supporting your system in preparing while not being bogged down with unnecessary emotional or physical toxins that we’ve let overstay their welcome. Let ‘em go!
2. Warming Foods to Align with Fall’s Energy
Of course, and it should be of no surprise at this point, nature provides us with options that deliver exactly what our systems require during this time.
Root Vegetables: Sweet potatoes, carrots, and beets are grounding and deeply nourishing. These foods grow beneath the earth’s surface, reminding us to root ourselves during this time of seasonal change.
Squashes and Pumpkins: These vegetables are symbolic of the harvest, bringing us nourishment, warmth, and sustenance as the days grow shorter.
Whole Grains: Oats, barley, and brown rice are slow-digesting and provide steady energy. Grains warm and strengthen the body, helping to stabilize the internal temperature as the environment cools.
Both our specialty food items and many of those stocked in the Farm Market include these items. Both the Farm Market’s and Nourish’s menu embraces the concept of seasonality. In fact, in order to align with the guiding principles of local sourcing, that’s really the only way! In order to offer many of the fresh juices we do during the cooler months when they are not in season,, we do have to source from out of the area as well as utilize frozen produce for some of our menu items. That said, some are still locally greenhouse-grown!
3. Warming Spices to Harmonize with Fall’s Energy
Warming spices have a balancing effect on the cool, dry, and windy qualities of fall. They help stimulate circulation, support digestion, and create internal heat:
Cinnamon: Beyond its sweet flavor, cinnamon helps harmonize the digestive system and adds a sense of warmth and comfort. Opt for ceylon!
Ginger: Known for its powerful warming properties, ginger helps counteract fall’s coolness, making it perfect for teas, soups, and even juices.
Turmeric: This golden spice offers both warming qualities and anti-inflammatory benefits, helping you stay balanced and healthy.
So many of our menu and retail items include those three!
4. Herbs for Fall Balance
Herbs not only provide physical support but can help us energetically adapt to the shifting season by providing both calming and mood-enhancing properties. Keep in mind that these herbs support the nervous system which is a key player in managing mind, body, and more “spiritual,” energetic, or soul concepts. If your nervous system is dysregulated and stress is high, the entire body is so busy “preparing for a threat” that it’s definitely not in the type of state conducive to healing or effective healing of more chronic concerns — it’s just in SOS mode and scanning for the next immediate threat. :
Ashwagandha: A grounding adaptogen, ashwagandha helps soothe the nervous system and increase resilience during times of change.
Astragalus: Known for its immune-strengthening properties, astragalus supports lung health, making it ideal for fall when we are more susceptible to respiratory issues.
Elderberry: A protective herb for the colder months, elderberry helps fortify the immune system and provides emotional protection during fall’s inward energy shift.
We stock a few products that include these items (and you can add ashwagandha or elderberry to any beverage from the menu — just make sure to ask our team if the flavor profiles will mesh well).
5. Energetic Practices for Fall
While “energy work” can look like a lot of different things, it can generally be described as practices that focus on balancing and supporting the natural flow of energy within your body. While this concept may seem abstract, it’s rooted in the idea that just like we care for our physical body with food, exercise, and rest, our internal energy can also benefit from mindful practices like breathwork, meditation, and movement. These practices help calm the nervous system, improve focus, and reduce stress, leaving you feeling more centered and grounded. Even if you’re skeptical, think of energy work as another form of self-care—one that helps you feel more in tune with yourself as the seasons change.
Embrace Stillness: Just as nature slows down, take time to embrace quiet moments. Whether it’s meditation, deep breathing, or journaling, fall is a season for reflection.
Connect with Nature: Spend time outdoors, even as the weather cools. Walking through fallen leaves, breathing in the crisp air, and grounding yourself in the earth helps you stay connected with the season’s energy.
Slow Cooking: Fall is a time for slowing down, both in life and in the kitchen. Enjoy the process of preparing warming soups, stews, and roasts that take time and care—nourishing both body and soul.
Move It Out: Even though we just said to embrace stillness, consider walking or yoga to stimulate both blood and lymphatic fluid flow AND to help move energy out. We all know how a walk seems to cure a lot of our “bad moods” — maybe that’s just helping the energy be on its way.
6. Honoring the Season of Letting Go
Autumn is about embracing change and letting go of what no longer serves us. Just as we get a very obvious reminder of this in the way the leaves change color and then are shed, we can use this time to reflect on what we need to release in our own lives. Whether it’s unhealthy habits, old thought patterns, or physical clutter, fall’s energy supports us in creating space for new growth and balance.
At Nourish and inside the Stone Bank Farm Market, this means that our fall menu, and other of our offerings may include warming spices, warming foods, and immunity boosters. We may not be sensing our bodies changing, but what we can do is start to strengthen them as we go into colder months that often brings on more immune system challenges, like the cold and flu season that’s often a result of much more time indoors together. AND we love time together indoors — that’s not a reason to avoid gathering.
MIND BODY SOUL CHECK-IN
What’s something that you can let go of as we make our way deeper into fall?
ACTION: WHAT ONE THING FROM THIS POST CAN YOU INCORPORATE TO SUPPORT YOURSELF MENTALLY, EMOTIONALLY, ENERGETICALLY?