Written by Sasha Ormond
Well, Fall is here and I have a toolkit for survival once the weather starts turning and things start getting dark. The energy I’m filled with during the summer months inevitably starts to fade and I’m left needing to focus more on contemplative self care and consideration than in previous months. Acceptance of this slower pace and mindful attitude are a big challenge for me, as the want to fight against it and continue feeling amped up and ready to spring out of bed every morning seems to persist. For me, it requires diligence in the face of my stubborn want for things to remain breezy! So here is my toolkit for Fall with a focus on my final and most important strategy: diet.
- Allowing myself an extra half hour (on top of my usual allotment of morning routine time) every morning before I leave the house. This gives me time to move slowly, read my book, meditate and make sure that I’ve eaten a big breakfast before I face the world and the day.
- Half hour meditation. Starting with a mindful approach to my physical feelings as well as noisy brain is imperative for me to feel levelled out and calm out in the dreary grey or cold wind! Resetting and remembering that all is simply an appearance in consciousness helps so much in accepting the duller days. It can become an exercise in inspiration and make even the most seemingly unbearable day a beautiful thing to observe and exist within.
- Warm clothes! I can’t stress the importance of keeping warm as the cold tends to want to creep into our bones making even the easiest task exhausting, I always layer my thermals knowing that I can take layers off if I need to during the day. Scarves are a real must have. Keeping my neck warm is essential.
- Deep breaths. Once every hour I check in and take three deep and mindful breaths. I have an app on my phone to remind me! Remembering the simplicity of the here and the now and my body in space brings perspective and peace. Things are just never as kinetic as they tend to feel. Check in as much as you can and be happily surprised to remember that everything is in fact, just swell!
- Start my day with a big bowl of hearty soup. Soup for breakfast has saved my life! Eating a piece of toast with peanut butter just doesn’t cut it for me in the colder months, and salads? Forget about it! I’m dragging by lunch and feeling as if my head is floating in the clouds while my body is made of lead. When I started eating soup first thing in the day, my energy levels stayed high, my core temperature remained nice and toasty and my mind stayed calm and sharp. I dare you to try this unorthodox breakfast style for one week and tell me you didn’t love it! Let’s think outside the box and eat what we want, when we feel we want/need it! Healthy ingredients are key so I always load it up with a dark leafy green and use real bone broth for the added nourishment and medicinal perk. I also limit my carbohydrate intake and amp up my fat consumption – trust me it really helps, as counterintuitive as it may seem (read about Ketogenic or Paleo eating and see if any of it resonates with you and what your body might need). Here is a recipe for my latest breakfast soup. I make a giant pot on Sunday night and eat it all week! You can always pare down the recipe if you don’t think you need as much! Here’s my sausage and kale soup, guaranteed to help you adjust to the new season with grace and ease and even joy!
Sasha’s Breakfast Soup Recipe
What You’ll Need:
1 lb of your favourite Italian sausage
8 cups chicken stock (4 of pure bone broth if you’re so inclined)
1 cup heavy cream (if you’re not doing dairy, just omit and it will still be delicious. Or substitute with a cashew milk)
1 head of kale
½ a head of cauliflower
1 cup chopped fresh parsley
1 medium onion
5 cloves of garlic
1 large carrot
1 tbsp red wine vinegar
2 tbsp mustard powder
2 tbsp smoked paprika
2 tbsp Italian herbs
1 tsp chilli flakes (more if you like it spicy)
1 bay leaf
Salt and pepper to taste
How to Make it:
- Brown that sausage meat up (out of the casing).
- Remove from pan.
- Add some butter and sauté up your onion, garlic, carrot, red wine vinegar and herbs and spices.
- Add cauliflower.
- Add all of the liquid and bring it to a boil.
- Add the Kale .
- Let it simmer for a while – about half an hour. Use your judgement. Surely you’ve made a soup before and any instruction I give you will be redundant or condescending! Add more or less of your favourite things and play around with the seasonings! It’s your masterpiece.
- Add the parsley last and serve!
Follow this up with some vitamin D drops and a multivitamin every morning and you’re guaranteed to feel cozy and so powerful all through the cold days to come!