Realize Yourself Podcast #19: Spring Foods

Our bodies are dynamic and have a connection to the planet, so it’s important to change with the seasons by eating seasonal foods. Today, Kim and Tony discuss some of the best spring foods and how to enjoy them.

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Spring’s Effect on Your Diet

In the spring, we intuitively begin to eat lighter foods and incorporate more raw foods into our diet. Raw soups, like the GGSo (Glowing Green Soup) is one way to enjoy a light, fresh soup full of vitamins and minerals. You can enjoy it in the spring or winter depending on how much you want to warm up your almond milk. Other raw soups are the Raw Red Pepper and Tomato Soup and the Cauliflower Energy Soup.

Sprouts are another big spring food. They’re incredibly nutritious and offer tons of enzymes. They’re easy to grow yourself.

In the spring, your body feels different at a cellular level. Part of the Realize Yourself process is to be authentic to how you’re feeling and adjust the way you’re eating to that.

Incorporate seasonal produce into your GGS (especially sunflower sprouts, which work really well in there). Here’s what’s in season in the spring:

• Apricots
• Artichokes
• Asparagus
• Endives
• Broccoli
• Butter lettuce
• Chives
• Collard greens
• Fennel
• Green beans
• Limes
• Mangoes
• Morel mushrooms
• Mustard greens (careful when adding these to the GGS)
• Ramps
• Red leaf lettuce
• Spinach
• Spring baby lettuce
• Strawberries
• Vidalia onions
• Watercress

What to Eat and Drink in Spring

• Salads and greens are always a must.
• Quinoa is a great grain for spring because its energizing and contains lots of B vitamins and minerals. You can use quinoa cold in salads. Try adding quinoa to a tabouli.
• Add ginger to your hot water with lemon for a detox tea that will burn out excess bacteria and stagnation in the body. Using turmeric is also good. Both are warming spices.
• Iced teas you’ve brewed yourself are nice and refreshing when you’re out moving around more.
• Coconut water is good for hydration.
• Probiotic & Enzyme Salad and other cultured foods (like raw sauerkraut or raw kimchi) should be present in the ideal diet year-round because health and beauty start in the gut.

Tips for Taking Spring Foods to Work for Lunch

• Cook up some quinoa and take that.
• Butter leaf lettuce and collard green wraps are both options. Grab an avocado and tomato, plus some herbs, and wrap them up.
• Take blended soup, which can be filling.
• Make big batches of salads that you can pack for days and be sure to incorporate herbs to keep them tasting new and fresh.
• Make a smoothie.
• Dinner Tips for Incorporating Spring Produce
• Eat more raw foods, but have some cooked veggies when you want them.
• Lightly cook broccoli, asparagus, mushrooms, or have steamed artichokes.
• Try the Power Protein Smoothie in the afternoons.
• Pair salad and soup, salad and veggies, or salad and quinoa.