goodbye raw, hello roots

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By: Jessi Andricks
Jessi Andricks, founder of the House of Healthy, can help you find the tools within you to live the healthier, happier life you deserve. Jessi is a Health Coach and yoga teacher in Charleston, SC. ...
Edited date: November 3, 2022Estimated reading time: 3 minutes

how to transition your food for a warmer cold season

Le’ts face it. It’s about time to start adding in more pumpkin and less raw, leafy vegetables into our life. 

Why? Because its fall! And soon it will be winter. 

As the seasons change, so do our bodies and our digestive needs. In the fall and winter, all of the yummy raw produce starts to become out of season and it makes way for delicious root vegetables, squashes, and other warming foods. Think all the good (healthy) stuff you eat at Thanksgiving, cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger. 

These foods are energetically more rooted and earthy, which means they help balance out the hectic, windy, fast-paced nature of the fall, and balance out the cold, dry, windy winters. 
So, let’s embrace the pumpkins, squashes, and cinnamon and let go of the purely raw, leafy greens. 

Here are the 5 easy ways to transition your diet for the fall and winter:


1) Eat less raw and more cooked. Our bodies are already feeling more dry, brittle, and possibly, well, windy as the season changes, so why continue to add in more dry, brittle, light foods? Balance out the airy fall with warm, cooked vegetables.

2) Eat more fats. If you do decide to have a salad or eat raw foods (because, yes, digestive enzymes in raw foods are still important even in the winter), add a little thicker dressing to it. Go for some oil in your dressing, or perhaps a thick, creamy, nut based dressing. This will help to moisturize your body from the inside out so you absorb more nutrients and digest your raw greens better,

3) Juice root veggies. Nothing scream spring and summer like a green juice for breakfast. But as you head into the cooler seasons, this might not seem so appealing to you. Try adding some beets, carrots, and ginger root to your green juices. These earthy vegetables will help bring seasonal vegetables and qualities into your diet and digestion.

4) Eat more rooted vegetables. In the fall, we tend to be in a rush to get the kids back to school, get ready for the holidays, make it through all the different festivities, and then find a way to settle in for a cool, dry, windy winter. How do root vegetables help? Energetically, these veggies help to “root” you down and keep you grounded as life swirls all around you.

5) It taste so good, add spices! These seasonal foods also happen to pair very well with warming spices such as cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and cardamom. So go ahead, make yourself a healthy pumpkin pie, roast up some beets, and enjoy a creamy butternut squash full of all the seasons flavors. Your body will surely thank you.

Adding more of these can help you find your thoughts, make a plan, and enjoy the busy season. 

Read next >> ayurvedic recommendations based on body constitution (prakruti)