The ideal soup for seasonal transitions
Autumn & Spring
Transitions are challenging. We naturally long for stability and knowing what to expect because it often feels like life is moving so fast and constantly shifting. But so are we.
Throughout our lives, we are regularly shifting and adjusting ourselves at the physical and subtle levels. Reflect on your physical appearance from childhood to adulthood; what has changed? Pick up an old photograph and then look in the mirror at the texture of your hair, the colour of your eyes, your height, the length of your fingers, the lines of your face, the density of your body, even your expressions. What has changed? Write down a description of what you were like as a child? Perhaps more playful, or more quiet, more creative, or more honest (to the chagrin of your parents!). What has changed in you and what remains?
As children, we are in the kapha stage of life, where our dominant elements are earth and water. We are pure potential energy manifesting itself each day as we shift in mind and body, like a soft clay block that is slowly sculpted by the natural forces of the world around us. Every new experience and emotion is met with curiousity, wonder and at times, overwhelm. We live each moment deeply, and learn the lessons life offers us as imprints that we use to figure out how we ‘fit’ in the world.
As we get older, we can become heavily defined by our experiences, ideas and opinions, which leave us feeling physically stiff and mentally set in our ways. This is how we know the clay has hardened; new experiences, ideas and perspectives feel challenging and we become adamant that our expectations must be met by the people and situations in our lives. But this is a recipe for unhappiness and discontent. There is a wisdom to our lives that meant to guide our growth, and we miss it when we carry too many opinions and expectations - this is what it feels like to be stuck.
So how do we introduce freshness and flexibility, so we can remain open and adaptable like children, able to stretch, bend and grow with everything life offers us?
Perhaps we can start by nourishing ourselves once more with the earth and water elements.
Seasonal transitions are a time when the elements in our environment are changing; both externally and internally. These transitions are an opportunity to invite intuition, flexibility and openness into our lives by observing nature’s transitions and responding to them in how we eat, sleep and move.
This flexible recipe is an introduction to the Ayurvedic concept of balancing the elements in your meal. Nature creates everything with a balance of earth, water, fire, air and ether, and that balance can be observed in seasonal produce as well. Soups are high in water content, simple to prepare and allow for a variety of ingredients, spices and accompaniments. Use the balance of root vegetables which offer the earth element, and leafy greens or legumes for the air element. Choose spices (for the fire element) that are complementary to the season, such as warming spices in cold weather, and milder spices in warm weather, to create a delicious and nourishing dish.
The Shift Soup
Ingredients
2 tbsp ghee/ olive oil
1 tsp coriander seeds/ powder
1 tsp cumin seeds/ powder
1 tsp fennel seeds/ powder
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp salt (to taste)
1 tsp grated ginger
A pinch of asafoetida powder
2-3 cups chopped red pumpkin
1 cup masoor dhal (red lentils)
3 cups water
5-10 basil or cilatro leaves
1 tbsp olive oil
Splash of balsamic vinegar
Deep soup pot or pressure cooker
Method
Roughly grind or pound all seeds/ pods/ powders together with salt and ginger.
Put a deep pot on a medium flame, and heat the ghee/ oil.
Add all pounded ingredients.
Add pumpkin and lentils to the pot, and coat with oil and spices.
Add water and boil until the pumpkin and lentils are softened and well cooked, or lock the pressure cooker and cook for 10 minutes (in a traditional pressure cooker, cook to one whistle).
Once the mixture has cooled, use a hand blender to create a soup of your desired consistency.
Garnish with basil or cilantro, olive oil and balsamic vinegar.
Enjoy with whole grains such as cracked wheat, flatbread such as capati, or light rye bread.
This soup is high in protein thanks to the lentils, and still creamy and satisfying with a root vegetable (white pumpkin, winter squash or sweet potato are some nice alternatives). Replace the lentils with cauliflower, broccoli, or a dense leafy green such as kale, but try to maintain the approximate ratio in the recipe. This is an easy, light dinner meal, and invites you to relish the sweet satisfaction children enjoy in the simple things. Support your digestion during a seasonal transition by clearing out old energy and expectations in the mind and body. You can then enjoy the shift into a new perspective with balance, peace and harmony.
“The greatest discovery of all time is that a person can change his future by merely changing his attitude”
— Oprah Winfrey
