March, despite the arrival of Spring Equinox within it, can be a very difficult seasonal transition for the body and spirit.  Most schools (including mine) have their "spring break" and yet the weather often does not cooperate.  We're ready for sunshine, light jacket weather, and blooming bulbs.  Unfortunately the weather is often mercurial with snowstorms, heavy rains and ice.  In Northeast Ohio, we had temperatures in the high 60's in February (I hiked in a tank top one day) which encouraged the bulbs to pop up.  The snowstorm that hit the eastern half of the U.S. the past two days has certainly taken care of those.  And so it goes--we get a little lift, and are smacked back down into the cold, gray and damp of late winter, sort of like that old "whack a mole" game.  And then there's Daylight Savings Time--an hour lost!  This is March Madness after all.  Not the basketball kind, of which I know very little, but rather the winter to spring, cold to wet (before hot and dry) kind of madness.  

March is an important month to set yourself up for a lovely summer and fall.  What that means is "cleaning" house--doing a proverbial spring cleaning, but you need to know what you are up against!  We are literally being dragged (often kicking, screaming and complaining) from cold, dry weather into cold, damp and wet weather, or temperature ups and downs, or extreme rains, or very high winds, or all of the above in the course of a week.  This plays havoc with our lungs and sinuses, bringing on colds and infections.  In my case, high winds mean fever blister breakouts on my lip. Others have constant runny noses, or watering eyes, or headaches.  

Just as important, March can be a tough emotional transition to navigate.  You're getting cabin fever, but the weather isn't going to allow you to lounge outside with that latte quite yet.  Your beautiful yellow daffodils open up, only to be crushed by heavy snow. Your blossom trees freeze in an ice storm and you don't know if they'll set fruit or even survive.  You're slopping around in mud and slush and it seems like your boots will never be clean and dry.  You always seem to have an open umbrella in the hallway airing out.  

The remedy: Embrace the change with some smart strategies and some positive thinking informed by the knowledge of what this Month is all about (after all, it is named after the Roman god of war).  This means "greening up" your diet (and no, that doesn't mean shamrock shakes or green beer), doing some detoxing, seeking healthy heat therapies, moving as much as you can, and getting some extra sleep to help adjust to the time change.

 Good Breakfast Choices:

1. “Thai” Smoothie (apple or pear, ginger, natural peanut butter, coconut milk, almond milk, frozen banana, cinnamon)
2. “Gingerbread” Smoothie (apple, banana, ginger, almond milk, molasses, garam masala, cinnamon)
3. Green Juice (Spinach or Kale, Cucumber, Apple, Mint, Ginger & Lemon)
4. Fuschia Juice (Beet, Apple, Carrot, Lemon, Ginger)
5. Stewed apples/pears (cook an apple, chopped large, in a small saucepan with a bit of water or apple cider, and a few cloves, add a lemon peel.  Feel free to add prunes.
6. Oatmeal with maple syrup or stewed apples
7. Corn mush with maple syrup or stewed apples
8. Chia pudding—seeds soaked overnight in almond milk with vanilla extract, dried cranberries, almond slivers and unsweetened coconut—add cinnamon and nuts upon eating, if desired.
9. Green Tea 

Good Lunch Choices:

1. Green Salad—lots of veggies/greens with a simple dressing of olive oil, lemon juice and garlic.
2. Roasted or Steamed Squash, Steamed Greens
3. Kitchari (seasoned lentils) and Greens
4. Tonic Soup (broth with ginger and garlic) with Greens and mushrooms and green onions
5. Vegetable Stir-Fry with Quinoa
6. Artichoke with lemon/olive oil, steamed veggies with brown rice
7. Edamame/Green Peas with brown rice, lemon, olive oil, garlic and fresh herbs
8. Pureed green pea/arugula soup
9. Fish or tofu
10. Green Tea

Good Dinner Choices: SAME AS LUNCH (or Breakfast)—these are all interchangeable!

• Drink a cup of hot water with lemon first thing in the morning, followed by green tea throughout the day, a detox tea or lemon tea into the evening.

MOVE!!!  Take a walk outside or do a walk/exercise dvd inside.  If it’s rainy then grab an umbrella.  Go for at least 30 minutes.  Take in the weather, landscape, sights, smells and sounds.  If it's just too depressing, then do indoor exercise but do not skip it.

HEAT THERAPY: to combat all that cold dampness, drink lots of hot/clear liquids and if you have access to a sauna or whirlpool bath, use it.  If not, then run a hot bath (if your skin is dry and itchy, add colloidal oatmeal to the water).  Or, if you cannot take a bath, run a hot shower and add a few shakes of eucalyptus oil to the shower stall.  Use body butter or massage oil on your skin afterwards to ward off dryness.

SKIN THERAPY: My latest easy favorite, inexpensive Korean facial mask sheets, I put one on while having that hot bath.  

SOUL THERAPY:  Find some good reading material.  Now is a great time to delve into a spiritual book you've always wanted to read. Something by the Pema Chodron, or Surya Rama Das, or Eckhart Tolle, anything that examines life and your place in the universe.  It's also a great time to dive into the work of a favorite poet.  Maya Angelou, Rita Dove, Mary Oliver, Emily Dickinson, Robert Frost---whatever you find feeds your soul.  I like to read a poem first thing in the morning while drinking my hot water, do it before opening email or social media.

MORE SOUL THERAPY:  Visit your local botanical gardens (it really can be a salve at this time or year), the art museum, a natural history museum, a concert or lecture at the library.  Give yourself the gift of more knowledge.  Water and nurture your mind.

Remember, April and May are around the corner, leaves will bud and open, flowers will bloom, sunny days will arrive, heavy sweaters will go back into the dresser drawers.

March into March like a gentle and wise warrior!
Happy Spring--

​Lisabeth


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A new year is a great time to rethink your diet and start cleaning out the debris of the holiday season.  There are two paleo principles that work really well.  One: SIMPLIFY.  Stick to a limited menu of options.  By removing choice, you remove temptation and veering off-course.  Two: Record.  Journaling your food and habits makes you far more likely to stick with them.  When I was losing lots of weight (getting into shape after having my daughter), I not only recorded my food, but would circle and highlight, in yellow, what I had consumed that wasn't great.  Yes, I actually emphasized my mistakes.  This made me much more aware and accountable.  January is a great time for some stringency, but remember, we are still in the cold season (unless you live in a Southern clime).  Therefore, you need to think about your food choices in relation to winter weather.  For fruits, citrus is great, especially grapefruit (BUT check if you are taking medications, grapefruit cannot be eaten for example if you take cholesterol lowering medication).  For vegetables, think root veggies and cooked veggies over raw.  Think about using cooked greens for your salad base, for example, if you are going to eat a salad.  Smoothies should be less cold and pumped up with warming spice.  Warm eggs are good, baked sweet potatoes, warm vegetable soups.   Remove as much sugar and starch (pastries, breads, rice, noodles) from your diet as possible for this month.  Stick with whole, cooked foods, and good quality proteins (eggs, meat, protein powder).  Keep dairy to a minimum.  Switch out your coffee with warming teas.  Below see a few smoothie recipes to get you started!

1. Chocolate Chai: Combine chocolate protein powder, nutmilk (I'm loving the low calorie unsweetened vanilla almond/coconut by Blue Diamond), a bit of stevia (I like English toffee liquid), and a teaspoon of garam masala (Indian spice blend), 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon.  Blend--no ice or frozen fruit.  This keeps it "warmer", easier to digest and low in sugar.
2. Hot Chocolate: Combine chocolate protein powder, nutmilk, a bit of stevia, a teaspoon of cinnamon (make it real Ceylon cinnamon for the full health benefit, Frontier's is great), and a PINCH (just a wee pinch, trust me on this) of cayenne pepper.  
3. Vanilla Chai, same as the chocolate, but with vanilla protein powder.
4. Thai Peanut: Combine vanilla protein powder, nutmilk, bit of stevia, a tablespoon of natural peanut butter, and a quarter size slice of fresh ginger.

All of the above will be made even more nutritious with the addition of a teaspoon of potato starch added (good probiotics and insulin-resistant starch).  Bob's Red Mill makes a readily-available product and it will last a long, long time.

And, if you interested in going deeper into self-improvement, consider our January "Fresh Start" course, or the "Healing Traditions" course.  I will run the super-low NEW AGE PALEO prices through January 15th.  http://www.newagepaleo.com/store/c1/Featured_Products.html

Happy New Age Paleo New Year!