To help you overcome the post-summer blues, and start the season feeling positive, here are five reasons to embrace the cosy months and LOVE autumn!
1. It’s soup and stew season!
Quick, warming and nutritious – who doesn’t love a good stew or soup?! Make the most of all the in-season veggies, such as celeriac, chard, Jerusalem artichokes, carrots, parsnips, squashes, pumpkins, leeks and onions. As well as being fibre-rich and full of goodness, autumn veg are usually cheap and versatile.
You can keep it simple by chucking them all in a pot with stock and seasoning, or get as fancy as you like with added herbs and spices. Try Aash-e Jow or cawl to get you started!
2. Slowing down & spending cosy nights in
Now’s the time to try living a little Danishly and incorporate some hygge-type habits into your daily routine. Hygge is about slowing down, relaxing and enjoying life’s little pleasures. It can mean something different to everyone but think cosy night-in vibes. Hygge your life by hosting candle-lit dinner parties, and clear living spaces so that they only show things that you love and have meaning. Enjoy hot soup and freshly baked bread, curling up with a good book and old, black-and-white romantic movies.
Check out this post on the Dutch concept, niksen, for more ways to slow down and de-stress.
3. Cinnamon
It’s everywhere – in food, drinks and candles! We love cinnamon for its fantastic health benefits. Here’s why you should consider adding it to your diet this autumn –
- Cinnamon is loaded with antioxidants, which protect your body from oxidative damage caused by free radicals.1https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/10-proven-benefits-of-cinnamon
- Anti-inflammatory properties.2https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25629927/
- Helps lower blood sugar levels.3https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/cinnamon-and-diabetes
- The antimicrobial effects of cinnamon may help prevent tooth decay and reduce bad breath.4https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7571082/
4. Nature
Autumn brings the most beautiful colours in nature – a whole landscape changing from green to warm oranges, reds and yellows. Colour psychology suggests that certain colours can help improve your mood,5https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2015.00368/full with the colour yellow and orange often thought to convey cheerfulness and a positive emotional state.
As well as the visible beauty of the changing leaves, they offer some surprising health benefits too! Phytoncides are volatile organic compounds (VOCs), or “essential oils”, given off by trees. These chemicals have natural antimicrobial and insecticidal qualities that protect the tree from germs, bacteria and parasites.
When you breathe these phytoncides in, by being around trees, they can boost the immune system,6https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2793341/ reduce oxidative stress, lower cortisol levels7https://www.alleghenycounty.us/uploadedFiles/Allegheny_Home/Dept-Content/Parks/North_Park/Latodami/Docs/Benefits%20of%20Forest%20Bathing.pdf and improve sleep.8https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7237266/
So, pop an extra layer on and enjoy what nature has to offer – for free!
5. Warming drinks
As temperatures cool, we suggest starting your morning and ending your day with a warming, gut-healthy drink. Begin with a mug of Get Me Through The Day Tea and enjoy the gentle lifting effects of vervain, the sass of rosemary, the cool kick of peppermint and mugwort to stomp on any infections. Finish off with a bedtime brew – Chuckling Goat’s Sing Me To Sleep Tea is a soothing nighttime blend of valerian root, lavender flowers, hop flowers and chamomile flowers.
For extra hygge, steep in a CG Teapot and use a travel cup, made from single-use paper cups, for on-the-go 😉
You can find more lifestyle tips and tricks here.
Any questions? Contact one of our Nutritional Therapists via live chat, weekdays from 8 am to 8 pm.
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