This Week's Theme: Ignite the Fire Within!
Happy New Year! I am sure many of you are excited to have 2020 behind us, and this new year feels like a fresh start full of hope and opportunity. I have so many good feelings about 2021! There are many traditions centered around letting go of the old year and ringing in the new. I was reading the other day about how in Ireland, people will literally open their door to let the old year out and welcome in the new one. Lighting candles, setting intentions, smudging with sage are all great ways to get a fresh start. I usually do an intention setting workshop each year with my yoga studio as a way to get our mind and spirit in alignment. Although that is not happening this year, my husband and I still plan to take some time to work on our intentions and literally burn away something negative from 2020 that we want to set free.
Getting our mind right about what we want to focus on in the new year is super important, but how do we get our physical bodies on the same page? How do we ignite the fire within, get our metabolism going, improve our digestion, and warm ourselves from the inside out?
Even though the holidays are over, winter has really only just begun. With cooler temperatures in the northern hemisphere, it is important to lean on warming foods to help stoke our internal fires. In Ayurveda and eastern culture, food is used as medicine and helps to balance out our mind, body, and spirit. This time of year calls for warm foods and warming spices (think cinnamon, turmeric, ginger etc.). In western culture, we consider winter months to be cold and flu season, and choose warm fluids such as soups and teas, to boost our immune system and stay healthy. From a farming perspective, we rely on root veggies to get us through the winter months. Carrots, onions, and potatoes become main ingredients for stews, soups, and casseroles.
So, how can we use all this knowledge to help ignite the fire within us? Today I’d like to share a warming lentil crockpot soup I made that will not only help get your metabolism going, but will surely warm you up on a cold winter day. Using the crockpot has the added bonus of a one pot meal! All you need is some lentils, root veggies, and lots of warming spices.
Warming Lentil Crockpot Soup
Ingredients:
2 medium sized sweet potatoes
4 carrots
4 celery stalks
1/2 bell pepper
1/2 small onion
1 tbsp minced garlic
1 cup brown lentils
2 cups spinach
4 cups broth
1 cup water
1/2 tsp coriander
1/2 tsp turmeric
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp curry powder
1 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp cinnamon
dash of nutmeg
Wash and chop the veggies. Rinse lentils and check for small stones before adding into the crockpot. Mix all ingredients in the crockpot except for the spinach. I used vegetable broth made from boiled veggie scraps. Cover, and put on low heat for 6 hours. Then, turn off heat and add in the spinach, mixing so it wilts. Place the cover back on with heat off to help the spinach wilt.
This is also a great freezer friendly meal. Enjoy some now, and save some for later in the freezer to help with future meal prepping.
Be sure to check out Harp and Wellness tomorrow on Youtube where Nicole will walk us through mindfulness exercises every Saturday at 3 pm ET to complement our weekly themes all throughout January. Get your new year off on the right foot.
To access Harp and Wellness on social media:
YouTube: https://youtu.be/lZb7SQFEgEQ link for the video
Instagram: @harpandwellness
Wishing you all a healthy and peaceful New Year!
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