My kitty woke me up early on my birthday to this beautiful sunrise. What a gift! It reminded me that in spite of the tough year we had in 2020, there was still much beauty in the world to be thankful for this morning.
And now we are about to turn the page to spring, reminding me that spring gifts from Mother Nature, besides the rain, are the great cleansing foods. After months of heavy winter meals and celebrations, February starts the parade of spring greens that are a perfect start to the season. First up are artichokes, known for their liver cleansing and high fiber properties; not to mention – delicious to eat! The dark leafy greens like chard, spinach, endives, escarole, radicchio, kales, arugula, and dandelion spring forth in various shades of green and help purify the blood of all the excesses of the winter months. Asparagus peeks through the dirt in March lending cleansing properties to the kidneys. Stinging nettles pop up after a good rain and enrich the soil with Silica and provide natural antihistamines when lightly boiled and sipped to ease spring allergies. You can also take the cooked greens of nettles to be added to pancakes, pasta dough, and gnocchi. But be careful of these plants as they will give you a good stinging rash if you touch them without gloves.
Peas including English peas, sugar snap peas, and snow peas will come up next. These legumes have all the properties of the other greens and also contain lutein and zeaxanthin for eye health.
All of these plants will provide ample vitamin C, vitamin K, folates, and iron, plus they have been shown to support the immune system with cancer fighting chemicals, antioxidants, increase heart and brain health, and are low in calories but high in fiber.
While we wait for the spring flowers to pop, lets enjoy nature’s bounty of greens. Happy eating.
Reflections Outside My Window 