It is important to pay attention to the change in seasons and allow ourselves the time to make the necessary adjustments to our diet and lifestyle, to ensure we remain in unison with the pattern of each season. We can have the greatest positive impact on our health when we work with our environment and live in harmony with the present season.
As we transition from spring into summer, we enter a new season with unique characteristics. A time of long days and warm nights, intense sun, more constant heat and dryness. Summer is a time of fresh air, feeling connected to nature, walking barefoot, being grounded and in our body, enjoying the amazing fresh summer fruits and vegetables and spending more time outdoors. It’s a time to gently reflect on the year past and considerately begin to plan for the next.
Everyone’s constitution is unique and will respond differently to each season. You may be more heated, which can lead to difficulty cooling down during warm weather. This type of constitution is constantly warm and may dread the heat of summer. The opposite is true for those who suffer from poor circulation, cold hands and feet, who struggle to keep warm all winter. These people tend to thrive in the warmer summer months.
The key is to recognise and work with our individual constitution, by making small changes to our diet and lifestyle, to support and balance our health. By remaining aware of our state of health and making holistic changes to help us better cope with our external environment, we set ourselves up to thrive with each season.
Diet:
At this time of year, we are lucky enough to have access to a wide range of fresh, fun and nutrient rich fruits and vegetables. We need to embrace these throughout the warmer weather while they are available to us and ensure we bring a wide variety of wholesome and nutritious foods into our diet. In contrast to the need for more root vegetables and heavier, more dense meals in winter, summer calls for lighter foods which require less effort to digest and process.
This is the perfect time of year to enjoy a variety of fresh juices, smoothies, smoothie bowls and salads, focussing on what’s fresh and in season.
Some of our favourite fresh juice ingredients include: Beetroot, carrot, celery, turmeric, ginger and kale.
If you are eating fruits and vegetables that are out of season, ie: pineapple in winter, the fruit has probably travelled thousands of kilometres by air, sea or road to reach your local shelves, which comes at a cost. The packaging, storage, refrigeration and fuel emissions have a multitude of negative environmental effects. If we can remain conscious of what is in season and focus on the foods that are grown locally, we can cut down on our environmental impact of eating.
Seasonal fruits and vegetables to focus on through summer include: Cucumber, beetroot, silverbeet, capsicum, zucchini, corn, celery, tomatoes, snow peas, avocados, pawpaw, cherries, grapes, pineapple, melons, kiwi fruit, mango, lemons, oranges, watermelon, peaches, blackberries, apricots, plums, strawberries.
Lifestyle:
In terms of physical health, our bodies can be lacking in vitamin D after limited exposure to sunlight through the cooler months and we need to ensure we spend some time in direct sunlight each day. Summer is a time for embracing the outdoors and regular exercise is really important, as it often gets pushed to the side during winter. Make the most of whatever time off you have and re-connect with Mother Nature.
Tea:
Obviously drinking water throughout the day is vital to ensure we stay hydrated, but what are some more creative options? Iced tea is a great way to do this, as you receive the health benefits of the tea whilst staying hydrated. Iced chai or a chai smoothie is a great way to enjoy tea through summer and turning tea into iced tea poles for the kids is always a great idea. Specific suggestions are listed here to offer you some inspiration:
To make iced-tea poles, simply brew your favourite tea as usual, then allow the pot to cool. Pour the tea into Icey pole moulds and freeze overnight.
We like to add fresh peppermint, or fruit to select blends such as:
Chai smoothie: Brew your chai as normal, with a milk or mylk of your choice.
When choosing a chai, we prefer the caffeine free chai for the kids as they enjoy the great health benefits of the rooibos base and avoid stimulation from the caffeine.
Once it is brewed, leave it to cool or refrigerate it. Once it is cold, pour into a blender and add any of the following; ice, bananas, chia seeds, sunflower seeds, honey, natural or coconut yoghurt.
We have selected the following blends to help carry you through summer, all of which you can enjoy hot, or iced:
Detox tea is perfect through summer. This blend has been designed to support the detoxification of the liver and to help clear impurities.
Our digestive system and liver often need support to help carry us through what can often be a time of overindulgence, with the many celebrations of the season. We can support these organs through this time, by bringing herbs into our diet that offer support for the digestive system and the liver. Many of these supportive herbs can be found in our Digestive Tea blend, and our Detox blend, which both offer support and repair and detoxification.
White Rose and Goji: One of our favourites for warm days is a chilled White Rose and Goji iced tea. This botanical blend of organic white tea, delicate flowers and naturally sweet goji berries create the perfect mix for an iced tea. White tea comes from the same plant as green and black tea, but it is picked first, so the leaves are rich in antioxidants and have less caffeine than green and black tea. You can add fresh lemon, lime or mint to this blend for a super fresh finish.
Moroccan Mint: This blend offers a beautiful iced tea for summer. This blend is a combination of spearmint and peppermint and gunpowder green tea, offering a lively and refreshing taste. This is a great option for summer mornings and it can also be served chilled with a slice of lemon on ice. This blend is available in loose leaf and as a recent addition, pyramid tea bags.
Coconut Orange offers a healthy, refreshing and fruity tea. Rooibos is naturally caffeine free and is rich in antioxidants and minerals, making this tea a perfect afternoon or evening option. This blend offers a smooth, delicate orange flavour, with subtle hints of citrus, and soft notes of coconut, perfect for summer afternoons.
Peppermint offers a light, cooling, refreshing summer blend which can also support digestive function. Perfect any time of day, this caffeine free blend is perfect hot or chilled on ice.
Lemongrass and Ginger offers a light and uplifting herbal infusion. This naturally caffeine free blend is perfect through the warmer months and can help relieve indigestion and calm an upset stomach, which offers support for any overindulgence this Christmas season. This smooth blend can be served hot, or chilled over ice, with a slice of lemon.
Our new Hibiscus tea, is sourced from Egypt, this floral, crimson tisane, offers an enlivening, rich and unique flavour. Hibiscus has traditionally been used to lower blood pressure and is widely consumed for its high antioxidant content. This invigorating, zesty tisane, offers subtle fruity tones and can be served hot, or chilled over ice, with a slice of lemon and fresh mint.
Our Skin Glow tea has been designed to help support healthy skin, by supporting detoxification and reducing the workload for the skin. This holistic approach to improving the condition of your skin ensures that you are working from the inside out rather than applying products topically which is key to ongoing natural healthy skin. This blend offers the skin support especially after the challenges placed on it through the harsh conditions of winter and through the sometimes drying long hot days of summer.
With love,
Emma
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