EARTHING FOODS

Have you noticed a difference in your eating habits recently?

We have experienced huge dietary, emotional and mental changes during lock down - but even beyond this, we may recognise that our lifestyles have changed from our 'old' normal routines.

But has the 'nature' of the foods you are attracted to changed during those times of uncertainty, great change and 'stress'?

Stress attracts us to 'sugar' foods.

Whether they be refined or complex, and if we are stressed we may be craving 'sugars' of any type.

This is a natural biological response to Stress - in fact it is a great indicator for you to remember to ask yourself "What might I be stressed about?"- if you find yourself suddenly and unexplainably reaching for sugary or carb-based foods more frequently.

The body needs certain chemicals to initiate and maintain biological responses when in a state of 'stress'. These will provide the energy and the fuel for the body to be able to respond to a stressful intervention. This is because the body is literally preparing itself to engage in something we might call a 'survival response' when we are stressed - perhaps it may need to escape if the situation becomes more difficult, or it may even need to engage in a fight!

Some theories suggest that when we are 'triggered' into a state of stress, that we automatically go-to a 'survival' based response. Whilst this may be true in the immediate moment of a stress trigger, our modern human experiences of stress tends to be 'longer-term'. And therefore the body also initiates subtle requests for 'other' foods that can help us on a different level to those 'stress-induced' sugar responses.

The body recognises these different levels of 'needs' precisely because it IS multi-dimensional, and can therefore operate on levels beyond those of 'survival-only'.

Given situations of 'prolonged stress', the body requires the energetics that exist in "EARTH FOODS"!

Earth FOODS are an aspect of Traditional Chinese Medicine. Herbal formulas are the medicine of Earth Foods. But we can also 'eat' EARTH FOODS through our own daily food choices.

I hope this short log helps you to recognise that this 'craving' for EARTH FOODS is a natural biological response - not only to feed the chemical 'stress' hormones of our 'survival' body - but to literally connect into the nourishment that EARTH FOODS can provide for us on higher operational levels - those that may also feed our subtle body, our mind and spirit.

EARTH FOODS will help us to become more rooted.

They help us to connect into the energetics of the Earth and to receive the elemental energy the earth naturally provides.

This is a real resource that we can CHOSE to work with - if we want to do so.

One of the great, subtle and healing Earth foods are Truffles and Mushrooms. The earthy nature of Mushrooms is second to none, and their healing abilities only recently being better understood.!

MOTHER - EARTH - YIN

Earth Food energy is Yin. It reminds us of all of the energetic traits that we associate with the Earth and with the Feminine Energetic Principle. For example, they remind us how it feels to be nourished, nurtured, and "held" in a way that the 'primal mother' might hold a new born, vulnerable child. This Yin principle anchors us to a 'core', a central inner zone.

To be clear, I do understand that some of us have not experienced our own "mothers" energy in this way, but I am talking about the 'primordial' essence of motherhood which is resonant with the Earth Energy itself. I am not necessarily referring to our individual experiences of mothers, although if you do have a positive memory or remembrance of this type of energy, it can also be a useful resource!

By the way, if you have a strained mother-daughter relationship that you would like to work on healing, I recommend Wendy Fry's Book "Mothers and Daughters", which you can purchase HERE.

Yin foods include:

• Yoghurt

• Milk

• Oats

• Barley

EARTH FOODS 'HOLD'

It is a 'holding' that is received without requirement or the need for any additional transaction. It is given freely through the 'mother-earths' ability to know and recognise the innate requirements of all children. Nourishment is provided on all levels of food, water, heart-based care and attending calmly and quietly to the natural earthly processes that sustain life - feeding, excreting, replenishing through the patterns of re-cycling.

Mother-Earths energy is one of a cyclical nature that provides consistency and security. This type of energy is often 'overlooked' in todays society, which tends more towards the 'Yang'. That Yang energy, which tends to revere innovation, difference and dynamic change. However, without the stability and security of the Mother-Earth energetic to 'hold' us, the dynamic yang energetics we revere so ardently can become unstable and destabilising - which is what we see in the ongoing 'stress' response.

Foods that reconnect us to the Yin aspect of 'holding' energy are:

• Sprouted beans and pulses

• Vanilla Essence / Vanilla Pods

• All Pulses

• Quinoa & Amaranth

• Pistachio Nuts

EARTH FOODS NOURISH & NURTURE

These are foods with an energetic connection to the heart of the feminine 'nurturing' energy. They are essential to help us 'feel' nourished, when we might otherwise begin to feel that we are no longer being sustained, or are no longer sustainable.

Foods that provide us with this type of energy are:

• Orange Root Vegetables: Carrots, Pumpkin, Swede

• Sweet Potato and Maca Root. This is a great Soup Recipe

• Herbs: Calendula / Marigold & Sweet Orange

• Consider using the greens of Carrot tops

Roasting your vegetables provides another level of deep, rich sweetness to root vegetables and is deeply nourishing to the soul. Simply massage your chosen healthy oil on healthy chunks of vegetables and roast gently in the oven between 160-170 for an hour, until the vegetables are soft. Dress your plate with any liquid that has emerged from the root vegetables. This is a treasure trove of beautiful yin essence, that is provided in the 'yin' nature of 'fluids'.

EARTH-AIR FOODS ASCEND

These are foods with a combined energetic of Earth and Air. This means that they contain the nurturing and holding aspects of earth, with the additional energetic of 'ascending' and 'moving'. Vibrationally they can raise our frequency, taking us into a different level that correspond with upright t and growth. Emotionally they can help us become more joyful, even whilst we are bound within our Earth element.

Foods that provide us with this type of energy are:

• Oranges

• Satsumas

• Tangerines

• Kumquats

• Essential oil of Citrus aurantium L. (even research shows calming effect on the CNS)

• Sprouted Seeds

EARTH-WATER FOODS FLOW

These are foods with a combined energetic of Earth and Water. This means that they contain the nurturing and holding aspects of earth, with the additional energetic of 'moving' and 'flowing', expanding our ability to reach out, to respond to our environment and to connect with others - particularly through our heart.

Foods that provide us with this type of energy are:

• Salmon

• Trout

• Mackerel

EARTH-FIRE FOODS HEAT

These are food with the combined energetic of Earth and Fire. They nurture and hold, but also warm us.

The ability to be warm hasa social relevance, whilst our ability to maintain a state of internal warmth is an important aspect of our biological ability to 'stay safe' - meaning we can withstand the colder nights, whilst social warmth is often associated with our being within a social group (i.e. mammals are often found sleeping in a pack. Whilst we, as humans, evolved to feel safest whilst sleeping around a communal camp fire - this social safety and 'togetherness' translates to the fire-hearth which is found at the centre of the home).

So whilst we see that our sense of inner warmth is akin to a feeling of safety and security, we also recognise that heat is the bodies way to clear out toxins and foreign bodies which it considers as foreign, or potentially dangerous or 'attacking'. We see this heat as a fever, when we are ill, or inflammation in the body when it is in a state of healing. However, remember that, as in all things, excess heat can become harmful to the body! Therefore, we must be mindful if we are naturally 'hot', or have signs of 'heat' (a TCM Term) within the energetics of our body.

Heating foods can help us to feel safe (just as sitting around the hearth or camp fire creates a sense of warmth, safety and connection).

Foods that provide Earth-Fire energy are:

• Ginger

• Onions

• Garlic

• Capsicums

• Black Pepper

• Mustard Seeds

When you begin to recognise the energetic nature of foods, and consider this as part of the ' nutritional needsz' of your body, you might begin to be surprised that including them in your diet - and therefore satisfying the deeper one needs of our emotional and energetic self - might naturally lead to a decline in your desire for sweet or sugary foods, as the bodies need for safety becomes energetically satiated.

Over time this self-awareness and attention to dietary needs, in terms of food energetics, will lead to a wide and varied intake of healthy foods, vegetables, herbs and spices that will lead to better health and your greater wellbeing.