Capricorn Seasonal Soul Soup

2019 is here and for me this season is all about nourishing ourselves with seasonal comfort food, rather than depriving ourselves with diets and extreme detoxing. It's officially the year of intuitive eating and NO-diets. Embracing mindful eating and accepting who you are. Lets save the detox for Spring when our plant allies have arrived and are ready to support us naturally and in support of the energy of the seaon. We need to be kind to ourselves more than ever at this time of year as the short cold days tend to sap our energy and lower our moods. Tuning in to what your body wants and needs and making small sustainable changes,-it takes 68 days to change a habit.

For me the new year started on the 6th January with the NEW MOON eclipse, allowing us to use this energy to set our intentions for the year ahead. The planetary alignments made this an even more powerful new moon, the perfect start for the new year, a chance to really focus on those health and life goals. I always encourage my clients to have a healthy balanced view towards their diet and lifestyle. We need to focus on doing things that make you and your body feel good, nourished, and balanced; to make wishes for the year that are based on feeling in to your heart and what your soul needs. What makes your soul happy? What do you need to bring more off in to your life? How would you like to move in this world during 2019?

This is a time of year to reconnect to what is important to you as a human and live your higher truth. Do you enjoy your job, where you are living, what you are eating, the community that surrounds you? We operate in a world of energy and imbalances are reflected in the physical form, leading to symptoms and illness. If we choose to be doing what we are doing with passion, and from the heart, and eat high vibrational foods that support this vision we can operate on a higher level and with greater happinness.

Earthy Capricorn is all about solidifying your goals and finding more stability in your life. The energy of this season is grounding, pragmatic, productive, realistic. What words are resonating with you this year? Set clear goals and put achievable steps in place to achive them as hard work and determination will be needed here. A vision board is great for this time of year where you can pin pictures, words, feelings, and places that resonate with you and your Sankalpa (intention). I had the pleasure of Joining Ann Pidcock on her New years Day Yoga Workshop where we dropped in to our hearts and set our Sankalpa for the year ahead. Nature and living simpler were words that were showing up for me.

In terms of food astrology this season it is all about the nourishing soups and stews, root veg, leafy greens, cruciferous veg, and vitamin D rich oily fish, eggs, and mushrooms. My top ten seasonal foods for the month of January are leeks, brussel sprouts, kale, apples, celeriac, cauliflower, chestnuts, mackerel, shallots, and beetroot. This recipe uses 3 of these foods, and I love how the apples add a sweet comforting flavour combination together with the buttery beans and medicinal thyme, a great rememdy for winter coughs.

Ingredients:

1 celeriac (or swede) roughly chopped

1 can butter beans

1 leek (sliced)

2 shallots (sliced)

2 large English apples (or 3 -4 sml) cored and roughly chopped

Fresh Thyme leaves

1 tbsp Apple Cider Vinegar (raw/unpasteurized/with the mother)

500ml home made veg stock or 1 organic stock cube

1 tbsp organic butter/olive oil/ghee

1 fresh bay leaf

Black sesame seeds (to serve)

Sea salt and black pepper

Maple syrup drizzle to serve (optional)

Rocket or watercress to serve

Method:

1.) Heat the butter, ghee, or oil in a large deep pot on a medium heat.

2.) Add the shallots, bay and leek and cook for 10 minutes stirring occasionally until softened.

3.) Add the chopped celeriac, apple and thyme and cook for a further 2 minutes.

4.) Add the butter beans, veg stock, salt and pepper, & apple cider vinegar. Cover with a lid, bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer for 30 minutes until the celeriac is soft.

5.) Use a hand blender to puree or trasnfer to a blender and blend until smooth. You want it to be quite a thick and creamy soup but you can add more water to achieve your preferred consistency.

6.) Return to pan and reheat slightly.

7.) Serve with fresh thyme leaves, black sesame seeds, a drizzle of olive oil, maple syrup, and freshly ground salt and pepper.

8.) Top with fresh leaves of bitter watercress or rocket to support digestion.