Healthy Happy Life Secrets

Remove Lower Back Pain From Yoga

I was able to remove lower back pain from yoga that could help you.

Yoga is a life saver.

I removed a day and maybe a season of back pain and in this article you will learn all about how you can too!

That day (yesterday) I could barely stand as my back gave out while I was sitting and doing work.

I calculated I’ve spent over 40,000 hours as an adult sitting in front of a computer.

Granted I know I don’t have the best posture as much as I try to have an ergonomic computer setup…

But computer work is still not physical activity that the body wants. An occasional standing back bend isn’t enough to make the body smile in case that’s your comeback story of why yoga is not in your life. 😃

In mine, leading up to my lower back pain episode… I had driven a lot in the past couple of weeks.

Sitting too much is calling for lower back pain.

I’d been doing more sitting than usual.

Besides yoga, I like to restore with cooking, baking, and meal prep where I’m comfortably standing (and gain points).

But looking back, I’d probably clocked in less hours standing in those couple of weeks.

…So all those combined elements put enough stress for my back to give out.

Our bodies act that way. It doesn’t have to be one thing or an injury, it can be an accumulation… and then one day it snaps.

There’s a straw that breaks the camels back. And I was the camel in this case. 🐪

I could feel lower back pain that I hadn’t felt in decades…

In my young adult life, I had a weakened back from a sled injury where one of my vertebrae was compromised and I remember at the time being sad that I lost about a quarter of an inch of height.

Those teen years before then I was working hard on growing taller. I’m 5’6″ so that’s not short for a female, but you know when you’re younger your expectations are higher as you haven’t experienced enough life to objectively compare.

And this week when my lower back pain just showed up out of no where, I knew I had to wrap up what I was doing and go immediately to my yoga mat… my new healing doctor’s office. 😊

I was lucky to be able to do that being at home where I could mellow out.

Once on the mat, I knew I could fix the back problem that I had felt from time-to-time in my life since the snow mogul accident.

That was a 180 degree turn from my 30s when I didn’t know how to fix my back issues without depending on a professional like a chiropractor or physical therapist.

I went to several different ones but was never fully satisfied with the experiences for one reason or another.

Today, I wouldn’t need to see anyone because of YOGA! And that can be your new REALITY too! 🎉

If you have lower back pain or other body pain (and aren’t healing from injury that can take months), maybe yoga is your solution that saves you and for the rest of your life where acute pain spots often show up again. 💭

With yoga, you don’t need anything special. I mean, it doesn’t cost anything at home and you don’t need to take time and make effort to research places or go anywhere.

…It doesn’t get EASIER than that!

That’s something to get excited about if yoga isn’t a part of your life today and you’re needing some motivation.

That was mine.

And when I hear of people’s ache complaints, I feel for them. I know exactly what yoga poses they need to fix their pain.

…I didn’t need a degree for that as you feel in your body what works. So in that way, you’re your “best yoga doctor.” And someone like me is the next best thing. 😉

So let me back up and start by saying, I understand we didn’t all grow up with yoga.

…When I was in my 30s, yoga was not well-known in America. You didn’t see modern studios everywhere… or even anywhere.

My first gym where I took yoga classes in 2008 was hip and held regular yoga classes. I really liked the Sunday Hatha yoga class that I showed up to. And like most, I hated yoga after the first class. Yes, I hated it because I didn’t know what I was doing.

But it kept calling me… (a weekly class habit does that).

And then when I moved away, yoga was just up and coming. The Gold’s Gym I belonged to had many yoga classes taught in an inspiring studio. By then I was addicted to yoga.

I also dropped into many other yoga studio classes over those few years and learned other common yoga poses in those experiences.

…So you could say I grew up with yoga in America. I saw when Vinyasa became common yoga practice.

And that’s why I know in-person classes is the best way to learn yoga as you get occasional 1:1 instruction for certain poses, and you have a 3-D experience.

Also, I’ve never met a yoga instructor who didn’t love yoga! What’s not to love once you get the hang of it!?

Yoga is never about what others are doing around you so there’s no need to ever feel inferior or be intimidated. We all start somewhere.

You can start in the back of the class where no one is paying attention to you so you can watch others who are a ‘lil more advanced by a few classes.

And yoga is union, so we’re in a spirit of love when we’re together in the same spacious room breathing the same yoga air in harmony.

So then you can be free to have greater awareness for your own body and its capabilities.

If you have an Achilles Heal like a less flexible lower back, you learn in class you can’t do full Camel Pose.

And that’s okay. Rather than grabbing your ankles, you can back arm clasp or do the modified prayer hands behind the back. 🙏

When you know the poses intimately like that, then you can do them automatically on your home mat OR in front of a digital screen class.

But starting out with a virtual class is not going to give you the full experience if you don’t know what you’re doing or the yoga foundations.

You wouldn’t have the real life experience to draw from.

So that’s step one for new yoga peeps.

Classes will be a great expansion to your yoga development.

…I’m grateful that I learned the BEST WAY so I can pass on that advice to you. 🧡

Then with yoga knowledge under your belt, you can solve your own aches and pains like general lower back pain or malaise that’s pretty common.

You may not need anything else for restoring daily sitting or computer postures.

Looking up and turning the head is one purposeful move.

…But yoga is the intentional move that saves.

Yoga restores our bodies. Like sleep, we’re doing some resetting good for our body (and mind).

When we bend the opposite way to counteract our regular arching backs and hunching forward postures, we get back to body balance.

In my lower back pain issue, I specifically did Bridge pose with a yoga block to stretch the back more than without. Even on the lowest block setting, I was wincing in pain.

And somehow on my mat, I convinced myself to raise the block to the second setting.

This wasn’t a new pose for me, so despite knowing (the unwritten rules)… like never have pain feelings in yoga, I knew the additional stretch was needed to fix my back issue.

I could do it safely without getting hurt.

And I also knew my limitations where the third and highest block setting would not be possible on this particular day.

So I would not attempt that.

I would stay in the second block setting where I ended up getting stuck.

That can happen.

…I could not get down.

You’re probably wondering why as all I had to do was pull the block out from under me as easily as I inserted it in.

But you see when the back gives out, that pain extends to the butt and legs (where your largest muscles are) that is supporting you and your back in Bridge Pose.

So the block was like an immovable concrete block. It’s actually light gray too (but foam). 😉

So resetting my mind, I rolled backward into Plow Pose getting away from my block that was under me.

Not only was that a great escape… but that’s the pose that saves the lower back.

In Plow Pose, you fully release back stress without needing inversion tables. Remember those?

That’s the pose where you throw you legs over your head so they are above and behind you.

It saved me once before when I moved and my furniture hadn’t arrived for a month…

Sleeping on a mattress couldn’t save me then, but Plow Pose did.

…Sometimes people stop at Shoulder Stand inversions before the pose, but that was unnecessary today in lower back pain pose priorities.

This is where it’s helpful to know the poses you need so you can recall them when needed.

And they’re just finger tips away on the mat.

That just comes with yoga practice.

…And emphasizing that yoga is not about the fancy poses like inversions (like Shoulder Stands).

For physical health and wellness, it’s about restoring your body.

And knowing the restoring poses like Pigeon Pose, Lizard Pose and Sphinx Pose. Those are all good for lower back pain not from a recent injury.

Plus a good resting pose like Child’s Pose or Hare Pose. You can ball back up for a moment into your inner child.

And…

Now I can rest. Today I feel brand new jumping out of bed.

In a few days when I know I’m fully recovered from this episode (that again was not an injury), I will go back to stomach exercises that support the back and lifting small weights.💪

Both the stomach and weights are so important for building muscles that are needed to support the back (that carries us back).

We all need that!

So I hope this encourages you to do more healthy yoga! 🧘🏻‍♀️

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Fruit Roll Up – Homemade with Applesauce

Fruit roll up is a happy memory from when I was a kid. 💭

They were a sweet and light snack from the grocery store that melted in the mouth.

It was (and is) a cross between fruit + candy.

They came wrapped up in their own packaging and were attached to cellophane that I liked to play make things with when I was young. They were rolled up like scrolls.

Almost like the Dead Sea Scroll minus the ancient writing.

…And not that far back, my young days was when posters were the rage so anything rolled up meant happy entertainment or enjoyment.

Playing around, I haven’t had a fruit roll up like those until now as an adult. 😋

Decades later and these parchment paper looking treats are naturally preserved…

These were like the ones that ruined me to never want any other fruit roll up wannabes. 😅

These are the REAL DEAL.

Making these fruit roll ups bring me joy (...and maybe for you too?) because they resembled packaged old-fashioned fruit roll ups that you would buy at the store… minus additional sugar that’s not needed for these.

As thin as they are like sheets of music, these stack up nicely! 🪵…

Thin as paper and pretty as rice paper too.

They’re as durable as leather.

Technically they fall in the leather fruit category but are as smooth and supple as suede.

My mom was a dressmaker, so she played a role in influencing my fabric choices where I learned lighter materials are usually higher quality.

And I’d agree about that with this light leather fruit material…

These feel light and feathery (not leathery) and are very apple healthy! 🍏

Plus, they last for weeks at room temperature.

Made with apple they are a great fall snack that can be made year round.

It’s almost like wrapping paper… or maybe it’s an old map or a key to hieroglyphic history. However you want to call it, it’s a SWEEET fruit roll up.

Oh, and kidding aside, the BEST part is (…can you tell I’m getting excited that it just gets better? 😊)…

You can make these in your home oven in one hour and 20 minutes with just 5 minutes of prep time.

How’s that for predictability?

…Seriously it’s that easy!

They are fun (and dare I say relaxing) to make and everyone of all ages will love them! 💕

They make a great sweet snack without any artificial ingredients.

And actually just 2 sweet and natural ingredients that make a perfect duo. 🍏🍯

Using applesauce, you don’t even have to turn the stove on to cook down apples and de-core them… and they will turn out even better. Because for one, the apple fruit roll up will be more even.

…The first time you make them, don’t freak out because they turn transparent on a baking sheet.

Don’t worry, it’s there. 😀

…I tried that once with Aquafaba because I heard you could make meringues that way… and POOF! I wish I could say that was magic, but it was more like a trick. 🪄

They dissolved into thin oven air… but I digress.

These fruit roll ups will turn out… I promise.

These are the proof…

I’m so happy to share these with you through the screen. And I hope they make your day like they did for me the first time I made them. 🍥

(And maybe this will keep the kiddos staying happy and cavity-free as low-sugar goodies with plenty of sweetness… that are substitutable for a certain candy holiday 🎃).

And if you’re into experimenting (like I am gladly doing with sweets), you can try other flavors.

Keep in mind they will take longer to bake with more complex ingredients.

You will know when you touch or look at the baked fruit roll up whether it’s dry and done, or half-baked and almost there….

In this one, you can see here that the dry section is on the upper right area and the rest of the fruit roll up is not done… simply pop it back into the oven.

Change the time but don’t mess with the temperature.

This one took another 20-25 minutes to finish… and was worth the wait. ⏲️

Ready to make these? 😋

homemade fruit roll ups like the ones I had as a kid.

Easy Apple Fruit Roll Ups

These are no fuss-no muss apple fruit roll ups you can bake in under 2 hours. This will make 4 - 4 inch roll ups that are about 9 inches long.

Course Snack

Cuisine American

Author Brandy @ Healthy Happy Life Secrets

Equipment

Silpat silicone baking mat on sheet pan

Ingredients

2 4 ounce applesauce cups, unsweetened
2 tbsp raw honey (high quality)

Instructions

Thoroughly combine apple sauce in a bowl and add honey. Tip: use a high quality honey with a smooth consistency.
Smear the mixture into a thin layer on a Silpat (silicone sheet) laid out on a baking pan. Tip: Use different light to check that there are no "holes" that show up with shadows.
Bake on 200°F/100°C for 80 minutes. Tip: if you add or experiment with other more vibrant colors and flavors, they can take significantly longer. You'll know it's completely done, when the fruit roll up is one uniform color and dry throughout to the touch.
Let cool completely and then start to peel at one corner and then slowly peel up the entire fruit roll up. Roll up, slice, and enjoy!

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Fall Pizzas Recipe – Easy to Fall For

Fall pizzas are easy to fall for because you can use almost any type of flour to make a thin crust. You can love the crust and pizza! 😋

Pizza is the perfect comfort food for a cozy fall meal and all year round. And they can be made healthy!

Unlike bread making that needs a higher protein or gluten flour 🍞 for a higher rise, a pizza crust can work well for gluten-free people too. You don’t always need to use bread or 00 flour.

Especially flat bread pizzas that are more like cracker crusts, where the toppings are the stars.

You can use your healthy gluten-free flours like rice flour to produce a no-rise rice cracker-like crust (recipe below 🧡) .

Goes to show you, you can make a nice crust from just about anything. 😀… maybe not sawdust, but you know where I’m going.

That confidence came from practicing and making pizzas as one of my first loves (and from my professional food service work journey).

I worked in a busy pizza shop as a teen. That’s a throw back to when we sported our baseball caps that was part of our work uniform that we called our clown suits.

And us clowns banded together, so we were used to our daily attire 🤡

Who knew caps would become such popular wear?

And maybe that’s why I still like to sport a baseball cap when I’m baking or near the kitchen.

Decades later still sporting a baseball cap for pizza 🍕

Those pizza making shop days were so much FUN and I ended up staying on there for 4 years before I was rushed off to college.

The shop was like a second home to me before then. During fall football season 🏈, we were busy pizza making bees lined up on the make line. 🐝 🐝 🐝

And as busy bee pizza makers, we were not watching any TV.

We worked as a team under fun pressure to crank out pizzas as fast as we could… 30 minutes fast to be precise… that was the expectation from order taking to door delivery.

So that boiled down to about one-and-a-half minutes to make and prep each pizza from dough to toppings, and then into the magical baking oven.

That reminds me of an I Love Lucy chocolate factory episode ❤️

But we weren’t in a losing game most of the time… occasionally, when the line was backed up or an oven broke down, production came to a halt… it was people (and not machine production run) so we didn’t have to scarf down pizza ingredients to keep up.

…We just chilled out during those times.

And when back on track, our heads were down during the rush (that often was during a football rush). But if you weren’t a pizza ingredient or pizza-in-the-making in front of our eyes, we didn’t have time to look up.

Translated: if Kelce proposed to Taylor Swift on the field or they came into our shop, those moments would be missed.

…Our fall pizzas took priority no matter what.

And was worth it because making pizzas was a one-of-a-kind experience. Those franchise booming years were a recorded phenomenon…

It was history in the making as business college text books I read even had case studies on the 30-minute guarantee I knew firsthand.

And in the shop organized chaos hoopla, while breathing in pizzas, I learned the trick to consistent pizza crusts.

The shop dough would rest in the cold walk-in cooler overnight and get hand sprayed with water to keep from drying out.

It was such a critically important job that only the managers who were the kings of the shop made sure to treat the dough like babies.

They gave the dough some TLC and the proper rest needed that dough babies need to rise on game day.

And when game time was ON, the dough slapper would crank out dough crust, one after another with quick speed, tossing them in the air like frisbee footballs to the next team member…

Sometimes I was the receiver. And that’s where my play was.

If you were assigned the next role, you could catch the frisbee-shaped dough with your two fists and knuckles. Then you would flip out the dough on a pizza screen so they would lay flat and taut without wrinkles.

There’s a lot of dough gymnastic action going on. 🤸‍♀️

Or they were already set on a screen as the dough slapper’s choice. You could say they’re the Quarterbacks calling the plays.

And then after center screen placement, the pizza sauce is added. That’s a 10-second or so second position, that I was told was the second most important position too.

There’s no dilly-dally time to waste during the busy hours.

Saucing takes a little smooth surfing action 🏄 to evenly spread the sauce… stopping right at the crust like a professional skier at the bottom of a hill. ⛷️

During the slow hours, saucing was a skill that I got to learn, perfect, and throw the ladle in the sauce bucket without it splashing to show I was “a professional”… and I wish I could say that skill has paid off as a useful one, but all I can say is it was FUN. 😀

And today, that’s still the sauce technique I use at home under no pressure where all I do is imperfectly slow bake and prep.

And in that spirit, you can bake your own sporty no-stress pizza at home in about 35 minutes (and in less time than it takes to order out).

Once you know the basics you can apply this to any type of healthy pizza, fall pizza recipe, or crust style that fits your fancy.

Pizza Making 101

You need 4 ingredients for pizza: flour, salt, water, and yeast.

Sound familiar…maybe?

It’s the same 4 ingredients you need for bread making.

(Tip: try using semolina flour for your bench flour underneath your pizza for a nice crunch and to make your pizza experience special compared to bread making).

Semolina flour good for pizza bottoms feel like coarser desert sand and is more uniform than sugar or salt. It’s not fine like most all-purpose flours like we used in the shop.

Here’s how you can make homemade pizza step-by-step.

My all-time favorite is a mushroom Neapolitan Recipe where you don’t need any fancy pizza or wood-fired oven, but you do need an oven.

To prove the point, this pizza was made in an apartment oven.

Other simple tips for fall pizzas include skipping the brown charring of the crust. Regular baked crusts are even easier to make.

Those are like the regular crusts we had in the pizza shop or when you order a pizza.

…where you simply mix the 4 ingredients, knead the dough, let the dough proof for a couple hours, shape and flatten the dough except for the crust, and then bake on 350°F for about 20 minutes.

From there, I then add the toppings that are already pre-cooked. I do that part separately as different toppings need different cook times in a regular oven. And from bake start to finish, a pizza is done in 30-35 golden minutes. That’s still a magical number today.

In the pizza shop ovens, we always added the uncooked flat meats and veggies first, and then the lumpy items.

They were timed to perfection because through the conveyor belt, the heat was distributed specifically for the needs of pizzas. They only needed 8-10 minutes of baking time.

In the shop, they also weren’t experimenting with new toppings. But they did have pre-made thin crusts (like a cracker crust) and pan pizza crusts that were baked in different ovens.

But the regular crust was the one that most people loved…

Like I did with this sea creature pizza 🦑..which btw, you don’t have to be Jacques Cousteau adventurous to come up with your own unusual creations… like squid here that has a tougher texture.

And if you’re a more traditional pizza fan, I GET it… I used to hate anchovies and now I love ’em.

And besides traditional mushrooms that I’ve always loved, onions make for great toppings on traditional fall pizzas.

Onions (and mushrooms 🍄) are great for boosting your immunity during cold and flu season. Red onions are more mild tasting than Vidalia or white onions. 🧅 And you mix and match.

In the spirit of veggie fall pizzas, you can have fun with your rings.

You can also make a very healthy eating pizza category. And add that to your meal planning list.

…Like this healthy rice cracker recipe that you can be made into a rustic low-carb calorie pizza.

For more savory and simple delicious ideas, you could add za’atar spices to your fall pizzas… or use za’atar crackers.

What else can you pizza dream up?

Rice Crackers

Rice crackers are versatile. You can eat them by themselves or make a pizza crust with them.

Course Snack

Cuisine American, asian

Author Brandy @ Healthy Happy Life Secrets

Ingredients

1 cup brown rice flour
1/2 cup water plus additional water (about 1 tbsp)
1 tsp ground sea salt
Everything Bagel spice (garlic, seeds)

Instructions

Mix flour and water into a paste. Add salt.
Sprinkle Everything Bagel spice evenly on top.
Bake in low heat oven (about 250°F) for about 25 minutes or until crispy texture desired.

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Wheat Crackers For Fall Vata Season

Wheat crackers are so easy to make and a nice fall backdrop to decorate a food table.🍁

It’s a perfect rustic add. And if you’re feeling the pinch of shinkflation, these crackers can certainly help your wallet.

…Or baking any of your own salty cracker snacks (as low-calorie carb choice meal accompaniments).

They’re an easy baking challenge. ⏲️

You game?

…And even easier when you’re already cranking up your oven.

I do this baking move while I’m prepping my 350°F bakes, that are mostly rising cakes and breads… and anything that’s needing dry heat.

To start, I turn the oven on a low 250°F or lower. That also works well on warm days where you can feel the heat in whatever season you’re experiencing. 🔥

And while the oven is warming up, is when I bake the crackers, tortillas, or toast depending on season or mood. It’s a good use of oven energy. ⚡️

And also baking effort… where prepping cracker paste for a sheet of crackers takes seconds.

All you need is an even flour-water mix, and then spread with a little balancing salt on a baking sheet.

That’s it.

…It doesn’t get easier than that for the basics.

But I have some useful tips below with ancient flours that can enhance your wheat crackers, and making-baking experience.

Plus there are so many flour varieties and cracker taste options to consider and get into for your happy wild-free self… maybe Wild Thing or Wheel Pose. Just sayin! 🎡

You can use any ground flour for cracker making which is a great way to clean out your pantry. You can ground your own gluten-free and seed versions. Grounds reminds me of coffee since I make my own cold brew daily. 💭

And like coffee, if you add anything else as ingredients besides your grounds, water, and flavor adds or seasonings to your cracker mix, then you’ve prepped another food… but not crackers.

K.I.S.S. (keep it super simple). 💋

…that means no oil or yeast as tempting as it can be.

The essence of crackers is dry, salty, and flat crunchy. That’s why it’s a good Vata season balancing snack.

Great for anyone in fall season or leaning into their Vata body.

For me, that’s a double score. 🧘🏻‍♀️…maybe you too?

…I didn’t make up these rules 😊

The ancient people were the inventors.

Flat breads still exist as precursors to our modern day crackers.

(See Ezekiel 4:9 in the Bible that mentions several grain flours for baking bread: “But as for you, take wheat, barley, beans, lentils, millet and spelt, put them in one vessel and make them into bread for yourself…”).

And fast forwarding to today, the flour is still the star ingredient for bread and crackers.

…So, choosing a healthy flour is a smart choice.

Making homemade crackers is a good opportunity to use your healthy gluten-free flours and whole flours like whole wheat.

Whole grains rule because they keeps the entire kernel that has all the nutrients like extra B-vitamins that refined grains do not have.

Refined grains are also deprived of fiber that’s not added back even if the grain is enriched.

Keeping it simple, remember the fine print “whole” as a top ingredient when you’re looking through the shelves deciding which is the healthy good choice, all things being equal.

Whole is also a good intention for all us healthy intentional peeps to eliminate holes in our diet.

Some of the whole goodness comes in gluten flours (yes, gluten!) that can be used to make wheat crackers.

Whole wheat grain flours have more fiber, so if you can eat gluten it’s good to keep some higher quality whole wheat in your diet.

And ancient wheats like Einkorn, spelt, and emmer are good choices.

Einkorn has less gluten than the other two so it makes for a great cracker that doesn’t need proofing.

The proof is in the cracker recipe below. 🧡

…You can add your flavor touches and textures like chia seeds or Everything Bagel spices for crunch and vitamins.

Btw, chia seeds are loaded with some B-vitamins, magnesium, calcium, iron, and other minerals.

Chia vary from poppy seeds even though they look like twins and are both carbs. 👯‍♀️

…And when I hear people say that they don’t eat carbs, that saddens me.

Carbs include veggies AND also healthy grains that don’t wanna be missed. Veggies are usually low calories in case those points are added up.

And next to protein, grains support the body in B-vitamins that we need a lot of to work together.

They also help to lose weight along with fiber. 🎉

So if healthy eating is one of your goals too (and a good one since you’re eating for the rest of your life), building good habits that keep your weight the same or consistent year-round makes sense.

A rainbow variety diet with food as medicine works. 🌈

Yo-yo diets that I grew up around don’t support that.

And eating food like rustic wheat crackers can fill the gaps.

Since fresh baked are not preserved (with preservatives) like the crackers you could buy in grocery stores, they will change texture over time and days.

It’s best to enjoy them the same or next day after baking (and that helps to get us to bake or cook more, if that’s another goal initiative you’re trying to make).

You can leave your baked crackers out for a few more days but they will likely become more dry.

So you could add a little olive oil or keep a moist towel over them.

You can also bag and seal them when they’re still warm out of the oven and that will create some heat-rising condensation in the bag that will help them stay hydrated… a little cracker TLC. 😀

…Wheat is plant-based afterall 🪴

And if they dry out, you can still save and revive them.

You can add a little water back and let them dry out for a few hours and then enjoy again. Then they’re as good as new again!

The wheat cracker taste factor will be the same because remember water is the next inherent star ingredient. ⭐️

How’s that for fall-ing in love with wheat crackers?

Wheat Crackers

Wheat crackers are so easy to make. You can make them and bake with your other bakes.

Author Brandy @ Healthy Happy Life Secrets

Ingredients

whole wheat flour and einkorn flour
seeds (flax, chia, or sunflower)
salt to taste
water

Instructions

Mix ingredients until you get a paste. Spoon out dough and make about 1/8" thin wit a knife. If you use more flour, you can alternatively roll out into a thin even paste. It will come out the same as a cracker.

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Anti-Inflammatory Fall Soups (Rainbow) 🌈

Anti-Inflammatory fall soups are special because they have healthy rainbow plate and bowl goodness that’s good for the palate too. Like this fall color beet soup that can look like weeds growing in a swamp. 🌱

cold beet anti inflammatory fall soups — Beet soup recipe below 🌈

…And the swampier the better for your body! 🌈

Hot or cold is an Ayurvedic choice that in balance can be a balance in weather season and your body balance needs! Our bodies wisely know what bowl would be better for each of us. 🥣

If we listened to our body… like the way we listened to our mothers, then we help ourselves out.

But the body is usually more subtle in its approval process… showing up in deeper satisfied feelings and as your healthy body without daily symptoms.

And in Ayurvedic terms, eating hot or cold makes a difference in healthy balancing your body.

Homeostasis (balance) means healthy. And the other good “H” word: happy.

A happy body is a happy mind.

And a happy body-mind is a happy self.

Getting to this place is often from choices we make in lifestyle, environment, and work choices.

…I know this well working in buttery situations, with kitchens that used a lot of butter earlier on in my hospitality food career.

…That was the foundation I started with that helped teach me the better ways… similar to butter smeared on a cake pan to prevent sticking.

Those were my hotel days that gradually turned into Mediterranean food restaurant days where the ingredients grew more healthy over the years…

And cold soups first found a place in my culinary world when I tasted cold Gazpacho soup.

I was planning parties for a Washington DC metro Spanish restaurant chain then.

And after that a similar bowl scene in an Italian Capitol Hill restaurant that taught cooking classes.

I was warmed up to the cold soup idea by the time I got to a Lebanese restaurant chain where recommending food menus, promoting food, and tasting was my job.

Someone has to do the hard, dirty work 😋

I learned a thing or two in those years working with the talented culinary staff and foodie guests.

I looked forward to the seasonal menus like most of us do celebrating in-season and farmers market ingredients like watermelon 🍉 in summer… and pomegranates and pumpkin in fall. 🎃

And in my lessons, I learned no matter what temps are going on outside, you can make anti-inflammatory fall soups year-round.

Like a cold beet soup (recipe below 💗). You can’t beat that…

And especially with anti-inflammatory whole food pairings that taste like heaven on earth in the mouth.

…That’s what I lived and breathed planning event menus and food tastings for thousands of catered hotel and restaurant events before I embraced how healthy the ingredients are.

And a nice bowl of soup was part of that healthy immersive experience.

These are 7 soup-er bowls birthed from that healthy spirit.

Pumpkin and Cranberry Soup

I brewed and added seasonal Bigelow Cranberry Harvest tea that will add a crisp acidic, sweet bitter taste with apple bits, hibiscus rose hips, and licorice root. That gives a grown-up sophisticated taste vibe in the mouth.

And you can add whole cranberry juice, plus tomatoes and carrots for balancing anti-inflammatory food pairings.

I used purple carrots here that have anti-inflammatory anthocyanin polyphenols (that are also in dark color berries). Each color has special healthy effects. 🌈

Cook carrot variety of choice (or regular carrots 🥕) until soft. Add a dash of fresh ginger to pair the taste. If you’re not sure if you like ginger, you can use ginger spice to keep it subtle or leave out.

Creamy Tomato Soup

And for a more traditional taste like tomato and grilled cheese with a restaurant-like twist, you can heat up a creamy tomato bowl 🍅 adding in a creamy cheese like Camembert or Brie to get a delicious pairing. You can skip the rind or leave in.

Movin’ on to other anti-inflammatory fall soups that bring a comfort smile… 😋

Chunky Sweet Potato

Cook your sweet potatoes in water, mash, and add to a bowl.

For hot and cold balanced spices, my favorites are trio medleys like: black pepper, turmeric, and coriander.

Or for an Ayurvedic heat-cooling duo, you can use black pepper and cumin.

This is good anytime if you’re leaning into your Vata or Kapha where you’re feeling a cold body internally regardless of the weather outside.

And since both doshas (Vata/Kapha) natually run cold, I’d recommend a warm soup like this one…

Warm Mushroom Soup

Mushroom soup is always my favorite. You can turn into a porridge with warmed oats.

And you can make your own creamy mushroom soup with two simple ingredients: mushrooms and creamy cheese.

You can even use milk or yogurt if you don’t have cheese on hand.

The creamy soups were my favorite growing up… and Cream of Mushroom was high on the list.

The way I like to do it is with the double boiler method where you heat the mushrooms slowly in the inside bowl, so they don’t get as mushy like on a sautee pan.

And you can use the natural mushroom juices to flavor the soup. You can also add a little sherry like they do in restaurants if you like. But this is where I leave the heavy cream in the restaurants. 😀

And near the end of heating up cooking, add the cheese like a creamy Camembert or Brie and let it melt to your liking. Camembert has B12, calcium, and proteins.

If you mix up your cheeses, then you get different healthy benefits. 🧀 And the gourmet creamy cheeses are healthier than regular store cream cheese or Boursin (Gournay cheese) that’s the restaurant equivalent.

If you don’t like any floating cheese that doesn’t melt in your soup, you can simply sift out those pieces. I personally like kitchen sink (everything) in my soup, leaving the cheese rind (mold) and all the natural, herby, and bitter tastes.

But that’s a preference you have a choice in if you make your own soups.

To finish off, I add a dash of white pepper from a mill to lean into the umami mushroom-y taste. 🍄‍🟫

Add a few drops of balsamic vinegar and Worcestershire sauce and then I’m in Cream of Mushroom heaven.

Staying on the warming trend, this is another easy one that’s so good for you…

Warm Potato Soup

Potato soup was the first soup I made from scratch and a good beginner soup you may have already discovered.

Earlier on I did like most… I bought my soups.

Then in 2020, like many I started making my own soups regularly. That’s when I made my first easy potato soup.

Btw, making soups is easier than making a salad ’cause there’s one star ingredient… potatoes. 🥔

That’s one sac of usually 5-lb bag of potatoes. You can add that as points to your fitness shopping routine that counts! 🎉

And then you don’t have to make extra effort to buy cans that take up space in your pantry and are usually loaded with sodium in case you’re on a DASH or MIND Diet.

Those diets btw have anti-inflammatory sentiments in mind.

Lentil Soup

And one more soup you should add to your list of anti-inflammatory fall soups is lentil soup. It’s pennies to make.

Plus, you can cook lentils faster than potatoes… like 35 minutes on a medium heat stove in case you want to have a good day start like the running hare 🐇 and not the slow turtle. 🐢

You can add coconut milk as a tasty pairing twist. And if you don’t have milk on hand, you can also use coconut flour for a curry lentil soup. Balancing spices to add: curry, turmeric, black pepper, ginger.

And finally without further ado… beet soup 🥣

You can make some easy rustic comfort wheat crackers to go with your fall soups.

Cold Beet Cauliflower Soup (Rainbow)

Course Appetizer, Soup

Cuisine American

Author Brandy @ Healthy Happy Life Secrets

Ingredients

beets
cauliflowers, cooked
tricolor carrots (purple, yellow, and orange carrots)
cherry tomatoes
microgreen (arugula or alfalfa sprouts)
crumbled goat cheese
cumin
salt and pepper
lemon pepper (optional)

Instructions

Cook carrots, beets, and cauliflower until soft. Let cool and add to a blender if serving cold soup.
Add blended ingredients to a bowl and garnish with the cheese, other veggies, tomatoes, and spices.

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