We make a cute pear
— I'm looking at you, may
Hi friends! May is a beautiful time during the year as we venture deeper into spring. Spring feels like you can have your cake and eat it too; it’s the best of both worlds. The past month we’ve had beautiful sunny days with birds chirping and colors popping. We’ve also had mornings of waking up to rainfall and moody days ahead of us. Bring on more blossoms, more sunlight, and more amazing produce! Enjoy.
Allergies, galore.
For those whose allergies are acting up, here is a free protocol for all my stuffed nose, itchy eye, sinus headache friends. *Please do not interpret this as you need to buy all of these products to alleviate symptoms - read their descriptions, pick 1 or 2 to try, and I hope they help relieve your red eyes, itchy throats, and sniffly noses.
Stinging nettle is an excellent herb to incorporate this time of year. With it being a potent anti-inflammatory and anti-histamine, stinging nettle tea is a great way to help ease allergy symptoms. Nettle is also high in vitamins, minerals, and chlorophyll. Below are some ways to incorporate stinging nettle into your diet.
Stinging nettle tea can be made with nettle leaves or an already-prepared tea bag. If making with loose nettle leaves, boil water, add 1/4-1/3 cup nettle leaves and boiling water into a mason jar, let it brew for at 20 minutes or up to 12 hours (depending on how strong you want it), then strain herbs before using.
— don’t want to drink it straight? Add some nettle tea into your smoothies!
Make a nettle pesto to put on eggs, pasta, toast, potatoes, fish or poultry, or to top off minestrone.
— 1 lemon, zested and juiced
— 1 cup chopped nettles, blanched
— 1-2 cloves of garlic, depending on preference
— 1/4 cup nuts (pine nuts, pistachios, or pumpkin seeds have been my go-to as of late)
— 1/4 cup olive oil
— s + p, to taste
— want to make it extra creamy? add 1/2 avocado
— add everything to a food processor, taste test and make adjustments as needed.
Use stinging nettle in recipes or meals as a substitute for kale or spinach.
Organic Olivia's Allergy Defense Tonic - stinging nettle in a tonic, along with other helpful herbs + spices.
Local honey or bee pollen is also a great way to combat allergy symptoms.
Ortho Molecular Product Natural D-Hist - 2 capsules/day
Beekeeper's Naturals Propolis Throat Spray - when needed; *do not use if allergic to bees
Serendipitous Spring
Ways to use herbs + spices this spring:
— fresh herbs in homemade bread, I cannot stop thinking about this immaculate focaccia bread; here’s an easy focaccia recipe for the base (or a sourdough focaccia if we’re riding that train), then apply all of the shallots, herbs, and edible flowers.
— olive oil herb cubes (shoutout to my bday twin for this one)
— although it may not be time for basil yet, spring is primetime for pesto. A delicious non-basil pesto coming soon to Instagram! The flavor + creaminess is to die for. In the meantime, see the stinging nettle pesto in the previous section.
— roasted cauliflower with dill and feta
— homemade tzatziki (dill, mint, greek yogurt, cucumber, garlic, olive oil, lemon)
— cumin in homemade falafels
— a fantastic curry on a cozy, moody spring day
— herb stuffed artichokes; fun appetizer to do for friends or just for you!
— matcha lemon poppyseed muffins, coming this week to Instagram
EAT
May mood board
— grilled cheese on a chillier spring day
— radishes in salads, roasted as a side (see dinner section below), on a crudités platter
— strawberries!!! we are finally getting some berries back in season, the taste difference between in season and out of season berries is wild
— potential May intentions: Eating a meal outside. Weekly walk with friends or family. Knockout one house project. Try 1 new recipe every week. Clean out the garage or closets. Start planting your herbs.
What I’m cooking
Breakfast:
Matcha lemon poppyseed muffins
— amazing sweet + tang combo, coming soon to IG!!
— also a great pre-workout or post-workout snack
— with so many excellent greens/chards in season, this is a great go-to this time of year.
— let’s be honest, this is prime breakfast or snack material. Or dessert, depending on what you pair it with.
— if going hard in the paint for breakfast with this one (which I encourage), pair it with cottage cheese or greek yogurt to help blood sugar balance, increase protein, and improve satiety!
Dinner:
Lemon Pepper Pasta with Browned Butter
Roasted Asparagus + Radishes with Mustard Vinaigrette
— one I’m making this week and pairing with wings and fresh bread! Subbing great northern beans for butter beans
Arugula Orzo with Feta, Lemon & Mint
Pear and brie grilled cheese, strawberry and mozzarella grilled cheese
— for the lazy nights in
Gigi Hadid’s Spicy Vodka Pasta
— I made this pasta sauce last night as it was a chillier spring night and it was DELISH.
— added sautéed mushrooms and ground turkey to the dish
— subbed full fat coconut milk instead of heavy cream but using parmesan (can sub for vegan parm as the recipe includes in the notes)
Drinks:
Dessert:
Homemade Reese’s PB Cups
— Coming soon!! tested a similar version on friend’s for a friend’s bday and they passed with flying colors; we all continued to think about them for the next week
Lemon Bars (gf, df) or No-Bake Lemon Bars (dairy included)
Tahini Sweet Potato Blondies (v, gf)
Additional ideas:
— I’ve had quite a few friends, clients, and members at my gym ask for meal inspiration, this is a great place to start! I am continually adding to this post!
For Each Season’s ‘Spring Recipes’ Pinterest Board
— a bounty of inspiration that continues to blossom
LISTEN
Spring playlist:
— making it more robust as we continue into spring! Find some new jams or reminisce on classics.
She done did that:
—I would not be who I am if I did not include our girl Taylor’s newest release. She came through just in time for my bday month, bless her soul.
How women should approach exercise
— there is so much false, misconstrued, or misinterpreted information on social media and unfortunately that is bleeding into the exercise science space. This is a part 1 of 2 podcast episode discussing the floated fallacies on social media, getting down to the truth of the matter in research interpreted by a doctor (PhD) specializing in exercise science in females. Ladies, I highly encourage you to listen to this episode if you’re someone becoming confused as to what is actually healthy, helpful, etc. in exercise. Other avenues to consider is working with a functional medicine nutritionist who also has a background in exercise science, I know someone that comes to mind… ;)
READ
Berries + Brain Health
— with strawberries coming back into season, it’s only fitting I include research showing the benefits of berries on cognitive function. More specifically, berries contain a compound called anthocyanin that have been heavily researched and indicated positive implications on brain health. Starting with our star berry for the month of May, the British Journal of Nutrition carried out a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial (in english, she gonna be v accurate because she’s v well thought out and structured) showing that about two cups of fresh strawberries improved word recognition and critical thinking alongside short-term memory tested through a virtual spatial navigation test (imagine a maze: can they figure out where to go to get out?).1 This study took place over 90 days in a population ranging from 60-75 years old. Another controlled trial found over a 12-week intervention that strawberries can reduce the rate of progression of memory loss and reduce depressive symptoms.2 Krikorian et al. (2023) cited that the anti-inflammatory mechanism of anthocyanins is thought to be the primary contributing factor to these results. Lastly, in a 6-month study surrounding wild berries, subjects improved processing speed up to normal levels in 65-80 year olds, when compared to the reference group.3 The treatment dosage was equal to 1 cup of blueberries per day! How hopeful is it that even at that age (or that graduated in life, as my great aunt says) you can still improve your brain function?
Beginner’s Guide to Spring Gardening
— May is the perfect time to start planting for those that want to start a little herb garden, even indoor in pots!
— for more close to home (literally), here’s an article about the best herbs to grow in the PNW!
58 Biggest Books of Spring, According to Readers
— Listen guys, if we’re friends and you read, 1) add me on Goodreads please and thank you, 2) this is a great resource to help with recommendations for this spring!
SLEEP
— as the weather changes, so can our sleep habits!
Sleep Like A Swede: 7 Cozy Bedroom Hacks From Scandinavia
— Living with the seasons (say less) and maximizing natural light
— Windows open, at least leading up to bedtime so the room is cool
— Earlier dinner
— Winddown routine
Sleepy [Time] Mocktail
— is social media scientifically correct for once??
— 100% Tart Cherry juice at night has a lot of research pointing to this fruit supporting sleep. Tart cherries are naturally high in melatonin; when drinking ice cold, it also helps reduce your internal body temperature before bed. Another option tart cherry juice concentrate in water. Either way, has to be tart cherry juice.—Protocol: 200ml (6-7 oz) 30 minutes before bed; tart cherry and very very cold
REFLECT
“May the flowers remind us why the rain was so necessary”
— in our generation where we flee from being uncomfortable, this is a reminder to reflect and learn from uncomfortable, negative, or disappointing experiences. Another way to look at it, this quote is a great reminder of how we learn, grow, and become better humans through obstacles.
“Your diet is not only what you eat - it’s what you watch, what you listen to, what you read, the people you hang around — be careful of what you consume.”
— it should come as no surprise that our diet is not merely delineated to what foods we consume. From someone who is religious, this is deeply conflicting on what I consume that impacts my faith.
COMING SOON
— first city guide on Substack, had to start with my home (San Francisco); more to come!
— gut series is hoping to begin this month on Instagram
— nutrient timing guide coming to Substack
Enough from me!
Looking forward to spring together. Until next month!
Making the most of each season,
Mads
Miller, M. G., Thangthaeng, N., Rutledge, G. A., Scott, T. M., & Shukitt-Hale, B. (2021). Dietary strawberry improves cognition in a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial in older adults. British Journal of Nutrition, 126(2), 253-263. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33468271/
Krikorian, R., Shidler, M. D., & Summer, S. S. (2023). Early Intervention in Cognitive Aging with Strawberry Supplementation. Nutrients, 15(20) https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/pmid/37892506/
Cheatham, C. L., Canipe III, L. G., Millsap, G., Stegall, J. M., Ching Chai, S., Sheppard, K. W., & Lila, M. A. (2022). Six-month intervention with wild blueberries improved speed of processing in mild cognitive decline: a double-blind, placebo-controlled, randomized clinical trial. Nutritional Neuroscience, 26(10), 1019-1033. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/1028415X.2022.2117475