Spring Thirty Challenge
Hello friend!
It’s such a lovely time of the year when Spring is in full swing! 🌸 I hope you are enjoying watching baby birds 🐦 emerge and the flowers bloom wherever you are.
For this month, I want to offer you a food-based challenge. As we move into warmer months, it’s wonderful to begin incorporating locally grown, fresh fruits and vegetables into our diet. A lot of people take on a spring detox or a spring cleansing fast, which both - when done well and mindfully - can be excellent ways to reset your system. But instead of taking food away, I want to propose a practice to add food onto your plate!
I call it ‘Spring Thirty’. Here is my invitation to do this challenge with me: eat 30 different vegetables per week.
Rationale
Obviously, this is such a fun practice, full of color and taste and creativity. But also, eating a rainbow of vegetables (and fruits) daily offers many health benefits, according to all sorts of research, including functional medicine, conventional medical and yes even TCM perspective, as well.
A variety of vegetables provide your body a diversity of phytonutrients lots of beneficial compounds, enhance cellular repair and protection and improve detoxification pathways.
It’s great for your gut health! Many different veggies provide diverse fibers for your microbiome, as well as probiotic benefits.
It has so many anti-inflammatory effects - I can’t even list them here. Improved joint health, better brain function, even reduced chronic inflammations.
Supports all five elements, including Qi flow, provides balance by incorporating all flavors, mixing warming and cooling foods.
This Spring Thirty practice will give you plenty of nutrients, you will feel better physically and mentally.
TCM Benefits
Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) supports the concept of eating a variety of colorful foods.
🟢 Green (Wood Element)
Supports liver and gallbladder
Promotes growth and flexibility
Foods: leafy greens, sprouts
Benefits: eye health, detoxification
🔴 Red (Fire Element)
Supports heart and small intestine
Promotes circulation and joy
Foods: red peppers, tomatoes
Benefits: blood circulation, emotional balance
🟡 Yellow (Earth Element)
Supports stomach and spleen
Promotes digestion and centering
Foods: squash, corn
Benefits: digestive strength, grounding
⚪ White (Metal Element)
Supports lungs and large intestine
Promotes clarity and breathing
Foods: cauliflower, white mushrooms
Benefits: respiratory health, immunity
⚫ Black/Dark Blue (Water Element)
Supports kidneys and bladder
Promotes wisdom and willpower
Foods: black beans, seaweed
Benefits: vital essence, energy
Potential Allergies
Be aware that some vegetables, particularly nightshades (tomatoes, peppers, eggplant), alliums (garlic, onions), and cruciferous vegetables, can cause allergic reactions or sensitivities in certain individuals - be sure to consult your healthcare provider if you experience any adverse reactions.
Spring Thirty Practice Step-by-Step
Start whenever you want, today (even yesterday, this past week) and go for as long as you can. I will try to make it to 30 days. And during that time, I will commit to eating 30 different fresh vegetables per week. By fresh, I mean non-processed, not canned, could be raw or cooked: sauteed lightly or baked with spices, or made into soups, all that is fine. And by eating veggies, I mean at least ½ cup of serving or whatever equivalent.
Step 1. Download the Vegetable Checklist and print one copy per week (so if you are doing it for one week, print one, if you are doing it for two weeks, print two copies). Here are the links to 60 Veggies; and Additional List.
Step 2. On the top, put a start date. Then check off all of the vegetables you have incorporated into your diet start with that date (so say if you start today, check off the veggies you have eaten today)
Step 3. Every day for the next 7 days check off any additional vegetables you have eaten. If you had cucumber 3 times per week, obviously you only check it off once! If you are getting close, go shopping on the last day and try to reach 30 per week- you can do it!
Step 4. At the end of the week, count your veggies - did you reach thirty? 🎉 Celebrate your success, and potentially keep going - maybe you can keep it up for another week? Maybe you can try a different combination of vegetables next time? Can you keep up with me and try it for 4 weeks (or 30 days)?
Extra Credit: 1/ Please reach out to me and tell me how it’s going. It would be so nice to hear from you!😊 2/ Get your family members to do it, too. Or at least get close to 30. That would be a big extra credit in my household! 3/ Go up to 35 veggies per week. That’s like an Olympics level commitment! 4/ Aim to eat 9 servings of veggies per day 5/ Keep track of the colors, and try to eat one of each color of the rainbow: White (tan or brown), Yellow, Orange, Red, Green, Blue (purple or black).
I hope you take me up on this and enjoy eating the RAINBOW!🌈
Be well,
Judit