Spring has sprung late this year in Portland. With over 20 consecutive days of rain, hard rain, we’ve all been very much so ‘under the weather’, so to speak, up here in the Pacific Northwest. Everyone from the students in my yoga classes to the usually chipper staff at my local grocery have been in a little bit of a funk–myself included.

During this past month of rain and cold, I haven’t found myself craving my normal spring palate of foods. Fresh, crisp greens such as Napa or Savoy cabbage, spring peas, and even fruits like my favorite strawberry have eluded me. Instead, I’ve been eating things like dark rye bread with a thick layer of molasses butter spread on top, hearty curries, whole grains, legumes, and even more seaweed interspersed throughout different dishes and meals. All of these foods are heavier, warmer, denser, and, interestingly, are high in minerals (especially the sea weed).

Eating this way while the sun has been in (what seems like) permanent hiding has felt good–yet it isn’t my normal behavior at this time of year. So I started to investigate, looking to find exactley why this is from a physical standpoint. I just want to say here that the body is amazing–it will tell you exactley what you need when you need it, or don’t need it, if you know how to listen to what it is trying to tell you! Why is this? Or better yet, how does this happen? Subtle clues–like cravings or hunger pangs,–or sometimes not so subtle clues–like headaches or digestive problems– will queue you in to what you need. In my case, my body was screaming for more minerals, and even a little comfort, through the grounding, warming foods I’ve been recently eating.

The molasses was what really struck me as odd. I’ve never before really enjoyed the taste of just straight molasses–it has such a heavy, dark flavor that is sometimes quite unpalatable for me. So why all of a sudden am I craving it? Molasses is jam packed with some amazing minerals and vitamins that I’ve been needing more of: magnesium, or the super mineral I like to call it, actually helps the body absorb calcium extremely well, iron, copper, calcium, potassium, manganese, vitamin B6, and selenium. These minerals are important for everyone, but especially women to get enough of. Maintaining healthy levels of iron in the body is important as an integral component of hemoglobin, which transports oxygen from the lungs to all body cells, and is also part of key enzyme systems for energy production and metabolism. If you have an iron deficiency, you are probably feeling tired more often than you’d like. It’s also fantastic for your hair, skin, and nails.

I also referenced one of my favorite resources, Healing with Whole Foods by Paul Pitchford, and found another theory that interestingly overlaid with the purely physical explanation of mineral deficiency. The sweet flavor, explains Pitchford, is appropriate in every season and especially desirable for harmony during seasonal changes. Examples of warming, sweet foods include spearmint, sweet rice, sweet potato, mochi, rice syrup, molasses, sunflower seed, pinenut, walnut, and cherry.

Pitchford goes on to further explain the Chinese Medicine theory for the source of disharmony–too many desires (whether for sex, fame, power, security, money, etc.) can blind our proper judgment so that inappropriate actions and diet may be chosen. Most importantly, Pitchford states, is that regardless of diet, emotions themselves when driven by the desire-complex of greed, anger, and resentment greatly damage liver function. In Chinese Medicine, the theory is that unresolved emotional issues are stored physically as residues of excess in the liver, while emotional clarification unlocks and releases them. Therefore, as the diet improves, it is necessary to liberate emotional obstructions–if they are not, an emotional cripple can find a way to pervert even a sound diet so that it supports his or her current disturbances.

Pitchford has even created a list of the both physical and emotional symptoms of liver deficency and then lists the dietary principals and steps to be taken to heal the liver. Interestingly enough, foods that harmonize the liver are also regarded as important for eating in the spring, including whole grains, legumes, vegetables, and molasses.

The investigation into my sudden molasses craving proved to be more complex and interesting than I imagined. Those cravings for molasses had as much to do with mineral deficiency as they did an emotional state– they may have also been part of an age old tradition the intelligence of the body tapped into of preparing oneself for the spring and warmer weather in the summer. The “deficiency in the liver”–a major cause of this being emotional stress–certainly brought me pause and awareness to how I am thinking, and more so how much I am thinking about (aka: worrying) things. It’s also given me some important insight to seasonal eating, my body’s needs, and the importance of minerals for me in my daily diet. Have you been craving anything in particular lately?

Molasses Butter, via Debora Madison’s Vegetarian Cooking for Everybody

1/3 cup blackstrap molasses 1 stick cultured, pasture fed butter (just found this great butter, it’s incredible!)

In a pot, heat the molasses with the butter until melted. Remove when totally melted and whisk until completely blended. Pour into a small mason jar, let cool. It can live on your counter, no refrigeration needed.

Try a teaspoon of this in your oatmeal, on toast, in french toast batter; put a little bit in your bread dough, muffins, and cookies. Enjoy!