SPRING X RAMPS

As the seasons change, the demands of our bodies shift and these should be met through a blend of dietary and lifestyle modifications that take into consideration the living conditions of the populace, which includes aspects of daily life, local climate, human relationships, and social milieu.

HEALTH AND SEASONALITY

Our bodies have the ability to adapt to our climate, demonstrated by shifts in our metabolism and need for different nutrients throughout the seasons, and even changes in our gut bacterial flora from season to season.

SPRING

Bodies acclimatize to colder weather and less sun during the winter. We tend to be more inward, emphasize comforts, and fuel our body with diets high in carbohydrates (seasonal produce accessible during winter are more starchy, root vegetables) and proteins that are suitable for our slowed metabolism to keep us warm. The bacteria in our gut are geared towards breakdown of these starchy foods. The liver also increases fat production and glucose is ramped up, to provide us warmth and energy through the winter months.

However if this pattern continues past the winter season, it is no longer productive and can reduce immunity, increase inflammation, and cause nutrient imbalances, which increases risk of seasonal health problems like depression and cold and flus, or chronic diseases including autoimmune disease, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and cancer.

Spring brings an opportunity for the body to transition into warmer weather, increasing its metabolism and insulin sensitivity in preparation for the summer’s abundance. More warmth and sunshine, which brings us more movement and access to fresh produce. It is the season for change and rejuvenation.

By understanding our bodies in relation to our seasons, we are able to increase awareness of the needs of our body, and optimize our health.

This is also beneficial by providing the most nutrient dense foods possible, by being grown in their season and harvested at their prime, with no need to ship long distances. Allowing us to support our communities, reduce our footprint, and be environmentally sustainable.

LIFESTYLE MEDICINE

Enhance Liver/Gallbladder Function

The liver has many functions, including production of bile, detoxification, storage of some vitamins and minerals (A, D, E, K, B12, iron, copper), storage of glycogen that the body uses for energy, and produces and clears cholesterol.

The gallbladder is small pouch that sits just under the liver that stores bile produced by the liver, which is then released into the small intestine that aids in the digestion of fats.

Winter lifestyles tend to put a burden on the liver and gallbladder, whether it be due to consumption of richer diet increasing need for glycogen storage and cholesterol clearance, increased alcohol consumption or lack of movement.

Spring is an ideal time to relieve the liver of these burdens and optimize its function, allowing the body to heal itself and rebalance.

Revitalize

Changes that occur in the body during spring, provide an ideal opportunity to regenerate and renew. Eliminate toxins, provide healing foods, calm your mind, and give your mind and body adequate rest so it can restore itself.

Support Immunity

During the winter, bodies tend to be more stagnant and vessels are more restricted due to cold temperature, causing a reduction in the circulation of immune cells, weakening our immunity.

Air tends to be cold and dry, making mucous membranes, our immune system’s first line of defence, to crack. This is a break in the physical barriers, increasing risk of infection.

Reduced sunlight, especially in northern climates, results in an increased risk of vitamin D deficiency, an essential nutrient for our immunity.

This is compounded by being exposed to the changeable weather of spring, that increases susceptibility to becoming ill. Optimize immunity in spring to avoid cold and flus.

DIET

During spring, diets should be focused on aiding our body transition from winter to summer. Start easing off the starchy root vegetables, carbohydrates, and rich proteins.

Begin incorporating more fresh greens. Focus on eating organic, fresh, whole foods as much as possible. This will help to relieve the burden on your liver by having less toxins to process, and providing nutrients to optimize its function.

Foods will be nutrient dense, allowing for optimal immunity and providing building blocks for the body to rejuvenate.

EMPHASIZE THESE SEASONAL INGREDIENTS:
Spring greens: Detoxifying, rich in antioxidants and fibre, such as dandelion greens, nettles, garlic mustard, watercress, asparagus, fiddleheads.
Mushrooms: Rich in vitamin D and polysaccharides that support the immune system.
Nettles: Nature’s multivitamin, packed with B vitamins, vitamins A, C and K, calcium, iron, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium and sodium.
Sprouts: Seeds that have germinated and become young plants, are nutrient, fibre, and antioxidant dense.
Allicin containing foods: A sulphur compound found in garlic, onions, and ramps that enhances immunity, cardiovascular and hormone health.
Bone broth: To provide vitamins and nutrients including iron, selenium, zinc, calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, manganese, and collagen, especially if you use bones with marrow.

Drink lots of water. Adequate hydration is crucial at all times for a number of reasons, including organ function, to deliver nutrients to cells, immunity, body temperature regulation, keep joints lubricated and muscles from cramping, cognitive function, mood, and sleep. It is especially important as weather warms, increased movement, and during detox.

At this time consider minimizing or avoiding alcohol and coffee for 10 days to 3 weeks as they are both diuretics and a toll on the liver.

TIPS & TRICKS:
Make nettle infusions: Make a drink using a technique that enhances extraction of nutrients from nettles, rich in vitamins and minerals. All you need is a heat proof container with a lid like a mason jar, water, and nettles. Fill 1/3 of the container with nettles, top up with hot water, seal, and let steep overnight. Drink hot or cold, on its own or mix with green tea for energy, lemon juice or apple cider for detox.

Put mushrooms into your bone broth to enhance both their immune supportive properties. A good every day mushroom to add for health optimization and anti-aging is reishi, shiitake mushroom are easily accessible and are a great source of vitamin D, and turkey tail are found here in the wild in abundance and are great for immunity.

FLAVOUR:
Pungent taking ingredients should be emphasized during spring. Examples are onions, leeks, ramps, leaf mustard/garlic mustard, spinach, and mushrooms.

FOREST BATHE

Shinrin-yoku is a Japanese term that translates to "forest bathing". It means taking in the forest through all your senses.

A topic that is becoming increasingly common in our modern life is stress. Regardless of the type of stress, it triggers a cascade of physiological changes known as the "fight-or-flight" response managed by the sympathetic nervous system. This is adaptive in the short-term, but long-term can be detrimental to your health and increase risk for chronic diseases like high blood pressure and cancer.

For many the source of stress cannot be eliminated. Fortunately, the impacts of long-term stress can be mitigated by enhancing the parasympathetic nervous system, the part of your nervous system responsible for countering the sympathetic nervous system with its "rest and digest" function.

Shinrin-yoku, is an example of a way to activate your parasympathetic nervous system. Studies have shown that being present in nature and engaging all your senses, will reduce stress, lower blood pressure and heart rate, reduce perception of pain, and improve mood, sense of calm and safety.

So, find yourself a patch of forest, turn off your phone, and take a slow walk through the woods. Note how the forest feels with your hands and under your feet. Savour the sights, sounds, and smells and let nature restore you.

PLANT SEEDS

Growing plants is so rewarding. It takes work and patience, but the pay-off in nourishment, connectivity, and awareness is insurmountable.

Consider growing a native garden if you’re a hands-off gardener. They are naturally resilient for their niche environment, able to withstand local weather and pathogens, and will attract pollinators making your garden feel even more alive.

Or grow your own food and medicine if you’re inclined.

My favourite is a blend of a little bit of everything.

Gardening is something that can be for everyone, because it is one of those hobbies that can be adapted to your personality. Some may say that starting seeds is finicky, requiring so much attention, and their gardens are meticulous, while others like myself, take a more loose approach: tucking seeds into the dirt, giving it as much attention as I can, and with a little luck, something will grow.

What comes before seeding is much more important, and your odds of getting lucky will be much higher. Its all in the planning. Figure out what your goals are for your garden, how much attention you can realistically give it, and like with everything, start with well sourced materials.

Your odds of germinating seeds and having a successful garden is hugely dependent on the quality of seeds and soil.

Note: If you intend on planting a garden for food and/or medicine, intentionally planting both cool and warm weather vegetables will allow you to harvest from your garden continuously through the spring, summer, and fall.

In early spring, just before the ground thaws, begin your sprouting your seeds indoors for hot weather plants such as tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, kohlrabi, herbs, and eggplant. When the ground has thawed, plant seeds straight into the soil for early spring harvest including leafy greens (lettuce, mizuna, arugula, etc.), vegetables such as peas, radishes, asparagus, and rhubarb, and seeds for pollinator flowers and medicines including calendula, chamomile, and borage, and vegetables for fall harvest like potatoes, kale, and cabbage.

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RAMPS

It is spring during a pandemic and many are staring to go a little stir crazy.

Escape and come forage for ramps with me in Ontario’s Carolinian forests!

Please remember that although ramps are delicious and have wonderful health benefits, they must be respected and sustainably foraged.

FORAGING

A sure sign of spring is ramps. It is often one of the first to show its greens through the leaf covered forest floors. It is such a joy to see a patch of it off in the distance, while the trees are still bare.

Ramps (Allium tricoccum)

Traits: Two or three broad, smooth, green leaves measuring 1 to 4 inches wide and from 4 to 12 inches long, lance-elliptic in shape, narrowed at both ends. The stem is reddish, with a white bulb.

The flower stalks are covered with a papery sheath that break open to reveal a cluster of white buds that open into a terminal cluster of small white flowers in the terminal cluster. As the plant withers away, its shiny, round black seeds persist on the old flower stalks through winter and can even be seen in the next ramp season.

Easily identified by its pungent, garlic-y smell (used to differentiate from poisonous lookalikes, Lily of the Valley (Convallaria majalis) or False hellebore (Veratrum genus).

Habitat: found in higher elevations, under dense deciduous forest canopy, in well-drained soil, and north facing slopes.

Lifecycle: Its growing season is just a few short weeks, starting as soon as early April and over by the beginning of June as the weather warms.

Propagation: The primary way they propagate is by its roots systems, and secondarily by its seeds. It takes about 7 years for roots to mature to a point they propagate new plants. If you are starting your own ramp patch from seeds, they should not be harvested for 7 years, and if planted from bulbs, 5 years, allowing for development of its root system.

With this in mind, if you come across a patch of ramps on public land and unsure of the maturity of the patch, only harvest the leaves. Otherwise, the suggestion of foraging ramps is to gather less than a third of the patch.

I abided by this rule in a very basic manner in my earlier days of foraging, digging up the whole plant, but never more than a third. As years went on, I developed a better understanding of all parts of the ramps, and knew going into foraging how I wanted to use the plant, and my approach evolved.

Now I look at each patch, and harvest using 3 techniques depending on each plants maturity. I still touch less than a third of the patch, but my impact is significantly less by incorporating these methods, and as a result, my bounty is much better tailored to my needs and faster to process.

1. the All Around

Identification: The leaves are about 6 to 12 inches tall, 1 to 2 inches in width.

Use: At this time it still has some sweetness, and its garlicky/oniony flavour is starting to really develop. These leaves are great to use for sauces, butter, noodles, or mixed into fillings. I chop up the red stalks and use it to infuse vinegar and nước chấm (a Vietnamese dipping sauce). The bulb is great to cook with as you would with garlic.

Technique: Cut just above the base of the bulb, leaving the base and its roots in the ground. This helps preserve the ramps ability to propagate, and gives you all 3 parts of the ramp to work with: some of the bulb, the stalk, and the leaves.

Timing: This is the earliest technique to implement, starting in the first couple weeks of ramp season.

2. the Perfect Bulb

Identification: Bulb about 1/2 inch in diameter. It's leaves are usually 3 to 4 inches in width, no sign of flower development.

Use: Pickling

Technique: Dig down into the dirt until you see the base of the bulb to identify its size, cut the roots as close to the bulb as possible. I harvest very few, maybe 1/10th of the patch.

3. the Broad Leaf

Identification: These reach their size just before the plant begins to flower. The bulbs are quite large at this point and very pungent, so I choose to leave them in the ground, and only use the leaf. This leaf is wide and beginning to become fibrous, so its not great for sauces or pastas, but perfect for wrapping things. Gather before any signs of the leaves yellowing.

Use: Wrapping. Think thit bo nuong, terrines, fish, roasts. Its beautiful and infuses its delicious flavour.

Technique: Pick before the leaves begin to yellow.

Timing: Towards the end of the lifecycle, 4-6 weeks after leaves first emerge.

Other plants to look out for while you’re out foraging for ramps:

BLOODROOT

Sanguinaria canadensis

BLUE COHOSH

Caulophyllum thalictroides

SPRING BEAUTY

Claytonia caroliniana

HEALTH BENEFITS

Ramps (Allium tricoccum) or wild leeks, have a pungent smell and flavour similar to that of garlic and onions. Similarly to garlic, it is also rich in organosulfur compounds (allicin), which have these major health benefits:

1. Enhances immunity.

2. Cardiovascular protective.

3. Hormone balancing.

4. Anti-aging.

5. Anti-cancer.

These medicinal properties are due to these compounds ability to combat two of the major obstacles in aging and chronic disease: oxidative stress and inflammation. It acts as an antioxidant and anti-inflammatory, as well as hypolipemic (reduces cholesterol synthesis), anticoagulative (reduces stickiness and blockage in the vascular system), vasodilatory, and antimicrobial. It provides necessary sulphur to activate hormones including DHEA, a steroid hormone that is a precursor to testosterone and estrogen, aiding in maintaining balanced hormones.

For maximum health benefits, consume fresh, raw, or quickly blanched.

RECIPES

THIT BO NUONG

A recipe to enjoy with fresh ramps, towards the end of their season

This is my take on a traditional Vietnamese dish of beef wrapped in betal leaves, called thịt bò nướng lá lốt. “Thịt bò” translates to beef, “nướng” to grilled, and “lá lốt” to betal leaves.

Instead of betal leaves, I use mature ramp leaves, which when grilled, brings caramelization and fragrance.

It’s perfect when you start to find some of the plants are just about to flower and their leaves are broad but not too fibrous yet. Gather their leaves to wrap the meat, and from younger plants that you cut down to the bulb, use the bulb and stem for the filling.

INGREDIENTS
1 pound ground beef, more fat is more flavourful
25 mature ramp leaves, width of at least 3 inches (can be subbed for betal leaves)
¼ cup minced ramp bulb and stem, white and red parts (if you don’t have any accessible use full scallions)
2 teaspoons fish sauce
½ teaspoon ground black pepper
1 tablespoon Madras curry powder

Makes approximately 20-25 rolls, enough for 2 people for dinner or 4 as a snack.

DIRECTIONS
Combine all ingredients except the mature ramp leaves in a large bowl. Let marinate for up to 24 hours.

Place the ramp leaf lengthwise on a flat surface with the stem side facing up. Place approximately 2 tablespoons of the beef mix loosely shaped as a sausage, about 2 inches from the base of the leaf leaving some space on the sides as the leaves will shrink as it cooks. Roll up, and skewer.

Ideally grilled over hot coals, at a distance you can hold your hand for about 5 seconds. Top open. Cooked about 7 minutes per side, until slightly charred.

If you don’t have a grill, you can cook them in the oven under the broiler.

RAMP PESTO

A recipe to enjoy fresh and preserve ramps, anytime in their season

INGREDIENTS
Ramp greens
Toasted pine nuts (or whatever you’d like, walnuts, almonds, sunflower seeds)
Olive oil
Apple Cider Vinegar or Lemon (optional)
Hard cheese (eg parm, pecorino, optional)
Salt

I think that pesto is such a personal recipe, especially when it comes to ramps. If you love the garlic-y-ness of them, then use their greens for the entire recipe, but if you find it too pungent, you can dilute it with fresh spinach for something mild, or arugula for something peppery. Not enough ramps available but want to keep it wild? Mix in some garlic mustard or nettles, which are also coming out of the ground at this time of year.

A general starting ratio is 8:1, for example:
2 cups ramp greens
1/4 cup pine nuts

Then it’s yours to discover. If you like acid, go for lemon or vinegar. If you love creaminess or cheese, add some dairy.

I have an attraction to smokey flavours so I cold smoke them before making the pesto.

DIRECTIONS
To preserve ramps bright green colour, blanch their greens for about 30 seconds in boiling water and immediately plunge into cold water to stop them from cooking. Remove as much water as possible. This step can be skipped, unless you are using nettles.

Add ramp greens to food processor or to a mortar and pestle and mash away. Add all other flavours to taste. Adjust to your taste.

Enjoy on most notably: eggs, potatoes, toast, and fresh pasta noodles.

Dr. Cristina Allen ND