the tea with honey: savor + steep
the inaugural weekly honey + hyssop newsletter. come sit a spell honey bee.
Welcome honey bee!
This is the first of many weekly newsletters in which I will share my current favorites, wellness insights, and all things honey + hyssop. Check back every Sunday for the fresh tea with me!
As summer in my beloved Mississippi draws to a close, I find myself seeking ways to hold on to the last little bit of the sickly sweetness. Though the cool weather will not rise to meet the changing tides of our outdoor activities until around mid-October (if we’re lucky!), the crispness of fall promise has seeped into my little heart. Football is back, and in the south, that’s almost as good as the second coming. This is all I will say on the matter since my Ravens lost by a FOOT this past Thursday, and the fate of my Mississippi State Bulldogs is yet undecided at the time of this writing. Now, onto the recap of last week.
This past week, I was deep in the throes of my menstrual cycle, and thoroughly experiencing all the highs and lows that accompany it. I am experimenting with cycle synching to see if there is a way to address my symptoms through nutrition and wellness practices, and so far so good! Here’s a list of what I did last week to soothe myself body, mind, and spirit.
Nutrition: I prioritized iron, magnesium, and omega-3 rich foods to help combat the loss of vital nutrients during this phase. For lunch, I made a Thai Red Curry Soup that featured chickpeas, mushrooms, and kale. I also experimented with the salmon cream cheese “sometimes you need to eat an entire cucumber” trend sans cucumber since I'm still unsure I can commit to loving cucumber that much just yet lol. I instead opted for a Salmon Dip adjacent dish with crostini for dinner, adding capers, cilantro, and pecans for a little depth. The salmon and nuts in the dip are pulling triple duty for protein, magnesium, and omega-3s! I’ll share ingredients for the recipe below, and I recommend experimenting with amounts to fit your taste. During this phase, it’s also helpful to drink teas, and as always, I had raspberry leaf tea, vanilla match lattes, or ginger lemon teas when I needed relief from cramps.
Somewhat Salmon Dip ft Crostini
1 Can or 14 oz of Atlantic Salmon
8 oz room temp Chive and Onion Cream Cheese
1 tablespoon Liquid Smoke
Chopped Green Onions
Chopped Pecans or Walnuts
Cilantro (I used way more than I can proudly admit here lol)
Nonpareil Capers
Salt and Pepper (play around with cajun seasoning, etc for variety)
Paprika for garnish
I got the $2 bag of crostini from Walmart, but you can substitute your vehicle of choice or spoon it. It’s your life, boo.
Movement: Last Sunday, my friends and I attended a donation based yoga event hosted by Split Rebel Yoga. It was so healing and was just what I needed after an emotionally charged weekend. During the menstrual phase, it is important to move your body to the best of your ability, whether that’s a slow and steady walk, a low impact yoga or pilates flow, or a quick stretch just to loosen up the joints. The beginner flow was just my speed after a long break from my already sometimey yoga practice, and I didn’t feel overwhelmed. It was just enough of a challenge to reinforce a mind-muscle connection, but I kept up just fine.
Couldn’t wait to bring out my for the healthy hoes tote bag! Ritual: The menstrual phase is a time for rest and reflection, and I certainly did a lot of both. I have some big plans in the works, and I took time during this period to really get into the weeds with some of the finer details and to schedule some things for next month to help keep the ball rolling! I wasn’t super pressed to act at this time, and I really focused in on setting myself to have a smooth take off when it is time to move to the next phase in different areas. Journaling through several mediums really came in handy when processing difficult emotions that came up (more on that in this week’s late bloomer diaries). It’s sometimes a tendency of mine to really isolate and go within during my period, but I wanted to avoid the depressive episode that inevitably follows so my line sister’s first art exhibition was the perfect outing. It was so inspiring to see her take a project from conception to exhibition, and it was a great time. Photos of her + her work below!
what’s tea for next week?
on the menu:
Thai Red Curry Soup: (if it ain’t broke…) I’m bringing back the curry soup this week, but I plan to switch out a few of the veggies to align with my follicular phase. Think broccoli, carrots, more leafy greens, bell peppers, etc.
Caramel Match-iato Overnight Oats: Not gonna lie to ya gals, gays, and theys, I’m deeeppp in a matcha moment™. I have visions of golden leaves dancing in my head because we’re around the corner from double digit months, and I thought why not start trying to perfect my fall recipes now? I want to take everything I love about a caramel macchiato and a matcha latte and add it to follicular phase supporting oats, greek yogurt, pecans, and ground flaxseed.
Harissa Butter Beans: I came across this delicious recipe by Shakayla Felice at Sweet Greens Vegan in July, and I’ve been meaning to run it back! This week will be super busy at work, and this recipe comes together so quickly and is very simplistic in terms of ingredients. It incorporates really well in my little leftover crockpot, so I don’t even need to cook it ahead of time.
on the schedule:
Creativity: I have a crochet hat that is 87% done. The follicular phase is the perfect time to dive into creative projects, and I’m going to use the rising hormones to finally finish my crochet projects for the fall cause sis is coming in hotttt.
Movement: One of my biggest goals for the fall is dialing in my fitness routine (and to stop giving this gym free money), and this week I will be kickstarting my cardio by doing at least three 12-3-30-ish sessions on the treadmill. I will also be doing a few challenging yoga and pilates flows to harness this renewed energy into growth!
Wellness: As we creep toward the time change, I want to get really serious about my bed time and wind down routine. I will often forego a strict routine in order to watch shows/youtube, talk to friends, or read. No más. Tee Tee going to bed this week. Love you, mean it.
honey’s favorites
I wanted to share a few of my favorites over the last week!
I made a playlist to capture the saccharine melancholy of the dog days of summer. enjoy <3.
Book: Ours by Phillip B. Williams- In the mid-1800s, Saint, an enigmatic and powerful conjure woman, always flanked by a silent companion, travels the South annihilating plantations and liberating the enslaved by means of purposeful violence and powerful magic. She founds a town for those she has freed - and for them alone. They name the town Ours. Surrounded by an impenetrable magical border raised by Saint's powers, Ours is invisible to the outer world and sits blissfully away from prying eyes and violent hands. Saint's mission is to kill slavery - to scourge its damage from the minds of her charges and to keep them safe forever.
Under Saint's watchful eye and away from the terrible weight of their enslavement, the townsfolk become neighbours, friends and lovers. They build each other's homes and care for each other's children. They love and grieve together. Then two mysterious strangers, Frances and Joy, appear, inexplicably crossing the invisible border from the outer world. Saint and Frances are connected by arcane and indivisible threads, and soon Saint's lost past and fateful present begin to coalesce in ways that will either prove Ours' salvation or lay it bare to a world that would destroy it.Podcasts:
Money Love Ep. 108: A Letter from Me to Me
for the healthy hoes: your fear of looking stupid is holding you back
Balanced Black Girl: How to Refresh Your Wellness Routine This Fall
For the love of YouTube:
September Reading by Pass the Sage (aka my girl Tae)
See ya’ll next week! Thank you for reading <3.
oh this is a newsletter I didn’t know I needed. very mindful, very demure, very cutesy!