Self-Love Spinach Salad
If it was good enough for toxic masculinity poster boy Popeye...
Hello, wonderful witches!
I’ve just returned from a Sleepy Hollow Cocktail Experience, which I discovered through Facebook ads (because they target me so well). It was a lot of fun! You get three cocktails, a fun little performance, and a visit to a witch. My favorite part was the Cursing Tree. It’s right in the center of the room, and you write down curses on scraps of paper and stick them onto nails on the tree. You can curse anyone you want, and the host will read some out loud. The best they read tonight was something like “I curse my roommate to swim with the fishes, because he doesn’t do his share of the dishes.” If you see the event featured in your town, I highly recommend going!
***Next week, the newsletter might be on vacation, so don’t be alarmed if your issue doesn’t show up.***
Before we get into today’s article, I want to reiterate what I wrote earlier for anyone who missed it. (Yes, I’ll be doing this in every issue, sorry—I don’t want you sometimes-readers to miss the note!)
There’s about four months left of content scheduled for the newsletter, and after that, Kitchen Witch will be shutting down. As many of you know, costs to run the newsletter and pay my fabulous writers come from a combination of paid subscriptions and money out of my own pocket. After more than a year of publishing, income from subscriptions hasn’t been able to reach what’s needed to keep this afloat without me going broke in the process. (If you want specific numbers, to break even, there needs to be about 55 more monthly subscribers.) So unfortunately, that means ending Kitchen Witch. It’s been a lot of fun running the newsletter and giving a voice to witchy writers with a reasonable (though still less than I’d like) payment for articles. The main reason I began this newsletter is because writers who want to write about witchcraft have very few places to publish—and the publications that are out there tend to pay a pittance of about $25, if they pay anything at all. As witches, we deserve to have our stories told. And witch writers deserve to be compensated fairly for that. It’s been an honor to publish such wonderful work from witches of every path, tradition, identity, and perspective. So that’s that—unless there’s a swarm of new subscribers, I’ll be signing off in four months.
Alright, for today’s article, we’re having spinach salad.
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Self-Love Spinach Salad
By Katiee McKinstry
As we say goodbye to summer, we also (thankfully) leave behind pollen just about everywhere, but sadly also the freshest produce you can imagine. For this recipe, you’ll want to get to the farmers market before they start closing up shop—some of these ingredients will quickly be out of season!
It is no secret that eating with intention is so important, but you can also incorporate spellwork into the process of cooking and eating. How? Through the way you chop your ingredients, the way you mindfully chew your food, and by the love you incorporate in every meal. Seasonal shifts invite change; we are ever evolving, growing, blossoming, aging. Inviting in some self-love to your life during this shift is the perfect thing to do, especially through a fresh spinach salad!
To incorporate a self-love spell into your salad, you have to take things step by step. Starting with your chopping. As you are going through the motions of chopping your salad, set your intention. This intention could be something as simple as “I love myself.” However, if you’re looking for something deeper, think of an “I am” statement; something that you wouldn’t normally say to yourself. Such as, “I am beautiful,” “I am powerful,” or “I am limitless.” Once you have this intention/spell in mind, start chopping and chanting these intentions out loud. The power of speaking things into existence helps you to manifest them into reality.
Once you have finished chopping, put your salad together! (Don’t worry, there is a recipe below to help you find the perfect ingredients.) Once you sit down to eat, it’s time to continue your spellwork. Close your eyes, and envision a beautiful magenta light floating just above your head. Take three long, deep breaths, inhaling good things, and exhaling the bad like anxiety, stress, and tension. Now, let the magenta light surround your entire body, like a fortress or bubble around you. Feel the warmth and love of this pink-colored light, and know that this love is always here for you. This is your self-love. Once you’ve visualized this, open your eyes and take in that gratitude. Now, say your intentions out loud once again from when you were chopping, and take your first bite!
Lastly, as you are eating your salad make sure to eat mindfully. Don’t stare at your phone or TV, instead, chew slowly and appreciate all your food has to offer you. Take a moment to be grateful for the food you have, and the body that fuels you to take on the world. Remember that you are so, so loved. By yourself, your body, your food, and your loved ones. Don’t rush! Be in the present moment.
And, finally, the Self-Love Spinach Salad Recipe:
Spinach: Use Spinach as your base leafy green for strength and prosperity.
Pine nuts: Add pine nuts to help you feel more grounded and with the earth.
Mango: Add mango for inspiration and inner glow.
Apple: Add apples for intuition.
Coconut: Add coconut for inner warmth.
Red Cherries/Cranberries: Add something red, either cherries or cranberries, for love.
Balsamic vinaigrette: Top it off with some balsamic vinaigrette for emotional healing.
Tofu (optional): Add some tofu honestly if you’re needing a little more strength and protein.
Feel free to use however much you want of each ingredient! This salad is about you and your love. Blessed be!
Katiee is a witchy writer based outside Atlanta, Georgia. She writes about witchcraft, astrology, gaming, pop culture, and more. Her biggest passion is music and concerts, and she has a rabbit named Florence and a cat named Dexter. Follow her on Twitter at @rosecafletic.
Coming Up Next Week…
If we’re not vacationing, expect a piece about kitchen witchcraft and bones.
See you then!