By Dave & Steve Flynn – affectionately known as The Happy Pear – the dynamic Irish duo celebrated for their infectious passion for healthy living, plant-based eating, and building community.
As the days get longer and the daffodils return, spring brings a chance to reawaken your energy and shake off the winter cobwebs – physically, mentally, and emotionally. At The Happy Pear, we don’t see spring as a time for restriction or pressure, but for renewal, play, and lightness. Here are 10 fresh and joyful ways to spring clean your health from the inside out.
1. Grow Something – Even on a Windowsill!
Spring is literally about growth, so get involved! Try planting herbs like basil, mint, or parsley on your windowsill – or take a few beans like chickpeas or whole lentils and start sprouting your own. Watching something grow (especially if you eat it!) is grounding, joyful, and naturally mindful.
2. Go Foraging: Make Nettle Tea or Soup
Nettles are one of nature’s superfoods and are abundant right now. Pick them (wear gloves!), steep them into tea or add them to potato and leek soup. Nettles are rich in iron, calcium and minerals – and foraging reconnects you with local food, nature, and old traditions. There is also lots of wild garlic around at the moment too which is fab in pasta, pesto or risotto.
3. Catch a Sunrise & Listen to the Dawn Chorus
Get up early one morning and head out for sunrise. Spring birdsong – the dawn chorus – is one of the most uplifting natural concerts there is! Add a flask of tea and a friend and you’ve got a life-affirming morning with zero cost!
4. Eat the Rainbow of Spring
This season brings its own colour palette – radishes, spring greens, purple sprouting broccoli, wild garlic, rhubarb. Make it a game: how many colours can you eat today? Your gut (and microbiome) will love the diversity, and so will your tastebuds.
5. Go Barefoot for 10 Minutes a Day
Sounds odd, but studies show that ‘earthing’ – standing or walking barefoot on grass or sand – can reduce stress and inflammation. Try it in the garden or at the beach. Just 5-10 minutes can help you feel grounded and recharged.
6. Get Outside (Not Just for Steps)
We’ve all heard “get your steps in”, but spring is a chance to do it differently. Swap the treadmill for a forest path. Trade headphones for birdsong. Exposure to natural light and green spaces has been linked to improved gut health, immunity, and mood.
7. Declutter Your Snack Cupboard
Spring clean your kitchen too. Ditch the ultra-processed, beige snacks and stock your cupboards with colourful, whole food goodies – nuts, fresh fruit, roasted chickpeas, hummus, dark chocolate. Keep them visible and you’ll be more likely to eat them.
8. Cook with a Friend (Or a Kid!)
Cooking doesn’t need to be solo or stressful. Invite a friend over and make a big pot of lentil stew, or let the kids join in and make a mess with pizzas. Food should be joyful, and shared.
9. Unplug for an Evening a Week
Try one tech-free evening a week. No phones, no scrolling, no screens. Cook, chat, walk, read, or just be. Spring is a reminder that life happens outside the feed – it’s blooming, buzzing and real.
10. Pick One New Weekly Ritual
Whether it’s a Sunday sea swim, a Saturday market visit, or Friday evening soup-making; pick one new weekly ritual that brings joy, nourishment, and connection. Rituals anchor us and help us stay healthy without needing ‘willpower’.
Final Thoughts
Health doesn’t have to mean being strict or ‘on track’. Spring is a season of possibility and pleasure, and sometimes a mug of nettle tea in the garden is more powerful than any supplement.
About the experts
Dave and Steve Flynn, affectionately known as The Happy Pear, are the dynamic Irish duo celebrated for their infectious passion for healthy living, plant-based eating, and building community.
The Happy Pear has published seven cookbooks promoting the benefits of a wholefood, plant-based diet, they also offer 15 online courses with over 100k participants, run a recipe club with over 700 recipes on the website and have a social media following of over 2 million. The Happy Pear also produces a range of award-winning healthy food products including pesto, hummus, granola, snacks and drinks.
Their latest cookbook, The Happy Pear 20, published by Gill Books, marks two decades of inspiring others to embrace vibrant, wholesome lifestyles. Packed with fresh recipes and heartfelt insights, it’s a testament to their unwavering commitment to making healthy living accessible and joyful. For more information on The Happy Pear and to join their spring reset, please visit www.thehappypear.ie
