Taste:
Seaweed
Full confession: I actually can't stand seaweed.
I squirm and swim away when one touches my foot in the ocean. I don't like the fishy smell and the funky salty taste either. Please keep me away from a seaweed salad at a Japanese restaurant because I might involuntarily heave.
With that said, sadly seaweed is incredibly healthy, including for my Thyroid health, so I do try to find sneaky ways to put them in my diet.
Some of the edible types include:
Wakame
Dulse
Kombu
Kelp
Sea lettuce
Nori
Arame
Chlorella
They are high in neuroprotective antioxidants like Vitamins A,C,E and K plus trace minerals like iodine, iron and calcium. The type of fiber found in seaweed is very gut-friendly plus seaweed can help balance blood sugars.
Ok, so the way I sneak it into my diet is through a dried seaweed flakes condiment or mixed with other seasonings. Something like this or this. It gives me the benefits of seaweed while also masking the intensity of the salty flavor.
If you're new to eating seaweed in general, start here.
Scent:
It’s pumpkin spice season! Well, not yet but I’m getting a head start.
And apparently the world is getting ready too. Here are the most ah, interesting products I’ve found that feature the omnipresent Pumpkin Spice.
Let’s go beyond the Latte, shall we?
Pumpkin Spice Gum anyone?
Does that special cat in your life need a little pumpkin spice love?
Grab yourself a lotto ticket and a Pumpkin Spice slurpee next time you’re at a 7/11.
Or maybe you’d like your kitchen trash bags to emanate that Fall fragrance.
And quite frankly, I’d be honored to have my bum smell like pumpkin spice. Here’s some specially scented toilet paper to get you there.
Sound:
I love sites that help the user determine which book, podcast, movie or other content to choose next based on your previous consumption. That Goodreads, for instance, lets me know which books are similar to the one I just rated as a 5 out of 5, is very helpful in knowing whether or not I will likely engage with and enjoy the content of that recommended book.
This site, called Music map, does this for music. Simply put in that obscure singer/songwriter you enjoyed at a folk festival or that opening band you loved before the main concert you attended and it will visually display artists that are similar to or inspired by the artist you chose.
I love Adele for instance and I wondered what other bands or singers felt similar to her music. Music Map suggested I listen to all of these below. The closer the item is to the main artist you choose, the more similar the music is to that artist.
Touch:
Ever hear of a Reiki haircut? This trend couples the healing energy work of reiki with the gentle touch of scalp massage, a warm blow dry and the feel of a comb run through your silky, wet, untangled hair.
Not gonna lie, this service which can be an add on at certain salons is not cheap. I haven’t tried it myself but it’s one of those things that I know I would love.
Years ago we had this scalp scratcher that the kids would use to soothe them, tickle them and intentionally bring goosebumps to their skin.
Now, imagine that tingly scalp sensation with an ancient energy healing modality added to the experience.
Sight:
One of my favorite projects in middle school biology was visiting our local pond, scooping up some water, and bringing it back to class to examine under a microscope. Just one drop revealed a world of tiny, squiggly, often amorphous blobs of life, invisible to the naked eye. It was the first time I truly grasped the vastness and diversity of microbial life.
I’ve always been fascinated by things that are either too small to observe or too large to comprehend. I could spend hours on websites like this one, (sound on!) marveling at the enormity and intricacies of our world.
When I discovered a site that awards prizes to photographers specializing in photomicrography, I couldn’t tear myself away. One photo, in particular, of a single caffeine crystal, (see below) left me in awe of its beauty and complexity. I’d love to have an exact replica of it as a painting to hang in my living room.
Photo attribution
8th Place 2023 Photomicrography Competition
Affiliation
The University of Georgia
Athens, Georgia, USA
Technique
Magnification
25X (Objective Lens Magnification)
Tell me. What is rocking YOUR 5-senses this week? Let me know in the comments.