Winter is a time to smell inside and especially around the savory of a kitchen in full use. Our bodies require certain things from us during the cooler months. They want us to have extra sleep, they want us to rug up and stay inside more, they want us to be gentle with ourselves, and they want us to eat quite differently to other times of the year.
Life is good in the summer when green smoothies and raw salads are popping up out of the ground in great abundance. Raw vegan food diet seems a bit more daunting once those cold winter months set in. Eating lots of raw vegan foods will also keep your immune system thriving during cold and flu season when friends and family are sniffling the days away.
Body temperature drops due to the cold weather and your body have to spend more energy to warm it so your appetite rises. You may lose energy rapidly when you do physical activities. Frequent hunger pangs in winter are natural, but what is important is to keep a tab on what you eat and how much, else, it can create problems with digestion, as digestion generally, slows down in winters.
Top foods to eat in winters
Pomegranate in winter to be healthy
Pomegranate is best and is tasted in the form of popular juice. This is a heart health perspective that’s probably a good thing. The pomegranate juice is rich in antioxidant, with a cup of daily might that helps to keep free radicals from oxidizing LDL cholesterol. Thus, the oxidizing LDL can contribute to plaque buildup in arteries. Drink pomegranate juice might improve blood flow to the heart in people with myocardial ischemia, which is a serious condition in which the heart’s oxygen supply is compromised because the arteries that lead to it are blocked.
Hot soups best winter food
You are back home from outside and very hungry. Soups give you extra energy to push off the blankets and get moving on a chilly day. Simple tomato or chicken, oats, vegetables and mushroom soup will be enough to keep you full until your meal. Soups not only give you nutrients, but are also low in calories unless you put lots of butter and cream to it. They keep your throat infections at bay as well. They are the best nutritious, healthy, energetic and fat-cutting food suited for any day.
Consume cooked foods instead of cold or raw foods
Food must be “burned” in the “fire” of digestion. It’s still important to have some raw in your diet so that your body is receiving fresh, liver enzymes. Cold and raw foods must be “heated up” more than cooked foods and as such they dampen and weaken the fire of digestion. Winter is the month when raw food diets can become tricky. Our bodies naturally crave warm food during winter, and it’s important that we give it to them. You can decrease the ratio of salads and increase the ratio of cooked food.
Dark leafy greens healthy winter food
Dark leafy greens, such as kale, chard and collards, thrive in the chill of winter when the rest of it produce section that looks bleak. A frost takes away with the bitterness of kale. Thus, the greens are particularly rich in Vitamins A, C and K. All the collards, mustard greens and escarole are the best sources of folate that are important for women in childbearing age.
Eat heating foods and spices for good health in winter
The spicy food will not only keep you warm, but will have a healing effect on your overall health. The better producers of heat in the body that are spices like cinnamon, clove, coriander, ginger, garlic, pepper, nutmeg, turmeric, sea, salt and chili. Warm beverages are a great way to satisfy a sweet craving as well as give the body some spice.
Chocolate best winter food to eat
Chocolate keeps you sweet tooth in check, while exploring new combinations, varieties and flavor profiles. Smoked sea salt and toasted almond, extra dark and dotted with cacao nibs. Have one small chunk broken off a bar each winter day or popping one perfect truffle. Never chew just let that puppy melt.
Citrus fruits for good health
Citrus fruits that include lemons, limes, oranges and grapefruit are best in the juiciest with a wintertime and can add sunshine to the dreary winter. The citrus fruits are fully loaded with Vitamin C and is one of the medium orange that can deliver more than 100 percent of your daily dose. Thus, the citrus fruits are rich sources of flavonoids. This can afford at a predominant flavonoid in these fruits that has hesperidin, which can boost you with good HDL cholesterol that can lower bad LDL cholesterol and triglycerides.
Eat simply and chew your food well
Eat simple meals of just two or three different foods that can mix many different types of foods taxed the digestive system. You should chew each mouthful at least 30 times, breaking the food into small particles and allowing the salivary enzymes to begin their work digesting the food.
Eat grounding foods during winter
Your body will feel more supported if you feed it heavier meals that include legumes and beans and grounding foods like root vegetables. It’s no mistake that these are the veggies that are in season during autumn and winter: potatoes, sweet potatoes, carrots, turnips, celery root, pumpkin and beet-root. It’s super important that we eat seasonally, so look for foods grown locally in your area.
Onions are healthiest winter foods
Onions are rich in flavoring anything from soup to grain salads to pasta to meat. Onions are good for health. This helps in unassuming veggies that can low in calories, but can surprisingly high with Vitamin C and fiber. Thus, the onion has lower LDL cholesterol levels and can raise HDL cholesterol. The various types of onions are easily available in the market. The stash onions outside the fridge in a cool, dry place for several months. This is best with a sautéed white onion jazzes up this fig, ricotta and arugula flatbread pizza.
Grains are healthy eating in the winter months
Take some time to try a few new grains during the winter. Add a multitude of fabulous and nutritious grains to my repertoire. Things like wheat berries, faro, buckwheat groats are all staples for breakfast porridge or savory salads at lunch and dinner time. They are a superb source of complex carbohydrates, so they really keep you going and keep you happy.
best healthiest winter foods are dry fruits
Almonds, pistas, raisins, dried anjeer and cashews can be great sources of energy during winters. You can easily find these in Indian markets. They are heavily loaded with vitamins, minerals and can also satisfy hunger for a long period of time. You can carry them while travelling or eat them as a quick snack. You can also drink a hot glass of milk with the powder of all the dry fruits. These will not only warm you up, but will also induce a good sleep. You should remember not to go overboard with dry fruits; else, too much would make them heavy to digest.
Warm beverages to protect during winter
Besides hot chocolate, eggnog, coffee and tea, cocktails made out of whisky, brandy, gin and other beverages are great warmers for cold winter days. Some beverages are taken smoking hot for the feel of warmth, whereas others impart the feel of warmth in the body on consumption. Simmering apple cider with spices like ginger is excellent for all occasions, but more for the cold chilly winter day.
Avoid overeating during winter cold
Excessive intake of food greatly burdens the entire digestive system. The ancient Ayurvedic medicine recommends consuming the amount of food that will fit into two supped hands at any meal. Practice moving away from the table while you are still a bit hungry.
Winter season food items
Along with a pleasant weather, winter welcomes various vegetables and fruits with varied health benefits. But winter is a time of downtime as a result human metabolism slows down. It is important to conserve energy and build strength by consuming the right seasonal food items.
Fruits to be taken in winter
Orange is enriched with vitamin C and is low in calories. Orange is capable of fighting against germs. Biting and chewing an apple stimulates the production of saliva in mouth, reducing tooth decay by lowering the levels of bacteria. It also helps to keep Alzheimer’s away, curbs all sorts of cancers, decreases risk of diabetes, reduces cholesterol, prevents gallstones, neutralizes irritable bowel syndrome, controls weight, detoxifies liver and prevents cataracts. The carrot has a good level of carotene. Carrot is also a good source of Vitamins B, C, D, E and K, as well as calcium pectate.
Fenugreek and mustard leaves in winter
Fenugreek leaves are enriched with vitamins, minerals, fiber and phytonutrients. It can lower cholesterol and help to keep diabetes under check. Mustard leaves are highly nutritious and a good source of several vital antioxidants, vitamin, minerals and carotenes.
