Best Foods to eat in winter
November usually marks the start of cold weather for the year, and is really the energetic start of winter. It’s time to adapt our eating to the season and stay in harmony with nature and the seasonal shift to winter foods. What are the best foods to eat in winter?
The foods that ripen in winter tend to be dense, heavy and nourishing. We get root vegetables in season now, including potatoes, sweet potatoes and onions. Veggies like broccoli, cauliflower and cabbage ripen in winter. They tend to be more dense and fibrous than their summer green leafy cousins.
And maybe most dense of all, we get the hard winter squashes, like acorn, butternut, kabocha, pumpkins, spaghetti squash, etc.
Is it soup yet?
Is it sounding like stew yet? It should be. The dense winter foods take longer to cook, and that’s entirely appropriate for the colder winter weather. The best cooking methods for winter are the slower, longer types, like baking, roasting and slow cooking methods like soups and stews. It helps to break down the dense fibrous foods and helps warm our bodies in the cold season.
The fruits coming in season now are also dense, like apples, pears, persimmons, and soon, citrus. Like the winter veggies, they also tend to be less sweet and more fibrous than the summer fruits.
We can see that the consistent message from Mother Nature is dense, fibrous, nourishing foods. And that’s our big clue for the season.
Like the trees that lose their leaves in winter, the energy goes deep into the earth to hibernate, rest and recharge for the more active times of spring and summer. For good health, we should also rest more, nourish ourselves (body, mind and spirit) and “recharge our batteries”.
That doesn’t mean to eat more food. It means to eat the right kinds of foods, like the ones just mentioned.
It can also be dry in winter, and heating tends to dry out the air more. If you’re in Southern California, like I am, we’re having a very dry spell right now. It’s 8% humidity as I write this!!! That’s the lowest I’ve seen here. It feels like the Arizona desert. Despite drinking lots of water today, I still feel dried out. No wonder!
Pay attention to the humidity. If you’ve got a lot of static electricity, that’s usually a sign of dry air. Make sure you’re drinking enough water.Usually about 1-2 quarts/liters per day is about right. If you’re exercising and sweating, or it’s very dry, you may need to drink a bit more.
Soups and stews have more water in them, so they help when it’s dry and cold. It’s a great time to bust out the crock pot, roasting pan or soup pot and enjoy winter vegetables.