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Common sense advice on what to eat when it’s cold outside.
Winter can be a tough time to keep motivated to eat well. The colourful, fresh produce available through the summer isn’t available, and the cool temperatures and lower amounts of sunlight can lead to more comfort foods and emotional eating. The good news is there are many ways to jazz up your nutrition plan to beat the winter blahs and feel your best.
Timing of Meals
In the winter when there is less sunlight our serotonin (“feel good” brain chemical) levels may be lower. Eating timely meals is even more important to feel your best. Eat breakfast within about an hour or so of waking. Breakfast is important even if you are not hungry since it sets the stage for the whole day. Choose to eat a meal or snack every three to five hours to keep your energy coasting evenly throughout the day. This means you might eat three, four, five, or six times per day. The more frequently you eat, the smaller the meals. The choice is yours.
Top up Your Vitamin D
Vitamin D is known as the “sunshine vitamin” since we synthesize it in the skin after sun exposure. In Canada, especially in the winter months, it is very difficult to achieve enough vitamin D without some planning. There are only a few food sources that are rich in vitamin D such as fatty fish, milk, eggs, and tofu. Health Canada also suggests that everyone over the age of fifty should take a daily vitamin D supplement of ten milligrams (400 IU). Other health organizations suggest the need for vitamin D may be even greater.
Boost Your Immune System
The single most important way to boost your immune function is to make sure you are getting enough fruits and veggies. Although winter produce may not be as exciting as summer fresh and farmers’ market veggies, there is still nutritious and tasty produce available. Be sure to include the best seasonal winter foods into your diet such as squash, carrots, pears, grapes, yams, sweet potatoes, citrus fruits, and pomegranates. Remember that frozen fruits, frozen vegetables, and dried fruits can make great additions to your winter nutrition plan.
Working with Winter Food Cravings
Cravings magnify when we diet, skip meals, feel depressed, or when we are under stress or are premenstrual. Many people crave carbohydrates (breads, chocolate, sweets, potato chips, etc.) because a carbohydrate-rich meal or snack stimulates the release of the hormone insulin, which lowers blood levels of all amino acids except tryptophan. Tryptophan levels in the brain rise and then tryptophan is converted to serotonin. Serotonin is a neurotransmitter that regulates sleep, reduces pain and appetite, and generally calms you down and improves your mood.
Food cravings are also fuelled by an addiction to pleasure, much like the high experienced after intense exercise. Foods such as sweets that release quick-acting chemicals in the brain called endorphins immediately produce a calming response.
Cravings are also a result of habit. If you condition yourself over time to have a mid-afternoon chocolate bar or can of pop and it makes you feel good, you are likely to have it again. Cravings may also be a result of childhood food associations, memories, cultural beliefs and traditions, and other powerful emotional cues that urge us to eat and crave certain foods. It is also likely that we all inherit a unique balance of appetite control chemicals and unique experiences that shape our food preferences and cravings.
Before giving in to your craving, wait and see if your cravings fade within ten to fifteen minutes. The temptation to give in to a craving becomes less frequent and progressively weaker when you outlast the urge. On the other hand, it is sometimes important to give in to some of your cravings. As soon as you tell yourself you can't eat certain foods, you will crave them all the more. Give yourself flexible eating patterns that allow for some of your favourite treats, while not giving in to all your cravings. Make the decision not to go on a restrictive diet. Instead go for sensible balanced eating that includes all foods.
Braised Honey-Lemon Pork Roast with Prunes
Servings: 4
2 1/2 pounds pork loin roast, boneless
2 tablespoons oil
1 tablespoon butter
2 medium onions, chopped fine
1 cinnamon stick
1 cup chicken stock
1/2 cup water
1 cup prunes, pitted
2 tablespoons honey, mild
2 teaspoons lemon juice, fresh
Pat meat dry. Season all sides with salt and pepper. In a heavy casserole pan, brown the pork over medium-high heat on all sides in the oil and butter. Remove the pork to a plate.
Reduce heat to low, stir in the onions, and cook stirring occasionally, until softened (about five minutes).
Return the pork to the pan and any juices from the plate. Add cinnamon stick, stock, and the water, pushing cinnamon stick into liquid. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer, turning pork over from time to time, for one and a half hours.
Add prunes to the liquid, cover, and cook until meat is very tender when pierced with a knife (meat should register an internal temperature of 150 degrees/66 C) and the prunes are tender. About thirty minutes.
Stir honey into pork cooking liquid and cook uncovered, over low heat, basting pork often, for five minutes. Transfer the meat to a plate with two wooden spoons, leaving as much of the chopped onion as possible in the casserole. Remove prunes to a bowl using a slotted spoon.
Skim as much of the fat as possible from the cooking liquid. Boil liquid over high heat, stirring often, until it thickens (about five minutes). When sauce has thickened, add the lemon juice. Salt and pepper to taste, if needed. Discard the cinnamon stick. Return prunes to casserole. Cool sauce completely. Cool pork roast completely. Remove ties and roast into slices half an inch thick. Layer slices into containers. Pour cooled sauce with prunes over pork slices. Store in refrigerator or freezer.
Rosemary Beef Stew
Servings: 4
3 cups tomatoes, canned, (or fresh)
1/2 teaspoon basil, dried
3/4 cup celery, chopped
1/2 cup parsley, fresh, minced
1/4 teaspoon oregano, dried
1/4 teaspoon thyme, dried
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 teaspoon black pepper, fresh ground
Flour (as needed for dredging)
1 1/2 pounds beef, lean, trimmed, and cubed
1 garlic clove, minced
1/2 cup dry white wine
3/4 cup beef bouillon, (concentrated)
1 teaspoon rosemary, dried, crushed
Combine tomatoes, basil, celery, parsley, oregano, thyme, half of the olive oil, and pepper in a saucepan. Bring to a boil over high heat. Lower heat and cover. Simmer for thirty minutes.
While sauce is cooking, heat remaining olive oil over high heat in a Dutch oven. Dredge beef in flour and add to Dutch oven, and sauté beef until browned (this should be done in two batches). Add garlic and sauté one minute more. Transfer the meat to another dish.
Pour wine into Dutch oven and cook over high heat, stirring and scraping up browned bits, until wine is reduced by half, and then add beef bouillon. Next add meat, rosemary, and vegetable-tomato mixture. Cover and simmer for one and a half hours or until meat is tender. Let cool, place in containers and store in the freezer.
About the Authors
Andrea Holwegner is a professional speaker and president of Health Stand Nutrition Consulting Inc. Visit www.healthstandnutrition.com or call (403) 262-3466 for more information about nutrition coaching, workplace wellness, and conference keynotes.
Joanne Penn provided the recipes courtesy United States Personal Chef Association/Canadian Personal Chef Association. Penn is a personal chef and owner of Pennache, www.pennache.com. |
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