Life with Winter Foods

Life with Winter Foods, is about so much more than just food, but a little different from Fall Foods. Gone are the days of gathering the last bit of Fall produce and the weather is bleak.

Winter Foods are About:

• Embracing healthy diet habits to counter the holiday eating and the few pounds that slipped on.

• Finding comfort in healthy foods, rather than holiday sweets and treats.

• Becoming a soup, stir fry, and Crockpot expert, and understanding how to put together basic recipes from your cupboard or freezer, rather than relying on a recipe.

• Being creative with winter produce that might seem limited. (See my Produce page for a list of the seasonal produce)
  

• Making do with frozen vegetables and knowing what works and what is just gross.

• Getting your kitchen organized. Clean out your pantry, refrigerator, and freezer. Check those expiration dates and purge old foods that will never be used. You might be surprised at expiration dates.

• Weight control. Dark, cold winter days make exercise difficult, especially if you do not have a gym membership or piece of home equipment. Get creative and join a dance class, walk in your mall, or grab those moments when the weather is better to get out and move. A WiFit for home is a great option!
  

• Developing great shopping habits and not purchasing the sweets or salty snacks that you love. Remember that spring and summer clothing is right around the corner and the extra few pounds will be seen. Trade shopping with a friend, if you can’t avoid the treats. Your friends won’t sneak in your salty treats.

• Shopping at better stores and making it a goal to eat foods that contain no chemicals. Try making all of your food from scratch. The weather allows time to develop this habit! By summer you will have scratch cooking down!

Life with Winter Foods is also about:

• Keeping warm and cheerful and understanding Comfort Foods. Learn to find comfort from other things besides food. Enjoy food and find friends or activities that bring comfort.

• Choosing healthy snack foods and developing a personal snack food list that will satisfy you.

• Filling your home with wonderful smells of winter foods like simmering soups and Crockpot meals.

• Healthy Soup Recipes

• Understanding Winter Weight Gain and Winter Weight Loss.

• Ditching the Diet Mentality and not buying the newest, latest, greatest, diet book.

• Understanding Women’s Diet Mistakes and how you can make changes.

• Developing simple and doable Diet Goals

• Keeping Mindless Eating under control and developing an awareness of how much you really eat

• Beans, and learning how to cook them from scratch rather than buying canned goods. This will save you money.

• Keeping carbohydrates under control. Your goal should be to eliminate most processed carbohydrates and develop a love of whole grains. There are many wonderful new whole grain blends to try.

• Loving Leftovers or Re-purposed Meals. Leftover lunches will save calories, money and promote health, rather than the fast food regime.

• Getting your thoughts under control. This is a great time to read “The Beck Diet Solution” and “Weight Loss Workbook”. So much of weight control is about thinking correctly. Reading a good health related book is a worthwhile time sink.

• Christmas, New Year’s Day, Super Bowl Sunday, Valentine’s Day, and St. Patrick’s Day (See my new Holidays and Observances website that I'm doing with my sister, for more detailed Holiday information!)
  

• New Year’s Resolutions

• Winter Weight Loss Tips

• Winter Vegetables: Cauliflower, Broccoli, Broccoli Rabe, Brussels Sprouts, Fennel, Cabbage, Carrots, Celery, Kale, Leeks, Onions, Parsnips, Potatoes, Radicchio, Radishes, Rutabagas, Shallots, Sweet Potatoes, Snow Peas, Artichokes, Turnips, and Winter Squash

• Roasted Root Vegetables

• Apples, Apples and Apples

• Meatless Monday

• Winter Stir fries

Check out my Brussels Sprout Salad Recipe!

As the seasons change, the way life is done, changes too. Seasonal fruits and vegetables come and go. Winter foods like soups, replace salads. Crockpot meals just sound better than an outdoor grilled meal. The more you can cook and eat seasonally, the easier it will be to keep your budget and weight under control.

Now is the time to take stock of the things that can cause your weight to inch up. Make the changes, become a learner, and permanently change your unhealthy diet habits. Health is about developing healthy diet habits, rather than a phase of deprivation, starvation, and misery. It’s about learning ways to cheat and eat what you love, without gaining weight. Don’t cave and buy the latest, greatest, new diet book out there. Learn to fill your plate half full of seasonal produce, one simple change, and you might be surprised at how easy weight control becomes!