Eating with the Seasons, Winter Foods

The colder months of winter necessitate heavier, more nutrient dense meals. This is the time of year when we use all the wonderful foods we were able to freeze, dehydrate, and ferment. Proteins, grains, casseroles, soups and stews will provide the reserves your body needs to stay warm this time of year.

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Root vegetables keep very well. These can continue to be dug out of your garden until the ground freezes. These include:

Carrots which of course are known for providing beta carotene an A vitamin. They provide 428% of your recommended daily value in fact. They are also high in pectin, so like apples they’re great food for your microbiome.

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Potatoes can be used to treat hyperacidity in the stomach. This is due to the starch and mucilaginous polysaccharides. They are very high in vitamins C, B6, niacin, folate, and potassium.

Many greens continue to grow past the first frost. It takes a little extra work to cover them, but if you have a garden you can continue to harvest some leafy greens like swiss chard, spinach, and kale well into December in the Northeastern US. These provide an abundance of vitamins A, C, and K.

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You can consider adding sprouts to your diet once the ground has frozen solid. These can be kept on your kitchen counter, so you can remember to rinse them daily. They come in a wide variety that include alfalfa, radish, lentil, clover, broccoli, and buckwheat. These are extremely nutrient dense providing minerals and vitamins and bioflavonoids.

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Fermented foods make an excellent addition to your winter diet. As you begin eating heavier foods, the micro-organisms in fermented foods can help with the digestion of these meals.

Most people gain a few pounds during the winter months. This is why switching to a lighter diet during the warm months is important. Without this transition the winter pounds will add up year after year. Seasonal eating provides the balance to keep your body healthy regardless of the season.

Eating with the Seasons, Foods Found in Autumn

During Autumn your body begins to require warming foods. Nourishing soups and stews help to fortify and prepare you for the colder months ahead. Combining healthy proteins with root vegetables will provide substantial food sources for the shorter days of autumn.

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Tomatoes, which are still available into autumn, can be cooked into soups and stews at this time of year. Cooking reduces the vitamin C content and the enzymes that are in all raw food, but it also makes the lycopene more readily available for your body to absorb. This is a good time to cook the last of the available tomatoes into a sauce and freeze it in smaller containers for use all winter long.

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Corn has a beneficial effect on the urinary tract. It’s anti-inflammatory and a mild diuretic. Corn is a good source of manganese, a mineral involved in many chemical processes in the body, including the processing of carbohydrates, cholesterol and protein. It might also be involved in bone formation. It too freezes well, just cut the corn off the cob and enjoy it well into the winter months.

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Beets are one of my favorite vegetables. They are extremely versatile and can be used in soups, salads, fermented drinks, and even in desserts. Beets do a great job of supporting the liver. Beets are both hepatic and hepatoprotective. Beets promote regeneration of liver cells, and they are considered detoxifying.

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Onions are anti-bacterial, anti-inflammatory, anti-fungal, antioxidant, and even wound healing. Onions can be used both internally and externally. If you ever get a bee sting, slice an onion and place it on the sting. It will relieve both the pain and the swelling. Onions also make everything taste a little better, whether eaten raw or cooked, they are a good addition to any meal.

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Apples are not only delicious in a pie, but they are an astringent, antibacterial, antidiarrheal, and they even help to normalize the flora in your microbiome. Apples also keep fairly well. You can find them well into autumn. They are low in calories, with one cup yielding just 69 calories.

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