French fries and a double cheeseburger? Yes please, any time of year.
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Except that’s not the kind of food you want to eat if you like winter sports or energy to keep you up and running, and spirited when cold. It’s minus degrees all across Canada, and the hottest spot is an average 4 degrees Celsius somewhere in British Columbia. That’s not the best of weather, and if you top low temperatures with cloudy skies, the recipe is anything but upbeat.
Ok, food again. Although you do get plenty of calories with burgers and fries, not to mention a taste to-die-for, and that can be interpreted quite literally if you’ve been in the game long enough, fast-food is short-term satisfaction and nutrition, if nutrition is what you can call a fast-food meal.
This is not a case against fast-food, but just to reinforce the idea that while unhealthy foods may make us momentarily happy, it’s real foods that shape our health.
Here’s how food shapes our daily existence
We need energy to perform daily activities, which we obtain through the foods we consume. Our body converts what we eat into energy and the healthier we eat, the more sustainable the energy.
It’s not enough that we consume food. If we want to thrive, we need to consume healthy food that the body can then break down into essential and long-lasting energy.
Also consider the fact that carbohydrates, proteins and fat, the latter producing twice as much energy as carbs or proteins, are also nutrients relevant for cell growth in the body, relevant in maintaining a healthy body overall. So evidently what we eat has an impact on our wellbeing and various effects on the body both short-term and long-term.
The effects of the food on our body can be positive or negative. The choice is always ours.
What to eat in winter time to perform and thrive
Variety and treating ourselves to cravings is perfectly fine so long as it’s not a habit that becomes a lifestyle because that’s when we start going down the rabbit hole.
If we protect ourselves from the cold wearing warm clothing and accessories, then it’s just as important to help the body stay warm with eating good food. Such as:
- Soups: ginger carrot soup, creamy mushroom soup, cauliflower bisque, white bean soup, creamy vegetable soup, chicken & dumplings soup, chicken noodle soup, Asian vegetable broth, fish soup, classic minestrone.
- Slow cooked stews: lamb stew with root vegetables, beef stew with carrots & potatoes, pea stew with sausage, pork & vegetable stew with noodles, chickpea stew with spinach.
- Warm salads: warm chicken salad with spinach, warm French lentil salad with herbs, warm roasted squash, and lentil salad, classic pasta salad, roasted root vegetables salad, warm lentils salad with goat cheese, warm quinoa salad.
- Warm breakfasts: porridge, grilled cheese sandwiches, oven-baked eggs or oven scrambled eggs with spinach and cheese, English muffin French toast.
Remember that keeping hydrated during the winter months is just as important as in the summer season. Drink plenty of water whether or not you are feeling thirsty.