Nourishment Through Warmth
Ooh can you tell that winter is officially here? The weather is cooler, the days are shorter, thicker jumpers and extra blankets are out, and kettles are getting used a lot more! As we enter into the coldest months of the year, there’s a little something I want to talk to you about, and that’s how to support and nourish yourself through warmth and food. (P.S. when I say warmth, I’m not simply referring to temperature, but I’ll go into this more below...along with some delicious recipe ideas!).
With the cooler weather, taking a warming approach to food helps to provide your body with the nourishment and support it needs to rest, refuel and aid your overall vitality. In fact, some of the most ancient cultures and medicine systems in the world – Ayurvedic medicine, traditional Chinese medicine and Western herbal medicine – all reflect these beliefs through concepts like your ‘digestive fire’.
As I said above, this is especially relevant as we enter into winter, when everything is cooler and our bodies need extra support to stay warm and conserve energy. Do you notice how, in the colder months, you naturally crave more things like soups, curries, spices and teas? That’s your body naturally trying to warm up (from the inside out), support itself and conserve energy! However, taking a warm approach to food isn't just relevant during winter. It can be incredibly nourishing and beneficial at all times of the year. This approach can also be especially beneficial to certain health concerns, including specific conditions related to digestive health and fatigue (if you'd like to know more about this, please feel free to reach out and ask me). As always, however, remember that we’re all different and forever changing - tune in to your body and listen to what feels best for you at any given time.
So, here's how to nourish yourself through warmth and food (along with some warming recipe ideas) !
Think about Temperatures
Your body needs to heat food to a certain temperature in order break it down and digest it. By eating warm food, part of the work is already done, meaning your body can more easily extract nutrients from the food as well as focus more other tasks, like producing energy and healing. Apply the same idea to drinks – enjoy lovely warm teas, and if possible opt for slightly warm (or room temperature) drinking water rather than iced.
Love your Spices
Warming spices are another great way to add warmth. They stimulate blood flow to your digestive organs and have many therapeutic benefits – ginger for nausea, turmeric for inflammation and pepper for nutrient absorption just to name a few. Warming spices include the likes of ginger, chilli black pepper, cumin, coriander, turmeric, cinnamon, nutmeg, cardamom and cloves.
Embrace Cooked Foods
Opt for cooked rather than raw food. Cooked food is much easier to break down, is gentler on your digestion and helps conserve energy. ‘Low and slow’ cooking methods are preferred over ‘high and quick’ as they help retain nutrient content and are again more gentle on digestion. This refers to lower temperatures and slower cooking times (like roasting, steaming, using a slow cooker and poaching) as opposed to methods that use high temperatures.
Fun fact – energetically speaking, root vegetables are especially beneficial as they’re grounding and provide extra nourishment. Embrace root veggies by roasting them or adding them to soups, stews and other slow cooked meals.
Extra Tips
- Meal prep with root veggies. Roast a big tray of root veggies on the weekend and use them as easy additions to meals throughout the week; or cook a big pot of soup or stew using root veggies for easy lunch or dinner. Think the likes of pumpkin, potato, sweet potato, beetroot, carrot, turnips and parsnips.
- Add warming spices to anything you cook. Stir ginger into soups, mix cinnamon into porridge, add turmeric and pepper to scrambled eggs, roast vegetables with cumin and coriander, marinate proteins in paprika and chilli.
- Take your breakfast / lunch to work or uni in a thermos to keep it warm (they’re readily available to buy at various health food stores, bulk food stores, online and even some supermarkets).
Looking for some recipe inspiration? Here are some of my favourite warming recipes!
