The winter months are not especially conducive to healthy eating. During summer, my cravings usually lend more towards salads and fruit smoothies. But when it's cold out, all I want is noodle soup, baked goodies, and hot chocolate.
The problem lies in breaking old habits. Sure, our dinner vocabulary these days is not limited to meat-and-three-veg, but when one of the kids asks "what's for dinner?", chances are the response will be chicken, lamb, steak, fish, pork or sausages... Risotto or pasta may get a look in, but it would be a rare night when you'd breezily answer cauliflower or eggplant.
A big concern, every time, is the cost of the food you buy. Generally speaking, veggies are cheaper than meats. If you can only afford one, the veggies are your best bet.
Despite the cold weather, there are plenty of options in most super markets. Check to see if there are any farmer's markets open year-round near where you live. From my apartment in Northeast D.C., I have access to Eastern Market's weekend farmer's market as well as the inexpensive grocery store Aldi and therefore, I have no valid excuse to eat unhealthy.
Yanjun of NaturalNews.com said it well in a concise post, "Nine healthy winter foods to include in your diet," on November 8:
Being able to get fresh fruits and vegetables, even in the dead of winter, is a great advantage in today's world. Fresh fruits and vegetables are available year round, and these are the foods that are most likely to ensure health and wellness, as they impart vitamins, minerals and other beneficial substances to the body.
The nine foods that Yanjun thought important enough to base the post on are: Brussels sprouts, leeks, beets, kale, pomegranate, kiwifruit, persimmon, guava and pomelo.
One important addition to this list that I (and Kerri-Ann Jennings, M.S., R.D., Associate Nutrition Editor of EatingWell Magazing) would make is all things citrus:
Citrus fruits, including lemons, limes, oranges and grapefruit are at their juiciest in the wintertime and can add sunshine to the dreary winter. Citrus fruits are loaded with vitamin C--one medium orange delivers more than 100 percent of your daily dose (from the article "5 of the Healthiest Winter Foods").
This is precisely the time when your body needs as many vitamins and nutrients as it can get to fight off those inevitable bugs that spread like a winter wildfire.
Soups are a fantastic go-to in the winter. They are warm, comforting, filling, simple enough to prepare and just perfect for those chilly days. A variety of recipes will clear out all those unwanted or old (but not yet rotten) veggies in the bottom of your fridge.
Don't neglect good health simply because it seems so much more fitting to bake cookies. You and I both can begin winter healthy, happy and satisfied--and sustain that through the months ahead.
Not the pie, baked to sugary perfection and topped with marshmallows around the Holidays. As good as those taste, they won't do much for your health. Sweet potatoes, in and of themselves, taste fantastic and add some incredible nutrients to your body.
In a time pinch, I bake my sweet potato in the microwave for a few minutes (depending on how big it is), top it with ground cinnamon (also great for your regulating your blood sugar), and enjoy it by itself or on the side of a protein source.
Sweet potatoes are high in fiber, filling you up and giving you sustained energy through the day. They contain magnesium to relax you, and potassium to reduce swelling. You can get iron and many essential vitamins like B6, C and D. On top of that, they might even prevent cancers from taking up residence in your body. The health benefits are seemingly endless!
By no means a boring vegetable, the sweet potato can be consumed in many forms, including chips (a personal favorite). They can be purchased at some stores, or made at home.
The Greatest wealth is health.
~Virgil
Life expectancy would grow by leaps and bounds if green vegetables smelled as good as bacon.
~Doug Larson
Health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being, and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.
~World Health Organization, 1948
In order to change we must be sick and tired of being sick and tired.
~Author unknown
He who takes medicine and neglects to diet wastes the skill of his doctors.
~Chinese proverb
We drink to one another's health and spoil our own.
~Jerome K. Jerome
A healthy body is the guest-chamber of a soul; a sick, its prison.
~Francis Bacon
The best six doctors anywhere
And no one can deny it
Are sunshine, water, rest, and air
Exercise and diet.
These six will gladly you attend
If only you are willing
Your mind they'll ease
Your will they'll mend
And charge you not a shilling.
~Nursery rhyme quoted by Wayne Fields, What the River Knows, 1990
He's beautiful, he has an amazing voice, and he juices. Ladies and gentlemen, it doesn't get much better than Adam Lambert. But what you or I think about him really doesn't help us get through the ups and downs of life and its inevitable medical problems.
However, juicing does.
It's a popular fad for weight loss. Nowadays, everyone is trying a juice detox. I was so motivated last spring that I invested in a good juicer and went on a 10 day fast. I lost 10 lbs. in that time. It was brutal, but my body felt wonderful.
The truth is, whole body well being is more important than shedding a few pounds for cosmetic reasons. If you clicked on that link to the juicer I bought, you might be thinking what I was initially thinking--this thing is too expensive and I just don't have the money for that. Besides that, fresh produce can get pretty pricey. Understandable. I'm a broke college student. I had to pay off that juicer over several months.
Think of it in this way: you also can't afford medical issues that will lead to hospital bills and medications. This is especially true if you lack adequate health insurance.
One mother told the story about her three-year-old daughter Desiree who was so plagued by her asthma that she was hospitalized regularly even while taking prescribed steroids, medications, and a rescue inhaler daily. These medical treatments did nothing to cure this little girl--they may have even made her worse. Natural News reported:
Fortunately, Desiree's family was able to find comfort through a lung specialist willing to listen to their story and, more importantly, who was open-minded about introducing their daughter to a raw food diet. Desiree went 100% raw and began juicing. Her mother says, "[F]rom day one, she has not had another asthma attack. She has not had another seizure.... She's had no asthma-related problems since then."
The up-front costs of juicing are comparable to purchasing health insurance which can prevent your body from developing ailments and potentially cure it of existing ailments.
My own father, who has been overweight for my whole life, lost more than 50 lbs. (from 420 lbs. to 370 lbs.) in about three months through a combination of juicing and eating healthy solid meals. He did it because he had to--an infection in his leg, exasperated by his weight, made him nearly bedridden and racked up the bills for a week's stay in the hospital. He couldn't afford to repeat that mistake, took his health seriously and is still losing weight and becoming healthier by the day.
Most of the nutrients for fruits and vegetables are found in its juice, so you aren't losing much by getting rid of the fibrous pulp. Taking in the nutrients in a mostly juice form makes digestion much easier on your body and gets those cleansing agents where they need to be in half the time. Manuel Apreku, author of a natural home remedy blog, said:
Let me remind you first that, nutrient from fresh juice is quicker to be absorbed by your body than eating fruits and vegetables. Fresh juice contains an abundance of nutrients that will help you fight disease, build your health and energize your body...vitamins, minerals, soluble fiber and carbohydrates.
Allow me to reiterate, juicing is not easy. Most of our bodies are so addicted to sugar and fast food, that juicing for a week might feel (on a smaller scale) like detoxing from a drug addiction. The juice cleans out all the toxins--a potentially unpleasant process. However, that process is worth it if it also cleans out any of these ailments that you suffer from.
Sometimes a pure fruit and vegetable juice fast is more than a body can handle, said Lori Corbin, in an ABC7 article, "Juicing responsibly; Diet, cleanse with energy."
But there is a way to juice responsibly so you can perform everyday tasks like taking a test, attending social events, and yes, exercising. For instance, try blending juice with extras. "You need a little more than the vegetables, so put a scoop of whey protein in there, put a scoop of almond butter in there," said [Ky] Evans.
So use some discernment, don't overdo it, but definitely don't be too afraid to try it. As a college student, it's hard to find the time and motivation to juice. For this semester in D.C., I had to leave my precious juicer in California with my family because it wouldn't fit in my suitcase. I can't wait to use it when I go home for Christmas break. Experiment with recipes to fight particular ailments or for your favorite fruits and vegetables.
Happy juicing! And happy healthy living!
