Warm food

How and what to eat for the changing seasons.

Autumn is in full swing now and just like our wardrobe selection changes for the weather, so too must our diet. Why? Because our bodies need to change throughout the seasons, so eating a salad or cold smoothie this time of year is the equivalent to wearing a bikini in the middle of winter. Cold foods this time of year leave us feeling colder internally and making us more prone to immune and digestive concerns.

You can assess this yourself as the weather cools:
Do you feel better for warmer dishes this time of year?
Are you feeling heavy and sluggish after eating?
Are you getting enough nutrients in your meals for you to thrive?
Are you eating foods that are fresh and in season?

Raw food such as salads are tougher for our digestive system to break down, and just like us heading into hibernation, we need to provide the warmth and fire for our digestion to be optimal throughout winter. So what should you eat as the seasons change and the weather begins to cool?

We have listed here a “perfect” meal plan:   

• Breakfast - a warm porridge of oats, plant-based milk, topped with some stewed or grated apple, cinnamon and grated ginger with some nuts or seeds on top.
• Lunch - combine a root vegetable such as parsnip, with a form of whole grain like quinoa or brown rice with some legumes or animal protein and a side of leafy green veggies to make a macro bowl.
• Dinner - prepare a warming soup full of veggies and a protein source (plant based or animal protein) or steam or bake a fish fillet and serve with a form of whole grain and mixture of steamed vegetables.
• Snacks may be a turmeric latte, small serving of soup or some nuts and seeds.

Now life is not always perfect, so the aim here is to incorporate some warming or cooked foods into each dish rather than having everything raw.

Warming foods include:
Spices such as cinnamon, chilli, turmeric, ginger.
Soups or stews that have been slow cooked (either on the stove or in the slow cooker)
Root vegetables such as parsnips, onions, sweet potato, turnips, beetroot, fennel, carrots etc. These can be batch cooked and reheated throughout the week
Whole grains such as oats, barley, millet, amaranth and rice
Stewed fruit such as apples or pears.