The temperature is dropping, or has dropped, and even if you live somewhere where it’s not that dramatic of a drop, the shorter days alone signal the changes winter brings. Your body feels those changes intensely, so just as it’s important to change your wardrobe, it’s key to shift your food choices and ingredients for better health.
Liquid nutrition is a winter power tool as the form makes it easy on your digestion as well as your preparation efforts. So from one pot meals, to soups, to purees, blends, juices, teas and toddies, here’s Better Winterized Liquid Nutrition Simplified (for which I enlisted the help of the amazing Tess Masters (aka The Blender Girl); check out her app and books for great recipes (for you and as gifts) to help you reap the benefits of better health all winter long.
Creamy Cauliflower Soup
There are great reasons we get excited to see cauliflower, pumpkin, parsnip, onions, chive, sweet potato, turnips, broccoli and brussels sprouts on menus, at the farmers markets or in our gardens. They pack nutrients that are key to winter health.
Here is a soup recipe that will make you look like a gourmet chef in less than 30 minutes. Blending in ¼ cup of raw cashews or blanched slivered almonds into vegetable soups will give you an incredible rich and creamy texture and flavor. This tastes like there’s gobs of heavy cream and even the most ardent dairy lovers will never know the difference [1].
Serves: 6 as a starter, 4 as a main.
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 teaspoons chopped garlic (about 2 cloves), plus more to taste
- 2 cups (200g) chopped leeks (white parts only, from 2 or 3 leeks)
- Celtic sea salt
- 1 head cauliflower, chopped
- 7 cups (1.65l) vegetable broth
- 1/4 cup (35g) raw unsalted cashews or 1/4 cup (35g) blanched slivered raw almonds, soaked
- 3 tablespoons chopped chives or a grating of nutmeg (optional; choose one, not both), to garnish
Directions
- In a large saucepan, heat the oil over medium heat and sauté the garlic, leeks, and 1/4 teaspoon of salt for about 3 minutes, until the vegetables are soft.
- Add the cauliflower and sauté for another minute.
- Add the vegetable broth, increase the heat to high, and bring just to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium and simmer for about 30 minutes, until the cauliflower is completely tender. Stir the mix periodically and mash the cauliflower with a wooden spoon.
- Remove the saucepan from the heat and allow the soup to cool slightly; stir in the nuts.
- Pour the soup into your blender in batches and blast on high for 1 to 2 minutes, until smooth and creamy.
- Return the soup to the saucepan and warm it over low heat. Stir in salt to taste.
- To serve, ladle the soup into bowls and garnish with either chopped chives or grated nutmeg.
Chai Tai Smoothie
Warming spices pack in flavor and nutrients which help us to get and stay warm from the inside out. Ginger, cinnamon, star anise, cloves, basil, fennel and spearmint make wonderful warming teas, as well as ingredients in smoothies and soups.
This winter shake is dessert in a glass. The incredible creaminess and blend of warm spices will make you weak in the knees. Spices naturally heat the body and counteract the cooling effect of fruits in the body, so they’re fantastic additions to smoothies to avoid that damp cold feeling that can occur when blending in the colder weather [2].
Serves: 2
Ingredients
- 1 cup (240ml) unsweetened almond milk
- 1 cup (240ml) coconut water
- 1/4 cup (43g) chopped pitted dates
- 1 teaspoon natural vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/8 teaspoon ground cardamom
- Pinch of ground cloves
- Pinch of natural salt
- 2 medium frozen sliced bananas
- 1 cup (125g) ice cubes (optional)
Directions
Throw all of the ingredients into your blender and blast on high for 30 to 60 seconds, until smooth and creamy.
Warm Up Your Morning Routine
Warming grains like oats, quinoa, brown rice, seeds like hemp, sunflower, sesame, nuts like pinenuts, walnuts and cashews as well as fruits like cherry, apple, date and citrus peel are great additions to liquid nutrition to deliver nutrient balance to start your day right.
When we are cold we shiver, but we also contract, as in tighter muscles from head, shoulders, digestive tract, to toes, so bring on Mother Nature’s muscle relaxant, magnesium (cacao, whole grains, greens, seeds) as add-in’s to your liquids.
Likewise, as days shorten and due to the cold we cover up, we miss out on sunlight on our skin so we miss out on vitamin D so choose wild salmon and enjoy cooked mushrooms in soups, congees, and one pot stews (even for breakfast).
We need a strong defense against the dryness and the bacteria that come our way – choose quality unrefined coconut oil to consume and apply to the skin to help maintain skin moisture from the inside and out, as well as chia seeds and okra as they help maintain moisture within the digestive tract and thus, support healthy digestion too.
Have Less, More Often, But Not Before Bed
Your body may already feel overwhelmed just getting its daily tasks done in the winter so don’t add to that list by overwhelming it with too much nutrition work to do at once. Make smaller bowls and mugs and enjoy frequent pit stops for better nutrition all day long, but because the days are shorter make sure to adjust dinner and “last call” for sips so that you aren’t giving your body too much to do long after the sun goes down.
Reference
- Creamy Cauliflower Soup – My Most Requested Recipe
- Chai Tai Smoothie from The Blender Girl Smoothies app