how do you eat healthy in the winter?

[Bekka]

We are making an effort to eat healthy food in the winter too, but the stirfry I made the other day tasted awful, but the same stirfry in Aug. or Sept. or even May tasted fine!

We try to eat green things, but the taste is all gone for the winter. How do you eat a balanced diet in the winter? Potatoes and carrots are great, but they're not complete! We do our own sprouts, but do you have to eat sprouts (lentil and mung) on EVERYTHING?

Suggestions, please!

[bebe luna]

I try to "eat w/ the seasons" as much as possible. Such as:
More fresh fruit and salads in the summer... lots of pumpkin and squash in the fall... lots of soups and stews and roots in the winter. I also avoid eating many "cold" foods in the winter. Like iced foods, raw vegis and fruits, cold drinks. Instead I eat dried fruits, steamed or baked vegis,stewed apples and pears, lots of whole grains. I love soups and stews. Theycapture the essence and nutrients of all that you put in them. Plus they are warm, easy to digest, and the salt is better for you in the winter. We also drink a lot more tea in the winter- herbal teas, spiced chai, green tea, chicory w/ a little rice milk and sweetener.
I think a key to eating healthy w/ the seasons is- lighter, cooler foods in the summer, and warmer, heartier foods in the winter. and buy produce that is in season locally. I avoid eating tropical fruits in the winter and also I eat very little of foods like cucumbers, melons, lettuce, etc. in the winter here... and also in the summer I don't eat many yams or hearty stews.
Any book or cookbook about Macrobiotics talks about and features examples and recipes for eating w/ the seasons, as does books on Chinese Dietary Therapy and most Ayurvedic cookbooks.

[yogamama]

I eat frozen veggies, nuked in the microwave. Not the best, but easy...

I also make fruit smoothies, although I agree that that goes against eating with the seasons and it's weird to eat a cold smoothie on a cold morning.

I buy sweet potatoes and other hearty root veggies, but then I'm not too good at actually cooking them and eating them.

:
Kathleen

[leafylady]

I like cooked winter greens like kale and chard. Last week's recipe for Peggy's spicy winter greens was pretty good.

Broccoli is a cold weather crop, so usually tastes good throughout the winter, especially the organic stuff. I add broccoli to cheesy entrees, like mac 'n' cheese, casserole type dishes. Frozen vegetables are better if you can incorporate them in some saucy dish, like frozen peas in fettucine alfredo, or frozen corn in a chowder. Again, I like the frozen organic veggies better. We get a brand called Sno-Pac around here that's just fantastic.

[leafylady]

I thought of another way that I add the winter leafy greens.
I make eggrolls with shredded cabbage, shredded kale, shredded chard, and even shredded broccoli stems, leftover chicken (optional), and one or two spoonfuls of a bottled organic Chinese sauce (like plum sauce). I roll the mix up in egg roll wrappers, brush them with oil, and bake them in the oven at 400 or 425, turning them when they turn golden brown and slightly bubbly looking.
You could fry them, but that's too much work and messy for me.
The winter greens cook while it's in the oven, so it's really an easy dish to make and only uses about 2 dishes.
You can make these even easier if you buy the prepackaged cabbage cole slaw mix or the prepackaged broccoli cole slaw mix and add in your own kale or chard. I can't find the prepackaged bags organic, but they sure are great in a hurry, without being processed foods.

[PM]

I am the "Soup Queen" during the winter. We have soup almost every night, so I'm making it about every 2-3 days. I make all sorts with the veggies available during the winter. I think a bowl full of soup (last night we had leek-carrot-turnip-potato-onion-garlic soup) some good bread (maybe with whatever you use to sub for butter), a glass of red wine and some fruit for dinner is an excellent meal!

How about Italian "pasta e fagioli" (beans and pasta soup)? Mine has beans, tomatoes, onions, spinach and pasta. That's a nice balanced meal, I think, with all the things I mentioned above.

I also make "ratatouille" a southern French dish. It has eggplant, bell peppers, zucchini, tomatoes, potatoes, onions.

Cabbage! Red and green. I made a Russian casserole the other night with onions, bell peppers, both kinds of cabbage plus sauerkraut (!), carrots, potatoes and polish sausage (well I subbed French sausage from the Alps).

Baked sweet potatoes? Sweet potato burritos?

I love winter food! I actually don't like summer food very much. When I was pregnant I couldn't eat ANYTHING cold, including salad.

[wings62]

leafylady

Your suggestion about the eggrolls with kale or chard sounds great. I don't make them often because I hate to fry them, but will try your suggestion.

[Elismama]

My husband makes a delicious pot pie filled with winter veges. Make a stew: we use carrots, celery, green beans, potatoes and sweet potatoes, broccoli, etc and tofu. Thicken a little with flour or tapioca flour. Then, mix up whole wheat biscuit dough and spoon it on top- and bake until golden and bubbly. I requested this every week while I was pregnant.

Also- I'm a recent convert to broccoli rabe. I love kale and collards but get a little tired of them. Broccoli rabe is a mild and tasty green to use in place of the others.

[bebe luna]

Hey leaflady-
I just wanted to say thanks for the eggroll idea! I made a version of them tonight... and they were so yummie! dh and ds both loved them.
I used shredded red cabbage and bok choy, shredded carrots, chard, & ginger- lightly sauteed it all so it softened a bit. Added some cilantro, Chinese 5 spice powder, bits of baked tofu, and a little tamari... baked them like you said and then dipped in peanut sauce and light plum sauce.
I will be making these more often! Thank you!

[DebraBaker]

I'm also the soup and stew lady in winter (agree with the eating in season ideas)

I'll also make a baked pasta dish with all the nice veggies baked in with a bit of cheese sprinkeld on top (not too much dairy)

Nice pizzas are good, too (nice doughey calazones and deep dish pizza with loads of veggies on top)

Try baking potatoes and stuffing them with brocolli. (my daughter's favorite and always her choice for her birthday dinner :9)

Hope I helped a bit (those eggrolls sound good but naughtey LOL)

db