WINTER WARMERS

Yes, it is confirmed, winter is with us, and all of a sudden you feel like you need that little bit of extra food, and slowly, slowly the kg’s are creeping up again. 

But why is it that this happens EVERY winter?  

Why can’t you just keep on eating those lovely salads and delicious fruit and feel satisfied? Because it is winter, and it seems that in winter we crave a little more nurture to make up for the cold.  So if you try to stick to your normal ‘summer’ menu, you will find yourself searching for more food to ‘fill the gap’. 

So how can we ‘fill the gap’ without gaining unwanted weight?

From a food perspective

Make use of ‘warmer’ foods – the cold foods are just not cutting it right now!

• Have porridge for breakfast instead of the usual cereal with milk or yoghurt – make the porridge interesting e.g. add cinnamon or vanilla essence to your oats porridge or chop in some apple or berries.
• Have stewed fruit for a snack.  Or simply place your apple in the microwave for a couple of minutes.  Makes for a much more nurturing snack than biting into a cold apple! A baked apple stuffed with raisins and served with lite custard is a great snack or winter pudding.
• Instead of yoghurt, heat a mug of milk and add a teaspoon of hot chocolate/milo (or a teaspoon of chi tea if you are feeling decadent) as an excellent nurturing snack.
• Hearty thick soups are fantastic as lunch or supper, or use low calorie vegetable soups to sip on at snack times – they are great as nurture foods as they take longer to eat as well as warm you up!

And remember, because we need more nurture in the winter months, make an added effort to always sit down and enjoy your food.

From a non-food perspective

It is so important to have some nurture occasions and events that DON’T include food.  Make a list of the things that you enjoy and make sure that you have about half an hour (even 5 – 10 minutes can make a difference) to yourself enjoying a nurture treat.  These can be things like walking, gym, reading a book or magazine, taking a bath, starting a hobby.  So make your own list and remember that you deserve some time out where you are number one!

FREE SOUP

Rooibos and Spinach Soup

300g fresh spinach, well rinsed

1 chicken breast

salt and pepper to taste

4 spring onions, chopped

30ml cake flour

4 chicken stock cubes, dissolved in 1 litre hot rooibos tea

100ml plain, fat free yoghurt

Strip the leaves from the hard stalks of the spinach and chop the leaves very finely.  Season chicken with salt and pepper and fry in one of the stock cubes dissolved in a small amount of boiling water until cooked. Remove from saucepan, cube and keep aside. 

Sauté spring onions in a small amount of the above mentioned liquid.  Add spinach and stir-fry for 3 minutes.  Add cake flour and mix well. Add rest of chicken stock slowly while stirring. Bring to boil, reduce heat and simmer for 15minutes.  Add cooked chicken cubes and simmer for further 5 minutes.  

Serve with yoghurt garnish.