12 Warming Foods for Winter with Recipe

Keeping warm in lower temperatures is one of my top priorities and I’m always dreaming of a never ending summer. It’s been really cold in London these past few days and if you’ve been around or you’re somewhere with low temperatures you know what I’m talking about. And there’s still an Arctic cold wave to come this week! Brrrrrr!

That’s why I wanted to share with you a list of warming foods that you can introduce in your diet to help your body cope with low temperatures. Plus, there’s a new class in town! Read On…

If we look closely at ancient traditions, we see that people used different foods according to seasons and availability. In Traditional Chinese Medicine and Ayurvedic Medicine some foods have warming properties, some are neutral and some are cooling. The temperature at which you serve these foods, and the method you prepare them will affect their qualities as well. We will focus on warming foods today.

I always recommend you having your juices and smoothies at room temperature or slightly warm to make them easier to digest, even your salad. They would still be raw and preserve their enzymes, but they will bring warming energy in your gut and be digested easier. And that’s what we’re aiming at!

Here are my Top 12 Warming Foods to cook with:

1. Oats

2. Millet

3. Black beans

4. Coconut Flakes

5. Sunflower seeds

6. Walnuts

7. Cabbage

8. Kale

9. Onion family (chives, garlic, leek, onion, scallions)

10. Parsley

11. Squash

12. Parsnip

Stewing, steaming and roasting are my favourite and least invasive methods of cooking.

Batch preparing these is also time and money saving. Plus, food tastes better if it’s made in bigger batches as everything releases flavour and that ends up retained in the dish. If you’re generally a cold person, i.e. your hands are always cold, or you need to layer up all the time, it’s time to up the warming foods and drinks.

Tip: Freshly sliced ginger tea with cloves and a squeeze of lemon is a quick way to warm up.

And to use some of the foods above, I have a divine stew recipe for you below.

Stews, alongside porridge, warming salads, sprouts, sauerkraut and healing soups are a staple of my winter diet. See, it doesn’t have to be all raw. Listen to your body and see what it asks for.

Until next time keep warm and loving!

Much love,
Denisa xxo

Warming Winter Stew

Makes 2 portions

Ingredients:

1/2 onion
2 cloves garlic
1 inch knob ginger
2 cups cooked black/adzuki beans(or canned)
1 small red chilli *if you can tolerate spicy food*
2 handfuls kale
1/2 head broccoli
1 small beet
1 handful peas

Spices:

1 tsp paprika
1 tsp salt
1 tsp caraway seeds
1 tsp masala spice
1 spoon coconut oil
1 squeeze lemon
1/2 cinnamon stick

How To:

1. Heat a pan on medium and add the coconut oil. *The best heat retention and slow cooking ones are cast iron*
2. Add the garlic, onion and ginger and saute in coconut oil for 2-3 minutes on low. You can avoid the oil and just use water if you wan to keep it down.
3. Add a 200ml of water and add the chopped kale, broccoli, and beet and simmer under a lid for 10 minutes.
4. Add the cooked beans and spices (paprika, masala, caraway, salt) and 1/2 cup water and let them simmer for 5-10 minutes, until the broccoli is tender. Set aside.
5. Serve with fermented foods, such as kimchi or sauerkraut.