Winter is everybody’s favourite. And why not? The weather becomes drop dead gorgeous, the skies get clearer and a cool breeze is just waiting round the corner to sweep you off of your feet. Not to forget all the boots, jackets and sweatshirts that mother brings out of the cupboard to be swanked all season.
But coming to that, there is another topic that mother brings up when we wait to jostle up the weather. With the wintry chills, scarfing up does not always save you from the freeze. So, how does one deal with these chills the motherly way?
Nature happens to be our second mother, and has a set of spices that miraculously help us to keep warm and fight the weather hindrances from inside. Its bag of spices, if and when added to our daily meals help us hustle the weather.
These natural ingredients are found in abundance not only in natural pathways but in mother’s kitchen as well.
Ginger
Little pieces of ginger when added to our daily meals especially during winters help us battle the wintry woes much better. It not only helps us stay warm but does wonders to our digestive and immune system as well.
Add this in plenty in your day to day meals and feel your body adding that extra heat in your veins to help you wear that sleeveless top with ease.
Coconut Oil
Not added to food but applied to our skin along with mashed turmeric and garlic, not just reminds us of our mothers’ protectiveness back home but also keeps your skin moisturized and glowing in this chilly weather. It kicks out dry skin and helps you retain body temperature.
Potatoes
Potatoes are whole food that contains several beneficial nutrients. They are a superb source of two immunity boosters—vitamins C and B6, delivering 26% and 28% of your daily needs per medium potato, respectively. They are also an excellent source of folate, which is especially important for women of childbearing age, and they deliver fibre (4.2 grams in a medium potato; women need 24 grams daily and men need 40 grams). If you can find purple potatoes, you’ll get an added health boon—they are also highly rich in anthocyanins—antioxidants that are linked to a host of health benefits.
Whole Grains
The myth of whole grains like brown rice and oat meals being just breakfast food is broken. Oat meals not only help you have a proper nutrition but also help you battle the weather with finesse. Boiled or fried, it adds only goodness to your meal and keeps you warm from the inside. It adds complex carbohydrates to our bodies to fuel it from inside.
Cinnamon and other spices
These spices are nature’s secret ingredients that make our foods extra delicious. But did you know, post consuming they work extra hours to keep your body immunized to external wintry chills and help you battle your woes. Cayenne, Cinnamon, Paprika and many more, add heat not to your swag but your body for sure!
Hot Soups
Hot Soups always do the trick during the time of winters. But timing matters too. A hot bowl of soup with some extra hot chillies and some soya splash in the evening makes your tiring day end well and also charges you up before you head out for the night. They not only help metabolism but also keep your insides warm and winter ready.
Dark Leafy Greens
Dark leafy greens, such as kale (gobhee), Spinach and collards, are highly rich in Vitamin A, C and K. Moreover, in winter season a frost can take away the bitterness of kale. Collards, mustard greens and escarole are even high sources of folate, important for women of childbearing age.
Citrus Fruits
Citrus fruits, including lemons, limes, oranges and grapefruit, are at their juiciest in this time and can help tackle the dreary winter. Citrus fruits contain high volume of vitamin C—one orange provides more than 100 percent of our required daily dose. Citrus fruits are also rich sources of flavonoids. The flavonoid in these fruits—hesperidin— boosts “good” HDL cholesterol and lowers “bad” LDL cholesterol.
When all is said and done, add these little miracles to your daily food and see the magic armour form on your body! So, head out and win the war with winter.