Significant Foods for Winter Season
In order to compensate for the climatic influence and to feel absolutely normal in winter, it is necessary to follow a few simple rules relating to a diet.
#1: Not to starve
The calorie rate of winter food should be higher than in summer. It must be achieved by increasing the consumption of dishes from fish, poultry, meat, i.e. with a high content of “heavy proteins.” Every week you should have veal and chicken meat in your diet, and besides, fish should be taken at least 2-3 times a week. Proteins from meat do not serve as a substitute for lactose protein, so they need to be combined. Choose vegetables definitely for your area and season, as long as they contain a maximum of useful vitamins, minerals and trace elements. In the fall, pumpkins, cabbage, carrots, beets, parsnips, turnips and Jerusalem artichokes are harvested – they, as well as onions, garlic and potatoes, should be used when preparing the vegetable winter menu.
Of course, you cannot do without carbohydrates in the winter. Excluding them from the diet can result in the reduction of the immunity system and the capability to easily “catch” colds viral diseases. Energy-intensive foods, such as bread, cereals are better for intake in the morning, and protein foods – meat or fish with vegetables, as well as dairy products – in the second half of the day.
Features of the winter diet are not deprived of some weight gain. It happens due to the fact that the calorie content of such a menu is higher, and mobility in the cold season is lower. You should not pay great importance to this since seasonal fluctuations within a few kilograms are completely natural In the spring, everything will surely return to normal.
#2: Vitamins
It is necessary to include in your diet rich in vitamins products. The berries, which froze in the summer immediately after harvest, are much more beneficial to hydroponically grown vegetables and berries from the supermarket in winter. Fresh greens are rich in phytoncides that help the body fight infections. So in winter, you should often include parsley, dill, green onions, and various types of salads in the diet. Boiled apples and sauerkraut should also be eaten more often because they contain a lot of vitamin C.
Vitamins A and E should be also included in the list. In winter, they also play a large role, in particular, vitamin E helps protect the skin from weathering and frost. By eating about half a tablespoon of unrefined sunflower oil a day, you can easily avoid a deficiency of this vitamin. The best solution would be to combine this oil with various vitamin salads.
#3: Consume more liquid
Even in winter, you need to drink at least 1.5 liters of liquid, and not less than one liter of pure water. The remaining liquid may be in the form of berry drinks or warm teas. Very useful in the cold season will be orange juice, half diluted with water. It is worth remembering that this juice should be drunk within 5 minutes after been cooked, otherwise most of the vitamin C contained in it will be destroyed by oxygen.
#4: Home-made dishes and drinks
Be sure to eat hot meals or take warm drinks. If you have snacks only, it is advisable to drink food with warm tea. Adding such components as cardamom, ginger, coriander and various types of pepper to hot dishes would be very useful.
#5: Diversity of products
Try to make the menu as diverse as possible. It is advisable to alternate the products daily: make cereals in the morning every day, make fresh juices from various fruits and vegetables, change breads and types of meat dishes. Such a variety of dishes and the fractional principle of eating will give your body enough energy for an active life in the winter season.
And finally, one more piece of advice: since sugar easily excretes vitamins from the body, the winter ration should be based on natural sweeteners – syrups, honey.