Looking for the best winter foods and recipes?

Quick overview 

• It’s important to include good sources of proteins, healthy fats, complex carbohydrates and fruit and vegetables in your diet over the winter
• According to traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), warming meals support your digestion, immune health, and overall wellbeing in the cooler months
• With some simple planning and preparation, strategies like slow cooking and making bigger batches can make winter meals both easy and nutritious

It’s natural to feel drawn to rich, comforting and filling foods during winter, but that doesn’t mean you can’t eat healthily. With a little preparation, you can keep your belly satisfied and your health on track. Read on for nourishing foods to eat in winter, some of the best winter recipes, and preparation tips to make your mealtimes super easy.

The best foods to eat in winter

It’s important to include good sources of proteins, healthy fats, complex carbohydrates and fruit and vegetables in your diet year-round. Being extra thoughtful with what you include in your winter recipes can have some extra benefits during this chilly season. Check out our picks below for the best foods to eat in winter.

Pick your perfect proteins

Protein is made up of building blocks called amino acids, which provide support for the functioning of immune cells that help ward off winter bugs.[1] Great sources include grass-fed lamb and beef, pasture-raised eggs, chicken or turkey, and oily fish like mackerel, salmon or sardines. Legumes such as lentils, tempeh, cannellini beans, chickpeas and black beans are also excellent sources of plant-based protein and prebiotic fibre.

Fats for winter wellbeing

Dietary fats help with the absorption of fat-soluble vitamins like vitamin A, D, E and K, which support both immune system and overall health, especially in the winter months when you may not get as much vitamin D from the sun as needed.[2] Omega-3 fatty acids (from oily fish, for example) also play a supportive role in immune system function.[3] Look out for oily fish (sardines, salmon and mackerel), butter, ghee, coconut oil, olive oil, avocado oil, cold-pressed flaxseed, hemp seed oil, nuts and seeds.

HOT TIP: Keep flaxseed and hemp seed oils in the fridge and drizzle over vegetables or porridge. While you’re at it, pop some nuts and seeds in your porridge too.

Choose your carbohydrates wisely

Complex carbohydrates provide soluble, insoluble and prebiotic fibres as well as essential minerals. Prebiotic fibre, in particular, is a food source for healthy gut bacteria. Since good gut bacteria is linked to healthy immunity, prebiotics are helpful in supporting healthy immune function.[4] Try to include foods rich in prebiotic fibre like Jerusalem artichokes, leeks, onions, garlic, yams, bananas, plantains. Incorporate healthy complex carbohydrates into your meals such as brown rice, sweet potatoes, sourdough bread, rolled oats, barley and quinoa.

On the other hand, some refined carbohydrates – like those found in white bread, white rice and cake aren’t good dietary choices because they only provide a short burst of energy, compared with complex carbohydrates which release energy slowly throughout the day. Once that short burst of energy is over, refined carbohydrates can leave you wanting to eat more to gain more energy, which in the long term can lead to weight gain.

Fruits and vegetables

Aiming for your 5+ servings a day of fruit and vegetables is always important, but try to focus on eating what’s in season during winter to get the most out of your produce. Eat fruit and vegetables that lend themselves to poaching or slow cooking, such as apples, pears, rhubarb, spinach, pumpkin, tomatoes, peas, Swiss chard, leeks and onions.

Best winter recipes

In Chinese medicine, warming meals support your digestion, immune health and overall wellbeing, they’re also nourishing to the soul. Let food be your medicine for body, mind and spirit with these delicious winter warming recipes and winter dinner ideas: