healthy winter Archives

January 20, 2021 By Tooney John Leave a Comment

4 Essential Vitamins That You Should Consume This Winter

While there are numerous reasons to love winter, it comes along with a few downsides. As there is less exposure to sunlight, it may arise out of weather beaten dry skin. Consumption of vitamin rich food or supplements will balance the effects of winter on the body. There are mainly 4 essential vitamins which should be given priority during winter.

4 Essential Vitamins For Winter

1. Vitamin C
During winter, due to the changes in climate, we are more prone to cold and fever. So, eating more Vitamin C rich foods helps you to boost immunity. As it is necessary to maintain good body temperature in winter, the consumption of Vitamin C enriched food will aid in maintaining optimum body temperature. The main Vitamin C rich foods are citrus fruits like oranges, lemon and mosambi. Drinking a glass of lemonade daily will help to boost your immunity level. Apart from citrus fruits, dark green leafy vegetables, tomatoes, pepper, strawberries and amla are also rich in Vitamin C. So, try to add these kinds of fruits and vegetables to your daily diet this season.

2. Vitamin D
It is also known as the ‘Sunshine Vitamin’ as the main source of Vitamin D is sunlight. Therefore, diseases generated due to Vitamin D deficiency are most common during winter due to less exposure to sunlight. The main function of Vitamin D is the calcium regulation in our body, which means Vitamin D is essential for the absorption of calcium in the body. The main sources of Vitamin D are eggs, milk, butter, and cod liver oil. During noontime, try to expose yourself to sunlight for at least 10-15 minutes. The best time for exposure to sunlight is 10am to 3pm. Vitamin D plays an important role in heart health and immunity as well.

3. Vitamin B
Also known as the super vitamins, they maintain cell health and keep you energized. Vitamin B is also called as B complex vitamins as there are various subcategories. The B complex Vitamins are B1- Thiamin, B2 – Riboflavin, B3- Niacin, B5- Pantothenic acid, B6- Pyridoxine, B7- Biotin, B9- folic acid, B12- cobalamin. These eight B complex vitamins differ in benefits. B1-Thiamine enables the body to use carbohydrate metabolism. B2- Riboflavin helps to break down carbohydrates, fats and proteins. B3- Niacin helps increase the HDL cholesterol and lowers the LDL cholesterol. B5- pantothenic acid helps in the formation of blood cells. Pyridoxine helps lower the risk for Alzheimer’s disease. B7- Biotin helps in keeping our skin, hair and nervous system healthier. B9- folic acid is a very important vitamin during the pregnancy period because it is essential for the formation of foetus’ brain, skull and development of the spinal cord. In one word, we can say folic acid is important to avoid foetus neural tube defects. B12 Cobalamin helps to treat Anaemia and bone issues like osteoporosis. Food sources include dark green leafy vegetables, meat, fish, egg, milk and cheese.

4. Vitamin E
Vitamin E is a fat-soluble vitamin that also acts as an antioxidant. During winter, Vitamin E plays an important role in caring for our skin because it helps prevent dryness. So, try to have a Vitamin E moisturizer with you. It acts as a skin care hero during winter and it hydrates your skin. Food sources include pumpkin, sunflower seeds and oil, avocado, almonds and spinach.

Eating a balanced, healthy diet along with a few supplements will improve the negative effects of cold weather. But it is always advised to take consultation from your doctor, nutritionist or dietician to figure out what dosage is right for you. We hope this article helps you. Do leave your thoughts in the comments below. For more winter tips, check out Healthy Reads or tune in to LIVE sessions by experts on GOQii Play.

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December 29, 2020 By Karishma Khot 2 Comments

7 Nutrition Tips For A Healthy Winter

Everyone likes the drop in temperature, hill station vacations, eating ice creams on cold nights, sitting around the bonfire while barbecuing delicious food, but do we really enjoy the cold and flu? Drying of our skin? Getting viral infections? And then the never ending consumption of cough syrups? Yes, we have entered the Winter season! The season of cool breeze as well as the season of cold and flu, and to accompany it, this year we have Covid-19, which has the same symptoms to be tested positive. Hence, it is more important to take care of ourselves this year, and avoid getting any viral fevers, cold and flu. To help you with it, I have some healthy nutrition tips for you this Winter.

7 Nutrition Tips For a Healthy Winter

Keep a check on your water intake: The most common negligence we do in winters is that we tend to forget to drink enough water. As the temperatures are down, we often do not drink water and consume it only while gulping down food. This leads to dehydration in the body, and further damages our skin, leaving a major impact on our bowel movements, due to which most of the time we are constipated. Make sure to drink at least 3-4 liters of water per day.
Build your immunity: Common cold & flu are 2 symptoms, which you will get quite often in the winter season. So the best thing will be following a healthy routine daily, so as to keep them at bay. Try drinking Saunth (dry ginger water), every alternate day just before you sleep or anytime once in a day. As dry ginger/Saunth has a bioactive compound called as Gingerol, which is anti-inflammatory and has other medicinal properties as well.
Avoid overeating: In winter as the temperatures are low, we always tend to overeat, consume hot and spicy meals, eat fried snacks, etc. All we know is the winter makes us hungry, but we need to realise that they also make us put on weight. Issues of bloating, gas and constipation take a toll on our health. To avoid this, we should not indulge in all the cravings. Instead, to beat the cold weather, we should consume hot soups, warm khichdi, seasonal green leafy veggies, and healthy homemade snacks like steamed muthiya’s, sprouts poha, idlis, and many more.
Restrict caffeine: Drinking tea/coffee every 2 hours to keep the body warm is not a good idea. We not only increase our sugar intake but also our caffeine intake. Caffeine leads to dehydration in the body, and as in winter we already have a tough time meeting our water intake, drinking caffeinated beverages will harm us further. In that case, we can consume antioxidant rich and caffeine free Green tea’s. Drinking or sipping on Green tea, turmeric water, cinnamon water, and herbal teas will also be a great deal.
Go seasonal: It is also advisable to eat things which are in season, as they are found in abundance. Bioavailability of the nutrients is high, and helps us with the essential vitamins and minerals as well. So winter season belongs to berries like strawberries, mulberries, blueberries and fruits like oranges, chiku, plums, guava. Green leafy vegetables and root vegetables as well. So snacking on a roasted sweet potato for your evening snack will be a great thing.
Consume superfoods to stay warm: There are a variety of ingredients or to be more precise, many dried foods and spices, which keep our body warm from the inside. Including these while cooking our food is definitely going to keep us warm from the inside. These ingredients include anjeer, figs, dates, sesame seeds, cinnamon, peppercorn, garlic, cloves, ginger, saunth and star anise.
Say no to processed: In the fast moving world, we often tend to have packaged soups, as they are more easy to make than actually chopping veggies and making it fresh. However, these packaged foods are high in preservatives and additives, which are very unhealthy for us. Instead of using them, try blending fresh veggies and make a healthy meal for yourself.

We hope these nutrition tips help you have a healthy winter! Do leave your thoughts in the comments below. For more on Winter, check out Healthy Reads or tune in to LIVE sessions by experts on GOQii Play.

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December 4, 2020 By Urvi Gohil Leave a Comment

Healthy Eating: The Ultimate Winter Soup

With everyone seeking to build their immunity, especially due to the change in weather and the ongoing pandemic, eating the right food is quite essential to our wellbeing. There is nothing that fuels your body with the right nutrients and warms your soul like the way soup does. So here’s the delicious Ultimate Winter Soup that’s loaded with the goodness of vegetables, herbs and protein.

What You Will Need

Finely chopped onion – ½ cup
Ginger garlic paste – 1 tbsp
Finely chopped carrot – ¼ cup
Finely chopped sweet potato – ¼ cup
Chopped french beans – ½ cup
Finely chopped tomato – ½ cup
Soft boiled chick peas – 1 cup
Vegetable broth/ water – 5 cups
Coriander – ½ cup
Oil – 2 tbsp
Salt
Black pepper powder – ½ tsp
Red chilli paste – 1 tsp
Turmeric – ½ tsp

How To Prepare

Heat a pan and add oil. Once the oil is hot, add the onions and allow it to sauté until soft.
Then add the ginger garlic paste, give it a quick stir and allow it to cook for a minute.
Add the carrot, french beans & sweet potato. Let them cook for 2 minutes.
Now add the vegetable broth or water and partially cover the pan with the lid and allow the veggies to cook.
After 10 mins, once you see the carrots are tender, add the tomato and mix everything well. Add the turmeric and salt during this time.
In another small bowl, mash the chick peas with a fork and transfer it to the soup pan. Also add the coriander, red chilli paste and black pepper at the same time. Give it a quick mix and let it cook for 5 more minutes.
Time to serve the hot colorful looking soup and enjoy.

Note: Instead of chickpeas, you can use any pulse of your choice like chana, sprouts, mung, etc.

Highlights of the Ultimate Winter Soup

An absolute delight for your body, it will boost immunity, heat you up and clear your throat.
Very fulfilling due to the use of a variety of seasonal vegetables.
Great for people healing from any type of viral infections.

We hope you enjoy this Ultimate Winter Soup! Do share your thoughts with us in the comments below. For more healthy recipes, check out Healthy Reads or tune in to LIVE cooking sessions on GOQii Play.

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January 16, 2020 By Sunita Arora Leave a Comment

Kanji: The Miracle Drink to Level Up Your Winter!

Kanji is a popular north Indian drink. We can call it an ‘Indian Kombucha’ as well. This drink is traditionally consumed to aid digestion. It keeps the gut healthy during winter. This probiotic drink is the result of naturally occurring bacteria and yeast with salty, zingy taste. It may take a week for Kanji to be fermented as per one’s taste but you can store it in a glass jar for a month easily.

Why Do You Need This Drink During Winter?

This drink has fiber content which smoothens bowel movements. The growth of healthy bacteria helps to promote healthy bowel movement.
Kanji tones the blood detoxifies the liver and aids digestion.
It is packed with a variety of nutrients such as potassium, vitamin C, vitamin A, manganese, few vitamins B as well.
Due to the powerhouse of Antioxidants, it helps provide protection from cancer and prevents eczema in children.
Low-calorie count makes this a perfectly healthy drink which aids weight loss.
Good for maintaining hydration levels and replenish lost nutrients in case of dehydration or diarrhoea.
Old remedy to prevent water loss in case of vomiting, also speeds up the recovery. It gives energy if one feels weak or dizzy.
It prevents certain infections after surgery and reduces systemic allergy too.

Recipe to Prepare Kanji

What You Will Need:

Black Carrots (Kali Gajar) – 250 gm
Filtered Water – 8 cups
Black salt – 2 tsp (or as per taste)
Asafoetida (Hing) – ½ tsp
Mustard Seeds (Powdered) – 3 tsp
Red chili powder – ½ tsp (optional)

How to Prepare:

Peel the carrots, wash them and cut them in small pieces about your finger size.
Boil the water and add the carrots into it, boil it for 2-3 minutes and turn off the flame and let it cool.
Add black salt, mustard seeds powder, hing, and chili powder to the mixture and transfer it in a clean glass jar and close it with lid.
Keep this jar out in the sun for 4-5 days so that the Kanji gets fermented. Don’t keep the jar under the sun after fermentation.
After 5 days, if it tastes sour then your Magic drink is ready for consumption.
Stir and enjoy it with your breakfast or your mid-meal.

It’s easy to prepare. In fact, I just finished making a batch for myself! We hope you like this amazing and nutritious drink. Do share your thoughts with us in the comments below.

For more healthy winter recipes and to learn about nutritious foods and drinks, check out the Healthy Reads section on the blog or tune in to LIVE sessions by experts on GOQii Play and Level Up this winter. Don’t forget to subscribe.

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