Winter Foods

I am obsessed with butternut squash right now. Every recipe I save to Pinterest -- like the one above from Budget Bytes -- involves butternut squash.

That's not necessarily a bad thing.

Winter is a time when we bundle up, when we bulk up against the cold. There are tons of studies documenting how most people gain 5-10 pounds in the winter (and then lose it in the spring. Who are these people and how do I become one of them?) Sure, right now there are many holiday foods and parties, but in party-less January and February, it will still be cold and there will still be lots of carbs and fattening foods around. I disagree with the premise that it's the holidays that cause winter weight gain; I think it's the foods that are in season, and sheer primal instinct.

Think about what types of natural foods are able to be stored over winter, versus what is available in the summer. Summer squash and zucchini versus kabocha and acorn squash, delicate leaf lettuce over hardy kale, tomatoes versus potatoes. Winter foods are usually "starchier", which we have been conditioned from years of dieting to think of as bad things.

But they're not. The "bad thing" is the processed version of those foods. For example, French fries have almost no nutritional value (especially when most aren't even made out potatoes anymore), whereas a baked potato is loaded with nutrients and will keep you satisfied much longer. (Just don't bog it down with sour cream, bacon, etc.) Bread is not the enemy; fluffy white bread is as effective for your digestive system as eating a piece of cardboard, but a nice slice of whole-grain bread will fill you up and keep everything humming along. Sweet potatoes are great for you; candied yams from a jar then covered in marshmallows are not.

The trick is to concentrate on bulking up with the good winter foods. The kind that replenish our Vitamin C and D (to make up for the lost sunshine), the creamy ones like squash that offer comfort and good carbs with few calories. Eating Well had a list of the 5 Healthiest Winter Foods. I could easily incorporate 4 out of the five in next week's menus:

1. Pomegranate. I had this one on my list for this week, but I didn't have time to make it. Pomegranate seeds, mint, and goat cheese with quinoa (or couscous, my choice).

2. Swiss Chard. I am terrible about eating leafy greens beyond spinach. Maybe this is the winter we finally go for it.

3. Oranges. I have already expressed my love for oranges in this blog. The clementines are great right now, and I saw bags of tangerines at my market last week. Mmm, great snacks for the afternoon.

4. Potatoes. This potato-leek soup WILL be made, and darned soon. I love the idea of some chopped olives on top of the crouton; potato soup can be bland, but a nice dose of salty savory would take this dish to a higher taste level.

I am also thinking about just baking off a couple of potatoes on Sundays and reheating to eat later in the week. I love, love, love the thick skin of a good baked potato done just right in the oven; they wrap them in foil in restaurants so the skin never thickens up like they do at home. And they're so easy! Even peeling and boiling up some only takes about 20 minutes. (Mom and Dad, I am completely flummoxed by your love of the Idahoan instants. The real thing just cannot be beat.)

5. Butternut squash. See the recipe at the start of this post, or the soup I made two weeks running. I will be substituting whole wheat pasta in the recipe above, of course; we haven't had white pasta in our house for years.

I would add a few more foods that I crave more in the winter than other seasons:

6. Popcorn
7. Cabbage
8. Milk
9. Olives
10. Carrots

My goal right now is to keep my kitchen stocked with these winter staples. I keep the potatoes and squash in bowls on my counter, constant tantalizing reminders to stick to the basic, that these are not my enemies. The candy bowl at work -- THAT'S my enemy. (So to speak.) I have mini-bags of microwave popcorn in my desk, ready in minutes to fight against the lure of the candy bowl.

I am so in love with my new grocery store, because it has a lot of Polish food, the fattening delicious stuff right alongside the veggies. It's good to remember to eat BOTH; one of my favorite meals growing up was the one pot of boiled carrots, potatoes, and kielbasa, with a side of sauerkraut or boiled cabbage (and lots of mustard). But as we have gotten older, I've noticed that the veggie part of the meal faded away, at my in-laws and at my house. So we have made a concerted effort to bring it back. My husband and I ate a variation of that this week: we (he, actually; he likes to cook this one for us) cut up a couple of small kielbasa into silver-dollar slices and sauteed them in a skillet of shredded cabbage, carrots, garlic and Polish seasoning. Then he boiled a handful of mini pierogi stuffed with potato and cheese. It was delicious, portion-controlled with a base of veggies and full of memories and comfort.

Perfect for winter.

I am betting this winter I can eat all of these starchy foods, and still lose weight. It's about moderation, balance, and satisfaction; they can all be a regular part of your diet, whether you are dieting or not.

What kind of winter foods are you craving right now? Are you making an effort to incorporate any into your meals?