The winter blues

LillyBoots

So it's just started to get cold here (Melbourne Australia) and all I want is stodgy carbs, it's a mountainous effort to drink water and I just want to slip back to my old ways.

Help needed for wholefood winter food ideas please.

SMarie10

I don't know how plentiful bananas or citrus fruits are in your area, but if you can get some fresh fruit in every day it makes a world of difference. I pack fresh fruit to work as often as possible

aronao

Hey I'm in Melbourne too! And I agree, it's comfort food weather.

Try soups and stews - lots of veggies, meat, legumes, a bit of pasta or rice - or lean roasts with sweet potato or the Charisma low-gi potatoes (you can get them at Coles I think) or even a homemade pie (with pastry only at the top) or curries with a small amount of lower-gi rice (i think basmati or there's one called Smart Rice).

kyliebolton

Have a good supply of peppermint green tea. Great alternative to coffee and takes some cravings away too

SenseiCole

Kiwi and understand where you are coming from

I use quote to drive me

"Don't be pushed by your problems. Be led by your dreams"

""Watch your thoughts; they become words. Watch your words; they become actions. Watch your actions; they become habits. Watch your habits; they become character. Watch your character; it becomes your Destiny." Frank Outlaw

NOTE TO SELF: When I eat like crap, I feel like crap

I find the last quote so true for me,

kcaffee1

I tend to suffer from spring and fall driven blues (Used to be outright SAD type symptoms, but has eased off the last couple of years, and didn't bother me at all this spring for a nice change!)

Something that helped drag me through the worst of it, and keep me going was a horrible tasting supplement called "spirulla". Some whole food stores have them, and I've seen a few of the "Naked" brand juice drinks with that as one of the main ingredients. It helps with the blue funk, and it is a nice source of protein.

Unless you have trouble with pills, I'd STRONGLY recommend the capsules if you can find them. Keeps the taste off of your tongue! If you have trouble taking pills, then I know you can order it online - it is a greenish powder, and doesn't take much to make a difference. But make sure you add it to some other VERY strong flavor to hide it. I can choke down just about anything, but when I have to hit the spirulla, I have trouble getting that stuff down. Just knowing how much it will help is about the only thing that gets it past my tongue. (And, I have trouble with pills, so I can't take the easy way out. Ginsing is my friend during the winter, because the earthy taste does wonders to hide the nasty taste of the other.)

Some other milder flavors that might help are licorish and anise. Both can be brewed with your coffee or tea, and have a nice sweetish aftertaste if you are trying to also cut down on sugars. Not to mention, both are mild, natural antidepressants. Can't tell you much about effectiveness in the capsule form, though.

Hope this helps!

RepsnSets

Im in New Zealand.

I make alot of casserole type dishes in the crockpot. There are lots of healthy options out there to use

gmallan

Tassie girl here, can definitely relate. Much harder to eat salads when the weather gets colder. Some of my staples are lentil dahl, red bean chilli, pumpkin soup, any veggie/lentil soups. Things like moussaka with lean mince is yummy. Load up on pumpkin and sweet potato with is hearty without being too high in carbs

LillyBoots

Thanks for the response. I actually went shopping today, loaded my cart with cheese then put it all back!

LillyBoots

I tend to suffer from spring and fall driven blues (Used to be outright SAD type symptoms, but has eased off the last couple of years, and didn't bother me at all this spring for a nice change!)

Something that helped drag me through the worst of it, and keep me going was a horrible tasting supplement called "spirulla". Some whole food stores have them, and I've seen a few of the "Naked" brand juice drinks with that as one of the main ingredients. It helps with the blue funk, and it is a nice source of protein.

Unless you have trouble with pills, I'd STRONGLY recommend the capsules if you can find them. Keeps the taste off of your tongue! If you have trouble taking pills, then I know you can order it online - it is a greenish powder, and doesn't take much to make a difference. But make sure you add it to some other VERY strong flavor to hide it. I can choke down just about anything, but when I have to hit the spirulla, I have trouble getting that stuff down. Just knowing how much it will help is about the only thing that gets it past my tongue. (And, I have trouble with pills, so I can't take the easy way out. Ginsing is my friend during the winter, because the earthy taste does wonders to hide the nasty taste of the other.)

Some other milder flavors that might help are licorish and anise. Both can be brewed with your coffee or tea, and have a nice sweetish aftertaste if you are trying to also cut down on sugars. Not to mention, both are mild, natural antidepressants. Can't tell you much about effectiveness in the capsule form, though.

Hope this helps!

Thanks for this. I try to remember to take B3 and D3 daily and when I juice I add Spiralina and Wheatgrass. I take a powder called Vital Greens daily, though with the cold weather my daily resolve melts.....

kcaffee1

That's why I tend to mix mine into some of my tea blends. When it's mixed like that, then when I brew the tea, I get the extra. I just have to remember to hide the summer/winter blends, so that the only one I pick up is the right one, or else I'd ignore it in favor of the better tasting ones.