76 asiaSpa India January-February 2015F
FOOD
Any citrus, for starters, which is abundant in
the winter, has much more fi bre than a box of juice,
but you must eat the pith. This in turn stabilises
your blood sugar and controls craving pangs,”
explains she.
Sangeeta also recommends at least three to
fi ve helpings of citrus fruits such as oranges or
sweet lime or even tangerines to feel fuller on fewercalories. “With merely 45 calories per orange, it’s
something you can easily indulge in,” she adds. She
suggests that if you’re not able to eat that many
fruits, throwing it into salads or in a smoothie is
always a good idea.
The same logic extends to winter vegetables
as well – red carrots, radishes, leeks, caulifl owers
and even pumpkins are great vegetables to fi ll up
on. They contain a higher amount of water and
even contain enzymes that help in detoxifi cation.
Dietician Natasha Haider suggests making stews or
soups with one or more of these vegetables and stock
up so that when hunger strikes, it’s a meal that’s
within arm’s length.
“In the winters, you have to understand that fi bre
is your friend, especially if you want to lose weight
or at least not gain any,” says Natasha. She goes on“In the winters, you have to
understand that fi bre is your
friend, especially if you want
to lose weight or at leastnot gain any”
to add, that adding a little bit cream or butter on the
side in your soup, will actually help bulk it up and
get some good fats into your body which in turn will
release sustained energy. “I know that a lot of people
tend to cut out these fats completely, but the truth is
if you can limit yourself to maybe half a teaspoon a
day, you’re ensuring that you eat a complete meal,”
Natasha suggests.
One of Natasha’s favourite winter soup is the
Pumpkin and Peanut Butter soup, which she says
should be a staple in everyone’s winter pantry. She
tells you to roast half a pumpkin in the oven or
pressure cook it if you want to eat it quickly and then
puree it. To the puree, she says, it’s a great idea to
add a bit of stock or water, some coconut milk and a
big tablespoon of peanut butter apart from some salt
and pepper.If soup isn’t your cup of tea, roasting these
vegetables with plenty of garlic and spices makes for
an easy and low effort snack. Throw in some bits of
chicken or fi sh, voila, you have dinner ready.
It isn’t just meal times when you fi nd the
nibbles creeping in, keeping a few granola bars
or packets of seeds such as that of pumpkin or
watermelon also help keeping the calories at bay,
and help protect the immune system since they are
loaded with Vitamin E and B and folate. Add some
spices such as nutmeg, chillies or pepper, you’re in
for a metabolic boosting treat.
The thing to know during the winters is that
spices are your ally. Spices such as ginger, cloves,
cinnamon, cumin, paprika all increase your body’s
metabolism and generate heat, keeping you warm.
While the bold fl avours of these spices might be a
little daunting at fi rst, you can use them in salads
dressings, marinades, or add them additionally into
your meals or just sprinkle them in your cup of tea
or coffee.
As much as you need hot food in the winter, you
also need mood food and constant hydration. One of
the biggest mistakes people make during the winter
is not drink enough water, which often results in
confusing thirst with hunger.
“People forget to drink water because they don’t
sweat it out that much,” says yoga instructor Simran
Sethi. “That is why, very often, in class, we have
people feeling giddy and nauseous.” The trick to
remember though is that even if you don’t want
to drink water, a cup of mild honey-ginger infusion
or some turmeric milk, is also one of the fastest
ways of hydrating yourself as well as fi lling yourself
up, she adds.
So with some good seasonal food, constant eating
and plenty of water, you’re going to be just fi ne this
winter, and perhaps, even lose a few kilos.asiaSpa India January-February 2015 77Untitled-1 76-77 02/01/15 4:39 PM