Is your smoothie giving you the chills lately? As the weather gets colder, your body starts to naturally crave more warming foods. Makes perfect sense, right? We tap into that intuition when we reach for rooted vegetable stews and soups, and more cooked foods during the colder months.
As we move from season to season, you’ll want to adjust the ingredients in your kitchen to go along with this natural pattern. What your body craves more now is foods that help to heat that furnace inside of us. There is a way to get through the cold season without packing on excess weight from too many overly rich and and dairy heavy dishes.
There are many healthy foods that can support the body’s need for heat and protection from the environment. Apples and pears instead of berries, hearty cooked greens like kale and chard, gluten-free grains like millet and quinoa, nuts and seeds, and salty mineral rich foods like seaweeds and miso are great options. For vegetables choose brussels sprouts, cabbage, carrots, winter squash, leeks, onion, parsnips, Jerusalem artichoke, ginger, sweet potato, and rutabaga, among others.
I like to keep drinking my smoothies throughout the year because it’s just so easy and convenient to through together a breakfast or snack this way. Below you’ll find a delicious concoction made with winter friendly fruit and spices to help you take on a cold day. Adding ginger is especially helpful if you find yourself to have cold hands and feet, as it improves circulation. (Find my guide on how to make your smoothies winter friendly here)
Warming Gingerbread Delight Smoothie
- 1.5 cups unsweetened coconut milk
- 1/2 cup water
- 1 ripe pear
- 1/2 banana (frozen)
- 1 scoop vanilla protein powder (I used Genuine Health Vegan Fermented Protein Powder in Vanilla)
- 1 Tbsp chia seeds
- 1.5 tsp fresh ginger root, grated
- 3/4 tsp cinnamon
How to make:
Combine all ingredients into a blender and buzz until smooth!
Makes 1 generous serving
Enjoy!
