This month we’re celebrating the Festival of Winter Walks. It’s an annual event that encourages people to embrace the beauty of winter by going for walks in nature.
Clinical Nutritionist, Suzie Sawyer, shares her five great tips for enjoying winter walks and refuelling your body with some delicious food afterwards.
Not only does this festival encourage us all to celebrate everything that nature provides, but it also provides a great opportunity to prepare some warming and healthy foods for your return. With every change of season, nature provides all the appropriate foods the body needs. In the case of winter, the foods are warming. Team these in-season delights with some delicious, immune boosting and warming herbs and spices and you’ll be ready to refuel after a winter walk.
Start the day with cinnamon pancakes
The delicious spice cinnamon is really warming, as well as helping boost the immune system. It therefore makes a great start to the day before going on your walk.
How about mixing up some delicious banana and cinnamon pancakes? Either use wholemeal flour, as it will keep you feeling fuller for longer, or, even better, buckwheat which is higher in protein. Use some eggs and milk of your choice, mixed with a teaspoon of cinnamon, and topped with berries or bananas to send your energy levels soaring.
Get rooted
As we know, nature is extremely clever. Just when the body needs warmth and energy, nature delivers loads of root vegetables which are high in carbohydrates and the right nutrients to support the immune system. Root vegetables are generally high in both beta-carotene (turned into vitamin A by the body as needed) and vitamin C, both immune boosters.
Why not get a warming stew ready for your return with some parsnips, carrots, coriander, onions, garlic, potatoes, and lentils? It will take about 10 minutes to prepare; if you can put it into a slow cooker before you leave, so much the better.
Enjoy some ginger tea
Ginger is another wonderful herb with so many amazing health benefits. Not only will it warm the body, but it also has great anti-inflammatory properties, to soothe any aching joints. It also helps the production of white blood cells, needed for the immune system and kills off any unwanted invaders to the digestive system too. Ginger tea (you can add some lemon too) can easily be brewed by simply crushing some fresh ginger and adding hot water. Ginger tea is great to sip throughout the day too, not just after your walk.
Feel the warmth with a curry
Any curry dish is going to send some warmth through the body. Indeed, curry powder is known for this effect. However, the magic really happens to a curry dish when you add the amazing spice, turmeric.
Turmeric’s list of health benefits are long, but essentially it not only warms the body, it helps the liver detoxify (often helpful at this time of year), is great for brain health and also soothes any inflammation within the body. It’s truly one of nature’s jewels. Add it liberally to any curry or other spicy dish, including stir fries.
Wrap up warm and explore
It might sound obvious but wearing the right clothing is essential for your enjoyment. And that includes having the right walking shoes or boots. When it’s wet and muddy underfoot, you’ll become quickly miserable in a pair of normal trainers.
Why not take time to explore an area that you haven’t visited before? It’s so easy to download routes onto phones reducing the worry of getting lost in nature literally! Plus, most footpaths are very well signposted. If you give yourselves plenty of time, why not look for species of birds that you might not have noticed before. The Festival of Winter Walks is all about really appreciating the beauty of nature, which of course includes the amazing variety of birds, wild plants and flowers, even different cloud formations.
Enjoy some amazing walks in nature and reward yourself, and your friends and family, with some deliciously warming, nutritious food too!
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