Warming Winter Comfort Food…
Posted on 8 February 2010
When it is cold outside their is no better time to get cooking some Winter Comfort Foods. Warming and nourishing meals are a must to sustain us through the cold winters, let’s take a look at some of my favourites….
Warming Chili
A good old warming Chilli is an amazing way to warm up this winter. It is packed with good ingredients and warming herbs and spices. Here is my Reciepe:
- 2-4lbs of Grassfed Ground Beef
- 5 Large Celery Stalks Diced up
- 5 Large Chopped Carrots
- 1 Can Organic Black Beans
- 4 Cloves of Garlic
- 2 TBSP’s Coconut Oil
- 2 TBSP’s Olive Oil
- 1 Large bottle of Tomato Passata
- Dash of Apple Cider Vinegar
- Cup of Chicken Broth
- 1 TBSP Cinnamon
- 1 TSP ground Coriander
- 1 TSP Oregano
- 2-3 TSP of Ground Chilli’s
- Generous dose of Sea Salt
It is pretty easy to cook up, simply sautee the veggies in the olive/coconut oil mix then add the meat until it browns and then add all the spices and seasoning. Pour in the Passata and Chicken Broth and leave to simmer for 35 minutes. DONE….
*Note Vegetarians can sub the meat for Chopped mushrooms and some root vegetables*
Add a dollop of Greek Yoghurt on top and sprinkle with some gluten free Corn Tortillas and you have the ultimate meal in a bowl. Keep Tabasco on hand if you need an extra kick… Also note this recipe gets better with time so it can be kept for leftovers no problem.
Soaked Coconut Oatmeal
Oats when prepared correctly can be an amazing breakfast, warming and nourishing. Make sure you prepare your oats the previous night by soaking them in some water and adding a dollop of live yoghurt, give it a mix and leave to sit in the fridge for up to 24 hours.
- Half a cup of Oats (Soaked as described above)
- 1 Dollop of Butter or Heavy cream
- 1 TBSP Coconut Oil
- 1 TSP Cinnamon
- Handful of Blueberries
- Handful of Coconut Flakes
Simply pour the soaked oatmeal into a pan and add the butter, cinnamon and coconut oil. Leave to simmer for 5 minutes. Once heated up and bubbling add to a bowl, top with the blueberries and coconut flakes and drizzle with raw honey. Serve with a side of Bacon or some eggs and your on your way.
Lentil and Chestnut Soup
Amazing recipe that is very simple from one of my favourite chef’s! Chestnuts are a great winter food and are pretty tasty when roasted and can even be used to garnish salads.
Well those are 3 of my favourites. I have been making a big batch of the Chilli every monday and it will keep until Thursday at least leaving me with some meals for the week that simply need heating up. Enjoy and please share the articles if you have enjoyed them. Also if you have any links to winter recipes please share.
Comment by Liam | EverythingZing.com
8 February 2010
So right Chris, chilli tastes far better after it has been reheated. Always make a load and get at least 4 meals out of it.
That soup looks amazing, but trust Nigella to add cream to it! She is the queen of comfort food, no doubt about that.
Comment by Makenzie
8 February 2010
love the ideas for healthy new foods that satisfy! Im always looking for alternatives. Eating healthy in college can be a bit mundane if you don’t know how to mix it up!
Comment by Kat Eden
8 February 2010
Yummmmmmm … I love oatmeal, even though starch-based foods don’t energise me the way protein does. For that reason I don’t indulge too often, but that recipe looks well worth it!
My latest fave comfort food (particularly for those who try to live grain-free) is using quinoa instead of oatmeal or rice. I’m sure it would work well in this recipe.
Comment by Greg
9 February 2010
Chili is always better the second day. Put it on in the morning in a crock pot, let it simmer all day, then drop it in the fridge. We eat it for the next 2 days.
Comment by Jen-JensFitnessTips.com
9 February 2010
Chili is good winter food!! I love it I love it! And it’s especially good as leftovers! YUM! Good recipes. Thanks for sharing!
Jen
Comment by Brandon
9 February 2010
It’s funny that “comfort food” and “healthy food” don’t often go together. Nice list though
Comment by Luke M-Davies
10 February 2010
Great, timely post Chris.
I was sure to have my Jumbo Oats bowl of porridge complete with seeds, cinammon and banana this morning! It’s cold and nasty weather here in London and porridge does the trick in the morning (unless you’re totally averse to grains of course)!
Will give the Soaked Coconut Oatmeal a go for sure! Just last week I made my own Granoala. Very simple – 8 tbspn Coconut oil, 2 tbspn raw honey, dash of vanilla essence heated until just before boiling. Combine with enough oats (and seeds) to get a moist textured mixture and then spread evenly on an oven tray and left to bake for 10-15 minutes. Left to cool and stored in an airtight container. Good for upto a month and helps to give us that natural ‘crunch’ we often like without too much unhealthy stuff.
Oats are so flexible and have enough health benefits in my eyes to be a staple food!
Comment by Hugh
10 February 2010
There’s nothing better than cooking up a big batch of something healthy and filling on a Sunday and having it for the week just to heat up. We’ll often do this with a thick, hearty soup or a turkey chili. Or for breakfast, sometimes we’ll make an egg white casserole with all sorts of veggies in it and bake it. Just cut yourself a piece each morning and heat it up on the stove top!
Thanks for the above recipes too.
Comment by Grok
11 February 2010
The chili sounds great! Maybe a good project for this weekend.
I don’t do oats, but do a very similar recipe with chia seeds. Good stuff.
Comment by Adam
12 February 2010
*About to go reheat the chili I made earlier this week.
*I can be lazy and easily distracted, so I saute the garlic (if you use meat, may want to brown that), then dump everything else into the rice cooker. Push the button and let it cook/warm until it is time to eat.
*Definitely going to try your oatmeal soaking trick.
@ Adam: You will love the oatmeal soaking, changes their taste and texture completely! well worth the time and effort.
Comment by Laury
18 February 2010
I LOVE healthy comfort foods!! Healthy Turkey Chili or a nice warm bowl of oatmeal with some banana and pecans…YUM! This post made me hungry