11 Winter Foods to Warm Your Soul

Each season seems to have their calling for specialty foods.  In the summertime, we are blessed with fresh fruits and veggies from the garden or maybe the farmers market or CSA box and the tantalizing smell of someone barbecuing.   In the winter depending on your geography you may have to huddle up by the fireplace with a fresh cup of whipped hot chocolate (I know I do in our cold Canadian winters!). 

As much as we get to lavish in the fresh produce in the summer, there are many foods that just seem to be too hot to endure in the summer and are more enjoyable in the winter.  The summer time also takes us outdoors to enjoy the many things we can’t do in the winter.  That usually leaves us with a lot less time to prepare those meals that take a little more tender loving care to prepare. 

Let’s look at some of the winter foods that seem to warm our soul from head to toe while the winter chill taps at our windows keeping us indoors.

Oven Roast

An entire meal in one dish…  Choose your meat, slice up your potatoes, onions and carrots and let it simmer all day on low heat.  It would be an added treat to whip up some Yorkshire pudding to spread that delicious homemade gravy over.

Homemade Baked Pie

A fruit of choice or your favorite smooth cream pie… banana, coconut, pumpkin or chocolate.  A splash of ice cream or whipped cream on a warmed up slice gives you an extra sweetness to savor, even if it is cold outside. Pies are a great way to use up canned or frozen fruit and vegetables (I’m looking at you pumpkin pie!)   

Homemade Kitchen Soup

Everything you can find can go into a hearty soup…  A great way to use up those leftovers!  Cream soups like butternut squash soup can warm you from the inside out.  When it comes to homemade soup, let your imagination go wild. 

Related Winter Foods:

• The Best Hamburger Soup, like mom makes
• Southwestern Chicken Soup ~ Recipe
• Curry Pumpkin Soup
• Hearty Minestrone Soup with Fresh Arugula
• Instant Pot Stuffed Poblano Pepper Soup
• Heart Healthy Lunch Ideas for Everyone

Hot Apple Cider Seasoned with Fresh Cinnamon Sticks

Tea, coffee and hot chocolate are always great ways of warming the insides, but hot apple cider with a cinnamon stick is an extra little treat we sometimes forget about.

Freshly Baked Cookies

This aroma is enough to spike anybody’s sweet craving.  Even if you don’t normally eat cookies, you won’t be able to resist those warm soft cookies right out of the oven.  Oatmeal cookies can be nutritious, but those chocolate chip cookies are just plain melt in your mouth delicious. Or try our delicious No-Bake Chocolate Oat cookies.

Homemade Baked Beans

Baked beans will definitely remind you of Grandma.  Canned beans were unheard of back in the old days.  If you have a little bit of age behind you, then you know baked beans were a staple.  Very nutritious and filling! 

Chicken and Dumplings

Another favorite from the past!  This winter meal is easy on the budget and cooked all in one pot.  Add your favorite vegetables on the side.    

Chicken Pot Pie

Yes an entire meal all in one.  All the food groups covered.  Meat, potatoes and your favorite vegetables in a little gravy sauce, covered with a tender flaky crust. 

Beef Stew and Biscuits

This is an all in one hearty dish.  Covers all the food groups, warms you from the inside out and keeps you feeling full for a long time. One of my kids favorite things that I make is homemade biscuits. They are super easy and so delicious when fresh.

Chili and Toast

Homemade chili has so much good stuff in it and in our family, it is quintessential winter food.  You can even hide extra nutritional foods in here.  Puree what they don’t like and just tuck it in there.  They will never know they are getting a well balanced complete nutritional meal. It is super easy to dump all the ingredients in a crockpot in the morning and then it is ready to eat when you get home from skiing, snowboarding, sledding, skating or whatever your chosen winter activity for the day. Related: Turkey Chili

Roasted Chestnuts

Grab a great family movie, roast up some chestnuts, get the snuggies on and relax.  An extra protein and calcium rich snack everyone can benefit from. I remember the first time I ever tried roasted chestnuts was from a roadside stand in the mountains of Switzerland!

Oatmeal

The old saying, oatmeal sticks to your ribs isn’t technically true.  But, it does stay with you a long time, which keeps you fueled up. Warm or cold, oatmeal is an excellent all year round.

Related Posts: Getting all Cozy in our Canadian Home

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• Roundup of Awesome Apple and Pumpkin Recipes
• How to Keep Your Food Pantry Organized
• Lodge 6 Qt. Enameled Cast Iron Dutch Oven ~ A Review
• 20 Meals to warm you up on cold winter nights~ Brit & Co.
• Eating in Winter, Growing our food ~ The Elliott Homestead

In the winter, there is nothing better than relaxing in your warm comfies with the aroma of a roast in the oven or the smell of fresh-baked cookies filling the air.  The anticipation of how mouth-wateringly juicy they are going to be when finally get to sink your teeth into it can make for a tantalizing day.    

Winter meals are generally prepared with more time available, which means more TLC goes into them.  These are the type of meals that bond the whole family together.  The type of meals Grandma used to make that everyone waits for all day and then sits down together to enjoy. 

It isn’t just the winter food that is soothing your soul it is the environment you have created within your home that is centered around a wholesome meal.  That soothes more than the soul.  A lot of love can deepen over a family dinner together.  These are cherished moments that will live in your family for generations to come.