Winter Super Foods

If you’re experiencing a cold, snowy winter, February can seem like the longest month even though it’s the shortest in days. The brisk weather outside drives us indoors, wanting to nest and eat comfort foods. Kelly Pfeiffer, writer behind healthy food and family blog Nosh and Nourish and cookbook Superfoods at Every Meal says, “Even in the midst of winter, you can feel super.” 

As we all know, all food is not equal. Some foods have more of a nutritional boost with health benefits like providing more energy or boosting your immunity. These are the superfoods. For a superfood recipe see below!

Top 10 Winter Superfoods

1. Sweet Potatoes - Boasting almost double the amount of fiber as regular potatoes and a bright orange hue that reflects their high beta-carotene and vitamin C content, sweet potatoes are true nutritional powerhouses. But that’s not all: they’re also rich in vitamin D, iron, potassium, calcium, and manganese.

2. Walnuts - There’s almost too much to write about this amazing nut! Full of antioxidants, omega-3 fatty acids, B vitamins, protein, folate, and more, walnuts help prevent heart disease, assist in weight management, help lower diabetes risk, improve brain function, aid in a good night’s sleep, make your skin glow, strengthen your hair, and even help reduce stress.

3. Coconut Oil - Now deemed a healthy saturated fat containing medium-chain fatty acids, it actually reduces hunger and promotes higher fat burn—a one-two punch for weight management.

4. Frozen Blueberries - Blueberries are bursting at the seams with antioxidants (more than any other fruit), vitamin C, and fiber. They help protect vision, increase brain function, reduce belly fat, and even boost heart health. When they're not in season, frozen is a perfect substitution!

5. Kale - This cruciferous green veggie is gaining popularity and for good reason. It is packed with vitamin K (more than 1,000 percent of the daily recommended value!), vitamin C (more than an orange!), vitamin A (more than any other leafy green!), calcium (more than a glass of milk!), and other antioxidants. It is great for your vision, immune system, bone health, metabolism, cholesterol levels, and even waistline.

6. Greek Yogurt - Full of calcium, B vitamins, potassium, probiotics (good for digestion), and zinc, the Greek variety ups the ante over regular yogurt by delivering almost twice the protein content, helping you feel full longer.

7. Eggs - Once demonized for their possible link to higher cholesterol and heart disease, eggs are gaining in popularity now that it has been shown that they actually help protect against heart disease. They are also super satisfying and full of protein, keeping you feeling full longer.

8. Quinoa - This tiny seed contains all nine essential amino acids and is one of the most protein-rich foods you can eat. It is a seed, not a grain, and is entirely gluten-free. It’s also full of iron, manganese, lysine, and riboflavin (B12), which help with blood sugar control, weight management, brain function, and more.

9. Pomegranate - The tiny juicy seeds of a pomegranate are super nutrient dense and support all aspects of good cardiovascular health. They also are shown to lower both blood pressure and cholesterol and even have an impact on reducing depression!

10. Fennel - Known for its licorice taste when eaten raw, fennel is a great addition to your diet. It has a very mild flavor when roasted or even juiced. Fennel aids in digestion, reduces flatulence and constipation, and boosts immunity with its high selenium and vitamin C content.

Superfoods at Every Meal

Every recipe in her book, Superfoods at Every Meal, features at least two (and oftentimes four or five!) superfoods. With this book as your guide, you’ll be able to serve your family quick, wholesome meals for breakfast, lunch, dinner and everything in between.

One of our favorite recipes is the Sweet Potato Muffins with Walnut Streusel. According to Kelly, “I love baking a batch of these healthy sweet potato muffins on Sunday and then grabbing them throughout the week for a quick nourishing breakfast.”

Recipe

Sweet Potato Muffins with Walnut Streusel

Yields 12 Muffins

Ingredients

1 Large Sweet Potato (cooked and mashed)

3⁄4 cups vanilla almondmilk

1⁄2 cup Coconut Oil (melted)

3⁄4 cups Coconut Sugar

2 cups Unbleached All Purpose Flour (or sub Whole Wheat Pastry Flour)

1 tablespoon Baking Powder

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1⁄4 teaspoon Ground Cloves

1⁄2 teaspoon Ground Ginger

1⁄2 cup Coarsely Chopped Walnuts (for streusel topping)

2 tablespoons Coconut Sugar (for streusel topping)

2 tablespoons unsalted butter (melted, or sub coconut oil to keep vegan)

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon (for streusel topping)

Notes

Cooking the sweet potato: Either bake the sweet potato (sliced in half) for 1 hour in a 400°F oven or cook whole in a microwave on high for 5 minutes. Whatever you do, don’t boil the sweet potato because it will retain too much water and make the muffins mushy—lesson learned from experience!

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C, or gas mark 6). Spray the cups of a muffin tin with nonstick spray.

Add the sweet potato, milk, coconut oil, and sugar to a large mixing bowl. Stir until thoroughly combined.

In a separate bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, cloves, and ginger. Whisk to combine.

Add to the wet ingredients and stir to combine.

Pour the batter into the muffin cups, dividing it evenly.

To make the topping: Mix together the walnuts, coconut sugar, butter, and cinnamon in a small bowl. Press a small spoonful of crumble onto each muffin.

Bake for 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean.