Tips for a Raw Vegan Winter
It may seem more difficult to stick to Meatless Mondays during the holiday season, especially if you’re striving to add more raw foods to your diet, but we’ve got some tips to keep you on track. Kristen Suzanne is here to share her game plan for making this winter a delicious, healthy, and kind one!
When the colder months arrive, I think of two things: staying healthy and staying warm. There are many ways to accomplish both – with a raw vegan diet!
Let’s start with the immune system. If there’s a time to stay healthy and keep the immune system strong, it’s now. While people are congregating more indoors to stay warm, traveling more because of the holidays, as well as letting their diets slip with sugar-laden foods and alcohol from all of the parties and gatherings, it can become an easy breeding ground for illnesses like the flu. Apart from the obvious hand washing, getting plenty of rest, etc., there are a few tricks for helping to keep the immune system nice and healthy.
Go Organic!
In addition to being better for the environment, organic produce contains more nutrients than conventionally grown food and this is the time of year to make sure you’re getting just that. Some people spend extra money on medicine, doctor visits, and being sick. Not me… my health is my priority so I don’t mind spending extra money for organic food, which helps me stay healthy and avoid spending on those other things in the long run.
Get Extra Greens!
Greens help alkalize the body and they’re loaded with superior nutrition. The easy way to get extra greens in your diet is to drink fresh organic green juice and green smoothies during the holidays. I sometimes add a green powder to the mix for extra oompf! Getting your greens in liquid form helps give the digestive system a rest, which can be beneficial for healing and rejuvenating the body. Go Greens!
Stay Hydrated!
When I’m drinking plenty of green juices and green smoothies, and eating a High Raw (or all Raw) diet, then staying hydrated comes easily. However, it doesn’t hurt to keep the fluids coming. A great way I easily add more hydration to my daily diet is to start and end every day with a nice cup of warm water with a squeeze of fresh organic lemon in it. Always filtered tap water (through a high quality filter), and never in plastic bottles. (I carry my water on-the-go in a reusable glass bottle or aluminum sports bottle.)
Probiotics Are Great!
During the holiday seasons, when everybody finds themselves a little busier, possibly more stressed, and surrounded by hordes of sniffling, sneezing, busy, stressed people… I take precautions and take probiotics. This gives my digestive system plenty of friendly bacteria… helping me stay healthy.
Fermented Foods Rock!
Fermented foods such as raw (unpasteurized) sauerkraut and kim-chi (pronounced “kim chee”) are quite popular around the world. They’re a staple in my diet year round and I generally consume about a 1/4 cup per day, or at least every couple of days. Fermented foods are low in calories with plenty of fiber, and they’re filled with a rich supply of vitamins and minerals. Plus, they help build up and maintain friendly bacteria in the body. All of these benefits are important… especially around the holidays.
I make my own sauerkraut from organic cabbage that I get from the farmer’s market. It takes about a month (or longer if desired) to ferment in my stoneware fermentation pot, so I make plenty of this when cabbage is in season. Then, I store it in my refrigerator for the months to come. If you don’t want to make your own, you can purchase delicious raw, organic, unpasteurized sauerkraut online from Gold Mine Natural Foods or Rejuvenative Foods, and sometimes your local Whole Foods Market has it.
Want to stay warm during the colder months while eating a raw vegan diet? No problem!
Here are a few tips:
1. Warming Spices!
During the colder months, it’s a great time to start spicing up your life in the food department. Some easy ways to do that are with spices like ginger, garlic, horseradish, curry, and cayenne pepper. Add some to the next green juice, green smoothie, raw soup, or salad that you enjoy. See how it gets your circulation flowing. Yowza!
Another favorite trick of mine for warming up is with organic miso soup – yum! (There are soy-free varieties of miso, too. My favorite brand is South River Miso.) Miso soup isn’t Raw, but miso has living components that are excellent for digestion and healing. Every time I have a warm cup of miso soup, I feel the lovely warmth spread in me from head to toe, literally in minutes.
2. A Dehydrator Warms Wonderfully!
Dehydrators are a great kitchen appliance for warming up your Raw foods. Dehydrating takes a little planning, of course, because you’ll need to warm your food for a couple of hours to get a nice soft warmth without destroying nutrients. One of my favorite raw vegan meals to warm in my dehydrator is raw vegan lasagna – Mmmmm.
3. Whirl a Little Longer in Your Blender!
Your blender (especially a high-powered blender) can be used to warm up Raw foods such as soups, nut/seed milks, and can even be used to warm up smoothies a bit to take the chill off. All you have to do is blend the ingredients for longer than you normally do, paying attention not to let them get too warm. A good temperature test is using your finger. Make sure your blender is OFF(!), and dip your finger into the mixture periodically to check the temperature. If it’s not too hot for your finger, it still has its nutrients.
Get Your Booty Movin’!
Exercise is great for getting blood circulating and warming you from head to toe. I keep a rebounder near my desk and jump on it every few hours for about 10 minutes to warm my body. Stay toasty in the winter and burn calories – a win-win! Another great (and cheaper) option is to use a jump rope.
Dress Warmer!
Sounds obvious, but it’s true! Treat yourself to a pair of fluffy organic cotton (or hemp) socks and an extra sweater. Layer up with your clothes. We keep extra blankets around the house this time of year, too, so staying warm is nice and easy – without having to keep the thermostat too high and wasting energy.
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21 Comments
Great post, Kristen! I love my fermented foods (as you know) and South River Miso is awesome! I love using it in my soups, gives it a wine flavor! :) Stay warm!!
Great ideas, thank you so much Kristin- I cannot seem to get warm these days, however your tips are guaranteed to get me warmed up!
Great tips to share, Kristen! I don’t know why folks think raw food equals cold food. I looooove blended soups in the winter and I like to pre-heat my soup bowl.
Thanks for writing in! I’m off to make a smoothie with warming ingredients now. :)
All great tips — as usual!!
Great post Kristen. I struggle with raw foods when winter rolls around – not only is it hard to find fresh, affordable, organic produce in Canada during the winter, but when it’s -30C the last thing I feel like eating is a smoothie or salad. I will try some of these suggestions though, thanks!
I can appreciate that Judy. Hopefully by dressing warmer and trying some of the tips I mentioned, you’ll feel warmer, and then want more Raw foods. :)
The best thing to do is not to stress about it. Get in as much Raw food as you can, enjoy some cooked vegan foods on those days you just want to (or have to), and call it a day. Every year it gets easier. :)
I’d really like to start incorporating more probiotics into my life and there’s a great fermented sauerkraut at the greenmarket here in NYC. I bought a jar, but don’t know what to do with it. It’s not really appealing to me just plain. Do you do anything fun and “Kristeny” with it?
Great tips! I’m planning to start an ACT cleanse in January, so I’ll be putting all these ideas to use. Thankfully, I’m getting a dehydrator for Christmas.
Hi James,
Sometimes I eat it plain (usually – yum!), but other times I add it like a dressing and sprinkle it on wraps, salads, sandwiches. My husband loves sauerkraut sandwiches where he takes organic bread, toasts it, and puts the kraut between the two slices. You can dice up some tomatoes and cucumbers and then toss in some kraut. All good!
Hi Kristen,
I loved this blog – full of good tips! I especially liked the idea of adding warming spices to your raw foods this time of year. This is my first Christmas with over 50% raw in my life, so I have been at a bit of a loss as to how to make my foods more appropriate to the season. I am ready to try miso, so if you have a recipe for homemade miso soup that you are able to share, please post it! :)
Miso soup recipe coming right up! Guess what, it’s SO easy!!!
Heat up some water, add 1-3 teaspoons of miso, stir together, wrap your hands around the nice mug, and sip the goodness. :)
If you want to get fancy, you can add pressed raw garlic or minced ginger. You could add chopped scallions or sliced mushrooms. But, that’s fancy schmancy… and good no doubt. ;) But, sometimes simple is awesome, too. :)
Love it.. this is just what this city mouse turned country mouse needed to hear. And plant your collard greens in January and have greens all night long. Off to listen to the crickets and sleep to the sounds of nature… loving the move. Missed you guys.
Thanks, Kristen! That IS easy! Sorry to be a pest, but now I have another question: what should I look for when I go to buy miso? Are there certain kinds or types? I tried yesterday but I was a bit confused and no one could speak English to help me. For example, dried, paste in a jar, solid chunk in a plastic bag, red, white, etc.?!
Thanks so much!
No worries, you are not a pest. I love helping people. :)
The miso I buy is in a jar and it’s from online SouthRiverMiso.com (truly the best miso I’ve had)… but, you probably don’t have access to it. So! Look for something in the refrigerated section either in a jar, preferably, or a plastic container (it’ll be a paste). I have seen it like a paste in a bag, too.
You can get light or dark. The light tends to have a touch of sweetness to it and the dark is richer. I like them both. And, if possible, get GMO-Free since most miso is made from soy. The cool thing about South River is that not only are they all organic, but they actually offer soy free varieties for people allergic to soy.
Cheers,
Kristen
A Holiday Thought…
Aren’t humans amazing Animals? They kill wildlife – birds, deer, all kinds of cats, coyotes, beavers, groundhogs, mice and foxes by the million in order to protect their domestic animals and their feed.
Then they kill domestic animals by the billion and eat them. This in turn kills people by the million, because eating all those animals leads to degenerative – and fatal – - health conditions like heart disease, stroke, kidney disease, and cancer.
So then humans spend billions of dollars torturing and killing millions of more animals to look for cures for these diseases.
Elsewhere, millions of other human beings are being killed by hunger and malnutrition because food they could eat is being used to fatten domestic animals.
Meanwhile, few people recognize the absurdity of humans, who kill so easily and violently, and once a year send out cards praying for “Peace on Earth.”
~Revised Preface to Old MacDonald’s Factory Farm by C. David Coates~
what are the ingredients of a green smoothie?
Kristen–I need to lose 75 lbs and I want to do it with raw foods. It needs to be simple and portable or easy to obtain because I travel for work. Not too much lettuce and meet protein requirements, etc. I need to feel full and energized. Do you have a book that might help me? Many thanks for your help!
Leslie, not to answer for Kristen, but she does have an AWESOME book that I just got called Kristen’s Raw: The EASY Way to Get Started & SUCCEED with Raw Food. It’s in the Crazy Sexy Cancer store which links to kristensraw.com, where you can buy it. It is also available from Amazon, Barnes and Noble, etc. I hear that Kristen is also coming out with a book on weight loss through the Raw Vegan lifestyle…so stay tuned! Hope this helps!
I am interested in learning to eat more raw foods and vegetarian foods. This article will be helpful.
I also have resources for health and wellness and going green on my website: http://www.GlennIsGreen.com
Hope they help.
-Glenn
Some veggies have ‘warming’ properties. Carrots & fennel for example. I am drinking a ‘warming’ raw carrot and fennel juice as I speak :-) Ayurveda has a lot to say about the warming or cooling properties of food. It’s worth checking out…
December 7, 2009