Yesterday, when I was juicing fresh homegrown veggies and eating raw sauerkraut like there's no tomorrow, I thought about making this new blog post. Just some personal tips and tricks to boost your health during this dreadfully dark winter season. And to remind myself that we have our very own superfoods that are affordable and widely available. These tips are based on my personal experience during the last couple of years. I hope you will get some inspiration!
1) Proper sleeping.
Don't ever underestimate the power of a good night's sleep! It can create miracles. I have never understood why people say you shouldn't go to sleep when angry. I feel so much calmer and clear minded when I've had some sleep. I also remember a saying that you shouldn't think dark and deep thoughts after 2 am. I completely agree. Night hours can sometimes really distort your thoughts. I have discovered that 9 hours of sleep works the best for me. But of course it is different for everyone. Also, good night's sleep can really help to maintain your health and immune system.
2) Training in the fresh air.
For me, it's the best combo - fresh air and a workout. During this time I can get some daylight, enjoy the nature and sweat. And I go out with every weather. If I start to get picky about the weather in Scandinavia, I wouldn't get much training done. Sometimes it's so hard to get your ass moving but it's essential for feeling good, staying fit and healthy. So when I am not feeling it, I just start to put my training clothes on then it is much easier. The hardest journey is the distance from the computer chair to the running shoes :) In addition to running, I also like to do at least one body weight workout a week. Just to tone the muscles and support my running.
If I have some bananas at home, you can definitely hear my blender roaring in the mornings. My base recipe always contains ripe bananas, pitted dates and water. Then I add something seasonal or just what I have at hand. Right now, my favorite is this delicious cranberry smoothie. My dear mother always sends me the best stuff and thanks to her, I have beautiful jars full of cranberries waiting to be consumed.
Cranberry smoothie
Serves: 1 large or two little glasses of smoothie
Ingredients:
- 6 pitted dates
- 1 large ripe banana
- 1 smaller apple
- 1 small handful of cranberries
- 1 cup / 240 ml cold water
Preparation:
Pour some boiling water over the dates and let them soak for a couple of minutes. In the meantime, peel the banana and cut it into chunks. If you have an organic apple, don't peel it. Just remove the core and cut the apple into chunks. Drain and rinse the dates with cold water. Add the dates to a blender along with banana, apple, cranberries and cold water. Blend until smooth. Enjoy!
I just love the taste of cranberries! Plus they contain C- and B-vitamins and are also anti-inflammatory and antibacterial. So during the winter season, cranberries are the the perfect superfood.
Click HERE for more smoothie recipes!
4) Freshly pressed juice.
If you are lucky and you happen to have a juicer, then now it's the perfect time to drink some vegetables. When smoothies are perfect for consuming more fruits, then the juicer really helps to get more out of the veggies. Just yesterday I made a heavenly tasty fresh juice: homegrown carrots and beets, apples, cranberries, ginger, zucchini and cucumber. Such a treat after a sweaty workout!
5) Sauerkraut.
Raw sauerkraut tastes wonderful and it's also really good for your bowels and health. It contains C- and B-vitamins and probiotics. I like to add a couple of tablespoons of raw sauerkraut to my main dish. Just like a salad. Again, I have to thank my wonderful mom for the beautiful homemade sauerkraut!
6) Fresh salads.
In addition to your regular tasty and filling vegan meals, I really recommend to eat more raw salads. They don't have to be expensive or extravagant. Just the good old root veggies, some nuts and seeds. Click HERE for a super salad special with 5 salad recipes!
7) D-vitamin.
For the last couple of years, I have took vegan D-vitamin during a two month period, twice a year. On Fall and on Spring. My favorite is this D3 vitamin I order from iHerb. It has a reasonable price and it really works. I usually order them for my family too. I don't know, if it's because of training in the fresh air or taking D-vitamin or a combination of these two, but my immune system has improved (knock on wood).
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| Photo from iHerb |
8) Proper entertainment :)
I just can't contain my excitement. My all time favorite video series Fallout has a new game coming out tomorrow. Fallout 4! I have waited for this moment for almost 7 years. I played Fallout 3 at least 400 hours. It has a wonderful post-apocalyptic world, where you can roam free and try to survive. Winter season doesn't look that bad anymore to me. But I am sure that point nr.8 will heavily interfere with my point nr.1 :)
Have a fun, tasty and healthy winter season! :)
