Superfoods That Warm You Up
Get that toasty feeling with these wintry eats.
— -- intro: As the temperature drops, don't be tempted to warm your belly with rich macaroni and cheese and creamy soup. Instead, get that toasty feeling from superfoods: healthy eats that are loaded with nutrients, antioxidants, and immune-boosting powers that your body needs to power itself through cold weather. Read on to find the best hot foods to eat on chilly days and a few healthy tidbits to prepare them for ultimate nutrition.
quicklist: 1category: Superfoods That Warm You Uptitle: Oatmealurl:text:When it gets cooler, it's the perfect time to break out the oatmeal. Oats are a whole grain, so you'll get a dose of fiber and plant-based protein to stop hunger with just one bowl. Plus, oatmeal contains a powerful starch called beta-glucan. Research in Nutrition Reviews found that just 3 grams a day of the beta-glucan in oats may reduce your bad cholesterol levels by 5 to 10%, whether they start out normal or high. You can get extra nutrition if you choose the right toppings too. "To get some healthy fat mixed in, I add almond butter and chia seeds," says Keri Gans, RD, a dietitian in New York City and author of The Small Change Diet.
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quicklist: 2category: Superfoods That Warm You Uptitle:Hot chocolateurl:text:Curling up with a cup of hot cocoa is one way to feel snug—just nix the sugary powdered mix with marshmallow bits. "When I make it, I like to melt two squares of dark chocolate and stir it into regular or almond milk," says Cynthia Sass, MPH, RD, Health's contributing nutrition editor. Adding a little dark chocolate to your diet is a great health booster too. The sweet contains flavonoids, a type of antioxidant thought to reduce the damage caused by free radicals, potential instigators of cancer and cardiovascular disease. A study in the Journal of Immunology Researchfound that red blood cells were less susceptible to free radicals after people consumed a drink with flavonoid-rich cocoa. media:26716615
quicklist: 3category: Superfoods That Warm You Uptitle:Black bean soupurl:text:There's nothing like a soup with cumin and chili pepper to heat you up when things get cold. The nutrition star of this dish, though, is the beans. Black beans are a good source of iron and copper. So sipping on this soup will help your muscles use more oxygen and boost your immune system, Gans says. A typical serving of soup would include nearly a cup of black beans, which provides 15 grams each of protein and fiber. Unlike animal protein sources, black beans contain almost no saturated fat. Research from the American Chemical Society also shows their black skins contain higher levels of the disease-fighting antioxidants flavonoids than any other type of bean.
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quicklist: 4category: Superfoods That Warm You Uptitle:Brussels sproutsurl:text:Eating these mini cabbages may just help you fight a cold this fall. In addition to being packed with fiber and cancer-fighting phytonutrients, Brussels sprouts run high in vitamin C at 74.8 milligrams a cup. It won't prevent the sniffles completely, but vitamin C has been shown to reduce the length of cold symptoms. Though the bitter taste of Brussels sprouts tends to scare some people away, heating them up can make a huge difference in flavor. "I would roast them with olive oil," Gans says. That will help bring out the sweetness.
quicklist: 5category: Superfoods That Warm You Uptitle:Pumpkin soupurl:text:If you're lacking vitamin A, the nutrient critical for promoting vision, a dose of pumpkin will do you good, Gans says. Most adult women should be getting 700 micrograms a day, according to the National Institutes of Health. In a serving of soup, you would use a third to a half cup of pumpkin puree, Gans says. So you could be getting more than a day's worth of this vitamin in most recipes. Be mindful of a recipe with cream, though, if you're looking to cut back on calories. Pumpkin also has antioxidant properties thanks to beta-carotene, Gans says. It's a pigment usually found in bright-colored produce, and it's thought to have cancer-fighting powers. A study in Anticancer Research treated human breast cells using carotenoids, including beta-carotene and lycopene, and found they can prevent their growth.
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This article originally appeared on Health.com.
