4 Healthy Foods to Get You Through Winter

Alter your diet to match the season

BEETROOT

Benefits: Beetroot contains vitamins A, B, C, E, and K plus protein, dietary fibre, calcium, iron, and potassium. It’s also high in betacyanin, which helps fight cancer, plus folate and betaine, which lowers the risk of heart disease. How to eat it: Sauté the greens and serve them like spinach. Boil the beetroot unpeeled to retain the nutrients and add it to salad.

CABBAGE

Benefits: Green cabbage contains 80kJ and 33mg of vitamin C per cup. Red cabbage contains almost twice as much vitamin C as green, while green contains twice as much folate as the red. Cabbage helps prevent colon cancer, breast cancer and cancers of the uterus and ovaries. How to eat it: Sauté then stir in stock and dill to make a soup, or toss shredded red cabbage, carrot, onion in a Thai peanut sauce.

CARROTS

Benefits: Carrots are our most abundant source of beta-carotene. The more vivid the colour, the higher the level. Carrots can help reduce cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and vision problems. How to eat it: Cooking carrots increases their nutritional value because it breaks down the tough cellular walls that encase the beta-carotene.

OKRA

Benefits: Okra contains high amounts of pectin, which helps decrease blood pressure and cholesterol, and regulate the bowels. How to eat it: As it cooks, its fats are released, which thicken soups and stews. You can also pack in leftover pickle juice.