Winter Wellness Tips

Booooo! We hope everyone had a wonderful Halloween! It's hard to believe November is here already, especially since we've been lucky enough to have had sunny days for much of October. As we get ready to hunker down into the darker chill that November brings, we like to remember some of our winter survival tips for all of us here on the West coast who can get a little overwhelmed by the constant grey of the coming months.

Winter can be hard on us, mentally and physically. The days are shorter, colder, and darker and that can take a toll on our health if we're not careful. It can be easier to get colds and flus in the winter and harder to fight them off. So here are a few winter wellness tips to remember as we move into the dark part of the year.

1. Wash your hands. This is a basic wellness tip at any time of the year but it's especially important in winter, when germs are basically partying non-stop. Take the time to lather up completely and rinse well. It really does make a difference.

2. Clean up winter mould. In a damp place like BC, a lot of the places we live, work and play in have mould. Mould can trigger nasal congestion, sneezing, coughing, wheezing, respiratory infections and worsen asthma and allergic conditions. Clean the mouldy surface with water and an abrasive soap, and then check to see if you can fix the source of the mould. Is there a leak, water damage, excessive humidity? If there's extensive mould growth, consider getting professional help.

3. Stay hydrated. The colder air and indoor heaters can dry out your skin. Make sure you drink at least 8 glasses of water each day and use moisturizers throughout winter. Staying hydrated will also help make mucous membranes, including those in your sinuses, more resistant to bacteria.

4. Exercise. It can be hard to get motivated when it’s cold and dark, but -- good news -- your body has to work overtime to get warm during outdoor exercise, so you can burn more calories on that early morning walk or run. Another good reason to keep moving in the winter is that you're more susceptible to tendonitis and stress fracture if you don;t exercise all winter and then expect to pick up where you left off in the spring.

5. Get enough sleep. This is a basic health tip, no matter what the season. The darker days of winter can mean that you need even more sleep than usual, so make sure you're hitting the hay with plenty of time to spare. Getting enough rest can go a long way to making sure you're not run down, and therefore more susceptible to colds and flus.

6. Up your vitamin and mineral intake. Make sure you're getting enough iron, zinc, vitamin C and vitamin B. If you can, look for ways to boost your dietary consumption of these vitamins and minerals before popping a supplement. Are you getting lots of dark, leafy vegetables in your diet? What about red and yellow vegetables?

7. Eat well. Well, what other advice can we offer? We believe in the power of eating well, so keep your health up by getting three healthy meals a day and definitely eating breakfast. For your body to be able to respond to infection, it needs to have enough protein. Eat a balanced diet and allow yourself the comfort of a little extra fat if your body's craving it.

What are your winter tricks for staying healthy? We'd love to know!

Braised Leeks

Adapted from Simply Recipes

INGREDIENTS

6 leeks
2 garlic cloves, minced
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
Salt, to taste
2 teaspoons fresh thyme or 1 teaspoon dried
1 teaspoon honey or maple syrup
1 bay leaf
1/2 cup dry white wine
1/2 cup vegetable stock
1/4 cup parsley, chopped
 

DIRECTIONS

Cut off the very roots and tops of the leeks, then slice through the shank of the leek lengthwise. Rinse the two long pieces of leek under cold running water to get rid of any dirt or grit.

In a large pan, heat butter over medium-high heat until melted and foamy, then turn down to medium and add minced garlic and the leeks, cut side down. Cook for 1-2 minutes, until lightly browned. Turn over and sprinkle with salt, then cook the other side for 1-2 minutes.

Turn the leeks back over so the cut side is down, sprinkle the leeks with the honey or maple syrup, the thyme leaves and a touch more salt. Add the white wine, vegetable stock, and bay leaf and bring to a gentle simmer. Cover and cook 35-45 minutes over medium-low heat.

When the leeks are tender enough so that a knife blade pierces them easily, uncover the pot and bring the braising liquid to a rolling boil. Let this reduce by half, then turn off the heat. Add the parsley, swirl it around and serve.

Celebrating Pumpkins!

It's that time of year! With Halloween just around the corner, pumpkin season is officially upon us -- and what a delicious season it is. Pumpkin pies, pumpkin stews, pumpkin lattes, pumpkin cookies, pumpkin soups; this versatile squash spices up just about any dish and evokes this crispness of fall like no other food. So what's the pumpkin all about, anyway?

Pumpkins, like all other squash, are native to North America, though now, of course, they can be found growing happily in many parts of the world, including Australia, where the word "pumpkin" means any variety of winter squash, not just the round, orange-fleshed varieties that we tend to prize over here in Canada. In fact, pumpkins are now so prevalently grown around the world that the only continent without any pumpkins grown on it is Antarctica (for obvious reasons, perhaps)!

In our corner of the world, we tend to use just the flesh of the pumpkin in our cooking, but most parts of this squash are edible, including the seeds, the leaves and even the flowers. In Spanish, pumpkin seeds are called pepitas, a culinary term that's widely used even among English-language chefs.

Pumpkin leaves are a popular green vegetable in parts of Kenya -- they're called seveve and are a main ingredient in the traditional Kikuyu dish mukimo.


This time of year, pumpkins are most recognizable to us in their jack-o'-lantern form -- but did you know that jack-o'-lanterns were originally carved into turnips or beets, which were abundant in Ireland, where the practice as it relates to Halloween is believed to originate. The first carved pumpkin lantern to be called jack-o'-lanterns showed up in the United States in 1834, and were originally associated with the harvest season in general, rather than specifically part of Halloween.



Celebrate pumpkins this week with us by carving your own jack-o'-lantern, stewing up some winter squash, or baking a spooky pie!

Pumpkin and Black Bean Chili

INGREDIENTS

1 medium pumpkin (can substitute other orange-fleshed squashes, like butternut), peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces

3 carrots, cut into 1-inch pieces

3/4 cup olive oil

2 bell peppers, chopped into 2-inch pieces

1 large onion, chopped

6 garlic cloves, minced

4 cups broth

2 10-ounce cans diced tomatoes, with liquid

2 16-ounce cans black beans, drained
2 jalapeño peppers, minced

2 cups corn, fresh or frozen

1 tablespoon chili powder

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon cumin

Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Balsamic vinegar, to taste

Chopped green onions, to serve

Shredded cheddar cheese, to serve

Sour cream, to serve

DIRECTIONS

In a large pot, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add onion, sautéing until fragrant, about three minutes. Add garlic, pumpkin,  and carrot. Cook, stirring frequently, for about 10 minutes.

Add the broth, diced tomatoes, bell pepper, beans, corn, and jalapeños, then stir in the chili powder, cinnamon, cumin, and lemon juice. Bring the mixture up to a simmer, then reduce the heat, cover, and cook for at least 1 hour, or until the pumpkin and carrot are tender. The longer it cooks, the more the flavours blend, so give it time if you can. 

Before serving, taste and season with salt and pepper and a dash of balsamic vinegar. Serve hot with chopped green onions, shredded cheddar cheese, and sour cream.

Calgary is coming!

Coming soon: Green Earth Organics Calgary! There's not much on their website yet, but the new owners of this new location are busy getting stocked and set up and hope to start delivering in November. Watch this space for more information!

Mushroom Leek Risotto

Adapted from The Kitchn

INGREDIENTS

2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 large leek, washed thoroughly and sliced
1/2 shallot or 1/4 small onion, finely diced
2 cups roughly chopped fresh mushrooms
2 tablespoons fresh thyme leaves
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 cups (1 pound) white arborio rice
1/2 cup dry white wine
4 to 5 cups broth
Parmesan cheese, to serve
Salt and pepper, to taste

DIRECTIONS

Heat the butter over medium heat in a large pot. Add chopped leek and shallot and sauté until soft, about ten minutes.

Push the leek and shallot to the edge of the pan, and turn the heat to medium-high. Add the mushrooms to the center of the pan. Cook for several minutes without stirring, then flip them over and cook until nicely browned. Stir in the thyme leaves and a sprinkle of salt and pepper.

Add the rice and stir to coat evenly with the butter and vegetables. Sauté for several minutes, until the rice begins to turn translucent. Add white wine and stir until cooked off.

Add one cup of the broth and stir occasionally, until no liquid left. Continue to add the remaining broth one cup at a time, stirring frequently. Add broth until the rice is cooked to al dente, cooked-through completely but still with a bit of a bite. Taste and season if necessary with additional salt and pepper.

Serve with grated Parmesan on top.

Save Your Soup Stock!

The days have been sunny and crisp and the leaves are really starting to fall. It's autumn! We're in the thick of fall right now and what we want to know is - do you save your scraps to make soup stock?

We're heading into the depths of soup season. Soup is one of those magical foods that can be made in a million ways, but at its heart it always contains a good, seasoned stock. You can buy that stock (or broth) when you need it but you can also make it at home! If you're a meat eater, you probably already know the virtues of boiling chicken carcasses, but did you know that you can use the same trick for veggies?

Here's how: grab a plastic bag (ziploc or shopping bag) or a container that can fit into your freezer easily. Keep it on hand when you're chopping veggies for a stir fry, making a salad, or using some onion in your morning omelet. Everything you don't use in the meal you're immediately making? Put into that freezer bag. That includes carrot tops, onion ends, herb stems, parsley that's just not fresh enough to eat, well, fresh but still fine to boil-- put it all in. Leave out anything that's moldy, but otherwise if it's a scrap, it can be used to make stock.

Collect your scraps over the week instead of sending those bits out to the compost and at the end of the week, dump it all into a big pot, add water and salt (if you want) and boil it for several hours, until the veggies are so soft they're falling apart and the water is darkened and deeply flavoured. Bonus: your house will smell amazing all afternoon.

Strain out the solid matter (now you get to compost it!) and save the stock you just made by either storing it in the fridge for up to a few days or by freezing it. Voila! Next time you need some broth, just reach into your freezer and defrost a container. If you go through a lot of vegetables, you can make stock on a weekly basis and ensure you always have some around when you need it.

Use your tasty homemade stock to add to soups, stews, risotto, casseroles-- you name it! There is no end to its usefulness.

Some strong-flavoured vegetables can overpower homemade stock to make sure you want your soups to taste like cabbage, for instance, before adding anything in the cabbage family. Everything else is pretty easy-going. Do not add any green parts from plant in the nightshade family (tomato, pepper, potato, eggplant, etc) as those parts contain toxins that are harmful to your system. Never use anything that has black mold on it or any rotten meat parts.