The Best Comfort Foods For Winter Will Keep You Warm, No Matter What The Weather’s Like

Even though I have lived most of my life on the East Coast, I do not like the winter. And as many of us who live in the wintry parts of the US have felt, the cold weather has been painfully and frigidly bonkers lately. While it’s important to get a little air from time to time, there are some winter days a gal simply has to stay inside. This means popping on a fleece robe and stocking up on the best comfort foods for winter. Trust, winter cooking is all about the recipes that will make you feel warmed from the inside out. It makes everything so much easier to bear!

You also might notice that along with wanting cozy meals in the winter time, you are straight up be hungrier, too! A study published in The European Journal of Clinical Nutrition shows that caloric intake definitely goes up in the winter. But is eating more in the winter something that we’re biologically inclined to do to keep warm, or are we just in need of a little comfort? Well researchers are not totally certain one way or another.

Either way, it sure does feel good to sit down with a warm pot of stew or some cocoa. Try some of the below suggestions from food pros and you’ll be sure to be piping hot in no time.

Make some hot, cayenne pepper oatmeal

A new, warming spin on an already warm dish!

"Oatmeal in itself is warming in the morning, but add a pinch of cayenne pepper for lingering warmth," says Colleen Wysocki-Woods, MS, RDN and owner of Zest Nutrition. "Within minutes of eating, you’ll feel the heat circulate throughout your body and remain warm for about 20-30 minutes."

Have a yummy piece of cinnamon toast

Just a little shake of everyone’s favorite wintry spice will warm you right up!

As Claudia Sidoti, Head Chef at HelloFresh tells Elite Daily, there are certain spices that have a thermogenic effect. They actually heat up our core temperature and increase blood circulation.

"This is why we tend to associate warming spices with the fall and winter months because of their warming effects," she says. And spicy sweet cinnamon is one of the best thermogenic spices out there. Put some in your hot cocoa, or make a delicious plate of cinnamon toast.

Get wild and try Yerba Mate chicken soup

No, you don’t have to use one of those little mate straws to get the warming benefits of this plant.

"Argentine Yerba Mate is an antioxidant-rich tea that offers a myriad of health benefits, many of which will help to reduce the chances of coming down with a cold, and help simply staying warm on winter’s coldest days," she says registered dietitian Keri Glassman.

Mate can boost your immune system, as well as your focus and energy, she says, which are both things you need to keep you going in the cold, dark winter.

But if you don’t dig the taste of the tea? Well, Glassman says that a great way to use mate is to cook it right into a delicious chicken soup. Her favorite recipe includes lots of cilantro and garlic, too!

Go for a steaming hot bowl of vegan fried rice

Chef Nate Park makes a hot and hearty vegan fried rice on a cold day, telling Elite Daily that this dish is sure to help keep you both warm and full all day long.

“My go-to is fried rice, which is easy to scramble up with plant-based JUST Egg," Park writes in an email. "The combination of garlic and shallots is aromatic and instantly warms me up on a cold day. Using JUST Egg to finish fried rice drives up protein values and adds a positive texture notes in the finished dish."

Jamaican Hot Chocolate

This alcoholic cocoa recipe from Rob McShea at Miss B’s Coconut Club adds another little warming element, wink-wink, but you can add booze in or leave it out. This cocoa is spicy and warming enough without!

This cocoa recipe has Jamaican Rum, cinnamon simple syrup, cocoa powder, nutmeg, allspice, almond milk, salt, and for that spicy finish, some cayenne pepper.

Just imagine sitting near a fire with this warming cocoa of oh-so-many thermogenic spices. And yeah, maybe a little nip of something extra, too.

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