Inexpensive Ways to Keep Warm This Winter: Change Your Diet

High fuel prices and electric bills can really eat at your household budget during the frigid winter months. Keeping warm during cold weather is a necessity that sometimes requires a bit of creativity. One simple strategy is to change your diet and cooking habits to warm your body and heat your home. Modifying your menu is an easy and affordable way to combat high heating costs without sacrificing your comfort.

Inexpensive Ways to Keep Warm This Winter: Add spicy foods to your diet.

Spice up your menu to stimulate circulation and keep warm naturally this winter. Incorporate inexpensive spices such as cinnamon, cumin, ginger and curry powder into your meal repertoire. Cinnamon goes nicely with many breakfast foods, baked goods and hot beverages. Cumin has a slight smoke flavor that enhances meat and rice dishes. Ginger makes a flavorful, soothing tea. Curry powder packs a wallop of heat and flavor. If you are new to ginger or curry powder, it is best to refer to a recipe and use those ingredients in small amounts at first.

Inexpensive Ways to Keep Warm This Winter: Cook home-style soups, stews and casseroles for dinner.

Choose meals which heat your home as they cook or bake. Traditional winter fare, such as stews, provides warmth for the body as well as your home. Home-style meals are also inexpensive because their versatility allows you to use the ingredients you have available.

Inexpensive Ways to Keep Warm This Winter: Avoid cold convenience meals.

Replace convenience foods like cold cereal and sandwiches with their warm counterparts. Try hot cereal, cinnamon toast or grilled cheese sandwiches instead. Cook extra servings of dinner and use them for quick lunches that warm the body.

Inexpensive Ways to Keep Warm This Winter: Get a head start on baking.

As cold as it is now, you will likely dread turning on your oven during the squelching summer months. Enjoy your fill of baked goodies now and bake extra for later. Tightly wrap baked goods to preserve freshness and store in the freezer. The guidelines for storing baked goods vary with each item. Prepared foods such as cookies and yellow cake will keep for several months.

Inexpensive Ways to Keep Warm This Winter: Drink hot beverages to stay warm.

Sip hot beverages like tea, cocoa, coffee and broth throughout the day to keep warm. However, be mindful of your nutritional intake since it is easy to unknowingly drink excessive calories, sugar and sodium. Choose diet-friendly ingredients like sugar free cocoa or low sodium broth. Use a travel mug or large latte mug since they hold a generous quantity and help beverages stay warm longer.

Mom's Cinnamon Tea Recipe

Yield: 2- 8 ounce servings

2 cups water

1 cinnamon stick

Bring 2 cups of water to boil in a saucepan.

Add cinnamon stick and steep for five minutes.

Remove the cinnamon stick.

If desired, sweeten to taste with sugar or honey.

Sources

Personal Experience

"Freezing Baked Goods." NDSU Extension Service