Tis the frosty season in Australia so we’re going to jump into healthy weight gain food ideas for winter.

This season may not be everyone’s favourite, but there are food traditions during this time of year that are very satisfying. Hello happy place!

Generally, when it’s cold and your belly is filled with delicious and healthy food, you just feel better.

On the whole, lots of people gain weight during winter because you’re hungrier a lot of the time.

Our body temperature drops and uses more energy to stay warm. This stimulates hunger and eating helps warm us up as well gives energy for other daily functions.

However if you’re one of the few that struggles to gain weight even in winter, this post is for you.

But first, I just wanted to point out how amazing food harvested in winter is. There is lots of produce with starch that helps with those hunger pangs.

Second, as it also happens to be flu season, there are loads of citrus fruits that help with boosting immunity. All great reasons to eat seasonal produce.

Winter Foods In Season

Quite a bit of autumn produce carries over to winter including root vegetables. Lots of this season’s produce is high in nutrients including vitamin C, fibre and of course calories for healthy weight gain.

Fruits:

Oranges, lemons, limes, grapefruit, avocados, mandarins, kiwi fruit, pineapples, pears, apples, pawpaw and rhubarb are some fruits that are commonly found in winter.

Vegetables:

Potatoes, pumpkin, silver beet, sweet potato, turnips, cabbage, cauliflower, carrots, kale, Asian greens, spinach, onion, swedes, mushroom, eggplant and broccoli are just some of the veggies on offer.

What Winter Foods To Eat For Healthy Weight Gain

Breakfast:

What beats starting a cold day with some hot breakfast? I mean you’ve had to get out of your warm bed and this kind of makes up for it.

By the way, if you haven’t already, do check out the post on autumn healthy weight gain foods because a lot of the same food is available and you can get some ideas from there too.

Porridge:

No doubt some of you may be thinking “Who over the age of 10 or under the age of 70 still eats porridge?”

Porridge is pretty quick and easy to make and you can add all sorts of toppings to it. Also it’s tasty, filling, with loads of nutrients.

There are lots of different kinds of porridge including oatmeal, rice flour, semolina, maize meal, barley, millet, buckwheat etc.

If you’ve never really been a porridge person before, try it. You’ll probably find one that you like.

Also, for anyone in hurry or just feeling lazy, simply warm some full cream milk and add homemade granola for healthy calories.

While we’re on the subject of porridge, if you’re looking for something a little different, try congee. It’s a kind of Asian porridge which can include stock and bits of chicken, meat or fish.

I lived in South East Asia for a couple of years where I first tried it, and it is so good!

Congee does take some time to prepare but here is a simple recipe that doesn’t take too long.

 If that sounds really weird to you to have for breakfast, enjoy congee at lunch, dinner or as a snack.

Toast:

Picture yourself with crunchy, warm toast in one hand and a hot cup of coffee or tea in the other. Utter bliss!

Top your toast with healthy options like honey, nut butters, eggs (your way), avocado, baked beans, cottage cheese and sliced fruit, tinned sardines, good quality cheese….the list just goes on.

Flat breads:

Countries all over the world have their own version of flat breads which are great healthy weight gain food ideas for winter.

Some of the different flat breads include pita, arepas, naan, chapati, roti, tortillas, parathas, and tortillas to name a few.

I just love a breakfast that includes naan or chapati with a steaming fragrant cup of chai tea.

You can enjoy them on their own, with a spread or with a few toppings like scrambled eggs, cheese or beans.

Hot drinks at breakfast and over the course of the day will also help with keeping you warm.

I’m a huge tea drinker and now there are almost too many options out there.

In winter I love having chai and spiced teas that include cardamom, ginger or cinnamon. These definitely help with keeping you warm and with supporting immunity.

Other hot drinks could include coffee, milk, cocoa or hot chocolate.  It goes without saying that you should use full cream milk in your drinks for calories.

Lunch And Dinner

Soups:

Winter meals need to be filling, warming and nourishing. And this is where soups come in.

In my humble opinion, they are one of the best things about winter.

However I will say one thing about soups. If you’re wanting to gain weight, you need to eat soup as a starter/entrée and also have a main afterwards, or you just won’t put on weight.

You can’t just have soup and expect to put on weight. It’s not going to happen.

I have a pretty good appetite and honestly, if I just have soup, even a heavy one with bread, I’ll be really hungry in a couple of hours.

So what soups are best for healthy weight gain?

Glad you asked. Here are a couple of tips for adding healthy calories to soups:

• Use ingredients in soups like potatoes, rice, lentils, chickpeas, sweet potatoes, parsnips, whole grain pasta/noodles, yams, avocado, quinoa, beans, milk, chicken, beef and olive oil.
• Use toppings for soups like yogurt, diced avocado, croutons etc.

Here are some weight gain soup examples: Bean soups, potato and leek, pumpkin, sweet potato, beef and barley, chicken noodle soups, chilli, meatball soup, mixed root vegetable soups etc

Curries:

Curries are a great winter food for increased calories, warming you up, and also have other health benefits.  

Many curries use herbs and spices with antioxidant, anti-cancer properties e.g. garlic, turmeric and ginger. Other curry ingredients are anti-viral and help with digestion.

Honestly, the best curries are the ones you make at home because you know what’s in them, and you can make them as mild or spicy as you like.  

Also we’re spoilt for choice and can select curries from different parts of the world including Thailand, India, the Caribbean, and Malaysia etc.

Naturally, curries with the highest calories will be those that use coconut milk as a base.

For instance coconut curry with beef/chicken/fish/lamb/vegetable and Indian kormas.

Soak up curries with rice, flat breads, bulgur, quinoa or barley among other starches. If you find the heat in the curries is a bit much, cool down with some spoons of plain yogurt.

 Starchy Root vegetables:

Examples of root vegetables include yams, carrots, potatoes, beetroot, parsnip, turnips and sweet potatoes.

Take advantage of the variety of winter root vegetables and enjoy them in different ways such as mashed, baked, grilled, roasted, in casseroles, salads, stews or soups.

For example, take the humble potato, there’s so much to be done with it. There’s shepherd’s pie, hash browns, cottage fries, gratin, baked potatoes etc.

And don’t forget to drizzle some olive oil or yogurt for additional healthy calories.

Rice:

If for the most part of your life you’ve been eating plain white rice, it’s time to jazz up your rice routine.

Truly, there are so many tasty rice dishes, let me count SOME of the ways.

Fried rice, coconut rice, paella, Turkish pilaf, biriani, sticky rice, Mexican rice, saffron rice, lemon rice, risotto and a whole range of one pot rice meals with vegetables, meat and poultry etc.

Grains:

Just like in autumn, there are plenty of whole grains to be eaten in winter.

They are a great source of carbohydrates for healthy weight gain and can be enjoyed for at all meal times e.g. oats for breakfast or popcorn as a snack.

Grains like brown rice, buckwheat, bulgur, quinoa, barley can be eaten as main meals or in salads. When it comes to bread, pasta and noodles, choose wholemeal types.

Fruit and desserts:

Winter desserts are generally quite heavy and the less healthy ones usually have lots of cream, sugar and syrup.

I like to keep it simple with fruit.

Enjoy fresh fruit on its own, stewed fruit or baked fruit topped with maple syrup, granola, cinnamon, nuts etc.

Other ideas include using fruit to make baked items like banana bread, pumpkin scones, rhubarb bread, zucchini and carrot muffins etc.

Have oats in your pantry? You can bake healthy oatmeal bars, muffins or biscuits etc.  Add in some berries or nuts for texture and flavour.

Last but not least, one of my favourite winter desserts is a creamy rice pudding with cinnamon. There aren’t enough words to say how this hits the spot!

Folks, there’s so much to enjoy food wise this winter. Get some fresh produce and enjoy healthy weight gain food ideas this winter.