WARMING FOODS & MY SPICED CHIA PUMPKIN PIE SMOOTHIE

Winter has well and truly arrived for us Southern Hemisphereans. During the cooler months, our bodies need a bit of TLC. The desire to rug up, sleep for longer, wear wooly socks and eat heartier comforting meals are our body’s way of telling us what it needs:

• Warming foods including hot rolled oats, vegetable soups, lentil curries and bean stews;
• Warming spices like cayenne pepper, chilli, pepper, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, cardamom, fennel and anise;
• Immune supporting foods like citrus, kiwifruit, watercress, cauliflower and silverbeet and
• Grounding foods like potatoes, kumara, carrots, turnips, celery root, pumpkin, yams, beetroot

Conveniently, and by no coincidence, all of these veggies are in season during autumn and winter, making it sustainable and affordable to stay well.

The good news is you can incorporate the principle of warming foods into your breakfast routine rather easily, without compromising on nutrients. Have you tried this yummy chocolate warming winter smoothie?

Pumpkins are so cheap at the moment and are packed full of dietary fiber, antioxidants, minerals (copper, calcium, potassium and phosphorus); vitamins A, C, E, and B-complex Vitamins; alpha and beta carotenes, cryptoxanthin, lutein and zeaxanthin. So basically, a superfood without the super price tag!

Here's a warming smoothie recipe incorporating pumpkin, chia, cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg:

• 1 cup of raw (thinly sliced) or cooked (and cooled) pumpkin
  
• 2 cups homemade almond milk
• 2 tbsp chia seeds
• 1 frozen ripe banana, cut into thick chunks
• 1-2 tbsp pure maple syrup, to taste (if you're using a packaged almond milk remember that they can be very sweet - you may not need as much maple)
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 inch of fresh grated ginger or 1/2 tsp ground ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
• Dash of vanilla extract
• 4-5 ice cubes

Serves 2

1. Soak the chia seeds in the almond milk anywhere from 20 Minutes to overnight. 
2. Add soaked chia mixture to blender with the pumpkin, maple syrup, frozen banana, vanilla, ginger and spices. Blend until smooth. Add about 5 ice cubes and blend until smooth and dreamy.
3. Enjoy!