Here are my top five foods for staying healthy and happy through the winter months:

1. Probiotics

Probiotics keep your belly happy and support a healthy immune system. Probiotics are good bacteria that are in fermented foods like yogurt, kefir, sauerkraut, miso, pickles and kombucha. Not only do probiotics keep your belly happy, they can also improve your mood, help curb stress and lower anxiety.

How to make the most of it: Add yogurt or kefir to your smoothies, or on top your oatmeal. Make sandwiches with sauerkraut or pickles, or add miso to soups and stews.

2. Vitamin D

Vitamin D has been called the sunshine vitamin because we need the sun for our bodies to produce it. Vitamin D is incredibly important for calcium absorption, to reduce inflammation and to fight infections. We simply don’t get enough in Canada during the winter months.

How to make the most of it: Vitamin D is not found in many foods, but increasing your intake of salmon, eggs, dairy, and mushrooms will help. Even with eating those foods, though, you’ll most likely need to supplement your diet from October to April.

3. Protein

Consuming protein-rich foods will provide the body with fuel, but also help to combat the winter chill in the best possible way – by boosting levels of serotonin, a hormone that makes you feel happy. Protein is also

incredibly important for muscle repair and recovery. Having strong muscles means we can continue working out. Just be sure to choose lean and nutritious options as often as possible.

How to make the most of it: Incorporate protein into every meal and snack to ensure you’re getting enough and that your body is able to digest it. Yogurt, eggs or nut butters in the morning are a great source, while lean meats, beans and lentils can carry you through the day. Mix it up between meat and plant-based proteins to keep it interesting.

4. Seasonal Foods

Eating seasonal foods is great for your health and your mood. Here in Canada, foods that can be found locally in the winter are mostly root vegetables, which are amazing for our health when the temperature drops. Root vegetables are full of vitamin C, vitamin A and fibre, and they can be naturally sweet, so we don’t have to chow down on cookies and cake to satisfy our cravings.

How to make the most of it: Roast root vegetables in the oven for dinner or blend them up with some bone broth to make a hearty, delicious soup. Bonus: root vegetables pair well with onions, garlic and ginger, which are amazing foods to help keep our immune system strong and the colds and flu away.

5. Eat the Rainbow

We’ve all heard it before, but there’s actually evidence that shows eating more colourful foods can make you feel happier or energized. Colourful foods also tend to be higher in vitamins and nutrients, so you’re getting more bang for your buck.

How to make the most of it: Try to eat at least two colours a day to start. Green and orange tend to be the easiest ones to find, especially in the winter. Add something green and something orange to your plate every day. Once you’ve got that down, you can move on to the rest of the rainbow. Don’t shy away from frozen vegetables – they’re usually flash frozen on site, which means they retain most of their nutrients.

The winter can make us all feel a bit blah. Making the effort to fuel your body with foods that will keep you healthy and happy is just one way to embrace winter. Try a new sport, like snowshoeing or skating, or at the very least, try to get outside once a day, every day. Let’s make this the best winter yet.

My Sweet Potato Chickpea Stew is a great way to incorporate root vegetables, protein and a rainbow of vegetables into one warm, comforting and nutritious meal.