Not only does it warm the soul, but a steaming bowl of soup is also one nutritionist's secret to calorie-control.
"Most Sundays in the winter, I make a pot of a non-cream vegetable soup to keep in my refrigerator for the week," says Joan Salge Blake, RD, and media spokesperson for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. "At work, I'll eat a small container of the soup right before having the rest of my lunch, and then when I walk in the door starving, I have a mug of warm soup before dinner. It's a therapeutic, low-cal way to curb my appetite -- and research has shown that eating soup before a meal can slash the overall number of calories you consume."
Down a first-course of low-calorie soup and you might cut the total number of calories of that meal by as much as a whopping 20 percent, according to Pennsylvania State University research. Stick to soup varieties that weigh in at about 100 to 150 calories per serving.
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Get your grill on
If your outdoor grill is knee-deep in snow and you think you have to wait until the spring thaw to start cooking healthy again, Falguni Parikh, a registered dietitian at Loyola's Gottlieb Memorial Hospital in Melrose Park, Ill., has two words for you: indoor grill.
"When it's cold outside, my husband and I use our indoor grill to make chicken, veggie burgers, and grilled vegetables like eggplant. Instead of frying or using a lot of oil, we marinate the protein or vegetables in fresh herbs and just a small amount of olive oil; then we coat the cooking surface with nonstick spray, and grill. It's so easy and you get that delicious charred flavor without the fat of other cooking methods."
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Practice two-bite baking
Who can resist baking in the winter? It fills the house with incredible aromas and just makes your place feel so cozy. Unfortunately, your body can also get the pillow-effect when you overindulge in the fruits of your labor. Katie Eliot, a registered dietitian and instructor in nutrition and dietetics at Saint Louis University in St. Louis, Mo., knows how to make nice with her inner Betty Crocker:
"Before baking, I plan where I'm going to bring my batch of brownies or cookies. I'll decide if it's going to the office, my child's teacher, or a neighbor who I want to surprise. Then, before packing up the treat, I'll just take the equivalent of two bites. Those first two bites taste the best and satisfy my cravings without a lot of calories; after those first couple bites, you don't get the same rush."
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Give winter produce a workout
While some of your juicy favorites may look a little blah in the winter, you shouldn't automatically speed by the supermarket's produce section.
"The only way I've ever found success managing my weight is by eating lots of produce," says Dawn Jackson Blatner, RD, author of "The Flexitarian Diet." "Fruits and vegetables are packed with nutrients and fiber and the real waistline magic comes from their high water content, which makes you feel full."
This season, Blatner parks her cart in front of winter squash (she loves roasted butternut squash "fries" dipped in curry ketchup and loads up on spaghetti squash instead of whole grain pasta); grapefruits; pears; clementines; and hearty greens, such as collards and kale (she mixes raw thin ribbon-cuts with a quick dressing of tahini, lemon juice, warm water, sea salt, honey, and cayenne). Other great cold-weather options: broccoli, kiwi, celery, and Brussels sprouts.
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Have a beat-the-blahs breakfast
Shorter days and being trapped indoors can lead to the winter blues. And there's no better excuse to skip exercise and hunt around the pantry when you're not hungry than feeling down.
To stay alert and energized, Sari Greaves, RD, nutrition director at Step Ahead Wellness Center in Far Hills, N.J., builds her winter diet around good-mood foods, starting with breakfast. Greaves says, "I have a 200- to 300-calorie breakfast that includes whole grains and lean protein, such as natural peanut butter on a whole grain English muffin or oatmeal with slivered almonds. High quality carbs, as opposed to refined white starch, can prevent swings in your blood sugar that may leave you tired and cranky. These carbs also trigger the release of serotonin, a brain chemical that enhances calmness and can reduce feelings of depression. The protein helps steady blood sugar and causes the release of dopamine and norepinephrine, which can improve alertness."
Not only will this breakfast combo motivate you to get moving, but by eating a morning meal, you'll boost your metabolism and have better control over caloric intake for the rest of the day, says Greaves. Did someone say "win-win"?
It's never a big shocker. As the first blasts of cold air swoop in, your clothes lose some wiggle room and your pants require a bit more muscle-power to close. Blame the dryer all you want, but there's just something about Old Man Winter that makes us sluggish, constantly hungry (for all the wrong things), a little pudgier -- and in need of some diet tips that work.
Over the winter, most of us will gain anywhere from 1 to 5 pounds of weight, according to a study in "The New England Journal of Medicine." Instead of losing that bulk by bikini season (we know, you have the best intentions), research has found that winter weight tends to stick around for good and the pounds just keep piling up each year. Before you know it, those yummy muffins -- the ones you love to bake on snow days -- turn into an all-season muffin top. No one needs that kind of armor. With these diet tips, you can break the cycle of winter "expansion."
By the way, these are not just the usual diet tips. We pumped top nutritionists for the tricks they personally rely on to avoid packing on winter pounds. Get the inside scoop on how these peeps with degrees in healthy eating handle comfort-food cravings and feel full without getting too many calories. You'll want to pounce on these trade secrets. After all, you won't be able to hide beneath that puffy jacket for much longer.
