Ginger Porridge

'My nose is cold and my toes is cold...' moaned the little dalmatian puppy  in the Disney movie 101 Dalmatians. The troop of rescued puppies trudged through a snow storm to get to the safety of a warm barn where fresh milk and shelter awaited. Have you ever been that cold? So cold you cannot feel your nose, toes, legs or much of anything for that matter? I have. It stinks! As we enter into colder weather season, I am thinking, 'what to do? What to do?' 

Of course there is the basic advice;
DO NOT wear a bikini in a snow storm.
DO NOT wear flip-flops in cold weather.
DO NOT get OR go naked, anywhere! Even in the shower!

Whew! Thank goodness you read today's blog! Where else would you get such sound and useful advice? Okay. Okay. I am sure you could have figured out at least one of the three above tips on your own... So, what to do?

There are some foods that naturally help get us and keep us warm. A few of those foods are onions, ginger, turmeric and oats. (There are of course, others.) Onions have long been used in Chinese medicine as a chi (energy) booster. How about making a nice pot of French Onion Soup? Use chicken broth instead of beef and boost your immune system at the same time. Win-win! Ginger is great for increasing blood flow and boosting the metabolism so whack of a chunk of fresh ginger and make a nice cup of tea. It has the added benefit of settling the stomach too. YAY! Tumeric is great for tightening tissue and adding a touch of heat so how about sprinkling a bit into a cup of warm milk with a drizzle of honey before bed? It will help you relax, warm you up and since honey is full of all sorts of goodness, help you stay healthy! AHHHHH! Then there are oats. Oats give the body all manner of help from lowering the LDL (bad) cholesterol in the arteries to absorbing excess moisture in the body. Personally, I hate porridge (or any cooked cereal for that matter) but it's a classic winter treat. Ebenezer Scrooge was eating porridge on that fateful night when Jacob Marley popped in for a visit that changed Scrooge's life. Maybe, just maybe, old Scroogie even had a pinch of ginger in the bowl? He was not not just eating the porridge because it is inexpensive but because it warmed him up too.

Whatever you do to get and keep warm in cold weather, I hope you share it in the comments section. 

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