Cold Weather Recipes

This post was originally published as Day 5: Cold Weather Recipes by Laurel on Health Food blog.

Did you think I’d get through a whole winter week without featuring a curry recipe? I think not! Day 5 is here already, and today’s recipe is for the curry lovers out there. You can serve this one with roasted sweet potatoes, brown rice, or a slice of whole grain bread. There’s lots of sauce, so it’s just begging for something to scoop up the leftovers.

Cold Weather Tip: During a snap of cold weather, you can stay warm and healthy by adding lots of spice to your daily meals, in anything from eggs and turkey sandwiches to pot roasts. One of my favorite spice blends is curry.  

Curry contains a healthy dose of turmeric, the warm yellow spice giving it a bright yellow color and anti-inflammatory benefits for the body. Turmeric has been used for ages as a natural healer, and experts often recommend it to keep your brain healthy and help avoid diseases such as Alzheimer’s, heart disease, and cancer. My mom keeps pure turmeric in a salt shaker and shakes it on foods on a daily basis. If you love curry like we do, this is a great healthy habit to keep in the winter and all year round.

Baked Curry Chicken
(serves 4)

Baked Curry Chicken topped with peanuts & cilantro

4 chicken thighs (bone in, skin on)
1 can diced tomatoes (about 14 oz.)
1 tbsp. coconut oil
2 celery stalks
1/2 onion
3 cloves garlic
1 1/2 tbsp. curry powder
2 tsp. paprika
1 tsp. chili powder
Salt & pepper
Peanuts (for garnish)
Fresh cilantro (for garnish)

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees. Place 4 chicken thighs skin-up in a baking dish. Season with salt & pepper. Chop up the celery, onion, and garlic. Heat coconut oil in a sauté pan over medium heat and add the celery and onions. Cook for about 10 minutes. Add the garlic, cook for 2 more minutes, then add the curry, chili powder, and paprika. Stir in the spices and add the can of tomatoes. Simmer for about 5 minutes, then remove from heat. Pour the sauce over the chicken, covering all the sides. Cover the dish with foil and bake for 50 minutes. Remove from the oven and serve each chicken thigh with an extra scoop of sauce on top. Garnish with chopped cilantro and a sprinkle of peanuts.

Tip: If you have the funds, buy organic chicken.

See also Day 1, Day 2, Day 3, and Day 4 of this marathon.

Celery, onions, garlic, curry, paprika, and chili powder

Baked Asian Salmon & Asparagus

This post was originally published as Day 4: Cold Weather Recipes by Laurel on Health Food blog.

Today is day 4, and since Thursdays are my busiest day, I made this one a quick and easy meal, perfect for a weeknight.

I love how this recipe only messes up one pan, and there’s hardly any chopping or dicing. That means less dishes for me to clean up when I don’t have much time after work. To complete your meal, serve this dish with baby red potatoes and onions or a scoop of whole grains. There’s plenty of sauce with the fish so you won’t have to season them separately.

Cold Weather Tip: When the weather is bad, try planning out your meals a few days in advance. You can pick up fresh salmon and asparagus over the weekend and have it ready for a quick preparation on a weeknight when you’re too cold or tired to spend much time cooking or shopping for groceries. You could even make the dressing in advance, though it only takes a couple minutes to prepare.

Baked Asian Salmon & Asparagus
(serves 2-3)

Asian Salmon & Asparagus fresh out of the oven

1 lb. salmon
1 lb. asparagus
1 large garlic clove
2 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
1 tbsp. honey
1 tsp. whole grain mustard (or dijon)
Juice from 2 lime wedges
1 1/2 tbsp. soy sauce
Pinch red pepper flakes
Salt & pepper

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Trim the ends off the asparagus. Take out a sheet pan and place the asparagus on one end. Drizzle 1/2 tbsp. olive oil on top and season with salt and pepper. Put the salmon skin side down on a big piece of foil. In a small bowl, whisk together the rest of the olive oil, honey, soy sauce, mustard, lime juice, red pepper flakes. Chop up the garlic clove and sprinkle half of it on top of the asparagus, and add the other half to the dressing. Pour the dressing on top of the salmon and then wrap the foil over the top, pinching together the ends to create a steam packet. Put the foil packet on the other half of the sheet pan and bake in the oven for 20 minutes.

Tip: If the asparagus begins to brown before the salmon is done cooking, cover it with a piece of foil.

See also Day 1, Day 2, and Day 3 of this marathon.

Close-up of the baked salmon

Salmon and asparagus before baking