How to Survive Winter

Comfort food is where it’s at for winter, and there’s good reason for that: the carb- and protein-heavy dishes that most people go back to are good for keeping you warm. Stews, soups, good bread, macaroni and cheese, spaghetti bolognese, roasts, Yorkshire pudding - all of these are good things to go for. Fruit and vegetables are also necessary, of course, and will keep you more cheerful. If you’re busy, or just don’t like fruit and veg all that much, then smoothies, fruit juices, and the like can fill the gap.
Winter is all about the hot drinks - coffees and teas, of course, but also hot chocolate, hot whiskey, hot port, and the mixture I call just “cold cure”. Obviously, you can get these at your local coffee shop or pub - Starbucks do some really good winter drinks - but it’s a lot more satisfying to make your own, and there’s nothing too complicated about any of them.

Things to buy: Chocolate powder, chocolate bars, marshmallows, a whisk, whiskey, port, lemons, cloves, dilutable blackcurrant, honey.

There’s no need to go overboard on anything except, perhaps, the chocolate powder. As yet, I haven’t found anything that beats Green & Black’s hot chocolate. It’s pricy enough, though, and you can get nearly as good results with Cadbury’s. Indeed, some folk prefer the sweeter taste of the Cadbury’s one. Make it on milk, low-fat or zero-fat if you prefer, but hot chocolate made with water is a dreadful thing, so avoid it.