When the weather turns cold, it's tempting to dive fork-first into rich, heavy comfort foods. Want of meals that are delicious and satisfying, it's more important than ever to make sure that what you're eating is also well-balanced and nutritious.

- Cold weather foods tend to be fattening. Think of the toasts, gravies, mashed potatoes, stuffings, meat, heavy breads and rich desserts of winter. They're a lot heavier than the grilled skinned chicken breasts, salads, fresh vegetables and fresh fruits of warm weather days.

- Food also has a thermal property. Ginger, garlic, most grains like wheat, jowar, bajra, sarson, pepper, mustard and many more have a warming effect on the body. Dates, honey and jaggery are sweetners that also have a warming effect on the body. All animal products are essentially warming.