Your winter survival guide: from comfort cooking to health tips
Your idea of the perfect winter’s day might be climbing under a blanket and getting lost in another world on screen or in a book. Some of us like to fill our homes with the aromas of our favourite comfort food, or the freezer with nourishing soups and casseroles. Then there are the truly hardy souls out exercising, undeterred by bone-chilling wind.
Whatever your preferred way to spend the cooler months, there’s plenty of expert inspiration and advice from the Life team at The Sydney Morning Herald. Enjoy our Winter Survival Guide as you stay cosy, healthy and entertained.
If you like to cook ….
Neil Perry’s leek and potato soup.Credit:William Meppem
You will be spoiled for choice at Good Food with recipe collections from popular chefs such as Adam Liaw, Jill Dupleix, Neil Perry, Karen Martini and Helen Goh, such as this one of our 50 most popular winter recipes of all time.
If you’re not sure what you’re in the mood to cook, our weekly meal planner for winter does all the thinking for you, including a brunch to dinner menu for the weekend.
There are also collections of recipes for easy rainy day cooking, comforting vegetarian curries, 16 super soups and much more. It’s also worth knowing how to supercharge your soup with extra goodness and immunity-boosting ingredients.
If you like to be cooked for …
Jill Dupleix at Ace HotelCredit:Edwina Pickles
There are plenty of good reasons to throw on a jacket and scarf and head to a restaurant or cafe, not least because the hospitality industry is still getting back on its feet after the disruptive COVID years and would love your company.
If you fancy a festival, here are some of the best food and wine events on in Sydney in June (look out for the July list which will be published soon). Meantime, our Good Food Guide team have shared a list of their top recommendations as they are out and about reviewing restaurants across Sydney and NSW preparing for publication of The Good Food Guide later this year. Dining tips don’t come much fresher than this.
Top TV (from left): Minx, Slow Horses and We Own This City.Credit:Ramona Rosales, Apple TV+, HBO/Binge
If you like to watch (or read) …
It might only be June, but there’s already a long list of great shows of 2022. TV critic Craig Mathieson has pulled together the best 15 shows of the year so far, which will fill a few wet weekends.
The Culture team’s monthly streaming wrap, written by Thomas Mitchell, has even more ideas of dramas, docos and more to watch across the paid and free platforms. The June highlights include Stranger Things season three on Netflix, the return of Hacks on Stan, Obi-Wan Kenobi on Disney. Look out for the July streaming wrap published at the end of June or sign up to the weekly Watchlist newsletter.
Some movies demand a big screen (and a choc-top) so be inspired by critic Paul Byrnes’ list of 10 films to watch this month, from psychological horror Men to French style in Haute Couture.
This is the perfect season to tackle the books piling up on your bedside table. Here are books editor Jason Steger’s selection of top 10 new releases (his Booklist newsletter has even more recommendations every Friday afternoon in your inbox - sign up here).
If you like to get away …
Skiing at Thredbo.
The winter months see travellers divided into two camps - people who go looking for even colder places, such as the ski fields on Australia and New Zealand, and others who flee as far as possible in a northerly direction searching for warmth.
The Traveller team has hot and cold destination ideas for every type of travel in this collection of best short holidays in and around Australia.
Eliminate drafts, rug up, insulate your windows: how to beat the chill this winter without breaking the bank.Credit:Dionne Gain
And how to stay healthy so you can enjoy all of the above
It’s expected to be a tough flu season, there’s still COVID about and our immunity despite many vaccinations is likely to have waned. So, what can we all do to stay healthy? Lifestyle writer Samantha Selinger-Morris spoke to the experts at the Doherty Institute, the Immunisation Coalition and the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners for some practical tips on how we can all avoid winter illness.
Meanwhile health writer Sarah Berry sought the facts about the benefits of popular cold and flu treatments such as Vitamin C, echinacea, zinc, probiotics - even honey and garlic.
There are economical ways to winter-proof our homes beyond heating, writes Larissa Ham, from dealing with draughts to the benefits of investing in rugs and hot water bottles. Even dressing properly can make a difference, from a good woollen jumper to the wildly popular puffer jackets (read fashion writer Damien Woolnough’s advice on how to wear them stylishly without looking bulky).
If all else fails in your quest to feel warm, there’s always exercise to get the blood flowing. Australians tend to be “fair weather exercisers” according to Sophie Aubrey’s article about the health benefits of exercising in winter. So find a friend, get the right gear and you’ll run all the way into Spring.
Visit your subscriber centre to get more subscriber exclusive content including behind-the-scenes articles and hand-picked content from across the newsroom.