Healthy French Recipes To Keep Winter Habits Going

A few weeks into the new year, resolutions have begun to fade. Healthy eating seems so effortless in warmer months when our bodies naturally crave lighter foods. With winter feeling endless, comfort foods are hard to give up. In France, this moment is treated as a return to balance rather than a failure. Especially in the heart of winter, healthy eating doesn’t mean deprivation. It’s about choosing nourishing, seasonal foods to sustain you through the coldest, darkest weeks of the year. What to eat when the darkest days of winter still have us yearning for “stick to your bones” fare? We’ve rounded up some of the best healthy French recipes for winter.

HOW DO THE FRENCH EAT AFTER THE HOLIDAYS?

They don’t start over – it’s about keeping good habits and equilibrium going when winter is at its most demanding. Joie de vivre and pleasure still rule. In the US, you can witness so many extremes in dining culture: huge portions, or no carbs, no sugar, no fat, etc. While the French are certainly appearance-conscious, deprivation is a foreign concept. Everything in moderation. Small yet filling portions. The focus is very much on what you can eat. Whole, local, seasonal foods. Vegetables and fruits… and more vegetables and fruits!

France is a ritualistic culture. The ritual of going to the marché or eating a beautifully presented meal are pleasures unto themselves. The intentionality surrounding meals (the French do not eat on the go) also lends itself to slower eating. Even exercise is not the punishing pavement pounding found in some cultures. Rather, it is incorporated into everyday life. Sport and physical activity are partaken in as a pleasurable activity rather than an end unto itself.

HEALTHY FRENCH WINTER RECIPES

When motivation is low and winter cooking needs to be comforting, nourishing and easy, these are the kinds of dishes the French turn to — hearty enough for cold weather, but balanced and restrained.

So, back to the main question: what to eat? We’ve rounded up some hearty but healthy French recipes for winter from around the web. Take the austerity out of your January diet and inject pleasure back into eating, the French way.

Clotilde Dusoulier’s Clean-Out-the-Fridge-Soup is a brilliant way to use your soft carrots, wilted greens, leftover holiday veggies — you name it. As Dusoulier claims, “Soup is an extraordinary catch-all for vegetable odds and ends, and it is the easiest and most rewarding way to transform scraps no one really wants to deal with into something warm and inviting.”

Add starches if you wish to smooth the texture out, or keep your soup low carb. You can also add pulses, frozen vegetables, nut butters, or plant-based milks, and of course, stock and aromatics. Almost anything goes. Blend and voilà!

Umami’s Leek and French Lentil Gratin with Feta

For a lighter but still satisfying winter meal, French people often make vegetable gratins with seasonal produce. This lentil and leek gratin fits the bill — comforting but light, full of fiber and protein, and nutrient rich for keeping healthy through the heart of winter.

Leeks, are a winter staple in French cooking. They bring sweetness and depth, while lentils keep you full. Feta ties it together. 

Chef Ludo Lefebvre makes the point more succinctly: “In France, pot-au-feu is our chicken soup.” Lefebvre recreates the beloved dish in this classic pot-au-feu recipe.. If you want to see his subtle multi-cultural twist, check out the video below.

Saveur’s Daube de Bœuf

What is a daube? It’s a stew from Provence made with affordable cuts of beef braised in wine. In that way it has much in common with boeuf bourguignon but is flavored with Mediterranean ingredients and cooked for longer, often using cheaper cuts of meat.

Christi Bishop’s Lightened Coq au Vin

For those who prefer chicken to beef, coq au vin is the perfect hearty recipe for winter. This lightened up coq au vin eschews bacon and uses skinless chicken. Loads of vegetables and a coating of whole-wheat flour on the chicken help make the dish healthier, but it is no less satisfying — ideal for cold nights when you want comfort without excess.

Raymond Blanc’s Celeriac Purée

What to serve with a hearty stew like a daube? Potatoes or rice are common, but a lighter alternative is celeriac mash. Celeriac (or celery root) is used more frequently in French cooking than in many other places, most famously in céleri rémoulade.

Raymond Blanc’s celeriac purée is home cooking at its best. The recipe calls for just celeriac, a small amount of butter, milk, salt, cayenne, and lemon juice — proof that lighter doesn’t have to mean less flavorful.