[ChrissyBean]

I'm in northern Ontario, so yeah, I know what it's like when it's -28C (or worse!) for a week at a time.

I have a treadmill. I LOVE my treadmill. I've discovered Zumba. With my work schedule I can go 1-2x a week. When the snow comes, we'll be buying a membership at the local cross-country ski club and we'll do that (my DH and kids downhill ski, but I'm a wuss). Hey, it's even a tax credit!! How about snowshoeing? Honestly, having something fun to do outdoors makes the winter go by SO much faster. You just have to change your mindset WRT winter and you do get to enjoy it. Eventually.

[ChrissyBean]

Oh, and also take vitamin D in the winter to help with what you're not getting from Mr. Sun (though we didn't see much of him this summer, either).

I've heard the nasty rumour that it'll be an El Nino winter, too. That sucks. There's not a whole lot that can be done in rain and freezing rain and I find that FAR more depressing than cold, white snow.

[shcirerf]

I'm in western Nebraska and we have cold, windy winters, short days, and so on. We don't get as much snow, but I still hate the cold.

I do lots of soups and stews too. One of my tricks to thicken some soups is instant potatoes. Sprinkle them in slowly and stir well. Add them slowly so you don't end up with it to thick.

As far as exercise, it's dark when I leave to go to work and dark when I head home. We have gym, but I'm to tight to pay $5 to go walking, so I usually do a few laps in Wal Mart with 40 pounds of dog food in my cart and then finish my shopping. If I don't need the dog food, I go put it back.

[GradPhase]

There is such a wealth of great ideas coming out in this thread!

[Windchime]

I'm also dreading the coming of winter. I live in the foothills of a mountain range and we get a lot of snow here. I hate the months of driving on ice, and hate the fact that it's dark when I leave for work and dark before I get off work! Added to that, there are usually a couple of months where the valley is socked in and we don't see the sun for weeks at a time. Gahhh, I'm depressed thinking about it! I have an elliptical and I'll undoubtedly start using that again when winter comes, but part of me wishes I had a place to put a treadmill since I'm just now getting into running.

I need to enjoy fall and quit looking forward to the long, dark winter. Like another poster said, dreading winter is just as bad as experiencing it, so I can cut the pain in half if I just quit dreading it!

[Kae]

I feel you... I live in Minnesota... gotta love the loooooooooong winters.

I find myself hiding indoors in the winter also, unless I have to leave for work, scrape the layers of ice of my car, or shovel my way out of the house. So for exercise I stick with workout videos amd general aerobics. I like Taebo and Windsor Pilates. I've also started getting into the Wii so that will be nice this winter.

As for food, I do more hearty veggies... aparagus, squash, etc. I also enjoy soups and am big on tea. Sometimes it's nice to treat yourself to some cider or cocoa too.