Winter brings it's challenges, with lashing rain, winds, floods and probably snow and ice before the season is over. But it also brings a period of quiet time when –  if we didn't have electric lights –  we'd all be asleep as soon as it gets dark. We'd rise with the dawn to make the most of daylight hours. None of this cutting the daylight off one end of the day to add to the other end.  You can introduce all sorts of artificial ways of interfering with the body's natural rhythms – but nature is a funny thing and it doesn't always do what the artificial world wants it to do. So in winter, regardless of elelctric lights, central heating and daylight saving, you will still get tired and ready for sleep much earlier than you would in summer time. You will probably find your most productive hours are from early morning to mid afternoon, as dusk is falling and the temperature starts to drop. It's normal and we would be way better off to listen to our biorhythms than try to go against the way humans have been genetically programmed to follow the seasons for thousands of years.  This is how our cavemen ancestors would have lived – following the light and heat of the day. You may laugh and say we have moved on significantly from caves. Yes we have. But hey, you can take the man from the cave,  but you can't take the cave from the man! All our natural instincts are still there, deep inside us, no matter how hard we try to ignore them. Winter is a time for slowing down and reserving energy for the important things. You may also find your appetite increases at this time of year, which again is normal and your body's way of telling you to feed yourself for protection against the cold. You will crave warm and comforting foods. We have a real and healthy answer to that! Our super Winter Chicken Stew recipe is just the sort of dish you could cook in a pot over a fire if we were still living in caves! This recipe though is cooked in a slow cooker – a very convenient little kitchen tool for this time of year. You can pop the ingredients into the pot before you go to work, and when you get back, the aromatic scents of the stew will be waiting to greet you.  This recipe includes everything you need for a meal in one pot – free range chicken, seasonal root veggies and potatoes. Absolutely delicious! Satisfy your inner caveman (or woman!) this weekend…