Discover Seasonal Produce This Fall and Reinvigorate Your Dinner
Eating seasonally is one of the easiest ways to maintain a healthy diet. Why? Seasonal eating offers the consumer the opportunity to eat fruits and vegetables at their peak of ripeness. Nutrients are lost the longer a vegetable is in transit or sits on a grocer’s shelf. Same with fruit. It’s important to eat seasonal foods, because these are the fruits and veggies that your neighborhood farmers can grow for you. They never take a cross country journey or sit for months in a grocer’s stock room ripening. Seasonal items are picked when they are ripe, passing on the gift of fresh & healthy fruit/veggies to you. Plus, you’ll enjoy a major cost savings when buying seasonally, as the ingredients are all plentiful (read: cheap!)
Familiar fruits that are plentiful and seasonal in the Fall months are:
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- Apples
- Cranberries
- Grapes
- Pears
- Persimmons
- Pomegranates
Fruits are an easy way to calm your sweet tooth while not caving into your urge to tackle that cake or devour a bag of cookies. Some, like grapes, are very high in natural sugars. Just watch your portion sizes and you’ll be fine.
Apples
Apples can be enjoyed raw or cooked. They make an excellent snack, as they contain loads of fiber that will keep you feeling full longer. Check out how to convert your apple picking harvest into beautiful jars of apple butter.
Cranberries
Cranberries are a super easy way to add antioxidants to your daily routine. Throw a few in your oatmeal, add a handful to a super easy pan sauce at dinner time, or incorporate them into your baked goods for that added tart punch. My FAVORITE non-pie Thanksgiving dessert is a delicious cranberry pumpkin bread. The tart-sweet combo is amazing! Check out the recipe HERE. Did you know that you can also use cranberries as affordable, yet super festive, decorations?
Grapes
The grape! These gems are are yummy year-round, but enjoy a second harvest in the Fall. They pack a huge dose of natural sugar, so enjoy only a handful at a time. Frozen grapes are key for summertime refreshment, but they can be used this way in the winter as well. Consider placing frozen grapes into a festive holiday cocktail/punch bowl to keep the temperature down without watering down the beverage. In the Fall, I try to use grapes differently, in more savory ways. Consider adding roasted grapes to crostini at your next dinner party, to a roasted chicken for Sunday dinner or even throw a handful into your next wild rice salad.
Pears
I think of pears as the ultimate Fall fruit. They are great raw but also so delicious cooked. For an extra special treat, I’ll slice a couple and caramelize them in a little brown sugar and butter. Then I’ll spoon the tender fruit and silky caramel drizzle over vanilla bean ice cream. EASIEST.DESSERT.EVER. Pears are also beautiful poached in wine or champagne for an elegant dessert or tossed into a harvest salad for a quick dinner option.
Persimmons
This fruit is not readily available at my farmer’s markets, so I’m not too adept at using them. I’m going to challenge myself to finding persimmons in my neighborhood this year and learning how to appreciate and prepare them. Any tips?
Finally, the pomegranate.
What a beautiful yet frustrating fruit. The tiny arils are packed with a sweet tart flavor and they dress up cocktails, salads, rice dishes and serve as a garnish to soups perfectly. Releasing the arils from the skin can be challenging. The best method I’ve discovered is to cut a little bit off of the top and the bottom of the fruit and score the skin in a few long strips all the way around north to south. Then place the fruit into a bowl of water. Use a wooden spoon to tap along the back of each fruit hull to release the arils. You can also pull them out with your fingers. They will float and the rind will sink. It’s tedious and can be a bit messy, so feel free to buy those little containers of arils in the supermarket if you are short on time (& patience).
Familiar vegetables that are plentiful and seasonal in the Fall months are:
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- Artichokes
- Broccoli
- Broccolini
- Broccoli Rabe
- Brussel Sprouts
- Cauliflower
- Celery Root
- Endive
- Greens
- Leeks
- Parsnips
- Radicchio
- Rutabaga
- Sunchoke
- Sweet Potatoes
- Tomatillos
- Winter Squash
There are SO MANY different seasonal veggie options in the Fall, making it super easy to eat healthfully.
Artichokes
The artichoke can be one of the most beautiful veggies on your dinner table. But they can be challenging to work with as a novice and the edible yield is small. Nonetheless, enjoying a stuffed artichoke once every year is a pleasure you should not deny yourself. It’s a nostalgic treat for our family that leaves us satisfied – both in belly and heart.
Broccoli
One of my favorite veggies of all time. Likely because I grew up eating broccoli prepared to perfection by my Mom. I’ve always thought that people generally don’t like certain veggies because of how they were presented to them as a child. If veggies are prepared properly, I’m confident more people would love them. Mushy broccoli = gross. My Mom makes the most delectable broccoli side dish, sautéed in garlic infused olive oil. In fact, my admittedly picky eater spouse first started eating (& enjoying!) “trees” at her dinner table.
Broccolini and broccoli rabe/rapini
This seasonal pair are delicious, though more challenging to come by. However, each is SO worth the purchase. They both have a slightly bitter taste to them compared to the more familiar broccoli. Broccolini are a hybrid of broccoli and Chinese broccoli so they look like tiny, slender, baby broccolis. You can prepare them a similar way to typical broccoli. I like to add a little lemon juice or zest to brighten up the flavor. Rapini (broccoli rabe) is another family favorite, prepared in conjunction with homemade orecchiette and sometimes sausage. Its more bitter taste can subdued through blanching. All three of these options will provide your body with a healthy dose of antioxidants and phytochemicals to prevent heart disease and reduce your cancer risk.
Brussel sprouts
The food everybody loves to hate. And I did too, until about 7 years ago when I had the most amazing tapas at a local bistro. This restaurant served the crispiest, sweetest and most savory brussels I had ever tasted. Everyone at the table agreed that this was far superior to anything we had each tasted before. Gone were the memories of boiled cabbage (yuck), replaced with a new flavor that now makes me want to order them off of every menu I come across. Next time you find yourself reading a menu with crispy brussel sprouts glazed in a balsamic reduction – order it! By the way, brussels from your market are pretty cool looking – they grown on these thick stalks. When you take home a 12-18” stalk, you’ll likely enjoy several dozen little brussel sprouts throughout the next week. Plus, they’ll last longer in this form than in the bags, already cut, at your grocers.
Cauliflower
Cauliflower is also one of my favorites, though like broccoli it’s often prepared incorrectly. I‘m not a fan of raw cauli or broccoli, so cooking it is key for me. My favorite cauliflower preparation is roasted on high heat, seasoned with garlic and lemons, and finished with a light sprinkle of freshly grated parmesan or pecorino. It’s SO easy, the perfect side dish for a quick dinner side menu. I also enjoy cauli-rice, cauliflower soup and another awesome red, white & green cauli side. It has roasted red peppers, Kalamata olives and parsley. Plus cauliflower comes in so many cool colors now, it’s even more fun to play with your food!
Celery root
This veggie is one of those odd-looking veggies you find in the market that looks like it probably should have been left in the ground. But I assure you, it tastes way better than it looks. It tastes like celery and looks like a turnip. You can use it similar to a potato.
Chicories
I’m combining endive and radicchio now, since they are both members of the chicory family. That means, they have a slightly bitter taste to them. Both can be enjoyed in a Fall salad, balanced with sweeter or softer ingredients. Or you might consider grilling radicchio for a charred addition to the intriguing flavor. Both veggies pack a nutrient punch with Vitamins A, C & K, as well as magnesium, potassium, & calcium!
Leafy greens like kale, mustard and chard
These greens are plentiful this time of the year. They are also SO HEALTHY for you. They are chock full of vitamins A, B6, C & K, along with copper, manganese & calcium. Most of these bitter greens are best when braised. Because of their tough nature, if you cook them low and slow in some type of flavorful liquid, the result is delectable. This super food is also super affordable – helping you keep on track with your food budget this month.
Leeks
Leeks look like huge scallions and they are related. If you are looking to impart a soft onion flavor into your stew, soup or roast – look no further. Leeks can be a bit dirty, so it’s important to clean them thoroughly. Nonetheless, one stalk goes a long way and they are affordable. I add leeks to the cauliflower soup I mentioned above. It’s a great combo.
Parsnips
These veggies look like white carrots. They are perfect in soups and combined with carrots for your favorite pot roast. Parsnip purees are a really simple way to add a little fanciness into your dinner time routine too. It’s actually my “secret” ingredient to the most delicious homemade chicken broth. Parsnips taste like a cross between a potato and a carrot, with a tiny bit of parsley thrown in there.
Rutabaga
Like the celery root, a rutabaga doesn’t get a prize for prettiness. But similar to all root vegetables, they cook up well in roasts and stews. This veggie imparts a sweeter flavor and can be creamy like a potato when cooked properly.
Sunchokes
Sunchokes are actually from the root of a particular type of sunflower plant. They are native to the Eastern US and taste like a cross between a potato and an artichoke, even though they look like a knob of ginger! They can be eaten raw, pureed, fried. Sunchokes can even be made into a sunchoke butter to replace peanut butter for those with dietary restrictions.
Sweet potatoes
This gem might be everyone’s favorite Thanksgiving side dish, slathered with brown sugar and butter. But have you considered that sweet potatoes are not actually a potato but an exceptionally healthy root tuber? Sweet potatoes are high in fiber, vitamins A, B & C, potassium, magnesium and copper. Sweet potatoes have a natural sweetness that makes you think they are full of sugar. Actually, are pretty low on the glycemic index, meaning they are slower to digest and keep you feeling satisfied longer. And they (on their own) don’t lead to blood sugar spikes and crashes. Enjoy them baked or cut into fries as a side dish or enjoy as I do: topped with any combination of grilled meats and veggies as a filling entrée.
Tomatillos
Tomatillos are a beautiful green veggie, housed in a papery thin skin. They are a very popular ingredient in Latin & Mexican cuisines. Tomatillos make an excellent salsa verde as well as green enchilada sauce.
Winter squashes
These seasonal gourds are such an easy addition to your meal planning. My favorites are butternut, spaghetti, and delicata. And don’t forget about the acorn & sugar pumpkins. Most winter squashes are best when baked or roasted to extract the flesh. You can make them into sweet (pies or bread) or savory (soup, pureed, roasted, baked) applications. Winter squash is very plentiful, so you can buy a bunch for pennies on the dollar, and they last a good while too.
Will You Take the Seasonal Challenge?
So, with this information in hand, consider heading out to your local market to scope out what the farmers have in season for you.
I challenge you to bring one new item into your kitchen every week and try to do something special with it.
If you don’t like it, at least you’ll know. But chances are, you are going to love the options that these seasonal items provide to your meal planning. Plus, the nutritional benefits and cost savings can’t be beat!
If you’ve taken the Fall seasonal produce challenge, I’d love to hear what your new favorite items are!
Good luck!
