Seasonal Eating – Winter Edition
Seasonal eating is one of the easiest ways to maintain a healthy diet. Why? This practice offers the consumer the opportunity to consume 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. These 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 seasonal produce, as the ingredients are all plentiful (read: cheap!)
We don’t often think of Winter as offering plentiful fruits & veggies. It seems more like a time of leniency and austere eating. But you’d be very surprised to know that there are so many seasonal items to choose from, packed with crucial nutrients. Read along to fully understand what’s naturally available to you from November through February every year.
Familiar fruits that are plentiful in the Winter months are:
- Apples
- Clementines
- Grapefruit
- Kiwis
- Kumquats
- Lemons
- Oranges
- Pears
- Persimmons
- Tangerines
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.
We discussed several of these fruits in the Fall article, so you should be fairly familiar with a handful already. Hopefully you’ve tried something new from the list! Here are a few additional seasonal gems to try this Winter.
Apples
Apples can be enjoyed raw or cooked. They make an excellent snack, as they contain loads of fiber that will keep you feeling fuller longer. Check out how to convert your apple picking harvest into beautiful jars of apple butter.
Oranges
Navel & Cara Cara Oranges: This seasonal powerhouse packs a nutrient punch with the high levels of Vitamin C (crucial to power your immune system), fiber and water. Oranges quench your thirst; help you recover after exertion and are an easy & portable snack. Like all fruits, they are higher in sugar, so stick to portion sizes. Navel oranges tend to be the sweetest of the larger oranges. Oranges also are rich in folate, flavonoids and carotenoids.
Clementine Oranges: The best portable & nutritious snack food! Clementines are small oranges (hybrid between a mandarin and a sweet orange) that are easy to peel, portable and packed with Vitamin C. This comes in handy every winter when cold season returns. These powerhouses are tasty, healthy, and affordable.
Tangerines are similar to oranges and clementines in that they pack a huge punch of Vitamin C. However, they tend to be smaller than oranges and therefore less acidic. They can also be sweeter than the larger fruits. Tangerines are also small like a clementine but more round in shape.
Grapefruit
This seasonal fruit is also packed with high doses of Vitamin C, but did you know that grapefruits also contain tons of fiber and over a dozen vitamins and minerals? This fruit, popular with dieters, gives off a slightly sour taste but is full of flavor and compliments a winter salad beautifully. Consider eating a half of a grapefruit in the morning as part of your breakfast to boost your immune system & promote appetite control throughout the day. In my opinion, the best grapefruit comes from Texas where the fruit is daker pink/red and sweeter. Those that have a lighter flesh tend to be less sweet & sharper in flavor. Typically, later in the season, once the fruit has been left on the vines longer, all varieties are sweeter.
Kiwis
The hairy skin of this fruit (don’t panic!) protects the glorious green flesh within that is both sweet and tart, making this an excellent fruit salad addition. These guys can sometimes be difficult to peel when ripe, so consider slicing off a small bit off the top and using your spoon to dig out the flesh and enjoy. The very largest kiwi I ever enjoyed was while vacationing on the Amalfi Cost. These fruits were the side of a small fist and SO flavorful. Did you know that Italy is the 2nd largest producer of kiwi in the world? Kiwi is a perfect quick breakfast treat, as this fruit contains high levels of vitamin C, is chock full of antioxidants and will fill you up thanks to the fiber. They are also low in calories! Look for the yellow-fleshed variety as well, they have less hairy skin and fewer seeds.
Kumquats
This might be one of my favorite words in the entire English language. What a silly, yet fun word to say! Makes me giggle every time. Kumquats are yet another seasonal fruit full of Vitamin C, promoting a great boost to your immune system in the winter months. This fruit also boasts high amounts of fiber – more than most other fresh fruit available. Pop a handful in your mouth to eat raw and enjoy this sweet/tart citrus fruit whenever you like.
Lemons
Lemons available year-round, but production is intensified in the winter months, yielding cheaper and more plentiful fruit. They are grown primarily throughout the Mediterranean and California, though even as far south as Chile. Lemons are a permanently stocked fruit in my kitchen. I drink lemon water every day, I use lemon juice & zest to bake, I use the whole fruit to roast along meats and I even use the old lemons wedges to freshen up my garbage disposal. Lemons can also be combined with alcohol to create a tasty liquor called Lemoncello. This easy gift idea will be an unexpected treat for anyone on your holiday shopping list!
Pears
I think of pears as the ultimate Fall fruit, but they are plentiful throughout Winter as well! 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 resulting 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
The texture of a persimmon is thought to be similar to an apricot, with a honey-like flavor. The ripened fruit is best eaten raw but can also be enjoyed as a jam, spread on toast or crackers throughout the winter. Persimmons are full of fiber, plus high in vitamins A & B.
Familiar vegetables that are plentiful in the Winter months are:
- Allium bulbs (onions, shallots, garlic)
- Avocados
- Beets
- Bok choy
- Broccoli
- Broccolini
- Broccoli rabe
- Brussels sprouts
- Cabbage
- Carrots
- Cauliflower
- Celery root
- Chayote
- Chicories (endive, radicchio)
- Collards
- Fennel
- Kale
- Leeks
- Mustard greens
- Rutabagas
- Sweet potatoes
- Swiss chard
- Turnip greens
- Winter squash
Allium bulbs (onions, shallots, garlic)
Every single savory dish that comes out of my kitchen has at least one of these ingredients. Onions, garlic and shallots provide such a flavor punch to anything you make, allowing you to use less salt and other harmful additives. The fragrance of onions and garlic cooking on the stove is one of the best smells I could ever imagine. It takes me back…
Avocados
Avocados are filled with MUFAs (mono-unsaturated fatty acids) and are SO good for you. The buttery, green flesh is delicious on toast in the AM, as a snack in the afternoon or combined with your favorite ingredients for a healthful dinner salad. Even though MUFAs are good or you, too much fat is not a good thing. Don’t eat the entire avocado at one sitting! Portion control is key here. Consider baking an egg in the hole left by the pit or mixing the flesh with lime juice, red onions and cherry tomatoes for a delicious chucky guacamole. Check out my favorite guac recipe, made famous by none other than Ina Garten herself.
Beets
Beets are a deliciously, sweet winter veg that can be roasted for a warm side dish, pickled with vinegar for a cold side dish or grated into a salad for a crunchy (& colorful) salad ingredient.
Bok choy
This intriguing veggie is found largely in Asian cuisine, as a compliment to savory meats. It tastes like slightly bitter spinach and looks interesting with tender, dark green leaves atop firm, bright white stalks.
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.
Broccolini/Broccoli rabe
This seasonal pair are delicious, though more challenging to come by than more familiar broccoli. 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 be 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.
Brussels sprouts
The food everybody loves to hate. And I did too, until several years ago when I had the most amazing tapas at a local bistro. The restaurant served the crispiest, sweetest, most savory brussels I had ever tasted. Everyone at the table agreed that this was far superior to anything we had eaten before. Gone were the memories of boiled cabbage (gross), replaced with a new flavor that now makes me crave them. Next time you find yourself reading a menu with crispy brussel sprouts glazed in a balsamic reduction – order it! By the way, brussel sprouts from your farmer’s market are pretty cool looking – they grow on long, 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 grocer’s.
Cabbage
Cabbage is a great seasonal item every winter, one that can create cozy comfort dishes that fill your belly. Consider using cabbage chopped into a casserole, wrapped around pillows of rice and ground meat for a cultural treat, or easily ferment yours in a stone crock over a week’s time for homemade sauerkraut! Fermented foods like sauerkraut are good for your digestion, improving the microbiome of your gut that our Western diets often deplete.
Carrots
The next time you go to a farmer’s market, I challenge you to purchase their carrots. The ones with a little dirt still on them, maybe with or without their leafy tops. If you eat a carrot directly from the farm, you’ll suddenly appreciate what real carrots actually taste like! Those mini carrots you find in bags in the grocer’s are definitely handy – but did you notice how they taste like dirt? I have a container of (real!) carrot sticks in my fridge every week, ready for snacking. Alone or dunked in hummus, it’s a healthy treat. Larger carrots can be cut on the diagonal and thrown into your Instant Pot for a quick (3 minutes!) and sweet dinner time side dish. Carrots are a part of nearly every soup base – a perfect comfort food for a cold, wintery day!
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 (juice & zest!), and finished with a light sprinkle of freshly grated parmesan or pecorino. It’s SO easy, the perfect side dish for a quick dinner menu. I also enjoy cauli-rice, cauliflower soup and another awesome red, white & green cauli side. This one 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.
Chayote
This squash from Central America is bright green and often shaped like a pear. The texture is a cross between a cucumber and a potato, with a mild apple-y taste when raw and more squash-like when cooked. It’s a great source of vitamin C and fiber. They can be eaten raw or cooked lightly and handled similarly to summer squashes. Consider adding them to stews, soups or even salads!
Chicories (endive, radicchio)
Endive and radicchio 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!
Fennel
This sweet, slightly licorice-y vegetable is very commonly found on an Italian American’s holiday table. The fresh fennel as a crisp bite and fresh flavor that has been known to calm an upset stomach. It’s often used in between courses to aid in digestion or as part of an orange & fennel salad towards the end of the meal. Cooked, the flavors mellow and become sweeter. This can be roasted for a side dish or thrown with carrots and onions into a pot roast for a slowly, braised dinner.
Greens (Kale, Mustard, Swiss Chard, Turnip, Collards)
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. Kale, in particular, is a great option for a make ahead salad. The firmness of the leaf holds up well to dressings. In fact, it often tastes better the longer it sits.
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.
Rutabagas
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.
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.
Winter squash
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. Just store them in a cool, dark place.
Will You Take the Seasonal Challenge This Winter?
So, with this information in hand, consider heading out to your local market to scope out what the farmers have in season for you this Winter.
I challenge you to bring one new item into your kitchen every week and try to do something different 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!
Once you’ve taken the Winter seasonal produce challenge, I’d love to hear what your new favorite items might be. Please share your favorite preparations too!
Good luck!
