Fall Produce: Eating With the Season
Fall Produce: Eating With the Season
There is something about fall that makes food feel different.
The weather cools down, the slow cooker comes back out, soups start sounding good again, and suddenly apples, squash and roasted vegetables are everywhere.
And I am here for it!
Eating seasonally doesn't mean you have to completely change how you eat or only buy produce grown down the street.
It simply gives us an opportunity to change things up, add variety and take advantage of some wonderful fruits and vegetables that are especially plentiful this time of year.
And fall has some really good ones.
APPLES
Apples are one of the easiest fall fruits to keep around.
They provide fiber, vitamin C and beneficial plant compounds. Keep the skin on when you can because that's where you'll find a good portion of the fiber.
Easy ways to use them:
Slice an apple and pair it with peanut butter.
Chop one into oatmeal.
Add diced apple to Greek yogurt with cinnamon.
Add thin slices to a turkey sandwich.
Toss chopped apples into a salad with walnuts.
Microwave apple slices with cinnamon for a quick warm dessert.
Coach Paris Tip: Don't automatically reach for the biggest apple in the bin. Apples have gotten HUGE! Choose a smaller one or cut a large apple in half and save the rest.
PEARS
Pears don't always get the attention apples do, but they are another great source of fiber.
They're delicious when they're ripe, but here's the trick: pears often ripen better on the counter, not in the refrigerator.
Once they're ripe, move them to the refrigerator to help them last longer.
Try them:
Slice pears over a salad, add them to oatmeal, pair them with cheese or Greek yogurt, or roast them with cinnamon.
A pear with a small handful of walnuts makes a simple, satisfying snack.
PUMPKIN
Pumpkin isn't just for pie and pumpkin-spiced everything.
Pumpkin provides beta-carotene, which your body can convert to vitamin A, along with fiber and other nutrients.
And one of my favorite fall shortcuts is sitting right in the grocery store:
Canned pumpkin.
Just make sure you're buying 100% pure pumpkin, not pumpkin pie filling, which has added sugar and other ingredients.
Add pumpkin to:
Oatmeal
Smoothies
Greek yogurt
Pancake batter
Chili
Soup
Muffins
Mix a spoonful into oatmeal with cinnamon and pumpkin pie spice and you've got fall in a bowl.
WINTER SQUASH
Butternut, acorn, delicata and spaghetti squash are all wonderful fall choices.
Squash provides fiber, potassium and carotenoids, and different varieties bring slightly different nutrients to the table.
But I know why some people walk right past them.
They're a pain to cut!
Here's your permission slip:
Buy them already cut.
Fresh pre-cut butternut squash and frozen squash are perfectly good options.
Healthy doesn't get extra points because you wrestled a whole butternut squash with a knife.
Easy idea:
Toss cubed squash with a little olive oil, pepper, garlic and cinnamon or smoked paprika. Roast until browned and tender.
SWEET POTATOES
Sweet potatoes are packed with beta-carotene and also provide fiber, potassium and vitamin C.
And they don't need marshmallows and brown sugar to taste good!
Try:
Roasting cubes in the air fryer.
Baking one and topping it with Greek yogurt.
Adding cubes to chili.
Making sweet potato breakfast hash with eggs.
Cutting into wedges for oven fries.
Mashing with cinnamon and a little Greek yogurt.
Keep the skin when you enjoy it. It's another easy way to get more fiber.
BRUSSELS SPROUTS
If the only Brussels sprouts you remember are boiled, gray and mushy, we need to try again.
Roasting completely changes them.
Brussels sprouts are cruciferous vegetables and provide fiber, vitamin C, vitamin K and beneficial plant compounds.
Cut them in half, lightly coat with olive oil, season well and roast until those outside leaves get crispy.
That's where the magic happens.
And yes—buying them washed, trimmed or even shaved is absolutely allowed.
BEETS
Beets contain fiber, folate, potassium and naturally occurring nitrates that have been studied for their role in supporting blood flow.
But here's another vegetable people avoid because they don't want the mess.
My solution?
Buy cooked beets.
Vacuum-packed cooked beets make it incredibly easy.
Slice them onto a salad with greens, goat cheese and walnuts, or dice them and add them to a grain bowl.
CRANBERRIES
Fresh cranberries are loaded with plant compounds and vitamin C, but they're naturally very tart.
The challenge isn't the cranberry.
It's often how much sugar we add to make them taste good.
Try cooking fresh cranberries with orange, cinnamon and just enough sweetener to balance the tartness rather than burying them in sugar.
And when buying dried cranberries, take a quick look at the added sugar on the label.
You don't have to avoid them.
Just know what you're buying.
CAULIFLOWER
Cauliflower gives us fiber, vitamin C and folate, and it's incredibly versatile.
Roast it.
Mash it.
Add it to soup.
Buy frozen cauliflower rice.
Mix cauliflower rice half-and-half with regular rice.
And remember—cauliflower is WHITE.
One more reason we don't judge the nutritional value of a food simply by its color!
CABBAGE
Cabbage is inexpensive, lasts a long time in the refrigerator and gives us vitamin C, vitamin K and fiber.
It's also much more versatile than people think.
Shred it for tacos.
Add it to soup.
Roast thick cabbage wedges.
Make a vinegar-based slaw.
Throw shredded cabbage into a stir-fry.
Budget-friendly, nutritious and easy. That's a win.
CARROTS
We can get carrots all year, but they're perfect for fall cooking.
Carrots are another excellent source of beta-carotene.
Keep baby carrots around for easy snacking, shred carrots into salads or wraps, add them to soups and stews, or roast them.
One of my favorites is roasted carrots with a tiny bit of olive oil, cinnamon and a drizzle of balsamic vinegar.
Simple and delicious.
RECIPE: FALL SHEET PAN CHICKEN & VEGETABLES
This is one of those meals where you can use what you have.
Serves 4
Ingredients
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into pieces
2 cups cubed butternut squash
2 cups Brussels sprouts, halved
1 medium apple, chopped
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
½ teaspoon dried thyme
Salt and pepper to taste
Directions
Preheat oven to 425°F.
Place chicken, squash and Brussels sprouts on a large sheet pan. Toss with olive oil and seasonings.
Roast for about 15 minutes.
Add the chopped apple, stir everything around and continue roasting until the chicken is cooked through and the vegetables are tender and browned, approximately another 10–15 minutes.
That's dinner.
Protein, vegetables, fruit, fiber and healthy fat all on one pan.
Coach Paris Shortcut: Buy pre-cut squash and pre-trimmed Brussels sprouts. You've just eliminated most of the prep work.
RECIPE: WARM CINNAMON APPLE-PUMPKIN OATMEAL
Fall breakfast in about five minutes.
Serves 1
Ingredients
½ cup old-fashioned oats
½ cup unsweetened milk of choice
½ cup water
¼ cup pure pumpkin
½ small apple, diced
½ teaspoon cinnamon
Pumpkin pie spice to taste
1 teaspoon maple syrup, optional
1 tablespoon chopped walnuts or pumpkin seeds
Directions
Combine oats, milk and water and cook according to package directions.
Stir in pumpkin, apple, cinnamon and pumpkin pie spice during the last few minutes of cooking.
Top with walnuts or pumpkin seeds and a small drizzle of maple syrup if you'd like it sweeter.
For more protein, add Greek yogurt on top or enjoy it alongside eggs.
MY FALL PRODUCE TRICKS
You know I'm all about finding your easiest way to health, so don't make seasonal eating harder than it needs to be.
Here are a few of my favorite tricks:
Buy frozen.Frozen vegetables are nutritious, convenient and reduce waste.
Buy pre-cut.If spending an extra dollar means you actually eat the vegetable, I consider that money well spent.
Roast several vegetables together.Make one big sheet pan on Sunday and use the vegetables in bowls, salads, wraps and dinners throughout the week.
Cook once, use twice.Roasted sweet potatoes tonight can go into tomorrow's breakfast hash.
Mix, don't replace.Not ready for cauliflower rice? Do half regular rice and half cauliflower rice.
Try one new thing.You don't need to buy every piece of produce on this list. Pick ONE you've never tried—or one you haven't eaten in years.
VARIETY MATTERS
Sometimes we get stuck eating the same three fruits and vegetables every week.
There's nothing wrong with having favorites, but different plants provide different combinations of vitamins, minerals, fiber and beneficial plant compounds.
Fall gives us a perfect excuse to shake things up.
Maybe you try roasted beets for the first time.
Maybe you finally figure out that you actually love Brussels sprouts when they're crispy.
Maybe canned pumpkin becomes a regular addition to your oatmeal.
Or maybe you simply buy a different variety of apple this week.
It doesn't have to be complicated.
Healthy eating isn't about finding the perfect foods. It's about creating variety, making choices that work for you and finding easy ways to give your body more of what it needs.
So this fall, take a walk through the produce section.
Look around.
Try something different.
And enjoy what the season has to offer.
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