Fall Fruit and Vegetables

     Fall is here in Tennessee, and I am loving every bit of it! The weather is so much nicer, the trees are beautiful, and the days are getting shorter! I am also loving all the wonderful fruits and vegetables that are coming in season! The fruit and veg that are in season now are so great, that I'm not missing the summer fruits( well, maybe just a little (: )

 

It is important to buy fruits and vegetables in season for many reasons. (1) They taste so much better! They are usually grown more locally and probably not in a green house, but out in the open (how it should be!). (2) They are more often than not, cheaper than the fruit and veg grown out of season. (3) You usually can find in-season fruit and veggies at your local farmer's market. Local food is always a good choice!

From mid-September through mid-December, there are a large variety of fruits and vegetables that are in season! Here are a list of a lot of the amazing fresh fruits and vegetables that should be staples in you fall/winter diet!

Arugula- Great in salads or on pizza!

Broccoli- Amazing fresh, simply steamed, or roasted!

Brussels Sprouts- These are  great fresh, steamed, or roasted!

Cauliflower- (Love this one!) Eat it raw, steam it, roast it, or make a pizza crust!

Chiles- Perfect for spicing up just about anything!

Coconut- Perfect for smoothies, soups, or on their own!

Collards- Steamed, Sautéed, or in a Salad

Cranberries- Make in to jam, jelly, sauce,...

Fennel- Sauté , add to soups or stews, or even veggie stock

Grapes- I mean, who needs to be told what to do with grapes? :)

Kale- Perfect in a salad, add to a soup, or make kale chips( tip: try to get baby kale for a soften leaf!)

Limes- Make limeade, use to flavor just about anything, or have it in some water!

Pears- Great on their own, with some almond butter, steamed, roasted, baked, on a pizza.....

Pomegranates- Delicious in salads, smoothies, or in desserts!

Pumpkin- Carve them yes, but eat them too! Roast, bake, stew, steam, puree, make a pie!

Swiss Chard- Perfect in a salad, sautéed, steamed, in a noodle salad!

Winter Squash- Amazing roasted, stewed, on a pizza, in a soup, sautéed, as a pasta sauce....

Apples- Eat them plain, with nut butters, make a pie, roast, bake, use in a stew!

Beets- Put them in your smoothie, boil them, steam them, roast them, put them in a salad!

Carrots- Perfect just raw, roasted, baked, sautéed, boiled, in a stew, on a salad, or in a soup!

Sweet Potatoes-(Love these!) Bake, roast, puree, put in a soup, make sweet potato pumpkins!

 

     These are just an example of the wonderful fruits and vegetables that are in season during the fall and into winter months. Take note, that these are the fruits and vegetables that are in season where they are grown natively. For example, coconut is in season during the fall months, but not everywhere, just where they are natively grown. Buying what is in season in your area is the best thing, but as a rule, try to only buy fruits and veggies that are in season wherever they are grown. This assures that the fruit and vegetables will have the best taste,(often) best price, and be more nutritious than those grown in a green house and off-season!

I hope this post gives you a better idea of what is in season during the fall months. Make sure to check into your local farmer's market and hopefully you can find some fresh, in-season produce there!

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Keep healthy and Safe!
H. Banana