Post by contributor Cheyenne Bell
I love fall. I love everything about it: the crisp air, the colors of the leaves, sweaters, boots, scarves. And the food. Oh how I love fall food! And because fall offers so many variety of foods, it is the perfect time to start to eat seasonally.
For those who aren’t familiar with the term, “eating seasonally” is simply making a conscious effort to eat foods that are “in season,” or, being grown and harvested at the time of year that you are buying and eating them.
Seasonal eating is beneficial to you for several reasons:
1. You make less of an impact on the planet. By eating seasonally (and locally, if possible), you are helping to reduce the energy needed to grow and transport food.
2. You save money. You pay a pretty penny to eat food that has travelled a long way to make it into your grocery store. By eating food that is at it’s peak during the current season, it costs farmers and distributors, and therefore YOU, less money to consume the food.
3. You get a wider variety of fruits and vegetables in your diet. By making the effort to consume only those fruits and veggies that are in season, you inevitably have to broaden your horizons and find new ways to eat produce you may never have tried before.
4. You make a solid impact on your health. Eating seasonal foods means that you are eating fresher, tastier and more nutritious food.
So, now that summer is behind us and we’re well into the fall season, what seasonal foods are available to us right now? Here is a helpful list of produce that is currently in season for North America:
Vegetables
Bell peppers, broccoli, broccolini, brussels sprouts, butternut squash, cauliflower, celery root, chard, collards, fennel, garlic, leeks, parsnip, potatoes, pumpkin, rutabaga, spinach, sweet potatoes, sunchoke, turnips, wild mushrooms
Fruits
Almonds, apples, chestnuts, cranberries, kiwi fruit, pears, persimmon, pomegranate, tamarillo, tangerines
Personally, I think fall is the easiest season to work with when it comes to eating seasonally. Just about every fruit and veggie on the list is a favorite of mine and so easy to incorporate into everyday cooking.
Here is one of my favorite recipes featuring some beautiful fall produce:
Harvest Roasted Vegetables
Ingredients
- 1 small butternut squash cubed
- 1 sweet potato peeled and cubed
- 3 Yukon Gold potatoes cubed
- 2 large carrots sliced
- 2 parsnips sliced
- 1 medium onion quartered
- 1 tbsp chopped fresh thyme
- 2 tbsp chopped fresh rosemary
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 475F.
- In a large bowl combine all of the veggies, chopped.
- In a separate bowl, combine the herbs, oil, vinegar, salt and pepper.
- Add the oil mixture to the veggies and toss until evenly coated.
- Spread the veggies evenly on a large roasting pan and roast for 35-40 minutes.
- Stir every 10 minutes or so until vegetables are cooked through and have a nice golden brown color.
- Serve warm with a nice pot roast or roasted chicken...YUM!
Nutrition
Further reading:
Eat the Seasons
CUESA (Center for Urban Education About Seasonal Agriculture)
MamaV
Gardening has really helped me to eat seasonally; not because I can grow all the veggies we eat (I definitely don’t), but because it gives me a very good idea of what’s actually locally in season.
Beth
That’s an excellent point! You definitely learn about what’s in season based on what’s actually growing in your yard! 🙂