With the onset of autumn, it’s time to start thinking about autumnal food. The weather starts to cool and the time is right to contemplate foods that are more warming as well as ones that provide you with the key nutrients you need to survive the onset of cold and flu season. It’s funny how the seasons work like that.
Start looking for the following fruit and vegetables
In addition to many of the summer fruit and veg that are still prolific in autumn, keep your eye out for these beauties:
- Apples (make sure they are new season and haven’t come out of cold storage from last year) – as a snack, stewed on muesli or with yoghurt (or as a treat…apple crumble or apple pie)
- Kiwifruit – great for vitamin C to help boost the immune system
- Hazelnuts, almonds, walnuts, pecans – fabulous for snacks or ground up as a nut butter or chopped and sprinkled on breakfast
- Quinces – vitamin C again, fabulous cooked and you can even serve them with meat dishes as they go well with savoury flavours
- Navel oranges – more vitamin C just when you need it
- Figs – plump and full of fibre and potassium. Try them in your porridge, in a salad with goat’s cheese, poached with yoghurt or just “as is”.
- Spinach and silverbeet – vitamin C and carotene (for vitamin A, another immune booster), great in a frittata or a pie (spinach and ricotta) or just steamed and served with a little lemon juice
- Pumpkin, carrots, parsnips, – roasted, mashed or fabulous in all sorts of soups and casseroles
- Mushrooms – (an important source of vitamin B12 for vegetarians) – great by themselves as a quick meal or tossed in an omelette, wonderful in soups too (mushroom and lentil is one of my favourites)
Open your eyes and mind
This is just a starter list to get you thinking. Check out your local market or farmers market for more ideas and be inspired by all the beautiful fresh produce. Your body will thank you. And if you want to know more about seasonal eating I’ve written about the benefits here.
I don’t know about you but I am now looking forward to the cooler weather and the new season fruit and vegetables.
