It’s Fall Y’all! How to Use Delicious Seasonal Foods for Healthy Fall Eating

Many of us are sad to see summer leave, but there’s a lot to love about fall. We can enjoy cooler weather, fall foliage, and lots of delicious fall flavors and produce. Autumn has some great seasonal ingredients, and we encourage you to add them to your menu in the months ahead.

Why it’s important to eat food that’s in season

The obvious answer is that eating food in season just tastes better. But it also can be healthier too. Food grown in optimal growing conditions such as the right temperature and the right sun exposure leads to food higher in nutrients—including antioxidants, vitamins, and minerals.

Another possibly surprising reason to eat seasonal food is that it’s better for the environment. These days, we can get produce from al around the world and this keeps most everything on our grocery shelves year-round. But many people don’t realize that most produce travels over 1500 miles before it reaches your grocery shelves. This not only requires artificial additives to keep the food fresh, but it also contributes to a lot of pollution in getting it here. Eating seasonally can help preserve your health and the health of our planet at the same time.

There are several nutritious and yummy fall foods that you can incorporate into your menu.

Fall vegetables:

• Brussels sprouts
• Carrots
• Sweet potatoes
• Cauliflower
• Broccoli
• Spaghetti squash
• Kale
• Arugula
• Pumpkin
• Beets
• Okra
• Parsnips
• Butternut squash

Fall fruits:

• Apples
• Pears
• Cranberries
• Grapes

A few fall recipes

To get started, we’re going to give you suggestions for breakfast, lunch, and dinner items using fall ingredients.

Low-Sugar Cranberry Orange Scones

For breakfast, try these low-sugar cranberry orange scones from Eat This, Not That! https://www.eatthis.com/cranberry-orange-scones-recipe/

Each of these scones only has 8 grams of sugar, less than most flavored Greek yogurts! And the sugar in them comes from natural sweeteners, no added sugars. They also give you 5 grams of protein and are only 249 calories per serving.

Make a batch of these on the weekend, and you’ll have a yummy scone to grab on the way out the door all week.

Ingredients:

Zest of 1 orange
2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 cup unsalted butter, cold
1 egg
2 Tbsp honey
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup heavy cream, plus a bit more for brushing the scones
¼ cup dried cranberries

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

1. In a large bowl, add the orange zest, flour, and baking soda. Mix together with a fork.
2. Grate the cold butter using a cheese grater. Add to the bowl of dry ingredients and mix again with your fork, working the butter into the flour.
3. In a stand mixer (or a large bowl with a whisk), whisk together the egg, honey, vanilla extract, and heavy cream for 30 seconds.
4. Add in the flour to the wet ingredients and mix to form a dough. The dough will stick together like cookie dough, so if you don’t have a stand mixer, mix the dough with a rubber spatula or clean hands.
5. Sprinkle in the dried cranberries and mix into the dough.
6. Move the scone dough to a floured surface. Form the dough into a flat circle, about 6 to 8 inches in diameter and about ½ thick.
7. Using a knife or a pizza cutter, slice the dough into 8 slices (triangles).
8. Place the scones on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
9. Brush a little heavy cream on the tops and sides of each scone.
10. Put the baking sheet of scones in the fridge for 15 minutes.
11. After chilling, bake the scones for 18-20 minutes, or until golden brown.
12. Remove the scones immediately to a cooling rack to cool (they may get darker on the bottom if you leave them on the pan).

Try a fall version of your turkey sandwich

Our lunch suggestion is a simple one. To make your regular turkey sandwich more seasonal, add very thinly sliced apples, a slice of cheese, and a handful of arugula to your sandwich. Spread on a bit of honey mustard and enjoy a fall version of a turkey sandwich.

Perfect Roast Chicken

Nothing feels more like fall than the smell of a chicken roasting in the oven. We’re sharing Ina Garten’s recipe for roast chicken from the Food Network. Your family will love it! https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/perfect-roast-chicken-recipe-1940592

Ingredients:

1 (5 to 6 pound) roasting chicken

Kosher salt

Freshly ground black pepper

1 large bunch of fresh thyme, plus 20 sprigs

1 lemon, halved

1 head garlic, cut in half crosswise

2 tablespoons (1/4 stick) butter, melted (or olive oil if you prefer)

1 large yellow onion, thinly sliced

4 carrots, cut into 2-inch chunks

1 bulb of fennel, tops removed, and cut into wedges

Olive oil

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees
2. Remove the chicken giblets. Rinse the chicken inside and out. Remove any excess fat and leftover pin feathers and pat the outside dry. Liberally salt and pepper the inside of the chicken. Stuff the cavity with the bunch of thyme, both haves of lemon, and all the garlic. Brush the outside of the chicken with the butter and sprinkle again with salt and pepper. Tie the legs together with kitchen string and tuck the wing tips under the body of the chicken. Place the onions, carrots, and fennel in a roasting pan. Toss with salt, pepper, 20 sprigs of thyme, and olive oil. Spread around the bottom of the roasting pan and place the chicken on top.
3. Roast the chicken for 1 ½ hours, or until the juices run clear when you cut between a leg and thigh. Remove the chicken and vegetables to a platter and cover with aluminum foil for about 20 minutes. Slice the chicken onto a platter and serve it with the vegetables.

Enjoy Seasonal Fall Foods

Eating foods in season is healthier and just tastes better! Thankfully, fall has a lot of delicious fruit and vegetable options to add to your menu.

Give us a call today at Outlaw FitCamp to see how our group fitness classes and/or personal training sessions can help you become a healthier version of yourself.

Happy fall, y’all!