It’s the perfect time of year to take advantage of versatile, colorful, seasonal produce. Antioxidants, fiber, and other nutrients make fall produce ideal for building balanced, nutritious plates. Let’s explore creative ways to turn apples, pears, root vegetables, and more into breakfasts, lunches, snacks, and even desserts.
Breakfast
Last night’s roasted potatoes are the perfect complement to this morning’s scrambled eggs, omelet, or breakfast burrito. Add cooked harvest vegetables to a frittata or quiche to add color to your breakfast plate, use up leftovers, and likely reduce waste too. Blend root vegetable purees with whole grains to levels up pancakes and waffles. (Make a bunch, freeze, and reheat in the toaster oven.) Or wake up to the smell of Slow Cooker Apple-spice Oatmeal or prepare Dutch Baby Pancakes with Cinnamon Apples for brunch or a special treat.
Lunch
It’s easy to bring fall produce into your midday meal. Add a bit of cranberry sauce to your mayo to elevate your turkey sandwich. Or simply add cubed butternut squash or other produce to create a seasonal salad. For something more, use last night’s sweet potato for Sweet Potato Pesto Burrito or Roasted Root Tacos. Of course, any leftovers can be today’s lunch. It would be easy to reheat Warm Soba Salad or Thai Butternut Squash Soup.
Snacks
Come in from a day of apple picking to Sweet Potato Cookies or fuel fall sports with Pumpkin Bites. Both blend fall produce with a bit of sweet for an afternoon pick-me-up. For a seasonal appetizer, prepare Pear and Blue Cheese Flatbread or pair cranberry sauce with brie. Round out a charcuterie board with sliced apples, pears, or maybe homemade beet chips.
Dinner
Butternut, acorn, delicata, and spaghetti squash are rich in beta-carotene, fiber, and other nutrients. To easily prepare these large squash, wash, pierce, and microwave before peeling and cutting as needed. Use squash in Orchard Beef Stew, Acorn Squash with White Beans and Sage, or Butternut Squash and Plantain Mash. Or use pureed vegetables for Half-Scratch Pumpkin Ravioli, casseroles, and soups. Toss Brussels sprouts in balsamic glaze or maple syrup (along with olive oil and preferred seasonings) and roast until crispy and caramelized. Or try this recipe for Miso Mustard Brussels Sprouts.
Lastly, it’s easy to overlook turnips, parsnips, rutabagas, and beets in the produce section. Together they become a unique, colorful dish. Combine them with olive oil, salt, pepper, shallots, and a bit of honey or maple syrup. Then roast them at 425 degrees for about 25-35 minutes, stirring mid-way through. If you prefer, look for packaged, pre-cooked, ready-to-eat beets in your produce section.
Dessert
On a crisp fall day, round out your meal with a dessert that celebrates the season. Enjoy Apple Crumb Bars, Apple Cinnamon Cobbler, or a slice of Apple-Date Torte. Prepare these dishes with a mix of apples that are best for baking, like Granny Smith or Cortland. Or change it up and try making cobbler with pear.
