5 Fall Fruits and Veggies to Incorporate Into Your Recipes

The benefits of a diet rich in fruits and vegetables can hardly be overstated. Upping your intake of fruits and vegetables can help ward off illness and provide nutrients that many Americans don’t get enough of.

Just as importantly, they’re fun! Whether as part of a favorite recipe or as a side dish for a delicious and healthy entree, a favorite fruit or vegetable can enrich a meal and liven up your whole day, both as an energy boost and as a tasty treat.

Our modern system of agriculture allows us to enjoy many of our best-loved fruits and vegetables on a year-round basis. But now that autumn is here, we recommend enjoying some fruits and vegetables that are at their best during the cooler months. It’s a healthy and delicious way to enliven your recipes and mix up your meals.

Here are five fall vegetables and fruits we suggest you try before autumn is over. They can be found at grocery stores, farmer’s markets, or your own garden, and pair well with a ridiculously tasty entree or sauce from Kevin’s Natural Foods.

Cabbage One of the most versatile veggies around, cabbage tends to taste better when harvested at cooler temperatures. Immensely popular as a filler, it integrates with a host of delicious recipes and serves just as well alongside a freshly prepared chicken entree. Whether it’s served cooked or raw, autumn is the time when cabbage is at its most delicious and gets the respect it deserves.

Cauliflower While it grows year-round, cauli does best in warm or cool months. This no-drama veggie tends to taste its best in autumn, and serves as a nutritious ingredient or companion to an assortment of entrees without hogging too much attention. If you get good at cooking with cauliflower, you know how much it’s capable of. If you’re in a rush, it’s just as healthy and satisfying as a side or a quick bite.

Kale Widely considered one of the healthiest vegetables on earth, kale is associated with salads, smoothies, and other light snacks favored by the health-conscious. While some believe it’s at its best as part of an autumn salad, we think tastes great with lemongrass chicken, too.

Persimmon The persimmon is a distinctive fruit with a very short harvesting window. This, it’s associated with the coolness, colors, and memorable meals of late autumn, particularly October. It’s full of vitamins, minerals, and health benefits. Because it’s relatively rare, it’s guaranteed to make an impression, whether on its own, as part of a recipe, or as a surprise side serving.

Pumpkin There’s no ignoring the all-time autumn classic. When our sweaters come out, we crave their flavor in lattes and smoothies. We carve funny faces in them to spook and delight our children. And, most importantly, we get significant health benefits from pumpkins, including vitamins that can help protect us from disease during the winter months to come.

Getting creative with food is one of the many passions that drive us here at Kevin’s Natural Foods, where we believe that eating healthy should be its own reward, in autumn and throughout the year. Our quick and delicious entrees, sauces, and seasonings that are easy to prepare, add some energy and enjoyment to your day, and pair well with the vegetables and fruits that put the fun in fall. Grab some to enjoy on the go, at an ugly-sweater party, or at your next family pumpkin-carving.