Seasonal Eating Guide: Fall Edition 2023

Benefits & Uses of Fall’s Produce Powerhouses

Welcome to the Fall Edition of the Seasonal Eating Guide, from your year-round farmers market! 

This segment of the Fall Guide lists Fall favorites, their nutritional benefits, harvest time, and the different ways they can be used. 

For more insights and tips on seasonal eating, be sure to check out the Fall Guide’s other segments:

• How to Get Your Healthy On – for You & the Ecosystem takes a closer look at how eating seasonally puts your body in sync with what Mother Nature provides, season by season.
• If It Grows Together, It Goes Together draws on ancient wisdom to help you make the most of eating seasonally this Fall.
• It’s Soup Season! goes on a deep dive into Fall’s number one comfort food, complete with recipes, including bone broth.
• Farmer Spotlight introduces you to the young Amish family of Spring Creek Meadows, who rely on manpower, horses, and regenerative farming practices to raise their livestock. 

 

Fall Food Faves

Find out why the season’s favorite foods are so good for you and some of the ways you can enjoy their nutritional benefits.

 

APPLES

BENEFITS: Heart-healthy flavonoids in the skin, antioxidants, and 4 grams of dietary fiber.
USES: Eat raw as a stand-alone snack, in a smoothie or salad, in pork dishes, or cooked up as applesauce or pie.
HARVEST: August-November

BEETS

BENEFITS: Red and gold beets are nutritional champs known for their high concentration of nitrates and accompanying blood pressure-lowering effects. They are also high in fiber and packed with nutrients.
USES: Beets are best enjoyed cooked, and then can be used in salads, as a side, or even in a colorful dip.
HARVEST: Year-round

BROCCOLI

BENEFITS: One cup of broccoli has as much vitamin C as an orange. Sulforaphane and other natural compounds in broccoli are reported to stop cancer cells from forming in your body.
USES: Enjoy broccoli raw, in a salad, with a dip, or mixed into a fantastic stir fry.
HARVEST: September-November

BRUSSELS SPROUTS

BENEFITS: Brussels sprouts are high in fiber, vitamin K, vitamin C, plus folate and iron.
USES: Serve as a side or atop salads and meats, steam or roast, serve with salt or add tangy or savory sauces like balsamic vinegar.
HARVEST: September-March

CARROTS

BENEFITS: Loose carrots are a particularly good source of beta carotene, fiber, vitamin K1, potassium, and antioxidants.
USES: Raw with dips or in salad, roasted as a side, or that perennial favorite — carrot cake!
HARVEST: September–November

CAULIFLOWER

BENEFITS: Vitamin C and compounds that may help to prevent cancer and lower cholesterol.
USES: Raw with dips or in salad, steamed or roasted as a side, blended like mashed potatoes or pureed into soup.
HARVEST: September–June

 CELERY ROOT (a.k.a. Celeriac)

BENEFITS: High in fiber and a good source of vitamins B6, C, K and minerals phosphorus, potassium, and manganese.
USES: Raw or cooked, celery root is a versatile vegetable. It can be used as a base for salads, stews and soups, and also works well mashed, baked, roasted or boiled.
HARVEST: September–November

CELERY

BENEFITS: Packed with antioxidants, vitamin C, beta carotene, and flavonoids, and a great source of phytonutrients which have been shown to reduce inflammation.
USES: Celery is great raw, and you can eat the leaves too! It’s a classic base ingredient in soups and stews, or try it steamed or baked for a twist on this good old reliable veg.
HARVEST: October-December

DARK LEAFY GREENS

BENEFITS: Iron, calcium, vitamins A and C, and fiber.
USES: Raw in a salad or smoothies, or baked into other dishes. Cooking makes it easier for our bodies to digest its nutrients.
HARVEST: Year-round

FENNEL

BENEFITS: Vitamin C, potassium.
USES: Looks like the love child of a dill plant and an onion but has a mild licorice flavor – add to soups, sides, and mains.
HARVEST: Fall through spring

PARSNIPS

BENEFITS: Potassium, fiber.
USES: Sweeter and nuttier than carrots, roast alone or with just about every other fall vegetable.
HARVEST: October-April

PEARS

BENEFITS: Vitamin C, copper, 4 grams of fiber.
USES: Enjoy raw alone or with cheese, in salads, and baked or poached desserts.
HARVEST: August-February

PUMPKINS

BENEFITS: Potassium, tons of fiber, B vitamins.
USES: Pies, soups, and sides, plus toss seeds in olive oil and salt, then roast for an addictive snack or salad topping. Also jack o’lanterns!
HARVEST: October-February

RUTABAGAS

BENEFITS: Vitamin C, fiber.
USES: Like a cross between a turnip and a parsnip, they’re delish in casseroles, pureed with turnips and carrots for soup, or roasted with ginger, honey, or lemon.
HARVEST: October-April

 SPINACH

BENEFITS: Vitamins A, C, K, iron, and disease-fighting phytonutrients.
USES: Raw in a salad or smoothies, steamed as a stand-alone or baked into other dishes. Cooking makes it easier for our bodies to digest its nutrients.
HARVEST: Year-round, but it gets sweeter after the first nip from Jack Frost

SWEET POTATOES

BENEFITS: Vitamin A, iron, and anti-inflammatory properties.
USES: Roast like a potato or cut up like fries, add to salads and stews, puree into soups.
HARVEST: September–December

TURNIPS
BENEFITS: Vitamin C (roots), vitamins A, K, and folate (leaves).
USES: Steam, roast, or boil the roots, flavor with fennel, bread crumbs, or brown sugar. Adds a slightly bitter complement to sweet parsnips, carrots, or mashed potatoes. Steam or stir fry the leaves.
HARVEST: September–April

WINTER SQUASHES

BENEFITS: Omega-3 fatty acids, vitamin A.
USES: Butternut and acorn have thick skin and can be stored for months. Bake, steam, or roast plain or with cinnamon and ginger, add to salads and stews, puree into soups.
HARVEST: October–February