The season for brightly coloured berries, pictures of fresh salads and fruit dishes are behind us for another year and despite the haphazard weather, it’s time to start thinking about the fast approaching autumn season.
Autumn is the season of deep green, dark yellow and bright orange foods. The fruits and vegetables which fall into these colour categories are rich in disease fighting phytochemicals. The bonuses of food begin here and the more colour on your plate, the better- which is certainly going to be the motto of this fall.
Here are our top three autumn foods which offer unspoken and surprising health benefits. By making them a regular part of your diet, you can reap all the nutritional benefits before the Christmas food feasts begin later in the year…
Parsnips. These vegetables have a delicate, sweet flavour and while they don’t contain as much vitamin A as carrots, they are an excellent source of fibre, vitamin C, calcium and iron. The best parsnips are smooth, firm and small to medium sized. Traditionally they are boiled and mashed together with carrots, however they can also be steamed, boiled or roasted to be used as a stand in for carrots alone.
Turnips. A member of the mustard family, turnips have a white flesh with a tough outer skin. They have a more bitter taste than potato but are an excellent source of vitamin C and offer 2-3g of dietary fibre per serving. Try incorporating turnips into a meal in the place of regular spuds.
Sweet Potato. Although its name suggests so, sweet potato is not related to the potato family as it is classified as a storage root whilst the potato is known as a tuber. Good quality sweet potatoes are firm, smooth skinned and tan to light rose in colour. They are very high in vitamin C and provide 3g of fibre per serving.
A change of season, especially from warm too cold, tends to make people eat food which lacks in nutritional value- however, incorporating these three foods into some homemade meals can make a significant change! Fall is fast approaching so get out your pots and pans and let’s get cooking!