Right now, stores are full of the widest array of fresh fall vegetables at the peak of ripeness. The cool days of the season bring out the best flavor in many crops—good news for all of us looking for great-tasting fall vegetables to enjoy each day as we stay on track to our weight loss goal. We’ve rounded up some of our favorite autumn harvest veggies and how they fit into your Nutrisystem weight loss plan.
Here are seven of the best fall vegetables with a few healthy and delicious ideas for eating them:
1. Carrots
The crunchy roots taste great raw or cooked. While orange carrots are most familiar, many stores now offer yellow, red and even purple varieties. All are loaded with beta-carotene, a nutrient your body converts into vitamin A. It plays a key role in protecting your vision, supports your immune system and ensures that your body produces healthy new cells.
Nutrisystem category: Non-starchy vegetable
Serving size: 1⁄2 cooked or 1 cup raw
Try this: Carrots are easy to enjoy as a snack on-the-go—no mess or fuss necessary. For a bit of satisfying protein, dip carrot sticks in humus or herb-flavored yogurt. Shredded carrots add sweetness and fiber to muffins or fritters, while pureed carrots can be the foundation for a robust soup. Roasting brings out even more of their natural sugars. For a quick side dish, try our recipe for Honey Balsamic Glazed Carrots.
2. Brussels Sprouts
The little cousins of cabbage lose their bitterness after a light frost, which is why they taste best in fall. You typically see them loose on produce shelves, but just before Thanksgiving farmer’s markets and some stores offer whole stalks, so you can get them at their absolute freshest. A cup gives you more than 120 percent of your recommended daily amount of vitamin C and nearly 200 percent of your daily vitamin K needs. You also get over three grams of fiber.
Nutrisystem category: Non-starchy vegetable
Serving size: 1⁄2 cooked or 1 cup raw
Try this: Steamed Brussels sprouts are ready to eat in minutes and they have a mild, cabbage-like flavor. Add sliced Brussels sprouts to stir-fries and soups. If you prefer your veggies raw, shave or chop the small heads of Brussels sprouts and toss them with other greens to make a zesty salad. Slow-roasting Brussels sprouts turns them crispy and smoky. They also pair well with sweet fruit. Check out our Brussels Sprouts with Apples recipe.
3. Butternut Squash
The oblong-shape, bulbous at one end and the pale orange skin make it easy to recognize butternut among the many varieties of fall vegetables and winter squash that are in-season. Removing the relatively thin skin on the outside and the seed cavity inside isn’t hard, but many stores now sell it peeled, seeded, cubed and ready to cook. Like other orange veggies, butternut squash is packed with beta-carotene and vitamin C. A single cup has 500 milligrams of potassium, a mineral that helps keep your body’s sodium levels in balance.
Nutrisystem category: SmartCarbs
Serving size: 1 cup cooked
Try this: The deep-orange flesh of butternut squash is lightly sweet and smooth-textured. It’s so naturally creamy, some bakers prefer to use it rather than its close relative, pumpkin, for making pies. That quality also makes pureed butternut squash a healthy main ingredient for soups or stews. It works well as a replacement for cheese in lasagna or enchiladas. It adds flavor, fiber and nutrients to this Butternut Squash Turkey Chili recipe, a family favorite on cool autumn days.
4. Kale
You’ve probably heard that this leafy green is a superstar of healthy diets and it’s also one of the healthiest fall vegetables because it is so nutrient-dense—high in vitamins and minerals, low in calories. A single cup has just 33 calories, but comes with more than 130 percent of your RDA for both vitamins A and C. It’s also a great source of calcium, a mineral that helps regulate your metabolism. While kale is available most of the year, it tastes best in fall because a few frosty nights soften its texture and reduce its bitterness.
Nutrisystem category: Non-starchy vegetable
Serving size: 1⁄2 cooked or 1 cup raw
Try this: When sautéed, kale becomes tender and mild-flavored. Add garlic or onions and mushrooms to make a savory side dish. If you want to eat kale raw, slice up an avocado and massage it into the leaves with your hands—this tenderizes the leaves and adds a creamy coating. Add kale to smoothies and you won’t even know it’s there. Or try snacking on this simple-to-make Crunchy Kale Chips recipe.
5. Sweet Potatoes
These starchy tubers are a staple of fall meals because they are so sweet and tasty. They’re also significantly more nutritious than ordinary white spuds. An average-size sweet potato has around 50 calories and more than 150 percent of your RDA for vitamin A in a half-cup serving, along with healthy doses of essential minerals like potassium and copper. Because sweet potatoes are high in fiber and low on the glycemic index, they’re classified as SmartCarbs, so you need to be sure to follow the recommended servings for your plan.
Nutrisystem category: SmartCarbs
Serving size: 1⁄2 cup cooked
Try this: A baked sweet potato is simple and filling, but skip the butter and instead add flavor with no-calorie spices such as cayenne pepper or nutmeg. Oven-baked sweet potato fries or wedges are easy to make and fun to eat. Sweet potatoes work well mashed, too. With a spiralizer, you can quickly turn sweet potatoes into noodles that are a healthy alternative to ordinary pasta. Slices of the tuber are the sturdy base for this zesty Mexican Sweet Potato Toast recipe, loaded with tasty beans and low-fat cheese.
6. Cauliflower
Most of us know the snow-white heads, but in fall you may also see orange, yellow and even green cauliflower on produce shelves. All have a very mild taste and are crunchy when raw and tender when cooked. Cauliflower is low in calories (25 in 1 cup) and high in fiber (2.5 grams per cup). It is especially rich in unique compounds called glucosinolates, micronutrients that have been linked to a reduced risk of cancers of the digestive tract.
Nutrisystem category: Non-starchy vegetable
Serving size: 1⁄2 cup cooked
Try this: Cauliflower is perhaps the most versatile of fall vegetables, making it a valuable ingredient, especially for people trying to lose weight. Steamed cauliflower becomes soft enough to be incorporated into mashed potatoes. It can be milled into grains that resemble rice or sliced into thick “steaks” ready for the grill. At snack time, try this Cauliflower Buffalo Bites recipe that have the same spicy flavor as your favorite chicken wings.
7. Spinach
Cool weather is prime time for all sorts of leafy greens, including this nutritional powerhouse. The lower temperatures of autumn keep spinach leaves tender and bitter-free. Each cup has only seven calories, but 56 percent of your RDA for vitamin A. Spinach is just about the best vegetable source of iron, which helps your body produce red blood cells and ward off fatigue.
Nutrisystem category: Non-starchy vegetable
Serving size: 1⁄2 cooked or 1 cup raw
Try this: Raw spinach can be used in every way that you like to eat lettuce—in salads and on sandwiches and wraps. You can add the leaves to smoothies, too. Toss a handful or two of leaves into spaghetti sauce and no one in your family will know but you. For parties or snack time, try this Skinny Spinach Dip recipe.
