Need a little boost for dinner tonight?
Try one of these 5 Fall superfoods to recharge your dinner table, bring you comfort on these cooler nights while balancing out some of the treats you, and your family, may have indulged in this past week.
Jewels of Fall. Yes, they do look like Barbie-sized cabbages (and telling your kids this might get them to try them) but in fact they are not mini cabbages. They do belong to the same family, the cruciferous family, that is.
They are a favourite in our house but it did take a few tries before they became a popular item.
These little jewels are packed with vitamin A, vitamin C, vitamin K, beta carotene, folic acid, iron, magnesium and fiber. A big punch for such a small thing! And they offer more protein than most other green vegetables.
Yes, Brussel sprouts can be stinky. You may have heard your kids saying, “That smells disgusting! I am not eating that!” I am sorry to tell you… that’s because you are overcooking them, or boiling them…ahh..gross.
To prevent that stinky smell, Brussel sprouts are best eaten when they are roasted, stir-fried or steamed, but most importantly not overcooked! They should still have some firmness to them when they are done. You definitely don’t want to turn them into a mash.
By the way, that smell is due to an organic sulfur-containing compound called, glucosinate sinigrin. This compound is what gives it it’s “stink” but is also responsible for reducing your risk of cancer.
How to add these 5 Fall Superfoods to your dinner tonight:
Roasted Brussel sprouts are delicious and simple to make. Prep the sprouts by rinsing them in water, trimming the bottom core and discarding any brown leaves. Then cut them in half, toss with avocado oil, sliced shallots and 2 bulbs of minced garlic. Spread them on a baking sheet. I cannot emphasize this enough…make sure you spread the Brussel sprouts out. You don’t want them sitting on top of each other. In order to get some tasty caramelized sides, they need to have room. Roast them at 400 degrees for around 40 minutes. Once roasted, sprinkle with sea salt and black pepper and serve.
It is no surprise that apples are on this list. They are bountiful in the fall and full of amazing health benefits. I am sure you have heard the Welsh proverb, “an apple a day keeps the doctor away”? Well, I don’t know if that was the true meaning back then but an apple can certainly be part of a nutrient rich diet that helps keeps you away from the doctor.
Apples are the most cultivated and consumed fruits in the world.
They are rich in:
- Antioxidants – a naturally occurring chemical that prevents or slows the breakdown of cell damage – the common pathway for cancer, aging, and a variety of diseases.
2. Flavonoids – compounds found in plants that help our bodies by protecting blood vessel walls especially good for people who have heart disease, or diabetes. They also have medicinal properties that assist in fighting cancer and other viruses.
3. Soluble Fiber – You’ve probably heard of fiber in the context of constipation. Yes, it does help relieve that situation but fiber also has many other health benefits. It aids in maintaining a healthy weight and reducing your risk of diabetes and heart disease. Apples are full of soluble fiber which turns into a gel-like substance in the intestinal tract, helping to slow down your digestion, thus resulting in better blood sugar control.
The highest concentration of flavonoids are found in the peel so if your child wants their apple peeled (or maybe that’s how you like it), make sure to give them the peel to eat too. That being said, apples are on the Environmental Working Group’s Dirty Dozen list, a list compiled of the top dirtiest or pesticide-contaminated fruits and vegetables.
Dr. Andrew Weil, a renowned leader of integrative medicine states:
When choosing apples, you’re better off buying organic ones in season from local farmers. Store them in the refrigerator to prevent them from over-ripening and to preserve their flavor. I recommend never eating the skins of non-organic apples.
When you buy organic apples, you’ll get the most bang for your buck if you eat the apple in it’s whole form. This is different than drinking apple juice, which doesn’t contain the fiber of whole fruit and larger amounts of fructose, a type of sugar that is linked to many chronic health issues.
How to add these 5 Fall superfoods to your dinner tonight:
You can also chop up an apple and add it to a salad made with romaine, cucumber, canned tuna, shredded carrots and topped with a balsamic vinaigrette?
If you are a dessert lovin’ family, why not try a few varieties cut up? Here’s a great tip for cut up apples: before serving them or adding them to your child’s lunch, let them sit in a bowl of salt water for 5 min. This will reduce the oxidation that occurs when the inside of the apples come into contact with the air and turn brown.
Right now you can find a huge selection of beautiful squash at your grocery store or local farmer’s market. Squash is actually a fruit that belongs to the pumpkin family and comes in a myriad of different types, so you can select from beautiful colors, textures and flavours.
Squash is high in beta-carotene, which turns into Vitamin A in the body. Vitamin A is the antioxidant that is linked to beautiful skin, awesome vision and healthy working mucous membranes – perfect to keep all these Fall germs away. It also provides a large amount of anti-inflammatory omega 3’s.
How to add these 5 Fall superfoods to your dinner tonight:
A quick and delicious way to make squash is to roast it in the oven for around 40 minutes at a temperature of 374 degrees Fahrenheit. Just peel it, remove the seeds and chop it into 1-inch cubes. Pour a fair amount of avocado oil on it and toss. Like the Brussel sprouts mentioned above, make sure to spread out your squash giving them room to caramelize (you may need two baking pans).Then pop it in the oven. When you start to smell it, give it a flip. The squash will begin to caramelize. Once it is soft and some of the pieces have browned, season with sea salt and serve.
Yum…one of my Fall favourites. We eat these at least once a week, baked as french fries, or as a whole potato then topped with grass-fed butter and salt, or used as a substitution for white potatoes in potato latkes (AKA potato pancakes).
One of the best things about sweet potatoes is that they are really good the next day, especially when added to a lunch time salad.
Sweet potatoes are full of nutrients that help balance out our bodies from some of the less healthy foods we may be eating. They get their beautiful orange color from a natural pigment from carotenoid beta-carotene. Yet another vegetable rich in vitamin A, contributing to healthy eyes and skin. The flesh of the sweet potato also has cancer-fighting components, due to the high amounts of fiber. Sweet potatoes help protect against colorectal cancer, relieve constipation and help you feel full between mealsTo help your body absorb all that amazing vitamin A, you should be eating it with a healthy fat. Which is not a problem at our house. Since beta-carotene is fat-soluble, you need a fat source to help your body get all the benefits.[7. ]
To help your body absorb all that amazing vitamin A, you should be eating it with a healthy fat. Which is not a problem at our house. Since beta-carotene is fat-soluble, you need a fat source to help your body get all the benefits.
How to add these 5 Fal superfoods to your dinner tonight:
This may not be a new “recipe” but I often forget about the good old baked potato. Served with some grass-fed butter, it is delicious. A tip for easy preparation is to set your slow cooker on low, wash (but don’t dry) your sweet potatoes, place them in the bottom and leave them for 6-7 hours. Doesn’t get much simpler and quicker than that. If there are leftovers, don’t forget to add them to your lunch.
This fruit truly is a superfood. Packed with antioxidants, more so than red wine and green tea, it aids in the prevention and treatment of many diseases ranging from different types of cancer, cardiovascular disease, osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis (I’ll be eating these regularly), and many other diseases.
Because they are packed full of amazing nutrients, pomegranates top the list of foods that help balance your body’s cellular damage and everyday aging that you are exposed to through chemicals, pesticides, etc.
How to add these 5 Fall superfoods to your dinner tonight:
Try this quick green salad topped with pomegranates for dinner tonight.
Grab an organic, pre-washed greens mix, add 1 peeled and diced cucumber, a handful of diced kalamata olives, grate 1 large carrot, slice a couple of green onions, use a handful of cherry tomatoes cut in half and the seeds of 1 pomegranate. Dress with a balsamic dressing.
Check out this video on how to quickly and effortlessly get the seeds out:
There you have it, 5 Fall superfoods that are in your grocery store or at your farmer’s market right now. Not only will these foods help to rebalance your body but if you follow any of the methods above for preparing them, you’ll have a low-stress meal prep and you might even have a glass of pomegranate juice instead of a glass of wine…or at least, as well as a glass of wine.
I am always on the lookout for new ways to prepare these 5 superfoods for our family, so head on over to the comment section and let me know your favourite way to eat them.