Stock up on these yummy treats this Fall

Autumn often calls for comfort food and dishes focused on root vegetables. Let’s take a look at what should go on your menus as we enter Fall. This is a season of deep green, dark yellow and brilliant orange and these colours mean the fruits and vegetables we see in it are rich in disease-fighting phytochemicals. The more colourful the fruit, the better it is for your health. 

Seasonal fruits are bursting with flavours and have the highest nutrient potential, compared with fruits stored for longer periods of time or grown in an artificial environment. Once fruits are picked, their quality and nutrient value can plummet — so eating in season is logical.

Autumn brings with it an abundance of cruciferous vegetables, which have anti-inflammatory capabilities and help detoxify the body. Cruciferous vegetables include broccoli, brussels sprouts, cabbage and cauliflower. These all offer high levels of magnesium, a mineral that helps to boost your energy and relax muscles. Adding a spice such as turmeric to your autumn meals will provide additional anti-inflammatory benefits and delight your visual senses with a richly deep autumnal colour palate. It also acts as a wonderful beautifier for the skin.

The temperatures are cooling down and so it’s time to switch up your menu. Rather than light salads and fruity cocktails, customers are looking for warmer and heartier food and drinks to fill their bellies. Healthy eating and living is one of the Fall trends that won’t be going away anytime soon. Fresh juices made from quality ingredients that feature health benefits keep customers happy, as do handcrafted sodas and other alcohol-free drinks. Cold-brew coffee has gone from a novelty to a menu staple. It has a sweeter taste and is convenient, making it a popular choice for the younger coffee drinkers who need their caffeine fix before heading to class. Score bonus points with customers by introducing nitro-brewed coffee, which has a thick, creamy texture.

The changing weather creates perfect conditions for cool-season crops, such as lettuces, plus some foods that have been growing all summer, such as apples, reach their peak. Fall, of course, also means pumpkins, squashes and starchier vegetables rich in vitamins and fibre, the plant-building block that helps you feel full and promotes healthy digestion. What makes Fall-eating interesting and kind of special is the variety of squashes and seasonal root vegetables. Eating persimmons during peak season represents what’s great about seasonal eating — you get a wider variety of fruits and vegetables in your diet throughout the year and the chance to savour what’s in season. Switching your diet staples with the changing weather can be good for your body too, ensuring that you are consuming a wide variety of nutrients.

Autumn is the beginning of softening of extreme humidity and the freezing cold. As soon as certain fruits and vegetables show up in the market, and the intense heat of summer leaves the air, I like to suggest some must-enjoy food this season. These include apples, beets, brussels sprouts, pumpkin, sweet potatoes, among others.