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Greetings!
Autumn: A season of cooling temperatures, hot apple cider, and a time to be thankful. One thing we're thankful for is the whole new crop of fruits and vegetables the fall season brings to us. These fruits and vegetables are full of beneficial nutrients that keep you healthy. Whether these are staple foods in your kitchen or they are new to you, I hope you can "Fall" into eating these fruits and vegetables this season.
- Elizabeth
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7 Vegetables Worth "Falling" For
Pumpkin. This winter squash is good for more than just carving! With big doses of vitamin A to keep your eyes healthy and immune-boosting vitamin C to fight off the flu, you'll want to add this colorful vegetable to your plate. Roast pumpkin seeds with spiced seasoning for a delicious snack or salad topping. Use the same spices to add flavor to fresh cubed pumpkin baked in the oven or sautéed in a pan. Don't want the hassle of cutting a fresh pumpkin? Canned 100% pumpkin puree can be added to soups, baked goods, or casseroles as a less expensive and easier option than using a whole pumpkin.
Brussels Sprouts. The smell of this vegetable may turn up your nose, but their health benefits are nothing to dismiss! Brussels sprouts are a part of the cabbage family and are packed with nutrition. One-half cup of cooked Brussels sprouts packs in two grams of fiber, vitamins A and K , and only 28 calories! Try them with a balsamic glaze, roasted with olive oil and fresh black pepper, sautéed with pecans and onions, or incorporated into a hash.
Sweet Potatoes. The possibilities are endless with this budget-friendly vegetable! One medium sweet potato is loaded with all the vitamin A you need in one day and 35% of the daily recommended amount of vitamin C. It also provides fiber to keep you full and is an excellent source of potassium. Sweet potatoes can be baked as a whole potato or as sweet potato fries, mashed, glazed, or pureed and added to your pancake mix or soup. Add a little cinnamon to your sweet potatoes for an extra autumn touch and health boost.
Swiss Chard. Get more bang for your buck! Both the leaves and the stalk of this nutrient-dense food can be eaten. One cup of cooked Swiss chard is only 35 calories and is full of vitamins A, C, and E. It's also a source of vitamin K, copper, and calcium for healthy bones. Add this leafy vegetable to your salad or soups, sauté with garlic and red pepper flakes, or as a topping for your pizza.
Butternut Squash. There's been a lot of hype around this vegetable lately and for good reason. Like pumpkin, butternut squash is packed with healthy vitamins A and C. Pureed butternut squash can add flavor and thicken soup. This vegetable can also be roasted with other vegetables in the oven, mashed as an alternative to potatoes, or added to your favorite stew.
Turnips. Turn up the health benefits with this versatile vegetable! Turnips are an excellent source of vitamin C, an antioxidant that works in your body to prevent many diseases, including heart disease. Turnip greens are a great addition to salads or coleslaw. Turnips can also be baked into turnip green chips, broiled, steamed, or incorporated into soups and stews.
Cauliflower. Did you know cauliflower comes in white, purple, and orange? Whatever color you choose, this vegetable is high in vitamin C and is a good source of folate. Try it in a stir-fry, added to soup, mashed like potatoes, battered and baked, raw in a salad, or roasted with broccoli in the oven. If you're feeling creative, try making a cauliflower pizza crust.
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Fabulous Fall Fruits
Pomegranate.
The seeds from this fruit may be little, but they pack a huge health punch! Both the seeds and the juice of this fruit can be eaten and are a good source of antioxidants and anti-inflammatory compounds that help fight chronic diseases. Pomegranates also serve as a good source of fiber, vitamins C and K, folate, choline, potassium, copper, and manganese. Dark-chocolate covered pomegranate seeds are a sweet snack choice. The seeds and juice can also be used a salad topper, added to smoothies, or mixed into yogurt.
Pears. Here is some juicy news! Pears are a good source of fiber and immune-boosting vitamin C. The raw fruit is good as a snack or added to a salad. Pears can also be poached or added to chutney. Like a sweet and savory mix? Try a pear and grilled cheese sandwich.
Apples. An apple a day keeps the doctor away! This popular fruit has fiber to fill you up while providing you with a healthy dose of vitamin C. Additionally, the fiber and antioxidants found in apples has been shown to play an important role in heart health. For a satisfying snack, try raw apple slices with peanut butter. Fresh apples can also be added to baked goods like muffins, baked into apple chips, used in salads, added to oatmeal, or made into applesauce.
Persimmons. You have permission to add persimmons to your plate! Like other fruits, persimmons provide fiber to keep you satisfied while also supplying vitamins A, C, and B6, potassium, and manganese. Try persimmons fresh as a snack or dry them to add to cookies, cakes, cereal, and salads.
Additional fruits of the season: Cherries, Cranberries, Mandarins, Oranges, Plums, Huckleberries, Grapes, Passion fruit, Pineapple
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Recipe of the Month: Butternut Squash, Sweet Potato, and Pomegranate Soup
Reproduced with permission of POM Wonderful http://www.pomwonderful.com/
Total Prep Time: 45 - 60 mins
Ingredients
Juice from 2-3 POM Wonderful Pomegranates* or 1 cup POM Wonderful 100% Pomegranate Juice
1/2 cup arils from 1 large POM Wonderful Pomegranate or POM fresh pomegranate arils
1 1/2 lb butternut squash, peeled, seeded and cubed
1 sweet potato, peeled and cubed
1/3 cup onion, chopped
2 tablespoons green chiles, chopped
3 cups chicken broth (or water)
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons white pepper
1/2 cup dry sherry or other white wine
1 cup milk (nonfat or low fat)
1/2 cup creme fraiche or sour cream (optional)
Preparation
Prepare fresh pomegranate juice.* Score 1 fresh pomegranate and place in a bowl of water. Break open the pomegranate underwater to free the arils (seed sacs). The arils will sink to the bottom of the bowl and the membrane will float to the top. Sieve and put the arils in a separate bowl. Reserve 1/2 cup of the arils from fruit and set aside. (Refrigerate or freeze remaining arils for another use.). In a stockpot, add butternut squash, sweet potato, onion, green chiles, chicken broth and pomegranate juice. Bring to a boil. Lower heat to a medium low and cook for 30 minutes or until squash can be easily smashed against the side of the pot with a spoon. Add salt, pepper and sherry or white wine. Remove from the heat and cool slightly. Process soup in a food processor until smooth. Return soup to the stockpot, add 1 cup of milk (or more if mixture is too thick) and reheat. Serve this pomegranate recipe in bowls with crisp corn chips, creme fraiche, pomegranate arils and toasted pumpkin seeds.
Servings: 6
Nutritional Overview
Nutrients Per Serving (1-1/3 cups): 283 calories (40% calories from fat, 45% calories from carbs), 8g protein, 33g carbohydrates, 13g total fat (5g saturated), 19mg cholesterol, 958mg sodium, 5g dietary fiber, 1071 mcg vitamin A, 23mg vitamin C
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Quote of the Month:
"Let us rise up and be thankful, for if we didn't learn a lot today, at least we learned a little, and if we didn't learn a little, at least we didn't get sick, and if we got sick, at least we didn't die; so, let us all be thankful."
-- Buddha
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Wellness and Your Walk©
Genesis 1:29
And God said, "Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit. You shall have them for food.
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About Elizabeth
Registered Dietitian
Elizabeth has a passion for helping people achieve permanent weight loss and optimal health. Having struggled for over twenty years with her weight, Elizabeth used a faith-based approach to lose 115lbs. which she has kept off for almost 10 years. She uses the same strategies, along with her twenty-year background in counseling, to provide a faith-based approach to her nutrition and wellness services that include:
- Online & Onsite Weight Loss Programs
- Individual Nutritional Consultation & Coaching
- Emotional Eating Support Groups
- Nutrition & Wellness Seminars
- Shopping Smart Supermarket Tours
Elizabeth maintains a full-time private practice and consults for supermarkets. She has a Master's Degree from New York University, and is a Certified Rehabilitation Counselor and Certified Nutrition and Wellness Coach.
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Elizabeth M. Madison, ElizabethMadisonNutrition/Weight Loss Transformation, LLC. | 718-276-6037 | elizabeth@weightlosstransformation.com | http://www.weightlosstransformation.comOffice: 219-10 South Conduit Avenue - Lower Level 1
Springfield Gardens, NY 11413
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