Healthy Recipes for Fall Produce

With autumn comes the fall harvest. A time when a kaleidoscope of color fills our markets with yellow squash, orange pumpkins, and red beets. But for too many, vegetables are served up in traditional boring ways, such as steamed or roasted.

While steaming broccoli and roasted potatoes are perfectly fine for a quick family dinner, they’re nothing to get too excited about. Instead, we share three fun and tasty ways to make vegetables the star of the show:

Stuffed – Fall is a time for comfort food. For those looking for meals that are both hearty yet healthy, consider using vegetables as a “bowl” for your favorite stuffings. Roasted acorn squash makes a perfect serving bowl for a sausage, mushroom, and cheese filling. Peppers filled with ground beef and diced tomatoes is a robust weeknight meal. And mini-stuffed mozzarella and basil tomatoes are a fan favorite appetizer for your next football party.

Blended – Using a blender may not be the first appliance that comes to mind when thinking about preparing vegetables. However, blending vegetables into sauces is a great way for even the most stringent veggie eater to get their greens. Use arugula in a creamy pesto sauce, portobello mushrooms in your brown gravy, or red beets in a sweet applesauce.

Grilled – Don’t put away that grill quite yet! Whether you cook using charcoal or gas, nothing beats vegetables over an open flame. Asparagus, corn, and squash cook up wonderfully after tossing in olive oil topped off with just a pinch of salt and sprinkle of pepper. Vegetables typically need up to 10 minutes on the grill to soften up and get a nice char. The number of ways fall produce can be prepared is as endless as the varieties of vegetables available to us this time of year. Get creative and have some fun while finding new and inspiring ways to enjoy the bounty Earth provides this time of year!