Fall Foods That Nourish the Body Through Colder Weather

Fall foods blaze with the colors of changing leaves, and we’re drawn to them more at this time of year.

As the air turns dry and the days get colder, many of us reach for the same comfort foods we eat all year. However, some of the most nutritious options are at their peak right now, and they’re often easier on the wallet, too. Knowing what grows where you live, how to prepare it, and why it’s beneficial this time of year can help you get the most out of this season’s foods.

Eating what grows locally and in its natural season means eating food at its peak ripeness, when many nutrients are most abundant. It also adds variety to your diet, and variety is what the evidence favors.

“Eating seasonally is a practical way to add more variety to your diet,” Kansas City-based dietitian Anna Doherty (Biggins) told The Epoch Times. “Evidence shows that eating diverse foods from nutrient-dense food groups like whole grains, legumes, vegetables, fruits, nuts, and seeds is an excellent way to support your health year-round.”

Fall has its own demands. Temperatures swing, humidity drops, and winds dry out skin, lips, mouth, and throat. Many fall crops suit these conditions: they are hydrating, filling, and store well through winter, when fresh produce is scarce. Many also provide nutrients such as vitamins A, C, and E, as well as zinc that support the immune system as cold and flu season begins.

How we prepare foods also matters at this time of year. Cooking methods such as baking and roasting soften fibrous vegetables and concentrate their natural sweetness. In traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), these methods are also said to add “warmth” to food, which is why warming herbs and spices like cinnamon, ginger, rosemary, sage, and thyme are favored in the fall.

Pumpkins and Winter Squash

Nothing says fall more than a pumpkin spice latte or the unique shapes and colors of winter squash taking over the grocery store’s produce section.

People plant pumpkins and other winter squash in late spring, after the ground has thawed. They grow through summer, soaking up nourishment from the sun, and are harvested right before winter. They keep for months, which is why they have long fed people through the cold season.

“Pumpkin and squash are nutritional powerhouses for the fall,” Doherty said. They are rich in vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants, especially beta-carotene, the pigment that gives them their orange and yellow colors.

In the body, beta-carotene is converted to vitamin A, which helps maintain and repair the mucous membranes lining the nose, throat, and lungs and supports immune function. Healthy, moist membranes are one of the body’s first barriers against the germs behind colds and flu.

Cooking Tip: Beta-carotene is fat-soluble, meaning it dissolves in fat rather than water. Cooking pumpkin or squash with a healthy unsaturated fat like olive oil or avocado oil helps the body absorb more of it, Doherty said.

“Enjoy the skins when possible—delicata squash and honeynut squash have thin skins that soften when cooked and provide more fiber and carotenoids,” she added.

In TCM, pumpkins are considered warming and sweet, and are believed to strengthen the digestive system and counter fall’s dryness, which is why they often appear in soups and stews.

Apples and Pears

Apples and pears are classic harvest fruits. In the fall, they are at peak ripeness, flavor, and nutrition, and at their most affordable. They come in wide varieties to suit every taste and preference, and they store well into winter.

Both fruits are high in water, which helps hydrate the body, including the mucous membranes that fall’s dry air and indoor heating can irritate. They also contain polyphenols, plant compounds with antioxidant activity, and soluble fiber. Soluble fiber forms a gel in the gut that helps lower cholesterol and slows sugar absorption, blunting blood sugar spikes after meals, Doherty says.

In TCM, white is the color associated with fall, and white-fleshed foods like apples and pears are thought to benefit the lungs, which are especially susceptible to dryness. Both are classified as cooling, sweet, and slightly sour. Eating them raw keeps that cooling quality, while steaming or poaching adds warmth and is said to ease digestion.

Sweet Potatoes, Carrots, Parsnips, and Beets

Root vegetables are nutritious fall favorites that store well through winter. They are also low in fat and calories. They absorb nutrients from the soil and provide complex carbs for sustained energy, vitamins and minerals to support the immune system, and fiber for a healthy heart and gut.

Sweet potatoes grow through summer and are harvested in fall, then cured to retain their moisture and increase sweetness. During curing, sweet potatoes are kept in warm, humid conditions, activating enzymes that convert their starches into sugars. Curing also helps to heal any cuts or bruises and seal them so they keep longer. They’re filling, versatile, and loaded with vitamins A and C, both important for a strong immune system.

“Orange sweet potatoes are also rich in beta-carotene, while purple sweet potatoes are rich in anthocyanins, an antioxidant group that may help blood vessels relax, allowing blood to flow more easily,” Doherty said.

Research suggests that anthocyanins from sweet potatoes may act as vasodilators (substances that widen blood vessels) and help modulate blood pressure by increasing nitric oxide, combating oxidative stress, and exerting anti-inflammatory effects.

Carrots, parsnips, and beets turn sweeter, less bitter, and more flavorful when the weather cools. The reason is survival: colder weather triggers them to convert their starches into sugars, which lowers the freezing point of their tissue and protects them from frost. For us, the result is better flavor.

To store all three, trim the greens to about an inch from the crown or roots. Left on, they draw moisture out of the vegetable.

In TCM, root vegetables have neutral to warming properties and help strengthen digestion. Slow cooking, stewing, roasting, and simmering in soups break them down so nutrients are more easily absorbed, while simultaneously warming and moistening the body.

Kale, Cabbage, and Broccoli

Kale, cabbage, and broccoli are different varieties, or cultivars, of the same species (Brassica oleracea). They are also commonly called cruciferous vegetables because of their four-petaled flowers that are shaped like a cross. These veggies tolerate cooler weather well, extending the growing season and leaving fresh greens available after summer crops are gone.

They also contain sulfur-containing compounds called glucosinolates, which the plants use as natural defenses against pests. When you chop or chew these vegetables raw, an enzyme is released that converts glucosinolates into other compounds, including isothiocyanates and indole-3-carbinol. These compounds likely contribute to the vegetables’ health benefits.

Eating raw and cooked cruciferous vegetables does not provide the same nutritional benefits. Light cooking, such as steaming, can enhance the availability of certain nutrients, while raw forms retain more of certain antioxidants, so including both can be beneficial.

Kale is fast-growing and highly nutritious. One cup of raw kale has 94 percent of our daily vitamin K, which helps blood clot and supports bone health.

Fermented cabbage becomes sauerkraut, preserving it through the winter and boosting its health benefits, especially for the gut. Fermentation introduces live beneficial bacteria that can support the gut microbiome and breaks down the natural sugars, starches, and fibers in cabbage, making them easier to digest.

Broccoli is rich in vitamins and minerals that support health, and a 2024 review of observational studies suggests that people who eat more of it may have a lower risk of certain cancers—including gastrointestinal, gastric, colorectal, bladder, and renal—than those who don’t. Broccoli contains compounds that convert to sulforaphane, which may help the body process and eliminate carcinogens, protect cells from oxidative stress, slow abnormal cell growth, and encourage apoptosis (programmed cell death).

In TCM, kale, cabbage, and broccoli are considered sweet and are believed to benefit digestion. Raw foods are generally considered cooling, but cooking makes them more warming, which matters as the weather gets colder. They are also believed to help circulate “qi,” the body’s vital energy, which in this tradition is essential to good health.

A Fall Plate: Eat by Color

Doherty suggests following the colors of fall and including year-round staples as a simple guide for building meals:

Deep Reds and Purples: Beets, purple sweet potatoes, apples, and red cabbage.
Oranges and Golds: Sweet potatoes, carrots, pumpkin, and squash varieties such as butternut, acorn, honeynut, and delicata.
Rich Greens: Kale, broccoli, green cabbage, and some pears.
Earthy Browns and Neutrals: Legumes such as black beans, pinto beans, chickpeas, cannellini beans, and lentils, and whole grains such as quinoa and brown rice.

Creamy Pumpkin and White Bean Soup

This recipe from Doherty combines several fall staples. Pumpkin supplies beta-carotene, white beans add protein and soluble fiber, and sage and turmeric provide warming flavor.

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 20 to 30 minutes

Total Time: 30 to 40 minutes

Servings: 4

Ingredients

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium yellow onion, diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon dried sage
1 teaspoon ground turmeric
One 15-ounce can of plain pumpkin purée, not pumpkin pie filling
Two 15-ounce cans of no-salt-added white beans, such as cannellini or navy beans, drained and rinsed
3 cups low-sodium vegetable broth, plus more as needed
1 tablespoon lemon juice or apple cider vinegar
Salt and pepper to taste
1 pinch ground nutmeg, optional for a warmer flavor
Plain Greek yogurt and pumpkin seeds, optional toppings

Instructions

Heat the oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the onion and cook for five to seven minutes, until softened.
Add the garlic, cumin, sage, and turmeric and cook for 30 seconds, stirring, until fragrant.
Stir in the pumpkin, beans, and broth. Simmer for 15 minutes.
Remove the pot from the heat and let it cool for a few minutes. Blend with an immersion blender until smooth.
Add more broth to reach your preferred consistency, stir in the lemon juice or apple cider vinegar, and season to taste. Add nutmeg, if using.
Top with a dollop of Greek yogurt and pumpkin seeds, and serve with whole-grain toast.

Eating seasonally isn’t complicated. Pick up produce that’s in season where you live, cook it in ways that bring out its nutrients, and vary the colors on your plate. This fall, try one food you’ve never cooked before.

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